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PLANNER PRAYER BOOK, FR. SAL PUTZU, SDB AND LOUIE M. LACSON Word&Life Publications • teacherlouie1965@yahoo.com
PALACE GEMS COME BY THE DOZEN »D3
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Editor: Gerard S. Ramos • lifestylebusinessmirror@gmail.com
Friday, December 5, 2014
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The Theory of Eddie Redmayne B B V Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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ORONTO—At age 32, Eddie Redmayne is still boyish, with freckles not always visible onscreen, a generous head of hair, a wardrobe that includes both a black leather jacket and Converse sneakers, and a humility about the praise that welcomes him as he walks into a hotel room one Sunday morning. In The Theory of Everything, he plays Stephen Hawking, who was 21
years old in 1963 when he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (an umbrella term that includes Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS) and given two years to live. The brilliant astrophysicist defied all odds and today, reliant on wheelchairs, speech synthesizers, nurses and aides, is 72. “As an actor you dream of being able to tell extraordinary stories about extraordinary people, but the stakes felt so high,” Redmayne told a handful of journalists during September’s Toronto International Film Festival where the movie had its world premiere.
Hawking’s family, especially his first wife, Jane, had allowed the filmmakers to tell their story, and Redmayne spent four or five months meeting with other patients and doctors. “People invited me into their homes, people who subsequently died from the disease,” he said, and he wanted to represent their experience truthfully. “It was one of those jobs I went bullheaded into trying to get, and then once I got it, I had this moment of euphoria, followed by this sledgehammer C D
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THE FUTURE OF SHELL MOBILITY AND FUEL EFFICIENCY BEGINS ANEW
Motoring
Editor: Tet Andolong
Friday, December 5, 2014 E1
The future of Shell mobility and fuel efficiency begins anew Story & photo by Ronald Rey M. de los Reyes
encouraged to develop fuel-efficient vehicles of the future. They also learn to utilize energy mix that includes biofuels, such as ethanol, compressed natural gas and gasto-liquids (GTLs), apart from conventional gasoline and diesel. SEM classifies original car inventions into prototype and urban-concept vehicles, which compete against each other in the areas of speed, mileage and other technical and design aspects. In fact, the idea of the SEM originated in 1939 at a Shell research laboratory in the US. It initially served as a friendly wager among scientists to find out who could get the most miles per gallon of fuel from their vehicle. It was in 1985 when the SEM was launched in France. SEM Asia was launched in 2010 in Malaysia, where it was held until 2013. The Philippines is set to host the event until 2016. In 2015 a record-breaking total of 178 student teams from 20 countries across the entire Asian region are expected to participate. Contingents from Australia, Bangladesh, Oman, Saudi Arabia and South Africa will also be entered for the first time in Asia. In the Philippines a record number of 34 entries from 25 engineering colleges and universities will be fielded, compared to 15 teams from nine schools onsite in the previous stint. UST, one of the participating schools from the Philippines, which
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HE young have already set their eyes on only one thing: the future. And here in the country, they have something to look forward to in 2015 as the Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) was recently launched at the Plaza Mayor of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. The much-anticipated event is set to be held from February 25 to March 1, 2015, on a special racetrack in Rizal Park. The event, which will be staged for the second time in the Philippines, promises to be bigger and better. Earlier this year, the country had hosted the event from February 6 to 9, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Shell companies in the country. During the launch, Bobby Kanapi, Pilipinas Shell vice president for communications, led the ceremonial run using the T-400 eco-car, a vehicle designed by the host school’s UST Eco-Tigers1 team. The T-400 runs on gasoline and is UST’s entry in the urban category of the 2014 SEM Asia. “SEM Asia started about 13 years ago, with the different Shell
companies competing against each other to see which is the most ‘efficient’ vehicle, with efficiency measured in terms of which car can travel farthest using the least amount of fuel,” Kanapi related. “That started the whole thing, and then we invited universities to design cars and encouraged their students to build the units—first in Europe, then in America, and eventually in Asia in 2010. We really have to give it to the Philippines, because we now have a lot of universities in this country willing to build their own cars. We are actually getting more participants this year compared to last year.” The global event has been bringing together aspiring, young engineers around the world, who are
THE University of Santo Tomas Eco-Tigers1 Team and their engineering classmates.
