Vanness Wu, Choi Si Won on gospel songs

Photo courtesy of Popseoul

The Editor's Lounge is also fond of the featuring artists especially those who give reverence on the "soul".

The phenomenal F4 member Vanness Wu, together with other K-Pop artists will be in the 3rdWaveMusic's "I Will Be There" album.

Choi Si-Won is a Super Junior member, and the song “Looking for the Day” is the special song Choi Si-won is sharing with his favorite ELFs!

Read the detailed explanation of 3rdWaveMusic’s newest release “I Will Be There” below:


1. Everything to Me – featuring Vanness Wu

This is a song about realizing what the most important thing in life is. VanNess helps us understand that his religion means more to him than anything else in the world. His soft vocals accompanied with the light rock music are almost like a sweet lullaby.

2. Awesome God

A true worship song! It has an upbeat melody that anyone can dance to.“Awesome God” does not need an explanation. The title describes it all. This track is one of the true stand out songs on the album.

3. Altar of Praise- featuring American CCM artists Lenny LeBlanc and Michael O’Brien


3rdWave slows things down with this ballad like single. “Altar of Praise” is asking the Holy Trinity (Christians’ belief system of the existence of God) if their offerings are worthy. They sing this track with earnest and deep emotion.

4. I Will Be There

“I Will Be There” talks about the assurance of one’s religion helping them in overcoming loneliness and mending a broken heart. It describes everlasting love for the listener.

5. You Created Me

6. Sweetest Name-featuring Super Junior’s Choi Si-won

Choi S-won acknowledges his God as worthy of receiving all praise. He is joined by other very talented 3rdWave singers in praising the “Sweetest Name”.

7. I Stand

This song represents standing for what you truly believe in. The lead vocalists talk about offering their gifts (talents) and everything to their God.

8. Looking for the Day

Choi Si-won’s special song for ELFs.

This track explains one’s purpose in life. It is a song of anticipation for the day to praise.

9. Jesus is Coming Back

3rdWave’s artists form a choir to perform the upbeat rock song about Christ’s second coming. They express their joy to join him in heaven one day.

10. Closet Song

What do you desire? This song talks about one’s desire to develop a close relationship with their Savior and Lord. This is the true sweet ballad of the entire album. The smooth vocals and calming music can ease anyone’s tense nerves.

11. I Stand – (Alternate Version)


*with details from PopSeoul

World class science museum in Taguig City

I went to Trinoma last Sunday, October 24 to watch the movie "Eat, Pray, Love".

While waiting, I noticed that there's an exhibit a few steps from the ticket selling counters.

The exhibit is about "The Mind Museum at Taguig City", which will be opened in December 2011 according to the information officer.

The Mind Museum is the FIRST WORLD-CLASS SCIENCE MUSEUM to be built in the Philippines. It is currently on a fundraising tour to raise P 1 billion of funding.

I also got a bookmark from their desk that says "The Philippines' First World Class Science Museum. Opens 2011."

Below it is the projected design of the museum. It is simply amazing. From my perspective, indeed it would be a world-class attraction placed in fast-rising suburb of Taguig City.

And one thing that amazed me, aside from the modern acrchitecture of the museum itself, are the number of donors and sponsors: Globe Telecommunications, Hapee, HSBC, IMI, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Lamoiyan Corp., Malampaya, Manila Water, National Bookstore, Nutri Asia, PNOC, SC Johnson, Pilipinas Shell, SONY, Sony Ericsson, St. Luke's Medical Center, Tan Yan Kee Foundation, Timezone, Uratex, ABS-CBN, Ajinomoto, Akari, Ayala Foundation, Ayala Land, BPI. Cemex, Chevron, Del Monte Philippines, just to name a few.

A 19-year-old chickboy is a candidate for barangay captain

The barangay and SK elections are over. Yesterday we exercised our rights to suffrage.

I am one of the millions of Filipinos who went out of their home, go to the polling precinct, vote for the candidates, and get a drop of the indelible ink.

Here are the 10 things I personally noticed and experienced during the barangay elections:

• Less crowded rooms and schools compared to national elections; mainly because the election is localized.

• Same as the previous manual polls; names are lost, polling precincts went from here to there, the usual scowl from the voters who can’t vote.

• There is still no systematic way of locating your precinct.

• Can’t we have an election wherein we don’t have to consult computers from PPCRV or Comelec just to locate the right room number or building, where we should vote?

• I consulted a PPCRV table and the person in charge gave me the wrong room number mainly because he searched for the wrong name!

