KULTURA JUNIOR

Delight in the sounds of gongs, guitars and bamboo pipes, as Kultura Junior showcases the “Rhythms of the Philippines” at the Ford Amphitheatre on Saturday, Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. Dressed in vibrant costumes inspired by the tropical Philippine islands, Kultura Junior performers will journey through the landscape and mimic the movements of native birds and fish.

This 2007 “Big! World! Fun! Family Series” event is FREE to all children. It’s a fun way for the entire family to see cultures from around the world and receive prizes.

WHO: Kultura Junior of Kultura Philippine Folk Arts
WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
WHERE: Ford Amphitheatre 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. EastHollywood , CA 90068 Just off the 101 ( Hollywood ) freeway across from Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal.
WHAT: Kultura Philippine Folk Arts is a community-based non-profit organization founded in 1992 to educate all California audiences and to enhance appreciation of Philippine culture through folk music and dance. The children’s program, Kultura Junior, began at the Pacific Asia Museum in 1994 to instill pride in their roots and heritage. The Kultura morning show is a prelude to the evening performance. It is the fourth of eight events in the “Big! World! Fun! Family Series,” which continues through Labor Day weekend. Presented by the Ford Theatre Foundation, this year’s theme is “All Aboard the Arts Express!” Kids and parents take an imaginary journey by train to Mexico , Germany , the Philippines , India , Nigeria , Korea , Japan and China , and the United States .

Attendees have a chance to win prizes! Kids check in at the “Ford Arts Express” booth to get their Arts Express Ticket punched for every event attended and become eligible to win prizes including train whistles, an engineer’s cap and a free Ford T-shirt. Model trains are on display on Edison Plaza before and after the show. For Edison Plaza photos, visit http://www.fordamphitheater.org/en/events/bwfphotos.asp.

HOW MUCH: Children admitted for FREE. $5 per adult. Ticket reservations are strongly recommended. Parking is $1 per vehicle.
NOTE: A sunshade covers the audience at the outdoor, morning performances of Big!World!Fun!

PURCHASE/RESERVE TICKETS: (323) 461-3673

These events are part of the Ford Amphitheatre 2007 Season, a multi-disciplinary arts series produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission in cooperation with Los Angeles County-based arts organizations. For complete season information log on to http://www.fordtheatres.org/.
For the Big!World!Fun! Series schedule, visit: http://fordtheatres.org/en/events/Family.asp

[PRESS RELEASE]

Balita Ngayong Umaga: Roberts, Buses, Federline, Pesticides

- U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is doing okay, according to (Doctor) President Bush. Roberts was hospitalized Monday after a seizure. Go here to read the full report.

- If they can only promise that you won't have to sit next to a crazy tranny and the even crazier bum, it will be perfect. These buses are a part of a new nonstop line from Los Angeles starting next week, serving seven cities with a handful of fares as low as $1. It will take L.A. commuters to San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix.

- Mr. Federline is not Mrs. Spears anymore.

- Good Morning America's Robin Roberts has breast cancer.

- A study finds that women who live near California farm fields that use certain pesticides may be more likely to give birth to children with autism. Go here for the complete report.

STEPHANIE'S DREAM: A Filipina UCLA student, an undocumented immigrant, testifies for California Dream Act

"Stephanie was born in the Philippines and immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was three years old. Stephanie is a junior at a University of California institution majoring in English (creative writing). As an AB 540 student, she is forced to take up to a year off from school in order to work. The money that she earns working two or three minimum-wage jobs helps her to pay off tuition for one academic term. Stephanie dreams to one day become a copy editor for a major newspaper. "

- excerpted from "Undocumented Students, Unfulfilled Dreams"

Stephanie has always been an excellent student. She started high school at 12, and entered college at 16. Because she is ineligible to get student aid, she is currently not enrolled.

Stephanie's story is part of the recently released report called "Undocumented Students, Unfulfilled Dreams". The report includes testimonies of 12 undocumented high school and college students and recent college graduates, detailing their personal stories and struggles with being undocumented in the American higher education system. Their stories are tied by a common thread: they came to America as children. Most are "honor students, athletes, student leaders, and aspiring professionals."

The California Dream Act (SB 65) would provide undocumented students access to institutional merit-based scholarships and aid, and Cal Grant B, now unavailable because of their immigration status.

The bill is currently stalled in the Assembly Rules Committee and is waiting to be introduced by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez. State Senator Gilbert Cedillo, the California Dream Act’s chief senate sponsor and Assemblymember Mike Eng are its chief supporters.

BABY EATING LEMON

Good morning! Here's a cute little video to get you through the Monday morning brain clog.

