Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Gerald Anderson courting Jewel Mische?

ANILA, Philippines – After confirming that his breakup with fellow young star Kim Chiu has seen a closure, has Gerald Anderson finally moved on with a new girl?

Despite rumors spreading regarding his courtship of former "Bagwis" leading lady Jewel Mische, Anderson was quick to deny the issue.

“Hindi kami nagkikita eh. Nakaka-miss siya actually,” Anderson said in an interview with "Showbiz News Ngayon."

He said he is not running after another girl at the moment.

“Wala akong liniligawan ngayon,” he said, stressing that he is concentrating on an upcoming ABS-CBN project.

“Sa ngayon, I’m just gonna be focused sa work,” Anderson said.

“Sa sino mang liligawan ko, kawawa din kasi ‘di ko mabibigyan ng oras,” he added.

Withholding some details, Anderson said his next project will be a soap opera, which he called “kakaiba.”

“Ang daming aabangan sa show na ito,” he teased.

Fans mob 'In The Name of Love' premiere

MANILA, Philippines – The cast of Star Cinema’s 18th anniversary offering “In The Name of Love” was at a loss for words as hundreds of fans and showbiz personalities flocked at SM Mega Mall in Mandaluyong City on Tuesday for their movie’s grand premiere.

Talking to “Showbiz News Ngayon,” lead stars Angel Locsin, Aga Muhlach and Jake Cuenca said they were grateful that they were given the chance to make the project possible.

“If you want something nice, you really have to work for it. Noong nangyayari na kasi, minsan reklamo ka ng reklamo sa hirap, yun pala ganun talaga dapat... Yung pelikula, wag niyo nang pansinin ako, si Angel, si Jake. Pansinin niyo rito yung storya, kung paano ginawa ni Olivia Lamasan yung storya,” said Muhlach.

“I’m lost for words after seeing the movie. Like what I said over and over again, to be in a frame with Aga Muhlach, to be directed by Olive Lamasan and to have Angel Locsin as your leading lady, siguro may nagawa akong tama. Napakasuwert ko na nailagay ako sa pelikulang ‘to,” Cuenca said.

Locsin, on the other hand, confessed that it is an honor to have worked with Muhlach.

“Yung mga pelikulang ginagawa niya talaga, walang patapon. Yung makasama ka sa mga magagaling na listahan ng kanyang leading ladies, isang malaking karangalan yun. Hindi lang yung honor na makasama mo sa isang poster yung pangalan niya, yung makilala mo siya in person yung mas masarap,” she said.

Spotted in the red carpet premiere were Bubbles and Paolo Paraiso, Jericho Rosales, Gab Valenciano, Carla Humphries, Ruffa Gutierrez, and Gary Valenciano who sang the movie’s theme song.

Locsin’s “Imortal” co-stars, Senator Miguel Zubiri, his wife Audrey, Lea Salonga and her husband Robert Tien, were also there.

Muhlach’s wife Charlene Gonzalez and Muhlach’s son with Janice de Belen also attended the premiere.

The movie’s cast, including Carmi Martin, Kat Alano, Emilio Garcia, Ryan Eigenmann, Smokey Manoloto, Michael Flores, Joshua Zamora and Maliksi Morales were also seen.

Also present to grace the event were Star Cinema executives led by Star Cinema managing director Malou Santos.

Meanwhile, in behalf of the cast, Muhlach urged the public to see what their movie has to offer.

“May 11, bukas, not only tomorrow, in the days to come, in the weeks to come, please give time. Panoorin niyo ang pelikulang ‘to. Sayang for you guys to miss this event. It’s not just a movie, it’s an event. It’s Star Cinema’s 18th anniversary presentation, so just expect for the best,” he said.

“In The Name of Love” is directed by Olivia M. Lamasan and was graded B by the Cinema Evaluation Board.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Princess Diana dresses sell for $276,000 at auction

LOS ANGELES, United States - A pair of dresses worn by Princess Diana sold at a pop culture auction in Beverly Hills for a total of $276,000, a spokesman for the auction house said on Sunday.

The two dresses, which have been held in climate-controlled storage since her death in August 1997, were auctioned to a prominent museum for $144,000 and $132,000, respectively, said Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auctions.

"We did have bidders from all over the world participating, and it's great to have them go to a museum where they are going to be on display and appreciated by the public," Julien said.

Julien said he could not name the museum without permission from officials there.

The dress that sold for $144,000 was described by the auction house as a black crepe evening gown that Diana wore during a state visit in 1992.

The princess wore the second dress, which is silk chiffon and strapless, to the Cannes Film Festival in 1987 as well as in a portrait sitting that year and to a 1989 performance of "Miss Saigon" at Theater Royal in London.

The two dresses had been auctioned by Diana for charity three months before her death, Julien said.

The owners, WeTV and Wedding Central, decided the time was right to auction them again to coincide with the April 29 wedding of Britain's Prince William to Kate Middleton.

He said a portion of the proceeds would be donated to one of Diana's charities.

Diana, who married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, died after a car crash in Paris on August 31, 1997.

Coke celebrates 125 years of being the real thing

WASHINGTON, United States - Exactly 125 years ago an Atlanta pharmacist mixed up a cure for headache and fatigue and stumbled upon the recipe for what has become one of the world's most recognizable drinks and brand names.

Coca Cola is celebrating the moment when on May 8, 1886 John Pemberton made his way into American culture, creating a soft drink now sold in more than 200 countries and earning the company a place among the world's top 100 firms.

Regular Coke, as opposed to its numerous offshoots such as Diet Coke, remains the world's favorite soda with a whopping 17% market share, trouncing its rival Pepsi.

The recipe is a closely guarded secret passed down through the generations, and according to legend safely stashed away in a company vault.

