Beyonce and Jay-Z marriage is official

Reuters
NEW YORK - The marriage of singer-actress Beyonce Knowles and hip-hop mogul Jay-Z is official -- the couple have filed a wedding license, a town clerk in a New York City suburb said on Tuesday.

The couple held a lavish private celebration in Manhattan on April 4 but have been mum about details of their wedding.

"The license was sent back to our office on Friday," said Donna Conkling, the town clerk of Scarsdale Village in suburban Westchester County.

Houston-born Knowles, 26, and Brooklyn native and former street hustler Jay-Z, 38, whose real name is Shawn Carter, have been romantically linked since September 2002.

Beyonce rose to fame as a member of the R&B act Destiny's Child but emerged as a superstar in her own right with her big-screen turn as Foxxy Cleopatra in the 2002 film comedy "Austin Powers in Goldmember." The following year she scored a hit with her debut solo album, "Dangerously in Love," collecting five Grammys along the way.

She earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2006 for her role as a Diana Ross-like character in "Dreamgirls," a film adaptation of the Broadway hit musical.

Her marriage to Jay-Z comes as the hip-hop artist and record executive is in talks with concert promoter Live Nation for a deal reported to be worth about $150 million, rivaling the biggest music contracts ever.

He ran the rap label Def Jam Records as president for several years but stepped down from that post in December. He also co-owns the New Jersey Nets professional basketball team.

Source:http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=115884

Boracay Beach - Philippines

Boracay is a tropical island located approximately 315km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of the island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. The island comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (3 of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay), and is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

Geography
Boracay Island is located off the northwest corner of the island of Panay, and belongs to the Western Visayas island-group, or Region VI, of the Philippines. The island is approximately seven kilometers long, dog-bone shaped with the narrowest spot being less than one kilometer wide, and has a total land area of 10.32 square kilometers.

South-facing Cagban Beach is located across a small strait from the jetty port at Caticlan on Panay island, and the Cagban jetty port serves as Boracay's main entry and exit point during most of the year. When wind and sea conditions dictate, east-facing Tambisaan Beach serves as an alternative entry and exit point.

Boracay's two primary tourism beaches, White Beach and Bulabog Beach, are located on opposite sides of the island's narrow central area. White Beach faces westwards and Bulabog Beach faces eastwards. The island also has several other beaches.

White Beach is the main tourism beach. It is a bit over four kilometers long and is lined with resorts, hotels, lodging houses, restaurants, and other tourism-related businesses. In the central portion, for about two kilometers, there is a footpath known as the Beachfront Path separating the beach itself from the establishments located along it. North and south of the Beachfront Path, beachfront establishments do literally front along the beach itself. Several roads and paths connect the Beachfront Path with Boracay's Main Road, a vehicular road which runs the length of the island. At the extreme northern end of White Beach, a footpath runs around the headland there and connects White Beach with Diniwid Beach.

Bulabog Beach, across the island from White Beach, is a secondary tourism beach and Boracay's main windsurfing and kiteboarding area.

Facilities

Boracay is the site of a world-class 18-hole par 72 golf course designed by Graham Marsh. In addition, Boracay now has in excess of 350 beach resorts with more than 2,000 rooms ranging in quality from five-star to budget accommodations, so tourists are sure to find whatever they are looking for.

Boracay also offers a wide range of restaurants, bars, pubs, and nightclubs that bop until morning.

Events

Boracay is one competitive venue for the Asian Windsurfing Tour, with the week-long Boracay International Funboard Cup competition usually being held on Bulabog Beach each January..

The well-known Ati-Atihan Festival takes place each January in Kalibo on nearby Panay island. A much smaller Ati-Atihan festival is celebrated on Boracay, usually in the second or third week of January.

Dragon boat races are held annually on Boracay under the auspices of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, with teams coming from around the Philippines and from other Asian nations to compete. The races usually take place sometime in April or May.

Since 2003, the Philippine Ultimate Association has been organizing the Boracay Open Asian Beach Ultimate Tournament, an ultimate frisbee event, which is usually held during summer.

The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that Boracay will host the 2014 Asian Beach Games.

Gallery

Gabby Concepcion signs up with ABS-CBN

by BOY VILLASANTA

abs-cbnNEWS.com

Controversial comeback actor Gabby Concepcion signed a three-picture contract with ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation’s Star Cinema Tuesday to revive his career in show business, which was put on hold for more than a decade.

According to Concepcion’s new manager, FLT Films producer Rose Flaminiano, her ward has a two-year contract with ABS-CBN. The contract gives him projects not only in the movies but television as well.

"A soap opera is being readied for him," said Flaminiano, also known as Mommy Rose in entertainment circles.

A film with Concepcion's daughter KC is underway, but according to Flaminiano, there will be immediate projects he has to consider before teaming up with his daughter.

Concepcion was warm when he met with former colleagues in the entertainment field, many of whom he has not seen since he left the country in the mid-nineties.

He said he is attuned to intrigues in show business. He is aware that he has been a subject of discussions whether he is here or in the US.

"Ang sabi nga ni Gretchen Barretto, life is never exciting without intrigues. Hindi ka pag-uusapan kung walang intriga," Concepcion said.

Dealing with court cases

Concepcion went back to the Philippines Sunday afternoon after a dozen years abroad. The following day, he immediately submitted himself to court procedures when he posted a bond worth P6,000 to the Metropolitan Manila Regional Trial Court on nine counts of falsification of documents including bigamy filed by his estranged wife Jenny Syquia.

Flaminiano said the cases were already stale since the petitioner had already signed an affidavit of desistance when the accused paid her a total of P9 million in damages.

"Sa batas kasi, kailangang present ang idinemanda para mapawalang-bisa ang kaso," said Flaminiano, whose husband Jose Flaminiano is a lawyer.

Concepcion is ready to face a lot of rumors including his supposed snub of actress Jolina Magdangal’s text messages when their planned teamup in a movie was temporarily shelved.

"I texted her. I didn’t ignore her," he said in his defense.

Meanwhile, the still-dashing matinee idol of the eighties wants to spend his early days in the country visiting friends and relatives he missed while he was away. One of the friends he wants to see is his one-time producer and adviser Boy C. de Guia who is living at the Golden Acres Home for the Aged.

"I wanna see him not immediately but I wanna find out what has happened to him and why is he confined (there)," he said.

Concepcion signed the contract with ABS-CBN in the presence of the company’s President Charo Santos-Concio, Star Cinema’s head Malou Santos and Concepcion's manager Flaminiano.