Wednesday Movie Guide

Ironman is finally here in Davao particularly at SM City Cinema 1. (I just checked with NCCC Cinema and they have it too --- they have new theaters, new seats!) I'm excited to see Robert Downey in that gold and red hit-tech suit to fight crime. Downey is Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and weapons maker who was captured by terrorists in the Middle East. He dons the suit and becomes Ironman to protect the very people who have been victimized by the weapons he created. It also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, a very talented actress who starred in unforgettable movies like Shakespeare in Love.

As a promotional gimmick for the movie, an LG IronMan 18 karat gold phone has been released. The phone, which is worth $2000 is not available anywhere but only at the IronMan website. That is, if you are lucky enough to win their contest.

Well, you can buy cheap IronMan memorabilia at Jollibee Just buy the Kiddie Meal and choose from the IronMan watch, game, notebook and shades.

IronMan GP

SM Cinema 1 11:05/1:30/4:00/6:30/9:00

NCCC Cinema 2 12:00/2:30/5:00/7:30/10:00

Ploning

SM Cinema 2 11:50/1:40/3:30/5:20/7:10

When Love Begins

SM Cinema 3 & 4 11:25/1:20/3:15/5:10/7:05

Davao Businessman Eyeing Investors For P15M Cable Ski Park

Campo Agua: future site of cable wakeboarding facility in Mindanao

Campo Agua in Sirawan, Toril, Davao City may just become the venue of Mindanao’s first cable wakeboarding facility if the vision of owner and manager Kenneth Valderama is realized.

“We are looking for investors who would be willing to invest at least P15 million for the construction of a cable wakeboarding park here in Toril either on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) scheme or other method,” Valderama said. He said he already has the land but an investor is needed to provide the equipment.

The Valderamas own a 13-hectare property right where Campo Agua Resort is located but the latter only occupies about 2.4 hectares. Of the total land used, 400 square meters have been allotted for the pool, 2 hectares for the fish ponds, 3,000 square meters for the boating lagoon and some space for the crocodile farm.

Campo Agua Resort is being marketed as an interactive water playground for kids with open slides, tunnels, mushroom showers, water hydrants which can be controlled by the kids and spray boardwalks. The area development started way back in 1999 but the restaurant and the resort was built only in 2002.

The resort already offers lots of activities for parents and children aside from swimming. They can go fishing and have their catch cooked by the restaurant for a minimal fee. The fish will also have to be weighed in and paid per kilo.

“We also sell hito (both fingerlings and the table sizes) for those who want to start their own hito farms; the fingerlings are priced at P2 to P5 per fingerling (which can take four to five months before they become table sizes ready for frying or roasting),” he said.

While the resort is doing great and is becoming a favorite spot not only for swimming but also for those who want to have their birthday or other parties in a resort, he said he still wants to expand and make it a center of entertainment for Dabawenyos and even for the whole of Mindanao.

Valderama’s passion is however to see the place transformed into a tourist destination through the construction of a cable wakeboard facility. “Grabe ang hatak sa mga foreigners ng mga ganitong lugar so it will really be feasible for those who will invest in it,” he said.

What was known worldwide before was only wakeboarding which is a sport that required a person (who is attached to a skateboard-like board called well, a wakeboard) to be pulled by a boat and allowed to ski in the water. Cable wakeboarding on the other hand, is also wakeboarding but this time, the person does not require a boat but an overhead cable system.

Cable wakeboarding has been considered a favorite sport and hobby by foreigners for a long time now. However, this extreme sport became famous in the Philippines only recently, thanks to movie star and cable wakeboarding aficionado Aga Mulach who included some cable wakeboarding shots in one of his recent films.

The Philippines is not however a stranger to cable wakeboarding since it has two cable wakeboarding facilities located in Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur (CamSur Watersports Complex) and in Balibago, Calatagan (Lago de Oro). There are more than 140 cable wakeboarding facilities worldwide, 60 of which are found in Germany. The two facilities are raking in dollars and pesos thanks to the local and foreign tourist arrivals.

The Department of Tourism is always on the lookout for the establishment of new tourism products for Davao and for Mindanao. This is one private sector initiative that deserves support from the government.

With an improved peace and order condition in the area plus a lot of push, Valderama’s dream of seeing a cable wakeboard facility right in Campo Agua’s location may become a reality sooner than he thinks.(published, THE EDGE, April 2008)

Lord Of The Wings

Filipinos are known for their creativity. If you have seen the Harry Cutter barber shop or the Mang Donald's burger then chances are you are quick to recognize name brands that have been localized by Pinoy's. Here's one of them along Toril.

