More Fun in Bulwang Caves Mabinay

I've been to Dumaguete the center of Negros Oriental via Mabinay but I didn't know there's place like this. Last month we went to Bulwang caves in Mabinay as part of our long road trip to Bohol. According to the Guides consist of 400 plus cavernous sites explored mostly financed by foreign spelunkers.

 

Can't get enough picture taking, one tip though DO NOT use your flash. Photographs were more stunning without a flash -- 400 to 800 ISO is good enough.

Photography: Rustic Change

Shot taken without flash

I was playing with my camera and it just dawned on me (more like an epiphany) that photography is simply a play of lights. I thought flashes were only used during night scenes or if there's a low source of light to make your subject come up on the frame. I realized that flashes can also be used in scenes like in a broad daylight and it actually produce more dramatic pictures. It can make your background black and your subject look stunning.

Recently Discovered Fault Caused Negros Earthquakes

 

A recently discovered fault line caused the magnitude-6.9 quake that shook Dumaguete and its neighboring regions (Visayas region) on the afternoon of February 6, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

 

 

 

 

 

The earthquake was caused by the sudden shifting of two tectonic plates in the Visayas area. The shift was from a "blind fault" some 20kms below the earth between Negros and Cebu.

 

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Earthquake Safety Tips

Nowadays, we are experiencing earthquake in different parts of the world. A little knowledge and a few precautionary measures can increase your chances of surviving an earthquake - or any other type of hazardous events. The keys are education and preparedness. The earthquake safety tips below will not make you an expert. However, they could make a life-saving difference if you find yourself in a situation such as this - an earthquake situation. Educate yourself by studying simple safety tips below.

Before the Earthquake:

• Learn how to survive during the ground motion. This is described in the "During the Earthquake" section below. These earthquake safety tips will prepare you for the fast action needed - most earthquakes are over in seconds so knowing what to do instinctively is very important.
• Teach members of your family about earthquake safety precautions. This includes: 1) the actions you should take when an earthquake occurs, 2) the safe places in a room such as under a strong desk, along interior walls, and 3) places to avoid such as near windows, large mirrors, hanging objects, heavy furniture and fireplaces.
• Stock up on emergency supplies. These include: battery operated radio (and extra batteries), flashlights (and extra batteries), first aid kit, bottled water, two-week worth of food and medical supplies, blankets, cooking fuel, tools needed to turn off your gas, water and electric utilities.

Phivolcs: Intensity Alert Levels

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck between the islands of Negros and Cebu before noon Monday, February 6, 2012, killing at least 7 people and prompting government volcanologists to raise a tsunami alert.

Intensity

Phivolcs said the following intensities were felt in the following areas:

• Intensity VII - Dumaguete City; Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental

• Intensity VI - La Carlota City and La Castellana, Negros Occidental; Argao, Cebu

• Intensity V - Roxas City; Dao and Ivisan, Capiz; Iloilo City; Ayungon, Negros Oriental; Kanlaon City; Lapu-lapu City; Guimaras; Cebu City; San Carlos City; Bacolod City; Sagay City; Tagbilaran City; Candoni, Binalbagan, Negros Occidental

• Intensity IV - San Jose de Buenavista, Pandan, Anini-y, Patnungon, Antique; Kalibo, Aklan; Dipolog City; Sipalay, Negros Occidental; Ormoc City

• Intensity III - Butuan City, Agusan del Norte; Legaspi City, Albay; Carmen, Cagayan de Oro; Tacloban City; Catbalogan; Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte; Masbate, Masbate; Cagayan de Oro City

• Intensity II - Cabid-an, Sorsogon; Borongan, Eastern Samar; Mambajao, Camiguin

• Intensity I - Pagadian City

Quake in Negros Prompted Tsunami Warning

The earthquake also prompted a tsunami warning from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), alerting residents near the coastal areas of Negros and Cebu to watch for unusual waves. But, according to Phivolcs, not requiring any evacuation just yet.


