Event Coverage: Microsoft Family Day

There's no better way to spend a hot Saturday with your family than going to something as cool as the Microsoft Family Day where me, my mom, and Dad had fun. Last week, we joined other families as we celebrated our weekend with technology at the Microsoft Office in Makati. We were even given shirts to wear for that day.

Children and their parents got to look, touch, feel, and try some of the latest items that use Microsoft products. I saw different brands and high-tech gadgets and gizmos like laptops, cell phones, computers, and many more that were really advanced and cool.

I had a lot of fun checking out the different booths and trying out some of the products. I even saw a mouse that folds up and can fit in your pocket with no wires so that you can always have it with you wherever you go. And then there was this touch mouse that has a sensitive surface such that when you move either two or three fingers on top of it, you can already control what's on your computer screen. You don’t have to move the mouse at all!

I really enjoyed the Microsoft Family Day because there were so many things that I got to try like playing games using the XBox Kinect. It's not like the regular Xbox 360. It is better! With the new XBox Kinect, you can play the latest video game releases of Microsoft through movement sensors. There is a camera especially designed to sense your every movement so that instead of using a controller, you just use your body to play with it physically. It was so much fun to play with.

It was a blast doing the various activities. I even got to play angry birds and watched the Windows 7 commercials in a theater. I had a great time and I hope I could someday have some of those products on display for my own use.

Music CD Review: Christian Bautista’s Outbound Album

Christian Bautista just released his latest album called Outbound. Thanks to Orange Magazine TV, I was one of the lucky guests to be invited to a press con last Sunday at the Universal Records office. I am not familiar with the Kitchen Musical TV series so I didn’t know that Christian is already famous in different parts of Asia. But it made me glad to realize how he has brought Filipino pride in those countries.

Last night, I discovered that Christian can be a very funny guy and he was also friendly to all of us. Before the press con came to an end, Christian sang I’m Already King, one of the songs in the album. He also gamely posed for pictures with us and readily signed our copies of Outbound.

I listened to the whole album the next day. It features many songs including All That’s Left wherein the music video features cosplay princess Alodia Gosengfiao. The song has an upbeat tempo similar to the KPop music that I always listen to whenever I’m feeling down. All That’s Left is a good choice for track number one because it’s the perfect song to start off the album.

The second track called Faith is very techno-like while I’m Already King, for me, is the nicest song in this album because it highlights much of Christian’s powerful voice. When I heard Never Far Away, I felt like it’s been sung by Matchbox20 maybe because of the lyrics which contain a lot of metaphor.

I give a big “Wow!” to Wrong Number because it features the group One Way and it suits Christian to sing this KPop song. As a KPop fan, I’d say this is one of my favorite tracks in Outbound. The last song, Sakura, teams up Christian with Baby M, a half-Japanese, half-English singer. She has a beautiful voice that is a perfect match to Christian’s.

Overall, this album is beautiful and I recommend this to all who like ballads mixed with some upbeat tempo and maybe KPop. Congratulations to Christian for coming up very nice songs and also for having been recently awarded Exemplary ASEAN Youth in the Field of Entertainment and the Arts by the National Youth Commission. He deserves the recognition.

MTV EXIT Holds Live Concert In Manila To Raise Awareness Against Human Trafficking

Do you know what human trafficking means? A lot of people may not know this but human trafficking is the modern-day form of slavery involving illegal trade of people for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor. It’s real and it’s happening all over the world.

Many Filipinos, too, are victims of human trafficking, that’s why MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) hosted a summit for the youth as well as a concert here to help put an end to the exploitation. Representatives from the United States of America and Australia came to the Philippines to spread awareness that this is happening and is very much real here in our country.

Please read the rest of my concert review at Orange Magazine TV's blog where I am a contributor. You can find there the photos of the speakers like MTV Exit Ambassador for the Philippines, Dingdong Dantes, and performers including Jay Park and surprise guest Jason Mraz.