BRAND NEW HBO ORIGINAL COMEDY SERIES SILICON VALLEY

PHILIPPINES, APRIL 8, 2014 – In the high-tech gold rush of modern Silicon Valley, the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success. Mike Judge (Office Space, Beavis & Butt-head, and King of the Hill), brings his irreverent brand of humour to this new HBO Original Comedy Series, SILICON VALLEY. Partially inspired by Judge’s own experiences as a Silicon Valley engineer in the late ‘80s, the show is a collaboration between Judge and Alec Berg (“Seinfeld,” HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), and kicks off its eight-episode season Sunday, April 13 at 9pm on HBO SIGNATURE / HBO SIGNATURE , a week after its US premiere, immediately followed by the new season premiere of VEEP at 9.30pm.

Photo courtesy of HBO Asia

Richard (Middleditch) is an introverted computer programmer living in the Hacker Hostel start-up incubator along with his best friend, Big Head (Brener), pompous Gilfoyle (Starr) and dry-witted Dinesh (Nanjiani). These social misfits live under the watch of Erlich (Miller), a self-satisfied dotcom millionaire who lets them stay in his house for free – as long as he gets a ten percent stake in their projects.

 After a failed pitch to billionaire venture capitalist Peter Gregory (Welch), Richard seems destined to remain at his job at the tech company Hooli, founded by the megalomaniacal Gavin Belson (Ross). When Monica (Crew), Gregory’s head of operations, and Jared (Woods), a Hooli executive, realise the value of the site’s compression algorithm, a bidding war erupts between Belson and Gregory, with Richard caught in the middle.

SILICON VALLEY features a talented ensemble of young comic actors. Cast regulars include: Thomas Middleditch (“Search Party,” “The Office”), T.J. Miller (“Mash Up,” “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”), Zach Woods (“In the Loop,” “The Office”), Kumail Nanjiani (“Franklin & Bash,” “Portlandia”), Martin Starr (“Freaks and Geeks,” “Party Down”), Josh Brener (“Glory Daze,” “The Internship”), Christopher Evan Welch (“The Master,” “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”) and Amanda Crew (“Jobs,” “Charlie St. Cloud”). Matt Ross (“Magic City,” HBO’s “Big Love”) guest stars.

SILICON VALLEY was created by Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky; executive producers, Mike Judge, Alec Berg, John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky, Michael Rotenberg and Tom Lassally; producers, Jim Kleverweis and Chrisann Verges.

Premieres Sunday, April 13, 9pm

Other playtimes on HBO SIGNATURE: Friday, April 18 (8pm), Saturday, April 19 (11.30pm)

Silicon Valley, HBO and Home Box Office are service marks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission.

TUNE HOTELS IS SOUTH EAST ASIA’s MOST IMPROVED BRAND!

KUALA LUMPUR,  7 April 2014 – In yet another global achievement, international value hotel brand Tune Hotels has been recognised as the ‘Most Improved Brand’ as measured in the most recent BDRC Hotel Guest Survey for South East Asia.

 

The Hotel Guest Survey Programme, managed by UK-based independent research consultancy BDRC Continental, is widely acknowledged as the definitive measure of hotel brand performance worldwide.

 

Conducted annually in 35 countries, the surveys are based on nationally representative samples of business and leisure hotel guests domiciled in each market. The surveys track all major international and domestic hotel brands.

 

“The ‘Most Improved Brand’ award, derived from the survey data, is based on a composite measure of performance, which includes survey metrics such as unaided brand awareness, prompted brand recognition, usage in the last 12 months and Top 2 choice hotel brand,” explained Matthew Costin, Managing Director  of BDRC Continental.

 

“In this year’s survey of travellers in South East Asia, Tune Hotels made significant gains and is now among the top 5 most widely used brands by business hotel guests,” he added.