POP KENDI: BEST OF THE WEEK

Best Movie:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on IMAX

I saw it first on regular theaters on the first day of its run but a friend said it looked so much better on IMAX, and she was right. When the 3D part came up, a loopy teen in front of me kept reaching up to touch Harry's face because it looked so near.

I also enjoyed (on DVD): Starter for 10, a pretty okay movie with awesome '80s soundtrack.

Best TV Show:

History Channel's Human Weapon featuring Escrima

It was such a thrill to see a whole episode of an American TV show shot entirely in the Philippines and featuring talented Pinoys. The Pinoy escrima martial artists were amazing, and the countryside sceneries were breathtakingly beautiful. Go here to see a clip from the show. The episode will re-air in August so check your local listings, and Tivo or DVR it! My favorite part was when a manong escrima master scolded the American hosts of the show as they were 'artfully' wielding the arnis instead of whacking away like they apparently should: "Don't dance! It's not a dance."

Best Website: SingShot

This karaoke website will let me (and you) record and share my (and your) most gutsy rendition of, let's see, ooh! "I Will Survive"! Bring out the ear plugs!

Best Book: Still Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I've never re-read a book so quickly after the first go but I just love love love this book.

I'm also reading: Good Grief by Lolly Winston

PHISHING

It sounds like the water-related activity but as many phishing victims have discovered, there's nothing remotely enjoyable about phishing. And if you get hooked and your personal and financial information are phished, your life will be just as wet and soggy.

Ano ba ang phishing?

Per Wikipedia: "Phishing is a criminal activity using social engineering techniques. Phishers attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay and PayPal are two of the most targeted companies, and online banks are also common targets."

A few years ago when information about phishing is not yet as prevalent, a friend of mine was victimized when he received a seemingly legitimate e-mail from his bank asking him to confirm his account info. He obliged. His account was stolen.

Here's an example of a phishing e-mail. Note the ominous warning:

"Your account has been randomly flagged in our system as a part of our routine security measures. This is a must to ensure that only you have access and use of your North Island Credit Union account. We require all flagged accounts to verify their information on file with us. To verify your information at this time, please visit our secure server webform by clicking the hyperlink below: http://www.z220.com/www.myisland.com/sampleonly

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to temporarily deactivate your account."

Similarly, many have reported that their e-mail addresses were hijacked by spammers when they logged into a web page very similar to Yahoo's but is actually a fake (see picture).

With a lot of people doing online transactions now more than ever, phishers are raking it in while innocent and hardworking people are left crying.

So paano mo pro-protektahan ang sarili mo against phishing?

Here are some tips:

1. Wag, wag, wag kang mag-respond to requests for personal information via e-mail. Never click on any link that these kinds of e-mails provide.

2. If you need to visit a web site where you need to enter confidential information, type the URL (the one that starts with www) into your address bar.

3. If you need to enter any personal info, find the "lock" icon. This will help ensure that the web site is using encryption.

4. Lagi ninyong review-hin ang inyong credit card and bank statements.

5. Report to the proper authorities. Call your bank or online retailer immediately if you suspect that your account has been phished.

ALSO:

Here's a TEST designed by software giant McAfee that will help you spot fake websites. You gotta see it to believe how the fake websites are so similar to the real ones.

MERMAN IN CEBU?

Apparently, an e-mail containing photos of this "merman" has been circulating for quite sometime now. What doesn't get old is its ability to hook e-mail recipients into "is it real or is it peke?" squinting at the photos.

A movie prop? Perhaps. I say it's a couple of years late from the "Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" auditions.

THRILLER: THE PINOY PRISON MUSICAL

Guess which YouTube post has gotten more than a million views as of today? A video showing 1,500 Cebu prison inmates performing a well-choreographed "Thriller" dance routine. The link has been mentioned in many popular U.S. blogs including USA Today and Mo Rocca's column. I loved Mo's title most of all: "So You Think You Can Dance: Filipino Prison Edition."

It looks like the dancers are having fun (beats cleaning up the toilet, I bet), so the cringe factor is minimal. I did stop watching before the icky final scene where the "zombies" dance the part where they "attack" the "woman".

Heartbreaking Sodas

I'm a regular Coke drinker so this bit of news about soda being linked to heart problems is killing my fizz.

"Over the four years of the study, people who consumed more than one soft drink of any kind a day were 44 percent more likely to develop metabolic syndrome than those who didn't drink a soda a day," according to a medical study.

Metabolic syndrome is "a cluster of risk factors linked to the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease."

I'm Back!

Hey, there. My blogging break is finally over. I'm glad to be back.

So many things happened while my blogging hands were getting some much-needed rest, and I'm very excited to start sharing entertaining, informative and hopefully inspiring news, links and thoughts here on FilipinOnline once again.

Magandang araw sa inyong lahat, have a great day today!

Ingat lagi,
Yong