Lunes, Oktubre 24, 2011

Ang Demokrasya ng mga Pinoy sa Text Voting


The recently concluded third installment of Pilipinas Got Talent resulted to a lot of disagreement to the victory of Maasinhon Trio. Sabi pa sa kumakalat na joke, season one had a “soloist” Jovit Baldivino, season two had a “duet” from Marcelito Pomoy and the third season hailed a “trio” as grand winner. At malaki daw and chance ng mga “quartet” na manalo sa season 4.

Marami ang tumaas ang kilay, pero sabi nga ni Luis Manzano sa kanyang tweet “@luckymanzano: “when all has been said and done, lahat sila talented and may ipagmamalaki, maybe voting just didnt go the way we wanted to, oh well :) .  Siguro nga’y the result didn’t go the way we expect, but I am pretty sure that the Maasin people expected it because they showed their unity and support to their kababayans.

 And we know that the runner ups are fan-based. Khalil has a very strong fan base sa Facebook at bukambibig ng mga girls at beki sa twitter. Even my dad was rooting for him. Bringas brothers gained their fans kahit nung sa audition pa lang. Same to what happened to Jovit BAldivino, the season 1 champ who was so popular on Youtube, then nagsulputan ang mga fans sa Facebook. Kaliwa’t kanan maririnig mong kinakanta ang “Faithfully” sa videokehan, karinderya, barberya at sementeryo. Iba naman ng kwento ni MArcelito dahil he was not even a public choice during the semis, but still won because of his grand finals performance.

So much for PGT stuff.

Kelan nga ba nagiging maganda o hindi maganda na ipagkatiwala sa tao ang isang posisyon o karangalan sa pamamagitan ng text votes? O kahit sa on-line voting? 


One good thing about that is we can bring Palawan to the roster of Seven Wonders of the World. Kung active lang ang China sa pagboto, malamang number one ang Great Wall, number 2 ang Terra Cotta at number 3 ang Chinese Garter. At kung sumunod ang mga Bombay at Amerikano, pasok din ang Taj Mahal, Grand Canyon, Bollywood at White House. Pero bakit hindi nangyayari yun? Kasi mas active tayo sa ganyan. Mas maraming tao ang nagtetext saten. Mas maraming Pinoy ang laging on-line. Mas maraming Pilipino ang tatlo-tatlo ang facebook account. At yung iba lagpas pa ng sampu para lang maka-gain ng maraming puntos sa Ninja Saga at Mafia Wars. Mas marami ang populasyon ng tao na may facebook at twitter account kesa sa mga Pilipinong walang sariling computer sa bahay.

 Isa pa, mas napapakinabangan natin ang on-line voting sa international beauty pageants. At dahil based sa on-line votes ang Miss Photogenic Award sa Miss Universe, we have won 2005, 2006 and 2007 from that category. Kaya lang bigo tayo this time to make Shamcey Supsup  gain the a spot from on-linevotes. But nonetheless nakapasok pa rin siya.

So far diyan ko lang nakikitang kapaki-pakinabang ang power of public voting ng mga PInoy. Kung ipagkatiwala kaya natin ang paghahalal ng pangulo through on-line and text votes? Juskopo!

Base sa mga nanalo ng PGT, it proves that we are really more into singing. Talent rin naman ang pagkanta, pero sandamakmak ng singing contest ang meron sa Pinas. So far wala pa akong alam na pakontes para sa mga magicians, Shadow Theater Groups at Aerial Acrobatics. We could’ve showed to the world that Filipino talents are more than just singing.

The voting public reflect the nation, who we are and what we are made of. In the same vein there was a controversy before from American Idol na naging bottom three ang “black divas” Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia Barrino and LaToya London (Paulsen, 2004). Sa text votes naipakita ang pagiging racist ng tao.

I still believe in the credibility of the television managements when it comes to text votes results. Lalo na pag sinasabi nilang “it was verified by SGV Accounting Firm” or “it was tallied and checked by Punonbayan and Araullo. ” Wala nga silang control sa resulta ng botohan ngunit MAY MAGAGAWA pa rin sila to somehow manipulate the audience to vote. How??

Una, they can put much exposure to the struggling contestants and tried to magnify and highlight the emotions. Through wise edits pwede nating palabasin na kontrabida and isa at agrabyado ang isa. Pwedeng i-highlight ang drama sa pamamagitan ng makapag-bagbagdamdaming pang-MMK na istorya ng contestant.

