After the successful re-opening of Bagaberde Grill and Bar at Roxas Boulevard last Aug. 10, the leading music bar in the metropolis will be rockin’ the night away this month of September.

Always known for staging shows that feature some of the best musical talents Bagaberde Grill and Bar in the country, Bagaberde not only offers good music but good food and spirits as well.

Aside from the special shows, there are the regular gigs, with different featured performers every day of the week. Mocha gyrates on all Monday nights; Big Nite Out on Tuesdays; Fat Session on all Wednesdays; Bloomfields goes retro on Thursdays; Side A, Arko and Freestyle alternate on Fridays while Zoo rocks the house on Saturdays.

Bagaberde Grill and Bar is located at Boom na Boom Grounds, CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City.

Toni Gonzaga: Host turned chambermaid?

Rumor has it that popular host, singer and multi-media endorser Toni Gonzaga was recently spotted cleaning rooms! The rumor is 100 percent true because Monday, Aug. 31, Toni will be seen as a chambermaid named Flor in the newest offering of “Precious Hearts Romances Presents Ang Lalaking Nagmahal Sa Akin” on ABS-CBN.

For the first time ever, Toni will be seen with Derek Ramsay, one of the most bankable leading men today, who will play the part of Zeph, the rich kid who owns the hotel Flor works for. It is in this hotel where the two will meet, fight and eventually fall in love.

Also starring are Shamaine Centenera, Janus del Prado, Franzen Fajardo, Ketchup Eusebio, Crispin Pineda, DJ Durano and many more and under the direction of Wenn Deramas.

Youngest rapper releases album

Only 10 years old, DJ Joph Marino, has released his debut album entitled “O.F.W. – DJ Joph Marino,” distributed by Eon Records.

Why “O. F. W?” Because his father was one time an overseas Filipino worker, and the young singer has a soft spot in his heart especially for OFWs. In fact, the album carries a song dedicated to his father, and any father for that matter, entitled “Dear Dad.”

Other songs included in the album are: “Dasal,” “Airport,” “Dugong Noypi,” “Sundo,” “Bato Sa Buhangin,” and “Dating Tagpuan.”

DJ Joph Marino is not just by accident that he came out with his first album. He was only two years old when he started singing. He made adequate preparations for himself. When he was five years old, he joined the Star Circle Quest. In a workshop which he attended, he got the Best Singer, Best Dance and Best Acting awards. He had performed in concerts at the Hobit House in Ermita Manila, the Metrobar in Quezon Ave., and in various malls in the provinces.

Being arranged for him are campus tours and even probably an international tour for the OFWs.

MYX Slam Jam 2009 rocks campuses non-stop

MYX, the number one music channel in the Philippines, will visit two lucky schools bringing with them the biggest rock bands of today’s generation for the MYX Slam Jam 2009 today, Aug. 31 and Sept. 24.
After conquering San Sebastian College with Callalily and Pupil in tow, MYX Slam Jam 2009 heads on to the nature-filled campus of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna today.

Next on MYX Slam Jam’s must-visit list of schools is the Adamson University on Sept. 24. MYX invades ADU students with loud music and hard core partying and drags with them some of the country’s most popular Pinoy bands.

Hosted by the hottest MYX VJs, the MYX Slam Jam 09 is the music channel’s yearly campus tour which is a free concert for the students of the school. Intended to cater to the UAAP and NCAA schools, which resulted in the name ‘slam jam,’ the MYX Slam Jam is branching out to a wider audience including non-UAAP/NCAA campuses such as UP Los Baños and NCBA.

‘Don’t English Me!’ on ‘I-Witness’ Monday night

While riding around on his bike Bughaw, Howie Severino assesses the quality of English in the streets of Manila – noting numerous misspellings on signs, the ignorance of students, and even grammatical mistakes engraved in the monument to a journalism icon.

He later learns that this sordid state of communication reflects a general decline in education, exemplified by an elementary school student named Jayson who managed to reach grade six without learning how to read despite parents who sell books and magazines for a living.

Howie delves into the debate about the causes of this decline, dwelling on the role of language. He meets a legislator who blames the use of Filipino as a medium of instruction and wants a new emphasis on the use of English.

Language experts at the University of the Philippines believe that learning is most effective using a student’s mother tongue.

Howie’s documentary team travels in search of multi-language education in action and finds an example in remote Lubuagan, Kalinga province, where students are taught in their native tongue and score much higher in standardized tests than their counterparts in more traditional schools.

Join this journey through a multi-language society on “Don’t English Me!,” Howie Severino’s “I-Witness” documentary tonight at midnight after the late night newscast “Saksi.”

Anthology of film articles

“Huwaran/Hulmahan Atbp.,” a new anthology of film articles by the late Johven Velasco, brings up issues that are still relevant to the current period, including the need for integrity among candidates for national artist (with FPJ as example, shown on the cover with Susan Roces and the author). It also celebrates the appreciation of responsible mainstream filmmaking and encouragement of independent production.

Published by the University of the Philippines Press, the book will be launched on Sept. 1, 5:30 p.m. at the Adarna Theater’s Ishmael Bernal Gallery, located along Magsaysay Blvd. (near the UP Carillon) in Diliman, Quezon City.

The book will then be sold in major bookstores all over the country at R350 per copy, with a 20 percent discount or P280 during the launch. FPJ’s daughter Grace Llamanzares, Jaclyn Jose, Angelo Ilagan and other guests will do special readings.