GGQ Jul-Sep 2013

G GQ GENERAL SANTOS CITY’S MAGAZINE TAKES ON GENSAN AND THE GLOBAL SCENE!

GENSAN GAZER QUARTERLY

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2013

CAR NIV 15 ALE TH TUNA FESTIVAL | 15TH TUNA CONGRESS

NYC MUST-SEES | GENSAN’S CHANGING NIGHTSCAPE HUMANITARIANISM | VOLUNTEERISM | GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY FRACKING: A DEADLY POWER SURGE | DIET FADS ALL ABOUT HYPE OR HEALTH? REVIEWS: VAMPIRE WEEKEND | DAFT PUNK | THOR | HOSSEINI | PHILPOP 2013 SOCIAL MEDIA CHAOS | HOT GADGETS | GGQ IN NEW YORK

MORE STORIES!

BEAUTY & BENEVOLENCE

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM, MARIA?

MARIA HOEFERT (PHOTOGRAPHY BY APPLE GREATSON FRANCISCO)

Camella General Santos: First of its Kind in Boom City Gensan

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amella General Santos is the first of its kind in the boom city of General Santos. This masterplanned community is a premier subdivision known for prestige and quality, the first Caribbean-themed residential development in Gensan, boasting of a wide range of house designs, land area, and price options.

The elegantly masterplanned Camella General

Santos residential enclave is the first gated community with 24-hour security monitoring and perimeter fence system designed to keep the area safe and secure at all times.

Camella’s Caribbean motif is complemented by its trademark tree-lined Grand Entrance and the Central Plaza, on open space with amenities such as the Grand Clubhouse, Children’s Playground, play courts, pocket gardens, and soon,

Prime location / Accessibility:

Within 3 km from SM City / Robinsons Place / KCC, very near to Quantum School

Comfort / Convenience Affordable / Value for Money Exclusive Lifestyle

swimming pool and children’s wading pool.

Camella General Santos, which also provides its homeowners and their families with shuttle service to select destinations in the city and back, is the only subdivision in Gensan with a dedicated property management company that oversees the community’s cleanliness, upkeep, and maintenance.

Over the course of its

growth, Camella General Santos has perfected its esteemed Home Collection, which showcases designs masterfully crafted to style and function with different homeowner types in mind, providing a wide range of house models to choose from, even offering lotonly packages for investors.

Its Camella Home Series (PHP 1.1-2.5 M) features elegant house models ideal for start-up families and young professionals. The Crown Jewels Series (PHP 2.6-3.5 M) suits the established individuals who seek maximum comfort and superlative elegance. The Luxuria Series (PHP 4-5 M) combines luster, luxury and lifestyle in one irresistible package.

Camella General Santos is a development of Camella, a subsidiary of Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc., the country’s largest homebuilder.

It has 35 years of experience, built more than 200,000 homes through 87 projects, and maintains a strong presence in Mega Manila and 19 other key provincial destinations and 44 cities and municipalities, while expanding to other regions. For more information, call 083-553-3377 or log on to www.camella.com.ph.

DISCOVER the Finest Spa in Gensan

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inally, an elegant spa to soothe your passion for luxury and pampering right in the heart of the city.

This is Gwapaha Medical Spa. Yes, not just an ordinary spa. It is a medical spa.

When Dr. Teresita Ferrariz thought of putting up a health resort in the city, she wanted to give her town folks world class services inspired by her numerous travels around the world.

More than two decades of practice as one of the top dermatologists in the country today, Dr. Tess says it is time to give back to the city of her childhood.

Dr. Tess, also vice president of the Philippine Academy of Dermatologic Surgery Foundation, Inc. (PASDSFI), used to spend a week each month in General Santos City to check on her patients and clients who have grown in numbers throughout the years when not in her Makati clinic or on one of her constant travels abroad.

She thought of moving to a bigger clinic. She instead ended up putting a medical spa.

A place where one gets to get the skin care they need and a place where they can indulge in the luxury and privacy of a spa like no other in the city.

The added silver lining to it? Dr. Tess now spends more of her clinic time here.

Do not be fooled by the cramp but chic reception of this exquisitely named spa. Behind the reception desk at the entrance is a spacious 30-square meter of elegantly designed massage therapy room that has a generous tub, a hot and cold shower and a smoked glass-enclosed steam bath one finds only in the best saunas and health spas in the world.

Gwapaha Medical Spa offers a very personalized service by foreigntrained health therapists and exclusive use of the room that has three massage beds.

The mood inside can be tailored to one’s tastes – ranging from the aroma, essences and essential oils to the tone of the lighting and tune of soft piped in music. You can even play your own sweet and sexy music from your flash disk.

Dr. Tess prides her spa as a dream skin care and health clinic and guarantees a reinvigorating and refreshing finish after a session.

Be pampered with the wide array of relaxing massages and the house’s signature Gwapaha Massage – where the East blends with the West – a fusion of deep tissue techniques that includes Thai stretching and Hawaiian Lomi using a blend of ginger, rosemary, and peppermint

essential oils.

The couple package that includes therapy For Him (foot spa and sports massage), For Her (coffee body scrub and a combination massage) are a treat to remember. And be spoiled with the spa’s Bathing Ritual (salt body scrub, milk bath, and Gwapaha’s signature massage).

Body Beautiful (foot spa, seaweed body scrub, and anti-aging facial) is equally rewarding.

For personal pampering treats, Gwapaha offers body treatments such as Salt & Aloe Vera Body Scrub, Davao Coffee Body Scrub, Seaweed Marine Body Care by Algotherm™, Anti Cellulite Firming Body Treatment by Algotherm™, as well as Facials by Biodroga™, Nourishing & Oxygenating Facial, Anti Aging Phyto Stem Cell Facial, and Men’s Vitality Facial. Who says vanity is only for women?

And remember Dr. Tess is one of the best dermatologists in the country today – a feat General Santos can surely be proud of.

Gwapaha also offers non-surgical dermatology procedures for Skin Diseases, Skin Care, Warts/Moles/ Cyst Removal, Falling Hair, Keloid Removal/Hypertropic Scars, Stretch Marks, Scar Revision, Microdermabrasion/Diamond Peel, and Permanent Hair Reduction (IPL).

Gwapaha Medical Spa also provides cutting edge dermatologic procedures such as Botox Injection, Dermal Filler & Fat Transfer, Sclerotherapy, Ambulatory Phlebectomy/EVLT, Dermabrasion/Laser Resurfacing, Skin Peeling, Glycolic Peel, Obagi Blue Peel, Platelet Rich Plasma, Derma Roller/Skin Needling, Radio Frequency & Cavitation, Laser Surgery, and Permanent Makeup.

The medical spa’s comprehensive cosmetic surgery procedures include Scar Revision, Blepharoplasty, Rhinoplasty (Silicon Implant, Cartilage, Gortex, Filler), Facelift/Temporal Lift, Brow Lift, Ear Repair, Cleft Chin/Chin Augmentation, Dimple, Lip Augmentation, Liposuction, Hair Transplant/Micro Hair Restoration, Breast Surgery, Buttocks Lift, and Mesotherapy.

We all deserve a quality me time and a little bit of pampering every now and then. Visit Gwapaha Medical Spa now, and start feeling and looking even more beautiful once again.

C

ome on, spoil yourself, a little bit once again.

Gwapaha Medical Spa is located at the 2nd Floor JMP Building along San Miguel St. fronting SM City Gensan. For inquiry and reservation, call +63 83 5522002, +63 922 2199650, or +63 916 3333887.

GGQ • Q3 2013

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Photo by Gimma Samalca

From the Editor...

What’sInside

10 11 12 17 18 20 22 24 26 29 30 32 34 36 38

15th Tuna Festival/15th Tuna Congress Gensan’s Changing Nightscape Dolefil and Mahintana Foundation’s Daycare Upgrade Project Humanitarian Project Ideas Big & Small Summertime Hunger Spike Beauty & Benevolence: How Do You Solve a Problem, Maria?

Hope Flows: Bringing Clean Water to Mindanao One School at a Time Centerfold: Maria Hoefert Music Mixx | Books Buzz Travel Tales & Trivia: NYC Must-Sees GGQ in New York Environment Debate: A Deadly Power Surge Gadget Talk: Sony Xperia ZR, Pentax GW-III Health & Fitness: Eat Real Kiss of Death: Why is Lead in Lipstick?

Retail Therapy Social Media Chaos Glance of Greatson

COVER STORY REGULAR FEATURES

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G GQ

JULY-SEPTEMBER 2013

CAR NIV ALE

1515TH TH TUNA FESTIVAL TUNA CONGRESS

|

NYC MUST-SEES | GENSAN’S CHANGING NIGHTSCAPE HUMANITARIANISM | VOLUNTEERISM | GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY FRACKING: A DEADLY POWER SURGE | DIET FADS ALL ABOUT HYPE OR HEALTH? REVIEWS: VAMPIRE WEEKEND | DAFT PUNK | THOR | HOSSEINI | PHILPOP 2013 SOCIAL MEDIA CHAOS | HOT GADGETS | GGQ IN NEW YORK

MORE STORIES!

BEAUTY & BENEVOLENCE

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM, MARIA?

