Tekken the Movie

Tekken

In Movie Theaters:	TBA 2010 (Complete)
Directed by:	Dwight Little
Starring: more credits	Jon Foo Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa Luke Goss Chiaki Kuriyama Mircea Monroe
Distributed by:
Genres:	Drama Action Adventure Fantasy Sci-Fi Martial Arts

Synopsis: In the year of 2039, after World Wars destroy much of civilization as we know it, the remaining territories are no longer run by governments, but by corporations; the mightiest of which is the Mishima Zaibatsu. In order to keep the masses down, Mishima sponsors the King of Iron Fist Tournament, or Tekken, in which fighters battle until one is left standing, who in turn will receive a lifetime of stardom and wealth. We are introduced to this violent world through the eyes of Jin Kazama who enters the tournament in order to avenge the death of his mother that he blames upon the Mishima Zaibatsu’s most powerful and controlling chairman – Heihachi Mishima. He knows that the only way to get close enough to Mishima to kill him is to win the tournament, but in doing so, he begins to uncover his own past and inner demons as well as exposing a dark underbelly to Tekken that threatens the very existence of humanity.

Additional Notes: Based on the multi million selling fighting games series created by Namco.

Related Links:

• Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

1st interactive TV proudly Pinoy-made

Posted on June 14th, 2009 under Technology Milestones

A group of young Filipino inoventors have unveiled an improved prototype of the Philippine’s 1st television with a very powerful computing capability that empowers the consumer to watch television and access the internet at the same time.

Brian Quebengco, founder of Inovent Electronics Inc., presented the “beta” version of their Illumina 32-inch LCD Interactive Television (iTV) enhanced with the functions of a personal computer with interactive Internet capability.

With their production of the beta unit, Quebengco said they are coming close to finishing a final prototype that will be mass-produced in the country and sent on a path toward attempting to be the first Filipino electronic product that can challenge the consumer market dominated by products from Japan, South Korea and the United States.

Calling themselves as “inoventors,” Quebengco said their group is attempting to merge the regular LCD TV and personal computer.

He said their group is now in talks with various manufacturers interested in mass-producing the Illumina.

According to Quebengco, they have already signed non-disclosure agreements with the US’ leading chip maker Intel, and local electronics companies Integrated Microelectronics Inc. (IMI) of the Ayala group and EMS Inc. to discuss possible mass production.

The Inovent Electronics team is composed of Quebengco as its founder and leader; chief marketing “inoventor” Mark Ruiz; senior design “inoventors” Peter Can, Jonas Peralta, and Jaed del Mundo; junior program “inoventor” Ryan Bitanga; and junior “inoventors” Victor Yu and Nikko Garcia, who are undergraduates at the De La Salle University (DLSU) taking up electrical engineering and electronics and communications engineering (ECE), respectively.

Quebengco is a professor of industrial design at the DLSU, aside from being an entrepreneur.

The group had produced the Illumina literally from scratch in the garage and different dorm units of the team members.

The Inovent team had presented an “alpha” unit or rough prototype of the Illumina last Nov. 30.

“We have made it sexier,” Ruiz said. The Illumina boasts of a complete multimedia device with access to Google Gadgets, Plasma Widgets, and Mac OS X dock Widgets.

It is said to be the first convergence product made in the Philippines that synthesizes the functions of an LCD television and a personal computer.

Housed in a bold and minimalist curved casing, the iTV is equipped with a High Definition (HD) webcam, a Blue Ray DVD slot drive, VoIP, DVR, Wi-Fi/LAN, 1.5 Terabyte hard drive, wireless keyboard, and a Bluetooth head phone built in the back of the remote control to allow motion gesture base.

The iTV allows the user to watch a local or cable show while browsing the Internet and even communicate interactively through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and webcam.

BBC News travel show features top Philippine sites

Posted on March 11th, 2010 under Beauty of the Philippines

Cebu

BBC World News’ popular travel program Fast Track crisscrossed the Philippines to showcase the scenic sights of the archipelago.

The half hour show hosted by Rajan Datar and Carmen Roberts travelled from Manila to Cebu to Bohol and Palawan focusing on the beautiful sights and sounds of the country.

Rajan was on the island of Cebu to focus on the Filipino identity and how this affects it’s tourism industry. He interviewed one-on-one Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.

Carmen, island hopped visiting Palawan (including El Nido and surronding islands), Cebu, Bohol and Manila.

Palawan

The global program also looks into 5 Free Things to do in Manila – with the BBC’s Globlal Minds audience forum member Joe Sibayan.