Pangalawa, ipakita sa tao ang current standing ng botohan. This happened to season 3 of PBB. For the first time, a week before the Big Night the TV program revealed the standings of the housemates. It was shown that Paul Jake lead the pack. But some active audience felt that there is something going on with this revelation. Parang it was a wake-up call to MELASON that neither of the two could bring home the bacon. It’s like telling them na wag pumetiks, ang akala niyong mananalo ay hindi pa nakakakuha ng enough votes. Ayon sa isang reaksiyon ng isang Youtube subscriber na si CliveRaf (2010):

 “This is my personal point of view. I dont think mananalo si Melai sa PBB kung hindi nila pinakita "FIRST TIME" yung result ng votes. For me she deserves to win also kasi she really needs it. But on PJ side I think it is unfair. If hindi nila pinakita yung votes, all the way na si PJ para maging PBB big winner. Feeling ko ginawa ng PBB na ilabas ang result because ayaw nila madisappoint ang MELASON fans. Well anyways tapos na ang boxing. Congrats Melai. I hope magtagal ang loveteam nyo ni Jason”

Siguro ganito ang nangyari sa El Gamma Penumbra at Synergy. People thought na kahit hindi sila bumoto, total mukang marami naman ang nag-eexpress ng kanilang paghanga sa grupo ay malamang ay bumoto na sila. Why would I vote if I know that many people will vote to them. Sayang ang 2.50 noh!

The same fate happened to Mang Rico. Puro papuri at paghanga, ang tanong bumoto ba sila? I’m sure karamihan sa mga nag-protesta sa pagkatalo ng El Gamma at Synergy ay mga hindi naman bumoto. And the people from Maasin, Southern Leyte were so united and made sure that the trio will win it all. Ginulat nila tayo.

                                                                

Minsan nga naman ang demokrasya ay hindi mo maintindihan. Ang sabi nila “vox populi, vox dei” pero sana wag na nating idamay ang “boses ng kalangitan”. Pero gayunpaman, masakit man pero majority wins talaga. Ipakita na lang natin ang respeto sa mga itinatanghal na kampeyon sa mga pakontes na base sa “text at on-line votations”.


Sources:

CliveRaf (2010). PBB DOUBLE UP BIG WINNER MELAI,MELASON(HQ) by joancute1000. Youtube. Lifted from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVRiGsvsye0

Paulsen, Wade (2004). Buzz over Jennifer Hudson's ouster from 'American Idol 3' continues. Reality TV World. Lifted from http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/buzz-over-jennifer-hudson-ouster-from-american-idol-3-continues-2518.php

Photo sources:
1. MAASINHON TRIO http://pktube.onepakistan.com/Pilipinas+Got+Talent+Season+2/
2. KHALIL RAMOS http://www.blazin100.com/2011/07/31/khalil-ramos-on-pilipinas-got-talent-3-top-photos/khalil-ramos-6/
3. PALAWAN UNDERGROUND RIVER  http://www.trendsandspots.com/category/travel-and-leisure/
4. SHAMCEY SUPSUP  http://www6.vnmedia.vn/VN/co_gai_24_tuoi_dang_quang_hoa_hau_hoan_vu_philippines_58_219583.html
5. AMERICAN IDOL http://www.etonline.com/media/photo/109590_Shocking_Send_Offs/index.html?photo=4
6. PAUL JAKE  http://www.etonline.com/media/photo/109590_Shocking_Send_Offs/index.html?photo=4
7. GROUP TEXTING http://kc3325.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/cmc-topic-texting/

Sabado, Oktubre 15, 2011

When I Was a Kid, I Was an Action Star, Bang!

Tandang tanda ko pa. GRADE ONE

Masaya akong nakikipag habulan sa kaklase kong si Eric. Parang wala ng bukas ang aming mga tawanan. At siyempre sa mga grade one students, ang  paaralan ay isang malaking playground. Takbuhan kami ng takbuhan ni Eric hanggang sa…. BLAAAAAGGGG!!!!

