Dirk And Steele

I began reading a new series of books by a rising new author of Paranormal Romances. Although I feel she has more paranormal than romance, I do enjoy her stories.
This series circles around a detective agency named Dirk & Steele. It is no ordinary detective agency. All the members here possess some unique ability like telekinesis or they might be shape-shifters.

"Tiger's Eye"

All Dela wants is a vacation, but when she buys an odd little box from a Beijing market, she finds much more than that — she gets a djini: a shape-shifter, a warrior, the last of his kind. Hari has been used and abused for millennia, but upon his release from the riddle box, he sees his new mistress is different. In Dela’s eyes he finds hidden power. If only he dares protect, where before he has savaged; love, where before he has known hate. For Dela, he will dare all.

Shape shifters are introduced in this book. Hari is aTiger and is cursed as a djini. His got lucky that weapons expert Delila or Dela is the one to open his box. Dela's Aunt is head of the NY office of Dirk & Steele. Her powers are wielding metals. This first book grip you to read the rest of the series.

"Shadow Touch"

Elena Baxter can work miracles with her fingers. She can coax bones to knit, flesh to heal. She can mend the soul. She has been doing such work for almost all of her twenty-eight years. That is why she will be taken. But salvation awaits. it exists in a form least expected: a dream of a face, a brush of a mind, the hint of a kiss, and finally, at long last, a shadow touch.

One of Dirk & Steele agents, Artur Loginov is missing. He and others with talents are taken by a rival organization who also have agents with talents. He meets Elena who is a healer. They also rescue other shape shifters. This book is not one of my faves.

"The Red Heart Of Jade"

When grisly murders bring ex-cop and clairvoyant, Dean Campbell, to Taiwan, he finds a shocking truth -- and a woman he thought long dead. What follows is an adventure far more deadly than any that has been foreseen, a threat heralding immortal evil.

I first thought it was long and dragging because the stories are jumping from one thing to another. Mummies, arsonists, Taiwanese Super Stars, Red Jades, then dragons. What ties it all up? What does Dean and Miri have to do with all these?
Then the ending is a killer! The Jades are like books. They are passed from generation to generation and gets reborn into people's hearts. These Jades are actually like the book of Death. They can unleash their powers to mankind. But the maker of the book made a precaution that nobody can use it on its own. He chopped it in half and put it in one girl and one boy. For some reason, every generation, they will be born lovers.

"A Dream of Stone and Shadows"

There are those who do terrible things in this world, and those who simply watch. Charlie would do neither. Imprisoned, his only release is through his own destruction — or through Aggie Durand. Sweet as a kiss or a rescued child, she is the one dream he does not dare desire. As an agent of Dirk & Steele, she could be his salvation. Today, his dream is waking.

What, do you ask, is Charlie? He's a Gargoyle. Strange name for a gargoyle right? He can't really die. when he does, he lingers as shadow until he heals. In his shadowed state, he learns the plight of a little girl who is hidden in a basement and is used in a kiddy porn. He looks for a warrior who can do what he can't. He finds Aggie.
I like the story. Aggie is strong and like Dela, she likes to annoy Roland Dirk. Charlie is actually a modern Gargoyle. He doesn't stay ancient. he keeps up with the times. I love how Aggie saves him and his brothers.

To see more of Liu's books:
http://www.marjoriemliu.com/

Healthier Way to Eat Ice Cream

Some would associate Ice Cream with Summer. Well, doesn't mean we can't cut down a little.
Ice Cream too small for a big bowl? Trick your mind. Here's a useful tip to make ice cream yummy and not-so-fattening. In a nice-looking bowl, take a scoop of your fave ice cream. Just one. Ok, Maximum 2. Cut up some fruits. Try the summery fruits like mango and pineapple. Then put A banana split on half. You can put unsweetened rice crispies or animal crackers. I put one chocolate cookie cut in half here. Then, don't put syrup. Put a Tbs. of Virgin Coconut Oil. Trust me, it is very interesting when it hardens with ice cream.

A Model Life

What is in a model's life?
Fashion is such a fast business. As Heidi Clum would say, "One day you're in, the next day you're out." It is all appearance, looking young, fresh and edgy. Who can blame the Fashion World? It makes the economy run and fast.
But what about the Models? How does this affect their life?
A Model's lifespan is only the look they bring. If you don't make an impact by 25, you fade into the background. Models who make it switch careers but stay into the limelight. Look at Tyra, she hosts her own show. Heidi has her own show too. That makes Petra Nemcova too. She mentors six girls in a reality show that's not quite "Top Model" and all the more harsh.
"A Model Life" with Petra Nemcova follows six girls' journey in Next Modeling Agency. By the end of the show, only one will be picked to be one of Next's 18 models in the Fashion Week.

