Heroes are untouchable, lofty, and far beyond our reach. Monuments are built for them, with their faces carved on marble or limestone. They are inside our museums, framed neatly under their preserved robes and ancient ornaments.

But how do you really spot a hero? Does heroism really require the death of a man or a suffering of a nation? Aren’t small deeds of goodness and simple gestures of kindness and goodwill, acts of heroism too?

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After the success of the first “Superficial” all-woman exhibit last year, Superficial II is gearing up for its sophomore run at Pablo Gallery in Cubao Expo this September with “Frailty,” a group show featuring the works of 33 female artists opening on September 13, 7 p.m.

Coinciding with the third year anniversary of Pablo Gallery, “Frailty,” say gallery owners Yo Garcia and Osie Tiangco, will be “bigger, sweeter, and dearer.” From last year’s 20 Filipina artists, “Superficial II” is represented by 33 female dynamos from fields as diverse as photography, music, art, design, motion graphics, and fashion.

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If Filipino animators have, in the past, lent their talent to Hollywood movies like Mulan, The Little Mermaid, and Finding Nemo, what’s stopping them from producing their own digital films and breathing life to Filipino-speaking characters?

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Panoramanila’s debut film Ploning, which stars Judy Ann Santos, has been chosen by the Film Academy of the Philippines as the official entry to the 2009 Oscar Awards’ best foreign language film category.

Directed by Dante Nico Garcia and shot entirely in Cuyo, Palawan, Ploning tells the story of a barrio lass who awaits the return of her long lost beau, Tomas, and how she touches the lives of the people around her: the boy who looks up to her as a surrogate mother; the nurse who arrives in the island in search of the man she loves; the simple-minded girl who awaits her own husband’s return; the half-paralyzed mother who cannot take care of her own son.

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The iconic San Miguel Pale Pilsen is aiming to set two world records for the Oktoberfest this year: for the biggest beer-toasting crowd ever and the longest beer bar.

The world-record-breaking attempts happen this Friday, September 5, all over Ortigas Center in Mandaluyong City, as beer manufacturer San Miguel Brewery sets up a 600-meter bar area stretching throughout San Miguel Avenue, from Julia Vargas to Lourdes Avenue. This should surpass Taiwan’s Guinness world record of a 240-meter-long bar. [Read more]

What do Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, and Fernando Amorsolo have in common with Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali?

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