Got skin allergy? Look for the hypoallergenic seal in your laundry products

Hypoallergenic seal

One of the things am not happy about is the fact that my skin is highly sensitive, and prone to certain types of allergies, like contact dermatitis. Unfortunately, my son inherited this predicament and when allergy strikes, it’s the time for him (or me) to visit the doctor and get the much-needed prescription.

During a recent forum, it was quite enlightening to find that one out of five kids worldwide suffer from a form of skin allergy or another. It seems that children who haven’t been sufficiently breastfed are susceptible. Environmental pollution, allergen levels and dietary changes can encourage the development of allergies. Allergy-causing foods like soy, milk, peanuts, egg and seafood are also a trigger. And so are seemingly innocuous items like the nickel found in buttons, fiberglass toys and common household products like shampoos and detergents.

For those who have experienced uncontrollable itching of the skin, we all know how it can be a hassle. The condition certainly affects children in more ways than we can imagine, as they find it difficult to focus in school, if not incur absences; makes them unable to sleep; and affect their social life, in general.

It’s certainly good news that Green Cross – the Philippine company which has brought us The Rubbing Alcohol :D , Zonrox Bleach and Glide Ironing Aid, among others – now comes Del Hypoallergenic Fabric Softener. It claims to be dermatologically-tested and safe, even for children’s delicate skin, as it contains no artificial colorants. This is more of a press release announcement, I know, but it should be worth noting , especially for mommies looking for something to relieve their kids about certain allergies.

Del has launched an Allergy Awareness Program via the website, wearitchfreeclothes.com. Through the site, parents and children can read online the Itchy the Grump book and they will also be able to join the Itchy the Grump Contest by uploading their photos and videos to the site. Do check it out!

Ang papel ni Kris sa pulitika ni Noynoy

KRIS AQUINO WAVINGNaabutan ko sa TV noong Huwebes ang pasasalamat ni Kris Aquino kay Sharon Cuneta tungkol daw sa suporta na ibibigay nila ng kanyang asawang si Sen. Francis Pangilinan sa kandidatura ng kanyang kapatid na si Sen. Noynoy Aquino sa pagka-presidente.

Bago ko nakita ang newscast na yun, may nag-text sa akin na reporter, “Sablay kaagad si Noynoy. Biro mo naman, kinuha si Kiko na spokesman.”

Ang reaksyun ko naman, “Hindi yata nagka-ayos sina Noynoy at Mar Roxas.” Sabi nga ng isang reporter din, “Doble sampal naman itong ginawa ni Noynoy kay Mar. Alam naman niya may isyu sina Mar at Kiko.”

Hindi naman lingid sa publiko ang hidwaan nina Roxas at Pangilinan. Mula nang idineklara ng Liberal Party na si Roxas ang kanilang kandidato para presidente, panay ang batikos ni Pangilinan sa LP. Mas malapit siya kay Sen. Manny Villar at kasama siya sa “Wednesday group” na binubuo nina Bise Presidente Noli de Castro, Sen. Joker Arroyo, at Sen. Ralph Recto.

Palagi pinaglandakan ni Pangilinan ang kanyang pagka -”independent” at sumubok pa siya magbuo ng “third force” kasama sina Fr. Ed Panlilio at Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca na hindi naman umangat.

Nagkaroon siya ng pagkakataon na bumalik sa LP nang magwithdraw si Roxas sa kanyang kandidatura sa pagka-presidente para kay Aquino. Inalok ni Noynoy si Mar para magiging bise-presidente niya. Hindi pa ina-anunsyo ni Mar ang kanyang desisyon.

Ngayon, sinasabi ng mga taga-LP na hindi naman daw tutoo ang pagka-spokesman ni Kiko. Sabi daw ni Noynoy, “overqualified” si Kiko para maging spokesman niya.

May nagsabi naman sa akin, yun lang ang sinabi ni Noynoy dahil halos daw lahat sa LP nagulat sa inanusyo ni Kris.

Mabuti naman at naagapan ito. Si Noynoy ay anti-Gloria . Tapos spokesman mo si “Mr. Noted”, ang isang tao na malaki ang papel sa paglagay sa Malacanang ng isang pekeng presidente.

Mahalaga si Kris sa kandidatura ni Noynoy. Maliban sa lakas ng hatak niya sa masa, siya ang pwedeng-pwedeng tumulong kay Noynoy sa gastusin sa kampanya.

Ngunit marami sa nagu-obserba ngayon sa kandidatura ni Noynoy ang medyo nababahala sa magiging papel ni Kris kung mananalo si Noynoy. Nang presidente si Cory Aquino, bata pa si Kris at hindi pa siya ganun kasikat.

Wala tayung paki-alam sa mga maling desisyon ni Kris sa kanyang personal na buhay. Ang problema, kung manalong presidente si Noynoy at maki-alam siya sa mga opisyal na bagay, katulad ng pagpili niya kay Pangilinan bilang spokesman.

Wait, there’s more!: Buy her a gift this Valentines! or send her flowers!

Apple’s Garage Band Demos

I’ve used my Garage Band to create a remix and to edit some of my mp3s that I’d like to have as ringtones for my iPhone. It’s a sleek software that will make music geeks really happy because of the things you can do with it. For those music geeks, you may want to go some Apple stores today and tomorrow so that you can check the schedules.

