The Philippines has about 24 million internet users and approximately 2 million blogs, making it one of the “most connected” countries in the world. In fact, a US based internet advertising company reported its surprise when a million blogs from the Philippines enlisted in their blog advertising program.

In the world of blogging, Wordpress is one of the most popular platforms because of its flexibility and limitless features. However, because it is common for newbie’s encounter some initial difficulties in configuring the system, some people are hesitant to try it out.

Because of this, gatherings called “WordCamps” are held all over the world in order to help people navigate and become experts in the use of this wonderful blogging/web site software. WordCamp gatherings all over the world are also unique partly due to the attendance of both neophyte bloggers and popular web personalities. Wanabees get to meet personalities who blog from their homes and earn tens of thousands of dollars every month.

In South East Asia, the Philippines will be hosting the first WordCamp on September 6, 2008 at the College of St. Benilde, Taft Avenue, Manila. It will be open to a maximum of 350 bloggers and at this point, there are already more than 220 confirmed registrants.

This noteworthy endeavor is being made possible by Mindanao Bloggers, Inc, and sponsors like, ehem… WazzupManila Philippines (Yipee!!!), i.PH: the Domain for Individuals, Free Online Flash Games, Real Estate CRM, Real Estate Website Designers, Orange County Real Estate and Auto Insurance Quotes.

For more info, please visit the WazzupManila, Philippines Forum

Raising awareness of patients’ condition in Singapore

WHAT IS HEMOPHILIA

Sometimes referred to as people with the “Royal Disease”, patients with hemophilia have low or almost non-existent levels of blood-clotting proteins in their bodies. Whenever hemophilia patients suffer cuts and bruises (e.g. when engaged in contact sports), it takes a long time for the blood to clot. Consequently, it can lead to heavy blood loss, even when the patient has suffered only a minor cut. When people suffer incisions, coagulation (blood clotting) is the body’s natural way of preventing too much blood loss.

In addition, because patients with hemophilia have insignificant levels of blood-clotting proteins in their bodies, blood coagulation normally takes a long time. It therefore exposes the patient to the possibility of suffering from heavy blood loss, severe complications and other side effects.
Severe complications from heavy blood loss include patients going into shock, and eventual death or permanent damages in the major organs. Altered (confused) state of consciousness is also highly probable.

There are two types of hemophilia. They are referred to as Hemophilia A and Hemophilia B. Patients
with Hemophilia A are diagnosed to have a deficiency in Type 8 blood-clotting proteins, while patients with Hemophilia B are perceived to have a deficiency in Type 9 blood-clotting proteins. Both conditions require different treatments, and 9 out of 10 hemophilia patients suffer from type A kind.
Hemophilia has been found to be mostly inherited by the patients from their parents. To determine whether a patient suffers from hemophilia, blood tests are conducted to check the effectiveness of the individual’s ability to coagulate blood. Due to the genetic disposition (i.e. chromosomes), most hemophiliacs are male. Hemophilia among women is very rare.

At this point, there is no known cure for hemophilia. The only treatment available involves a two-pronged approach:

1. Preventing one from getting cuts and bruises (i.e. Avoiding contact sports and other injury prone activities).
2. Infusing bleeding hemophiliacs with the necessary blood-clotting proteins to stop blood flow.

SOCIAL ISSUES FOR HEMOPHILIACS

1. Bottles of blood-clotting proteins used for treatment of Hemophilia do not come cheap. According to the Hemophilia Society of Singapore, a bruise on the ankle joint may require more than 6 bottles of Factor 8 which costs a little above S$100. People from affluent families can easily pay the price, but the not so fortunate ones are obviously in trouble.
2. Whether we like it or not, there is a social stigma attached to people with medical conditions, and hemophiliacs are no exception.
3. The public needs to be better informed about hemophilia. Because hemophilia is not among the “Top Ten” killers in Singapore, the public does not hear much about it. It is precisely for this reason that the public must be better informed, so that when they encounter the condition they will sufficiently be equipped to deal with it.

