Alex in Love

Alex in Love
By Robbie Pangilinan

When people talk about Alex Crisano’s love life, the name of a sexy comedienne immediately comes to mind, what with the two’s past controversial and passionate relationship. But what many do not know is that Alex is very much in love with another woman—the mother of his son.

JB Marquez, daughter of comedian and politician Joey Marquez, is the woman that Alex’s has been in love with and is in love with now. JB and 6-year-old son Vinny are the popular cager’s top priority right now. Alex has been making up for lost time with JB and Vinny who are both in the US.

“We are trying our best to rekindle our family,” the 6’7” PBA star says. The couple met in 2002 and Alex fell in love with JB’s being natural. Their love bore fruit and Vinny was born. JB says she is thankful because, “Alex respects me a lot and loves our son so much.”

The two are in a long distance relationship because Alex’s career is in the Philippines and JB works in the US. “It’s just for the meantime while we both work and save for a house soon here in the US!” JB explains. Though they are far from each other, JB says they are romantic all the time. She even sings Alicia Keys’ song for Alex, “Everything means nothing... if I ain’t got you.”

Meanwhile, Alex is taking care of himself here as he needs to maintain a healthy and trim figure for his sports. Alex is supporting basketball clinics in Diliman Preparatory school and even got an offer from the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) for him to join the team as a heavyweight boxer. He is thankful for the challenge but said he wants to play basketball for a couple more years. Alex has always been excited to try body sculpting and he finally underwent the procedure that sculpted his abs, shoulders, chest and sides.

Alex had apprehensions at first but though it was a once in a lifetime chance that he could not pass up. He says he just wanted to take out fats in unwanted places to “change things in my life.” He is satisfied with the results of his VASER High Definition Liposculpture performed by Dr. Claudine Roura of the Contours Advanced Face and Body Sculpting Institute. Contours is the pioneer of the VASER® Lipo System in the Philippines. #

Nikki Sees Stars

By Robbie Pangilinan

Former senator Nikki Coseteng is seeing stars. No, not showbiz personalities, although she really rubs elbows with celebrities, having been a congresswoman, senator, TV host, radio commentator and one-time actress.

The stars that Nikki sees are the real, celestial ones. And she sees them not with her naked eye but through a high-powered telescope. This telescope, along with other technological advances in astronomy like the Philippines’ first ever and only 7-meter diameter digital mobile planetarium, are featured in Diliman Preparatory School’s (DPS) Astronomy Center, a complete resource for astronomy education in the Philippines.

A woman of the future, Nikki is known to have brought innovations to the world of learning in DPS. This latest addition, the P10-million Astronomy Center, is just the start of many astronomy programs and projects of the Discover and Probe the Skies (DPS) Foundation, Inc. that aims to support education and research in astronomy in the country.

Nikki proudly says, “We want to raise the awareness, interest, knowledge and understanding of astronomy among students and the general public. Many students are not given the chance to go to a planetarium and experience the universe while on Earth, so we will bring the planetarium to them instead.”

This program is called the SKYXPLORE, an astronomy outreach program that goes to different schools nationwide. Activities include viewing the digital planetarium, a simulated display of the day- and night-time sky and celestial objects; film showing of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Official Movie, The Eyes on the Skies; an astronomical exhibit that showcases NASA space photos and a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against a night-time backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events; a meteorite exhibit; the Ask-An-Astronomer Activity where an all-UP team of astronomers answers questions. #

Exploring the Universe

By Robbie Pangilinan

With the coming of the digital mobile planetarium to the country, exploring the universe has never been easier and better. Diliman Preparatory School (DPS) opens the Philippines’ first ever and only 7-meter diameter digital mobile planetarium as part of the DPS Astronomy Center, a complete resource for astronomy education in the Philippines.

Wikipedia defines a planetarium as a theater built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. Almost all planetariums have large dome-shaped projection screens to simulate the ‘motions of the heavens’. Viewers can watch realistic images of stars, planets and other celestial objects. The Hayden Planetarium is the largest planetarium with a 20-meter dome seating 430 people. There are also three-meter portable domes.