And with 7107 islands in the Philippines, Carmen also looks at how easy it is to get around and visit all the islands and islets, indeed a guide to the islands as a tourism mecca.

You can Fast Track’s Philippine Special at these times worldwide:

Mar 12 – 2030 GMT
Mar 13 – 1230 GMT
Mar 14 – 1930 GMT
Mar 15 – 0630 GMT

Paramore Live In Manila

Mall of Asia Concert Ground - March 9, 2010 8PM View TicketWorld outlets View seatmap View poster (printable up to A4 size) Ticket Prices: GOLD: PhP 3,950.00 SILVER: PhP 1,550.00 BRONZE: Php 550.00 Prohibited Entry • Pregnant women • Individuals under the influence of drugs or liquor • Persons with severe heart or medical condition Prohibited items inside the venue • Professional audio or video recording devices • Professional Cameras • Weapons • Glass • Cans • Plastic Bottles • Food • Large metal belt buckles • Big posters/placards/signages • Fireworks • Alcoholic beverages • Spiked Bracelets • Wallet chains • Back packs • Waist packs • Laser Pens • Large chains ORGANIZERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ENTRY TO ANYONE NOT COMPLYING WITH ANY REGULATIONS. About the Event: The combination of musical energy between brothers and Hayley`s bold charisma earned them instant attention, particularly from Florida indie Fueled by Ramen, who signed the band and put them to work recording their debut. Says Hayley, "Some of our favorite bands are on Fueled by Ramen. We knew that they would know exactly how to carry out the vision for our band and music." Paramore went into the studio with producers James Wisner (Dashboard Confessional, Further Seems Forever, Underoath) and Mike Green (Yellowcard, The Black Maria) and blew them away with their sincerity and enthusiasm. Related articles and links: PARAMORE: History, influences, discography and interviews. www.paramore.net www.myspace.com/paramore

J.R. Celski

Posted by IndySkye on February 17th, 2010

Despite the fame of Apolo Anton Ohno and the historic nature of his tying or surpassing the record for most medals won by an American Winter Olympian, the short track speedskater at the Vancouver Olympics who was garnering “the buzz” was Apolo’s teammate J.R. Celski. The cute little guy with the powerful legs, and the finesse to place them precisely where need to be in the madcap and bunched up sport of short track, is the sport’s next star. The thing that was giving him buzz this Olympics, even though he is still behind Apolo, is that his success in Vancouver seemed so unlikely (like impossible) only five months before, after a horrific accident in which he sliced his leg to the bone with his own skate.

In was at the U.S. Olympic Trials for short track speedskating in September, 2009, that Celski crashed in the semifinals of the 500m race and cut open his left leg with the sharp blade of his right skate. The cut was 6″ wide and 2″ deep. Celski had to actually pull the blade out his leg, which then started bleeding profusely on to the ice. The cut had gone through the muscle and missed his femoral artery by only about an inch. Seeing what had happened, laying on the ice, Celski first thought that his skating career was over.

Fortunately, after the injury was closed with about 60 stitches, Celski started thinking about recovering and getting back on his feet as soon as possible. He went into rehabilitation under the care of Dr. Eric Heiden, the legendary skater with five gold medals, who is now an orthopedic surgeon. In a month, Celski was able to walk without crutches. By November, he was back on the ice, but it was only two months to the Olympics and he could only skate very carefully and very slowly. Somehow, through miraculous internal drive, Celski used that two months to get back into world-class shape. Not many people could do that after such a terrible injury and in such a short period of time.

Celski had been placed on the U.S. team after the trials, so it was just a matter of him getting better so that he could compete at Vancouver. Once there, most people would consider him a success if he just stayed up with the pack during his events. Amazingly, because of a crash between Korean skaters who outsmarted themselves in their team racing effort, Celski was able to win the bronze medal in the 1500m.

J.R. (John Robert) Celski has shown he can be a star like Apolo on the ice. It was Apolo who actually inspired Celski to get into short track, when Celski watched Apolo compete in the 2002 Winter Olympics. About that J.R. said, “I remember watching [Apolo in the 1500m in 2002], sitting on my living room floor with my mom. And watching him raise his arms in triumph after he won this race. It was the single defining moment that brought me over to short track speedskating. We’re from the same area, we’re training together now, and to be able to be part of this experience is awesome. Just watching [again a video of Apolo winning] made my heart melt.”

EIU ranks the Philippines world’s best in microfinance

Posted on February 17th, 2010 under Biz Progress

[Photo courtesy ADB]

The Economist Intelligence Unit, the business information arm of The Economist Group, has declared the Philippines as the best in the world in terms of its microfinance environment.