MARIA HOEFERT (PHOTOGRAPHY BY APPLE GREATSON FRANCISCO)

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GGQ • Q2 2013

T

So when our de facto photographer Apple Greatson Francisco chanced upon that now famous beach shoot in Gumasa, Sarangani with Maria Hoefert, a German volunteer social worker currently on assignment in Gensan, we didn’t pass up the chance to feature the very personification of beauty and benevolence no less. And so finally, as a result, we present our own

Gensan Gazer™ Quarterly (GGQ) Magazine is published by Armanikolas Publishing ®™ and printed in General Santos City, Philippines.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY’S MAGAZINE TAKES ON GENSAN AND THE GLOBAL SCENE!

GENSAN GAZER QUARTERLY

he beauty of creating a magazine issue from scratch, at least the GGQ way, is that everything evolves as the pages flourish and take shape. There are the regular columns that sprout out first, and as the cover story is determined all the other complementing features fall into place.

Proud member of the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated

centerfold girl for the very first time -- Maria.

The rest -- a news story and several features on humanitarian work and volunteerism -- followed suit, completing this issue’s cover feature.

Of course, no GGQ issue is ever complete without Travel Tales & Trivia, and this time we take you back to the Big Apple, where our own magazine actually met and posed with three famous New Yorkers.

of the different events and competitions you might want to partipate in or just watch.

In this issue we pore over our tech gadget picks Sony Xperia ZR and Pentax GWIII, new books by Khaled Hosseini and Brad Thor, and new albums by Daft Punk and Vampire Weekend, as well as PhilPop 2013, featuring finalists and winners of the 2013 Philippine Popular Music Festival.

Elsewhere, the debate goes on about whether or not fracking poses more havoc than help, and whether fad diets are all about health or just hype.

There’s more to see here and in the counterpart eZine on gensangazer.com -- which now has a loyal following in 392 cities across 63 nations (Google Analytics, 24 August 2013). Happy 45th Charter Anniversary, Gensan!

Get a quick refresher on the 2013 Tuna Festival here, too, and perhaps take a pick

Armando Nicolas P J Editor-in-Chief

GGQ Q3 - JUL-SEP 2013 GGQ shall not, without the consent of the Publisher, be given, lent, resold, used as textbook, hired out or otherwise disposed of; or affixed to any part of any publication or advertising material in any way whatsoever. While all reasonable care is taken for contributed material, no responsibility will be assumed for its return or for corrections.

Opinions expressed or implied are solely those of the authors, and are not necessarily endorsed by the Publisher. Advertisers and/or their

representatives shall indemnify the Publisher in relation to any defamation, breach, royalties, intellectual property infringements, unfair trade practices, or privacy rights violations in their ad material. All contributions must be submitted to gensangazer@gmail.com and are subject to editorial review for possible inclusion in GGQ Magazine.

Armanikolas Publishing ®™ B34-L7 Doña Soledad II A, Espina Gen. Santos City 9500 Philippines Phone : +63-83-8269221 Phone : +63-83-5547055 Website : www.gensangazer.com Website : www.visitfilipinas.com

ALL CONTENT SUBMITTED

BY FREELANCE WRITERS AND/OR PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM GENERAL SANTOS AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD, AS WELL AS ADS/ CONTENT REUSED GRATIS ARE PUBLISHED SOLELY FOR THEIR MERIT AND BOTH PARTIES’ MUTUAL EXPOSURE AND BENEFIT. THE AUTHORS EXERCISE FULL OWNERSHIP OVER THEIR WORKS, AND ARE NOT EMPLOYED BY GGQ.

15TH NATIONAL TUNA CONGRESS

ROUND-UP GENSAN uuu

15TH TUNA FESTIVAL General Santos City is one of the biggest exporters of premium grade tuna to Europe, Japan, and North America. Six of the eight tuna processing plants in the Philippines are based in Gensan. The tuna industry provides jobs to nearly 10,000 Gensanites, making the industry flourish through the years.

Carrying on with the institution and tradition surrounding this seafood produce, one of the world’s longest-running tuna festivals is celebrated in General Santos, the country’s tuna capital. Simply called Tuna Festival or TunaFest (similar names are used in celebrations elsewhere in the world), the annual month-long festivities highlight the role and contributions that the industry serves, as well as stand as the centerpiece of Gensan’s city charter anniversary.

This September, the 15th Tuna Festival marks General Santos City’s 45th Charter Anniversary. (See page 4 for the complete 2013 TunaFest calendar of activities.)

TunaFest 2013 sets the festive tone with the month-long Tuna Village Flea Market Display, Tuna Village Carnival, SMB Party Zone, and the Coke Pasaya Food Court at the Oval Plaza beginning August 15.

Among the sports highlights of the 15th TunaFest are the 4th GSC TunaFest Lawn Tennis National Open taking place on September 4-8 at the GSC Tennis Club, and the Yellowfin Tuna Mountain Bike Challenge - Year XII on Sunday, September 1.

On September 5, a ceremonial flag raising, the Almusal Alay sa Kapwa (charity community breakfast), and the Tuna Float Parade make way for and lead up to the TunaFest Grand Opening at the Oval Grandstand.

Other major spectacles include the Brigada TEEN Guwang (talent show), Globe Concert (musical extravaganza), TunaFest Duathlon 2013, the 1st SJSA TunaFest Jetski

Tuna Congress 2013, slated for September 6-7, launches the thrust for Celebrating 15 Years of Advocacy, Partnership and Collaboration, also the official theme of the event.

“This year, we have to celebrate the strength of the partnership between and among the private sector, government agencies, as well as our suppliers, sponsors, and supporters. Because of this collaboration, we all became part of a team, working hand in hand to tackle industry issues and challenges, and to find solutions,” states the organizer‘s official online communiqué.

“Through teamwork, we have achieved many things.

We have kept abreast with the latest trends in the tuna industry at the global level. We have institutionalized mechanisms to bring policy concerns to the doorsteps of policy makers for reforms. We were able to improve the image of our tuna industry among foreign investors, which resulted to more investments and business partnerships. The most recent milestone is the extension (additional years) of the Philippines’ fishing access to the High Seas Pocket 1 for its fleet of 36 ice-chilled fishing boats as granted at the 9th

regular session of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

“This commemoration also means that we have to continue to look forward to the future with enthusiasm. It tells us that when we continue to work together as a dynamic team, we can achieve more and make our country’s tuna industry stronger and more sustainable,” the communiqué concludes.

The 15th Tuna Congress is organized by the Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc. (SFFAII), a non-government, non-profit organization founded in 1999 as a conglomeration of 7 associations with over 100 companies involved in fishing, canning, and fish/aquaculture production and processing.

Its member-associations include the Southern Philippines Boat Owners and Tuna Association (SPBOTA), South Cotabato Purse Seiners Association (SOCOPA), Umbrella Fish Landing Association (UFLA) Chamber of Aquaculture and Ancillary Industries of Sarangani, Inc. (CHAINS), Tuna Canners Association General Santos (TCAGS), Fresh Frozen Seafood Association-Tuna Processors Philippines, Inc. (FFSA-TPPI), and the Tuna Cooperative of General Santos City (Tuna Co-op). v

Invitational Challenge, the 1st Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera Cup (shooting competition), Smart Concert, Bombo Radyo Bancarera, Talent Showcase of the Generals, and the Tuna Pasiklaban Streetdancing Competition -- all leading up to TunaFest Closing Ceremony on September 9. v GGQ • Q3 2013

3

CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES

CALENDAR

4

GGQ • Q3 2013

OF

ACTIVITIES

Tuna Village (Flea Market Display) | Tuna Village CARNIVAL | SMB Party Zone | Coke Pasaya Food Court 4th GSC Tunafest Lawn Tennis National Open Talent Showcase of the Generals Photo Contest & Exhibit

Aug 15−Sep 15, Oval Plaza

Mission 2013: Handang Tumulong Sa ‘Yo Campus Radio Sound System Rumble Yellowfin Tuna Mountain Bike Challenge - Year XII PESO Job Fair 2013 8th Tuna Festival Skills Olympics Gensan’s Reality Band Idol Campus Radio Sayaw sa Baybay MISs Earth Show Flag Raising Ceremony Almusal Alay sa Kapwa Tuna Float Parade 15th Tuna Festival Grand Opening Fish Fest sa Fish Port Globe Concert Brigada TEEN Guwang 15th Tuna Congress Welcome Dinner TunaFest Duathlon 2013 1st SJSA Tunafest Jetski Invitational Challenge Hilig Extreme Games 1st Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera Cup Tuna Congress Farewell Dinner Smart Concert

Tuna Fun Run Bombo Radyo Bancarera 4th National Skimboarding Competition Talent Showcase of the Generals Tuna Pasiklaban Streetdancing Competition Tuna Festival Closing Ceremony Disko Sa Kalye

Aug 28, 8 am-5 pm, Gaisano Mall Aug 31, 7 pm, Oval Grandstand Sep 1, 6 am 8am, Oval Gymnasium Sep 2-3 TUE, Sep 3, Oval Grandstand WED, Sep 4, 7 pm, Oval Grandstand

Sep 4-8, GSC Tennis Club Aug 24−Sep 4

THU, Sep 5, 8 am, City Hall 9 am, Oval Gymnasium 3 pm, Oval Grandstand 6 pm, Oval Grandstand FRI, Sep 6, 7 am, Gensan Fish Port 6 pm, Oval Grandstand 7 pm, Oval Gymnasium 7 pm, Greenleaf Hotel SAT, Sep 7, 6 am, Oval plaza 6 am, Queen Tuna Park 8 am, Oval Plaza 8 am, Ngilay Shooting Range 7 pm, Greenleaf Hotel 7 pm, Oval Grandstand SUN, Sep 8, 4:30 am, Robinsons Place 6 am, Queen Tuna Park 4 pm, Queen Tuna Park 6 pm, Oval Grandstand MON, Sep 9, 3 pm 6 pm, Oval Grandstand 8 pm, Oval Plaza

PARTY ZONE GENSAN uuu

(This is the third reincarnation of this article, each time reflecting the recent changes in the subject.)

time kind, were not the order of the day (or night). Back then things had a way of simply shutting down and folding up when the darkness crept in.