In the Philippines, there are several planetariums, the most popular of which is the National Museum Planetarium at the Rizal Park Complex. It has a 16-meter inner dome where 8,500 stars are projected. The projector can project the night sky as it appeared in the past or will appear in the future. The planetarium can seat a maximum of 310 viewers with four daily shows. In addition, the octagonal wall of the lobby has three-dimensional glass diorama exhibits and photos of mysterious inner space objects.
The 88-seater PAGASA Planetarium at the Science Garden has a projector that can project 3,550 stars, five major planets, the Sun and the Moon. It also has an ordinary slide projector for solar system slide showing. The planetarium offers educational tours for elementary and high school students where they can learn about the universe, its creation, history and possible future as well as the development of the solar system.
DPS opens the first mobile digital planetarium system in the country. Bamm Gabriana, Astronomy Consultant of the Discover and Probe the Skies Foundation, Inc., explains, “A digital planetarium is a computer with specialized software connected to a high-resolution fish-eye projector. We can update the software by connecting the computer to the internet. We can even download data about comet and asteroids that were discovered, say, yesterday!”

The digital mobile planetarium, with a 7-meter dome, is the largest in the country. Because it is digital, the planetarium has capabilities that non-digital planetariums do not have. These are the ability to see how the sky looks like from other places on earth and from the surface of other planets; zoom in to planets, stars clusters, nebulas, and galaxies; quickly see how the sky looks like on the day you were born; show constellation artwork from several cultures; show constellation lines, boundaries, and special lines; show astronomical coordinate systems (both equatorial and horizontal); and show information about any selected object in the sky.

The SM Mall of Asia’s Science Discovery Center also has a digital planetarium called Digistar which has a 15-meter dome. Digistar is a fully interactive, three-dimensional planetarium with all-dome video playback, complete with star field and astronomical capabilities, with digital surround sound for total viewing pleasure. But Bamm says that Digistar does not have any planetarium shows. “It's just like watching a movie in a full-dome screen,” he clarifies.

The DPS mobile planetarium is far beyond compare to the old planetariums. “The difference is astronomical,” Bamm says. You have to come to our planetarium and experience it. All my explanations will not give you an idea of how good it is unless you see it for yourself,” is Bamm’s encouragement to viewers.

This planetarium is all set to change the world of learning and the way we have looked at the universe. It will be brought directly to schools so instead of students paying for a bus and traveling all the way to the planetarium’s location, they just pay for the entrance fees.

Planetariums make people experience and explore the vast universe. The whole wide cosmos becomes within reach through technological advances such as the digital mobile planetarium. #

Digital planetarium wows foreign students

By Robbie Pangilinan

Chinese, Korean and Japanese students of Diliman Preparatory School (DPS) are amazed at the latest innovation brought by DPS president Nikki Coseteng to the world of learning: the DPS Astronomy Center.

The foreign students, though coming from countries more developed than the Philippines, are in awe of such advanced and complete resource for astronomy education in the country. The DPS Astronomy Center features educational exhibits, services, and equipment to enhance the study of astronomy and inspire young people to be future scientists.

What completely left the students captivated is the Philippines’ first ever and only 7-meter diameter digital mobile planetarium, the largest in the country. Because it is digital, the students are able to experience very realistic images of the universe. “The stars actually twinkle!,” exclaims one of the astronomers.

The students can also see how the sky looks like from other places on earth and from the surface of other planets; zoom in to planets, stars clusters, nebulas, and galaxies; quickly see how the sky looks like on the day you were born; show constellation artwork from several cultures; show constellation lines, boundaries, and special lines; show astronomical coordinate systems (both equatorial and horizontal); and show information about any selected object in the sky.

The DPS Astronomy Center will launch an astronomy outreach program called the SKYXPLORE which will go to different schools nationwide. Activities include viewing the digital planetarium, a simulated display of the day- and night-time sky and celestial objects; film showing of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 Official Movie, The Eyes on the Skies; an astronomical exhibit that showcases NASA space photos and a collection of stunning photographs and time-lapse videos of the world’s most beautiful and historic sites against a night-time backdrop of stars, planets and celestial events; a meteorite exhibit; the Ask-An-Astronomer Activity where an all-UP team of astronomers answers questions. #