• If you would gather all the candidates in our barangay, from barangay captains to kagawads to Sangguniang Kabataan, they can already create their own barangay! (LOL!)

• One of the candidates for the barangay captain post in our locale is a 19-year-old, chickboy, college undergrad guy! (I should know because he’s my schoolmate when I was still in high school and...hmm???!)

• Based on our 1987 Constitution, anyone who is of legal age (18 years old), could run as a barangay captain. This explains the previous – that’s why he’s qualified.

• A bottled water was given to a watcher. It says Meniral Water.

• Another bottled water was given to another watcher. It says Thank you! Barangay Captain toot-toot!Better not to mention the name. HAHA! 

How about you? Do you noticed something worth sharing?

Great ‘Pumpkin’ ideas for Halloween

Halloween is getting near.

I am one of those who doesn’t spend time in cemeteries during All Saint’s Day because of my religious belief.

So I thought of giving you some ideas on how to get yourself busy yet improving your skills and creativity – of course include the fun and excitement!

Here are the three (3) Halloween ideas you can do courtesy of CountryLiving:

 Mini Pumpkin Cakes

To make the luscious desserts featured throughout, use our simple Classic Chocolate Cake recipe. You can also try substituting your favorite cake recipe, or if you're short on time, a boxed mix — one box yields 12 Mini Pumpkin Cakes, 24 Filled Chocolate Cakes, or two 8-inch-round layers.

To get the look of these single-serving pumpkin treats, trim the bottoms of cakes baked in mini Bundt pans to create a flat surface. Join two cakes so that the fluted tops are at either end, then drizzle with Chocolate or Vanilla Glaze and sprinkle with coarse colored sugar or nonpareils before the glaze sets. Top with a marzipan stem. Read the marzipan instructions at Marzipan Pumpkin Stems.

Pumpkin City

A passel of pumpkins provides the backdrop for a quaint village scene.

Step 1: Carve a hole in the bottom of each pumpkin, scoop out the pulp, and return the cut pieces. 

  
Step 2: Print out house templates. Resize on a copier, scaling the images to fit your pumpkins.

Step 3: Cut out stencils as directed on the templates and affix to pumpkins with masking tape. Trace on the designs with a felt-tip pen.

Step 4: Remove stencils, then carefully carve along the drawn lines of the houses' windows with an X-Acto knife. Fill in the designs using a fine-tip brush and black flat acrylic paint; let dry. Affix a battery-operated votive candle in the base of each pumpkin with adhesive putty.

Curried Pumpkin and Peas

Cook a pot of basmati rice as this pumpkin-and-pea curry simmers and you'll have dinner on the table in 45 minutes flat.

• 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 1/2 teaspoon(s) curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
• 2 pound(s) pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 360 mls low-sodium chicken broth
• 180 mls golden raisins
• 180 mls frozen baby peas
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions

Heat butter in a large pan over medium-high heat, add onion, and cook until golden-brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Stir in curry powder, salt, and pepper. Add pumpkin and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in broth and raisins, cover, and reduce heat to medium. After 15 minutes, add peas. Replace cover and continue to cook until pumpkin and potatoes are tender, 5 to 10 minutes more. Garnish with cilantro.

Happy Halloween!

‘Team Jacob’ conquers Wash-A-Palooza

The “palooza” gimmick generated numbers of publicity stunts including thousands of sweethearts and couples kissing in public, to a laptop-palooza promo from a popular computer brand.

Last Saturday, Electrolux added another “palooza”-called publicity to stage their new and efficient washing machines. The popular appliance maker staged an Amazing Race-like event in Eastwood City, Quezon City called “Wash-A-Palooza”.

Electrolux’s Wash-A-Palooza showcases their world-class, efficient, and cost-saving washing machines by initiating a fun and exciting team game similar with a popular TV game that needs both mental and physical capabilities.

Wash-A-Palooza is played by 20 teams, each with four (4) members. Some team names will really get your attention (it really shows how creative Filipinos are…LOL!). One team named their group “Team-Ba” (pail); another team called themselves “Team Jacob” – trying to attract strength from the name itself; one group called themselves “Love Team”.

Other teams were Team Inquirer, Team French Fries, and Team Easy Rock. I forgot the names of other teams; retention is better when the names are creative!

The Amazing Race-like challenge took around four hours of running around Eastwood City. Take note of the word “around”! Literally it would test your fitness because you have to go all around Eastwood City; enter different stores, wander inside the Eastwood Mall, and roam the grounds.

