Legend of the Seeker

This TV series was cancelled in 2010 after only two seasons and 46 episodes, reports had it that the company that produced the show went bankrupt and no network was able to pick up the series when it ended.

I just got a DVD copy of Legend of the Seeker so I am quite late joining the "Save Our Seeker" campaign in the web organized by fans all over the world calling for the series renewal. As of April 2013, no words heard from the production whether Legend of the Seeker will come to life again.

But as a fantasy adventure genre fanatic, I am hoping the series will be renewed soon and relived the magic and fun once more, it is the only extreme adventure series I ever got interested with maybe because I find the story very enchanting and beautiful.

I did not read the book of Terry Goodkind (to which Legend of the Seeker was based) before watching the series  so I'm kinda enjoying it because if I did maybe I will be disappointed too just like other people who had read the book long before the series started.

When I watched the two seasons of Legend on DVD I was so captivated with its enormous production value, the magic, the spell, the fighting sequences and the fascinating love story of Richard and Kahlan, the seeker and the confessor respectively destined to join forces to undertake the delicate mission of seeking the truth, but in order for the seeker to be triumphant in his quest, he must pay a high prize of not falling inlove with his confessor.

According to an ancient belief, the seeker and the confessor could never consummate their romance because it would enslave the seeker and become dependent to the confessor making him ineffective in his quest. In the series, Richard and Kahlan fought hard to resist their feelings. But to my surprise when I read the synopsis of Sword of Truth of Goodkind in the net, I found out Richard and Kahlan got married!Ohh how it happened??

So now, I am more excited and eager than ever to see the series renewed to find out other big surprises unfolded in the book. In the season two finale, there was an interesting hint mentioned that after the seeker  successfully sealed the rift that divided the underworld and the world of the living, he will face another powerful enemy. The "hint" sounds very interesting.

For the meantime while waiting for its "resurrection", here are some interesting "look-back" of the series:

Legend of the Seeker, produced by Sam Raimi (Spiderman fame) is a fantasy adventure series in the tradition of Lord of the Rings with breathtaking fight scenes, visual effects, stunning production design and shot against the backdrop of New Zealand's natural wonders of rolling hills, picturesque mountain, scenic streams and valleys. It is loosely based on the book written by Terry Goodkind "Sword of Truth" and just like Lord of the Rings, Legend is entirely shot in New Zealand.

The story  follows a young and hunky woodsman, Richard Cypher, who was bound to fulfill the ancient prophecy to become the seeker of truth and restore peace and harmony in the new world. His quest brought him to many places and villages conquering obstacles and wars along the way. His mission was guided by the beautiful confessor, Kahlan Amnell and the Wizard of the First Order, Zed Zorander, who was also his grandfather.

Craig Horner and Bridget Regan played Richer Cypher, the seeker, and Kahlan Amnell, the mother confessor respectively in the Legend of the Seeker series. 

Main Characters:

Richard Cypher - played by Australian actor, Craig Horner. A simple woodsman and expert tracker of the trail, his life revolved around his father, George Cypher and brother, Michael Cypher, the head of the Hartland until one day a mysterious beautiful woman, Kahlan Amnell, came to their place in search of a seeker. One accident prompted him to go to Zed Zorander uncovering the truth of his existence that he is the child of prophecy destined to carry the sword of truth and defeat the evil tyrant, Darken Rahl. Richard traveled with Kahlan and Zed to the Midlands to fulfill this prophecy.

Kahlan Amnell - played by Bridget Regan. She belongs to an ancient order of gifted women known as confessors sworn to find the truth by unleashing magical powers through confession. Her mission was to find the seeker and protect him  to fulfill the quest, the journey brought her to Hartland. Unfortunately, her confession gift made her unable to fall in love with the seeker because this will enslave him.

Zed Zu'l Zorander - played by Bruce Spence. One of the much-loved characters in the series, Zed is the wizard of the first order who is bound to protect the seeker of truth. He often unleashed his magical power through a wizard's blaze of fire and transforming things into another. He is also a grandfather of Richard Cypher.

Cara Mason - played by Tabrett Bethell. She is a mord-sith, a deadly order of women trained to protect Darken Rahl, therefore sworn to kill the seeker, the wizard and the confessor but when the boxes of orden exploded she traveled to the future with Richard and the sorceress, Shota, told her to cooperate with Richard in defeating the master Rahl to return to the present day. Cara then joined Richard, Zed and Kahlan in their journey to find the stone of tears. As a mord-sith she is immune to magic, she can also give a breath of life to a dead person. She appeared on the last episode of the first season and went on to join the team of Richard in the second season.

Darken Lord Rahl - played by New Zealander actor, Craig Parker who also appeared in the Lord of the Rings as Haldir of Lorien (Fellowship of the Rings and Two Towers). He performed dark magic and tricked people to bend on his will, an evil leader of the House of Rahl who killed his father, he raised powerful soldiers to capture villages and vanished enemies. A prophecy was told that he will be defeated by his half-brother, Richard the seeker, his ultimate hope to conquer the whole world and enslave people is to get the three boxes of orden.

The first and second seasons were based from the first two series of Sword of Truth book: Wizard's First Rule and Stone of Tears. In season one, Richard's mission was to defeat Darken Rahl and in season two, he will have to find the stone of tears to close the rift that suddenly opened when the box of orden exploded. The rift threatened to conquer the world of the living by the keeper of the underworld sending lost souls called banelings to the earth to kill mankind.

Lots of surprises revealed and more exciting and gripping episodes were shown but when I read the synopsis of the Sword of Truth book of Terry Goodkind I was a little bit surprise with some of the diversions of the story.

In the book, Darken Rahl was the father of Richard but in the series he was Richard's half brother. In the book, Panis Rahl was the father of Darken Rahl who was killed by Zed's blaze of wizard's fire but in the series he was the father of both Darken Rahl and Richard and was killed first by Darken Rahl and second by the sisters of the dark. In the book, Cara Mason, a mord-sith who joined Richard in his quest, was a straight woman who eventually falls in love with a general in the D'Haran army and married but in the series, she was a lesbian and had a relationship with her fellow mord-sith, Dahlia and seemed stoic with emotions. In the book, Richard and Kahlan got married but in the series, it seemed they could not, due to Kahlan's power that would be unleashed the moment they will consummate their feelings.

But despite these differences, I still love to continue the series and still hoping for its renewal soon, I am not really particular of the story diversion as long as it is beautifully made into a motion picture with lots of entertainment value, surprises and magical scenes, the "unfaithfulness" of the series would be quickly forgiven. 

Well, Legend of the Seeker is a kind of series I would love to waste my precious two hours in a day because there's no boring moment! The splendid scenes are just so gratifying, in fact I could not postpone watching the succeeding episodes due to its thrilling sequences. Lots of efforts were put in every episode and I could see how the stars labored hard to do their part to make the scenes very real and convincing. The boy listener  was so cute and adorable!Bruce Spence was so perfect in his role as a wizard of the first order, Zed.

Though I was fed up with the series' inconsistency and immaterial script in the second season (for example why Richard had to be killed only to revive later? It has no significant connection to the whole episode and why they named a new seeker when the story itself revealed that Richard is the only true seeker born in over a thousand years? Totally unnecessary script) but in general it was really enchanting worthy of my time. When you watched it, you could not believe it's just a TV series due to its enormous production cost on costumes and visual effects. It was really beautiful and stunning, it's like watching a full length movie in a theater.

What I love about this series is its ability to offer total entertainment, fascination and thrills to the viewers, every scene is very exciting you could never guess what's next. It is a mix of humor, drama, surprises, displays of magic and sorcery, wisdom and discoveries about the wonders of fairytale and fantasy and of course romance.

The Legend of the Seeker team. From left, Kahlan Amnell the confessor (Bridget Regan), Richard Cypher the seeker (Craig Horner), Cara Mason (Tabett the mord-sith who sided with the seeker after she was betrayed by her fellow 

mord-sith sisters and Zed Zorander the Wizard of the First Order and Richard's grandfather 

Unlike Lord of the Rings, Legend of the Seeker presented the human side not only magic and wizardry things. A dash of romance, humor and compassion made Legend more interesting and fun, it has a balance of both worlds.

Although there were noticeable loopholes (I don't understand why a new seeker will be named and why Darken Rahl must be resurrected) and other critics said the show was not faithful to the book of Goodkind, it was nevertheless spellbinding and mesmerizing and yes, the wisdom I gained was enormous.

Wizard's first rule as mentioned by Zed Zorander: 
"People are stupid. They will believe a lie because they are afraid it might be true"

"Sometimes making the wrong choice is better than making no choice. You have the courage to go forward, that is rare. A person who stands at the fork, unable to pick, will never get anywhere".

Wizard's second rule as mentioned by Richard when he was trapped in the Palace of the Prophets: 
"The greatest harm can result from the best intentions"

I am hoping this series will be renewed soon or at least made into a movie. For the mean time while waiting for a "miracle", I'll keep my self busy re-watching the 46 episodes on DVD hehe!

Olay Age Protect Cream

Got some bug of listening to celeb testimonies lately about the goodness of Olay creams, though I know product endorsement is some sort of a rubbish as celebs only did it for money, but a little try won't do harm anyway so I give it a go.

I've been using Beauche for several years now but it did not do some tricks to my fine lines around my eyes and the horrifying "crows feet" started to show up!

I wanted to try a retinol-based cream but I could not find a perfect variant, so I settled for Olay Age Protect.

It says on its label that this is an anti-ageing cream that lightens dark spots, visibly reduce wrinkles and improve skin tone, well the same promises that several facial creams had made down the ages.

Anyway, let me see if it holds to its promises. I will wait for five weeks to see the results. So far, I did not experience stingy feelings or irritation or itchiness. The texture of the cream is very smooth with a slight scent and after application I felt the tightening of my skin.

Collagen Mask Facial Treatment

Last Monday evening I had a horrible facial problem. Some tiny red dots suddenly sprouted in my face for reasons I could not understand. 

I've no clue where it came from since I've no allergies on foods, as a matter of fact I can gorge anything I want without worries, and for the past 48 hours I didn't eat anything strange other than the Chicken meal we ordered from KFC during the post wedding photo shoot of Juvy and Roy at the Ritz hotel, Garden Oases. 

But Jesus!I've been eating KFC chicken for the past 10 years why suddenly I would develop allergies? Or maybe my skin reacted to the fresh milk and mashed banana with honey that I put on my skin, but I've been doing this natural facial scrub for the past decades.

Unable to figure out why all of a sudden my face developed a very strange allergy, I thought of visiting a facial center on weekend to scrape out the dried red spots on my face.

So after spending lunch at the UIC Bajada gymnasium (where the university is celebrating the installation and investiture of the new president), I went to G.Mall immediately without changing clothes and had a facial treatment at Wally Facial Center.

I chose the Collagen Mask treatment because it relaxes  and renew tired and dull skin, even out skin tone and tightens pores. It is also an anti-aging treatment because the mixture has antioxidants elements, so I settled on this.

I loved the gentle application, the facial toner used was honey while the facial wash applied was a therapeutic tea. So relaxing!

And for three hours, my mind was at peace, listening to the soothing music  while my face undergo a soothing treatment and massage. I was able to relax and had a short nap while the Collagen Mask had put on.

The service was good I should say. I loved the way my skin was pampered, toned and firmed, a skin firming laser and a skin tightening galvanic toning gadgets were applied. 

There was a free facial and shoulder massage that accompanied the treatment so the whole thing was a bit gratifying.

Soothing Collagen Facial Mask

Taking a short nap while the mask hardened

Due to some red patches around my face brought by allergies, I immediately head on to Wally Facial Center still wearing my office uniform and undergone a collagen facial mask treatment. Nice feeling afterwards, my face seemed invigorated and tightened.

The steps of the treatment:

• Facial cleansing using a healing tea facial wash.
• Facial toning applying a honey toner.
• Steamed deep cleansing while dead skin cells, white and blackheads were gently removed using a facial equipment.
• Application of Collagen Mask which will be stayed for about 30 minutes or until it hardens.
• Dark spot eliminating cream application
• Moisturising and Whitening cream application
• Skin Firming Laser
• Skin Tightening Galvanic Toning
• Relaxing Facial and Shoulder Massage

I paid P1,000.00 for this treatment but I've no regrets because the collagen mask, the massage and the process itself were fantastically great!I felt my skin was thoroughly renewed and invigorated.

Wally Facial Center has two branches in Davao City: Victoria Plaza and Gaisano Mall. The facial treatment only cost P300.00 but if you want to undergo a Collagen Mask treatment then the rate would go up to P1,000.00 including facial massage.

-->

Yellow Hauz

If you are looking for a comfortable and relaxing cafe house offering good foods that satisfy your cravings of European dishes with a spike of Filipino taste, Coffee @ Yellow Hauz is the perfect place to visit. Apart from the first word that appears in their commercial name, Yellow Hauz is not only offering coffee concoctions but also other delectable food choices.

A home grown Coffee Shop, Yellow Hauz offers comfort for diners with a free wifi zone. What I truly love about this place is the serenity provided and the feeling of being at home. The environment is so relaxing and quiet, no screeching of cars, no noisy crowd. It is very homely, almost residential, surrounded with a beautiful garden of green plants and flowers. 

Customers can choose to stay inside or at the garden. The atmosphere can be compared to a lovely and relaxing private house. It has a function room also that caters 25 people with an accommodation payment of 1,800.00, the 1,300.00 is consumable.

If you think you are already consumed by stress and pressure and life has just been so busy with stressful office works, why not visit Yellow Hauz where you will be treated into a delightful experience of being at home far away from the city. It's a perfect and fantastic place to hang out with friends.

Yellow Hauz welcome diners with a residential feel and homely atmosphere, very ideal for small gathering with a homely theme, that's why I choose this venue for my friend's Bridal Shower (Click the link here to read related story) because it reflects our party theme, Home Sweet Home.

Pica Platter at Yellow Hauz

Aside from the usual concoctions offered by cafe houses, Yellow Hauz offers pica platter consisting of twister fries, chips, potato wedges and garlic bread. A taste of Europe's all- time favorites like milk tea, pasta, pizza, cake and sandwiches.

Yellow Hauz is located along V. Mapa and Mabini Streets, Davao City (besides Mabini complex in Malvar). Telephone number: 2822178.

Let's Dish Food Haus and Coffee Shop

There's a newest food destination in Davao City that offers scrumptious food selections from traditional cuisines to desserts and coffee concoctions.

Let's Dish Food Haus and Coffee Shop is located along Jacinto street, Davao city, fronting Ateneo de Davao University, opens from Mondays to Saturdays, 9:00 in the morning to 10:00 in the evening.

In an area where chicken, hotdog and tapsilog are so common, Let's Dish is really a breather. The restaurant provides a distinct menu of delectable dishes and pastries. Its menu choices range from a la carte' to short order meals.

It is a one-stop restaurant where customers are treated into a different experience of dining through its buffet style service and fast food meal choices.

We visited the restaurant during its soft opening last June 8, 2012 and find it very delightful and trendy, hugely different from its neighboring food establishments.

Food prices are very affordable and the service is fantastically satisfying. I and my friends chose to order the traditional dishes and had a dessert of oatcake afterwards.

The ambiance provides relaxation and comfort, away from the maddening crowd of the city. It's a perfect place to spend lunch or dinner with friends because aside from  its quiet environment, the foods are so gratifying.

Its most prized concoction is pancake with a mouthwatering buttery topping that satisfies one's desire of a good and delicious dessert. It is worth trying.

My personal favorites are Fettuccine Carbonara (I am a carbonara person ) and Fresh Lumpia, so yummy!

 Fettuccine Carbonara

Fresh Lumpia with Peanut

Let's Dish also offers catering services on any occasion at affordable rates. It has an air-conditioned function room that can cater 40 people. The management and staff are very accommodating, attentive to the customers' needs, you'll love making a repeat visit/order there.

For your inquiries, VISIT LET'S DISH WEBSITE HERE

Dining with friends during the soft opening of the restaurant