Archive for the 'Television' Category

21
Jan

Brothers Forever Fever

By Rosemarie 11 Comments
Categories: Television

I’ve been meaning to blog about something else but when I saw the latest American Idol episode which featured a Filipino contestant named Renaldo Lapuz, I realized I just have to write about it. Judging on the many video clips in Youtube that were posted about him, I suppose he has become a household name and perhaps, an international sensation. An entertainment phenomenon, dare I add.

People are saying that he might even surpass William Hung’s fame (all 15 minutes of it). Maybe Simon Cowell got it right when he predicted that Renaldo’s own composition " We’re Brothers Forever" will be a big hit. At least on the internet. One thing I can say is that after listening to it a few times, the song is kinda catchy and has a tendency to stick in your head. You might find yourself humming to it unconsciously or belting it out like you’re in a musical or drunken stupor. You might even get creative and produce your own version of his song.

When I first saw the introduction video clip on Mr. Lapuz, I immediately guessed that he might be a Filipino. I’m sure a lot of Pinoy viewers surmised that as well. Despite his strangely outlandish (I’m being nice here) outfit, I was really hoping that he will bowl us over with a great singing talent and prayed that he would not be torn apart by the judges. That was before I realized that he was 44 years old and not even really qualified to be a contestant anyway. Uh-oh!

For those who didn’t see it on TV, here’s how the audition went down. If you wish to get to the actual singing, just forward to the 2:50 mark. Note: Click Pause on the Radio Blog first before viewing the videos.

So, what do you think of Renaldo’s "AI" moment? Did it inspire the Pinoy pride in you or were you offended by the way he was treated and portrayed? Honestly, my reaction to this is kinda hybrid. I can’t decide if I’m impressed by his chutzpah or disappointed that he didn’t really quite "represent" the Filipino talent. Whichever it is, I have to commend him for his seemingly unaffected and sincere character. Despite the hilarity and absurdness of the situation, he appeared to remain dignified and genial. His positivity and genuine gratitude for the opportunity to perform was unmistakable and that authentically affable quality in his demeanor reflected well on us Filipinos, in general.

So he wasn’t a great singer but he wasn’t the worst either. In fact, his enthusiastic performance earned him a lot of admiration and attention that there is quite a plethora of videos dedicated to his act. Here’s just a few that I like that I was able to scour in Youtube. Click away and don’t blame me if you find yourself singing, "I am your brother, your bestfriend forever…" over and over and over again.

So, would you buy his record when and if it comes out? Discuss!

12
Mar

The Movie in My Mind

By Rosemarie 7 Comments
Categories: Television

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I recently read a fellow friendster’s blog entry about Last Song Syndrome (LSS) which was pretty timely since I’ve been suffering from it these past two weeks. Nope, it’s not a futile or terminal affliction . It’s just that I often found myself humming and attempting to sing (often incorrectly) lyrics of songs that seemed out of character for me. As much as I take pride in having an ear for an eclectic variety of music, nothing seems to get me as energized for work like the pop music I have in a CD mix that I listen to while driving. One night, I started my shift repeatedly singing "Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me", prompting my coworkers to incredulously lift their eyebrows . At another night, I was singing about bringing "Sexyback" which was apparently not too credible either as I heard someone chuckled down the hallway."Hollaback Girl" almost got me in hot water as I rapped "Let me hear you say this shit is bananas B-A-N-A-N-A-S (This shit is bananas) (B-A-N-A-N-A-S)" outside a patient’s room. Yep, I’d better change my music selection soon or else…

Anyway, LSS might as well stands for Last Show Syndrome. I had a very restless sleep last night thinking over the recent episode of Amazing Race: All Stars, wherein my best bets Rob and Amber (they’re too cocksure, I know) got untimely eliminated so early on from the race after coming in first place at the pit stop three times in a row. What a blow! It didn’t help that the couple might likely credit their loss of momentum (and ultimately the game) to their inability to spell Philippines correctly. To recap, here’s an excerpt from the CBS website:

In Sign It, Teams had to choose a pole and building supplies and carry them up a flight of stairs to Magellan’s Map. Using the map as a reference, Teams needed to figure out his journey around the world began and ended in Seville. Then, they had to build a traditional local signpost listing in order the fourteen ports of call in his voyage. While the signs didn’t have to point in the right direction, all the cities had to be spelled correctly.

