For years, I've only ever watched cable shows. For years, I've ignored all the teleseryes that have come and gone on the local channels. Even the then-hit and uber popular Forevermore--no offense to LizQuen fans. I just didn't find that spark of interest that would compel me to watch any of the shows. And I'm not being a snob. I just don't like the drama. The painstaking wait for all the hardship, humiliation, and abuse of the antagonist to end. As well as the comeuppance they deserve.

Until On the Wings of Love, or OTWOL to fans. The very first time I caught the advertisement for the show I felt it's a show I should try watching. The premise was not new for a teleserye. A marriage of convenience for two people who--with the help of destiny--suddenly and urgently needed each other. Leah for the green card and Clark for the money.

But what I believe made it different was the setting and the tone of the whole teleserye. It had none of the elements typical of a local teleserye. It was funny, it was fast-paced, and best of all it had "kilig". In short, it was a feel good series. Something I needed a lot of after a long and hard day at work.


I often said this during the first few weeks of the show: OTWOL had the power to make me feel better after a really tiring day at work and the horror that is the MRT. I could go to sleep smiling because watching the show made me feel good.


Of course, a show couldn't be all about roses and chocolates and rainbows, because that would be totally boring. The writers and directors have to mix it up. Would you want Clark and Leah to be lovey-dovey the whole dang time? No? Right, because you'd probably get tired of just feeling "kilig" all the time.

And so enters the other characters of the show, all of whom play important roles to expand the story and make it more interesting. Of course, the main antagonist--if you can even call him that--is Jigs. Leah's ex-boyfriend and the most annoying person born on the planet! I exaggerate, but in the OTWOL world he is. You can't help but hate him every single time he appears on the screen. He has issues, I know, from being left behind by his mother and being spoiled thereafter. I'm pretty sure it's not Lola Pachang's fault because the other kids left under her care (aka Clark's siblings) didn't turn out bratty.

Then there's Tita Jack. The woman responsible for bringing Clark and Leah together. The one who insisted that they get to know each other really well. BUT. Of course there's a but! But not to fall in love with each other. There. The biggest BUT there is, right?

Manang Tiffany is the supportive sibling I can actually relate to in terms of sisterly bonding (secrets that you keep from your parents, shenanigans, girl stuff, etc.). Her life, though, is a story of sacrifice. Foregoing her own education so that Leah can finish hers, and forced to grow up too fast and take the place of their mother who (supposedly) died in the United States.

Meanwhile, Tatang Sol is the strict but honest and kind father. His principles in life are iron-clad and he's made sure that he passed it on to his daughters. He spews out words of wisdom and he's the typical padre de pamilya who believes it's his sole responsibility to provide for the family. Until a serious illness befell him. Has to accept the fact that he needed help not only from his family but also from his neighbors. Which brings me to...

The best neighbors you could ever have in your life--Tenement Uno! I've never seen bayanihan at work and in full force than at Tenement Uno. These guys help each other like one big family. Tatang Sol doesn't accept payment from neighbors who ride his jeep, and in turn they helped raise funds for Tatang Sol's heart bypass operation. It's really heartwarming to see.

I believe all these elements and characters make OTWOL a fantastic teleserye you'll want to watch night after night. Indeed, if I could quote Cake Evangelista of Inquirer, "OTWOL made be believe in Filipino series again."

Watching cable on the weekends is something of a stress reliever for me, along with reading of course. It simply is one of the things I can look forward to at the end of a long work week. I'm lazy like that.

When I do find enough energy, I like to go out with family. Even just to the mall would suffice. If we had time to plan, an overnight stay in a hotel or out of town is better.

Since it is a rainy, rainy long weekend--thanks to Tropical Storm Ineng--we just decided to stay home and enjoy the tamad weather. It's a complete turnaround from the sweltering heat last weekend, and a welcome change. Definitely.

But I digress.

I was watching Farmhouse Rules on The Food Network and was able to catch this delicious minty chocolate brownies. The mint buttercream frosting alone is enough for me to know that this is going to be delicious.


INGREDIENTS

Brownies:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

Minty Buttercream:
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons green creme de menthe liqueur
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar


DIRECTIONS

Brownies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a glass 9-inch-by-13-inch baking dish with butter and line it with strips of parchment paper so the paper comes up over the edge of the dish. Grease the paper with more butter.

Place a small pot of water on medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Place a heatproof bowl over the simmering water and add the butter and chocolate to gently melt together, stirring to combine. (This can also be done in the microwave, heating at 15 second intervals.)

