Another Cellphone Raffle to Cheer me up!

I am writing this blog in a hurry, in the last two minutes of the game before the referree will blow his whistle to signal the end of the end. However, my lame typing fingers try to keep pace with my overspeeding as I keep my toe fingers crossed that my name will get picked THIS TIME! You can't imagine how many celphone promos I have joined in just to get an enviable phone!

And so, presenting Gadgets and Tech's First Annual Phone Raffle Contest! They are offering this new "Samsung GT-E1175T phone with warranty until July 15, 2011" up for grabs!

Gadgets and Tech will hold the contest open until 11:59pm TODAY only! You better get going on your blog entry!

Oops! I almost forgot. They're also giving away a P2,000 gift card from Power Mac Center.

Adarna House's Photo Contest

1. The photo contest is open to all Filipinos anywhere in the world, except for: Adarna House authors, illustrators, and storytellers; and relatives of Adarna House employees up to the 3rd degree of consanguinity.
2. To enter, contestants must have a Facebook account, and must be friends with Adarna House’s official Facebook account.
3. The photo should feature at least 1 Adarna House book and must reflect the theme “Kalaro, Kaeskuwela, Kaibigan.”
4. The photo should be uploaded to the contestant’s Facebook account, labeled with the title of the photograph, and with the book in the photo tagged as “Adarna House.”
5. Entries must be uploaded during the month of August 2010.
6. A contestant may enter a maximum of three (3) photos – differing in concept, and not just in angle or composition.
7. The 5 photos with the most “Likes” by September 5 will make their way into a shortlist of 10 entries. (The other 5 will be chosen by a board of Adarna House staff, authors and illustrators based on the photo’s relevance to the theme and technical and artistic merits.)
8. Shortlisted entries may be used in the backdrop design of Adarna House’s 30th anniversary book launch at the Manila International Book Fair on September 18, so contestants are advised to keep a high-resolution copy (300 dpi) of the photo in their files.
9. The shortlist will be announced by September 6, 2010.
10. The People’s Choice awardee and the Grand Prize winner will be announced at the launch, when the winners will be given their certificates, and books worth Php 3,500.00 and Php 5,000.00 respectively.

Kritika At Kultura Call for Submissions

Contributions are now welcome for the first special exclusively literary issue of Kritika Kultura, the international online journal of language, literary and cultural studies published by the Department of English of Ateneo de Manila University. This issue is intended to be an anthology of new Philippine writing.

The Philippine literary community has a relatively longstanding tradition of releasing anthologies focusing on young writers. However, it can be gleaned that the notion of the “new” remains unarticulated, as recent anthologies simply focus on the “young,” and what becomes apparent is the persistent maintenance of an aesthetics solidified in various creative writing institutions and workshops, a notion that is rapidly rendered inaccurate by a healthy production of writing that these anthologies do not include.

What this issue of Kritika Kultura intends to accomplish is to represent the kind of writing that is rarely published, the kind that is not often legitimized by mainstream publications. The kind of writing that we, as editors, can confidently call “new.”

New, in this case, as the word that most succinctly describes literary texts that are mindful of—by way of formal response/appropriation and/or thematic confrontation—several cultural phenomena such as the preponderance of piracy, the simultaneous/schizophrenic sociopolitical conditions of the nation, the “new” government that includes so many of the old names, the highly provisional stances in criticism pertaining to society and art, the currency and increasing value of topicality and ephemera (as evidenced by BPOs, SEOs, and Facebook), the persistent dominance of celebrity culture, and the gossip paradigm of discourse. The anthology welcomes contributions that transgress genre boundaries, revise traditional modes and forms, formally engage with the largely oral, nontextual/extratextual literary practices of the Filipino audience, and display a technical alertness to the quandaries presented by blog-driven writing, Facebook fiction, protest poetry, the malleability of languages, the hegemony of academic publishing in “legitimate” literature, the dominion of western literary models, and, in light of these, the strategic and arguably fictionalizing construction of Filipino identity.

Contributions are welcome from Filipino writers who have not yet published books of their own. Submissions can be in any language, but English translations must be provided. Multiple submissions are accepted, but each submission (belonging to a particular genre) has a 5,000-word count limit. Submissions must not have appeared in national publications. When emailing submissions, provide a genre-label (such as Poetry or Nonfiction) for each. Submissions may be emailed to kk.litissue@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2010. The issue will be released in February 2011.

Nestle Fruit Selection for a DSLR!

