Pinoy students bag 39 medals in Thailand math tilt

November 7, 2008 – 1:29pm
A delegation of elementary and high school students showed the world the Filipino students’ prowess in mathematics after they hauled 39 medals in the recently-concluded 2008 International Mathematics Competition (IMC) in Thailand.

In a statement from the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines Friday, Dr. Simon Chua, MTG president and IMC Philippine delegation head, said Filipino students won two gold medals, 15 silvers and 22 bronze medals in the contest, held in the northern city of Chiang Mai from October 21 to 31.

The first gold was won by Ma. Czarina Angela Lao of St. Jude Catholic School. She was the lone gold medalist from the country in the individual competition in the elementary level. The other gold was won by Philippine Team A composed of Geraldine Baniqued of St. Paul College Pasig, Carmela Antoinette Lao of St. Jude Catholic School, Aileen Giselle Chua of Grace Christian High School and Jillian Kristel Sy of Chiang Kai Shek College.

Philippine Team A in the elementary level, composed of Austin Edrich Chua, Ma. Czarina Angela Lao, John Thomas Chuatak, all of St. Jude Catholic School and Aldrich Aldwin Mayoralgo of Xavier School, meanwhile, won a silver in the team competition. Philippine Teams E and A bagged bronzes in the group category.

The silver medalists from the Philippines in the elementary individual contest are Dielle Tio of St. Stephen’s High School, Hubert Yao of Iloilo Central Commercial High School, Sean Timothy Cheng of Grace Christian High School, and Aldrich Aldwin Mayoralgo of Xavier School.

In the secondary division, the individual silver medalists are Carlo Francisco Adajar of PAREF Southridge in Alabang, Vance Eldric Go of St. Jude Catholic School, Ricci Ryan Rojo of Zamboanga Chong Hua High School, Geraldine Baniqued of St. Paul College Pasig, John Russell Virata of Gideon Academy and Jillian Kristel Sy of Chiang Kai Shek College. 

The bronze medalists in the individual contest in the IMC are Philip Lizarda of San Beda College Alabang, Austin Edrich Chua of St. Jude Catholic School, Andrew Joelle Caguntas of Bangkal Elementary School, Jakov Ivan Dumbrique of St. Paul College of Ilocos Sur, Martin Lewis Koa of St. Jude Catholic School, Richard Milante of Legazpi Hope Christian School, Jason Allan Tan of Jubilee Christian Academy, Arnold Lindros Lau of Xavier School, Mary Kryslette Bunyi of San Beda College Alabang, Regina Paz Onglao of St. Paul College Pasig, Carmela Antoinette Lao of St. Jude Catholic School, Evan Niccolo Lao of Xavier School, Alvin Uy Lim of Quezon City Science High School, Ervin Fredrick Dy of Chiang Kai Shek College, Elvis Jeremy Ayroso of Philippine Science High School;

Arielle Elise Chua of St. Jude Catholic School, Aileen Giselle Chua of Grace Christian High School, Charles Rainier Belga of Taguig Science High School, Joel Edward Cardinal of Makati Science High School, Sterling Alvin Tiu of St. Stephen’s High School, John Thomas Chuatak of St. Stephen’s High School, Aileen Jennifer Cu of UNO High School, Joelle Sophia Pena of Saint Pedro Poveda College, and Sarah Jane Cua of Pangasinan Universal Institute, who is the youngest contestant in the Philippine Team in the high school division.

The Philippines placed fourth among 25 countries with math powerhouse China topping the contest with 51 medals followed by host Thailand with 49 and Indonesia, 41. Trailing the Philippines are Taiwan, 37; Bulgaria, 25; Hong Kong, 23; Singapore, 16; Malaysia, 10; and South Korea, 10.

“Our contestants rose above the challenge and proved that they can compete with other students from other countries. We at the Mathematics Trainers Guild Philippines are very happy with their outstanding performance,” Chua said.

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and Education Minister Srimuang Charoensiri opened the math competition on October 26, underscoring the importance of the contest, which drew 25 countries including math powerhouse China.

Last year, the Philippines won 14 medals in the same contest held in Hong Kong.

Besides the Philippines, other countries that participated in the contest are Australia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Thailand, Canada, Laos, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Germany, Iran, Rwanda, South Africa, and Cyprus.

The trainers and coaches of the students are Dr. Eduardo Dela Cruz, dean of the School of Education and Normal of Arellano University; Sid Aguilar, supervisor of DepEd Taguig City;  Priscilla De Sagun, assistant schools division superintendent of Makati; Levita Portugal of the Science Education Institute of the Department of Science and Technology; Roberto Degolacion, Manuel Kotah, Emmanuel Pena, Jonathan Glorial, all team and deputy team leaders.