 It would drain your stored energy out of you. But you know what, even though only three will get a place, everyone’s ecstatic over the loot bags, appliances, and a good dinner from Fazolis!

Each participant, win or lose, will get his “choose-your-own” appliance (choices are flat iron, rice cooker, coffe maker, and toaster) upon finishing the game. Aside from that, participants got their loot bags containing Summit Media magazines, and a few goodies from Jack ‘N Jill, Nature’s Spring, and Xplode.

Plus, all participants had this really satisfying dinner from Fazolis. I got amused with the style of this Eastwood resto. Thanks to unlimited garlic sticks!

In the end, the teams who emerged as winners were Team French Fries (3rd Place), Team Inquirer (2nd Place), and Team Jacob (1st Place). Aside from the goodies, they also bag Sodexho gift certificates, medals, and the bragging rights (oh it’s given…HAHA!).


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By the way, it is my first time in Eastwood City and I fell in love with the place. I am only familiar with The Fort in Taguig City since I reside near Fort Bonifacio.
Eastwood, like The Fort, is also a world-class hub. Here are some of the photos I got during the Wash-A-Palooza event:

The Hole: Are you ready to face your fear?

What if one day you found a hole, where it makes your fears come to life?

I watched the movie The Hole starring Chris Massoglia, Haley Bennett, Bruce Dern, and Teri Polo, on SM Mall of Asia last Sunday.

As expected, this supernatural/thriller movie gave me goosebumps. First, I am just too quick to react over simple peek-a-boos – one thing I can’t get rid of.

The Hole is a story of conquering your own fears. Dane Smith (played by Chris Massoglia) found a hole at the basement of their house. Together with his brother Lucas (played by Nathan Gamble), they run after discovering what’s inside the unusual hole they found at their basement.

Dane got attractive with their neighbor named Susan (played by Teri Polo). And Susan, who’s also curious about the hole, joined the Smith brother in unfolding the truth behind this hole.

Since the three of them opened the hole, visions started to run after them. Dane is seeing a huge image of man. Lucas is haunted by a toy clown, and Susan is haunted by this weeping little girl.

Only in the end they found out that these things that keep on haunting them are their own fears. I’ll leave it to you to find out why these things are running after them.

Of course, watching the movie is the best! I watched this movie with my special someone! *Yaiks* HAHAHA! LOL! I would always love to watch a movie with this person. Not because we’re nibbiling McDonald’s fries and a fruit shake from Fruit Magic, but because we’re just too ecstatic to have each other, side by side, watching a movie.

What about you? Do you have any fears you would like to come into life? Imagine if your fear is an alpha male hunks or a sexy blonde lady, perhaps you would say “the best part of my house is the hole”!

By the way the film’s available in 3D!

Watch the trailer:

What your handwashing can do

Philippines is currently under the immense power of super typhoon Juan. Isabela and Cagayan took the ravage of Megi, the international name of Juan.

Trees got no strength to stand still - they've been uprooted. Roads were closed by trunks and huge chunks of land. Residents from these regions were rushed on immediate evacuation center. The local officials were busy accommodating all the typhoon victims.

During the Bagyong Ondoy, I personally had the chance to contemplate with the word 'survival'. Honestly, no matter how clean you are with your body, and no matter how much you pay attention to it, during these times, it could be the least you would think of.

But we can't set aside hygiene. Last October 15 is the Global Handwashing Day, which promotes proper hygiene. To those who are affected by super typhoon Juan, even if you are just at your home or in the evacuation area, it is very important that we regularly check our hygiene - and maintain cleanliness.

Health is a very delicate thing to maintain, but most of the time it is the most set aside from all of our thing-to-check or routines-to-maintain. By simply being vigilant about our health help to reduce the risk of acquiring viral infections and other unlikeable diseases.

May be, your regular hand washing is the solution to a better health. 

I got the video (above) from one of Yahoo's site. I re-post it to include also awareness on this blog post. Thanks to Yahoo!

10 trivia about your social networking sites

I am one of the millions of people around the globe who keeps on checking if I have friend invitations or comments, perhaps a tagged photo also. 

Millions of people from all continents are hooked in numerous social networking websites. Currently, at the top of it now is Facebook.
 
Also millions of people are getting gaga over the worldwide trending on Twitter. Some are even waiting for the name of their idols to be on the #1 spot of the worldwide trending. 
 
When Miss Universe 4th runner-up Maria Venus Raj entered the Top 5 for Miss Universe 2010 held in Las Vegas, #venusraj topped the worldwide trending. Filipinos got overwhelmed with the results of the pageant as reflected all over, not limited to Twitter, but to all social networking sites.
 
