SINULOG 2009 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS

One of the reasons that make the Sinulog Festival became successful because of the people who have the passion on photography. Sinulog cannot be appreciated by the person who lives away from the Philippines or even they he lives here but he wasn’t able to witness the grandest fiesta at all if there is no printed material involved.

I’m looking forward of the results for this year prestigious photo contest. It is just like waiting for the radio to announce the Sinulog Contingent winners.

Here are the complete lists of winners for this year photo contest…

CONTINGENT CATEGORY

1st  Erwin Lim
2nd  Francis Dunque
3rd  Mark Anthony Velasquez
4th  Kenneth Si
5th  Mark Anthony Velasquez
6th  Eric Palmares
7th  Mikhail Arrogante
8th  Erwin Lim
9th  Erwin Lim
10th Chailun Leung

FLUVIAL/SOLEMN PROCESSION CATEGORY

1st  Daniel Ybañez
2nd  Jose Teresito Ybañez
3rd  Jacob Maentz
4th  Kino Lim
5th  Mikhail Arrogante
6th  Jacob Maentz
7th  Zosinit Yanson
8th  Mikhail Arrogante
9th  Armando Lorico Jr.
10th Rene Ybañez

FLOAT/HIGANTE/PUPPETEERS CATEGORY

1st  Teresito Ybañez
2nd  Jose Teresito Ybañez
3rd  Michol Sanchez
4th  Jerome Janvier Albrando
5th  Marvin Bonjoc
6th  Rene Ybañez
7th  Jacob Maentz
8th  Vic Kintanar
9th  Erwin Gavino
10th Jacob Maentz

SIDELIGHTS/ROUTE DECOE/ON SITE DECOR CAT

1st  Allan Restauro
2nd  Elmer Philip Lim
3rd  Jimmy Wu
4th  Erwin Lim
5th  Dexter Bongo
6th  Jon Aguirre
7th  Luisito Cleofas
8th  Teresito Ybañez Jr.
9th  Christopher Colinares
10th Jon Tolentino

FESTIVAL QUEEN CATEGORY

1st  Paul Gotiong
2nd  Edgar Tan
3rd  Rolando Pascua
4th  Jose Teresito Ybañez
5th  Ted Madamba
6th  Francis Dunque
7th  Mikhail Arrogante
8th  Armando Lorico Jr.
9th  Jeffrey Go
10th Ted Madamba

GRAND WINNER

1st Alex Badayos

2nd Armando Lorico Jr.

3rd Edgar Tan

KUDOS!!! To all winners!!!

SINULOG: JUST OR UNJUST TREATMENT?

Sinulog is the time of venerating the Holy Child, Señor Santo Niño. This is the time that a lot of people from different places flock here in Cebu City just to visit his house, Basilica del Santo Niño. There will be nine days of novena in honor of the Holy Child. Some people went there (Pilgrimage of Basilica) to light candles, pray, falls longest line just to wipe his glassed image and attends mass. These are usually done by the devotees of the child since their prayers were answered, some of them were still asking for something from Him.

Last January 15, 2009, it was the day when the University of Cebu is one of the sponsors of the mass. This has been yearly activity organized by the people who manage the mass sponsorship. It was about four past thirty when I decided to walk ahead of the UC community, thinking I could find myself a comfortable place to stay with. As I walked, the CWTS students were there in the streets. They were ready to cordon the place since UC composed of quite number of faculty and students from different campuses.

I just walked normally since I am three months pregnant. The carosa of UC is not too far from where I stand. It is just about 50 meters away from me. Nevertheless, I walked a little bit faster. Until such, I reached at the Basilica. There I could hardly breathe since most people where just coming in and out.

I wanted to stayed at the pilgrimage, there is only one way in going up in each side of it. I could describe it as a flooding, bumper to bumper. You can’t move. I am afraid that time, there was a stampede. What I did, I just put my arms around my belly just to protect me and my baby from bumping. Fortunately, I made it on top.

On the other hand, after Sinulog, if I was not mistaken, that was January 19, 2009, Manny Pacquiao visited Basilica. He was given a special treatment. It is a special treatment in a sense that he doesn’t need to fall in line just to kiss the image.  In my opinion, it has to be fair and square. Popularity should not be the bases of special treatment. If Manny is a devotee of Santo Niño, he should do the same thing of what ordinary people did.

Due to the incident happen, the organizing committee of the Sinulog Fiesta must give priority lane for senior citizens, pregnant and people who are in the wheelchair. In this manner, there would be cozy feeling for those who will attend the mass and to avoid from stampede.

Brain Age doesn’t work, claim researchers

Designer called out as a “dream merchant.”

Countless consumers have sharpened their synapses playing Nintendo’s Brain Age games. But according to a new study out of France, they would have done better just sharpening a pencil instead.

As reported by the Times Online, researchers at the University of Rennes, Brittany, claim that the popular DS brain-training game not only failed to improve the cognitive abilities of ten-year-old test subjects, but actually worsened their memory.

Alain Lieury, research lead and professor of cognitive psychology, was not amused.

“The Nintendo DS is a technological jewel. As a game it’s fine,” he said. “But it is charlatanism to claim that it is a scientific test.”

The study split 67 ten-year-olds into four groups: two played Brain Age games, one did pencil-and-paper puzzles, and the fourth was a control group that didn’t alter their typical school activities. The groups took logic tests before and after the seven-week course. While all three groups showed nearly identical improvements in math scores, the Brain Age group actually performed 17% worse in memorization, compared to a 33% improvement in the pencil and paper group and a 20% improvement in the control group.