Night creatures were mostly the sort of folk most people would not want to have anything to do with. Back then night time was meant for sleep and sleep alone.

nly a little over three decades ago, there were no nocturnal al fresco diners to speak of in General Santos (save for the makeshift street barbecue stands), and the all-night bars to hang out at were not the type you’d want to be seen in at all. There were no midnight sale weekends either, no 24hour restaurants and fastfood places with menus catering to every possible meal hour of the day (and night), and foam parties were unheard of.

But times have changed, and this once-sleepy town is bedbound no longer. The night has become its own spectacle, and everyone seems to want to be a part of it. Now it’s not unusual for office folk to dine out and party after work. Even school kids meet out to pore over homework over coffee instead of studying home.

Insomniacs now have lots of options other than tossing and turning in bed, and night owls are no longer a persecuted breed. It’s as if the city has awakened all of a sudden, and bed time no longer rules.

There were no Internet cafés then, of course, and no mobile phones either, so online chat marathons and impromptu meet-ups, let alone the night-

Whatever your nocturnal persuasions and night-time passions are, you’ve surely tasted Gensan’s awakening, and probably want to see and

Gensan’s Changing Nightscape

O

GREENLEAF HOTEL

hear and experience more.

With a little prodding, you’re on your way there.

Courtyard/Al Fresco Cafés & Bars -- It’d be safe to say that majority of the city’s close to half a million residents welcomed the rise of Robinsons Place Gensan, SM City General Santos, Microtel Valley High, and Veranza Mall, in that order, with open arms.

Today, the fully completed complexes within only about a 5-kilometer radius of each other, are home to the most frequented stretch of foodand-beverage space after all the stores and offices close shop for the day.

While dining out in the past was more like a toss-up between a couple of restaurants, now everyone is just spoiled for choice. Dinner nowadays can be had at any of the al fresco joints at Robinsons (Piyesta KTV & RestoBar packs the crowd here still), SM City (try Ranchero Nuevo), or Veranza (Chikaan, among many major restaurant chains), perhaps at C Bistro at Microtel Arcade, or Mint Café by the

pool at Greenleaf Hotel.

With dinner done and over with, pick your choice dessert and coffee concoction at Blugré Coffee, Cafe Amoree, or Coffee Club 101 if you’re still at SM City, maybe share a necessary yet sinful blueberry cheesecake with friends. The passion fruit panna cotta at Mint Café across from SM is something else -- a taste of heaven on earth to the palate.

LIVE MUSIC -- Live bands then were a specialty affair, and major concerts were something only happening in bigger cities elsewhere. Now there are countless destinations to head out to in Gensan if you’re looking for live music most weekend nights; there’s one to suit every taste and budget. In fact, you can pick any spot at Tiongson Arcade for a couple of beers and some pork barbecue sticks for less than 100-pesos (that’s just a little over US$2), and you get an earful of one corner bar’s house band to match. If you’d rather go where the crowd probably took the time to dress

VERANZA MALL

GGQ • Q3 2013

5

up, check out old-timers Babes Bar and Cassado Billiard Bar at East Asia Royale Hotel (EARH) for their nightly live bands (mostly Thursday through Saturday) with Babes Bar doubling as a dance club during weekends in a way dance clubs can only be in Gensan, for now anyway.

If you’re a bit on the mellow side, the newly opened Zanzibar at Greenleaf Hotel should work, but don’t expect to hear an Usher or Katy Perry tune here just yet. Talk is it would become Gensan’s premier club and discotheque, so let’s see how that works out.

Probably somewhere in the hazy region between Tiongson and the bars above are Mismo Acoustic Bar (Quirino), 6’Blings Ostrich Bar & Restaurant and Pahayahay Resto Bar (both along the National Highway), and Where Else? Bar (South Osmeña). It’d probably be asking too much to suggest hopping around and checking out all of them in one night, but sure -- as long as you don’t binge -- why not?

Foam Party Weekends -Thanks to EARH and major beer sponsors, Gensan may have just become the foam party capital of the Philippines. (A foam party is a social event popularized in Ibiza, where participants dance to music on a dance floor, usually in night clubs, covered in several feet of suds or bubbles dispensed from a foam machine.) The foam parties are a big draw, attracting even partyphiles from Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, and Manila. And no, you don’t have to soak in foam to soak in the party fever; EARH Arcade Two’s balcony bars offer a view of the bubble mayhem and the foamy dance floor by the concert stage.

WATERFRO NT/SEASIDE PROMENADE -- Waterfront dining and entertainment within the city would really add a new twist to Gensan’s night life, and talk is it may already be in the planning stage.

Think Lions Beach boardwalk bars and bistros, Queen Tuna

CHIC DINING AT C BISTRO

Park beachfront cafés and restaurants. (Silway Promenade is a bit of a stretch.) And while we’re on the subject of city beach venues, why not allnight rave parties at Gensan’s very own city beach instead of some far-flung resort miles and miles beyond the boondocks? SunCity Complex, also a hit hotel/dining/entertainment enclave, did the once unthinkable thing in Gensan when it covered its driveway and parking area with white sand to cook up a beach party vibe. We can only look forward to similar gimmicks in the future.

OTHER NIGHT SPECTACLES -- Midnight shows at the cinema would be great, too; 3-film movie marathons replete with dinner, supper, and breakfast are a real treat for movie diehards. Night bazaars and flea markets, city bar hopping bus tours, street party nights, the list goes on! The night-time vibe of Kalilangan

MINT CAFE’S PASSION FRUIT PANNA COTTA

(February) and Tuna Festival September) doesn’t really need to be just a twice-a-year affair.

GEtting Around at Night -- Tourists and visitors may find it a pleasant novelty to get around town in a tricycle, but frustration over the inability to hail a taxi even within city limits isn’t uncommon. Good if you’re taking off from a hotel, where the staff would gladly call a cab service for the guests, but what if you’re stuck around Quirino during a heavy downpour? It pays to keep these numbers handy (incidentally the same term Germans use for cellphone): Cede Taxi 552-3084, and Socsargen Taxi 552-1164.

G

one are Gensan’s backwater days of yore; the city is now a fullfledged urban zone, alive and awake even when it slumbers.

(GGQ) v

JAEGERMEISTER SHOTS AT C BISTRO

SM CITY GENSAN OPENING NIGHT 6

GGQ • Q3 2013

HUMANITARIANism

Dolefil and Mahintana’s Daycare Upgrade Project xcitement and joy accompanied the spirit of bayanihan (collaborative communal work) as Dolefil launched the repair and renovation work of the daycare center in People’s village, Barangay Cannery Site on April 19, 2013. Billed as Gintong Butil ng Karunungan Alay sa Ginintuang Kabataan, the project seeks to provide a better learning environment for the communities, in partnership with the barangay local government of Cannery Site and Mahintana Foundation, Inc. Volunteers from the Manufacturing Division of Dole Philippines, Barangay Cannery officials, Polomolok PNP (Philippine National Police), and residents of People’s Village all worked together in refurbishing the People’s Village Daycare Center, the first recipient of the project.

At the end of the community effort walls were repainted, a comfort room was constructed, and the rest of the center was redecorated into a more inviting setting for teacher and children alike. This endeavor seesk to pave the way toward a better and more conducive center for learning for the benefit of at least 25 pre-schoolers in People’s Village.

“We feel very lucky. This sense of elation is so new to us, since in my 12 years in the service as a daycare teacher, this is the very first time that this has ever

8

GGQ • Q3 2013

happened. It seemed almost impossible before. It is indeed a great blessing that Dolefil took on this partnership with the barangay to prioritize the development of our daycare center. We hope that Dolefil will continue to support and monitor our efforts here. This is by far the best initiative by Dolefil,” an excited Erlinda Daniel-Yurag, People’s Village Daycare Center teacher, heartily shares.

Gintong Butil is a joint project of Dole Philippines, Mahintana Foundation, and the barangay local government of Cannery Site through a project counterpart scheme and bayanihan. The project, advocating the Public-Private Partnership ideals, aims to repair and renovate six daycare centers in Barangay Cannery, Polomolok, South Cotabato, and is carried out as part of Dolefil’s 50th foundation anniversary celebration.

Similarly, on July 4, 2013, newly refurbished daycare centers were turned over to the community in De Castro Village in Barangay Cannery Site, South Cotabato.

To show the community’s appreciation of this effort, the children performed a thank you song to the sponsors and gave away roses. Personnel from the Howard Hubbard Memorial Hospital also gave out first aid kits, while the Kalsangi Ladies Association distributed toys and game sets, food, and gift bags for the kids and their parents. v

GGQ • Q3 2013

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HUMANITARIANism

Humanitarian Project Ideas Big and Small here are not many pastimes or engagements that are far more fulfilling than giving help to other people. On the other hand, there are numerous ways to be helpful and to actively take part in efforts to improve the quality of life of those in your community, city, or country. Humanitarian projects -- big or small -- require time and energy, and can be very demanding, but they are all worth your while in the end.