Executive Producer David Broome says A Model Life's aim is to "pull back the curtain on the modeling industry" and tackle issues like distorted body image, living in a big city on one's own, and self-esteem. As six models vie for a contract, walk Fashion Week's runways, and compete for ad campaigns, Nemcova acts as sideline coach. But really-gorgeous, pampered models as victims? More than you'd know. "Girls are anorexic and dying," says Nemcova. "It's stupid, but it still happens in this business." Broome cast a nutritionist to offer a healthy defense against fashion's never-too-thin manifesto. "Models pick up life-threatening habits to stay in the game," he says, "and the industry still spits them out."

Clip from: http://www.marieclaire.com/world/articles/petra-nemcova

Pull back the curtains indeed. We can see the harsh life even in the Agency alone. They haven't even booked jobs yet. They get critiqued left and right. Not only in their performances, mind, also how their bodies look. Michelle, the most anorexic looking girl with sunken eyes and ribs for torso, is what they call perfect and edgy. Theother girls with hips or bits of flesh, the agents are already saying they won't make it. Still, week after week, they are told to loose weight. What wieght?
Would you be angry at the agents for driving these girls to malnutrition or blmae the girls for doing it?
Sarah from ANTM Cycle 9 was sent home because she was too fat to be a regular model but too thin to be plus-size. How can a person be a model? Is it simply the looks, the personality or something more innate? All three are very subjective. One client might like a lot of character but some wants no character at all but looks alone. I've seen four Reality Show about modeling already. Each are very different yet same. Each client is very subjective and when all the contestants are beautiful, it all comes down to who would go the extra mile to get what they want.
America's Next Top Model, Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency, A Model Life with Petra Nemcova, Make Me A Model, all these shows show the fashion world. They keep saying that the fashion industry is harsh and it is. The show gives you bonuses like a place to live in, challenges to win prizes and meet the popular people who mave and shake that world but it reality, when there is no show, a model's life is one full of struggles and woes.
In this country (Philippines), you can't be a full-time model. It doesn't pay. You are subjected to whatever a model is subjected to and you get very little pay. A professional model may earn Php3,000.oo to Php5,000 per walk but how many walks can you do a year? Fashion Shows are scarce and with competition, prices are being brought down. You can find a tall teen ager in the streets with edge in their looks, train her and pay her Php1,000.00 the whole night (Aprox, 4-6 walks). Cover model? Rarely. We have Actors, Singers and politicians gracing the covers and endorsing products.
So, a model life is one full of woes.

If you do wish to be a model, make sure your family is behind you. They not only give you support but also back-up. When you stumble, fall and be put down, there must always be someone there behind you to fall back on.

Hanoi Trip

Three sisters, one destination. Me, Aki ria and Diki Marie boarded the shuddering Cebu Pacific Plane praying the Maiden Flight won't end up like Titanic. I know back in our minds, we were singing "On a Maiden Voyage, One a Maiden Voyage..."
Thank God, we landed! And lived to get conned by a colorum "taxi." Yes, we are not the only country with colorum taxis and taxis who tamper their meters. The good people of Hanoi may prefer to use motorbikes but that doesn't stop road accidents. they are hell-drivers, very much like us!

So, we immersed ourselves in culture and history. Going around one of Hanoi's most important Lakes, Hoan Kiem. Hoan Kiem Lake is the center of commerce in Hanoi. The Old District surrounds the small pond-like lake. Legend says that the old emperor took a boat trip in the lake and a giant turtle appeared and gave him a golden sword which he used to win a war. After, the turtle took it back and was never seen. You can find a stuffed giant turtle in the pagoda in the middle of the lake. Strange such big creatures actually exist in the small lake. Whether the turtle is the actual turtle of the story, no one can confirm nor deny.

The shopping district is basically everywhere close to the lake. You can buy anything and everything if you can find the streets. The Old Hanoi were ruled by guilds. Each street had its own wares, its own guild. So, you may find yourself in a street full of Musical instruments, a street of shoes, lapidaries or a street of greeting cards. There are no malls so you can find Nine West in front of the Lake. It is a law in Hanoi not to demolish old structures especially in the Old District. but they are renovated. The downstairs are all turned commercial but the top floors retain their colonial touches. By the way, Vietnam was conquered by the French.

