Radiant View

Filed under: Talk Story (a.k.a. "blog"), Writings and Musings on June 19th, 2009 | 3,784 views :: No Comments »

It is 4:20 am on June 5, 2009. I am determined to prove a point: that ethnic media journalists and publicists can use simple “techie” tools to make mini-documentaries and video press releases. I used the Flip Video Ultra Series. For my internet connection, I used my Blackberry (Sprint’s World Edition) as my modem. Good night — and I hope you enjoy this video.

SUPPORT NEW AMERICA MEDIA!

Filed under: Marketing & Public Relations, Press Releases on June 5th, 2009 | 4,547 views :: No Comments »

May 10, 2009 in Chicagoland, Illinois

Roger Pe, an advertising creative, sent some of his Facebook colleagues a link to an OP-ED at Inquirer.net today. The opinion editorial’s title was OLD CRONE.

Here are some snippets from this OP-ED.

FOR OLD timers nostalgic over the old Manila Hotel, its management’s tussle with the Government Service Insurance System over alleged unpaid loans, said to have ballooned to P17 billion because of interest, seems like a mere quibble when compared to the more worrisome reality: the Old Glory is gone; all that remains of the Grand Dame is a pitiable shell of her old self – an old crone going the way of history in the most dejected of exits.

Then, the OP-ED apprised us about the latest development.

But the first sacrilege committed against the Grand Dame was not the pollution but the defacement of her façade. On the corner of the green tropical roof of the hotel facing the walls of Intramuros is her name in quite ungraceful graphics. As if that were not enough, the graphics appear again at the side of the roof fronting the Quirino Grandstand. The redundancy antedated – and, perhaps, presaged – the manic passion for billboard construction around Metro Manila: it reinforces the fact that much of the loss of the quality of life in the metropolis owes to crass commercialism, slapdash development, and the regulated chaos that makes up for urban planning in the otherwise overly regulated and bureaucratized regime obtaining in the Philippines.

I searched Youtube to see if there were any old photos from the grand old days of The Manila Hotel — and I found one about a “Manila Hotel Family Reunion” held at the home of Connie and John Santos at the Hacienda Heights, California, on June 30, 2007. I hope these friends don’t mind that I’m including them in my blog entry to validate what I’m talking about — the Manila Hotel’s family spirit! (Thank you in advance!)

Here is my reply to Roger’s letter to us, his Facebook friends.

Roger, et.al.

I am so sad to hear about the way The Manila Hotel is being treated today. There is still hope, you know.

I am a direct witness to the rebuilding of the old Manila Hotel back to its old “glamour charm” in 1977. Although I missed the actual day of the grand reopening — when methuselah bottles of champagne were poured like water for its guests — I was an intern for my final semester (practicum student) there, a requirement for the B.S. Hotel and Restaurant Administration degree I was pursuing at UP Diliman. There were only five UP students chosen among the graduating class. We had to go through interviews like any other potential employee. All of the employees were practically new, taken from “the best of the best” from all over the hotel industry. Noemi Javier, Guia Sason, Desiree Obana, Violeta Albulario, and I were the chosen few, which meant that we had to work harder to prove that students from the University of the Philippines could handle the pressure. I remember that Mrs. Cruz from Human Resources somehow took a liking to me — maybe because I was this wide-eyed Cebuana who spoke impeccable English with an inquisitive, learning mindset.

The “old crone,” Manila Hotel, was definitely a grand lady. Do you remember the way the movie “Titanic” was filmed, as if you felt you were entering a wondrous world of delight? The Manila Hotel, in 1977, was just like that — and more. There was a revered history. Employees would share with me that, oftentimes, ghosts still haunted the old part of the hotel.

The first person who made a distinct impression on how I would evolve as a customer service professional was The Manila Hotel’s General Manager, Franz Schutzman, one of the most distinguished hoteliers in Asia. I recall that he told the practicum students that it was a standard practice for him to allow a hotel guest’s shoes to be left outside his room for overnight shoe polishing. I was totally awed by Mr. Schutzman’s presence because he was considered an icon in the hotel industry. Plucked from Singapore’s Raffles Hotel, this legendary, engaging, witty, wiry-haired older gentleman had known the likes of my literary heroes such as W. Somerset Maugham. Franz had also concocted the popular cocktail, the Singapore Sling. Thus, I knew I was directly experiencing his expectations about how a true five star hotel should be managed.