To really nail home his point, Professor Lieury takes the game’s developer, Japanese neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, to task, noting “…there were few positive effects and they were weak. Dr. Kawashima is one of a long list of dream merchants.”

Some researchers disagree with the professor’s disdain for Brain Age, however. Last September, a Scottish study of over 600 students found that playing Brain Age games significantly boosted math scores and improved concentration.

Ricky Hatton seals Manny Pacquiao fight deal

The Mancunian, the world’s top light-welterweight, will face pound-for-pound king Pacquiao on May 2, a year and a half after losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr at the same MGM Grand venue.

Hatton believes he has the tools to shock Filipino Pacquiao, who confirmed his status as the world’s leading fighter with victories over Juan Manuel Marquez, David Diaz and Oscar De La Hoya in 2008.

After weeks of protracted negotiations surrounding Pacquiao’s increased financial demands, the fight will now go ahead and a press conference will be held on Thursday to officially announce the contest.

Hatton’s lawyer Gareth Williams said he was is in possession of the contract, which Hatton would sign as soon as it had been checked.

Williams said Hatton had yet to sign the contract – purely because of logistics with Williams being in London on Monday – but said: “It won’t be a problem and we’ll announce the fight at a press conference on Thursday. All the pressure is off now.”

The deal follows weeks of uncertainty after it emerged Pacquiao wanted to renegotiate financial terms despite having agreed a 50-50 split before Christmas.

Williams said on Thursday that the fight was “dead in the water” for the time being, but admitted the appearance of a signed contract would force them to reconsider.

Yet Pacquiao’s promoters Top Rank declared on Friday the fight was back on after Pacquiao agreed late last week to share the proceeds equally with the Mancunian.

Hatton’s American promoters, Golden Boy, had begun early negotiations with possible alternative opponents Oscar De La Hoya and Mayweather, but the ‘Hitman’ has now secured the fight he really wanted after stopping Paulie Malignaggi in November.

Pacquiao, who, like Hatton, is 30, is officially a four-weight world champion having won titles at flyweight, super-bantamweight, super-featherweight and lightweight. But he beat Marco Antonio Barrera at featherweight in 2003 and De La Hoya at welterweight before Christmas in non-title contests which earned him huge respect within the sport.

Hatton’s nominal IBO light-welterweight title, as well as the more meaningful but unofficial Ring Magazine belt, will be on the line against Pacquiao.

Williams and other members of Hatton’s team were in talks with Sky Sports on Monday, with the contest likely to be announced as a Sky Box Office event.

Punch Promotions, Hatton’s promotional company, areset to announce on Thursday that several new fighters have being signed to fight on Hatton fight nights.

Negotiations for another major contest, the world heavyweight championship between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko, are near completion. The fight is to be at Stamford Bridge on June 20, where Haye, Britain’s rising heavyweight force, will face, the younger of the Klitschko brothers, who holds the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight title belts, and is considered the world’s No 1 heavyweight boxer. The fight night has been reserved by Home Box Office in the United States.

Enzo Maccarinelli will meet Victor Emilio Ramirez at the MEN Arena on March 14, the same card on which Amir Khan fights Mexican ring legend Marco Antonio Barrera, for the vacant WBO cruiserweight title.

Maccarinelli aims to win back the belt he had ripped from him inside two rounds by Haye in March last year. Ramirez, from Argentina, has a record of 14 wins and one defeat. On the same Manchester card, Nicky Cook defends his WBO super-featherweight belt against mandatory challenger Roman Martinez, of Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, Evander Holyfield’s manager, Ken Sanders, has scotched reports in a Far East newspaper that the 46-year old has signed to step into the ring against Mike Tyson for a third time, in Abu Dhabi, in a fight worth £50 million.

“It’s not true Evander is fighting Tyson. A third fight with Tyson is just not happening,” said Sanders. Tyson has not fought since 2005.

Holyfield’s handlers are in fact in talks with WBA champion Nikolai Valuev’s team about a rematch in April. Holyfield, bidding to become the oldest world heavyweight champion in history, was controversially beaten on a majority points decision in Zurich last month.

Japan to tourists: Please don’t lick the tuna

Tourists are known for acting silly, but licking the tuna?

Overwhelmed by a growing number of misbehaving tourists, Tokyo fishmongers banned all visitors from one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations — the pre-dawn tuna auctions at the world’s largest seafood market.

The ban, imposed during the peak New Year buying season, was front-page news before it was lifted last week. Now, the tourists are back, but the debate goes on: Can tourists be trusted around the tuna?

“We understand that the sight of hundreds of frozen tuna looks unique and interesting for foreign tourists,” said Yoshiaki Takagi, deputy director of the market. “But they have to understand the Tsukiji market is a professional place, not an amusement park.”

One of the more notorious recent cases was that of a tipsy British tourist — caught on tape by a Japanese TV crew — who licked the head of a frozen tuna and patted its gill. Two others, also caught on video, rode around on a cart used by wholesalers. “Get out! Get out!” an irate market official shouted in English.

“Tuna is a very expensive fish,” Takagi said. “One tuna can easily cost more than 1 million yen ($11,000). But some tourists touch them and even try to hug them.”

Fed up, the market decided to impose the ban.