Mechanics

1. How to join
   1. Promotion period is from 5 July 2010 until 12 August 2010.
   2. The contest is open to Filipino citizens at least 18 years of age and residing in the Philippines at the time of joining and winning.
   3. To join, contestants must answer the question: "Ano naman ang masasabi mo sa Nestlé Fruit Selection Yogurt?" through a photo upload of himself/herself with Nestlé Fruit Selection Yogurt.
   4. For the photo(s) to qualify as an entry, the following minimum requirements must be met:
      - Contestant must submit his entries through the NFSY Facebook microsite - Photo should show the contestant with NESTLE Fruit Selection Yogurt - Photo must be a single capture (no inserting of product through photo editing) - The image of the contestant must be clear in the photo to be submitted - The contestant must be the one featured in the image submitted - Except for NESTLE Fruit Selection Yogurt, no other product is displayed or featured.
   5. 
      
   6. To submit his/her essay and photo/s as an entry, the contestant must be a fan of the Nestlé Fruit Selection Yogurt Facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/nestlefruitselectionyogurt), read the full mechanics of the contest and agree to the same, and provide the following personal information when submitting their entries:
      - Complete name - Valid e-mail address - Mobile number(s) - Whether she has read or has not read the full mechanics of the contest - Whether she agrees or does not agree to abide by the terms and conditions set forth in the contest mechanics.
   7. Failure to agree to abide by the terms and conditions set forth in the mechanics shall disqualify the contestant from joining the contest.
   8. Only photos that meet the foregoing requirements will be accepted as official entries in the contest. Nestlé Philippines, Inc. (NPI) reserves the right to determine if an entry qualifies or not. NPI's decision in this regard shall be final.
   9. Deadline of submission of entries is on 5 August 2010.
   10. Upon qualification of an entry, an e-mail notification that the entry has been received and that the same has been qualified will be sent to the contestant.
   11. nce qualified, the contestant can no longer change or edit his/her entry. One submitted photo is considered one entry. A contestant may submit more than one entry but he/she can only win once.
   12. For disqualified entries, an e-mail notification will be sent informing them of such disqualification and the basis thereof. Despite the disqualification, the registrant may still submit a new entry or a modified one provided that he/she submits the same before the deadline for submission of entries.
   13. Employees of NPI, Publicis Manila ("Agency") and ZenithOptimedia ("Media Agency"), and NuWorks (Microsite Developer), their affiliates, subsidiaries, successors or assigns and their relatives up to the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity and/or members of their households (i.e., those sharing their home addresses) are disqualified from joining this contest.

The Chito S. Rono Literary Awards

Contests Rules

1.The contest is open to all writers coming from Eastern Visayas (Region VIII)—those currently residing within the specified geographical area or those born in Region VIII but have migrated to another place or country.

2.The contestant must be a Waray or Inabaknon speaker/writer.

3.Members of the Lamiraw Executive Committee/the contest organizers and the Lamiraw workshop panelists are prohibited from joining the competition.

4.Only three categories are covered by the contest, namely, poetry, short story and play. Contestants may use any of the two local languages: Waray and Inabaknon, and may send in one entry for each category.

Categories

a.Poetry

•An entry must consist of five poems of any topic, theme, length and form. Inabaknon writers must provide a translation of their works in Tagalog or English.

b.Short Story

•An entry must be at least ten pages but not more than thirty pages long. It can be on any

theme and it must be accompanied by a one-page summary. Inabaknon writers must

provide a translation of their works in Tagalog or English.

c.Play

•An entry must have a length of thirty-five minutes (35 minutes) to forty-five minutes (45 minutes), with an open and free theme. It must be accompanied by a one-page summary. Inabaknon writers must provide a translation of their works in Tagalog or English.

5.All entries must be originally written in Waray or Inabaknon not a translation from other languages. It should not have been published or has won in any contest.

6.Entries must be submitted in five copies (one original and four photocopies), double spaced on 8 1/2 x 11 inches regular size bond paper with one inch margin on all sides. Pages should be numbered consecutively (e.g. 1 of 30, 2 of 30 and so on) at the bottom right corner of each page. Font type must be Times New Roman, and 12 pts font size. Entries must bear the pseudonym of the writer. The author's name and pseudonym must be submitted in a separate sealed envelope along with the official application form, a 2x2 ID picture, and the contact information of the contestant. A notary public must attest the originality and authenticity of the entry. Please download the Contest Contract form posted at the NCCA website and at Panitikan.com.ph.