had been participating in the SEM Asia since its inception in 2010, is setting its sight on achieving a modest goal for its T-400. Paolo Jose, team manager of the UST Eco-Tigers1, said in an interview: “What we would like to do now for the upcoming event is to improve on our performance and, hopefully, win at least a special award.” Their T-400 established a fuel efficiency of 172.3 kilometers per liter
in its last outing. The entry from UST was actually considered the best-performing vehicle among Philippine schools that competed at the time. They were also named fifth-best in Asia. Sixteen other schools have been added to the list this year. These are Ateneo de Davao University, Cebu Institute of Technology, De La Salle Dasmariñas, Feati University, Holy Angels University,
he Philippines will remain the fastestgrowing economy in Southeast Asia until 2016, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’ (ICAEW) fourthquarter 2014 “Economic Insight” report shows.
The latest ICAEW report has compared the six largest economies in the Asean that include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Centre for Economic and Business Research (Cebr), the producer of the “Economic Insight” and ICAEW’s partner for global economic forecasting, sees gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the Philippines this year at 6.6 percent. This year’s anticipated GDP growth report is higher than the projected growth for Indonesia, seen expanding by only 5.0 percent; Malaysia, 5.2 percent; Singapore, 3.1 percent; Thailand, 1.9 percent; and Vietnam, 5.1 percent. The growth trend for the Philippines was seen to persist in 2015, with local output growth projected to average
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Henry Ford Awards Best Motoring Section 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 2011 Hall of Fame
Malayan Colleges Laguna, Manuel L. Quezon University, Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology, National University, New Era University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Southern Luzon State University, Technological University of the Philippines-Manila, University of the East, University of the Philippines Diliman and University of Mindanao.
See “Growth,” A2
MOTORING
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Lakers hit wall LAKERS Coach Byron Scott says Kobe Bryant still has a lot left in his tank. AP
Sports BusinessMirror
PERSUADING KOBE
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ASHINGTON—Lakers Coach Byron Scott wants Kobe Bryant to keep playing— and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep the star on the court. Throughout a miserable 5-13 start to the season, Bryant has been a bright spot. He’s leading the National Basketball Association (NBA) in scoring with a 25.8 average in nearly 36 minutes per game. “The one thing I’ve got to do is look at his minutes, and make sure I don’t go overboard,” Scott said before Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards. The 16-time All-Star played 33 minutes in Tuesday night’s win at Detroit, and said afterward he was tired. Scott says Bryant can set his own schedule—for practice.
“I don’t need him in practice at all, to be honest with you,” Scott said. “All he needs to know is what we’re doing, coverage-wise.” The 36-year-old Bryant has one more year after this one on his contract. Scott is hoping he’ll play longer than that. “We’ll talk about that,” Scott said. “He’s got a lot left in that tank. I think if we put something together that excites him, we have a real good chance of saying, ‘play another year.’” Scott has known Bryant since 1996 when they were teammates in the coach’s last year as a player—and Bryant’s first. “He’s still hungry. He still loves the game. He still loves the competition. He still loves going against these younger guys now because he was once that younger guy,” Scott said. AP
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| Friday, deCember 5, 2014 mirror_sports@yahoo.com.ph sports@businessmirror.com.ph Editor: Jun Lomibao
LAKERS HIT WALL The M-V-P chant was for John Wall, not Kobe Bryant, who started hot but finished not in a 111-95 Washington Wizards victory on Wednesday.