4 MUST-KNOW TIPS FOR CARETAKERS OF HEMOPHILIACS

1. Patients not suffering from severe hemophilia should be encouraged to take up sports, to strengthen their bodies. Being a hemophiliac does should not be a deterrent to physical sports. It simply requires that patients be extra careful.
2. It is highly unlikely for a hemophiliac to bleed to death with just a minor cut. Ith therefore means that early treatment is simply required. When in doubt, always seek professional medical attention and provide the patient’s particulars (i.e. Drug allergies, hemophiliac severity etc.)
3. Always inform a doctor when a hemophiliac suffers a head injury. A small head bump may lead to internal bleeding in the brain.

Hemophiliacs should never take any medication that will thin their blood. Aspirin is therefore, very much not advisable.

This article is a product of research and intended to raise awareness of hemophilia. It must not be misinterpreted as professional medical opinion. Should symptoms similar to hemophilia is detected, please get a doctors opinion.

SOURCES/CITATIONS:

• http://www.livingstories.org.uk/
• http://www.haemophilia.org.sg

Note: Yeo Teck Wei is a freelance writer based in Singapore.

I saw it today!! OMIGOD! I LOVE HEATH LEDGER! ‘Ang galing nyang umarte dito. Bilib ako.Pero ang haba nga ng movie na toh. Ang daming conflicts!

Also, kahit najijingle na ako, hindi ako tumayo eh. :p

The posters in our forum are very excited to watch the latest installment to the Batman Series. A lot of those who have seen the movie are saying that the late “Heath Ledger” came up with a performance so superb that there are talks about an Oscar Award for him already.

To wet your appetite’s a bit, please ecroll down for a scene in “The Dark Knight”. For the The Dark Knight trailer, please click here.

For Batman’s The Dark Knight and other movie promos, it’s here.

It looks like the Gothia Cup will once again be exciting for Filipinos. Dubbed as one of the biggest youth football (soccer) competition, Gothia Cup is also known as the World Youth Cup, where the best players between the age 11 and 19 compete. In 2007, the weeklong event brought 1585 teams (from 65 countries), 295,000 visitors and earned close to $60 million in tourist income for the sponsoring city. Some of the participants in this event eventually end as the biggest professional players in the world’s most popular sport. As far as I can recall, the biggest accomplishment of a Philippine team was in the mid 1980’s when a boy’s team won the championship in an age division.

This year however, it is the Philippine girl’s turn to make a difference. The Makati girl’s team (in the age 12 division) defeated Swedish team IFK Aspudden (9-2) on Wednesday after beating another Swedish team Utbynas SK (5-0), a day before. This places the Philippine team at the top of their group in the tournament.

The country sent a total of 5 teams this year. The three boys’ team and other girl’s team that that competed in the 11, 13, 14 and 16 divisions this year were not as lucky.

This year’s competition will end on Saturday, July 19, 2008. Good luck, Team Makati!

Further to the current global food and rice shortage, here is a fun way for people to help distribute rice and feed the world’s hungry. One only needs to visit www.freerice.com and play its simple vocabulary games. Before getting turned off, may we inform you that the site requires no registration. All that one needs to do is go to the site and start clicking.

Click the banner (left)to have fun while earning rice for the needy.

A word will be shown together with a list of four possible synonyms. A player simply needs to click on the probable synonym. Freerice.com will donate 20 grains of rice for every correct answer. The player can keep on playing and sharpen his English vocabulary while earning rice for the world’s needy.

Freerice.com donated 75,027,880 grains of rice donated yesterday and has already accumulated over 39 billion grains donated to date.

The free rice program is made possible by the website’s corporate advertisers.

D-Cinema is the Philippines’ first real digital cinema. It shows high-quality 3D or 2D films in a regular cinema and because it is a digital system, every film is guaranteed to look amazing. It utilizes hi-definition video projectors which allows moviegoers to experience unparalleled quality in vision and sound and ultimate perfection in projection. The digital technology also makes it easy to operate: the movies are installed, replaced, and screened with a single press of a button.

D-Cinema has changed the cinema experience as it makes movie reels a thing of the past, making ways for more modern methods of distributing movies. The technical set-up was made by the joint efforts of Arrays Tech Inc. and Christie Digital Systems USA.