Do not also discount the fact that some are still obsessed in using Friendster, and millions are still registering on Multiply in the hopes of creating their own basic blogging site.
 
But behind these names that earn millions of dollars, are few exciting trivia I researched over the web while seating on my desk in the office.

 
10 TRIVIA ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING

#1: The first underwater tweet was in April 2010 by Julia Gorodetskaya, a Ukranian TV journalist, who went down to a 19-foot deep dolphinarium. While underwater, she tweeted "This is first in history #underwater_tweet".
 
#2: On February 4, 2011 Facebook will be celebrating its 7th birthday!

#3: Do you know that the majority of the contents of the tweets according to Peer Analytics are "pointless babble", which gained the highest percentage with 40.1%. "Conversational" tweets gained only 37.6%.

#4: According to a survey, the top most reason why people get Facebook "defriending" is "going-on-and-on-and-on-and-on"! What's the meaning? This shows that a lot of people gets Facebook "defriending" just because they keep on "going-on-and-on-and-on-and-on" on non-sense posts

#5: Social networking site Facebook suffered its worst shutdown in four years on September 23 of this year. Around 135 million people were unable to log on because of, according to Facebook's statement, "An automated system [to fix the problem] ended up causing more damage than it fixed."

#6: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ranked No. 2 on Fortune's list of 40 under 40. Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone followed Zuckerberg's rank. The top spot of the list went to a web browser co-creator.

#7: Facebook and Ping kicked Justin Bieber off their social networking sites. Justin Bieber, a Jacksonville resident who shares the same name with the young singing sensation Justin Bieber, was kicked out of these two sites and was accused of using a fake name.

#8: Friendster was kicked in the TOP 5 list of social sites in 2009. The ranking was Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flixster, and LinkedIn respectively.

#9: Asia remains to be the top user of Friendster. US is being dominated by Facebook and MySpace.

#10: The line in the movie "The Social Network" You Don't Get To 500 Million Friends Without Making A Few Enemiesliterally describes Mark Zuckerberg's journey during the early development stage of Facebook.

This time it is not "Panaginip"

Marvin Ong's signature (or more popularly known as 'autograph') on the album I got from him.
..........................................................................................................

I met Marvin Ong on July 15, 2010 when he promoted his album on our company. He’s nice, happy, and approachable I should say. 

He is one of the new names in the Philippine music industry for some yet one of his songs already hit the airwaves.

Marvin, a half-Chinese and half-Filipino artist, released a few months ago his self-titled album Marvin OngPanaginip. I heard him sang this live. HAHA! Sans the effect of the microphones because he sang this one in a capella . with the carrier single

He has that sweet, soothing voice but I think, since he’s new in the music industry and entered the business at a young age, he could improve his singing prowess.

The album, which is produced by Viva Records, “is a realization of a long-cherished dream.” 

“Pangarap kop o talaga since bata pa ako ang maging singer,” he said during the interview. At the age of nine, Marvin was top-billed in well-acclaimed campus musicals.

Marvin studied in Ateneo de Manila with a degree in Communication Arts. After four years, he accepted his first musical role as a professional singer/actor at the orphan Tobias in Repertory Philippines’ “Sweeney Todd”.

This young artist believes that aside from his born talent, he knows within his visions that someday he would reach his dream to be one of the Philippines’ finest singer/performer.

Who knows? Filipinos are “born” to be stars!

Look at Bugoy Drilon and Jovit Baldivino, they also came from the stories of believing in yourself and reaching your dreams. But look at them now; they have reached fame just with their talent.

Marvin Ong will go a long way. Surely this time it not "Panaginip" for Marving Ong because what he dreamt of is now a reality.

“The Happy Meal Project” gets worldwide backlash

(Photo from Sally Davies Flickr account)

A globally renowned fast food chain is receiving a worldwide backlash.

McDonald’s is known all over the world. The popular fast food chain is also venerable for its advocacies and its sponsorships for massive activities such as Olympics.

Though McDonald’s is a big corporation, it is not exempted to criticisms.

Recently, a New York-based photographer Sally Davies discovered that a McDo’s burger and French fries resists decomposition after 180 days. (See Sally's photos from Flickr) 

Sally was, according to stories published on the web, dared to prove her friend wrong, who believes that a burger would mold or rot after two or three days of being left on a counter.

The project, which Sally called as “The Happy Meal Project”, gave results that ignited discussions over the web whether to believe Sally’s project or not.