Since I came by bus from the UP Balara stop in Katipunan Road every day, I had to be awake by 4:00 am so I could catch the 5:00 am bus. The Philippines was experimenting on its first-ever Daylight Savings Time (and its only time to do it) so you can imagine how dark my early mornings were. I was a fearless young woman, bringing my clothes and make-up in a satchel bag, who endured a dusty, non-air conditioned ride to Luneta (Rizal Park). My efforts to put as little attention to myself during these rides were successful. No one bothered me inside and outside the bus.

Read more »

Filed under: Talk Story (a.k.a. "blog") on May 10th, 2009 | 8,369 views :: No Comments »

“Make a stand and take real action for causes you believe in!” is a resonant CALL TO ACTION that speaks to our hearts! AKO MISMO!

AKO (I, me) mismo (myself or me, personally) is a very rough translation. Me, myself, and I… am doing my part in making the world a better place to live and work in.

How I got involved

I just received an email from an old friend, Patrick “Pato” Gregorio. It looks like my like-minded colleagues (including advertising luminaries such as Gil Chua of DDB Philippines) have wisely maximized their marketing, public relations, and media expertise to launch a movement that unselfishly, compassionately SHARES. Shares what? The real, positive energies that enhance the hope of Filipinos worldwide — that the Philippines continues to be “The Land of Plenty.” I’m happy to ride on this campaign and share this GOOD NEWS with others… PLEASE PASS THIS ON — AND MAKE YOUR ACTIONS COUNT!

Declaring your commitment in writing is the first step in making your good intentions manifest into reality. What you perceive becomes your reality. Imagine what it would be like to have millions of Filipinos — and those who advocate our Filipino causes — share their altruistic acts to all of us.
Here’s the text from the youtube description of AKOMISMO.

ALTRUISM ROCKS!

making a stand and taking real action for the causes you believe in. Causes that you yourself can truly pursue to make a real, positive difference to your fellow countryman, to your country.

It is for you who still dare to hope that life for millions doesnt have to be a hopeless battle against problems like poverty, illiteracy, unemployment.

It is for you who believe that not enough is being done about our countrys problems. And that to do right things, youll do them yourself.

It is a movement where you can show your patriotism and compassion, and make these traits infectious.

Its about action that eradicates hopelessness in every Filipino.

How hard will this be to accomplish? Well that will be entirely up to you.
In AKO MISMO you get to choose the cause you wish to pursue. No cause is too small as long as it is a noble one. All we ask is that you make a pledge to do it.

You yourself can pledge anything: from teaching English to your yayas kid, to making sure that your barangay is dengue-free.

Or make a pledge to do your part in ending corruption, prostitution, illegal drugs or the inhumane treatment of animals. The choice is yours.

No matter how small, as long as you pledge that you yourself will take action, its sure to make a big difference.

Giving more hope for Filipinos to stop merely surviving, and start living. And it starts with you.

MISMO yan.

http://www.akomismo.org

AKO MISMO – I pledge to continue “Reshaping the Filipina Image Online” through our advocacy blog and news portal, FilipinaImages.com.

Filed under: Non-Profit Connections on May 4th, 2009 | 2,473 views :: 5 Comments »

Hi, I’m Lorna Dietz, a Filipina American. You can now BOOK YOUR TRAVEL ONLINE here at my blog-website, www.RadiantView.com. Possibly the cheapest internet airfares to the Philippines and Beyond Asia! View Lorna Lardizabal Dietz’s profile
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Filed under: Business Connections on April 25th, 2009 | 15,575 views :: No Comments »

Hello, everyone! It is my pleasure to send an ANNOUNCEMENT from the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Filipinas Magazine and Producer of the upcoming TV show, Filipinas Magazine Show — Greg Macabenta. Please forward this to your family and friends in the US. For those outside the US, please look at your GMA Pinoy TV local schedules. Click here: http://www.gmapinoytv.com/

Thank you.

