Issue 6: Feb 9, 2011

SEEN IN THE CITY

The Grammy-nominated (he is up for 7 major awards) hitmaker, Bruno Mars, is responsible for hits like ‘Nothin’ on You’, ‘Just The Way You Are’ , ‘Billionaire’ & the recent ‘Grenade’. The half-Puerto Rican Filipino will hit Manila for his first-ever concert there on April 8th this year. But first, he made a plea deal following his Las Vegas cocaine arrest last September 19 alongside lawyers Blair Berk and David Chesnoff in court last Friday (February 4).

Bruno Mars, the Half-Puerto Rican Filipino hitmaker who is set to do a concert in Manila on April 8th, entered a plea Friday, avoiding jailtime for the cocaine bust in Las Vegas. Photo by www.rnbmusicblog.com

The singer/composer was arrested at the Las Vegas Hard Rock Hotel when a member of security caught him red-handed in the hotel bathroom.

Ella Bungalon and Janie Armenta, both from Barcelona, Spain pose for a souvenir shot with Columnist Primera, Ricky Lo, center, during Startalk's production breaks 2 weeks ago at the GMA-7 studios in Quezon City.

Aljur Abrenica of the new GMA-7 TV show, "Machete" shows up in costume (or lack of it) at a recent PARTY PILIPINAS episode - that Sunday show with a Sex Appeal, for a reason.

According to www.TMZ.com, “the 25-year-old singer agreed a ‘deferred adjudication’ deal with the Clark County District Attorney's Office, meaning the incident will not appear on his criminal record if he stays out of trouble for a 12-month period.

The agreement is also believed to be dependent on the "Grenade" singer completing 200 hours of community service, as well as him undergoing private treatment, after which the felony will be officially dismissed.

Naelene Camillo, 22, of Milpitas, CA had submitted her YouTube channel 4days late of the deadline for submission consideration. The following morning Scarlett Rumor, the owner of GET Productions and host of the event, had informed Naelene that she was picked amongst 150 YouTube video submissions despite her late entry. That same week she was featured on Bay Area hit radio station 102.5 KDON. Currently, she is working on her music career doing shows and writing songs and collaborating with many in the business. She landed a major opening gig for nationally known rapper Bobby Brackins on January 21st. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel here at www.youtube.com/NaeCamillo, visit her music page atwww.facebook.com/NaeCamillo, and follow her on twitter www.youtube.com/NaeCamillo.

Bruno—real name Peter Hernandez—recently expressed his appreciation at being able to strike a plea bargain with the Clark County District Attorney's Office.

His lawyer Blair Berk said: "Bruno is very appreciative he is being given this opportunity as a first offender not to suffer any conviction and instead to have his charge dismissed. He is taking all of this quite seriously."”

Congratulations to Antioch, CA Dentist, Ricky Masiddo and Pleasanton's Ms. Reggie Panganiban, RN who celebrated their recent anniversary as a couple at the romantic & scenic Ritz Carlton Hotel in Half-Moon Bay, CA.

Karen & Neil recently won the Mr. & Miss University of Holy Angel University in Angeles, Pampanga, shown here with a 'Capampangan' movie director, Elwood Perez (he was one of the judges), left. Sitting on a seven-hectare campus in the city’s prime real estate, Holy Angel University was founded in 1933 and is considered the first Catholic school in the country that was founded by the laity (instead of the diocese or a religious congregation) as well as the first Catholic high school that was co-educational (instead of exclusively for boys or exclusively for girls). It's over 16,000 student population this school year also makes it one of the biggest schools in Central Luzon, if not the biggest.

Everything that happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, EXCEPT when you’re caught doing drugs.
Bruno’s Philippine concert will be on April 8, 2011, 7:00PM - 10:00PM, at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City (not in the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds as earlier reported).

Miss Henni Espinosa of TFC’s Balitang America receives BAYAN-USA’s Media Bayani award last Feb 4, underscoring her dedication to journalistic excellence and integrity in serving the Filipinos worldwide. Balitang America senior reporter Henni Espinosa was named the lone Filipino media awardee by BAYAN-USA for the latter’s 6th anniversary celebration held at the Bayanihan Community Center in San Francisco.

Mercator Model Agency's Paul Henry of Pleasanton, CA lands a major role in a telecom TV commercial in the Philippines.

TO-BE-SEEN IN THE CITY

Verizon iPhone is here February 10
The iPhone is so revolutionary it defines a whole generation of apps-savvy new phone users. Those techno geeks who love iPhone but don’t like AT&T service, fret no more as Verizon Wireless iPhones are finally here. A better iPhone alternative according to some techno surveys due to Verizon’s more superior network and reliability. Here’s how to get your Verizon Wireless iPhone (according to the Apple official website):

February 9
Order an iPhone 4 from the Apple Online Store and have it shipped free to your door.
Or reserve an iPhone 4 on February 9 for pickup at your favorite Apple Retail Store starting February 10 and get Personal Setup.

February 10
Order an iPhone 4 from the Apple Online Store and have it shipped free to your door.
Or stop by an Apple Retail Store starting at 7 a.m. to buy an iPhone 4 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Another breaking news update - according to published online reports, “Verizon is no longer accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 4 as the pre-orders sold out quickly. The demand for Verizon iPhone was very strong as it took less than a day for the pre-orders to sell out. Verizon's website took a beating from customers, many of whom didn't manage to pre-order their iPhone 4, but they'll have another chance next week.”

Annline Calcita, left, and Moki Ramos (a half-Japanese Filipina) were recently commissioned to endorse Jesi Mendez Salon branch in the lobby of Maxim's Hotel located at the Newport Center near Resortsworld Hotel.

One little warning though – these Verizon iPhones are not SIM Card-based so they cannot be used in the Philippines (without incurring humongous roaming charges) as we normally do on AT&T iPhones (where we simply switch to local SIM cards).

PERSONAL NOTES
Fil-Am Paul Henry secures 1st endorsement

Now, another bit of good news- Pleasanton’s Paul Henry who is now in the Philippines exploring career opportunities in the entertainment world successfully landed a major role in a telecommunications TV commercial. As a matter of fact, he already shot his scenes several days ago and is already awaiting its TV airing soon. He has only been working for a week in a non-exclusive capacity with Mercator Model Agency (thanks, Jonas Antonio Gaffud!) located in Makati City, when he got the job offer after several callbacks. Paul Henry, who remains super excited about the whole experience, is looking forward to his next projects as he has done several auditions and is just awaiting results. Good luck, Paul!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Don’t worry, he’s just an eff’ing faggot anyway.” - by Mark Mastro, a clubgoer, referring to “Transformers” (yes, that hugely successful General Patronage movie about robotic cars!) lead star, Shia LaBeouf when he refused to be give autograph and be photographed last Saturday in a Sherman Oaks, CA bar. The actor charged back on mark and a brawl ensued that called the attention of the police where LaBeouf was then handcuffed (no charges have been filed, though). The actor has previous run-ins with the law for being intoxicated.

Jin Custodio, leftmost, of San Francisco had a going-away party last Friday night at Bruno's Lounge SF, attended by close family (which includes cousin Abby Borgonia, 4th right) and friends. He flew Saturday night to Manila with cousin-in-law, Junny Borgonia, 3rd right, to start their own company, AEON (who will sell medical instruments to medical facilities), to be headquartered in The Fort.

This article also appears online at www.FilipinoVillage.com and http://sites.google.com/site/adkinsmmcevents/Home/ with readership in 113 countries now (& still counting!) according to the latest Google Analytics report.

Do you have any personal or community events you want announced or published? Just email them to bradford_adkins@yahoo.com