RAISE FUNDS -- Raising money for a cause, for charity, or for calamity relief is a common and practical humanitarian endeavor. Charitable institutions and disaster relief groups, in order to reach out and give help to their beneficiaries, need a steady source of funds; your contribution would be well-received.

You could organize a fun run, sell homemade cookies, host a talent show, or a set up a Tex-Mex lunch -- just make sure to advertise it so people are aware that the proceeds will go to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or World Vision, for example. These groups are trusted for channeling funds into different humanitarian efforts, as opposed to fake NGOs that fill the headlines of late.

PARTICIPATE IN Disaster Relief -- If and when a calamity occurs near your area, you can assemble a team to assist in the relief efforts. First check with local authorities to know where 10

GGQ • Q3 2013

your team would be needed the most.

You can distribute food, drinking water, blankets, clothes, and first aid supplies.

Severe storms or earthquakes can cause far-reaching devastation, and volunteers helping in relief operations can really make a difference.

SERVE YOUR Neighborhood -- As far as humanitarian work is concerned, why not start at home? Go around your block and get to know friends and neighbors who may have special needs, like old folks who need help with their grocery shopping or a single mom needing a hand with some errands in town.

Or you can clean the street and sidewalk across from your house and show your neighbors a good example. However small, neighborhood humanitarian activities are essential and may even serve to pave the way for much bigger projects.

Volunteer Locally -- No doubt there are many places where you can serve as volunteer to help people with the simplest of things. Hospitals, orphanages, churches, and community centers certainly need a helping hand in their day-to-day activities. You don’t have to go often: every other day, once a week, or twice a month -- depending on your availability -- is good enough.

These places are perfect because they bring you into contact with the very people who need your help the most.

Donate blood -- We sometimes go to a blood donation drive because we’ve been asked by a friend or colleague, or know that a family member or friend might need blood one day, or we’re regular blood donors. Whatever the reason may be, the necessity is unchanging and your contribution is vital for a reliable blood supply. By donating blood, you will receive a mini physical to check

your pulse, blood pressure, body temperature, and hemoglobin count in the process. You will feel satisfied to know you’ve helped someone, too. umanitarian work, big or small, is probably the most rewarding pastime there is, and what the world needs the most right now. These are just some of the ways you can get involved, but there are many other creative ways to do your part. Find out what you can do, and do it soon. (GGQ) v

VOLUNTEERism

Summertime Hunger Spike There simply aren’t enough programs available to serve all the children who need them.

S

ummertime can be a carefree, relaxing season filled with cookouts, backyard picnics, and trips to the ice cream truck.

But for too many kids, summer vacation means having an empty stomach. Child hunger and food insecurity often peak during the long, hot break. At a time when food insecurity is so high, an overwhelming majority of American children who receive free or reducedprice meals at school goes hungry once school lets out.

The federally funded Summer Food Service Program and the National School Lunch Program provide nutritious meals and snacks to low-income children during the summer months. Unfortunately, it’s “falling increasingly short of meeting the needs,” according to the Food Research and Action Center.

Schools, local governments, sports programs, and private organizations that serve eligible children can all feed kids in summer school programs.

But in July 2010, just 2.8 million children received lunch through the summer programs on an average day, the Food Research and Action Center found. That’s only 15 lowincome kids for every 100 who received lunch on an average day during the school year.

By that measure, only one in seven children who needs summer food is getting it.

There simply aren’t enough programs available to serve all the children who need them.

The continuing fallout from the Great Recession has only made this worse as budget cuts have led many communities to slash funding for summer schools and summer youth programs, making opportunities for summer meals even more limited.

World Population: 7 billion 870 million people do not have enough to eat — more than the populations of USA and the European Union combined. 98% of the

world’s undernourished people live in developing countries.

Some programs don’t run for the whole summer, and there aren’t enough eligible programs providing robust activities and services in addition to meals that draw families in. Adding programs and services and keeping sites open longer could both reduce childhood hunger and help many communities create desperately needed jobs --a win-win. This should be a priority in communities across the country.

Even where summer feeding programs are in place, there isn’t always enough outreach to let all eligible families know about them. In addition, these programs tend to be available for shorter and less regular hours than a normal school day, which limits participation. Transportation often isn’t provided, so making these programs available where hungry children are is important. Some programs

By Marian Wright Edelman

have had success providing mobile meals. That can be especially helpful in rural communities.

Many organizations that provide summer activities for children may not even realize they’re eligible for funding to serve meals. Others find they would be able to participate with just a little help from local foundations or community donations to cover extra expenses like refrigerators or coolers.

Sometimes the amount of paperwork required to run a site is a barrier. Small programs may have special difficulty running sites -- for example, a church-based program serving 15 children may not have the same infrastructure as a school running a summer school lunch program. These kinds of obstacles shouldn’t be standing in the way. We should be using these programs as effectContinued on page 16

60% of the world’s hungry are women. 50% of pregnant women in developing countries lack proper maternal care, resulting in over 300,000 maternal deaths annually from childbirth. 1 out of 6 infants are born with a low birth weight in developing countries. Malnutrition is the key factor contributing to more than one-third of all global child deaths resulting in 2.6 million deaths per year.

Do you like what’s on your plate?

Two-thirds of the world’s hungry live in just 7 countries: Bangladesh, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

Where is hunger the worst?

Asia and the Pacific: 578 million Sub-Saharan Africa: 239 million Latin America and the Caribbean: 53 million

A third of all childhood deaths in sub-Saharan Africa is caused by hunger. Every 5 seconds, a child dies from hunger-related diseases.

Data based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics

GGQ • Q3 2013

11

VOLUNTEERism

Text by Armando Nicolas P J Swimsuit photos by Apple Greatson Francisco Makeup Artist: Pia Millado Gaffer: Marthin Millado Black-and-white photos courtesy of Maria Hoefert

H

ow do you solve a problem like Maria? / How do you catch a cloud and pin it down? / How do you find a word that means Maria? / A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp!

A clown! So goes the song Maria, sometimes known as How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? -- a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music. The catchy song is sung by the Nonnberg Abbey nuns, who are exasperated with Maria for being too playful and trivial for the simple and genteel life at the monastery. Of course, you know the rest of the story.

Unlike her namesake in the musical, Maria Hoefert, GGQ’s first ever cover girl, is neither clumsy nor whimsi-

12

GGQ • Q3 2013

cal. In fact, the closest thing she’s come to a problem is to confront it and come up with a solution. How do you solve a problem, Maria? -- that would be a more appropriate thing to ask -- and just one of many questions we will endeavor to answer in this spread.

Maria is a nineteen-year-old volunteer social worker from Salzwedel, a town (population of approximately 21,500) between Hamburg and Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. She is currently working in Gensan to help homeless kids and streetchildren transition into school life. Her stint with AFS Intercultural Programs Inc. made her dream of staying for one year in Asia and the Philippines possible, as well as helping underprivileged Filipino kids prepare for a better life.

Her other love is beach life.

In fact, our esteemed master photographer Apple Greatson Francisco discovered Maria at the beach in no less than Gumasa in Glan, Sarangani. With the assistance of GGQ friends Pia ManilayMillado and Marthin Millado, who ran into Apple at the same resort by accident as well, an impromptu photo shoot immediately transpired. Featured on the cover and in this spread are some of the results of that unplanned pictorial.

Maria has learned to acclimatize to Gensan life without any problems, but at first had to deal with stares from locals, as well as the constant interviews and flirtations from admiring drivers of tricycles, which she takes every day from her host home to work and back.

Beauty and enevolence B How do you solve a problem, Maria?

She is currently single, and dedicatedly reserves all her affections for her thirteenyear-old brother Jan -- for now, that is.

She is currently single, and dedicatedly reserves all her affections for her thirteen-year-old brother Jan -- for now, that is. Her other passions include travel, something she said would be hindered in some ways if she were to get into a serious relationship. “When the time comes,” she replied, as if

to drop the subject without much ceremony, when asked about when she would settle for a boyfriend and/or a life partner.

She speaks German, English, French, a bit of Turkish, and thanks to her stint in Gensan, a smattering of Cebuano and Tagalog here and there.

Maria is outgoing and friendly, characteristics that befit her line of work and her wanderlust, and has a soft spot for people who are honest. She’s made several good friends in Gensan, including this writer and our lensman

extraordinaire, and has grown very fond of her host family based in Barangay Fatima.

Before she returns home to Germany in January 2014 to plan for university or future work, she looks forward to visiting Boracay, Hong Kong, and Manila.

S

o how do I solve a problem? Simple: by doing something about it myself, by acting on it immediately, instead of passing the buck or waiting for someone else to take responsibility,” she says.

GGQ • Q3 2013

13

VOLUNTEERism

That’s more than can be said about modern society in general, where greed and indifference would have people turn a blind eye from a homeless bum on the street, or look away in the face of social injustice.

Here is a woman, beautiful and benevolent, who would rather take to the streets of Gensan, round up the homeless youth and street children, and train them for the rigors of finally going to school where they belong.

That’s juvenile delinquency, a major problem in urban centers, nipped in the bud simply by volunteering to look after the society’s underprivileged young. This is how she solves a problem.

B

eauty queens are known to take on humanitarian causes after they are crowned, courtesy of the very foundations that conferred them the

title. Maria is not a beauty queen and does not have any desire to compete in such pageants, but she is all for volunteering and doing social work where her efforts are most needed. She has AFS to thank for this opportunity to serve and make a differrence in the lives of Gensan’s children.