Lorna Dietz
Business Development – Filipinas Magazine
http://FilipinasMag.com

P.S. Here is a slideshow I created.

From:
Date: Fri, Apr 24, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Subject: THE FILIPINAS MAGAZINE SHOW
To: undisclosed recipients

Folks,

Here’s an exciting update to the email I sent out yesterday about The Filipinas Magazine Show. The facts I laid out yesterday turned out to be incomplete. Allow me to restate them with more complete information.

THE FILIPINAS MAGAZINE SHOW – will go on the air starting April 25 (Saturday) at 6:30 pm (PST) or 9:30 pm (EST) on GMA Pinoy TV, beamed direct to homes across the US by both DirecTV and Dish Network and on all the Cable Systems that carry GMA Pinoy TV, as follows:

1. Astound (San Francisco, Concord, Oregon)
2. AT & T U-verse
3. NexHorizon Broadband (San Diego, CA
4. Cablevision (io TV)
5. Comcast (California, Boston, Brookline)
6. Cox Communications (San Diego, Las Vegas, Hampton Roads, Orange County/Palos Verdes, North Virginia)
7. Oceanic Time Warner (Hawaii)
8. San Bruno Cable TV (San Bruno, CA)
9. Time Warner (L.A.)
10. Verizon Fios
11. Wave Broadband (Cerritos, Oregon)

FILIPINAS MAGAZINE SHOW is a 30-minute, weekly magazine-type program that features the personalities who are the pride of the FilAm community (just like the printed magazine), probes issues of concern to our community and spotlights Filipino cuisine, restaurants and chefs. The host is my daughter, Christina Dunham, who is also associate publisher and columnist of Filipinas.

GMA Network, the mother network of GMA Pinoy TV, is the leading TV nework in the Philippines, in terms of viewership, advertising load and profitability. It has been in the US for 4 years now and is also aired in much of Europe and Asia.

The director of our show is Maila Gumila, a veteran TV and film star (she started as a child actress) and TV director, as well as the director of the annual Filipinas Magazine Achievement Awards. She owns SilverMesh Productions, which handles the production of the show, as a joint venture with Filipinas Magazine and GMA Network.

The writers are Gemma Nemenzo, Maricar Liberato and myself, all members of the Filipinas Magazine team. Raymond Virata, Filipinas Mag art director, is also art director, while Jinx Macabenta, my youngest son, who has his own graphics company, is creative director. Ringo Macabenta, my eldest son and managing editor of our weekly newspaper, Ang Panahon, is production manager.

As you can see, it’s pretty much a family undertaking. But the team has had years of creative and broadcast production experience.

Here’s the line-up of the first episode:

1. Cover Story – Elaine Quijano, former White House correspondent of CNN and 2008 Filipinas Magazine Achievement Awardee for Communication
2. Issues – The 2nd Death March, the struggle for veterans equity
3. Spotlight – Paolo Montalban, Broadway actor and star of Cinderella
4. Expat’s Kitchen – Mercury Lounge Restaurant

Read more »

Filed under: Business Connections on April 24th, 2009 | 4,126 views :: No Comments »

All my three younger sisters didn’t have a professional make-up artist for their wedding days. I did it! Albert Arriba was responsible for my early lessons in make-up. For my own make-up on my wedding day was done by Vincent Gotingco. Ah, the pleasure of someone else doing it for me reminds me of a perfect spa experience.

I found some YouTube videos that reminded me about the stuff that I know or the products that I need to check out. This is for my nieces to enjoy — and for my nephews to understand the intricacies of Beauty Basics.

My Skin Care Routine for “flawless looking” skin (by Kandee)

I found this video particularly fascinating. A lot of the products can be found at General Nutrition Stores or Whole Foods. Since Kandee is much younger, she definitely doesn’t need any Hormone Replacement Therapy, so she avoids soy products that had caused her skin break-outs.

Filed under: Talk Story (a.k.a. "blog") on April 11th, 2009 | 331 views :: No Comments »

March 29, 2009

Now that spring is here (it snows during spring, too!), I’ve decided to collect the contact information of my friends’ favorite foodie hangouts so I can pull up this list from my Blackberry when the need arises.