By Mike Bresnahan
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Los Angeles Times
ASHINGTON—So much for all the jokes about the Los Angeles Lakers wishing they played in the Eastern Conference. They returned to the regularly scheduled narrative of their season, another loss, after a two-game spree against the East. The M-V-P chant was for John Wall, not Kobe Bryant, who started hot but finished not in a 111-95 Washington Wizards victory on Wednesday. Jeremy Lin was benched in the fourth quarter after missing all 10 of his shots, Bryant scored 29 points but didn’t make a shot in the second half and the Lakers fell to 4-1 against the East. Of greater importance, they’re 5-14 overall and a medium-sized Metro ride from the lottery, to steal a local term here. If nothing else, it was a good time to ask Bryant about his future plans. Will he keep playing after his current contract expires in 2016? “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t mean to try to be coy about it. I don’t know what to tell you. Right now, I’d say no,” said Bryant, who pinned it on whether he could keep handling the daily effort to play at his level, let alone his grueling off-season workouts. “The amount of commitment that it takes, it’s nuts,” Bryant said, not mentioning the continual ice baths, detailed stretching routines and eternal fountain of hydrating fluids he consumes religiously. Plus the simple concept of elevating his legs for long periods every day. Another unspoken factor: There’s no telling what the Lakers look like in July 2016. Will they have the pieces to entice Bryant to stay? And how much of a pay cut would he take after the $25 million he’d make next season? “If I want to play, I’ll play. I tend to make my own decisions,” he said. “If I don’t want to play, I won’t play.” Lakers Coach Byron Scott wouldn’t want to hear the latter. “I think if we put something together that excites him, I think we have a real good chance of saying, ‘Play another year. Give it another shot,’ “ Scott said. “So that’s what we plan to do.” Bryant couldn’t be blamed if he was being coy. There are so many unknowns about the Lakers. Nobody can predict if they’ll finish low enough after the lottery to keep the pick they owe Phoenix for 65 games’
worth of Steve Nash. No one knows if they can get Kevin Love or someone like him next summer. Or Kevin Durant the following summer. Meanwhile, there’s this team. Ronnie Price was the Lakers’ point guard in the fourth quarter, not the scoreless Lin. As Lin ran to the locker room briefly during that span, a fan wearing a Bryant jersey yelled, “Stay back there!” Nick Young scored 21 points. Carlos Boozer had a quiet 10 points, Jordan Hill a quieter eight points and Wesley Johnson won the quietest award among them with six points. “We just need more guys to join the party,” Scott said. “We don’t have the luxury of two or three guys not having good games on a night like this playing against a team like this.” Bryant missed all seven of his second-half shots after making eight of 15 in the first half, when the Lakers built a 10-point lead. Worth mentioning: The Lakers were playing on back-to-back nights as the Wizards finished the game with a 14-2 run punctuated by three dunks, a lay-up and a four-point play. Bradley Beal had 27 points and Wall had 17 points and 15 assists for the Wizards (12-5). With so much talk about the future, it was youth and vigor the Lakers wished they owned. Elsewhere in the league on Wednesday, it was Chicago 102, Charlotte 95; Atlanta 112, Miami 102; Boston 109, Detroit 102, overtime; Brooklyn 95, San Antonio 93, overtime; Houston 105, Memphis 96; Dallas 107, Milwaukee 105; Philadelphia 85, Minnesota 77; Toronto 123, Utah 104; and LA Clippers 114, Orlando 86.
KoBE BRYANT scores 29 points » but doesn’t make a shot in the second half and the Lakers fall to 4-1 against the East. AP
TigER fEELS good To BE ouT ThERE
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TigER WoodS brings a buzz back to golf.
INDERMERE, Florida—Tiger Woods didn’t even have a club in his hand when he passed an important test on Wednesday at Isleworth. After hitting a fairway metal off the 10th tee, Woods gingerly stepped through a flower bed and then hopped down a four-foot wall and trotted to the clubhouse to use the bathroom. It was that kind of leap—from a bunker at Firestone—that jarred back muscles and ultimately forced yet another injury-induced layoff. His golf on Wednesday wasn’t too bad, either. Woods swung freely and easily during the pro-am at the Hero World Challenge, his first time walking 18 holes since he missed the cut August 9 at the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Championship. “It felt good to be out there,” Woods said. “I took that much time off right after the PGA and built up my body and made a few adjustments on my swing and hit some good shots today.” The real test is on Thursday in the first round of an unofficial event with 18 elite players from the top 50 in the world, and one big buzz because of the tournament host.