ABOUT AFS Intercultural Programs AFS Intercultural Programs (or AFS, originally the American Field Service) is a nonprofit international exchange organization for students and adults that operates in more than 50 countries, and organizes and supports intercultural learning experiences.

Founded by volunteer ambulance drivers following WWII, and sustained to this day by an international cadre of tens of thousands of volunteers, AFS has transformed the lives of millions of students, families and individuals.

So how do I solve a problem? Simple: by doing something about it myself, by acting on it immediately, instead of passing the buck or waiting for someone else to take responsibility.

16

GGQ • Q3 2013

VOLUNTEERism

Bringing Clean Water to Mindanao One School at a Time

M

any organizations around the globe endeavor to provide clean water to marginalized communities in various parts of the world. Hope Flows, however, estimates that these organizations utilize nearly all of their of their resources in Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

While both regions are in dire need, many other places require help. Non-profit groups providing special focus on clean water in the country like Mahintana Foundation are few and far between, let alone within the conflict-ridden region of Western Mindanao.

Hope Flows is a non-profit organization that installs water systems in schools throughout Southern Philippines for free. The group works with local school districts to provide safe, reliable, and long-lasting solutions to their water needs. The group targets schools that have the greatest need, coordinating with the principal to determine the most fitting solution. Once the remedy is set in place (a well is installed, or a connection to existing water source is made, among others), volunteers teach sanitation classes, and show the students and teachers how to properly maintain the system. The goal is to keep these systems simple and effective to make repairs easy and affordable.

The Hope Flows team of volunteers can carry out a water project here for only $500. (Organizations operating in areas like sub-Saharan Africa look at projects costing thousands of dollars as the water table is considerably deeper there.) The group can keep costs low because there are no middlemen involved; materials are bought directly and work is overseen by the group itself. Projects can be completed quickly and economically because all of the $500 price tag goes directly to implementing the project. All other expenses are covered by a small group of private benefactors.

Hope Flows was founded by Jeremy Smith, a native

You can participate in an AFS Program by becoming an exchange student, sending your daughter or son abroad, hosting an AFS Participant, or by volunteering. Whether you take part in a short program that lasts for a few weeks, or live with someone from another culture for a full year, the AFS exchange programs provide you with a personal growth experience that will last for a lifetime.

AFS AND VOLUNTEERISM Volunteers are the driving force behind all of the exchange programs offered by AFS. They are the backbone of the organization: a worldwide network of people who are committed to increasing

intercultural understanding and communication. The dedication and support of these volunteers makes it possible for AFS Participants to embark on life-changing journeys of personal growth.

AFS Volunteers contribute their time and energy to help people develop the foundation to become responsible global citizens. During this process, they also have the opportunity to take part in an intercultural learning experience. Through their work with participants and host families, volunteers can learn more about their own cultures, practice other languages, develop leadership skills, and take part in community activities.

(Data on AFS is culled from material published on their website at www.afs.org) v

of Albuquerque, New Mexico, after witnessing the water crisis firsthand while on vacation in the Philippines. The organization is currently made up entirely of volunteers who believe in the mission and want to see it expand.

“We believe having access to clean drinking water is a universal right. We work with schools especially because we believe that education is a ladder out of poverty, and the more we can create a conducive environment for learning, the greater the net results will be,” the founder writes on their website.

To help fund their ongoing and future water projects, please visit the Hope Flows donation page at www. hopeflowsinternational.org/donate. v

Summertime Hunger Spike Continued from page 11

ively as possible to enable more sites to provide meals for needy children this summer -- and helping many fewer children to go hungry.

H

ow is your community helping hungry children this summer? Encourage civic and philanthropic leaders to get involved. Encourage sites to stay open longer during the summer and help get more eligible kids to participate in the summer programs that

can keep them from going hungry.

Now is the time to act.

Hunger and poor nutrition are linked to physical, mental, and dental health problems -- and poor educational outcomes -- that don’t end when summer starts. v Marian Wright Edelman is the president of the Children’s Defense Fund. To learn more about how to open a summer feeding site, sponsor one, volunteer at one, or find one in your community, visit the Summer Food Service Program at www.fns.usda. gov (OtherWords.org)

GGQ • Q3 2013

17

Beauty & Benevolence

Photographer: Apple Greatson Francisco Model: Maria Hoefert (Germany) Makeup Artist: Pia Manilay-Millado Gaffer: Marthin Millado

MUSIC MIXX uuu RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES by DAFT PUNK

Daft Punk’s fourth album is probably the French duo’s best in a career that has spanned decades and dancefloors the MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY

by VAMPIRE WEEKEND

The third album of Vampire Weekend is a bit against type and out of character. Their PHILPOP 2013

by VARIOUS ARTISTS

The second Philippine Popular Music Festival album puts to rest the persistent claim that 20

GGQ • Q3 2013

world over. A mix of disco, electronic, funk, progressive pop, and soft rock -- this, the duo’s most personal work, neatly packs the mesmerizing The Game of Love, the seductive Lose Yourself to Dance and sexy Get Lucky (both tracks featuring Pharrell Williams), the sultry and symphonic Beyond, the playful and easy Fragments of Time (featuring Todd Edwards), and the enigmatic Doin’ It Right (featuring Panda Bear) -- all our favorite tracks. We’d skip Instant Crush (featuring Julian Casablancas), Give Life Back to Music, Within, Touch (featuring Paul Williams), Motherboard, and Contact, but give us a few more listening hours and maybe we’d change or mind. Last but not least, we wish Giorgio by Moroder was done without the monologue by Giorgio Moroder himself, but that’s just us. v

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

BOOKS ttt BUZZ HIDDEN ORDER

by Brad Thor

trademark preppy afro-pop vibe is lost here, with Obvious Bicycle and Young Lion going slow and sparse with piano and choral work (think Fleet Foxes), and not unlike Don’t Lie, this time with quiet percussion below layers of harmonies. All in all the album’s lyrics explore more mature, world-weary themes. The lead track Diane Young does return to upbeat and catchy moods however, even as Unbelievers detours to soulful crooning, and Step channels Aubrey

by Bread. Modern Vampires does remain indie despite tracks then tend to be dense and wordy, at the same time potent and ambiguous, and tentatively sad. v

And the Mountains Echoed is an unforgettable novel about finding a lost piece of yourself in someone else. Khaled Hosseini, the bestselling author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, here tells about how we take care of one another, and how the choices we make resonate through generations. In this tale revolving around not just parents and children but brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most. Following its characters around the globe -- from Kabul to Paris to San Francisco to the Greek island of Tinos -- the story expands gradually outward, becoming more emotionally complex and powerful with each turning page. v

In Hidden Order, the most secretive organization in America operates without any accountability to the American people. Hiding in the shadows, pretending to be part of the U.S. government, its power is beyond measure.

Control of this organization has just been lost and the future of the nation thrust into peril. When the five candidates being considered to head this mysterious agency suddenly go missing, covert counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath is summoned to D.C. and set loose on the most dangerous chase ever to play out on American soil. But as the candidates begin turning up murdered, Harvath must untangle a web of conspiracy centuries in the making and head off the greatest threat America has ever seen. v

original Filipino music is dying. In PhilPop 2013, a dozen well-crafted tracks tread multiple genres to tell a distinctly Filipino story. Festival grand prize winner Dati (composed

by Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana, sung by Sam Concepcion, Tippy Dos Santos, and Quest) talks about enduring love mid-tempo style and with an infectious hook, too.

Second prize winner Kung ‘Di Man (composed by Johnoy Danao, sung by Ney Dimaculangan) uses live instruments and a very organic sound to talk about love and what-ifs.

Third prize winner Pansamantagal (composed by Jungee Marcelo, sung by Julianne Tar-

roja and Sitti) takes on jazz to express life’s frustrations.

Other tracks mesmerize with their own tales. In Araw, Ulap, Langit (composed by Marlon Barnuevo, sung by Christian Bautista), soaring melodies make for a solid ballad. Askal (composed by Ganny Brown, sung by Jose and Wally) infuses a biting social commentary to all that howling.

Papel (composed by Joey Ayala, sung with Gloc-9, Denise Barbacena, and Silverfilter) blends ethnic sound with modern club beats to talk about the roles we play in life. Sana Pinatay Mo Na Lang Ako (composed

by Myrus Apacible, sung by Kimpoy Feliciano) rants about

misery in an unrequited love.

Sa’Yo Na Lang Ako (composed

by Lara Maigue, sung by Karylle) croons gently, exploding into an emotional climax. Rock track Segundo (composed by Paul Armesin, sung by Yael Yuzon) explores the importance of time, while rock balad Sometimes That Happens (composed

by Nino Regalado and Adrienne Sarmiento-Buenaventura, sung

by Ace Libre) recounts a love gone and lost. Space (composed by Raffy Calicdan, sung

by Kean Cipriano and Kleggy) banks on novel sounds, while Time Machine (composed by Kennard Faraon, sung by Six Part Invention) grieves over love à la 90s slow rock. v

a touch of new York glamour. a twist of Gensan colors. a taste of international flavors.

It’s the 15th Tuna Festival! Happy 45th Gensan Charter Anniversary!

.. Only at C Bistro Bar & restaurant

Now opeN at the Microtel arcade, Valley high, NatioNal highway, geNeral SaNtoS city | tel. No. +63-83-552-3780

TRAVEL TALES & TRIVIA uuu

NYC

MustSees

One thing is certain if you’re visiting New York for a few days for the first time: taking the entire city is just plain impossible. New York is incomprehensibly diverse and steadily evolving. Granted, you’d move here for the rest of your life, and still you’d get surprises and make amazing discoveries every single day.