1. COOBAH RESTAURANT
http://coobah.com/
3424 N. Southport Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 528-2220

Originally recommended to me by my colleagues at Filipinas Magazine, our visit one winter evening turned out to be a gastronomic delight. Described as LATINO FUSION CUISINE (think Cuba, Spain, Brazil meets the Philippines), our menu selections that day showcased a delicate blend of influences… But I’m not spoiling your appetites. Just make reservations early!

Some of the appetizers and entrees that we tried — aside from the delicious mussels — were:

Fried Calamari – Seasoned with a blend of dry roasted Philippine sea salt and black pepper served with sambal cocktail sauce

Pork Tenderloin Bicol – Lean pork tenderloin stuffed with shrimp, bacon, coconut and pineapple served with jasmine rice, seasonal vegetables and peppery adobo glaze

Zarzuela – Rustic Catalonian seafood dish with shrimp, mussels and scallops cooked in a saffron, white wine and roasted tomato broth served with grilled baguette

2. SMOQUE BBQ
http://smoquebbq.com/
3800 N Pulaski Rd
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 545-7427
The best baby back ribs — and the best barbecued foods in Chicago, according to Ron Salazar. This is on my wish list!

Reviews can be found here.

3. BUENOS AIRES DELI
Neighborhood: Cragin
3100 N Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 685-4241

Ron Salazar found another place for me to try (he likes to record these nice finds in his Facebook, lucky me!).

“Another great find on Chicago’s Northwest side…From a YELP, “…this place is amazing. All sorts of Argentinian and S. American delights. …They have Argentine soccer stuff, food, EMPANADAS, groceries and . . .WINE. Delicious wine from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and all over S. America …The staff is v. friendly and so enthusiastic about their Argentinian culture and country. A real GEM!”

Some reviews can be found here.

Read more »

Filed under: Chicago Dining Guide on March 29th, 2009 | 400 views :: No Comments »

Just so you know… I’m looking for someone to volunteer in helping me update the Filipino Calendar. In the meantime, I’m summarizing the projects and events I’m involved with — as well as my friends’ special offers and invitations. It’s a way of mutually helping each other out through viral marketing and online community relations. You can also check out Events and Projects I’m Working On for more details.

My Diabetes Life Notes blog, which is my personal adversaria on “Living and Eating Well with Diabetes Type 2,” has some new postings. You might want to check out my progress as I include more vegetarian and vegan food choices in my lifestyle.

FilipinaImages.com — an advocacy blog and news portal that I co-founded together with my sister, Noemi Dado, and our friend, Dine Racoma — helped out with the Women’s History Month’s “Filipina Stories” writing contest. wikiPilipinas.org is the primary organizer. The winning entries have been released so check them out here. We invite everyone to join us in this worthy campaign of “Reshaping the Filipina Image Online.”

The Filipino and Filipino-Fusion Dining Guide: You can send me your food reviews and recommendations. Gratis et amore!

KabariNews.com is growing in leaps and bounds as THE leading Indonesian-owned print and digital publication (in Bahasa and English) — with a goal of strengthening the connections among Indonesians in America with Indonesian-based Indonesians. If you want to reach out to these Indonesians, please contact me at LornaDietz@gmail.com.

Mark your calendars for the 2009 University of the Philippines in America (UPAAA) Grand Reunion and Convention, “Building Bridges to the Future. Uniting Alumni for Excellence & Service,” on Sept. 4 to Sept. 6, 2009 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. Get your updates at the UPAA website. For more information about corporate sponsorships and exhibitors, contact Dr. Francis S. Sy, UPAA President, at SYF@mail.nih.gov. Jubilarians are urged to register early and contact the Jubilarian Committee for special instructions. Please contact Emmy Ceguerra at Ceguerra@comcast.net /Terri Magdongon at tmagdongon@aol.com.

Let’s keep the UP Spirit alive! Join us in this grand reunion organized every two years. Meet fellow alumni from all UP campuses and colleges. Enjoy three days of camaraderie, fun, and sharing interdisciplinary perspectives on various important topics. Dr. Emerlinda Roman, UP President, will be the keynote speaker.