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2 Churches againts ‘Angels and Demons’ filming

June 17, 2008 – 1:43pm

        The Italian Catholic Church has refused to let a new movie based on a Dan Brown novel be filmed in churches in Rome after the author’s "The Da Vinci Code" novel and film outraged the Vatican.

"Angels and Demons," starring Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor, is the prequel to Brown’s best-selling novel. The book is set mostly in Rome and the Vatican. Filming began this month at some of the capital’s most famous sights including Piazza Navona and Piazza del Popolo, but entry was denied to the churches of Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria. The two famous Rome churches are among around 700 places of worship that are owned by the Italian interior ministry and run by Italy’s Church. Archdiocese spokesman Rev. Marco Fibbi said the interior ministry had received a request from the film’s producers to use the churches. The interior ministry asked the archdiocese for its opinion and it was negative.

"I don’t think they would have asked us directly because they knew what the answer would be," Fibbi told Reuters. "The Da Vinci Code" outraged the Vatican and some Catholics because of its storyline that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, creating a royal blood line that Church officials kept secret for centuries.Christians are taught that Jesus never married, was crucified and rose from the dead.

Santa Maria del Popolo is home of two masterpieces by Caravaggio — "The Crucifixion of St. Peter" and "The Conversion of St. Paul." Fibbi said permission to film in Italian churches is granted in exceptional circumstances and usually if the production is compatible with religious sentiment or if it is a documentary about religion or art.


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Australia to lure tourists with epic movie with Kidman, Jackman

June 17, 2008 – 1:37pm
     Australia's Best Actor and Actress
                                                           
      An epic Australian outback movie starring Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman will spearhead a new tourism campaign designed to recapture the country’s "mojo" and lure more visitors Down Under. Titled "Australia" and directed by flamboyant home-grown director Baz Luhrmann, the A$130 million ($122 million) film follows an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a sprawling property and falls in love with a rugged drover (Jackman). With sweeping Outback scenery and set in northern Australia on the eve of World War Two, "Australia" will see Kidman and Jackman take 2,000 cattle overland and caught in the wartime bombing of Darwin by the Japanese. "This movie will potentially be seen by tens of millions of people and it will bring to life little-known aspects of Australia’s extraordinary natural environment, history, and indigenous culture," Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said at the weekend. Tourism Australia will kick off an international marketing campaign to coincide with the film’s planned release in November, Ferguson said. The epic was tipped to bring the biggest boost to tourism since Crocodile Dundee in 1986. Some cinema critics have predicted the film will be an amalgam of Australian cliches. But tourism industry officials are hopeful the movie epic will kickstart the country’s tourist arrivals which have stagnated since the 2006 Sydney Olympics. The film, Luhrmann’s first film since Moulin Rouge in 2001, has been shot on location in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Northern Territory capital Darwin and the tropical city of Bowen. Australia’s government recently dumped the controversial A$180 million "Where the bloody hell are you?" tourism campaign featuring a bikini model, which was banned in Britain and Canada. Ferguson has flagged a new international campaign presenting Australia for the next three years as a "mature, inviting country", while riding on the expected popularity of "Australia" with international audiences. Tourism numbers have fallen off recently in the face of a Australian dollar approaching parity with the U.S. greenback and with rising fuel and airline ticket prices keeping many potential visitors away. Tourism industry spokesman Christopher Brown this month lamented that Australians had "lost our mojo" for tourists. Tourism data in April showed signs of weakness from key markets including Japan, Hong Kong and Britain. Overseas arrivals were down 1.2 per cent in February and 0.7 per cent in January. Holidaymakers injected A$85 billion into the A$1 trillion economy in 2006 to 2007, with overseas visitors accounting for A$22 billion of that, according to the latest Australia Bureau of Statistics data. Tourism accounted for 3.7 pct of the Australian economy, but overseas arrivals were down 1.2 pct in February. A Tourism Australia official this week told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that "Australia" would be "basically a two and a half hour ad" for the country.

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David Archuleta’s Stage Dad: Out!

May 12, 2008 – 3:03am

His son might have made it to the top three, but David Archuleta’s meddlesome dad has been given the boot backstage at American Idol.

Producers have banned Jeff Archuleta from prepping the 17-year-old’s performances after an unauthorized lyric change last week cost the show beaucoup bucks in lawyers’ fees.