By Armando Nicolas P J

Counter-clockwise from below: Wedding photo shoot at Top of the Rock, the Naked Cowboy and GGQ, me and the Manhattan skyline, elephant trinkets at City Hall, DJ set at Pier 17, Central Park view, evening at Bryant Park, Empire State Building’s eerie lght, beach party by the East River, and kayaking by the Hudson.

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I

should know. I’ve visited the Big Apple three times since 2009, staying as long as three months at a time. There is so much to see and do, and just not enough time or energy to cover them all, let alone all at once. My girlfriend, Gimma, has been living here for nearly two decades now, and she’s inclined to agree with me.

My advice? Don’t tame NYC -- don’t even try -- because you just can’t. Pick several must-see/do options, then follow wherever the city leads you. Without doubt, as you explore New York, spontaneity and unscheduled detours will throw you off course. Rest assured that these diversions will be as much fun as what you planned, if not even more.

“It’s the little things that count,” said my late grandpa, at whose farm estate in the rural boundaries of Davao City I lived after my dad died. That statement is as much of a truth in our little barrio as in the urban jungle that is New York City. When moving from one place to another at your own

sweet pace, you’d do yourself a favor by taking a moment to be fascinated by a young man performing live club music at the subway with only his iPhone and a boom box, or be held up by a good cup of coffee at an unpretentious café by the river on a cool day, or be glued to a bench for a while just witnessing the sounds and sights of New York life as locals and fellow tourists pass you by.

Soaking in the city’s rhythm and immersing in the energy of New Yorkers are just two of the details you can find, if you choose to, wherever your little excursions in the city may take you. My top NYC must-sees?

Read on and see if they make your list.

1

The National September 11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan -- which comprises two large pools set where the Twin Towers used to stand, with massive waterfalls flowing down their sides, and surrounded by a list of the victims’ names -- is a great sight to behold, despite

its being a solemn reminder of the 2001 tragedy. Visit the memorial if only to pay respects to the thousands who perished there.

2

Central Park, an 840-acre public park at the center of Manhattan, is the most visited urban park in the country. It has bridges, a skating rink, lakes, a boathouse, gardens, fountains, a castle, fields, a reservoir, hills, horse coaches, and free outdoor concerts by the world’s major artists. Best of all, it’s free, and you’d be a fool not to visit it more than five times!

3

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the biggest in the US and one of the world’s ten largest, contains over two million works including pieces from classical antiquities and Ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures from almost all European masters, and American and modern art. To the US the Met is like le Louvre to France, and you don’t skip the Louvre when you’re in Paris, do you?

Rock, which was designed to look like the deck of a cruise ship, giving visitors a bird’seye view of Manhattan like the 86th floor observatory of ESB does. However, it is often considered to offer the best panoramic city view, if only because it features ESB itself in the skyline.

5

The Statue of Liberty, an icon of freedom, has served as a welcoming signal to immigrants arriving from abroad.

Approaching Liberty Island by ferry gives visitors that same feeling of nostalgia and gratitude. The colossal neoclassical sculpture (with a broken chain lying at her feet) designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, was a gift from the people of France. The statue represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom, who bears a torch and tablet upon which the date of the American Declaration of Independence, 4th of July, 1776, is inscribed.

6

The Empire State Building, whose name is derived from the city’s nickname, is a 102-story skyscraper that stands at 1,454 feet (443 meters) with its antenna spire included. ESB is currently the third tallest skyscraper in the States, the 23rd tallest in the world (the tallest is Burj Khalifa in Dubai), and has been named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Its 86thfloor observation deck, and a smaller one on the 102nd floor, offer impressive 360-degree views of the city. ESB earns more from observatory ticket sales than it does from office space lease, and your visit will surely keep that trend.

4

Clockwise from top: GGQ at Luna Park, me at Coney Island Beach, concert preparations at Pier 15, a street in Little Italy, Bryant Park at dusk, a wall mural in Chelsea, Chelsea Piers, the carnival at Central Park, Times Square, Philippine Independence Day parade, me at the Met.

Rockefeller Center is a complex of around 20 commercial buildings spanning 22 acres (89 square kilometers) in Midtown Manhattan. Its centerpiece, the 70-floor GE Building, has an observation deck aptly called Top of the

GGQ • Q3 2013

23

7

cHINATOWN & LITTLE ITALY, listed in the National Register of Historic Places (2010), retain many 19th-20th century loft buildings and factories, as well as tenements, modified Federal/Greek Revival townhouses, churches, and schools. These days Little Italy is no longer an ethnic neighborhood, and tourist traps abound. Still the area is worth a visit if only for Little Italy joints that still deliver authentic fare and Chinatown’s many gastronomic delights.

8

The refurbished South street seaport & pier 15/16/17 historic district, part of the bigger EAST RIVER WATERFRONT ESPLANADE development project, features old mercantile buildings and sailing ships, the former fish market, and modern tourist malls featuring waterfront dining, shopping, nightlife, and an intimate view of the equally historic Brooklyn Bridge. At the entrance to the Seaport is the Titanic memorial lighthouse, a somewhat understated fixture on Fulton Street. Check out the beach theme parties at Pier 17, the sun deck and Watermark Bar and Restaurant at Pier 15, and other riverfront spectacles in between.

9

The Coney Island amusement park, beach, and boardwalk complex is a must-see summer destination. Thrill rides, Nathan’s Famous hotdogs and cheeseburgers, the New York Aquarium, a 4-kilometer sandy beach, the broad Riegelmann Boardwalk, and shopping arcades are just some of the attractions of Coney Island.

T

ake time to check out the OTHER NYC ATTRACTIONS, including the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park; New York Botanical Garden; Governors Island; Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum; Brooklyn Bridge; Manhattan Bridge; Chrysler Building; Grand Central Terminal; Gansevoort Meatpacking District; High Line; Yankee Stadium; Times Square; Wall Street; and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Or you can just wander about downtown on a fine day. Chances are, you’d run into new little discoveries here and there. v 24

GGQ • Q3 2013

View of Lower Manhattan and the financial district as seen from Governors Island

GGQ in New York!

This summer we ran into Miss Philippine Fiesta 2012 Allyson Lynn Carbonell at Madison Square Park, the world-famous NYC icon Naked Cowboy at Times Square, and actor-singer Justin Timberlake (well, his wax figure actually) at West 42nd Street. Viva New York!

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GGQ • Q3 2013

25

ENVIRONMENT DEBATE uuu

A Deadly Power Surge Fracking might be profitable, but whether it’s good for anything else is doubtful.

By Jill Richardson

J

acki Schilke was suffering from symptoms ranging from rashes, pain, and lightheadedness to dental problems and urinating blood.

The formerly healthy, 53-yearold cattle rancher’s body was under assault from a list of toxic chemicals as long as your arm.

But Schilke’s lucky — so far — compared to five of her cows. They died.

The rancher’s problems might become worse in time, since the chemicals causing her acute problems are also linked to chronic, deadly diseases like cancer.

What’s afflicting Schilke

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GGQ • Q3 2013

and her cows? The oil and gas drilling craze known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. As The Nation magazine and the Great Plains Examiner reported last year, Oasis Petroleum started fracking on land three miles from her ranch in 2010. Oasis got money, the world got more energy from the gas they drilled, and Schilke got sick. Now, she won’t even eat her own beef.

If the results of fracking were virtually unknown a decade ago, before it became a common practice in states like Pennsylvania and Schilke’s home of North Dakota, there’s no mystery remaining now.

It shouldn’t be a surprise.

After all, when you pump a cocktail of toxic chemicals into the ground to dislodge fossil fuels, there’s a cocktail of toxic chemicals in the ground. And some of those toxins don’t stay put. They make their way into the water, the soil, and the air.

And the toxins flow from there into the living things that rely on the water: the soil, the air, plants, animals, and us.

We’re fracking our food.

Yet President Barack Obama is a big fracking supporter. He called natural gas a form of clean energy in the big address on global warming he delivered in June, touting the nation’s production of more natural gas “than any other country on Earth.” Then he said, “We should strengthen

our position as the top natural gas producer because, in the medium term at least, it not only can provide safe, cheap power, but it can also help reduce our carbon emissions.”

Right. Compared to other forms of dirty energy, natural gas might reduce our carbon emissions. But at what cost?

If our only energy options were oil, coal, and natural gas, we’d be in a rotten Catch-22.

Luckily, we have more choices than that. There are growing solar, wind, and geothermal options. Perhaps the most overlooked alternative is increasing efficiency.

I visited the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, two years ago. The school had made a big effort to reduce its energy use. In one building, I saw a hallway that used to have its lights turned on all the time. The builders had never even installed switches to turn them off.

Decades ago, energy was “too cheap to meter.” It seemed cheaper to just leave the lights on all the time than to wire them to be turned off.

That’s changed. After some retrofitting, the lights can be turned off.

How many other buildings and homes have no light switches, insufficient insulation, or old, power-guzzling appliances? How many are still being built without taking advantage of the most up-to-

date methods that curb energy use?

Obama proudly spoke of doubling America’s use of solar and wind power in the last four years, with plans to double them yet again. He’s right. We increased wind and solar energy from less than 1 percent of our energy in 2007 to less than 2 percent in 2011.

