Health News and Scoops

HOLLYWOOD — A representative for Ryan Phillippe has shot down reports the star is set to quit acting to move behind the camera, insisting he is staying put in Hollywood.

The 36 year old, who found fame as a teenager on soap “One Life to Live” in 1992, was alleged to have announced he was turning his back on the spotlight and planning to relocate to New York in a recent interview with the New York Post’s Page Six gossip column.

He is quoted as saying, “I’m going to move. I’m going to spend a third of my year in New York… I think I’m going to end my acting career. I’m so introverted. I’m ready to be behind the scenes. I’m 36, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years.”

But Phillippe’s spokesperson is adamant the claims have been fabricated.

His representative tells Eonline.com, “He is not going to stop acting nor did he ever say that he would. The Page Six story is completely incorrect. He’s not moving to New York. But he has a film that will be in production in the city soon.” (starpulse.com)

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‘My Worlds: The Collection’, Justin Bieber (MCA Music)

MANILA, Philippines — Fame is showing no signs of letting up on Justin Bieber. I mean, has anybody else’s shorn hair gone for $40,668 in the auction block? Exactly! So let’s look at one of the main reasons (besides the hair) why this teen sensation is breaking hearts – not to mention records, all across the globe.

The Bieber phenomenon started with the EP “My World” and went global with “My World 2.0,” the latter on the strength of “Baby.” Now, the double disc “My Worlds: The Collection” brings together most of the songs from these two sets – as if we need another Bieber album to listen to. Then again, this set is for the true Bieber fans.

One disc of “My Worlds” is made up mainly of acoustic versions of his hits, namely “One Time,” “One Less Lonely Girl,” “Stuck In The Moment” and, of course, the ultra catchy (admit it!) “Baby.” Surprisingly, the tracks lend themselves well in this bare-bones approach. For example, “U Smile” showed some bluesy swing in its acoustic guitar driven incarnation. And the rhythmic “Never Say Never” earned some shades of Santana-esque Latin rock in it. As to how his biggest hit fared in this acoustic setting, we could only say… “baby, baby, baby, oh…” Ready for Bieber fever, Manila?

‘Sting Live in Berlin: featuring The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra’, Sting (MCA Music)

We gave Sting’s “Symphonicity” CD a fair review here a couple of months ago. This time we’re grading the live performance of that album and we must say that this one is better. The big draw for this live set is the DVD of the concert, which also features the 46-piece Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. That the album includes Sting’s biggest hits – from his years as a Police to his solo career – is also a big plus.

“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” and “Englishman In New York” are instant crowd pleasers, while Sting’s solo era songs lends itself well in an orchestral setting, particularly the charming “When We Dance.” Conductor Steven Mercurio and the Royal Orchestra stepped up the drama on “Russians” and the theatrical “Moon Over Bourbon Street.” The DVD’s only drawback is the exclusion of the live performances of “If I Ever Lose My Faith in You” and “Shape of My Heart,” which are on the disc two CD.

This travesty aside, enjoy the funky duet between Sting and back-up singer Jo Lawry, with Branford Marsalis answering with some bluesy saxophone runs. Also noteworthy is “She’s Too Good For Me,” which got the whole orchestra dancing. The exceptional “King of Pain” and the obligatory inclusion of “Every Breath You Take” complete the live “Symphonicity” experience.

‘Sucker Punch – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack’, Various Artists (Sony Music)

This album is a mishmash of ambient and industrial-sounding rock, and reinterpretations of moody rock n’ roll covers and classics, starting off with a somewhat feverish version of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These).” The movie’s director, Zack Snyder, said that in choosing the tunes for his movie, “each reinvisioned song had to add depth, dimension and meaning to the sequences they exist within” – as should always be the case in any movie, especially one that brings together fantastical dragons, gun-bearing samurai zombies and sci-fi robots, and a mélange of cleavage baring, long-lashed pretty protagonists. Think “Moulin Rouge” as envisioned by Tim Burton. As such, the soundtrack includes Icelandic wonder Bjork dishing out the jagged and industrial rock, “Army of Me,” featuring English rock band Skunk Anansie—who also rocks out “Search and Destroy.”

Perhaps a nod to the trippy sequences of the film, “Sucker Punch” OST also includes an Emiliana Torrini cover of ‘60’s LSD rockers Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” Rapper Armageddon aka Geddy delivers a tasty mash-up featuring the classic recording of Queen in “I Want It All/We Will Rock You.” Adding to the weirdness and edginess of it all is a cover of The Beatles’ proto-metal classic “Tomorrow Never Knows” by two of “the most rockingest ladies in the biz today,” Alison Mosshart of The Kills/Deadheart and Autolux drummer Carla Azar.

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MANILA, Philippines — Actress Angelika Dela Cruz divides her time between tapings of teleserye “Dwarfina” and serving barangay Longos in Malabon City.

The actress’ father, Ernie de la Cruz, is the new barangay chair of said barangay.

Father and daughter lead the preparations for the celebration on May 1 of Barangay Longos Fiesta, a day of fun and merry-making among its residents.

Featured will be karakols (street dances) in the morning, celebration of the Holy Mass, games, fireworks display, a stage show, and a procession in the evening.

On May 6, the winner of the Mutya Ng Longos beauty contest will be crowned.