The study conducted by the EIU looked at 55 countries and measured each country’s state of regulatory framework, investment climate and institutional development.

“In 2009, the First Annual Global Microfinance Index and Study declared the Philippines as the best in the world in terms of its microfinance regulatory framework,” the study added.

In all, the Philippines ranked third overall worldwide in terms of microfinance business environment.

“Overall, the Philippines ranked third in the world following the usual microfinance leaders — Peru, and Bolivia,” the study stated.

Latest figures show that 214 banks involved in microfinance have outstanding loans of over P6.4 billion to nearly 900,000 microentrepreneurs who have over P1.5 billion in savings.

The BSP was mandated by the General Banking Law in 2000 to recognize microfinance as a legitimate banking activity and to set the rules and regulations for its practice within the banking sector.

The BSP has, since then, institutionalized microfinance within the BSP and has proactively taken significant initiatives to enable the development of sustainable microfinance.

“In the past nine years, the BSP issued 18 circulars and undertaken major activities and initiatives for microfinance. In recent years, the success in microfinance development has paved the way for further efforts to build an inclusive financial system,” the BSP said.

The BSP’s three-pronged program include the provision of policy and regulatory environment, increasing the capacity of the BSP and the banking sector in microfinance, SME, finance operations, and promoting the development of a sound, sustainable and inclusive financial system.

Fil-Am wins bronze in Vancouver Winter Olympics

Posted on February 15th, 2010 under The Good Balita

J.R. Celski [Photo by Matthew Stockman / Getty Images]

J.R. Celski, a young Filipino-American won his first-ever Olympic medal, a bronze in 1500 meter speed skating event in the ongoing Vancouver Winter Olympics in Canada.

Celski born in Monterey, California is the youngest of three brothers. His father is Robert Celski served in the U.S. Army and his mom is a Filipina named Sue.

J.R. when he was young was an ace at in-line skating. His speed and tactics earned him many plaudits in the youth in-line circuit. But it was in 2002 that he watched his idol Apolo Ohno compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

As Celski watched Apolo grace the turns, salvage a silver in the 1,000 and skate to gold in the 1,500 meters, it was clear to J.R. that his future lay in short track.

Even though he missed the minimum-age requirment for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin by just over a fortnight, a bronze medal in the 500 meters at the 2006 World Junior Championships in Romania was a sign of things to come.

At the 2009 World Championships in Vienna, Celski skated to gold in the 3,000 meters and also earned another a member of the 5,000 meter relay team. He also cruised to bronze medals in the 1,000 and 1,500 meters.

At the 2009 World Junior Championships in Quebec, J.R. Celski was at it again, earning a gold in the 500 meters and another with the 3,000 meter relay team.

That set things up for the 2010 Winter Olympics Trials in Marquette, Mich. While Celski qualified for the 1,000 meters and 1,500 meters, he was injured in a crash during the semifinals of the 500 meters. A right skate slashed into his left leg.

As he was carried off to the hospital, Celski wondered if he was going to be healed in time to join his mentor Ohno in Vancouver. It turned out that the man upstairs had a plan for the young lion from Monterey.

In heat 3 of the 1,500 meters, Celski finished second to Lee Sung-Su to advance to the semi-finals. And in the semi-finals, Celski was able to just second behind another Korea, Sung Si-Bak, to advance to the final.

However, in the last lap of the 1,500 meters at the Pacific Coliseum, it looked as if the Korea trio of Lee Jung-Su, Sung Si-Bak, and Lee Ho-Suk would make it was 1-2-3 finish for South Korea. And it was a certainty that Celski’s ambition of earning a medal would have to wait.

One must realize, however, that the sport of short track speed skating has a nasty tendency to throw curve balls as a habit. Spills occur. Nothing is certain. An anonymous observer put it simply, “That’s short track.”

Even Celski realized that he was never safe from not staying on his skates during the trials. Thankfully, it was not gonna happen to him tonight.

With Ohno ahead, and both Sung and Lee Ho-Suk behind, the latter two’s skates tangled, allowing Ohno to achieve his personal record for the most medals by an American at a winter Olympic Games.

And it also gave young J.R. Celski, the lion who overcame injury and uncertainty to come to Vancouver, his first-ever Olympic medal.

It was the symbol of six months gone full circle. Celski’s toughness and perseverance allowed him to skate away from pain and tragedy, and into triumph and redemption.

Could J.R. Celski be the next great short track hero from the USA? With the foundation set, and renewed sense of confidence, you’d better believe that when he hits the ice, this rising star with a lion-sized heart is on the prowl and will be hungry for more.