So you can see a lot of the French influences like architecture food and theatres. It was to our delight that Hanoi has an Opera House and we were fortunate to be at the last night of the Spring Ballet entitles "Chopiniana" and for the second part, West Side Story.

Vietnamese culture cannot be complete without a Vietnamese Theatre. In front of Hoan Kiem lake is the Water Puppet Theatre where the famous art form is performed with traditional music using traditional instruments are used. The Water Puppet performance are little segments depicting Vietnamese life and culture like Dragon Dance, Dance of the Phoenix, Planting Rice, Catching Frogs, The story of the Emperor and the Turtle (One where the emperor is given the Sword and its return). Of course there is also a segment where a Scholar returns home and the whole town celebrates.
Do you think Valentines Day is popular in Hanoi? Nothing can compare to teachers day. Flower prices rise tenfold during Teachers Day. Vietnamese revere their teachers. A one point in history, they were revered as gods.
To me and my two sis' delight, we found a place of reverence to one of the most important things in our life, Literature. We went to the Temple of Literature. It was built by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong in 1070. Later it was made into "University of the Sons of the Nation," Hanoi's first university. Today, we find the names of the scholars and teachers immortalized in stone on the back of stone turtles.

After seven days, we ready to go home. Bringing culture, memory and a whole bunch of silks, we arrived in Manila, tired and hungry. Nope, Cebu Pacific did not feed us in the four-hour journey plus one hour delay. And Hanoi Airport closes its restaurant at ten so no food for us.
But boy! What experiences we now carry, from the trip to the tours to going home, our Hanoi experience is incomparable. One day, we hope to return and tour more sights that were not part of the itinerary we set for ourselves. We would also wish to see Saigon, Ho Chi Min and possible take the train up all the way to Beijing. It is a ten-hour experience!

Pictures from maita

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A Day of Plays

Day 6 in Hanoi
Water Puppet Show, shopping and Spring Ballet

An Emerging Dragon

Day 5
Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay is a river system described as an emerging dragon. The limestone islets protruding in a line like formation gave it it's name.
When visiting Ha Long Bay remember these: Wear comfy clothes that blocks sun and weather. Wear good shoes that you can trek with. Although food is provided, bring your own drink. They only have coke on board and it is a dollar each. Water is not so safe inn the islands.

I did enjoy my Ha Long experience. The 4-hour cruise was leisurely and perfect for relaxing. We went into an island where you can go inside a cave with natural grottoes with stalactites and stalagmites. Some contain fossilized creatures.
Food is a simple fish and vegetables but rice-all-you-can. There is not water on board to drink and you must buy your own coke. In the islands and the harbor, there are water, sodas, chipos and souvenirs for sale but they charge a tourist price.

A Street Lined with Silk

Day 4 in Hanoi

Silk Village to shop for silk.

Super Chocolate

Chocolate Buffet at Sofitel Metropole, $15 a person. Worth it? Yum! Super chocolate!!!!!!!!

Temple of Literature

Day 2 in Hanoi

The Temple of Literature or Van Mieu was dedicated to culture and history. Aritsans and scholars all came together in the temple to pay homage to literary heritage immortalized in stone.

Day 1

Hanoi Trip. Arrived this morning.
So far...
Hoan Kiem Lake and vicinity.

Another Guilt-Free Snack

I'll call this "Guilt-free Rolls"

What you need:
6 or more pieces of Wheat bread slices
1/4 cup cream cheese (fat free if you can)
1 Tbs. non-fat milk
1 Tbs. Mayonnaise or Mayomagic
1/4 cup grated quick-melt cheddar
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium sized green or red bell pepper (Both if you want color)
A hand full of chopped spinach leaves
Snippets of fresh basil
Dash of Pepper
Dash of Salt

How to do it:

1. Cut the sides of the wheat bread. Using a rolling pin or a hand round glass bottle, roll flat the slices of bread.
2. In a bowl, mix Cream cheese, mayo, milk and cheeses. chop in small cubes the bell pepper. Mince garlic. Chop spinach and basil. All all those to the cheese mixture. Add salt and pepper. Add more if needed, depending on taste.
3. Spread it evenly on the flattened wheat bread then roll it. Slice then serve!

Good for snacks! Can be served in cocktails too!

Colors!

More pics from Puerto. Very colorful. Just gotta love nature!

Puerto Gallera!

Me and Mom!