Transfer the chocolate and butter mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the brown and granulated sugars, eggs, vanilla and salt and whisk together. Add the flour and gently whisk to combine, then pour into the baking dish. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out somewhat clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely.

Carefully spread the Minty Buttercream over the brownies, then refrigerate until firm. Once the buttercream has firmed up, use the parchment sleeves to carefully remove the brownies from the baking dish. Slice into bars.

Minty Buttercream:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the creme de menthe and beat until combined. Add the confectioners' sugar a quarter at a time and beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Yield: enough for 12 brownie bars.

Recipe courtesy of Nancy Fuller. Taken from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nancy-fuller/gopher-bars.html

As if I don't have enough on my plate already (plate of to-watch, to-come-back-to), I find out about this:

The Flash
The Smallville version of DC's The Flash. The series is about the origins of the fastest man alive, Barry Allen who acquired his unique ability from a freak accident.

Photo from: Hollywood Reporter

iZombie
Another zombie-apocalypse series? No. No way...It's not? Oh good. It's a procedural drama about a coroner's assistant who is really a zombie. She eats brains so she can remain human. Yes. Sounds familiar, eh? But interesting nevertheless. This reminds me--somewhat--of Moonlight where the main character is a private investigator helping the police capture the bad guys. That's not all, he's a vampire, and he drinks blood so he can live.

Photo from Hollywood Reporter

CSI: Cyber
Yes. Another spinoff from the CSI franchise. But this one deals with cyber crimes. And because I love CSI, I am excited to see this one. And also because I like Patricia Arquette. Medium, anyone?


Hieroglyph
Just because I like everything ancient Egypt.

Photo from Hollywood Reporter

State of Affairs
A CIA agent becomes the president's daily briefer, who is tasked to identify vital national security issues. Stars Katherine Heigl as the CIA agent and Alfre Woodard as the first black female president. Should be an interesting watch if you like Zero Dark Thirty and The West Wing.




Selfie
I am looking forward to this not because I like John Cho ever since I watched him on a Charmed episode. Not at all. I am not that shallow. The series is very current, as it is about a woman who suddenly becomes the center of attention (for the wrong reasons) when a video involving her went viral. She enlists the help of a marketing expert, who also happens to work in the same company as her, to fix her tainted image.


Forever
Do I like these kinds of dramas, or do I not? Seems like fighting crime means you have to be immortal, a zombie, a vampire, or a superhero. Can't we just be normal peeps? This one is about New York's star medical examiner, Dr. Henry Morgan (played by Ioan Gruffudd) who happens to be immortal. He helps solve cases and studies the dead so he can find the answers to why he cannot die.

Oh, come on abc! Really? You're going with "He's dying to know the truth"?

Constantine
Oh yes. John Constantine is back. The badass magician and master of the occult from DC Comics' Hellblazer. In the series, he plays an unwilling hero defending humanity against the forces of darkness even while he struggles with his faith and atones for his sins. Should be good considering I likes the movie version.



Gotham
Is it just me? Or everything here is based on DC comics? I'm not a fan by any means. I just happen to like the movie versions. The series though, is about Gordon's early days in the city's police force. It will also touch on the stories of several Batman villains, including Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Hugo Strange, Harvey Dent, and Mr. Freeze.

The master of the hard court, Roger Federer was down two sets and looked like he was going to fail miserably in the third set when he was broken back by his opponent, 20th seed Gael Monfils of France. He was tested almost to the limit. I had but given up in the 4th set at match point for Monfils. But Roger Federer will not go down easily. Showing true grit, steel-strength will, and endurance, he bounced back to win the match in 3 straight sets. The 9th time he had to go through the same situation, 2 sets down.

2 sets down, the players on a break before the 3rd set

Wonder what he was thinking here. Probably how to get back into the game.

The crowd wait with baited breath at the Arthur Ashe Stadium

Double match point with Federer serving to stay in the match. Totally nerve wracking, heart-attack inducing.

Saved the 2 match points to even out the scores.

The variety of shots was amazing. Volleys, net plays, drop shots, cross courts, lobs, down the line...it was like the whole US Open played out in that little rectangle at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Both players went after every shot and Gael even flew a few times! The big guy could sideline as a flying superhero. Really. And the power behind his every shot...I don't even know how he can sustain that. Add it to his antics on the court, even I'm exhausted. And I'm just watching him!

Federer, ever the elegant player, stayed cool. For most of the match, that is. He did dish out a few frustrated outbursts in the 3rd and 4th sets. At one point he even slammed his racket on the center of the net. Something he rarely does. It was the first time I've seen him lose his cool. As a fan--YES I AM A BIG FAN--I felt frustrated, too. I couldn't even follow the full match (I was at work, but I was keeping tabs via USOpen.org's slamtracker) because it was killing me! Federer was killing me. Aaaarrrrggghhh! At the 4th set, I had to leave the slamtracker watch.