The Church And A Close Mindset

Will the church keep its word that it will not give the sacrament of Holy Communion to the Davao City councilors who voted YES to the Local Development Plan for Children during last Tuesday's sessions? For sure, no councilor would be brave enough to prove the church's claim by attending mass.



But come to think of it, is the church's proclamation rational? Is it based on clear thinking or were they just misled? During the 3rd reading of the resolution, councilor Angela Librado said she could not find any of the allegations hurled by the church against the LDPC. Archbishop Capalla was invited during the committee hearings but unfortunately, he failed to attend. Was that because the matter was insignificant to the archbishop? Or could it perhaps signify the closed mindedness of the church represented by the archbishop?



Davao City may be considered as one of the most livable cities in Asia but poverty and child problems are mounting. Look around and even in your neighborhood you can see lots of children who have been left behind to fend for themselves. Parents are lining up to get cheap, if not free rice to feed their growing family. And yet the church says population growth is not the problem but the distribution of resources.



I agree. But shouldn't we look at this on all fronts? And solve this on all fronts?



After the session I was able to interview a doctor who is against the LDPC. She said "they do not know the issue; is population a problem? Hindi naman ah!" Data however shows that the Philippines is already Top 12 in the



Librado claims this is not all about promoting pre-marital sex or promiscuity or abortion. The church however refuses to believe that. But what is wrong with teaching people to plan their families the best way they can? Using contraceptives does not make women whores or irresponsible. Natural family planning or whatever, it is their choice. The use of contraceptives is a choice that should be left to the couple, not the church; not the government because neither will feed hungry mouths that will start to line up once the couple start to go and multiply...



Will, I too be prohibited from taking the Sacraments because of this?

Society And Media Influence

Are your choices being influenced by the media and by the society? The media is a very potent medium of changing mindsets. Just take the case of tri-media advertisement (or should I say quad-media including the Internet?) which promotes and sells products. Constant bombardment to certain products and ideas are bound to influence your choices sooner or later.

How about the society? How often do you rely on your friend's recommendation even on simple things like soap or even the food you eat? Examine your life. Examien you choices. Then decide how your life is being run by society and by the media.

Rediscovering Song Writing And Suzanne Vega

I have always liked the songs of Suzanne Vega but that was a long, long time ago when I still had the luxury of listening to my favorite CDs. One of her songs which really made an indelible mark in my subconscious is "Luka". My interpretation of the song is of an abused child or an abused woman. What would you conclude with this lyrics..."they only hit until you cry, after that you don't ask why; you dont' argue anymore.."

I lost my Luka CD but then the song remained. Several years forward. I was reading the New York Times earlier when I saw Suzanne Vega's column "Measure for Measure--How To Write A Song And Other Mysteries". I did not know until now that aside from being the voice behind her songs, she was also the writer and the composer. And I was right, the inspiration behind the song is a neighbor, a boy who was not really abused but was queer or just different from the other kids.

I found a commonality between Suzanne and me, knowing that she composed her own songs and that she is now a columnist of the NYT. I used to compose songs while in College and even became one of the 10 finalists in the Awitenista. However, Suzanne wrote the melody first then the lyrics. My method was different. I write the lyrics and the words first to go with the melody then a friend who knows how to get the chords will do the rest. But like me, she also did not know how to read chords.

Braga Blames Land Conversion, Imports For Scarcity Of Rice

Councilor Pilar Braga yesterday blamed land conversion from agriculture to housing and industrial use and the continued importation of rice as the culprits behind the present rice shortage in the country. However, she clarified that there is no rice shortage, only a rice-land shortage.

Braga also blamed the government's stance in discouraging people from becoming farmers by "discouraging agriculture as a way of life" leading to the closure of farming and agricultural schools in the country.

This reminded me of that time several years ago when the entry of the University of the Philippines in Mindanao is still being debated and protested by various universities here saying the state-financed university will only duplicate the existing courses being offered by the Mindanao institutions.

The defense of UP then was that they will offer different courses to differentiate itself to the other institutions. Several years later, UPMindanao is offering almost the same courses being offered by the other institutions like SocSci, Mathematics, Architecture, etc. Perhaps, introducing courses that are being offered by UP Los Baños will help in making sure that the country will produce better farmers in the years to come.

However, at the rate UPMindanao is going where politicking is a way of life and administrative officers are changed one after the other this may still be a long wait.