Last August 15, 2009, our group, Project Eiva, was invited to attend the First Cosplay Mini Summit and Open Forum at the University of the Philippines IT Training Center.  One of the goals of the event was to promote the cosplay community. The event was organized by USP Events Specialist Inc. and Holy Ground Productions.  A panel of speakers from the government and the creative arts industry were invited.  Various cosplayers were also invited including people from Cosplay.ph.

The panel of speakers included:

• James Romana, Division Head for Creative Industries, Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM)
• Ramon Ibrahim, Cyberservices Comissioner, Commission of Information and Communication Technology (CITC)
• Eric Tamayo, Special Assistant to the Undersecretary, International and Economic Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs
• Ranulf Goss, Vice President, Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP)
• Ruel "Zyn" Abila, Game Master, ABS-CBN Interactive (AMPED)

The open forum was an opportunity for the government to have a better understanding of what cosplay is and what it is all about.  This was perhaps in a way for our community and the subculture in general to let our government have a glimpse of what we are like in the midst of continuous negative sentiment from various government officials.

Metro Comic Con was held last August 8 and 9 in Megamall Megatrade Hall 1 & 2.   The event was organized by HobbyLink Productions, Inc. and was to be the biggest gathering of comics, comic book enthusiasts, artists, and publishers in the country.  I was able to attend the first day of the convention.

Entrance to the event was PhP100.00 though it wasn't abundantly clear when I was trying to find the price on their website.  There wasn't much of a line to the ticket booth and the entrance which was rather a welcoming site.  The event space was rather huge and quite spacious.  I did like the floor plan for the event. It was clear and unobtrusive.  They placed the stage area on the far right of the event hall, the major sponsors and exhibitors were placed in the middle with enough walking space to walk in between them, and the comics and independent titles on the far left of the event space.  I love the fact that there was so much space. 

There were a lot of booths and merchandise being sold at the events, typical of what you would see in a convention of this size.  There were times from toys, collectibles to anime and fashion merchandise.  However, it became quite clear that there was a severe lack of comics at this convention.  This is sad considering this is a comics convention.  Observers have said that this was more like a toy fair than a comics convention.

My friends and I attended Metro Comic Con (aka Manila Comic Con).  One of the highlights for this event was a Taiga Aisaka cosplayer.   As an added bonus, she posed for us carrying ProjectOtaking.com's light saber.

Grand Chase Philippines pays their respects to former President Cory Aquino by giving away special items and holding special events in honor of the great woman.  Grand Chase is a free-to-play, two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG developed by the Korean company KOG Studios and is published by Level Up! Games.

Two events have been held to commemorate the former President.  Anyone who logs in to Grand Chase from August 4-10 were given 2 special items, a yellow flower and a yellow ribbon good for seven days.  Players can offer their flowers by going to the Grand Chase Park and offering the flowers on the altar.  Also as a special tribute, 3 rainbows can be seen on August 5 to commemorate the burial of the former President.

The Grand Chase GM team indulged us by answering a few questions regarding the tribute.  This short interview is courtesy of Lhyriance.  

Q: Who thought of putting an in-game tribute?

A: It was thought of the Grand Chase Team and the game developers KOG right at the bat when we heard the news that the late president passed away last Aug 1

Q: What is Cory's significance to Grand Chase? Why the tribute?

We recently watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince on IMAX 3D.  The ticket was PhP400 so it was a bit pricey than your average movie but I think it was definitely worth it.  As early as the start of the movie,  we are thrust into the recent events in the series.  The IMAX 3d rendering was awesome.  I especially enjoyed tha part where you see the Death Eaters swooping around London and the part where the Millenium Bridge strated to break apart.  I thought it was a nice touch to give the audience an idea what has been happening within the series since they last left Harry Potter.

The movie delivers when it comes to special effects.  You'll definitely feel that you have been sucked into the wizarding world and is one of the charactes in the story.  The IMAX theater enhances the experience with full surround sound so you can almost feel like you are actually inside the movie.  The visuals were seamless and was timed well to get the most desired effect.