Team Symphony of Swords, the Philippine representatives to the 2017 World Cosplay Summit, selected among seven teams during the National Finals at the 16th Philippine ToyCon inside SMX Manila last Sunday, July 2. [Interview] The WCS ZamPen qualifying round in the viewpoint of its event director Amidst all of the brouhaha happening in southern Philippines, one thing’s for sure: This year’s Philippine representatives to the World Cosplay Summit, for the 5th time since we first entered in 2013 as an observer nation, are from this part of the country. ...

yay nesoberis. very neso. Come one, come all — here are some Cosplay photos from ToyCon 2017 x PopLife FanXperience last weekend, June 30 to July 2! Special thanks to Sir Orly for the camera that’s used for the photos. More photos will be uploaded at the Facebook page of Ex-Link Events this week.

Art Exhibit featuring Hokusai’s Manga and how it shaped the industry as we see it now Just a week before ToyCon, I visited the Ateneo Art Gallery to witness the “Manga Hokusai Manga” exhibit presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila with support from Embassy of Japan, Manila. All that I know of Hokusai is the famous painting, which is actually a part of his “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji” series, but I didn’t know that he has done something beyond that. The exhibit chronologically shows the works of Hokusai, as well as contemporary works. ...

The Philippine representative to the 2017 World Cosplay Summit has been selected at ToyCon 2017 x PopLife FanXperience held last July 1 (Finals Night) and 2 (Awarding) at the SMX Convention Center Manila. Among the seven qualified pairs who hail from five cities in the country, Lara Florentes and John Daryl Pioquinto of Team Symphony of Swords from the Zamboanga Peninsula has been selected to represent the Philippines as a competitor in the World Cosplay Summit to be held from July 29 to August 6 in Nagoya, Japan. ...

World Cosplay Summit Philippines National Finals at ToyCon 2017 on July 1 A quick reminder to all — the World Cosplay Summit Philippines National Finals (#WCSPH) will be held at ToyCon 2017 this July 1, Saturday. Aside from the competitors from Manila, Bicol and Davao, we now have competitors from Bacolod (selected during the Ambox’s Visayas Cosplay Summit qualifiers). To recap — In Manila, two pairs are selected by default in December last year. [Read more: https://jayagonoy.com/team-reality-team-kanor-cubes-to-represent-ncr-in-wcsph-2017-ac95f158e0a3] ...

Howdy, all — before I go on radio silence for ToyCon 2017, let’s get to the details so far of this year’s pop culture extravaganza. Here are some of the highlights mentioned during the Press Conference held at Uptown Place Mall BGC last Sunday: It has occupied the whole of SMX. Last time, the whole show was just the whole ground level of SMX plus the Function Room 5 upstairs. Creators’ Stage— PopLife’s Pro-Am studios invites Content Creators to check out the Creators’ Stage at the second level. They’re also holding auditions for the next big online talent too! Launch of licensed Pinoy superhero merch— Specifically, on the side of Mars Ravelo’s properties. There will be merchandise based on his characters (and yes, licensed figures too). ToyCon Gallery = Toy Booths + Artists’ Gallery— The doubled-up gallery area will show the classics and contemporary in one space. WCSPH National Finals to be held at ToyCon— Also, no CosFanX this time; but the ToyCon Cosplay Contest will be “back with a vengeance,” according to Exhibits lead Vic Yap. Check out the pictures (and a video summary) below. ...

If you want to get a glimpse of ToyCon, here’s your chance The ToyCon x PopLife FanExperience wil be held on the weekend of June 30 to July 2 at SMX Manila — but before that, a Launch Event will be held at the Uptown Mall inside the Bonifacio Global City starting now until Sunday. Last year, there was no ToyCon Launch event, so I am happy that they will have one this year — and of course, they will have a press conference with it. ...

June 11, 2017 — Mind Museum at BGC Taguig I passed by the Mind Museum at the BGC to check out the Manila Mini Maker Faire. This weekend event boasts of various exhibits about creativity and just plainly making things in general. Among the photos in this gallery include: A different way to present and package cupcakes all in one— I’ve been told that this student project has been presented to entreps in Iligan city, and so I mentioned that the Department of Science and Technology has its packaging division that they might want to check out. I’m positive for it, if I say so myself. A demo of LittleBits and how it works— while it’s not necessarily in the internet-of-things landscape, it shows the bare basics of how kids can make tech stuff. SkyEye Drone Racing Series— while I was only able to see just one round due to time constraints, I’m already in daydream mode on how this should be broadcast all over the local TV or the internet. I also did a short video montage in the end of this post. See you in the next events! ...

Last week was a busy and a happy one for me — me and Ma were given an opportunity to bond together overnight at the Mall of Asia Complex, where I gave her a taste of Indonesia through a dessert served at the World Street Food Congress located at the Concert Grounds. The Congress has set up three huge tents (plus one for the dialogue), filled with food stalls which are cooking amazing food from different parts of the country and the rest of the world. ...

21 West Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig City — open from 11 AM to 2 PM, and 5:30 PM to 10 PM Barangay Kapitolyo in Pasig is the home to Gastro Park and a lot of restaurants where those who want to wind down after a week of work can do so through food. There’s this resto called Haru located at 21 West Capitol Drive, just a few walks away from where I work. I always see it on my left as I pass by. ...