Extreme Singing Fun with Xtreme Magic Sing

If there is one thing inherent in our culture, it is the love for singing. Go to any Pinoy reunion, office gathering, wedding or house party and there is sure to be singing somewhere.

I remember that our first karaoke of sorts was a standing cassette player. It had large speakers down its front. The control panel was on top for volume as well as speed and pitch adjustments. It served as an ordinary cassette player as well as a karaoke with the minus one cassette tapes. A wired microphone plugged into an audio port for sing-a-longs.

One day, someone gifted us with a Magic Sing and that revolutionized the way sing-a-longs were done. We had a wide selection of songs to choose from, ranging from the 50s to the 90s. Still pictures of tourist spots in the Philippines, scored singing, and lyrics onscreen made karaoke the entertainment of choice in many households. Different song chips gave even wider choices of favorite hits and genres began popping like religious songs, OPM (Original Pinoy Music) and others.

Well, guess what. In a recent event hosted by Xtreme Magic Sing at TeaTap Cafe, the bloggers were given a glimpse of the innovations that have come to the simple karaoke machine.

Bienvenue! Parisian sneaker Bensimon comes to the Philippines

C'est la vie!

For one night, we were transported from the streets of Manila to Paris, complete with French music, a French chef, a Parisian menu, and the ambience of a Paris flea market.

Parisians have a passion for life. When I think of a romantic place, there is no other city that comes to my mind other than Paris. I've been there, done the Eiffel Tower and Louvre tours, walked around Champs Elysees, Notre Dame and Arc d' Triomphe. It is the French who tell us not to swallow our way through our meals but rather, to dawdle and savor each and every spoonful. It's no wonder that in France, on our way to a local concert, we passed a group of Parisian diners in a restaurant and still saw them there AFTER the concert. Even now, I remember being introduced to a French guy at my school in the U.S. who promptly took the hand I proffered for a shake and instead, kissed it. Oooh la la!

Del Monte Pacific Limited Debuts on the Philippine Stock Exchange

Who hasn't heard of Del Monte?

My family has been using Del Monte products for decades. The brand is a staple in our home. In the 1980s, I also had the chance to be assigned to audit Del Monte (then known as Philippine Packing Corporation or PPC). That assignment meant working not only in their Makati office then but I had to travel as well to Bukidnon where I spent days in their Bugo office and had to stay on the plantation as well.

Even back then, that plantation visit overwhelmed me. Del Monte sits on a plateau so the air and temperature there is akin to Baguio - cool. On the ground, you would pass hectares upon hectares of pineapples, as far as your eyes could see. It was not just pineapples there. Some of the best steaks could be experienced in Del Monte. Their cattle are 'pampered' - kept in corrals so very little movement happens and that makes their meat tender and juicy. Fresh milk and butter, pickles, fruits, and so much more all came straight from Del Monte soil.

Since then, Del Monte has changed ownership hands and it is now called Del Monte Pacific Ltd. or DMPL. And last June 10, 2013, DMPL did something which is a FIRST in the Philippines. It listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), 14 years after it listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) in 1999. This first dual listing between the SGX and the PSE helps promote the integration of the PSE with ASEAN bourses. Before this, the PSE only cross-listed with the New York Stock Exchange, the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.