(Meanwhile, our reliance on natural gas crept up from 28 percent to 30 percent of total energy consumption, and our total use of energy overall rose in those four years by 9.4 percent — with most of the increase coming from dirty sources.)

Fracking might be profitable, but whether it’s good for anything else is doubtful.

Emissions during the fracking process outweigh any benefits of reduced emissions when the fuel obtained is burned.

Besides, how does fracking American land make sense if it’s poisoning our food and water supply with chemicals that give us cancer?

L

et’s solve our energy problems by increasing efficiency and by turning to truly clean sources of energy: renewable options like solar, wind, and geothermal power.

OtherWords columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It.

GGQ • Q3 2013

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GENSAN HOTELS

Zumba Your Way to Fitness

I

’ve always loved to dance even at a very young age. Whenever I hear a dance tune my body seems to have a mind of its own and will start to groove. I feel good when• 1,000-person capacity convention center The Arena @ Family Country Hotel for Deluxe ever I move my body with • the beat. It’s human nature toRoom respond to music whether • Spacious, grand lobby Large Group of Functions Matrimonial • 25-meter Semi Olympic size swimming Annex building with 5 air-conditioned or not we can dance. Our mind• reacts to music and the body expresses that reaction. pool, children’s pool function rooms • Floating restaurant and coffee shop

Zumba• Fitness®, the hottest Boxing and Fitness Gym fitness dancing trend today, is the only Latin-inspired dancefitness program that blends music produced by Grammy Award winners and contagious steps to form a fitness-party that’s simply addictive. Since its birth in 2001, Zumba has grown to become the world’s largest, most successful dance-fitness program with over 12 million people of all shapes/sizes/ages taking weekly Zumba classes in over 110,000 locations across 125+ countries. (Zumba.com)

• 4,450-square-meter fenced parking area • Executive board room for small functions

my disposal 3/4 times a week if Zumba is the perfect workout. have time (I always make time).

It’s fun and most importantly, it Deluxe Room Fitness enthusiasts are right helps us burn calories. Zumba Twin when they said to find a suitable makes you feel like you’re just exercise, one that you love doout in the club partying with ing so it doesn’t feel like you’re friends. In high school I always working out. Dancing definitely looked forward to class/school is the right one for me. I always programs because some of us look forward to Zumba classes in would be asked to do dance numbers. Then I thought, what Suite RoomGensan and even in Davao.

Standard Room Twin Zumba is a venue for me to would happen when I already explore fashion, too. As it is got a job/business? There’d no Latin-inspired, Zumba fashion longer be such programs! is colorful, where matching Luckily, there’s Zumba! I no green pants with orange tops is longer need an event or night commonplace. It’s not required out to be able to dance. It’s at

Quiet, Clean, Green, and Homey.

Family Country Hotel

& CONVENTION CENTRE Mateo Rd, Lagao, Gen. Santos | Tel (083) 552-8895 to 97 | Fax (083) 301-0774 www.FamilyCountryHotel.com E-mail: fchcc@bayandsl.com

Executive Ballroom

HOTEL SAN MARCO A Touch of European Flair A Warm Gensan Welcome

Semi Olympic-size Swimming Pool

We’re a -ready establishment!

Annex Function Rooms

Newly-built The Arena for Big Groups

Cafe Leticia

Experie culinar and ca • Boutique hotel with 28 elegant guest rooms • 24-hour cable access with 32” LED TV • 24-hour free Internet access in all guest rooms • ESD electronic door lock system • Airport transfers and valet services

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GGQ • Q3 2013

C Bistro along Ti reservat or text+

• Authentic Italian cuisine at Cafe Verona • Banquet and catering facilities Laurel East Avenue, General Santos City Tel:+63.83.3011818 | +63.922.8217332 Email: hotel_sanmarco@yahoo.com Website: www.hotelsanmarco.com.ph

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GADGET TALK uuu

he trend with Android brands these days seems to be to compact their flagship smartphone into a more sporty and smaller packaging. Sony didn’t follow suit and went the other way with its Xperia ZR, which opted for a 4.55-inch display compared to those of the minis of Samsung Galaxy S4 mini and HTC One. But unlike the HTC and Samsung competition, the Sony Xperia ZR is way right up there to up the ante with a much better camera, and more improved IP protection (IP code or ingress protection rating, which classifies/rates the degree of protection against intrusion of solid objects, dust, and water in mechanical casings). Noting how vital dust and water resistance proved for the success of Xperia Z, this may turn out to be an upgrade, not a trim-down. Here are Xperia ZR’s key features:

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/ EDGE support; 3G with HSPA; LTE • 4.55” 16M-color 720p capacitive touchscreen with

Sony

Xperia ZR Awes • •

• •

323ppi pixel density; Bravia Mobile Engine 2 Android OS v4.1.1 Jelly Bean with custom UI Quad-core 1.5 GHz Krait CPU, 2 GB RAM, Adreno 320 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset Waterproof, dust and scratch resistant (IP55/IP58) Wi-Fi Direct/DLNA, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; Wireless TV out

• 13 MP autofocus camera with LED flash/geotagging; HDR • 1080p video recording (30 fps HDR mode), continuous autofocus/stereo sound • VGA front-facing camera • GPS (A-GPS, GLONASS) • 8GB built-in storage; microSD card slot • MHL-enabled microUSB port; NFC

• Bluetooth v4.0 • Standard 3.5 mm audio jack • Accelerometer/proximity sensor; active noise cancellation with dedicated mic

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lass and elegance, ease of use and handling, power features -- we’re all for these. Truth is, the Xperia ZR had us at waterproof. v

that shows water depth, altitude, and pressure. Video recording is at 1080p HD with a backlit 16-MP image sensor and 9-point auto focus system, including spot auto focus and auto tracking AF to capture your images.

For stills there are 12 digital image filters and 16 shooting modes to choose from. EyeFi wifi SD cards are also supported. Both WG-IIIs have the same Pentax sensor-shift shake reduction and highsensitivity digital reduction mechanisms.

Pentax WG-III Packs a Punch

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wo great Pentax compacts, the WG-III and WG-III GPS, have a waterproof depth of 14 meters -- a remarkable feat for point-and-shoot cameras -- and as if that’s not good enough, packs features

consumers can only dream of a year or so ago. As can be deduced by its name, the WG-3 GPS adds global positioning and travel log data to pictures taken, and also features wireless recharging, digital compass, and gauge

To sweeten the deal even more, the extra-rugged body of the Pentax WG-III is dustproof, shock-resistant up to 2 meters, coldproof to temperatures as low as -10°C (14°F), and crushproof up to loads of 100 kgf. This heavy-duty camera takes photography to a a new dimension, to say the least. v GGQ • Q3 2013

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HEALTH & FITNESS uuu

Eat Real Too many diets are about hype, not health.

By Jill Richardson

I

s it just my friends, or is nearly everyone on an absurd diet these days?

One friend says she’s on a “primal” diet. She’s trying to eat like cavemen and will devour wild game when she can get it. Another goes on a month-long “detox” fast each year. Somehow, he survives on nothing but lemonade spiked with maple syrup and cayenne pepper.

And I wish I could convince another buddy that he doesn’t have to eat high-fiber cereal that appears to be made from heavily sweetened sawdust.

Paleo, raw food (even raw meat), Eat Clean, juice diets: The list goes on. One regimen even dictates what you should eat according to your blood type. I’m surprised I haven’t met anyone yet who swears by dining on nothing but seaweed or live bugs.

Each system promises great results, as long as eaters adhere to radical and difficult rules. It hurts to watch your friends deprive themselves, knowing that — all too often — their diets aren’t good for their health.

Unfortunately, I haven’t found any diets that make much sense. As nutrition expert Marion Nestle puts it, “Stay away from weird dietary practices. If they sound weird, they are.” Here are a few simple guidelines.

Eat whole, minimally processed foods. An apple?

Good. A slice of homemade apple pie? A little less good. A packaged apple-pie-flavored product “made with real apples”? Don’t eat that. And don’t get in a rut. Eat a big variety of whole foods.

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When it comes to animal products, look for milk, meat, and eggs from animals raised on pasture. They’ve been fed grass instead of corn or other grains. You might need to visit a farmers’ market to find it. High-quality animal products cost more, so you might need to compensate by eating them less often. And that’s probably good for your health too.

Don’t drink your calories.

Soft drinks aren’t health food.

Did you know that juice isn’t all that good for you either?

Unsweetened kale juice might be, but you’re probably not gulping that down with your breakfast. Most juice is full of sugar. Yes, it’s natural, but it’s still sugar. Eat your fruit, don’t drink it.

Keep added sugars to a minimum. Period. Sugars naturally found in a ripe, juicy peach are fine, but any sugar

that is added to your food — cane sugar, honey, maple syrup — should be curbed.

Not cut out entirely, but limited. And no, it’s not easy.

If you’re already avoiding processed food (see my first tip), then at least you’ve got control over how much sugar goes into your food in the first place.

Avoid foods made to taste like other foods. Fat-free fat, or sugar-free sugar? Fake meat?

Just eat the real thing, enjoy it, and don’t go overboard.

Cut back on omega-6 fatty acids. Haven’t heard of them?

They’re an essential fatty acid, but we eat five to ten times too much of them. You find them mostly in vegetable oils: soybean, peanut, sesame, sunflower, safflower, and corn.

(Soybean oil is often labeled “vegetable oil.”) For a healthier fat, try olive oil, coconut oil, or even good, old-fashioned

butter. Yum. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re full.