But the McDonald’s corporation abruptly cleared the issue. An email was sent to Yahoo! news blog The Upshot to clarify the alleged resistance of McDonald’s happy meal to decomposition. 

"McDonald's hamburger patties in the United States are made with 100% USDA-inspected ground beef," Riley wrote. "Our hamburgers are cooked and prepared with salt, pepper and nothing else -- no preservatives, no fillers. Our hamburger buns are baked locally, are made from North American-grown wheat flour and include common government-approved ingredients designed to assure food quality and safety. ... According to Dr. Michael Doyle, Director, Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, 'From a scientific perspective, I can safely say that the way McDonald's hamburgers are freshly processed, no hamburger would look like this after one year unless it was tampered with or held frozen.’” 

All Happy Meal lovers are afraid this issue is true.

Nonetheless, the rumor is still flimsy to prevent millions of people from queuing on a counter for a Happy Meal. In the first place, if this is true, this could have surfaced a long time ago directly from a worker (or someone behind the manufacturing process), and testify about the truth behind the Happy Meal.

World-class Filipino dishes at Chef's Table

The chefs' workplace at Chef's Table.

Nothing beats the dining experience where you can actually see chefs doing their culinary expertise, just a few meters from your Bent plywood chair and school desk-type dining table. 

Chef's Table Manila is an all-Filipino cuisine resto in the rising suburb of Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

Owned by Chef Bruce Lim, CTM offers a wide array of all Filipino gastronomic delights rediscovered in a new light and exquisitely prepared right before your eyes – literally.

Chef’s Table Manila’s unique idea of dining experience is what makes it different from the other sophisticated dining hubs in the metro. Dining at CTM gives you a view of how their cunning chefs perfectly prepare your appetite’s guilty pleasure: from opening their ingredient-packed fridge – to the sounds of the knife kissing the chopping board – to a Green Papaya Salad impeccably plated.


REINVENTING AND PROMOTING FILIPINO FLAVOR 

Chef’s Table Manila is more than the creative concept and artistic presentation. Despite the numerous food establishments offering Western dishes, this gastronomic haven caters to all-Filipino menu and aims to promote the Philippine flavor to a higher level.

“Everything here is local. What we do is support local farmers. I don’t get anything imported. My alcohol may be – the standard cocktails. And I do have signature cocktails like lambanog, tuba.” Chef Lim reiterated.

Chef Bruce Lim also spent time in reinventing the Filipino cuisine to be the trademark of his business and to promote globally the Philippines’ delectable flavor.

“Everything was my own idea. I get my inspiration by the show Tablescapes. I would travel to all the different provinces in the Philippines and I would learn Filipino food in the purest form that hasn’t been perverted by commercializing. So a lot of ingredients I serve here like for example – the kilawin – it has tabon-tabon from Camiguin that takes out all of the lansa of the fish.” 

We asked Chef Bruce Lim. Among his dishes, what would he offer to a VIP? 

“Well, I like the Chill-A-Fino, which is one of my signatures. I call it Chill-A-Fino because it’s a Chinese-Filipino mix. It represents me actually because I’m a Chinese-Filipino. What I did was I got a really good steamed fish recipe and I sit it on a bed of mash so it’s like a roasted garlic mash – it gives more like the Filipino side and [the] Chinese side that goes hand and hand. The other thing I like is my Corned Pork.” 

MENU ON THE TABLE 

Here are some of the dishes listed on the menu:

• Fried Pusit – hot-oil blanched posit on a bed of butterhead lettuce served with green mango salad

• Crab Cakes – Freshly picked crab meat, seared and baked to perfection served with sampaloc aioli

• Cool Watermelon Soup – a refreshing combination of watermelon and calamansi enhanced with quesong puti, pickled shallots and roasted shallot oil

• Chilled Carrot and Ginger Soup – a combination of fresh raw diced tanigue, apples and cucumbers tossed in citrus fruit juice in a pool of an invigorating carrot and ginger puree

• Ginataang Sitaw – Chinese long beans simmered in creamy coconut milk enhanced with sautéed bagoong alamang

• Salted Eggs and Minced Pork – CTM’s version of the classic tortang talong enhanced with salted eggs

• Corned Pork – creamy laing topped with soft pork strips served with tinapa rice

• Chill-A-Fino – Chinese-style steamed lapu-lapu on a bed of Filipino ube mash topped with pechay

• Green Papaya Salad – fresh green papaya, cucumber and pechay Baguio tossed in calamansi-patis vinaigrette topped with cured salmon and crispy monggo

• Inasal na Chicken Caesar Salad – torched romaine lettuce in a localized Caesar dressing topped with grilled chicken and queso de bola

• Biko with Calamansi Cream Sauce – Filipino rice and coconut cream pudding paired with a sweet and tangy calamansi cream sauce

• Buko Pie Martini – classic buko pie twisted in Chef’s Table style

“NOT OVER” 

Chef Bruce Lim posed for a picture in front of his restaurant and imitated Gru from Despicable Me by saying “not over!”