D-Cinema is located at The Block, SM North EDSA. For inquiries and ticket reservations, please call D-Cinema at 929-5452 or email dcinema@smsupermalls.com

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH in full 3D format in SM D-Cinema

Inspired by Jules Verne’s renown novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” the movie stars Brendan Fraser (” The Mummy”) as a science professor whose untraditional hypotheses about an undiscovered habitat within the Earth’s core have made him the laughing stock of the academic community. But on an expedition in Iceland, he and his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson of “Bridge to Terabithia”) together with their guide stumble upon a major discovery that launches them on a dangerous journey deep beneath the Earth’s surface, where they travel through a strange world inhabited by giant fishes, man-eating plants, and vicious reptiles — a world unlike anything you have ever imagined!

Journey to the Center of the Earth is the first live-action feature film to be shot and released entirely in digital 3D. With spectacular photo-real environments and revolutionary new filmmaking techniques, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D is an epic adventure, one that takes audiences directly into the heart of our heroes’ adventure, bringing them along for an unprecedented, wild and visceral ride.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is directed by Academy Award-winning visual effects veteran Eric Brevig (“The Day After Tomorrow”, “Men in Black” &”Pearl Harbor”) from a screenplay by Michael Weiss and Jennifer Flackett & Mark Levin. The film is a co-venture between Warner Bros./New Line Cinema and Walden Media.

The movie will be shown entirely in digital 3D only at The Block, SM City North Edsa’s D-Cinema starting July 10.

For more movie features and movie promos, please check this link: MOVIE FEATURES AND MOVIE PROMOS

Let us look at some of the good news amidst all the chaos. The popular saying that Necessity is the mother of inventions has never been so true in this time of need. In the Philippines, people have been coming out with creative ways to alleviate their situation, which also resulted to a number of positive though unintended consequences. In Manila, we have written about various gas savers, LPG powered buses, electric minibuses (ejeepneys), electric tricycles and now, there are LPG powered tricycles. A few hours south of Metro Manila, the tricycles of Lucena have started using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to power their gasoline engines. As a result, they are able to save 80-83% in fuel costs. Not only that, tricycles, which are notorious for being environmental pollutants, become environmentally compliant by shifting its fuel source from gasoline to LPG.

The downsides with this scheme are conversion cost and possible fire hazards. At P14,000 per tricycle, the cost of conversion is not a small amount for a provincial driver who will end up earning less than P500/day. The danger of fire is present in bikes that have a dual powered (gas/LPG) options.Some tricycles prefers to have dual options in the event that they ran out of LPG and there is no refilling station nearby. Drivers simply switches a lever that allows the bike to use gasoline. Before tricycles shifts from gas to LPG, it is very crucial that the driver completely drains the gas from the carburetor before starting the engine. Otherwise, a mixture of LPG and gas in the carburetor can cause combustion.

Other than that, the widespread use of LPG and other alternatives to gasoline is widely encouraged. It not only increases the drivers’ income, it also reduces the country’s dependence upon gasoline and greatly diminishes vehicle emission, which is the primary cause of global warming. Let us not forget that less vehicle emission is also good for public health.

Back in Metro Manila, politicians and businessmen have started installing LPG kits to power their gas guzzlers. At least one senator, a handful of congressional representatives and a good number of owners of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV’s) now heaps praises upon LPG due to the tremendous savings (60%) incurred in their fuel expenses.

I remember a few years back when SUV owners arrogantly bragged that they buy big engines because they can afford to pay for its gas. It is a good thing that this crisis has made them do something positive, not only for themselves but also for this country, as well.

Note:

• For the list of the other PRC Board Exam Results, please go to this link.
• For official confirmations, we urge everyone to visit the office of the Professional Regulations Commission.

