Posts

What Binondo looks like in the start of the Lunar New Year? - Lunar New Year in Binondo Manila 2019 Kiong Hee Huat Tsai! February 05, 2019 marks the start of the Lunar New Year (most of us know that it’s being celebrated by the Chinese, but it’s also being celebrated in Korea as Seollal, so I’ll start with that). In the Philippines, this day has been declared a Special Non-Working Holiday, which means I get to have a day off from work and tag along my friend and online media colleague Christian Mack’s journey into Binondo, which is the oldest Chinatown in the world, having been established in 1594 (16th century). ...

I made sure that my second trip in Cebu will be in an otaku event — and not just any otaku event, it has to be the largest one. I’ve been to three personal trips to explore the anime/cosplay culture — in Davao, in Singapore, and in Baguio. ...

I got a lot of content being churned out on YouTube and Anchor. Here’s some of it: I’ve just had a podcast with JM Melegrito of Anime Pilipinas last week, and now we proceed to Cebu’s Gary Montejo. Next week will be Serena from The Lily Cat — and following that is a feature on the country’s first Anime Idol Convention held last January 13. A lot has been going on, and I just got used to churning on podcasts sporadically, so you’d better subscribe to the podcast: http://anchor.fm/keepsakes. ...

Four titles are added to kick-off the new year If you have seen my C3 AFA Singapore travelogue, chances are you saw my purchase of THE iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls Theater eyeglass wiper for a few seconds. That was at the Aniplus booth, and it’s great to get back in touch with them — especially that I got introduced to them during the KanColle the Movie Screening. Now that it’s 2019, it’s time for them to announce their new simulcasts. (Airing times are in GMT+8 Manila/Singapore) ...

Decade-long Ozine Fest activity held its last hurrah at recently-concluded Anime Figure Special 2018 At the end of Otaku Expo Reload 2018, I chanced upon Ozine GM Dennis “Ukiya” Uy and Leny from the Ozine Maid Cafe, congratulating them for another event that has passed. During our brief chit-chat, I’m informed that Ozine Maid Cafe will have its last run at the next Anime Figure Special this December. What happens to be a simple kamustahan led me to mark the date on my calendar. ...

This draft was actually written a year ago. This was me reluctantly deciding if I’m going for my first overseas trip or not. A year after this, I ticked off one thing in my bucket list. Allow me to share the draft prior to the release of “The First and Last Journey” this Monday, 7pm Manila time on Facebook and YouTube. I am looking at my Facebook feed, and I see some of my friends go to other places, with their smiling faces; and I can’t help but feel so jealous. ...

Team Twin Star and Team Phoenix selected last Sunday Two teams have participated in the NCR Leg of the World Cosplay Summit Philippines 2019 Qualifiers held at the 13th Christmas Toys and Collectibles Fair at Megatrade Hall 2 of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City on Sunday, December 16. These two teams are Team Phoenix and Team Twin Star are both selected to represent the region. Watch the highlight video below. ...

It’s my first time to be in Singapore, and I’m really happy to be there to witness the 10th year anniversary of Anime Festival Asia, C3AFA Singapore 2018. It’s been so long since I wrote a story here, so let me take the opportunity to file this story on the WCS Singapore preliminaries on a personal tone. When it was announced that Rithe (who has visited Cosplay Carnival in the Philippines early this year) will join this qualifier with Kai, I quickly bet my decision that they will win this one. ...

Now I am faced with a dilemma. Flickr sent all of its users a note dated November 1st: Beginning January 8, 2019, Free accounts will be limited to 1,000 photos and videos. If you need unlimited storage, you’ll need to upgrade to Flickr Pro. After SmugMug acquired Flickr from Yahoo, this is what the new owners will give to us. As they announced the changes, they stated: In 2013, Yahoo lost sight of what makes Flickr truly special and responded to a changing landscape in online photo sharing by giving every Flickr user a staggering terabyte of free storage. This, and numerous related changes to the Flickr product during that time, had strongly negative consequences. ...

iflix— the on-demand service established in 2014 and has spread throughout Southeast Asia, Middle East and North Africa — was among the first on-demand services I got introduced to (the other ones would be HOOQ and Netflix). I still remember during the ToyCon 2015 launch when I had the opportunity to ask the iflix guys if they will include anime and other Japanese content — they were hopeful to show them. ...