Diners sample the food prepared in the Food&HotelAsia trade show.

Filipino buyers looking for new product sources and equipment, seeking foreign partnerships and joint ventures, and wanting to know of developments in the Asian food and hospitality industry would find the Food and Hotel Asia 2008 relevant to their needs.

Actress Iza Calzado (left) and Taiwanese boy band F4 star Ken Chu don the Ivatan headwear during the press preview for their film Batanes, after they are adopted as the newest members of the Ivatans, a local group found mainly in the northern Philippine islands of Batan, Sabtang, and Itbayat.

Butch Dalisay at the Vatican

Filipino writer and University of the Philippines professor Jose “Butch” Dalisay, Jr., was among the five shortlisted authors in the inaugural 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize. The $10,000 cash prize was awarded in Hong Kong last Saturday to Chinese writer Jiang Rong for the novel Wolf Totem.

The three other shortlisted authors included Reeti Gadekar of India (Families at Home), Nu Nu Yi Inwa of Burma (Smile As They Bow), and Chinese-Indonesian Xu Xi (Habit of a Foreign Sky).

In September, a call circulated throughout the online community asking for votes for China-based Pinoy Marcos Antonio Torres, for the chance to carry the Olympic torch along with seven other nationalities.

Late last week, the results came in: Torres placed second with 13,342 votes.

By JM Tuazon

It rained sweets and thank-yous last October 20, National Thank You Day, at the Mall of Asia when Toblerone staged a free concert for all to show them what gratitude and appreciation really means. Bands like Salindiwa, Stonefree, Mozzie, Reggae Mistress, Cynthia Alexander, Stonefree, Hale, and the Dawn performed their respective thank-you songs in front of a very appreciative crowd.