For more pics of our vacation:
http://maitypix.shutterfly.com/

The Promcat

I joined writing.com and submitted a short story entitled Promcat. I'm glad I got useful insights and good comments. Other writers have reviewed and rated my story. I got a 3.5, 4 and three 4.5 out of 5. Yey!
Promcat opens with Alicia De Leon who is a senior student who doesn't want to be crowned Ms. Wallflower of the Night in her prom night. She tells her frustration to her pet Cat on the night of the prom. The cat, by the name of Alonzo, gave her a life-changing kiss and became her dream come true.


*Yup, this Alonzo in the story was inspired by my Alonzo in the real life.

A Hero by Reflex

I opened the door to a haggard, shaking mom dressed in suit, pearls, diamonds and other blings.
"Mom, what happened?"
"I saved a man." Well, sort of save. Going home, she took the tollway from Alabang to Bicutan. 1km away from the toll gate, a truck behind her hit the fence and turned turtle. She stopped, backed up and tried to see what had happened. The man was trapped inside and can't get out because of his seatbelt. Mom crawled in through the window and let him loose. When they got out, people started to "usyoso." Mom sped away.
"I don't feel like a hero." She said to me and Diki.
"Ma, helping people has become your life that it became reflex."

Mom, Soroptimist president and Hero by Reflex!

A Man of Romance

Meet Stefan Andreas Schwarze. This 6'3 gym buff of German Descent is a model for Romance.

He's modeled from Regency rakes, cowboy daddies, vikings warriors, highland lords and vampires. Stefan stars in over a hundred Romance Covers from Harlequin Intrigue, Silhouette to Berkley. Yup, pretty flexible look right?

I think my favorite look for him is one with where he's in a suit. He looks powerful and regal in a suit. I wouldn't mind him dressed up a Regency Lord!

Picture from Stefan's site.
http://www.stefanas.com/romance/gallery/gallery_index.htm

100 Books in 25 years

Two years ago, I picked up a book in BookSale Greenhills entitled Wind Walker. I wanted to read something, anything interesting. I was currently reading Young Adults and Fantasy. Wind Walker was a big step. It was Romance, History, Action and Adventure all in one. I found it funny, warm and romantic.

It had appeal. Weeks later, at another Booksale tour, I found Silver Wing. now, I have over three dozen Cassie Edwards Books.

I began to understand her style. I did some research and found out that she focused on Native American Romances. She has three non-NAm but still in the Historical Romance category.

Some may find the Edwards Style redundant. There must always a strong-willed Caucasian girl and a Native American Chieftain (or son of the Chieftain). It's love at first sight. The conflict comes outside the relationship. It can be the father of the girl, the ex-suitor, the towns people or nature. They pull through it and ends up in a wedding or if the wed early on in the story, a child.
The chieftain's Archetype is always a Gentleman Savage. He is viewed by society as a savage, uneducated heathen but he is actually more chivalrous than the people who view him. The heroine is strong in will but weak in body. She usually falls under tomboy or ingenue. Both characters are internally good. They love each other and just can't stop kissing. (Yup, Romance demands it!) Yes, some find it mushy but Edwards adds history and Native American culture into the story. Each story actually has its own flavor.

After publishing a Historical Romance book, her publisher asked her to write Native American Romance. Since then, she concentrated on various tribes, researching the background, customs and history. After publishing her first few American Indian Books, Edwards' grandfather told her that she had a full-blooded Cheyenne Grandmother.

Savage Skies, released in August 2007, is her 100th book. What I admire about Edwards is that she started writing at age 45. Goes to show that age isn't a barrier in writing. After 25 years of writing, she still holds her audience captivated.

Healthy Snacks; Banana Cake

Need a good not-too-fatty snack? You can eat this snack any time of the day and the best thing about it is: it's guiltless! So Easy! Takes half an hour with oven time!

BANANA CAKE

Ingredients:
(Makes one big loaf of 10 slices or 2 little loaves of 6 slices)
2 eggs
2 and 3/4 Cups Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 and 1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Butter (You can use low-fat butter or 1/3 cup oil)
Dash of Cinnamon
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract (You can replace this with anything you like. Almond or Lemon Extract)
5 Bananas (If you are from the Phil, use Lakatan. Cavendish lacks taste)


Procedure:

First and foremost, Pre-heat oven.
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs whites until frothy but not yet stiff. Add yolk, Sugar, Butter and Vanilla Extract. Chop us the banana and add into the mixture. When its is all well mixed, add flour slowly then Baking Powder and Baking Soda. Add Cinnamon.
Lightly greased a pan or glass pyrex. Rectangular ones are the best. The batter would be an inch or two thick. Even it out.
If you want, you can put chocolate or nuts or raisins on the top. I put grated chocolate, Walnuts, Oats a bit or raisin and a bit of everything on mine!
Put in the oven. 380 degrees. Depending on the climate/temperature. It would take 15 to 25 minutes.