Woods has slipped to No. 24 in the world. He never lost his ranking as golf’sbiggest draw. “I think if he starts swinging it better and starts feeling good about what he’s doing again, it won’t take long for him to be at the top of the game again,” Steve Stricker said. This is the fifth time in five years Woods has returned from an injury, and the second time this year. He came back too early from back surgery in June and missed two cuts in the three events he played. Health no longer seems to be the issue. The biggest question is the swing. Woods parted with swing Coach Sean Foley and has brought on Chris Como, who walked the pro-am with him and occasionally chatted with him in the fairway. Woods said he looked at tape dating all the way back to his amateur days and described his goal for a new swing as “new, but old.” Stricker saw him briefly on the practice range earlier in the week and felt as though he was looking back in time. “Looks a lot similar to early 2000s to me, from the side when I was watching,” Stricker said. That was when many believe Woods was at his best. He won seven majors in a four-year stretch from 1999 to 2002, and no one was close to him in the game. Woods turns 39 at the end of
the month, and he joked last Tuesday that “Father Time remains undefeated.” He physically is not the same player he was at age 24. What Stricker noticed was a swing that appeared more natural and less technical. “Looked like the swing was going through a lot freer, like it was on a better path,” Stricker said. How long it takes for it to translate to low scores or even trophies remains to be seen. It took Woods at least a year before he was up to speed on wholesale changes under Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Foley. “This is what, his fourth teacher?” Stricker said. “I’m sure he’s still going to have some issues going forward.” The tournament has moved from Sherwood Country Club in California to the course that Woods called home for 16 years. Isleworth is considered a tough golfcourse, though there are more forward tees in play to help with gallery movement. Woods is used to playing it all the way back and smashing driver. He wound up in a few bunkers Wednesday that typically are not in play for him. The field is missing the new No. 1— Rory McIlroy—along with Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia, who rarely play. AP
SPORTS
P25.00 nationwide | 7 sections 32 pages | 7 days a week
‘PHL to sustain above 6% growth’
THE THEORY OF EDDIE REDMAYNE S
Tuesday, 2014Vol.Vol.1010No.No.5740 Friday,November December 18, 5, 2014
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I.C.A.E.W. SAYS PHL TO REMAIN ASEAN’S BEST-PERFORMING ECONOMY UP TO 2016
INSIDE
AINT Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, oh prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. May each one of us seek the help of our own guardian to protect us all the days of our lives. Amen.
A broader look at today’s business
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FED: U.S. ECONOMY KEPT EXPANDING IN OCT, NOV The US economy kept expanding in October and November, helped by solid gains in consumer spending, manufacturing and overall employment, according to the Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) latest survey of business conditions around the country. The Fed survey found many areas of strength and, for the first time this year, the report did not see a need to qualify its summary of growth by using words like “modest” and “moderate”. The Fed said business executives remain optimistic about the prospects for growth in 2015. The gains in economic activity were coming, as overall inflation remained subdued, although the report did find upward wage pressures for some skilled workers. The report, known as the Beige Book for the color of its cover, will form the basis for discussion at the Fed’s final policy-making meeting of the year on
PESO exchange rates n US 44.7410
Continued on A8
OFW SUMMIT Hundreds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their family members join Sen. Cynthia Villar (center) at the opening of the fourth OFW and Family Summit, organized by the Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance, at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on Thursday. Joining Villar are former Senate President Manny Villar; Joey Concepcion, president of GoNegosyo; Rep. Mark Villar of Las Piñas; and British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad, who cited the need for OFWs to gain new entrepreneurial skills. See story on B4. Roy Domingo
SM Prime, Solar investing $20M No shortcuts in new video-on-demand venture for bill hiking By VG Cabuag
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M Prime Holdings Inc. will form a video-on-demand streaming-service venture with a unit of Solar Entertainment Corp., signaling the Sy family’s first venture into the digital-media space. SM Prime President Hans Sy signed a memorandum of agreement with Solar unit Omni Digital Media Ventures Inc., leading to the formation of a joint venture that will operate the video-on-demand business under the existing brand Blink. SM Prime, through SM Lifestyle and
tax-exempt bonus cap
Entertainment Inc., which runs SM cinemas and other entertainment facilities, will take 60 percent of the venture, with Omni Digital owning 40 percent. Omni Digital will operate Blink. Officials said the two parties will invest about $20 million for the venture that seeks to expand the services currently being offered by Blink, such as offering movies right after their showing runs in theaters were finished. “I don’t see an impact [on the SM theaters]. As a matter of fact, what we’re trying to do is to make the pie bigger. We’re reaching out to
he highly anticipated implementation of the measure increasing the current P30,000 cap on tax-exempt bonuses will see delays after Malacañang made it clear that it will not jump the gun
See “SM Prime,” A2
See “Bonus,” A2
By Butch Fernandez
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n japan 0.3735 n UK 70.1897 n HK 5.7695 n CHINA 7.2750 n singapore 34.1118 n australia 37.7020 n EU 55.0851 n SAUDI arabia 11.9230 Source: BSP (4 December 2014)