 

Mark Lankester, Group CEO of Tune Hotels said: “This is a very significant award for Tune Hotels. To be recognised as the ‘Most Improved Brand’ for South East Asia means a lot to us. This is where we started and is our natural playground, and we will continue with our commitment to grow in the region.”

 

“To learn that Tune Hotels is among the top 5 most widely used brands by business travellers gives my team and I a great deal of satisfaction. We’ve worked hard to evangelise that great quality value-for-money hotels in central locations play a strong role in assisting business owners and their teams to grow their businesses, better control the cost of doing business and actually seek out and become cross regional entities,” added Lankester.

 

“This award crystallises what a hotel platform can achieve for both business and leisure guests across the existing 42 cities and destinations across Asia-Pacific especially in South East Asia, as well as the United Kingdom, and at the same time keep our guests happy,” he said.

 

Tune Hotels provides international-class high-quality accommodation at central locations and focuses on key essentials but minus the generally underused facilities found in other hotels such as swimming pools, ballrooms and convention halls. By doing away with these costly and high-maintenance facilities, Tune Hotels is able to keep costs low and pass on savings to its guests.

 

There are currently 42 Tune Hotels available for booking across Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, England, Scotland, Australia, India and Japan.

 

Tune Hotels is part of Tune Group, a lifestyle business conglomerate co-founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, who are the Group CEO and Executive Chairman respectively of Asia’s largest low cost carrier AirAsia.

 

For real-time updates and promotion alerts, like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. 

 

For booking and further information, visit www.tunehotels.com.

 

Mall Of Asia Arena Hosts PBA-All Stars

No Filipino I know who doesn't like basketball. From barangay leagues to varsity basketball, no one will miss every single game. It is a rare moment in basketball that we get to see our own basketball team Gilas Pilipinas will shoot hoops against the PBA-All Stars at The Arena on April 4, 2014.

We only see Gilas when they are competing against the worlds' best basketball teams other countries represent. Before they go to Spain, we'll get the chance to prepare and what better team they can practice with than the PBA players.

 

The selling factor here is that it will be held in Manila. The last time Gilas played against the All Stars was outside the Metro and ended up in a draw. Back then, Gilas players were trying to get along. With the great facility of The Arena, this is the good venue to host it.

You can buy tickets at the designated outlets or online via smtickets.com . Price ranges from P340.00 to P1,410.00

 

After the practice game, there will also a dance-off between two teams. Like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

90’s Iconic Dance Groups Reunite for Neuropathy Awareness

Post-event release material

Manila, Philippines --Dancing is one of the greatest expressions of the joy of living. Yet, this burst of joyful energy can easily stop when you experience nagging discomforts such as numbness, tingling sensations and body pain.

L-R. Mr. Louie Roxas, Ms. Debbie Go, Ms. Loy Dy-Buncio, Mr. Art Dapasen, and Dr. Gio Baranga

Pain in the hand, arms and legs caused by nerve damage is called Neuropathy, which can leave you feeling numb, making it difficult for you to function properly. Neuropathy afflicts many Filipinos as early as their mid-20’s, but this condition is often misdiagnosed so they do not receive the proper treatment.

In one graceful move, Neurobion® reunites iconic dance groups Universal Motion Dancers, Sex Bomb Dancers and The Maneouvers to launch the Neuropathy Awareness Movement at the Trinoma Atrium. The reunion concert will feature dance icons such as Wowie de Guzman and Jopay Paguia to lead the event and perform their greatest hits. Known for their superb moves and demanding routines, the dancers know too well the importance of being able to move freely without the threat of pain.

Sex Bomb Dancers

The symptoms of Neuropathy include pangangawit, pamamanhid and tusok-tusok in the hands, arms and legs. The discomfort is often felt in the morning, making it hard to even get out of bed. Such body discomforts can hinder movement, making you feel helpless, out of control and unable to enjoy life.