Actually Chef Lim’s right. Once you tried Chef’s Table Manila, you’ll be saying “not over” too because you’ll be coming again to CTM for another “very Filipino” dining experience.

Must-read PHR love stories from Hana Rei

I have this one close college friend, who happens to be one of the contributors of the renowned pocketbook publisher “Precious Hearts Romances.”

PHR broaden its reach by letting a huge television network to dramatize its published stories.

With the permission of the writer herself, she allowed me to publish on my blog some of her works, which has been published on PHR.

By the way if you’re interested, these are all out it in the market so don’t worry to have your own copies.

Just a little trivia, some of the characters’ name in her stories are derived from her close friends! But the stories are purely from her ingenious and creative mind.

(I intentionally not to edit the words written by my friend. Enjoy her published works! They are available by the way in all National Bookstores nationwide.)

When Blaze And Frost Collide
(Wrongfully Right For Each Other)
By: Hana Rei
Sa pamimilit ng mga kaibigan, pumayag si Blaze para sa isang blind date, where she met the arrogant Frost Ricafurt. Kahit pa para siyang nakuryente nang magdaiti ang kanilang mga balat, hindi niya gugustuhin ang isang tulad nito. Pero kinailangan niya ang tulong nito at wala siyang choice kundi pagtiisan ang ugali nito at araw-araw na makita ang kaguwapuhan nito. Then she learned about his past and how broken he was as a man. Her heart went out of him. Sa isang iglap, gusto niya itong paghilumin ang sugat sa puso nito. And maybe she could
teach him to love again...

Rahab, My Ballerina Lover
By Hana Rei


Rahab thought her life was perfect. She had a happy family, a loveable boyfriend, and a good career. Pero sa isang iglap ay nasira ang inaakala niyang perpektong mundo niya. One day, she found herself on the beach, alone, with an injured ankle and a battered soul. Everything was falling apart right in front of her eyes. Handa na niyang yakapin ang kamatayan nang bigla siyang pigilan ng isang estranghero na may asul na mga mata. He offered her his hand. And his magnetic gaze was enough to make her forget the pain she was suffering…

Ironic
By Hana Rei


Dahil sa ginawang panghihiya ni Riki kay Benteng noong mga bata pa sila ay nagsimula ang kalbaryo ni Riki sa presensiya nito. Palagi na lang itong nang-aasar sa araw-araw sa buhay niya. Ngunit nang maaksidente ito ay bakit ganoon na lamang ang pag-aalala niya rito?


Hindi niya matanggap iyon.
Ngunit ang lalong hindi niya matanggap ay nang may mangyari sa kanila.
Paano nangyari iyon gayong mortal silang magkaaway?

TEL’s Top 5 Stories for the Week

#5 – 200 new species found in Papua New Guinea

This is one proof of life’s biodiversity. Just to summarize a few, there were 20 species of frogs, 29 species of ants, 9 to 30 species of katydids, 9 species of plants, 45 species of spiders, 2 species of mammals, and 6 species of dragonflies/damselflies found in Papua New Guinea. The full list of the species is available on the website of Conservation International.


#4 – Socotra: Yemen’s hidden kingdom

This island has thousands of dragon-blood trees, yellow vultures, calm sea and a tradition people greet each other by touching nose and foreheads.

 Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

#3 – Carl Guevarra’s statement: “Okay lang na pag-piyestahan, ‘di naman nila makukuha e”

Photo credit: Bench

Carl Guevarra is one of the successful product of the Bench-initiated modeling contest. He bagged the prized for the male category, while Regine Angeles on the counterpart.

Carl Guevarra is now being more visible in the limelight. He is now tagged as one of the hottest male stars of GMA-7. Lately, he also shows his “abdified” body during the 2010 Cosmpolitan Bachelor Bash together with other Kapuso stars.

Now, many of his fans are asking. Is he willing to do more daring roles and stunts?

#2 – Google’s tribute to John Lennon’s 70th birthday

Google pays tribute to music legend John Lennon by creating and embedding a "John Lennon's Google Doodle" on its homepage.