Overeating to clean your plate won’t help a starving child in Africa.

Be skeptical about any diet promoted by personalities selling books, DVDs, custom meal plans, and even specially formulated food. Ask yourself if there’s a chance that it just might possibly be a moneymaking racket. Does a diet tell you to cut out entire food groups that most people eat in the course of a normal day?

That’s another red flag.

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aybe if a celebrity told you this, you’d start following these guidelines. It sure beats eating sawdust for breakfast.

OtherWords columnist Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It.

A

fter a long, hard day you just want to sit back and relax, and relive the day’s successes as you enjoy some peace and quiet...

Stick to your day job. Leave your documentation and publishing PROJECTS TO US. CALL US NOW AT +63-83-5547055 | +63-908-3373005.

GGQ • Q3 2013

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HEALTH & FITNESS uuu

Kiss OF Death Why is lead in lipstick?

By Tracy Fernandez Rysavy

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harron Camaratta bites her lips. She never thought of this as a major problem until 2007. That’s when she read that certain brands of lipsticks contain lead, a substance that can cause brain and nervous system damage.

So she stopped wearing the problematic brands — which a 2007 test by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics identified as including L’Oreal, CoverGirl, and Dior — until a year or two ago. Lulled into a sense of safety, she once again started making lipstick purchases based on personal preference and little else.

But that changed when Camaratta discovered a May 2013 study by the University of California, Berkeley, in which researchers found lead in lipstick. Again.

The researchers tested 32 lipstick brands commonly found in drugstores and department stores and found lead in 24 of them, as well as other toxic heavy metals. The study’s authors note that some occurred “at levels that could possibly have an effect in the long term.”

Specifically, they found that 68 percent of the lipsticks exceeded the acceptable daily levels for chromium, a suspected carcinogen, and 22 percent exceeded recommended levels for manganese, linked to nervous system damage.

While the lead exposure from the lipsticks wouldn’t exceed recommended exposure levels for adults, no amount of lead exposure is considered safe for children, who often play with 32

GGQ • Q3 2013

makeup.

If you think that the government is keeping us safe, you’re wrong — and you’re not alone.

“I had figured the government would have cracked down on companies putting lead in lipstick after that first came to light in 2007,” says Camaratta. “I mean, come on!

Lead can cause brain damage, and it could be on my face every day? Something is obviously broken when it comes to keeping us safe from potential harm.”

That “something” is the ability of the FDA and EPA to meaningfully regulate chemicals that are in the cleaners we use in our homes, the toys our children play with, or the body care products we use daily.

The problem dates back to 1976, when the Toxic Substances Control Act went into effect. It gave the federal government the right to track the nearly 85,000 chemicals in use in this country — and little else.

Under this law, the EPA, which oversees the use individual chemicals in the United States, can’t take action to protect the public from a potentially harmful chemical until after it’s been introduced to the market and after it’s been found to cause “serious harm.”

Proving that harm has been notoriously difficult. The government has issued bans on only five chemicals since 1976, and four of those, including the one on asbestos, are partial bans.

While the EPA regulates individual chemicals, it’s the FDA that oversees body care products like deodorant, soap, shaving cream, makeup, and more. The agency doesn’t review ingredient lists on body care items. Therefore, the majority of the products we’re slathering on our bodies every day have never been independently tested for safety.

If you, like many people, think that should change, call your

legislators today and ask them to support the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2013. This bill would do much to strengthen current chemical safety laws, making companies prove that a given chemical is safe before it could be used in toys, shampoo, and makeup.

While the Berkeley study didn’t identify the lipstick brands that contained toxins, consumers can avoid the worst brands of any body care product by taking a cue from Camaratta.

“I now look every bit of makeup I buy up on CosmeticDatabase.org,” she says. It’s a database containing safety data on over 66,000 products and ingredients.

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ecause looking your best shouldn’t mean coating your body in toxins.

Tracy Fernandez Rysavy is editor of the Green American, Green America’s bi-monthly sustainable-lifestyles magazine. www.greenamerica.org

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARMANDO NICOLAS PJ

VisitFilipinas.com

GGQ • Q3 2013

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RETAIL uuu THERAPY

TW STEEL MEN’S CEO CANTEEN CHRONOGRAPH 45MM WATCH

NAUTICA COMPETITION COLOGNE

This sturdy TW Steel chronograph comes in a chunky design, features a PVD (physical vapor deposition) rose gold-plated case around a large black face, and comes with a dark brown genuine leather strap -- ideal for any man who likes to balance fashion and sophistication. With standard features including a date function and high-visibility hour markers, the CEO Canteen has a 45mm diameter, and is water resistant up to 100 meters. v

Add a touch of style to your day with the relaunch of Nautica Competition by Nautica, an exciting fragrance for men -- a new marine scent that is the ideal addition to your daytime routine. Fresh and masculine, juniper berries combine with rosemary, nutmeg and bergamot, Nautica Compeition makes an impression without overwhelming the room. Apply it to your skin before you leave for the office, and take advantage of the immediate burst of energy and confidence it brings. v

FOR HIM

Guess Katrina Women’s Double-Breasted Trench Coat This absolutely stunning double-breasted trench coat in navy blue features engraved marbletextured buttons, a detachable waist belt with pendant, belt-style buttoned cuffs, two side pockets, and a buttoned panel on the left side of the chest. There is a thin meshed black strip running across the outer arms and around the rim of the top collar, interwoven with thin metallic threading for a unique touch. This fantastic jacket also benefits from a silky smooth fabric lining that is sure to provide maximum comfort. v

Beausoleil Paris SEMI Cat-Eye Sunglasses

These luxurious shades from Beausoleil Paris are available in black, tortoise, burgundy, purple, white, blue/yellow, and dark tortoise.

MAKE UP FOR EVER PRO FINISH Multi-use powder foundation With its transforming texture, Pro Finish is the first multi-use powder foundation that allows you to fully customize your finish and coverage level. Formulated with exclusive bio-mimetic coated pigments, its breakthrough formula can be used wet or dry. Apply it wet for a sheer semi-matte perfection, or dry for a full coverage, matte result. Created with talc lightweight formula, its texture is long-lasting, has buildable coverage with no chalky effect, and easily blends for a perfect professional result in just minutes. Enriched with hydrating ingredients, Pro finish corrects and evens the complexion without drying our the skin. v

FOR HER

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GGQ • Q3 2013

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COORDINATED CHAOS uuu

by Mandi Nicolas

Any alarm set off by this column’s title is unintentional. Whatever notion of organized mayhem the name conjures remains purely in the realm of words and letters.

Social Media Chaos

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GGQ • Q3 2013

H

ave you ever thought of just ditching Facebook, quitting Twitter and Instagram, and spending even just a few days without worrying about another post, like, or comment? Nowadays we tend to live a tremendous part of our lives in social media instead of the real world -- hoping to meaningfully engage with the people who are important to us -- only to fall into the trap of superficiality, burnout, and at times, depression.

It’d be nice for once to have dinner with friends and not worry about notifications on your device (and theirs), just like in the old days, when people used to just hang out without distractions, especially those of the digital kind.

Back when I was an expat white collar professional in London, I often made sure I didn’t bring my phone when meeting up with friends, or simply kept it turned off.

What happened between then and now was the proliferation of high-tech portable gadgetry and the subsequent explosion of social media

apps originally meant to enhance connectivity, but inadvertently mangled our person-to-person connection in some cases.

Not so long ago I engaged in every single social media app and site imaginable, even a few that calculated how popular I was in all these apps -- meaning, how many likes/comments/shares I got from this convergent matrix of chaos. Did I really crave that kind of attention? No. To some extent I have successfully ditched Twitter, returning to it only when I feel like it, which isn’t very often.

Celebrity tweets were never really my cup of tea, and I can always get my news, as in real news, elsewhere. After all, tweets that really matter end up in the news anyway, so why bother with all the mindboggling clutter?

Instagram I tend to use mostly when I travel, especially overseas, as the temptation to share new and unusual scenery or event (as photograph or video) is just too great to quell or pass up.

Just the same, I can shelve it any time I please.

My weakness is really Facebook, something I can’t seem to get away from for more than 24 hours, except when there’s no free wi-fi or the connection fees are ridiculously expensive. On hindsight maybe the high Internet fees at hotels are a good thing, so instead of getting online you actually get to do what you’re supposed to do when traveling -- to get out there, immerse in the action, and interact with the locals.

Still, when we’re home, there is the ever-increasing need to get away from the virtual world. Watching too much TV, talking on the phone for hours on end, facing your computer all day long -- these are no better than engaging in those apps 24-7. Overindulgence leads to fatigue, plain and simple.

I

t’s one of life’s greatest ironies and tragedies to mistake social media as reallife social interaction. Social media’s higher ideal is the enhancement of real life -- in the breathing, living flesh -- not play as its lame, lousy substitute. v

Horse Shoe Rock, a limestone formation at Sohoton Cove in Bucas Grande Island, part of an archipelago of islands including Siargao, in Surigao del Norte, Philippines

GLIMPSE of GREATSON

by Apple Greatson Francisco

Happy 15th Tuna Festival!

2nd Floor, Meetrovi Building, South Osme単a Street, General Santos City, Philippines 9500 +63-83-553 3377 | www.camella.com.ph | camellageneralsantos@gmail.com | facebook.com/camellageneralsantos

Happy 45th Gensan Charter Anniversary!