In celebration of the month that was, I’m sharing with you a picture that would have been perfect for an April Fool’s day joke. I say would have been because this picture isn’t part of a prank - it’s real.

Three years ago on the 31st of March, an Aratiles (or Muntingia) tree fell on my car.

Proof after the jump.

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Remember my Link Love 2007.02.06 post? Remember the one that highlighted blogs produced by UA&P-IMC students? Remember that I said it was a class project? Remember that I described it as an SEO contest? Remember? Well, we’re talking about a contest, so I’m sharing what I believe are the criteria for judging.
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A team of Integrated Marketing Communication students from the University of Asia and the Pacific took the AdSpeak 2007 competition by storm recently by taking the top three slots in the print ad category. The team, composed of IMC seniors Nicole Balaoing, Cis Ganuelas, Ralph Mariano, Pao Pielago, and Punky Taguines, received their awards at the AdSpeak student convention last Friday, February 16, at the Student Center Auditorium at Colegio de San Juan de Letran.

The competition, a joint effort of Letran’s Institute of Communication and the Advertising Board of the Philippines, sought the best public service announcements (PSAs) from delegates of the AdSpeak in three categories: print, radio, and television. In the print category, a total of 138 entries were in competition - 14 of which were from UA&P.

AdSpeak began in 2001 as seminar on the importance of values advertising for Communication Arts students of Letran. In 2003, it opened its doors to other colleges and universities in Metro Manila. Over the years, its delegates have benefited from the insights of various advertising practitioners, including Emily Abrera, Chairman Emeritus of McCann-Erickson; Minyong Ordonez, Founder and former Chairman of Basic Advertising; Yoly Ong, Group Chairperson of Campaigns and Grey; and Jimmy Santiago, Managing Partner of TBWA \ Santiago Mangada Puno. This year, the the AdBoard joined the fray, adding a screening of the 2006 Araw Values Awards and the AdSpeak competition to the programme.

In case you still haven’t figured out what the three images here are, here’s a clue - they’re winners. Entries from UA&P-IMC students took the top three spots, remember? Now, which image took which spot, I’ll leave that for you to figure out.

Tags: Integrated Marketing Communication, University of Asia and the Pacific, AdSpeak, IMC, Nicole Balaoing, Cis Ganuelas, Ralph Mariano, Pao Pielago, Punky Taguines, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Advertising Board of the Philippines, UA&P, Communication Arts, Emily Abrera, McCann-Erickson, Minyong Ordonez, Basic Advertising, Yoly Ong, Campaigns and Grey, Jimmy Santiago, TBWA \ Santiago Mangada Puno, AdBoard, 2006 Araw Values Awards

In another series of link love, I mentioned Script ADDicts - a bunch of students who are shooting “an ongoing story that starts and ends and twists and turns the way you want it to.” I also mentioned that “all the authors involved [in the last series of links] are tied together somehow.” If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m telling you now - they’re all involved with the University of Asia and the Pacific somehow, either as students, employees, or alumni.

Anyway, what does all this have to do with this next bunch of links? Well, this batch is also exclusive to UA&P students. To be specific, this goes out to Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) seniors. You see, some of them are taking up a class called Interactive Marketing. From what I understand, one of their projects is to build a blog. Think of an SEO contest run within the context of a class syllabus. They’ve got to encourage traffic to their sites - and I’m trying to help them out.

You might say that with my readership, I’m probably not going to be able to send more than a handfuls of visitors their way. I don’t really care. Some of these blogs made me laugh, and who knows - they might make you laugh too. Then again, I think I laughed more because I knew the personalities mentioned. I’m not saying that you’ll only appreciate these links if you’re from UA&P - it’s just some of them really are meant for UA&P students. Still, I suggest you at least visit all of the sites I’ve mentioned below.
Having said all that, I think I’ve got (more than) enough of an introduction for these next few links. Enjoy!

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Tags: Script ADDicts, University of Asia and the Pacific, UA&P, Integrated Marketing Communication, IMC, Interactive Marketing, SEO

I watched Imelda the other night, and while I was in Eastwood, I kept bumping into people. It’s funny how I can go to Greenbelt or some other jam-packed place on a Saturday night and not see anybody I know, yet bump into so many friends in a practically deserted place on a Thursdsay night. Did I just make sense? I don’t need to… I’m just putting my thoughts down. Screw editing. I just know I have to do something while I’m waiting for dinner.

I’m having pork chops for dinner, but right now, what I really want is pizza. I’m thinking I could have that later when my friends head over later… keeping my fingers crossed. No… that won’t work… will cross my fingers later after typing this up. Ang korny ko.

Anyway, yep… friends are coming over tonight. It’s gameboard night yet again… this time with… err… I’m not quite so sure who’s coming over. Mia described it as “the Cranium group,” so I guess it’s safe to say that some of my IMC blockmates are coming over. The thing is, I think only half will actually fit that description… but right now, who cares? What matters is that we’ll be having fun later.

Speaking of fun, another group of friends was over last night. I don’t have a name for this group either, but again, who cares? We watched Clerks and Dogma until 3 in the morning. Several nights ago… several weeks in fact, we watched Chasing Amy at another friend’s place. We skipped Mallrats simply because we’d all seen it before. I’m thinking we’ll probably have a Jersey Trilogy marathon some time. I hope it comes soon. I’m not too keen about planning it though. Any volunteers?

I should write something on my thoughts on Imelda, but I don’t really feel like it at the moment. All I have to say on it now is that I think it’s a very honest film. It didn’t blow me away, but it definitely got me thinking. Imelda Marcos now fascinates and amazes me. More specifically, Imelda Marcos’ mind now intrigues me… how in the world did that mind develop?

I’m glad. I started writing this with the idea that once I type it, I’m not touching it anymore… basically, I’m not editing this entry at all. Of course, I can’t help but edit in my head for the fraction of a second before my… argh! I think I’ll stop now, before I have any more fragmented thoughts like that last one. An afternoon nap does wonders to one’s mind. I can think pretty clearly now… and this is something I probably couldn’t have honestly said in the previous weeks.

I’ve got other stuff going on in my head now… mga pahabol. I don’t exactly have the time to put them down here though… dinner beckons.

I’m heading off to eat.