Roll of Successful Examinees in the FORESTER LICENSURE EXAMINATION Held in JULY 2008, Released on JULY 8, 2008

Seq. No. N a m e

1 ABACLOD, JUDITH LAWAGEY
2 ABBAS, AMEER HUSSEIN GARANGAN
3 ABELLA, JESUS III BAROSA
4 ABRAHAM, JAN MARK SONGCO
5 AFIDCHAO, JANE TAYLAN
6 AGARO, LEO CINCO
7 AGOO, ETHEL OSTERO
8 AHMAD, SAHAC ASSAN
9 ALCESTO, ALVIN GUTANG
10 ALZOLA, DANIEL DEMANDANTE
11 AMBOR, ASHPEA RASCAL
12 AMPATUA, HOSNIE LUCMAN
13 AROC, DEXTER CRUZ
14 ARQUILITA, CECILIA ABUEL

15 BACARRISAS, LEI MARIAN TIMOSAN
16 BAEL, ARIANA ELIZALDE
17 BAES, LEO VENDIOLA
18 BAGIWEN, JOHNNY ITITAN
19 BAGONGHASA, AMISOL LOZANO
20 BAGONOC, HALEJEZA PAJE
21 BAGUI, DIANE ESTEPHANIE MONTERO
22 BALAN, SHERYL BERNALDEZ
23 BALAS, LILY MAYONGET
24 BALBON, JEANNIS SANICO
25 BALTAZAR, JOLLY JOSE
26 BALUS, JIM CREDO
27 BANGA, GIEAROM REBADULLA
28 BANO, SAHID DANDAMIN
29 BARATAMAN, ABDUL JALIL DAMASO
30 BASCO, RECIA BUTALON
31 BASIÑO, RENELY LOPEZ
32 BATUGAN, NOR-HASSAN RIGAYO
33 BELENIA, IVY VILLAPANDO
34 BELMONTE, GRACE ENCINARES
35 BENIGA, LEALOU LOMONGO
36 BIER, CHERIE ANN OBRERO
37 BINIAHAN, JERRY AGGUDONG
38 BOBITA, LEONIE MAE BELLO
39 BORLAGDAN, MOÑEN GERALDE
40 BULAYUNGAN, ROBERT JR VASQUEZ
41 BUMANGLAG, POLA GENEVA ABAD
42 BUYAG, JOSEPH MELAD

43 CABAGAY, MARIE BLANQUITA BARDENAS
44 CABAGUING, MARY GRACE IGCAS
45 CABALAN, JENAN MARIE OLINAN
46 CABALONGA, JENNIFER TULIAO
47 CABBIGAT, JONALYN BUMILAC
48 CAHILOG, ALBERTO JR CORTES
49 CALAMPIANO, APRILLE ESPINOSA
50 CALIPUSAN, CHRISTOPHER LIMBAGA
51 CAMILING, ROWENA DECOYNA
52 CAPINPIN, TRACY ANN ONG
53 CAPISTRANO, CARINA ROMERO
54 CAROPE, LOIDA LIWLIW
55 CARRANZA, MA CECILIA CAMERO
56 CASEQUIN, DONNA RIZA MAGSINO
57 CATIIL, MARIZA DE GUZMAN
58 COSICO, RUSSEL SON ALVIZ
59 CRUJEDO, FELROSE GERMAN
60 CUBILLAS, MARCO ANTONIO PAANO
61 CUDINO, JERRY BRANDINO

62 DACASIN, JOSEPH ABUEL
63 DACMEG, FRED BULGAN
64 DADEA, EMERIN DONES
65 DAYOT, CICELIA TOH
66 DE JURAS, ARLENE PAUMBOY
67 DEL ROSARIO, ERICKSON FERRARIS
68 DENNIE, HAIDEE SUAREZ
69 DICEN, JACQUELINE AT-AT
70 DIMARANAN, KEITH HARVEY COBRANA
71 DOTIMAS, CHRISTIAN NOEL MANUEL
72 DUMAGAT, ELIEZER BAYACSAN
73 DUMASIG, WILFREDO JR SARONG

74 EGOY, ERROL LACONSAY
75 ELLETA, RONALD ACERO
76 ESCARIO, MARIA PERPETUAL BOCALAN
77 ESTERNON, FREDERICK JAVIER
78 ESTOQUE, CRUSTY TUDTUD

79 FACALE, FOREST ATIWAG
80 FACAYYAO, ESTEMO FACALI
81 FULO, ANA ALBAO

82 GALAGATE, RICKY JOHN PAMPOLINA
83 GALAWAN, FHAISAL SAJOR
84 GARCIA, VENICE MARIE CABATO
85 GAWILAN, EVANGELINE GABAS
86 GIBE, RONIÑO CARAMIHAN