A source close to the show, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press, said that the elder Archuleta ignored warnings and encouraged his son to alter the lyrics to "Stand By Me" by throwing in a verse from Sean Kingston’s "Beautiful Girls." TMZ broke the story Friday.


Earlier that day, the Idol front-runner received a hero’s welcome in his hometown of Murray, Utah, that left the boy in tears. Flanked by security guards, Archuleta made appearances at the mall and on local news before giving a mini-concert in front of 20,000 people at his own high school, during which he sang "Stand By Me." He capped off the night by singing the national anthem at game three of the NBA Playoffs between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Drew Rindlisbacher, a ninth grader at Murray High School, told E! News, "It was awesome to hear him sing again. He was even better than he was when we went to Hillcrest Junior High together. He sang at every talent show and I’ve always been a fan."

No word on whether Archuleta’s stage dad was around during the day’s events, but chances are…he was.


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American Idol 7 - ebay memorabilia

May 10, 2008 – 6:46am
 david archuleta

The "American Idol" Final 3 — DAVID COOK, DAVID ARCHULETA and SYESHA MERCADO – may be getting attention on the tube but the finalists are also making waves on the Internet eBay in particular. In the past month, David Cook has been winning the Web race with 257 items relating to him already sold! The item that has gone for the most — at $202.50 — is David Cook memoribilia from his first band Axium.

Meanwhile, David Archuleta has 191 items sold, with the David Archuleta doll being the top seller of the teen heartthrob’s items at $124.49. And "Idol"’s remaining girl, Syesha, only has one item sold with 22 Syesha Mercado items still listed.


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Survivor Micronesia

May 9, 2008 – 7:06am

 

 survivor micronesia

The backstabbing continued on the current, contentious season of "Survivor " as the final four women teamed up to outwit the sole surviving man.

In a move suggested by CIRIE and carried out by NATALIE, the women convinced shaggy-haired, good-natured ERIK to give up his immunity necklace, before unceremoniously ousting the unsuspecting young ice cream scooper from Michigan from the game.

The episode began with Erik singing a different tune to all of the women, making contradictory promises and in the process, turning himself into a target. He won the first reward challenge (based on knowledge of the previous seasons of the show) and took AMANDA with him on his helicopter ride and spa overnight, despite having also promised to take Natalie. He also broke a second promise to Natalie, having vowed to send her to Exile if he didn’t take her on the reward challenge, by sending PARVATI to Exile.

On the helicopter ride, Erik mentioned to Amanda that part of the reason he chose her was because he wanted to get to know her better as a friend, and also noted, "If I brought Natalie there’d be no relaxation."

Parvati spent her time on Exile relaxing, and didn’t bother to look for the immunity idol, as her safety seemed set in stone by her alliance with Cirie and Amanda.

After Erik, Amanda and Parvati returned to camp, it was time for the immunity challenge. The challenge consisted of a series of puzzles, and Erik blew away the competition, handily winning immunity.

Back at camp, Natalie’s fate seemed sealed. She woefully asked the other women if she would be voted out that night, and they said that it was likely. The situation seemed dour for the personal trainer/bartender from Texas, until Cirie had another game-changing brainstorm, saying, "I wonder if [Erik] would give Nat his necklace…"

Natalie was sure he would never agree to such a foolish proposition, but gamely gave it a shot anyway, cornering Erik privately. Erik immediately refused to give up his immunity necklace, but Natalie pressured him: "Just hear me out … [if] you give me your necklace tonight, Cirie said she would hands down vote for Amanda." Natalie attempted to convince Erik that he would have to display his loyalty to Cirie by giving up immunity in order for her to vote off Amanda. After talking with Cirie, it seems that Erik was set to do the unthinkable — give up his hard-won immunity.

At tribal council, the girls hammered at Erik, telling him he needed to win back their trust, and when host JEFF PROBST asked if he’d like to give up his immunity, Erik handed off the necklace to Natalie.

Of course, one by one, the women voted for him to leave. Natalie said, "I don’t even know what to say but thank you," as she cast her vote. Cirie spoke words of wisdom, saying, "My mother always told me you may not always be able to beat them with your [muscles], but you’ll always be able to beat them with [your brain]." Parvati said, "You’ll officially go down as the dumbest survivor ever in the history of ‘Survivor’ — ever," while Amanda was speechless.

Upon hearing the news that the game was over for him, Erik said simply, "You guys drive me crazy."

Jeff addressed the assembled players and jurors and opined, "I think that is what you call a life lesson," while juror JAMES said with glee, "I’ve [ended] my reign as dumbest survivor ever!"


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