Nakita ko na lang ang sarili kong nakahandusay sa sahig. Puno ng dugo ang aking labang Perla na uniporme. Tumama pala ang ulo ko sa kanto ng bintana. Malakas ang tagas ng dugo. Ang buhok kong amoy Vidal Sasoon ay nagging amoy malansang dugo. Hinimatay ako.

Pagdilat ko, akala ko makikita ko na ang mga anghel na nagkakantahan..

Nagkagulo ang lahat ng faculty at mga pag-umagang grade 2,3 at 4 students. Lahat nakiki-usyoso. Astig talaga. Para akong action star na naglalakad sa hallway. Duguan. Kulang na lang, media at mga nagpapa-autograph.

Hinatid ako ni Mrs Balite sa bahay namin. Asar na asar pa siya dahil siya ang nag-bayad ng pamasahe namin sa tricycle. 2.50 pesos each. Pag-uwi ko, dinala agad ako sa ospital. At tinahi ang ulo ko.

Kinabukasan, sikat na sikat ako sa school. At dahil sugatan ako siyempre exempted muna ako maglinis ng classroom o maging “cleaners” hahaha.

Miyerkules, Setyembre 28, 2011

Caroch

Pag yumaman ako magtatayo ako ng charity para sa mga bulag. Counterpart ito ng “Tahanang Walang Hagdan.” Tatawagin ko itong “Tahanang Walang Larawan”. Naks. Pang soap opera ang dating!

Sana bulag na lang ako para hindi ako nagsusuffer sa mahapdi kong mata ngayon. MAsakit at namumugto…Pero ang lungkot siguro kapag wala kang nakikita… LAging brownout.. Hindi mo ma distinguish ang araw sa gabi.. Paano kaya sila nagpapalit ng underwear? Paano sila gigising dahil umaga na?

May mga bulag kaya na takot sa dilim?

Wala na yata akong 20/20 vision. Dinadaya ko kasi ang snellen chart tuwing may vision exam ako. Kabisado ko na kasi ang snellen chart. Yun yung malaking papel sa dingding na may nakaprint na malaking letter “E”. Kawawa naman pala ang mag bulag, hindi nila alam ang itsura ng snellen chart… Pakainin kaya natin sila ng maraming CAROCH, may chance kaya?

Hindi ako kumakain ng gulay nung bata ako. Bukod sa walang lasa, lahat ng gulay ay lasang halaman. (hahaha lasa pa din yun diba? Lasang halaman nga lang).. Eventually unti unti rin akong natuto dahil panay gulay ang ulam sa bahay.

Sa lahat ng gulay, ayoko ng okra. Madulas kasi. Ayoko rin ng CAROCH. Tawag ko yan dati sa “carrots” nung bata ako. CAROCH. Sabi ni nanay, masustansya raw ang caroch. Rich in Vitamin A raw. Peste, kahit rich in Vitamin XYZ pa yan, walang pilitan. My menu is not your menu.

Nakapag audition na ako noon sa tatlong bigating radio station as DJ. But I realized na hindi ko na pala gustong maging DJ. Nag shift ako sa kagustuhang maging CAMERAMAN. Sige, VIDEOGRAPHER para mas cool pakinggan. Alam kong imposible nang mangyari yun. Wala kasi akong 20/20 vision. Dapat sa mga ganyang trabaho perfect ang eyesight mo. Bawal maging videographer ang mga nandadaya sa snellen chart. Haay.. kung noon pa lang kumakain na ako ng caroch, edi sana malinaw pa rin ang mata ko, na kahit lamang loob ng tao nakikita ko. Hahaha. Parang x-ray.

My AMAZING Experience

The Amazing Race Promotional Event Trinoma Mall, Quezon City November 3, 2007

Pagkatapos kong matalo sa Amazing Mall Challenge sa Megamall (April 21,2007)... ay muli nanamang umiral ang aking pagiging frustrated AMAZING RACE superstar... hehehe.. muli nanaman akong sumali sa isang breathtaking Amazing Race.. this time, sa Trinoma Mall..  

This time i chose Franco as my team mate.. alam ko kapag siya ang pinili ko for sure mananalo kami..(coz he's really physically fit for this kind of game.. hehehe)...   I couldnt believe when the Race Organizer, Kerry called me and confirmed that i and Paco will be racing on that event.. hehehe..   Sabi ko, "Eto na yun.. mananalo na ako.."    






