6 Things We Loved About the Sikat Pinoy National Art Fair 2014

It was supposed to be a simple visit to SM Megamall after attending the mass, when me and Ray suddenly came across the Sikat Pinoy National Art Fair 2014 at the Mega Trade hall. We had other plans but I got waaay too excited and we just had to check it out!

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(Updated) Officially Excited: Blogapalooza 2014

I'm buuuursting with things to blog about!! But I'm a bit too busy right now, with thesis almost reaching its peak and then some. I'm super excited to blog about our recent epic trip but *breathe* patience! Will do that soon. BUT what I cannot put off is joining the biggest blogging event of the year - Blogapalooza 2014!

My friend and fellow blogger Mai mentioned this to me last year however I wasn't able to join, this year, my forever sis Unai reminded me so yes we can't miss this one!

What is Blogapalooza?

Well I've just been reading about it today and in a nutshell, Blogapalooza is one big community that seeks to create ties between businesses and bloggers. One can't deny the fact that blogging has become one of the most influential forms of media in the internet age, and is also one of the most affordable and accessible. Established businesses and start-ups can take advantage of this opportunity to present their products and services straight to bloggers and gain online exposure / advertising.


The event also features various talks and activities to keep inspiring bloggers and help them to improve their craft. This year's speakers/entertainers  include Michelle Gumabao, Karen Bordador, Rene Cruz, and Comedy Cartel.

They're also known to shower bloggers with loads and loads of freebies and whatnots, making this event extremely fun and beneficial for businesses and bloggers alike. And we're talking about huge discounts and coupons on the coolest brands.

While the freebies alone can already convince bloggers to attend, I'm personally more excited on what cool products and services we'll find that can awaken the inner geek in us. Will definitely blog about it!

Blogapalooza 2014 will be held in SM Aura this Saturday, Sept 20, from 10am - 9pm. You can learn more about them at http://blogapalooza.wheninmanila.com/what-is-blogapalooza/ . See you there! :) :)

Update Sept20: Blogapalooza had to be postponed due to extreme weather conditions brought about by Typhoon Mario and his friend Habagat. Huhu. Here's the official statement from the organizers

"Blogapalooza TO BE RESCHEDULED

Newest update as of 5pm.

It is with a heavy heart that we have to unfortunately reschedule our Blogapalooza event as we feel that the safety of the bloggers and exhibitors may be at risk with the heavy weather.

We are not able to formally announce the new date as many of our venue partners are also stranded from the rains and we may not be able to confirm the new date until Monday.

We ask for your patience and understanding in this matter.

Thank you so much and please stay tuned for the new announcements on the new date for Blogapalooza 2014.

If your URL's does not appear on the bloggers list here- More that 500 Bloggers registered Kindly re-register so we can include you on final list"

***

At first it was just a reschedule to a later time, but they still ended up postponing it, which is understandable of course knowing how much preparation time it requires to set up the whole thing. I just hope that all speakers/ invited companies still get to participate in spite of the mess up that it has probably done to their schedules.

Well I guess the only good thing about this is that you can still register and attend, yes?  Visit http://blogapalooza.wheninmanila.com/ now!

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Update Sept 23 : Blogapalooza will be held on October 11! Same venue and schedule! Are you excited??  See you theeeere!!

Amazon Freebies for College Students!

I recently signed up for this Amazon affiliate marketing thing. It's basically just posting a product link of your preference on your page and you get a 4% referral rate for every sale. Nothing to lose! And well I think it's cool that I have a link to the purchase of the Game of Thrones collection right at my side bar. :p Yeees people it's about time you read the books so you'd stop getting buggered by people who kept coming up with spoilers. What's amazing about the show though, is that they come up with small deviations from the books and it keeps everyone on their toes. But that's a different story...why should Season 5 take too loooong.

Anyway, while looking around the website, I found out this promo they're having that's quite worth sharing: The Amazon Student offer. With the recent calendar shift, I'm sure a lot of college students are still getting used to going to school, doing research and all. Good news, Amazon's got some freebies for you!

When you sign up for Amazon Student, you get to have these FREE for the first 6 months:
a. Free 2-Day shipping
b. Exclusive deals and promos for students
c. Earn $10 when you refer a friend
d. Unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows  how cool is this??
e. Borrow Kindle books for FREE
f. Access to streaming over MILLION songs and playlists

All you need is a ".edu" email address, one that is provided by your university to make sure that you really are a student (if you don't have any, you can still submit a proof of being a student), and credit card details (because after 6 months you'll have to pay for subscription).

More and more people are now going to Amazon for their online purchases because of it's great credibility and reliable service. It's interesting how they're doing this for students now.
Click below and give it a try!

Inspiration Over At The Ayala Museum Part 2

(Continued from: Inspiration Over At The Ayala Museum Part 1)


The Paintings

The third floor was an exhibit by the painter Fernando Zobel (1924-1984) entitled Journey into Space: The Visual Odyssey of Fernando Zobel. He's a Spanish - Filipino painter and businessman, and the uncle of the famous Jaime Zóbel de Ayala. His father was a patron of Fernando Amorsolo, and this exposed him to Amorsolo's tutelage and art at a young age.

I have always loved visiting art galleries but I'm really not one to pretend that I actually understand what they're trying to say hahah! This was more of an abstract/ impressionist kind of set, and when you do these things, you do not try to communicate concrete thoughts but you try to invoke a certain kind of emotion. Sometimes it's hard to understand what the painting is trying to say because you're like 'uh okay what's that straight red line doing in a sea of muddled blue and green?' LOL.

And in this aspect, I appreciate the Ayala Museum's attempt to bring paintings closer to the common audience (e.g. non-art intellectuals and shiz) by adorning the walls with some of Zobel's famous quotes and perspectives. This way, the audience is able to connect the man with the painting and somehow is able to understand the medium better.

I particularly liked the Black Series because Zobel was able to come up with dynamic images by simply using the color black as the 'muse'. It really appealed to me how the concept of 'nothingness' can come up with something beautiful (emo not intended :p). It draws you and it pulls you away.

Photo from the Ayala Museum website

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