87 H ALI, ABDUL KARIM GUILING
88 HADJI YASSIN, NABIL ABDULHAMID
89 HJ LUKMAN, SHERWINA SANUSI

90 INTIG, GLENNETH CACHO
91 ISAAC, CARYGINE VILLARICO

92 JAMIL, MAHYUDDIN SALIH
93 JIMENEZ, CER JAY BUERANO

94 KADIR, NORHAYA BINASING

95 LABADCHAN, ANTONIO JR SIBLAGAN
96 LABAO, ROSEMARIE RIEL
97 LACHICA, CHERYL CANDIDO
98 LALIA, NOR-AINIE BANDRANG
99 LAM-OSEN, LOLINE SEBIO
100 LANDO, ROSIE TUNGGALONG
101 LICUDAN, MELROSE BALINGGAN
102 LITERA, JAMES SANTOS
103 LIYO, MARY ANN ALINDAN
104 LORA, MARY JANE DAPUNAN
105 LUKMAN, WELFHE MABIDA
106 LUMINTAC, JOEL SAAN
107 LUNA, DONALD ALDAY
108 LUNAS, MILDRED BOLISLIS

109 MACARANDAS, FAHAD ACMAD
110 MALAPIRA, ROSELYN SALVADOR
111 MANALO, MELANIE LUCILLO
112 MANGALI, MADELAINE MENDOZA
113 MANLIGUEZ, BREXAN LAMIGO
114 MARASIGAN, MARJORIE ALVAREZ
115 MARBELLA, GIGIE DELEON
116 MARFIL, JUAN JR LUMERIO
117 MARIANO, ROSE ANN GOMEZ
118 MARINAY, RYAN NOLASCO
119 MARQUEZ, TEODORICO JR LAPITAN
120 MATEUM, MELVIN MORES
121 MATIAS, PAULA JADE LOPEZ
122 MATSO, NOVER MARCELINO
123 MELECIO, NOEME ANAS
124 MERCADO, JOEL ANDIG
125 MICLAT, MELANIE PINEDA
126 MILLAN, ONESIMO JR VILLACILLO
127 MOHAMMAD ALI ABBAS, OMAR MAGUINDANAO
128 MORDIDO, LANNIENE SERASPE
129 MOTI, NOURODIN MALAWANI
130 MUHALLUS, AIZAR HALILULLA
131 MULANG, ROXANNE AWINGAN

132 NAVARRO, REINA HORNALES
133 NAZARENO, JOHNALIZA GONZALES

134 OARDE, JAY NEO
135 OLARITA, JIMMY CASTRODES
136 ORTIZ, ROBERT ROMUALDO

137 PAANOD, ARNOLD SALINO
138 PADAYA, ARIEL TAMBUNAN
139 PANAGLIMA, KIRSTEN LEIGH MORA
140 PANALIGAN, JEFFERSON VALENCIA
141 PANGANIBAN, BLESSED JOY LICAYAN
142 PARDUCHO, MA KRISTINA ALCARAZ
143 PARILLA, MARY JANE BONGABONG
144 PASCUA, CLEA ANCHETA
145 PASCUA, RELEAH HERNANDEZ
146 PAZ, PAUL ERIC CALABIA
147 PEÑA, JINKY GESMUNDO
148 PIMENTEL, DEXTER JAN NUÑEZ
149 PIZARRO, MICHAEL JAN PALABRICA
150 POGOY, ALLAN BRIAN FUENTES
151 PORBIDO, MA LOIZA ORANDE

152 QUIMPAN, JIMMY JR MAGHUYOP
153 QUINTOS, ARALYN LAPITAN

154 RALLETA, CLARENCE REVEL CORPUZ
155 RAMIREZ, NORMAN QUINDAO
156 RANGIRIS, ALIMODEN BANTUAS
157 RASCAL, SAMSODIN BANI
158 REBUYON, ROSEANNE MANGUYAB
159 RELLAMA, BEN JOHN LOR
160 REMEDIO, REGINALD LANOTE
161 RODELAS, JOSEPHINE NARES
162 RODRIGUEZ, MAYBELLE KRISTINE NANTESA
163 ROMULO, JONALYN MANZANO