#1: RH bill stirs debate

The controversy and the unresolved issue of the Reproductive Health Bill tops the TEL’s Top 5 Stories for the Week!.

Twitter has been flocked with so many tweets using different hash tags like #rhbill, #CatholicChurch and so on.

Debate is still at loose but President Noynoy Aquino is firm with his decision that he’s not just for the Catholics.

Going crazy over frozen yogurt

When you are extra cautious about your health yet you want something good after have a meal, try the frozen yogurt.

Yogurt is a dairy product by bacterial fermentation of milk. They are are basically thick in mixture I couldn't resist to eat yogurts especially after having a heavy meal. In the first place, it proves that it helped me for a better digestion.

This dairy product is known thousand of years ago and is also popular for its nutritional contents like calcium, protein, riboflavin, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12. Though it has nutritive values, some are not still convinced to take eat yogurts because of its sour-sweet taste, or it is just their preference.

Nowadays there are a lot of ways to enjoy yogurt; from its unflavored state to an ice cream.

One Saturday lunch, my workmates and I decided to take a lunch at the Harbour's Square, CCP in Pasay City, Manila. There's a bunch of good restos. We had our lunch at the Pancake House.

After having our meals, we ordered their Gurts - or more popularly known as frozen yogurts. Gurts are ice cream made of yogurts; instead of using the traditional ice cream ingredient or mixture, they use yogurts and froze them. They include toppings such as ripe mangoes, strawberries, chocolate chips, syrups. You can decide for your own topping. Otherwise they also have presets for Gurts.

I ordered a preset. I just forgot the flavor. Either a black forest or a choco fudge. I can't remember. HAHA! 

The taste? Perfect! For me it is because they did not veer away from the original taste of yogurts - the sour sweet taste is still there.

There's a lot of way to enjoy yogurts! Frozen yogurts as a dessert, for me, is good.

Zac Efron's torn between his brother and a girl

Charlie St. Cloud Official Movie Trailer featuring Zac Efron

I want to watch this Zac Efron movie. I am not a big fan of Zac nor addicted to this High School Musical actor. The story itself I think is enough to urge me to have a movie ticket. Most of the times I watch movies in Mall of Asia.

Honestly speaking, I only tried watching a movie in Greenbelt once. But the convenience of traveling from my work place to Greenbelt would later on spur a thought of "Ay, sa MOA na lang. Malapit." LOL. HAHAHA!

Of course I don't want to travel that long just to watch a movie. But I really like the movie houses in 
Greenbelt. By the way going back to Charlie St. Cloud, MSN movie currentl have this Universal Picture feat a two-star rank. Hmm? It doesn't matter. I still want to watch it.

It seems Zac is evolving as an actor; getting more matured roles and enough of the "musical"-themed movies. But don't take High School Musical aside because that movie gave a break to Zac as well as to Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale.

I'm hoping I could find a time to watch this one. By the way, since I haven't watched the movie, I got this synopsis from MS movies.

MSN Movie synopsis:
A young man forms a unique connection to the afterlife after surviving the tragic car accident that claimed his younger brother in this supernatural drama starring Zac Efron, based on the best-selling book by author Ben Sherwood. Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) is an experienced sailor from the Pacific Northwest who has just earned a scholarship that will take him far from home. The light of his mother's life, Charlie and his little brother, Sam (Charlie Tahan), are driving late at night when they're involved in a deadly car accident that kills Sam and leaves Charlie forever changed. In the aftermath of the accident, Charlie is wracked with guilt, convinced that if he had just been more careful behind the wheel, Sam would still be alive today. When Charlie begins seeing visions of his younger brother that are just as real as if Sam is actually standing before him, his friends and neighbors all start to think he's losing his mind. Shortly thereafter, Charlie's former high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns to town unannounced, and together the two old acquaintances forge the foundation of a meaningful romance. But before Charlie can move on with his life he'll have to first let go of his past, and bid his beloved brother Sam one final, heartfelt farewell. (From Jason Buchanan, Rovi)

The brewing benefits of tea

Just to name a few, some of their customers include: former First Lady Imelda Marcos, KC Concepcion, Richard Gutierrez, model Brent Javier, Pinoy Big Brother housemate Kian, and Rachel Alejandro. It is hard to identify the commonalities among them. But to tell you, this time it is not about showbiz or politics, it is about how they found out the goodness of “tea.”

Tea & Therapy is a special tea shop, offering over a hundred variety of tea from all over the world. The shop tries to bring out all the benefits of tea that they offer to their customers. 