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MANILA, Philippines — Sandra, 28, was very lively that night.  After all, she was just promoted in her department.  She partied and dined.  When she returned home, she immediately went to sleep.  But the following day, she felt flattened – as if ambushed from behind – with a 39- to 40-degree fever, headache, extreme fatigue, weakness, and severe aches and pains in her muscles.  She went to the doctor.  “You’ve got flu,” she was told.

Working or playing through the flu – or influenza, to use its proper name – is impossible, unless you’re the type who can walk on hot coals and feel no pain.  You’ll probably have to take to your bed for three or more days.  But even after you recover – usually within three to seven days – you will have a dragged-down feeling that can persist for weeks and is sometimes compounded by depression.

 “Flu is an acute respiratory illness caused by a virus,” explains Jane Brody in her book, Jane Brody’s Cold and Flu Fighter.   There are three basic types of flu virus – A, B, and C – but only A and B (isolated in 1933 and 1940, respectively) are responsible for flu epidemics. New strains of the virus emerge at regular intervals and are named according to their geographic origin.

 “Flu is one of the most changeable viruses known to man,” writes Rachel Wildavsky in an article, which appeared in the American edition of Reader’s Digest.  “After we’ve been sick with one strain, it can mutate to infect us again.  We are only immune to flu viruses that our bodies have seen before.”

A flu can also “jump species” to an animal it has never infected before.  Once such flu moves into humans and if it can “learn” to pass easily between them, it can spark a pandemic — a global outbreak.

Flu, one of the oldest and most common diseases known to man, is a notorious killer. Hippocrates described flu in 412 BC and the first well-described pandemic of flu-like disease occurred in 1580.  Since that time, 31 such possible flu pandemics have been documented, with three occurring in the 20th century: In 1918, 1957 and 1968.  The disease today still affects large sections of the population each year. Its ability to kill stems from the fact that the virus can mutate quickly, often producing new strains against which human beings have no immunity. When this occurs, mortality from influenza can be staggering such as, for example, during the “Spanish Flu” pandemic of 1918-1920, where at least 20 million people died from influenza.

 In most instances, flu is dismissed as common cold.  But both differ. Symptoms of flu start 24 to 48 hours after infection and can begin suddenly.  The first clue that a person has flu is the chilly sensation.  Fever is common during the first few days, and the temperature may rise to 102-103 degrees Fahrenheit.

The main treatment for flu is to take complete rest in a warm, well-ventilated room until the disease clears up.  Staying home also avoids spreading the infection.   Drinking plenty of fluids — but do not take alcohol – may help.

 If a person is having severe symptoms but without complications, he may opt to take acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen.  Children, however, are not advised to take aspirin since the drug may increase their risk of getting Reye’s syndrome.

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MANILA, Philippines — From designer stores to swanky boutiques, Manila has become an emerging shopping destination in Southeast Asia. When exploring the streets of the capital city, tourists are usually surprised that almost every street has ritzy malls with stores offering much the same designer brands they can find in London and New York.  

But in spite of the sprawling malls rising in and around the Metro, the grand daddy for shopping complexes for tourists and balikbayans, is still Duty Free Philippines (DFP). Through the years, it’s been a tradition for returning Filipinos to take their families pasalubong shopping at DFP; while tourists like buying their designer goods at the international shopping center upon arrival or before departure.

But DFP is more than just a shopping center. Created in 1997, it is a functioning unit of the Department of Tourism (DoT).  Over the years, it has been able to make remittances to the national government in support of tourism destination development projects and international and domestic tourism promotions efforts.

“Duty Free Philippines is not just a travel retailer. It is an attached agency to the DoT where DFP’s mandate is to augment opportunities for tourists and generate foreign exchange and revenue for the government. All our efforts here are geared to support our country’s tourism industry,” said DFP Head Enchong Formoso.

With the directives given to DFP by its chairman, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, the agency is now focusing more on tourism related projects. “In terms of product development, shopping is a big attraction for our tourism industry,” Lim said. “We’re looking forward to the improvement of Duty Free stores to open up more opportunities for shopping as well as improve the service delivery of our tourism players.”

Part of DFP’s efforts in promoting tourism and travel is putting up tourism billboards at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals 1 and 2. Also to augment its service facility for tourists and balikbayans, we DFP is renovating its stores to adopt a new image and theme to coincide with its 25th anniversary.

“We will also have a wider array of products and new brands as soon as we renovate the stores. Also, DFP is now very active on the internet via our official site, www.dfp.com.ph, where people can see our promotion updates, new products. They can also visit us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. All this efforts are focused to reach our common goal which is to uplift the countries tourism industry,” said Formoso.

Recently, DFP launched the Fiesta Travel Awards, a gesture of appreciation by DFP for all the contributions and support extended by travel agencies and tour guides in the promotion of DFP’s products and services specifically at the Duty Free Fiestamall in Parañaque City.

“With inbound tourism on the rise, we thought that it’s about time that we focus on our new partners in the industry and recognize their unwavering support and of course reward their efforts Among the awards that will be given to all DFP accredited travel agencies and tour guides are, Travel Agency of the Year and Tour Guide of the Year,” shared Formoso.

Philippine Travel Agencies Association president Aileen Clemente said that all these efforts by DFP are fitting for the tourism private sector and its efforts to improve tourism, “Since the implementation of the Tourism Act of 2009, all the small steps that everyone has been taking in order to ensure the success of tourism which the private sectors have been aiming for a long time are now being realized.”

“Travel agents are now including DFP shopping to their tour packages so we would like to thank DoT and DFP for acknowledging the private sector as partners,” Clemente added.

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