"The Coca Cola saga has been reverentially preserved and nurtured over the years," writes author Mark Pendergrast in his book "For God, Country and Coca-Cola" which relates the history of the drink.

The official version of events in this rags-to-riches story "has all the earmarks of the class American success myth."

According to the legend which has grown up around Coke the poor but kindly Pemberton was transformed from a dishwasher into a millionaire.

But in reality Pemberton was no grumpy, herbal doctor who unwittingly brewed up his magic potion in his backyard, Pendergrast maintains.

Coca-Cola was a typical by-product of "the golden age of quackery" at the end of the 1800s when many doctors were trying to patent all kinds of cures and medicines for a variety of ailments.

Pharmacists and quacks offered their wares for sale on every street corner amid a growing clamor in the developing industrial age for effective cure-alls at the infancy of modern medicine.

The original Coca Cola most likely tasted different from the liquid today, Pendergrast notes. "It was like many such other nostrums, a patent medicine with a distinct cocaine kick."

Pemberton is thought to have discovered his new "miracle" medicine on May 8, 1886, and dubbed it Coca-Cola. But at the start the public eschewed his marvelous new elixir and in the first year he only sold on average nine glasses a day.

It was in 1888 that business began to bubble when entrepreneur Asa Chandler bought the rights and began to mass produce this "medicine" as a refreshing soft drink.

Within just a few years, Coca-Cola was a favorite beverage around the United States. The brew only made it across the Atlantic and into Europe in 1919 where it first appeared on shelves in France, before arriving in Germany in 1929.

But apart from its business success, Coca-Cola is above all a cultural phenomenon.

It remains one of the world's favorite drinks despite concerns over its sugar content, amid rising obesity levels especially among children.

Last year the company had a net revenue of about $35 billion, leading to profits of almost $12 billion.

Selling more of the soft drink to children would be a "public health disaster," says Michael F. Jacobson from the Center for Science in the Public Interest lobby group.

But it's hard to defeat such nimble marketing and overturn a brand image which has turned Coke, which its distinctive red and white label, from a mere consumer product into an object of desire, argues Constance Hays in her book "The Real Thing: Truth and Power at the Coca-Cola Company."

"Through relentless advertising, clever marketing and sometimes plain old luck, Coke came to stand for the glamorous, prosperous, flag-waving side of America, the part that always looked forward, not back," she writes.

Coca-Cola is celebrating its birthday with a huge concert on Saturday in Atlanta streamed live on the Internet.

And the secret recipe? That remains firmly under lock and key even if some people claim to have already discovered the right ingredients.

Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive, said in February that Coca-Cola was entering 2011, its 125th year in business, "with solid momentum."

"While we recognize that challenges remain in our worldwide marketplace, we are confident that we are advancing our global momentum to deliver long-term sustainable growth and value for our shareowners," he said.

Are gay men more at risk for cancer?

NEW YORK, United States - More gay men reported being cancer survivors than straight men in a new study from California.

That suggests they may need targeted interventions to prevent cancer, the researchers said, but more studies are needed to answer lingering questions. For example, are gay men more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than straight men? Or, are they just more likely to survive if they do get cancer?

"A lack of hard data" on how sexual orientation affects the risk of cancer is "one of the biggest problems we have," said Liz Margolies, executive director of The National LGBT Cancer Network. Margolies, who was not involved in the research, told Reuters Health, "It's critical that we know that for funding and for program planning."

As a step toward addressing the lack of data, researchers looked at three years of responses to the California Health Interview survey, which included more than 120,000 adults living in the state.

Among other health-related questions, participants were asked if they had ever been diagnosed with cancer and whether they identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or straight.

The findings are published in the journal Cancer.

Out of 51,000 men, about 3,700 said they had been diagnosed with cancer as an adult. While just over 8% of gay men reported a history of cancer, that figure was only 5% in straight men. The disparity could not be attributed to differences in race, age, or income between gay and straight men.

About 7,300 out of 71,000 women in the study had been diagnosed with cancer, but overall cancer rates did not differ among lesbian, bisexual, and straight women.

However, among women who were cancer survivors, lesbian and bisexual women were more likely to report fair or poor health than straight women.

Ulrike Boehmer, the study's lead author from the Boston University School of Public Health, said higher rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be related to the increased risk of cancer in gay men, but the study couldn't address that question specifically.

Margolies thinks there is more going on. "Gay men as a group have a bunch of risk factors for cancer," she said.

For instance, gay men and lesbian women are more likely to smoke and abuse alcohol than straight men and women. They're also more likely to avoid going to see their doctor for routine physicals or cancer screening, Margolies added - since healthcare providers may not all be tolerant and accepting of their identity.

"I don't think that we're going to get people to have early screening or see doctors except in emergencies ... until they can be guaranteed a safe and welcoming experience" at the doctor's office, she said.

Margolies said that while the new findings are "very important," she cautions about generalizing them too far beyond this individual study. Partially that's because she suspects lesbian women may also have an increased risk of cancer compared to straight women, because they have some of the same risk factors as gay men.

But Margolies and Boehmer agree that there is still an important message to take away from the findings: gay, lesbian and bisexual people need more attention from the healthcare community, specifically when it comes to their cancer risks.

"Because more gay men report as cancer survivors, we need foremost programs for gay men that focus on primary cancer prevention and early cancer detection," Boehmer told Reuters Health in an email.

And, "Because more lesbian and bisexual women than heterosexual women with cancer report that they are in poor health, we need foremost programs and services that improve the well-being of lesbian and bisexual cancer survivors," she added.

"Health care facilities and social service agencies -- any organization that addresses the needs of cancer survivors -- must understand the extra challenges that lesbian and bisexual cancer survivors and gay men have," Margolies concluded.