It was never easy... before pa magsimula ang race ay parang i want to back out na.. almost all our competitors were bunch of good-looking people (models, conyos, etc.. name it)...      Hehehe... pero di umubra ang mga goodlooking people...the reporter of that event interviewed us (abangan nyo sa AXN ang aming interview..hehe).. aba.. at mukhang early favorites kami.. hehe... Cameraman, marshalls, race officials, and even Trinoma bystanders and shoppers had a great time watching our tandem.. (esp. the staff of Toy's R Us store and RedBox).. 

Here are some of the tasks that we did...  

 -get the clue hanging on the pabitin...



-finish an entire corn on the cob without the aid of hands.. (nahulog yung corn namin.. worried pa nga ako e kasi RETOKADO ANG NGIPIN KO.. hehe) 




-i-arrange ang mga colored bricks

- complete one side of a Rubik's Cube ..(i did the task...and we gained some lead coz i finished it quickly)



-transfer 50 peanuts from one platter to another using chopsticks (grabe tumulo ang pawis ko..)



- memorize a poem while riding the dizzying carousel.



-duet singing challenge at Red Box.. (nabunot namin ang DANCING QUEEN by Abba as our song...)



-pop a balloon with AXN logo inside an iflattable castle (i did the task)



-an open-the-box-with-the-right-key mission  from over 20 keys.. (whoa.. buti nahanap agad ni Paco ung tamang key)



- complete a Tower of Hanoi task (paki search na lang kung paano laruin toh.. hard to explain eh.. but it was never easy..we did it at TOYS R US store.. i was yelling at my partner and the staff were laughing at us.. waahh)



 - complete an electric loop (kapag under pressure ka u will never finish this task..laging tumatama sa kuryente yungwire ko.. kakainis.. hehe)

 -cover 3 eggs and drop it from 3rd floor to the ground floor without breaking it... (in front of Zong Restaurant)  



. I should say that we finished the tasks sooo freakin fast... there were time in the race that we found ourselves in 2nd place, then 1st place, then 5th place then 3rd tas 2nd place ulit...   kaya lang...   when we were heading ur way to the FINAL PITSTOP... i and paco were unable to find it...   And we got eliminated..   we didnt reach the 4th and final zone..   waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh  

TALO NANAMAN AKO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   bale hanggat may ganyang event sasali at sasali ako..   wanna be my next team mate?? hehehe   anyway, we finished 10th place... not bad though, but still a loser.. hahaha







Ginawa ba Talaga ang Amusement Parks to Amuse?

Since childhood I've hated amusement parks. Tuwing sasakay ako ng mga rides nahihilo ako. Hindi nakakaenjoy.


Pero naisip ko, "siguro dahil bata pa ako noon kaya di ko naeenjoy ang amusement park.." That's when i give amusement park a second chance..

Last saturday i, together with my buddies John, Bill, Eric and Zander went to Enchanted Kingdom. It was my first time there. Mejo nahihilo pa ako sa byahe nang biglang nagyaya ang mga tropa ko na sumakay agad sa flying fiesta. Para akong namumutlang daga after ng ride.




Hindi pa ako nakakarekober nang biglang nagyaya naman sila sumakay sa ANCHOR'S AWAY. After sumakay akala ko katapusan ko na. Naluluha ako sa sobrang hilo at parang gusto ko na isuka ang atay at mga lamang loob ko.

I envy all the people who could stand those kinds of rides. Hindi ko lang maintindihan kung bakit ako pinanganak na hindi naeenjoy ang mga amusement parks.





Inimbento ang amusement parks para hiluhin, balibaliktarin, kawawain, pagtripan, laspagin at gawing human torture ang mga sumasakay sa mga rides. waaaahh

(disclaimer: i have nothing against Enchanted Kingdom, naenjoy ko naman yung rio grande, bump cars at 4D eh.. hehehe peace out.)






Lunes, Setyembre 26, 2011

Ang Pakikipagsapalaran ni Benj sa Pagtupad ng mga Pangarap: A Story of Pursuing a Dream


When I was in high school I was so frustrated to become a radio Disc Jockey (DJ) that it came to a point where I always visit radio stations, and make friends with Djs. I even participate sa mga contests and win some stuffs just to have more reasons para makabisita ako sa radio stations.