164 SABALLA, EDDIE PAUL METANTE
165 SABLING, JOEL ESNARA
166 SALINAS, MAE GALVEZ
167 SALUDO, JONAS PAOLO MAGSINO
168 SAN GABRIEL, ARVIN JOHN ALPECHE
169 SAN JUAN, VEVERLE DE LOS ANGELES
170 SANCHEZ, MARY YIEN JALINA
171 SANFUEGO, ALBERT DELA CRUZ
172 SANTOS, RIZEL DELA CRUZ
173 SAPALO, RENATO CONCEPCION
174 SARAGOZA, JOCELYN VARGAS
175 SARIP, SAIPODEN DECAMPONG
176 SAYDOVEN, HELANY AYNGAN
177 SERINA, MELWIDA BONGAS
178 SOBIONO, DOMINGO ESTOSE
179 SUMASTRE, MARIDEL FERNANDEZ
180 SUMAYA, SUZETTE ESGUERRA

181 TABILLA, EBENEZER AGUSTIN
182 TEJOR, EMELYN LOAYON
183 TEÑOSO, KRISTIAN JB DRIZ
184 TINGARA-AN, SAMRODIN AMPA
185 TOME, RECO JALAPADAN
186 TORRES, MANUEL JR ATIS
187 TULIAO, MARK ANTHONY CATAGGATAN

188 VALERIANO, ERVIN SIENDO
189 VERIDIANO, RIZZA KAREN ARGOSINO
190 VILLANUEVA, RHEA DEL MUNDO
191 VISPO, KRISTINE COMO

192 WALSI-EN, ANALYN BUTAG
193 WAYAN, DESHEL MARTINEZ

194 YPARRAGUIRRE, JANE MEMBREVE
NOTHING FOLLOWS———————-

Manila, Philippines
JULY 8, 2008

Back to the top: Forester Exam Results (July 2008)

Waiting for the next blockbuster to be shown? Check out WazzupManila’s

MOVIES & MOVIE PROMO SECTION

for freebies and opportunities to win exciting prizes!

“To be educated, a person doesn’t have to know much or be informed, but he or she does have to have been exposed vulnerably to the transformative events of an engaged human life…

One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated.”
-Thomas Moore

An old, wise man once asked his disciples, which of the two is tougher, the teeth or the tongue. Without waiting for a reply, he told them that it is the tongue, and opened his mouth for his disciples to witness the proof: There was no teeth left; only the tongue remained.

In life, there are things that we unconsciously take for granted. Glaring examples include our parents’ love and our spouse’s commitment. Only when we lose it, do we realize the extent of our loss regret starts to set in.

Life itself is unpredictable. Yet, many fools spend their lifetimes pursuing matters of transient value. Just as freedom is not free, life is not a right too; it is a privilege bestowed only on a lucky few.

Some people wants to lead extraordinary lives. They find ordinary life to be too mundane. “I crave for more excitement”, they say. So used are humans in satisfying “I”, that they tend to forget the feelings of their loved ones. But whenever crisis strikes these people, Who will fight, grieve and weep for them? Alas, it is their closest kins whom they have taken for granted for so long.

Love, courage, compassion - These are the values that truly matter, yet we do not work for. It is as though people believed that they were entitled to love and concern ever since birth. The truth is that these people have not seen the true sufferings of life to know how hard life can sometimes be.

When love ones leave us, they do not die. They remain alive in our hearts. The greatest tragedy in life is not the loss of monetary wealth or even health. It is losing a love one when it has become too late. For when that happens, there will be no more chance to spend one a single moment to correct it.

.Always cherish what you have. Remember, people who have truly matured are capable of thinking for people other than themselves. That is the true beauty of life – How to overcome your own selfish needs, and help others instead.

The true meaning of life is being able to prove through thoughts and actions, one’s love and care to their loved ones as well as others, so the chain of love can continue to be passed on throughout mankind’s history.

If “good” life requires having to slog and spend all time at work, it would be a lot better to slow down the pace and lead an ordinary life and still able to help others at the same time.

The beauty of life should never be tainted by stains of self-ego.

Be ordinary. Be beautiful.

“All my possessions for a moment of time.”
Queen Elizabeth