Just a year old, Manor Superclub has already gained a cult following in the metro’s party scene, with partyphiles, and until recently, call center agents, entering its glass doors three nights a week, from 10pm to five in the morning. According to Erik Cua, operations director, Manor is “the premiere dance club in the Philippines with three areas where people can go to unwind, meet new people, and dance the night away.”

Launched in January of 2009 from the people behind the metro’s top clubs, Manor Superclub has gained notoriety among the country’s club-hopping and music-loving elite. The conceptualization process took around six months, while the construction of the three main areas, the penthouse, basement, and the terrace, took five months, with each area having its own distinct ambiance and music.

The guys behind Manor did more than just your simple party-planning. “First [was] finding the location we really wanted, then finding the right partners to complement each other,” says Cua. Thanks to Stephen Ku, marketing director, and Bingo Manahan, promotions director, they were also able to choose the right promoters to partner with. Carlo Aquino, Manor’s entertainment director took care of the music. The result was a place deserving of its name.

With its posh interiors, pulsating dance music spun by Manila’s top DJs, as well as a wide selection of cocktails for your enjoyment, it isn’t unusual to see long lines of people snaking around the corner waiting to be let in. According to Cua, Manor’s guests are usually college students, yuppies, industry people, businessmen, as well as models and actors. However, with the recent surge of BPOs in the country, particularly in the Quezon City and Pasig area, they’ve also gained a new client base. “It has actually gotten stronger since some of the call center agencies have held their parties in Manor.”

Open every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday night, many call center agents in the area actually choose to go to Manor during their “lunch break” sometime between midnight and 2am to relax and escape from the stress and pressure of work. While they’re service hasn’t changed with the emergence of this new market, the team behind Manor Superclub has begun thinking of ways to bring more of them in. According to Cua, “We give nothing but the best party for call center agents.”

At the end of the day, which in this case, is at six or seven in the morning, all everyone’s looking for is a place to relax with perhaps some booze on the side. And in Manor, it doesn’t matter if it’s during your lunch break.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Manor Superclub
www.manorsuperclub.com
F1 Big Kahuna Bldg., Eastwood Citywalk, Libis, Quezon City
(02) 421-3180, info@manorsuperclub.com

PHOTO CREDIT
Dairy Darilag

***

From Entrepreneur Philippines´ December 2009 issue.

A week before I started working, I was lucky enough to be given a free media pass to last year’s Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival at the Cultural Center. The only requirement was that I watch every movie. I was more than happy to oblige. I would trek to the CCP every morning, shuttle between screenings (sometimes run), and go home late at night satisfied and with a lingering headache from staring at a screen the whole day. That’s my version of a movie marathon. And I did that for six days. My finally tally was 22 movies.

The Ateneo Video Open, now on its eleventh year, is an annual nationwide film competition open to collegiate-level filmmakers. It’s organized by the Loyola Film Circle, the Ateneo de Manila University’s premiere film organization.

The event aims to highlight the effective use of aesthetically pleasing films as media for social discourse. There are four categories: short narrative, music video, documentary, and experimental.

Screenings of entries will be on the weekends of February and March. Venues will be announced. The competition will end in an awards night where cash prizes await the winners of each category judged by renowned persons in the field of film and art.

Visit the official website: http://ateneovideoopen11.multiply.com to view the rules, regulations and mechanics. Application forms are also available in the website. Deadline of entries is on January 22. 2010.

For inquiries, contact the AVO Team at ateneovideoopen11@yahoo.com and at ateneovideoopen11@gmail.com, 0916-228-45-67 or 0917-327-70-55.

In music, 2009 was the year of many artists. People were mesmerized by the show that was Lady Gaga (Thought she was an alien.), went viral and placed a ring on it with Beyonce, climbed with Miley Cyrus (although I still don’t understand why she wants to climb that damn mountain so badly), became Jason Mraz’s (I’m Yours was like crack. You hated it but every time it played you were secretly singing along.), got boom boom powed ( I still have no idea what that means. I just figure it means sex. ), and fell in love with Taylor Swift (Seriously gorgeous girl.).