It is clinically proven that Neurobion® balanced formulation of nerve nourishing vitamins acts at the root of these problems (Tong HI, Influence of neurotropic vitamins on the nerve conduction velocity. Ann Add Med Singapore, 1980 Jan; 9(1) 65-70). Each tablet of Neurobion® can help maintain healthy nerves, promote efficient nerve function, and reduce pain in the hands, arms and legs caused by Neuropathy.

With the incidence of Neuropathy increasing among Filipinos, the Neuropathy Awareness Movement, spearheaded by Neurobion®, aims to raise awareness on the symptoms and effects of nerve damage. Pangangawit, pamamanhid and tusok-tusok may make it difficult to move, but now you can take action. With clinically proven Neurobion®, you can help prevent these symptoms so you can move freely, perform at your best, and feel the joy of living again. 

Merck is a leading pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company with total revenues of € 11.2 billion in 2012, a history that began in 1668, and a future shaped by more than 40,000 employees in 67 countries. Its success is characterized by innovations from entrepreneurial employees. Merck's operating activities come under the umbrella of Merck KGaA, in which the Merck family holds an approximately 70% interest and shareholders own the remaining approximately 30%. In 1917 the U.S. subsidiary Merck & Co. was expropriated and has been an independent company ever since.

The Manhunt For Joel Lambert Is On...Discovery Channel

I've known Discovery Channel as an educational and documentary cable channel. Now, it is the first time I've seen the channel does reality type show on television. But the reality show is quite different from the usual reality show you are probably familiar with.

Joel Lambert

 

Discovery Channel new series Manhunt is like a simulation of an actual manhunt. If you are familiar with the Bourne movies, it is similar to that. The target is Joel Lambert. Former Navy SEAL(Sea, Air, Land) gives a chase with the world's elite forces.

 

Instead of the pilot episode, we skipped 5 episodes for an episode in the Philippines were Lambert takes on our very own Scout Rangers in Zambales. The mission is simple. The Scout Rangers will track down Lambert before he reach his extraction point.

 

Although Lambert is experienced in extracting missions, he works alone and the 14 Scout Rangers are expert trackers. Although retired, Lambert trains recruits for these kind of missions. Lambert shares what makes it difficult for him for doing this show was to move with a camera man on the duration of the episodes. The same is also said by the Scout Rangers. It was their first time to do tracking with a camera man with them on an extreme environment.

Lambert with the Philippines Scout Rangers

 

Manhunt premieres 2000hrs April 7. The Philippine episode is the sixth. For new TV shows, like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

3rd Electric Vehicle Summit Resolution

Here' the result of the recent Electric Vehicle Summit.

Electric vehicle industry needs the infrastructure and more

Manila, Philippines - The recently-concluded 3^rd Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit showed that putting the electric vehicle into the mainstream of the Philippine auto industry needs a lot of things, foremost among them the infrastructure and the technology. Add to that some incentives for those pioneering in this sunshine industry.

Rommel Juan, president of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (eVAP) says that to be able to do this, we have to plant the seeds now. “Together, let us all help in removing all road blocks and collectively help to facilitate, if not even accelerate, the growth of the Philippine EV industry”.

One of the biggest roadblocks is technology. Nilo Pena of the DOST-PCIEERD pointed out that science and technology initiatives are now sadly lacking in infrastructure such as advanced materials testing laboratories, auto parts & components testing facilities and vehicle research and testing laboratories. These they hope to be able to provide in the future.

Mr. Toru Tokushige,  president of Terra Motors agrees and cites that a very important factor in EV success is the battery, specifically on the need for new technologies to reduce its cost while enhancing battery life and performance and the way it is charged.

This is the reason why Meralco has developed an EV charging station that is both a showcase and a technical pilot. “We want to prove that the charging and use of electricity for vehicles is doable and feasible. We are thus pilot testing both regular and fast-charging technologies”, says Tonichi Agoncillo, EV Project Manager of Meralco. “We are even pioneering the use of electronic digital meters that could measure up to the watt-hour level, thus electricity could then be dispensed on a ‘sachet’ basis for as low as P1.00. Corollary to this, Meralco is also advocating for the adoption of the NEMA L6-30 twist-lock connector to safeguard against accidental disconnections while charging”.