Jubilarians to be honored: Graduates of 1984-1985 (Silver), 1979-1980 (Pearl), 1974-1975 (Coral), 1969-1970 (Ruby), 1964-1965 (Sapphire), 1959-1960 (Gold), 1954-1955 (Emerald), 1949-1950 and earlier classes (Diamond).

Mark your calendars for the 6th Global Filipino Networking Convention on October 9-11, 2009 in Cebu, Philippines. What’s new? You can subscribe for updates to be sent to your email IN box by going to http://6thGlobalCebu.com. The last time we organized a networking convention in Cebu was in January 2005 for the 3rd Global. If you want to help out, you can promote the 6th Global by adding an HTML-formatted link (with logo) for your blog or website’s sidebar. Email Lorna Dietz at NaFFAANorcal@gmail.com for more information.

Filed under: Event Calendar, Marketing & Public Relations, Non-Profit Connections on March 29th, 2009 | 1,129 views :: No Comments »

March 17, 2009, Fort Lauderdale, FL – Today is my birthday! I’ve decided to dedicate my posting today to the community advocates who are fighting to keep the high school in the University of the Philippines, Visayas – High School Cebu (or UP High School Cebu) from being streamlined to one class or closed down. I truly believe that if there are more people who make the time to spread the word, lobby to all stakeholders and decision makers, then somehow, somewhere, there could be a budget that will be provided for this high school to “live long and prosper.”

In Facebook, the name of the cause is DEFEND UP.

On the internet, it’s UP Naming Mahal.

Here’s some snippets that I found from the Facebook group.

Positions:

1. U.P. Cebu High School is threatened for closure.
2. The threat is more palpable and pressing as ever, as the Executive Committee recently voted for the downsizing of the high school.
3. The Dean has even proposed closure.
4. Please pledge your support for this cause by filling up the form at the website indicated below:

I PLEDGE TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUED EXISTENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES CEBU HIGH SCHOOL.

FROM SUNSTAR Cebu

UP high school students, alumni protest closure
Wednesday, March 11, 2009

“We stand firm and united against the persistent threats to close UP Cebu High School as this is an apparent violation of the mandate of the University of the Philippines to provide service to the Filipino people. It is likewise a disservice to the Cebu community as the UP Cebu High School stands as the only school in Central Visayas to provide a democratized admission policy giving preferential admission to underprivileged but intellectually deserving students.”

My comments: I would imagine that the administration, faculty, students, and alumni can find common ground by working together AND not antagonizing each other. (If President Emer Roman reads this, she would know that I’m here to help out and that I am writing this from my personal perspective and professional assessment as a public relations practitioner.)

Maybe it would be a good idea to share with you why I feel so strongly about defending the continued existence of UP Cebu High School.

I may not have been a UP Cebu High School student but I had many friends there. Many of the students, after the high school opened its doors in 1972, were like my “kids” because I was their “den mother.” I was also the older sister of Noemi, Oscar, Myrna, Reuben, Belen, and David (the Lardizabal kids) — who all went to UP Cebu. Trivia: I was one of the first UP College Cebu freshmen who re-opened the College department in 1973.

If someone can visit Thelma Gallardo at Cebu Medical Supply, please convince her to find the movie (yes, an actual movie, not a video) of our first UP Cebu college intramural games. A copy should really be made for the archives.

The spirit of UP lived within us.

Our batch of students lobbied to pay for a quonset hut in the grounds so it could be used as our outdoor classroom but we were denied the rustic environment but praised for our initiative and enthusiasm. Wilson Gaw had the blueprints, I recall.

The acclaimed Freddie Santos and I were classmates in the first semester. Freddie had just arrived from the United States. He tried to teach me tennis but I kept getting a Love Set. After two weeks, I lost 10 lbs. A benefit of Freddie’s tennis lesson was that I was able to sashay in between the columns of the main building’s entrance during a Christmas Play that I wrote and Freddie directed. I’m sure he was not happy with my script — but hey, at least he did teach me how to do a Va-Va-Va-Voom prostitute’s dance toward the pearly gates of heaven (Freddie played the role of St. Peter).