I was lucky to visit personally the one-of-a-kind tea shop at Bonifacio High Street, Taguig City. And fortunately, I met the Chef, at the same time branch manager, of the specialty shop and interviewed her how to maximize the benefits of tea.

Chef Gabby Mcintosh, the branch manager of Tea & Therapy, looked so enlivened as she explained all about their tea-restaurant.

“Most of our teas are herbal teas, and we have fruit-based teas and flower-based teas. We also have green tea, and teas from roots and barks,” she said while picking out some of the teas displayed in their shop.

Center for Culinary Arts graduate Chef Gabby said that usually, when customers enter their tea shop and restaurant, they don’t just sit. They have the freedom to roam around and pick the tea that best suits them.

“Customers we have usually like tea with health benefits. And most of the teas with health benefits are oxidized or mapait [bitter], which means na-ferment ng konti,” she said. “Yung ibang variety of tea, sa sobrang pait, you still have to wash it,” she added.

All the varieties of teas displayed all over the store were labeled with the name and its benefits. The teas were placed in clear jars, the customers will choose what they want, and the Tea & Therpay will do the process of making the tea.

According to Chef Gabby, boiling the tea is not the right way. Most people boil the tea leaves, which is a wrong process of making tea.

Here’s how to make tea a Tea & Therapy way:

1) Bring water to a boil. Usually a tea can just have a 150 ml of
liquid.

2) Remove water from heat then add tea leaves (there are some
varieties of teas that are not in leaf form, the same process
applies). A teaspoon will do for a 150 ml water. Depending
upon the benefit you want, you may combine two or more
variety of teas.

3) Wait until the tea extracts blend.

4) Optional: You may add Osmanthus, an herbal Asian flower,
used to enhance the flavor of black or green tea

Among their best seller is their slimmer line of tea. They have anti-cholesterol teas, diuretic teas, and laxative teas.

But “different people have different needs” as Chef Gabby said while opening the jar of lavender tea. It is the reason why their tea shop offers a wide variety of tea, where in some of them came from France and Vietnam.

Their prices range from P195 to P450 for 50 grams tea. Some of their cheapest tea are Peppermint, Everlasting, Oriental Rose, and Lemon Grass. Among their expensive teas are French Lavender and Rosemary.

The benefits of their teas range from: Refreshers, Detoxifiers, Fortifiers, Healers, Slimmers, Calmers, Rejuvenators, and Energizers.

Here is a short list of some tea recipes and their health benefits:

REFRESHERS
▪ Blossoming Belly - good for vomiting in small children, dysentery and diarrhea in infants
▪ Blueberry Burst - good for urinary tract health, memory function, improves eyesight, lowers blood cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease

DETOXIFIERS
▪ Smooth Passage - purifies the blood, kidneys, liver, lungs, colon and deepest cells. Protects skin from premature aging, helps reduce freckles and improves hormonal balance.

FORTIFIERS
▪ German Lemon Incense - aids in digestion, improves blood circulation, and the invigorates blood
▪ Dragon Phoenix Pearls - High in Vitamin C and amino acid. The leaves, infused with jasmine, have a calming effect and prevent sore throat.
▪ Peppermint - a refreshing light aroma tea. Improves eyesight, helps cure fever and flu.

HEALERS
▪ Red Plum - helps eliminate toxins, clears freckles
▪ Wild Lingzhi Mushroom - helps prevent cancer, protects liver, regulates blood sugar, prevents insomnia, has anti-aging effect

SLIMMERS
▪ Everlasting - good for high blood, cholesterol, uric acid, gallbladder disorders, effective fat reducer, anti-intoxication

CALMERS
▪ French Lavender - it has antiseptic and analgesic properties which ease the pain of burns and promote rapid healing.
▪ Rosemary - it lifts spirits and counters depression. It assists in managing and overcoming stress related disorders and nervous exhaustion.

REJUVENATORS
▪ French Pink Rose - this new generation beautifying tea protects facial complexion, inhibits the formation of wrinkles and freckles.
▪ Sweet Chrysanthemum - Helps cure sore throat, prevents diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.

ENERGIZERS
▪ American Ginseng - helps prevent infection, reduces toxins, and improves physical condition

The Tea & Therapy shop now operates for almost two tears and has welcomed numbers of prominent people including celebrities and politicians.

Chef Gabby, also a graduate of Entrepreneurship at Miriam College, said that “tea is now becoming a trend here in the Philippines.”

Indeed it is.