In his keynote address, Sen. Bam Aquino said that he fully supports the need to help the fledgling EV industry. He promised to file a bill granting full incentives and another one giving non-fiscal incentives for EV industry players in the Philippines. The week after, in keeping with his promise, Sen. Aquino filed Senate Bill Nos.  SBN-2150 and SBN-2151 entitled Electric, Hybrid and Other Alternative Fuel Vehicles Promotion Act of 2014. “We expect that if these bills are passed into laws, there will be less air pollution, more jobs generated both in upstream and downstream industries and we will have a greener country”, he said.

Department of Energy Usec. Loreta Ayson says that the DOE fully supports the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for the EV industry. “We want the EV industry to develop fully and fast so we are currently spearheading the ETrike Project. However, we believe it also has to be complemented by the proper infrastructure in place. The industry must be supported by a nationwide after-sales service in terms of parts and labor, 5-year warranty on parts and components and free trainings for the drivers, technicians and partner LGUs”.

“If investor incentive is needed, then we will see if this can be accommodated in the Investments Priority Program for 2014” says Gov. Lucita Reyes of the Boards of Investments. “We are now consulting the different industries as we aim for a sharper focus on preferred economic activities, on activities that will fill in the supply chain gaps. The incentives may vary per sector or per project. The validity is going to be three years. However, right now all fiscal incentives are being reviewed and rationalized to ensure only those that are relevant to the current needs will be retained”.

Auto parts making and vehicle assembly, two of the important sub-sectors of the EV industry, also want in. Ferdinand Raquelsantos, president of both the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines and EV assembler Philippine Utility Vehicle Inc. outlined the different fiscal incentives the industry would like to have, such as income tax holidays plus exemption from the payment of excise tax, duties and VAT. “It would also help if the EV industry is given non-fiscal incentives such as priority in vehicle registration and franchise registration, exemption from the number-coding scheme and free parking in new establishments. He explained that in exchange for these, some of the gains would be carbon credits due to emission reduction, dollar savings from oil imports and savings from pollution-related health expenses”.

And health is indeed of primordial consideration in the EV industry. Engr. Vizminda Osorio, director of Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Metro Manila explains that 70% of air pollution comes from mobile sources such as cars and PUVs. “The negative effect is that air pollution results in 2,000 deaths of Filipinos each year and that number increases every year. Today, more than 9,000 Filipinos are affected by chronic bronchitis every year because of dirty air”.

“That is why it is very important for the NGOs, academe and private sector to formulate a comprehensive mainstream strategy to incorporate EV as part of mobility planning and the urban transport planning process” says Dr. Danielle Guillen of the Partnership for Clean Air and the Ateneo Institute of Sustainability.

All these developments, says Juan, are the reasons why he thinks the recent EV Summit was a huge success. “It was able to bring major EV industry players in the Philippines and in the region under one roof. In subsequent business-to-business meetings, they were able to share their best practices, some forged business alliances and others have crafted ways to work together for the advancement of the local EV industry. Hopefully, we can all work together to make the Philippines the EV manufacturing hub for the Asean region”.

But the best news capping the EV Summit probably came from Jay Huang of TECO Taiwan. He divulged that TECO plans to invest Php300.00 million in an EV assembly plant in Subic to serve the rolling chassis requirements for the ETrikes and EJeepneys of its local partner, PhUV Inc. and other EV assemblers. These rolling chassis or even the electric vehicles themselves can then be exported to other countries in the region.

Inspired by these successes, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines also launched an ambitious project: one million electric vehicles in the Philippine roads by 2020! The object is to sell and put on the road about one million EVs by the year 2020, be they 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers or 4-wheelers.