I'm from a tropical country so it's very warm here. It took 20 minutes only.

Slice and Eat!
Store in an air-tight container or store in a Refrigerator.

I'm reading!

Yeah... right!
This is Aki's cat.

Black Dagger Brotherhood

My hand at Men's Fashion in a FanArt.

To Pan

This entry is dedicated to Pan, our newest cat that stayed only for 2 weeks.

Pan came to us no larger than my palm. He grew two inches then got sick. We nursed him to health. He was so playful last night. Loves to be under your clothes! Yup, he makes a lot of meowings until you give him your finger to bite or put him under your shirt. Then, this morning, we woke to see him stiff and dead.
Cradle Death Syndrome.

I'll miss you, little Pan!

Black Dagger Brotherhood

By J. R. Ward

There's this new series I spotted in the bookstores. Yes, yes... another vampire series. Lots of them flooding the market. This I found I could read. I told myself I couldn't read another vampire book thanks to the Carpathian Series but I did like this one. It is quite different. Yes, authors today are trying to out-do each other by creating their own vampire myth and legends. I even read one that vampirism is acquired through std! Another is that Merlin is a UFO and he created these vampires to save the world.

Strange?

Well, this one is this: In Caldwell, New York, there is a brotherhood of vampires protecting their race against the Lessening Society. Each member is chosen carefully before being inducted into the brotherhood.
Their vampire myth is this: A being called The Scribe Virgin created the vampires as her children. Her counterpart is the Omega. He hates her children and vows to destroy them. Since the Omega cannot create, he takes brutal humans and eats their souls and he turns them into Lessers, the vampire slayers. These lessers prowl the streets of New York and torture and kill any vampire their get their hands on. The brotherhood must take them down. They also try to keep the vampires from human knowledge.


The Brothers: Wrath (he is actually the vampire king), Tohrment, Rhage, Zsadist and Phury (twins), Vishous, and Darius (deceased)

Darius is killed by the lessers. Wrath must find his Darius' daughter, Elizabeth and make sure she goes through her transition. When Wrath finds Beth, he is enthralled and knows she is the only one for her. A complication arises when Butch O'neal, a dedicated cop sees Wrath for what he is. Since Butch was such a nice guy and he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, the brothers held him in their mansion.

Next book is about Rhage, the handsomest brother. He is called Hollywood and for good reasons. He bumps into Mary and knows she is the one. Only one problem: Mary is dying. Rhage sacrifices everything for her life.

The third book is about Zsadist, the tragic brother. He was kept as a blood slave for the first 100 years of his life. His brother Phury rescued him but Zsadist was not the same anymore. he is broken and maimed. To save his mate, he and Phury make a plan to take on the lessers.

The fourth book is my fave. Butch, the cop who has disappeared from the NYPD felt very much like an outsider. he and Vishous are roommates for the last six months but he was always being pushed aside. He was given money, showered with clothes but never really part of anything. Even in his own family and in the NYPD, he was an outsider. One day, he rescues a civilian vampire and was taken by the lessers. Tortured and left for dead, he is finally rescued and saved by Vishous. Marissa, a female vampire he had a major crush on, nursed him. Still he feels like an outsider. he felt dirty because of what the lessers did to him and he felt lonely because he cannot be what Marissa needs. He risks his life to try to become everything he could be, a warrior vampire.

The fifth book is about Vishous, the genius brother. V is a whiz in everything he does. One day the Scribe Virgin visits him and tells him he is to be the Primale, the mate of her Chosen. That means he will husband 40 chosen females to procreate females for the Scribe virgin's temple and males to become the brotherhood.
But he cannot help but fall in love with the doctor who saved his life, Jane. It's a tragic tale that would force someone to make a huge sacrifice in the end of the book.

All in all, the series is fascinating. It is action, romance and a bit of comedy rolled into one. Thought, the tragedy hits, the characters try to evolve and move on amidst the pain. It lacks more travel. Surely, there are vampires not just in Caldwell. They did originate in Europe. What about the Lessers there?