7.The following are the prizes at stake for the Chito S. Roño Literary Awards:

•Poetry

First Prize: P5,000.00 plus Certificate

Second Prize P3,000.00 plus Certificate

Third Prize: P1,000.00 plus Certificate

•Short Story

First Prize: P5,000.00 plus Certificate

•Play

First Prize: P6,000.00 plus Certificate

8.All entries must be addressed to:

Chito S. Roño Literary Awards

Arts, Social and Cultural Affairs Office

c/o Mr. Harold L. Mercurio

Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU)

Rueda St. , Brgy. Balud, Calbayog City

Samar 6710

9.Deadline for submission of entries is on September 15, 2010. Entries must be postmarked not later than September 15, 2010. Contestants are encouraged to send their entries through LBC, JRS or Air 21 fo efficient and safety delivery of manuscripts and other requirements.

10.Contestants are reminded to strictly follow the contest rules and requirements to avoid disqualification.

11.Winning entries shall become part of the literary collection of the Chito S. Roño Literary Awards (CSRLA) which is considered as property of the Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU). Authorship of the literary work remains with the writer. However, under the Contest Contract, the writer is bound to grant, assign and transfer unto NwSSU the right to:

a.publish

b.designate or appoint editors to edit the literary work or any portion of the literary work for publication purposes

c.to furnish copies of all winning literary works to NwSSU library and other libraries

d.to allow the works to be posted online and other electronic means by NwSSU

e.give permission to faculty members and students of NwSSU to photocopy such works for research and performance purposes.

In the one-act play, the writer is bound to grant, assign, and transfer to NwSSU the right to:

a.produce

b.authorize the production of, and /or carry out staging, telecasting, broadcasting, cinema, or other forms of exhibition via internet or other electronic means, any winning literary piece or portion thereof as determined by the school

c.appoint or designate editors or directors who may edit the literary work or any portion thereof to suit the demands of production or exhibition.

12.Writers shall not receive any additional remuneration or royalty, outside from the cash prize of the contest, from NwSSU once their winning literary piece is published by the University.

13.In case a breach of honesty and ethical conduct is violated by a contestant, the Chito S. Roño Literary Awards which is run by NwSSU will take legal action to disqualify any participant and discredit the literary work from being published in its collection of winning pieces.

14.The Chito S. Roño Literary Awards shall not be held accountable to any court litigation if a third party files a case against the winner and/or contestant for any act of plagiarism.

15.Winners of the Chito S. Roño Literary Awards will be announced in radio stations in Calbayog, Catbalogan and Tacloban. It will also be published in the local dailies and posted at the NCCA website and at Panitikan.com. The names of the board of judges will be revealed together with said press releases above. Winning contestants will be notified through phone and mail.

16.Announcement and awarding of winners will be done during the culmination of activities of the annual Lamiraw Regional Creative Writing Workshop (LRCWW) on November 12, 2010 at the Northwest Samar State University , Calbayog City , Samar .

17.The decision of the board of judges is final and irrevocable.

For inquiries, contact Mr. Harold L. Mercurio at 09177982781 or email at chitoronoawards@yahoo.com.

Required Documents

1.Official Application Form with 2x2 picture

2.Please provide any of the following:

•Certificate of Live Birth (clear photocopy) for those born in Region VIII)

•Certificate of Residency signed by the barangay captain of the place where the applicant is currently residing (for those who migrated to Region VIII)

3.Notarized Contest Contract

4.Original and four photocopy of the manuscripts

5.A softcopy of the entry in CD or DVD format

Contact the organizers at:

Arts, Social and Cultural Affairs Office
Northwest Samar State University (NwSSU)
Rueda Street , Brgy. Balud, Calbayog City
Mobile: 09177982781 Tel. (055) 209-3657
Email: chitoronoawards@yahoo.com

Theme: Diversity

In 500* words or less describe the picture below and discuss what can be done to improve diversity in our society today.

*writing should be approximately 500 words

Diverse Reality

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION NOVEMBER 31ST 2010

Terms, Conditions and Restrictions:
Description: The writing contest will commence on or about 2/15/2010. All entries must be submitted no later than 11/31/2010.

How to submit: Creative Thoughts® must be submitted through the chaynge.org web site. Only entries submitted through this website will be considered. Once you submit your entry, you will receive an email notification confirming your successful submittal.

Guidelines: Creative Thoughts® entries should be approximately 500 words and must be written in English and double spaced. Pages must be numbered and the cover page should contain entrant name, contact number, email and postal address. No name or address should appear on any other pages. All entries should be sent in a PDF format and be legible. Entrants are advised to keep an electronic copy of their submission as this copy (which must not differ from the version of the writing submitted for judging) will be required for submission at a later date should the entry be selected for inclusion in the ofilispeaks.com monthly newsletter.

Eligibility: The Creative Thoughts® Writing Contest is open to entrants ages 25 and below, including non-US citizens writing in English. Entries must be original. No past or present paid employee, or contractors of chaynge.org, will be eligible for the prizes.

