#OkraSoup Episode 1!

The long wait is over as the first (impromptu) episode of OKRA SOUP has now been uploaded and with the pilot episode graced with a fresh new artist of PolyEast Records Isabelle De Leon. We had a fun jamming time with this sweet rock-chic along with fellow bloggers Jing, Sire, and Myrna! Okra Soup is part of Manual To Lyf's offering for 2013 providing live videos which people will see live experiences and sometimes live celebrities!

Well Okra Soup has been in the planning and teasing process since 2011, but the only thing we had were teasers featuring Kim Chui, Richard Yap, and Xian Lim! Episode two is now in the works and of course, will have more improvements (just to get the ball rolling) and hopefully soon a trending show and topic on twitter, which you can also do to help with the hashtag #OkraSoup.  You can send us feedback and your messages which would be read in the next episode! So tweet away!

Former Rivermaya frontman Jason Fernandez makes TV acting debut

In previous interviews, former Rivermaya frontman Jason Fernandez admitted being abandoned by his Cypriot father at a young age. In fact, after his stint in the band, he flew to Cyprus to meet his father. 

This Holy Week, Jason was tapped by CBN Asia to be one of the lead stars of their Good Friday presentation – Tanikala presents Ama Namin, which also stars Mike Tan, Diva Montalba, and Tricia Amper. It will air this March 29, 5 p.m., on GMA 7.

REEL DEL: The Croods REVIEW

Its time for a prehistoric fun time with Dreamworks newest animation offering for 2013, The Croods.

This is the story of the prehistoric family of the Croods, which includes Eep (Emma Stone), a girl in a family of cavemen living in pre-historic times, talking about how her family is one of the few to survive nearby, mainly due to the strict rules of her father, Grug (Nicolas Cage) and his wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), daughter Sandy, son Thunk (Clark Duke), and his mother-in-law (Cloris Leachman), which were used in living in a cave all of their lives but when seismic events destroys their home, they now embark on a journey of finding a new home.

They would also encounter a new guy named Guy (Ryan Reynolds) and his pet Belt. The movie comes in 3D and is actually a visual feast . I also liked the Owl City track featured in the movie. Kids will definitely love this movie because of the humor and also values which they can learn from the characters.

Ladies Celebrate Women's Month This March at SM!

March is known to be Women's Month and its actually a great time for ladies to go out and exercise their right to shop! And SM will give a treat for women on Wednesdays of the month!

May it be sale season or not, SM malls definitely makes this moth exciting for you and your retail theraphy with these discounts you can avail from SM stores! 

If they would go to Watsons for beauty, health and personal finds, all women will instantly get 10-percent off on minimum P1,500 worth of purchase. 

Ladies can also be tough when they shop at Ace Hardware where they can get 5-percent less on every P3,000 single receipt purchase on all regular priced items. 

In Our Home, where you can find items which can make your home beautiful and organized, they can get  5-percent off for a minimum P15,000 purchase on all furniture, ladies can also avail of 10-percent discount on all accessories for a minimum purchase of P5,000.

Australian Catholic University offers scholarship programs

The Australian Catholic University (ACU) Manila has announced that it is offering full and partial scholarships this coming school year.   

Based on academic merit and talent, the “Esteban Scholarship Awards” will provide one full scholarship, two 50% scholarships and ten 20% scholarships. A full scholarship is valued at AUD 5,200 or PHP 246,000 per year. All scholarships are offered for the entire 3-year program in Manila.

63rd Palanca Awards now accepting entries

Now on its 63rd year, the country’s premier and longest-running literary contest, the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature or Palanca Awards, has once more opened its doors to both amateur and seasoned writers who wish to showcase their talent in crafting beautiful literature.

Its organizer and sponsor, the Carlos Palanca Foundation, Inc., (Palanca Foundation), has announced that it is now accepting entries for the Awards’ regular categories, as follows:

* English Division – Short Story, Short Story for Children, Essay, Poetry, Poetry for Children, One-act Play, and Full-length Play;

* Filipino Division – Maikling Kuwento, Maikling Kuwentong Pambata, Sanaysay, Tula, Tulang Pambata, Dulang May Isang Yugto, Dulang Ganap ang Haba, and Dulang Pampelikula;

* Regional Languages Division – Short Story-Cebuano, Short Story-Hiligaynon and Short Story-Iluko.

GMA News videos now accessible on iPhones

Mobile news consumers who missed GMA news on TV can now see it on the go.

An updated version of the GMA News mobile application for iOS now offers video clips from GMA News programs. The app is available for free download on the Apple App Store.

GMA News Online v 2.0 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod enables users to customize its content by choosing which sections of the website will appear on the app. It also features an option to display 10 or 15 articles from each section.

“We just want to be where news consumers are going. Our improved app combines two exploding trends – mobile and online video,” GMA News Online editor-in-chief and GMA Network VP for Multimedia Journalism Howie Severino said.

He explained that only selected GMA news videos will be viewable on mobile initially, but the volume of video content will eventually increase.

My Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest Experience

The gastronomic journey is endless, yet its more delicious than the glutton's destination. This has been my motto for food which makes me love food a lot, and to be part of something cool about food is always a green light for me. This is why I participated in different eating contest in the past to see, if my digestive system is prepped up for the job. Yoshinoya's Gyudon Eating Contest this year gave me an opportunity to much on my favorite Japanese dish, the Gyudon and recently I won in the media challenge along with the 28 weekly winners from different branches which one of them took home 100,000 pesos.

Tessie Tomas and Nova Villa guest in Sarap Diva this Saturday

This Saturday (March 16), Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid welcomes two comedy icons --Tessie Tomas and Nova Villa -- into her kitchen. 

Regine’s living room turns into an instant dance floor as they take on cool ballroom dance moves before heating up the kitchen. 

The Songbird is up for a feast as the two showbiz royalties share their specialty recipes -Teysie's Tasty Tuwalya, a classic callos dish and Nova's Seafood Supernova, a hot and spicy mix of clam, squid and shrimp. 

Duke and Roadblock join forces in G.I. JOE 2

A follow-up to the 2009 worldwide blockbuster G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, which grossed over $300 million worldwide, In GI JOE: RETALIATION, the team is not only fighting their mortal enemy COBRA, but they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. Converting the film into 3D takes the movie to a whole new level and brings the audience even closer to the non-stop action. G.I. JOE RETALIATION hits theaters in RealD 3D & Digital 3D.

The G.I. JOE mythology runs deep and has a pantheon of characters to draw from, each with their own back-story, nuances and characteristics. When approaching the sequel, the filmmakers wanted to build on the best elements and storylines from the first film and carry those through to the second installment while simultaneously creating a new identity and feel. This offered the opportunity to introduce new characters from the mythology to the franchise.