Some of the boys in my class used the main building’s classroom walls as their pelota court, yes we did. We were the first CRAZY DAY people. Alex Arnado and I made a parody of Dolphy and Nida Blanca’s roles in the popular TV sitcom, “John and Marsha.” Philip Rodriguez was Sluggo. Wilson Gaw came as a transvestite with a long-haired wig. If I can find my photos, I’ll post them, not to make fun of my classmates, but to show people that UP Cebu was vibrant as a “well-rounded place of learning” even if we had to work with limited resources.

We knew how to study hard and play hard.

Then came “Up the Down Staircase” musical, the mastermind of Allan Jayme Rabaya, which was based on the book and movie of the same title BUT with original compositions by Allan. Danny Alfonso played the “bad boy” student, Ester Ceniza Isberto was the teacher. Jocelyn Lim Borromeo (a Masters degree student) and I alternated in the secondary lead role of Bea, a fellow teacher. I seem to remember Nelson Fuentes, Allan Dolores, and Alvin Alazas being a dance trio in this production. Mind you, at that time, we didn’t have those fancy microphones attached to one of our ears so we could sing. We had to be good singers and dancers — and make sure our voices could carry to the last row of the Sacred Heart Girls High School auditorium. After all, this showed everyone that all of the UP Cebu’s departments could work together.

UP Cebu even became a movie set. There was this Visayan movie that Gloria Sevilla produced about a Filipino “Tarzan and Jane” filmed at the back of the old main building. We were fascinated by Chanda Romero who played “Jane.”

To this day, I will always remember that it was Helen Banez who made sure we could communicate well in the English language. “Keep it short, concise, and effective!” Mrs. Banez would say to us when we wrote our essays and short stories. “Always revise, revise, and revise!” was another piece of advice she would intone.

Former UP President Dodong Nemenzo and my managing editor at Filipinas Magazine, Gemma Nemenzo, had “a class act” for a father. He taught Biology without any books. Professor Nemenzo also walked from his home to the college campus, wearing a loose, tunic-style, long-sleeved white shirt, black pants, and his almost-Fedora hat. “Epiglottis” and “corpus luteum” were some of the words I remember from his classes.

The late Mr. Perez taught us Spanish while Mr. Manuel made sure we understood our Chemistry. Agnes Brigoli flunked me in Math 11 (Basic Math). Yet it was the late Migs Enriquez who delighted us with the history of the Philippines, according to him. Mig’s words (and a vision of him smoking a cigarette) would later on reverberate in my head when many students from UP Diliman attended a peaceful IMF rally outside St. Theresa’s College-Manila sometime in 1976, watching nuns and priests fly into the air from the force of the water cannons (not colored pink at that time). It was my first real taste of terror as many of us hid inside a nearby public parking garage. There was Mrs. Yap, always wanting us to mind our manners and get our share of Physical Education. And it was the artistic Lucille Aguas who taught our Humanities class the best way she knew how. She made us paint and she made us analyze the themes of the music scores that we chose. I loved Wagner so it was easy determining what the main theme of the composition was. Lucille also taught us to appreciate the various artistic genres. So, yes, I know the difference between an Impressionist and a Cubist (Picasso) painting. I understood what “chiaroscurro” was all about.

Sharing these intimate details about some of my experiences at UP Cebu is really meant to ask all of the students and alumni, as well as its supporters, to share their own stories. People will not help in a fundraising campaign if they cannot find an EMOTIONAL CONNECTION to the cause. So, start sharing your stories. There’s a blog just for you. For Facebook users, there’s this discussion board that’s available.

Last year was UP’s Centennial Celebration. I think it is timely, once again, for us to review where UP has been and where it’s going.

And if any of you happen to be in the US this early September, do join us at the UP Alumni Association in America biennial Convention and Grand Reunion. GIVE VOICE TO YOUR CAUSE!

Filed under: Talk Story (a.k.a. "blog") on March 17th, 2009 | 5,638 views :: No Comments »