Selection of winner and notifications: A judging panel appointed by chaynge.org will select the three winners. The panel’s decision will be final and binding and no correspondence with any entrant other than the selected winners. All entries will be judged without author identification. chaynge.org will ensure that the name of the writer does not appear on material submitted to the judging panel. Persons involved in the administration and final judging processes are not eligible to enter.

Prizes: First place winner will receive $1000.00 while second and third place winners will each receive $250.00. The top two finalists will also qualify their institutions to receive a free* one-hour workshop $1500.00 value on the internationally renowned College Success Secrets Exposed presentation.

*Transportation and lodging cost not included.

I should win that Android Phone!

I am a freelancer, meaning every raket that goes my way, I'll probably entertain... which makes my life a non-stop roadtrip. But being a mom and an unstoppable chatterbox, I like to stay in touch with my friends and of course my five-year old daughter. So, anywhere I go, I snap pictures of the people and places, specially the unusual scenes that can only be found out of town, and send these out to them.

The Android phone would be perfect for me. A decent camera-phone to "document" my layasans and net connectivity whenever homesickness sets in. And also, I cannot discount the fact that endless applications that can be added to the phone will help keep my daughter's attention when I'm on a trip with her. This Android phone would be a blessing from heaven. Please, please, make me the winner!

ROAD JUNKY Travel Writing Contest

If you can’t be comprehensive you might as well be opinionated… Entries due by August 31, 2010.

We were looking at all of our country guides and realised there were some big gaps – how is it we have a guide to Kazakhstan and not France, for instance? Plus a lot of our country guides were written in the early days of Road Junky and we need some fresh blood.

So we decided to have a contest to fill up our list in one big go.

The winning travel writer will get $1000 and the 20 runner ups will get $100 and their guides will be published,

So if you think you know any of the countries listed below like the back of your hand then read the rules REALLY, REALLY, REALLY carefully and submit your guide.

Travel Contest Rules

1. Read some of our country guides first to understand what we’re talking about. Check out some of the better ones like The Philippines, Italy and Hong Kong to get the idea.

2. We said ‘read the country guides first’!

3. Send us the Intro page and the People page first (more on the specific sections ) and we will select 21 entries to go through to the next round and complete the rest of the guide.

DON’T write the whole 6000 word guide and send it in until we’ve approved the first 2 pages!

4. Any entry that uses phrases like ‘land of contrasts’, ‘bustling marketplace’, ‘boasts natural wonders’ will be deleted without a second thought.

5. Photos aren’t necessary but are a plus if they’re entertaining – DON’T send us any files though, just include the links to your flickr page or whatever.

6. If you want to have a chance of winning please understand that we’re looking for ironic, outspoken, original writing that shows us the country in a whole new light. Lonely Planet already did bland and politically correct.

7. Final submission deadline for the first 2 pages is August 31st 2010. Then we will choose 21 writers to complete the full country guide. Once all the guides are finished we’ll probably get everyone to vote on their favourite.

8. If selected as winner or runner up you give us exclusive online rights to the work though you can do anything you want with the piece in print. You can submit as many guides as you want.

9. Include a short bio.

10. Send entries to submissions@roadjunky.com and mark your entry ‘contest country guide’.

Countries available:

Afghanistan
Algeria
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China
Croatia
Cuba
Czech Republic
Egypt
Estonia
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Greece
Guatemala
Honduras
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Jordan
Kenya
Laos
Mali
Madagascar
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Norway
Papau New Guinea
Poland
Portugal
Senegal
Serbia
Singapore
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
Ukraine
Vietnam
Yemen

and maybe we’d consider other ones if they were particularly biting.

More when you click this.

Bellies and Babies Listening Promo with Tomatis

Music has always had an effect on people of all cultures all over the world. Nightclubs know what kind of music to play in the mid hours of the night to keep their clients going and going. Tribes have always used different forms of natural music instruments to display their sadness or their joy. Each one of us also know what type of music calms or excites us.

When the baby is still in the womb, he can hear his mother’s voice. From the voice box the sounds travel through the spinal column to reach the growing baby.

Dr. Alfred Tomatis was always very interested in these early phases of development and research was completed on the effects of the Electronic Ear and the Tomatis Effect on the developing baby in the womb. The use of the Tomatis Method during pregnancy was begun in 1988 at the Maternity of the Vesoul, under supervision of Dr. Klopfenstein and Marie Ouvrard. The results were so strongly in favor of the method that the Tomatis Method has become part of the hospital’s permanent practice.