I fell in love with Chico and Delamar’s Rush Hour Top 10 show sa 93.9 KC FM. Until one day the radio station had to sign off and bid farewell permanently on air. 3rd year high school ako nun at enrollment. Umuwi agad ako ng bahay to catch the final hour of the show. I was crying as I listen to their final song, “Goodbye” by Spice Girls.

My passion made me enroll at PUP and took Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Communication. That was the time when I put my frustration to the next level. I found myself auditioning to RX93.1 and WRR 101.9 as DJ intern. But I failed. Until 97.1 WLSFM discovered my capability and I became one of the campus aircheckers. I had to wake up very early in the morning, go to GMA 7 and sit with DJ John Hendrix together with my co-trainers. Kung passion lang, walang problema. Never mind the pagod and the haggardness. But really the time didn't allow me to do both studying and Dj-ying. So that whole Dj exprience was just for a short period of time.

My dream of being  a DJ was on fire until first year college.. and that changed when I reached 2nd year…

From sophomore until I graduated sa PUP sabi ko, forget about being a radio personality. Mas maraming magagaling kesa sakin. Then I discovered I had in conceptualization. Lumilipad ang utak ko kung saan saan. Nakakarating sa kung saang dimensiyon. At ang mga naiisip ko’y madalas ay naibulalas ng aking bibig. Kaya minsan I always hear my friends say, “Ang taba ng utak mo Benjar!”.  I just can’t help it. It’s like my mind has a mind of its own!!!

Pero hindi lahat nasasabi  ko, ung iba naikukwento ko sa papel. When I start writing nag-uunahan ang mga salita. Mabilis dinidikta ng utak ko ang bawat salita na pilit hinahabol ng kamay ko sa pagsusulat. Wala akong sinasayang na konsepto. Lahat naka record. Naka-save sa draft ng cell phone, nakasulat sa tissue paper, naka sulat sa palad.. lahat ng paraan para hindi makalimutan…


My mind’s creative thinking skills brought me to MTV and Moo Moo Inc creative department.

Pagka-graduate ko, nag-call center ako, hindi ko alam kung anong direksyon ang pupuntahan ko. Basta ang mahalaga sakin for now is to earn much money to support my family financially. Mababa ang sahod sa media kapag nasisimula pa lang. And the salary is not enough  to sustain my family’s need. Kinalimutan ko ang mga salitang, “tv”, “radio”, “media”,  at“production”.




I almost give up my dreams. Mahirap lang ako e. Walang laptop. Walang camera. Yung iba kong mga kaklase na field na ng media. Heto ako, nasa call center. Nagsisilbi sa mga dayuhan. Nagbibigay ng numero at address ng mga lugar na hindi ko pa naman napupuntahan.

Sinabi ko sa sarili ko, I have to do something. I will find a way.  From then, ang aking dugong PUP Bachelor in Broadcast Communication graduate ay muling umalab.

But this time, my mind and my heart suddenly think differently. All of a sudden my passion shifted to becoming a film maker. Siguro dahil na rin sa mga nagsulputang idie films. I was just inspired. I told myself that one day, magiging writer-director ako.

I enrolled at UP Diliman for a Master’s Degree. Right now I am still enrolled and pursuing Media Studies major in FILM. At the same time, I am still employed as a call center agent. 3 years na as corporate vampire. Pag passion ang kakampi mo, walang sinabi ang pagod. I work at night and study at day. Hindi ko nararamdaman ang umay. Wala sa hinagap ko ang sumuko.




Pangarap ko noon mag aral sa UP. At ngayon tinutupad ko lang ang pangarap ko. Sa bawat araw na naglalakad at madadaanan ko si pareng Oblation I always think that this is just a dream. Hindi pa rin ako makaniwalang umaapak ako sa UP Campus, natutulog sa sunken garden at bumibisita sa UP Film Center. Ganito kabait si Bro sakin.

Right now, I am thinking of going back to my Alma Matter and enter the academe. I want to share my knowledge and experience to my fellow iskolar ng bayan sa PUP. I want to be the 1st PUP Film professor. Gusto kong maging bahagi ng pagtupad ng mga estudyanteng nangangarap maging film maker. This is my current life’s advocacy.




I hope my story serves as an inspiration. Never get tired of dreaming and pursuing. Don’t procrastinate.  Coz the longer we stop and rest, the longer our dream will just remain a dream.