The tsunami alert was canceled after no further reports of unusual sea level changes were received after the two-hour extended observation period.

But more aftershocks could be expected in the next few weeks in areas near the epicenter, according to Ishmael Narag, officer in charge of the Phivolcs’ seismology division. As of 1 p.m. Monday, February 6, 2012, Phivolcs had recorded 16 aftershocks.

The quake triggered another landslide in the mountain village of Solongon in La Libertad town, also in Negros Oriental. An unknown number of people were trapped, said Inspector Eric Arrol Besario, the town police chief.


The earthquake sent shoppers scrambling under tables and workers and students rushing out of their buildings in cities of Negros and Cebu.

Classes in all public and private schools in Negros Oriental were suspended, while businesses in Dumaguete City were closed due to reported aftershocks. Intensity V was experienced in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.

It's More Fun In The Philippines: Surfing in Siargao

"This dramatic and powerful reef break, which crashes onto shallow razor-sharp coral, offers right and left death rides to those who dare. Those who do will experience a slice of paradise, or magic mushroom-like hallucinations, as the wave wraps over them like a Cornish pasty-shaped cocoon of water. Don't slip, or your skin and bones will be ripped to shreds by the ocean bed," Bremmer wrote about Siargao's famous "Cloud Nine" in the article. -source: CNNGo.com

Siargao Is World's 8th Best Surf Spot.
Surfing. More fun in the Philippines.


Siargao, an island shaped like a teardrop in Surigao del Norte, is the eighth best surf spot in the world. This is according to the travel news website of the Cable News Network (CNN).

The World's Top 50 Best Surf Spots list was compiled by CNNGo writer and "avid surfer" Jade Bremmer. It also used contributions from other professional surfers.

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Movie Review

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol is neither deep nor meaningful but the stunts are awesome.

Director: Brad Bird

Writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and 1 more credit »

Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg

It’s these that make Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol superior to the other films in this series, and very much worth the price of admission. See it, if you can, on an Imax screen, where the stunts are breath-taking.
 

Bourne Legacy Shots in the Philippines

 

The latest installment of the Jason Bourne Hollywood spy franchise began filming in the chaotic Philippine capital Tuesday amid heavy security with the city on alert over a feared terrorist attack.

The production, which has a budget of more than $100 million, will spend about 45 days in the Philippines. Scenes have already been shot in New York and Alberta, Canada, since filming began last September. 

Although a few smaller-budget independent movies, including John Sayles’ 2000 “Amigo,” have been made in the Southeast Asian country, the fourth “Bourne” will be the biggest Hollywood production to be shot there since the late 1970s and 1980s. Several classic war films, among them Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 “Apocalypse Now” and Oliver Stone’s 1986 “Platoon” and his 1989 “Born on the Fourth of July," used the Philippines as a stand-in for Vietnam.

Director: Tony Gilroy

Writers: Tony Gilroy (screenplay), Dan Gilroy (screenplay)

Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton

 

President Benigno Aquino III's spokesman Edwin Lacierda says the movie will boost tourism (Filming. It's more fun in the Philippines) and provide jobs.

It's More Fun In The Philippines

The new Department of Tourism (DOT) slogan, "It's More Fun in the Philippines," on January 6, Friday, the hashtag #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines became the top trending topic worldwide. The man behind the slogan Secretary Ramon "Mon" Jimenez Jr. But, it was created by advertising firm BBDO Guerrero|Proximity Philippines and according to DOT Secretary Ramon "Mon" Jimenez Jr., the slogan answers the fundamental question, 'Why the Philippines?'."

Click here to see more fun in the Philippines images

It's more fun in the Philippines... social networking sites are now abuzz with images depicting netizens' own take on what makes the Philippines "more fun". Using their own photos from their own travels around the country and fun shots from the Web, people have been sharing their own images and taglines on the official "It's More Fun in the Philippines" Facebook page.