I went back to the game when I saw that they had gone into a 5th set. Whew! The great Roger escaped losing by a hair! By a freakin' hair. And once he evened out the field, he took the driver's seat all the way to the finish line. It was absolutely amazing! Just one of the many reasons why I love this game.

On to the Semis for the Fed Express (Photo from USOpen.org)

I took this style quiz from Drop Dead Georgous Daily and my result is:

After rediscovering K-pop this year (I say 'rediscovering' because I've known Kpop for a while, but didn't really care for it as much before), I have to say I pretty much like songs from boy groups. I find their songs are better suited to my tastes, plus their voices are not pitch-y (meaning, it doesn't irritate the hell out of me) like the girl groups. I admit it's also because I'm female. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate girl groups. Proof of that is Spica. I love their new song so much I'm posting it here. The only other Kpop video I blogged about was SHINee's Why So Serious, and I LOVE that group. Seriously.


Tonight by Spica

Tonight. Tonight is the night
geutorok gidaryeotdeon urimanui sigan oh yeah
Tonight. Tonight is the night
kkumcheoreom neowa naega hanadoeneun i bam oh yeah

mam gatji anheun sesange dapdaphaetji
deungdwiro neukkineun siseoni chagawotji
geurae nan andwae motae pogihal ttaejjeum
nae ape jjan hago niga natanangeoya

jeo meolli barkge bitnaneun jeo byeolbit
eokkaereul dudeurineun baram
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune
naeil achim tteooreuneun taeyangdo
seororeul wihae kkok jabeun son
dasi nal ireukyeo naneun noraehane

Tonight. We feelin so high
jeo nopi haneullo Fly fly fly kkeuteobsi naraolla oh yeah oh

hanbeon deo Hi-five urineun jukji anha
seonban wi motnani inhyeongcheoreom ulji anha
dagachi Get up. Stand up. bukkeureoma
urin da juingong iljjik jibe gajima

jeo meolli barkge bitnaneun jeo byeolbit
eokkaereul dudeurineun baram
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune
naeil achim tteooreuneun taeyangdo
seororeul wihae kkok jabeun son
dasi nal ireukyeo naneun noraehane

Feels good nuneul gama
Feels good mwoga boyeo?
Feels good geuge baro neoya It alright~ Oh~

Turn it up. Burn it up
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune

jeo meolli barkge bitnaneun jeo byeolbit
eokkaereul dudeurineun baram
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune
naeil achim tteooreuneun taeyangdo
seororeul wihae kkok jabeun son
dasi nal ireukyeo naneun noraehane

modeun geosi dallajyeosseo
neowa hamkkehaneun i bam
nunbusige areumdaun Tonight is the night.

You won't hear teeny-weeny, cutesy, pitch-y voices here. Goes to show that what they're saying about the group's talent is true. I hope they do make it big, especially now with the support of Lee Hyori.

Just watched a replay of the Top 13 results show of American Idol, and I'm glad that my faves in the boys got through, Philip Philips, Heejun Han, and Colton Dixon. Very happy that Jessica Sanchez made it. Yey! Another Filipino-American this season. I hope she makes it to the very end. I also like Erika Van Pelt for the girls.

However, I think one of the boys will win this season - AGAIN. C'mon girls! Represent!

Couldn't say much about the judges, since as of today, they'll have no say on who stays or goes. But they did great in bringing in an eclectic mix of super talented people to the show.

Yun lang. Bow.

The recently concluded 67th Golden Globe Awards, I must say, was a success. In that, many of my favorite people and show won, and because I laughed at almost everything Ricky Gervais said. What made him even more funny was his shameless, shameless plug on his own show and movie, The Office and The Invention of Lying.

For "Glee-ks" like me, Lea Michelle, Jane Lynch, and Matthew Morrison's loss in their respective categories was replaced with a more rewarding honor, Best Television Series for Comedy or Musical. This certifies that Glee is not just a flash-in-the-pan TV series, but a show worthy of all the hype and praises that it garnered over the last 13 episodes.

Of course, one of my favorite come-back star, Robert Downey, Jr., won for his performance as ace 19th-century detective Sherlock Holmes. I have yet to watch this movie, so I will reserve my comments for later. Although, I am quite sure that he brought the old stodgy Sherlock Holmes from the 19th century to the 21st century with his dazzling and witty portrayal.

For a complete list of nominees and winners go to the Golden Globe's official website: