This is definitely not your average, ordinary supernatural series.

In Moonlight, the vampire Mick St. John works as a private investigator in the Big Apple. His unusual nature allows him to gravitate towards some of the more baffling - oftentimes gory - cases that have left others stumped.

The series is something of a journey towards self-discovery for Mick as he interacts with both humans and his fellow vampires. Indeed, what sets this show apart from most of the usual supernatural shows is its highly introspective focus and its obvious emphasis on morality and the various ways by which people - and vampires - are judged by those around them.

Truth be told, I pretty much tried to steer clear of American graphic literature after Neil Gaiman ended The Sandman, though I have read a few over the past couple of years. (Gaiman's Marvel 1602 was a magnificent way of taking the Marvel Stable into the past.) But it wasn't until my sister got me into this eerie and gripping piece by My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way that I went back to reading graphic lit.

The Umbrella Academy is the tale of seven individuals born under mysterious circumstances and adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, aka The Monocle. As children, six of them saved the world from an alien onslaught that resulted in the Eiffel Tower blasting off into space; the seventh stayed with The Monocle who pretty much thought she was useless.

Fast-forward twenty years hence, and The Monocle is dead - and his death proves to be the catalyst that brings the powers of all seven to the fore.

This is definitely something for children as there are themes of annihilation, loss of self, familial strife, and even infidelity involved. However, for those of you who want to break out from the usual run of superhero shenanigans, this tale of supermen with [incredibly] flawed, even skewed lives is definitely a must-read.

This two-step facial care product really gets the gunk off your face by getting all the impurities out of your pores and closing your pores to prevent blemishes. It's very easy to use, takes only fifteen minutes max, and the lemon fragrance really lifts up summer-flagged spirits.

(Available at any Watson's branch for only PhP 25.00 a pack.)

All I can say is that this is the most human depiction of the Lord I have ever read. This volume in Rice's Christ the Lord series jumps from the Finding in the Temple in the previous volume (Out of Egypt) to Jesus on the verge of starting his mission.

Yeshua ben Joseph is thirty and people are beginning to wonder why such an eligible young man has elected to stay single despite the obvious affection of his kinswoman Avigail and his own social standing as an expert carpenter and the son of one of the elders of Nazareth. The drama begins when two boys are stoned to death for what the villagers euphemistically call an "abomination" and snowball down into a series of events culminating with the miracle at a wedding in Cana.

For a writer best known for her novels about vampires, Anne Rice has written a compelling depiction of village life during the time of Christ and presents him as a sympathetic figure who meets many temptations on his way to fulfilling his destiny as the Son of God, Savior of Mankind.

If you're either a really pious Catholic / Christian (why, oh why should there even be a distinction?!?) or are truly into good fiction and stirring tales, then this is one book you should really find time for.

Okonomiyaki is a dish rarely found on the menus of most Japanese restaurants in the Philippines. These incredible hybrids between savory pancakes and omelettes are amazing and Fukuya at Festival Supermall does them really well.

Fukuya's okonomiyaki comes in two types: the Hiroshima which has noodles within and the Osaka which doesn't. Both are chock-filled with shredded cabbage, leeks, bean sprouts, pork, shrimp, and squid; the whole thing is topped with a zesty, tangy sauce, drizzled with Kewpie-brand mayonnaise, and sprinkled with crushed nori.

At PhP 136.00 a plate, it makes a splendid appetizer for four or a great meal for one.

If you’re more of a milk chocolate with nuts person, Meiji’s new product will grab your attention.

This is Meiji’s Almond Wa Crunch, an unusual confection that combines traditional Japanese soy products with the company’s most popular treat. Roasted almonds are flavored with mild soy sauce before being encased in crisp miso-tinged wafers and dunked in a thick coating of milk chocolate.

The resulting candy is one with pleasantly balanced flavors, the crisp saltiness of the almond working with the creamy and mild sweetness of the chocolate. Definitely a must-have for your personal candy stash!

Nearly twenty years ago, Johnny Depp was the baby-faced cop on the primetime series 21 Jump Street. It was surmised by many televiewers at the time that that was all he was meant to be: a matinee idol to make the teenyboppers scream. Time has disproved this supposition and Depp has been duly vindicated by winning this year's Golden Globe for "Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical" - as the nefarious title character in the film version of Stephen Sondheim's long-running musical.

Depp's take on the role of Sweeney Todd is particularly poignant yet totally hair-raising all at the same time. You can feel the character's pain at the beginning of the film, the horrible sense of loss that follows him from London to Australia and back. But Sweeney Todd is obviously one of those "don't-get-mad/get-even" blokes and his sorrow is transformed into a simmering rage as he slashes through one victim after another, eager to finally get his hands on the neck of the bastard who did him wrong.

Apart from Depp, the film's cast is equally stellar and every scene a deliciously macabre masterpiece. Alan Rickman (Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series) is nefarious as the unfair judge and reeks of pure, unadulterated evil from every pore. Helena Bonham Carter is coy and fetching as the baker Mrs. Lovett - so much, that you'd actually want to buy a pie from her even if you know you'll be eating someone else. Borat's Sacha Baron Cohen all but steals the show as the foppish, tight-trousered Signor Pirelli, but Depp truly remains the centerpiece of the film.