How does the Bellies and Babies Listening Program help your child get the benefits stated above?

Decrease in labor time between control groups and groups who were prepared with the Tomatis Method.

• The uterine dynamic of the women in the Tomatis group was greatly improved.
• Babies of mothers in the Tomatis group had a superior birth weight to a gestational age that was more advanced.
• APGAR scores showed the babies from the Tomatis group recouped faster and better than control group babies.
• At Vesoul specifically they found a lesser need to use instrumental intervention with the Tomatis group mothers.

The mothers in the Tomatis group reported the following:

• The quality of their dreams was peaceful and positive.
• They did not experience the usual feeling at the end of pregnancy of being inhibited, strained or “handicapped”.
• The disappearance of back pains
• A normal walk
• Better Listening
• Increase in creativity
• Their “psyche was on top of things”
• The babies were calmer in the womb
• Mothers felt more “well” and calm returning home with their babies.
• The quality of the immediate bonding and mother / child relationship was improved.

The Mechanics

Please remember that for you to qualify for this Bellies and Babies Listening promo you must be a registered SP member. If you’re not yet registered, click here. As a SmartParenting.com.ph member, you can access the SP Forum populated by thousands of moms (and dads!), make your own SP Mag Cover and have your very own baby brag book.

Please note that the program is for pregnant women in their sixth month (or later gestation).

Just answer the question: How does music help you during your pregnancy? Post your answer as a comment.

Answers are limited to a maximum of 150 words.

A member of the Smart Parenting team and a member of the Tomatis team will pick the best answer and the winner after an evaluation of all entries.

The programs will be valid for a year from the date the prize is received and can be done in our Fort or Quezon City centers.

SP and Tomatis will be picking winners based on the uniqueness and creativity of their answers on July 30, 12:00 n.n. Winners will be announced on August 5, 2010.

More on the mechanics.

For more information, go to the original post.

CDRC's ART CONTEST

The Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (CDRC) is once again staging its annual poster-making contest entitled “APOY, BAGYO, KALAMIDAD: DIBUHONG PAMBATA or ABKD 2010”.

Since 1996, ABKD has served as a venue for children to show their creativity and artistic talents, as well as express their views and concerns on disaster-related issues.

This year, CDRC is once again inviting children 7 to 12 years old to participate in the contest.

ABKD is divided into two categories. Category A is open to children ages 7 to 9, where they are expected to express their ideas on disaster preparedness on any of the following subjects: typhoons or floods, volcanic eruption or lahar, earthquake, fire, landslide or trash slide, and damage to the environment brought about by mining, logging and other development projects.

Category B is for children ages 10 to 12. Artworks under this category should focus on any of the following subjects: drought, red tide or fish kill, infestation, outbreak of diseases or epidemic, militarization or armed conflict, and climate change.

Artworks (in any medium) should bear drawn on a ¼ illustration board, and must bear a title and a caption, and submitted together with the contestant’s name, age, address, telephone number, school’s name, grade level, and other important information.

Entries must be submitted to CDRC not later than September 8, 2010. For other information, please check ABKD posters in schools and/or any of the DepEd Regional and Division offices, or call 929-9820 / 22.

Download contest mechanics here.

For more info, go to CDRC's site.

Children's Lit Booktalk & Work-in-Progress Critique

WHAT : SCBWI Children's Lit Booktalk
WHEN : 6 to 8 pm on Monday, 2010 July 12
WHERE : Figaro 3rd Level Greenbelt 3, Makati
HOST : Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators

BRING : Any children's or young adult book that you want
to share, discuss, ask questions about, or use as a spring-
board for discussion.

Or, bring a work in progress -- your art or manuscript for a
children's or young adult book -- and get a group critique
plus tips on how to get published.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This activity is for adults (18 years old and above) who are:
* Published/unpublished children's book writers/illustrators
* Keenly interested in children's and young adult literature
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
6 to 7 pm - Roundtable introductions & Booktalk
7 to 8 pm - Art or Mss Critique / Questions & Answers
8 pm up - (Optional) Extended discussion / Q&A
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Attendance Fee:
SCBWI members Free*, Non-members P20*
* Plus a receipt to show that you ordered something
— a cup of coffee, a cold drink, anything! It's a courtesy
to the establishment that we’re using as a venue.

For more information contact :
* Beaulah Pedregosa Taguiwalo
0917-787-4956, taguiwalo8888@yahoo.com
http://www.scbwi.org/regions/RA_bios.htm#taguiwalo
* Dominique Garde Torres
0905-347-1668, nikkigtorres@yahoo.com
http://www.scbwi.org/regions/RA_bios.htm#torres