Presenting Dj Earworm’s annual mashup of the top 25 most popular songs of  the past year, according to Billboard Magazine. I’m just a bit peeved that Empire State of Mind and The Man Who Can’t Be Moved didn’t make it. Then again, I relish in the fact that no Jonas Brothers song made it.

Listen in or watch the video.

DJ Earworm – United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop) – Mashup of Top 25 Billboard Hits

• The Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow
• Lady Gaga – Poker Face
• Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O’Donis – Just Dance
• The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
• Taylor Swift – Love Story
• Flo Rida – Right Rond
• Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
• Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put a Ring On it)
• Kanye West – Heartless
• The All-American Rejects – Gives You Hell
• Taylor Swift – You Belong With Me
• T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake – Dead and Gone
• The Fray – You Found Me
• Kings Of Leon – Use Somebody
• Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo – Knock You Down
• Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain – Blame It
• Pitbull – I Know you Want Me (Calle Ocho)
• T.I. Featuring Rihanna – Live Your Life
• Soulja Boy Tell ‘em Featuring Sammie – Kiss Me Thru The Phone
• Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne – Down
• Miley Cyrus – The Climb
• Drake – Best I Ever Had
• Kelly Clarkson – My Life Would Suck Without You
• Beyonce – Halo
• Katy Perry – Hot N Cold

The journey from the ground floor of the office to the Summit editorial office at the sixth floor of Robinson’s Cybergate Tower 3 is always a long and arduous perpendicular ride. If I’m not waiting for the elevator doors to open, I’m waiting for them to close, desperately pushing the “close” button hoping no annoying person attempts to squeeze through the six-inch gap and pushes the doors away.

The ride can be awkward as you try to not look at anyone straight in the eye, but the confined space leads you to stare at either the ceiling or blank aluminum in front of you–both making you look like an idiot. While you whip out your mobile phone and pretend to answer a message, the lady behind reads above your shoulder, muffled coughs attempts to drown out the uncomfortable silence, shuffling feet preparing to get off, the feeling that someone is staring at you from behind. The doors open, you get out, relieved. Then you realize you forgot to push your floor button so you end up five minutes late waiting for the next elevator to go down.

Civilization, a video mural created for the elevators of the Standard Hotel in New York City, depicts a journey from hell to heaven interpreted through modern film language using computer-enhanced found footage. It takes elevator passengers on a trip from hell to heaven as they go up or from heaven to hell as they go down. This epic video mural contains over 400 individual channels of looped video blended into a multi-layered seamless tableau of interconnecting images that illustrate a contemporary, satirical take on the concepts of Heaven and Hell.

Civilization by Marco Brambilla

More here.

I realize I have yet to blog about work. Yes, I am working. Beginning last Monday, I am the new Editorial Assistant of Entrepreneur Magazine, one of the many titles under Summit Publishing (Preview, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Etc.). It’s only been four days but already I’m swamped with work. While I cherish the experience of having a Mac computer all to myself, I also get to enjoy an unlimited playlist of songs through the company’s networked iTunes. So if I get bored of listening to the OPM playlist of someone in the Men’s Health editorial, I can switch to the pop-rock playlist of the staffwriter at Cosmo, the layout artist of CandyMag, or one of the people at PEP. I decided to explore a bit more earlier today when, while scrolling down the list of artists, in between Korn and Lady Gaga, I find a very familiar name that just begged to be double-clicked: Kris Aquino.

I have no idea who owns this particular playlist. I have a feeling it’s the lady up in storage. It’s 40 seconds of educational torture. If you want your child to speak English like Kris Aquino, I suggest you purchase the album from which it comes from. Until then, I’m sticking to The Killers.