The film is dark - as virtually all of Tim Burton's films are - but it transcends the gothic horror genre by way of the stirring music and the masterful depictions of Victorian England. If you'll only be watching one film this year, this is definitely it.

Pretty much the most authentic peninsular cuisine here in the Philippines. If you love Malaysian, Indonesian, and Nonya (Peninsular Chinese / Singaporean) food, you'll love Penang Hill.

Their roti canai (flatbread rolled into a cone and served with spicy gravy) makes a lovely light meal, particularly when paired with their teh tarik ("pulled" milk tea). You can't go wrong with their nasi goreng either, as the spicy fried rice dish is paired with beautifully seasoned beef and chicken satay (skewered barbecued meat).

I haven't tried them as yet, but I've heard major praises for Penang Hill's Singaporean Chili Crab and that their lassi (Indian-style yoghurt shakes) are none too shabby at all.

One of Banana Yoshimoto's most recent masterpieces is a testament to the power of the human spirit over physical frailty.

The tale is told from the point-of-view of Maria who's the title character's cousin and the closest she has to an actual confidante. Her cousin Tsugumi has been ill since birth, is just waiting to die, and has the nastiest manners of any female fictional character barring the most atrocious of villains. When Tsugumi's parents decide to close down their inn, the invalid calls her cousin over for one last summer by the sea before her family moves to the mountains.

Yoshimoto's Tsugumi is a highly abrasive young woman who makes up for her physical weakness with wounding sarcasm and a zest for life as manifested in the zaniest of activities. (She tries to kill a young thug whose gang tried to kill a friend's dog by burying the young ruffian in a hole beneath her house.) Despite her seeming callousness, it becomes obvious that she really cares for the people around her and will do anything for them - even if it means compromising her own health.

My sole complaint is that most of the other characters, particularly the narrator Maria, weren't so well-developed. Otherwise, this is a delightful read.

This has to be one of those rare gems of literature: a small tome, but so full of meaning that it has become a modern classic.

Originally released in English in 1988, Kitchen was the debut novel of Mahoko "Banana" Yoshimoto and is actually two short novels in a single volume. Both stories are first-person accounts narrated by their main protagonists, both of whom are young women who have gone through the worst losses possible.

The novella that shares the book's title is the story of Mikage Sakurai, a young woman who recently lost her last living blood relation and is taken in by a young man named Yuichi Tanabe and his mother/father Eriko. This particular story is a touching one, almost painfully bittersweet in its tenderness, and touches on the things that make human existence so interesting: life, death, sexuality, and food.

The second story, Moonlight Shadow, is also about death and the grief that grips the living. This time, the narrator is Satsuki whose boyfriend recently died in a vehicular accident. With the appearance of a mysterious woman named Urara, the grieving Satsuki finds herself on a journey of acceptance and ends the tale by bidding her deceased lover a final goodbye.

Yoshimoto's depiction of each woman's situation is unique in the sense that there is a sort of wonder behind even the most mundane of experiences. Her use of food as a sort of metaphor for building bridges between people (Mikage's quest to bring a katsudon to a hungry Yuichi / a gift of KFC sandwiches from the brother of Satsuki's dead boyfriend) is amazing and so is her approach towards such sensitive issues as transsexuals and transvestites. Her portrayals are sympathetic but not cloyingly so and her descriptions of everyday life in Japan give the reader a good look as to how things are actually done by women over there.

I recommend this book for anyone who has ever gone through numbing grief or brutal depression, but it's also a great read for everyone who appreciates food, books, and the simple pleasures of life.

If you're in need of some serious detox but don't have the time to hit even the nearest spa, let these babies do the work whilst you sleep!

These are Aloma Foot Detox Sheets from Kokubo. Bringing the art of aromatherapy along with the science of reflexology, these sheets will draw the poisons out of your body while you're resting and the gorgeous scents - rose, lavender, and chamomile - will help you get to sleep.

At P 88.00 apiece at Japan Home Center and Daiso shops, these should be a part of your regular bedtime rituals.

Affordable Japanese food in a neo-Japanesque setting is how I describe this particular eatery.

Currently one of the more popular ones on The Ledge, Sumosam offers generous servings that are definitely pleasing to both the eye and palate.

The Assorted Sushi plate is a rather baroque affair consisting of nine pieces of nigiri zushi (rice balls topped with raw seafood or omelette) and one gunkan (battleship sushi). So, you get one uni [sea urchin] gunkan, two crabstick sushi, one prawn, two maguro [fatty tuna] sushi, one squid, one salmon, one unagi [grilled eel], and one tamago [omelette] - all of which are nice and flavorful. And, at P 338.00 a plate, not too badly priced.

I also recommend their seafood yakiudon, a rich and flavorful dish of noodles in savory sauce. The prawn and squid chunks were scattered generously through the dish and the vegetables were deliciously crisp. The smoky taste of nori and the gorgeously savory sauce completed the dish.

Oh, and the kani nori tempura is great, but the gyoza leaves a LOT to be desired.