Power Mac Greenbelt
DJ Paulo Palencia, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 12, 2009
DJ JP Sacaben, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 13, 2009

Power Mac North EDSA
Boogie Romero, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 12, 2009
DJ Yoshi Uy, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 13, 2009

A-Shop (Eastwood)
Marc Abaya, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 12, 2009
Kelly Mangahas, 1:00pm - 4:00pm, Sept. 13, 2009

Switch (UP Ayala Techno Hub)
Lourd de Veyra, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 12, 2009
DJ Paulo Palencia, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 13, 2009

iStudio (Bonifacio High Street)
Kelly Mangahas, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 12, 2009
Swissy or Fran, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 13, 2009

Digital Hub (Robinson’s Ermita)
DJ Ali Nepomuceno, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 12, 2009
DJ Ali Nepomuceno, 2:00pm - 5:00pm, Sept. 13, 2009

There will be a Ringtone Composition Contest and they’re giving away an Apple iTouch and five iPod shuffles! Check out http://www.musicplayground.com.ph/ for more information.

B-Quartet’s Tomorrow Is Our Permanent Address

Since late 1999, B-Quartet has been wandering. The band disregards genres and conventions in search for the proper musical language to express the ideals which they hold dear to their hearts. The language conveyed isn’t about being unconventional but about challenging conventions varying from songwritting to delivery.

Being winners of the 2002 Yamaha Asian Beat band competition, B-Quartet is made up of two pairs of brothers who happen to be cousins as well. They blend funk, jazz, metal and progressive rock into a blindingly tight set, reflecting their electric taste in music. Playing with a telepathic ability, their technical prowess on their instruments and their exquisite vocal harmonies have enchanted and mesmerized audiences, winning them fans everywhere they go.

They have been hailed as one of Singapore’s “most exciting live acts” by The Straits Time Life! music journalist Sujin Thomas in his article on B-Quartet in his Friday 6 May 2005 article.

Editor of online KL-based music site Think.com.my, Chris Crew votes B-Quartet as the best Singapore act for Baybeats 2007, “Expanding to a six-man lineup, B-Quartet’s bipolar collection of jazz-rock tunes haunted their way into total recall, particularly ‘Shoebox’ with its progressive swells and thoroughly gorgeous melody.”

Mikey’s assets before getting elected: P50,000

Miriam Grace A. Go
Newsbreak

President Arroyo’s oldest child, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, has lately been under scrutiny not only for allegedly misdeclaring his properties but also for being unable to explain satisfactorily how his net worth grew by more than 1,600% in the 7 years that he was an elected official.

Now, he may have to explain, too, the wealth that he acquired before getting elected as vice governor of Pampanga in 2001.

Newsbreak research shows that the rate by which Mikey’s net worth increased from the time he first served as his mother’s executive assistant in the Senate, to his election as provincial vice governor—an 8-year period—was far more dramatic.

From only P50,000 in 1993—based on the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) he filed with the Senate secretary—Mikey’s net worth grew to P5.72 million by 2001, the year he was elected vice governor. It represented an increase of 11,300%.

Newsbreak got Mikey’s records in the Senate to build on the reports recently released by Vera Files that President Arroyo’s sons, Mikey and Diosdado (or Dato), had purchased real estate properties after their election as congressmen but didn’t properly declare them in their SALNs. Copies of their SALNs from 2001 to 2008 obtained by the writers showed Mikey’s declared net worth increasing from P5.7 million in 2001 to P74.4 million in 2004 and to P99.2 million last year.

Mikey started working for his mother, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the latter was first elected senator in 1992. In 1995, Gloria was re-elected senator; in 1998, as vice president.

In his SALN for 1992, Mikey didn’t declare anything except his personal information.

For 1993, he declared no real properties and no liabilities. His only declared assets then was his “cash on hand” of P50,000, also his net worth.

For 1994, he declared a net worth of P320,000. He declared no real properties and no liabilities. His assets included P200,000 worth of “personal effects” and P120,000 cash.

From 1995 to 2000, according to various reports, Mikey said he didn’t have to file SALN because he was abroad, studying. Mikey, before running in Pampanga, also dabbled in acting for action movies.

However, in an interview with Newsbreak in 2001—before he ran for vice governor—he said he had been backstopping his mother in her political career, and had been involved in all of her 3 campaigns—in 1992, 1995, and 1998.

He also said then that if elected vice governor, he would bring transparency and accountability to his office: “Young people tend to be bold, aggressive. They are not so eaten up by the system. I guess that—transparency, the belief in accountability—is what I can offer…aside from my supposed link with my mom.” (Click here to read Mikey’s first person account.)

Mikey, after one term as vice governor, was elected congressman of Pampanga’s second district in 2004 and 2007. He later explained in a TV interview that the tremendous increase in his assets in the last 7 years that Vera Files uncovered was due to wedding gifts and surplus campaign contributions.

In a later interview, he said the increase reflected in his SALNs could be attributed to the wealth of his wife which he had to integrate in his declarations. Mikey married his second cousin Angela Montenegro in 2002.

His lawyer, Ruy Rondain, said Vera Files deliberately left out the supplemental SALN filed by Mikey in 2003, reflecting the increase in his wealth after the wedding, to make it appear that presidential son misdeclared his assets.

“They knew there was a supplement SALN in 2003, why did they not include it in their research? Is it because it would have ruined their foregone conclusion that my client had built up his wealth scandalously and not gradually?” Rondain was quoted in news reports.

Newsbreak tried to get Mikey’s side through his lawyer, Rondain, but we didn’t get a reply. —with reports from Lilita Balane and Carmela Fonbuena (Newsbreak)

Wait, there’s more!: Buy her a gift this Valentines! or send her flowers!