Rivals Rob & Amber and Uchenna & Joyce began the complicated task of building the signpost with Dustin & Kandice while Teri & Ian, Oswald & Danny, and Eric & Danielle all set off on foot in search of the sailor with a compass. Apparent history buff Rob got a jump on the competition by knowing that Magellan began in Seville while Uchenna & Joyce incorrectly assumed he began in Guam since it appeared at the end of the map. However, Rob’s good start took a bad turn when he misspelled Philippines on a placard by adding an extra L and omitting a P.

If it is of any consolation to them, I am a Filipino and have made that same mistake at times. Kenny admitted to having a difficulty remembering the correct spelling as well. I’ve also come across a lot of articles that spelled Filipino as phillipino. I have a feeling that Rob Mariano might still be reliving that scenario in his head and after last night’s episode, he’s probably getting comments from viewers and friends about his misstep. Not that I care so much but I hope that he won’t think or feel ill towards our country just because its name is spelled kinda confusing.

The Philippines surely grabbed a bit of the spotlight last night and hopefully will prompt some people to learn more about our country and culture. It is disheartening that the Filipinos are not being as represented in the media and entertainment business like the other Asian cultures. It was indeed refreshing when one of the contestants from last season’s Survivor: Cook Islands, Jenny, was a Filipino-American from Chicago. On the other hand, there was a scene in an episode ("Four Dreams") of Medium that showed a prostitute who spoke Filipino but was supposed to be in Indonesia. What gives? I was baffled and disappointed that the writers didn’t even bother to be accurate about this. Perhaps they surmise that our language is obscure and unpopular enough that nobody would know the difference.

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Who knows what other shows and movies are out there that are depicting the Filipino language and culture quite liberally and erroneously. At the movie "Jarhead", Jake Gyllenhaal’s character mentioned "…studying of phillipino mail order bride catalogue" among one of the suggested techniques for the marine to use in the avoidance of boredom and loneliness (including masturbation, rereading of letters from unfaithful wives and girlfriend, cleaning rifle). Not exactly the best picture to project about Filipinas. Hearing that, I think I must have sunk in my seat in the movie theater, feeling very self-conscious. Maybe I was just being overly sensitive but it was not a great feeling indeed.

Speaking of movies, I got a DVD copy of the movie "Sukob" during my trip to Michigan and I’m hoping to round up a few of my friends together to view it. I know most of them don’t get to see any original Filipino movies very often. Although watching Kris Aquino’s movie is not exactly a patriotic act, supporting the Filipino movie industry is. Hopefully, the movie makers in the Philippines will inject more quality and substance in their body of work so that one day, we will see one of them being nominated for an Oscar award for Best Foreign Language Film. That would just be fantastic!

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15
Aug

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

By Rosemarie 1 Comment
Categories: Television

On my way to and from work, I usually drive by Columbus Drive and pass by the building where the Jerry Springer’s Show is being taped live. I just let out a chuckle whenever I remember that day a few years ago  when a few friends and I got tickets to a live taping. I had a friend who was visiting from Texas and what better way to showcase Chicago than witnessing the shenanigans that goes on in that show for ourselves. So we went and were in for an interesting time. It kinda started slow as we had to wait  for an hour in a room full of people who will also be part of the audience. Then we were ushered into the studio and got prepped into properly saying "ohhh", "ahhh", and the all-time favorite " Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!". Then the host graced us with his presence and warmed up the audience with a little stand up comedy. He doesn’t appear like a sleazeball you would expect him to be considering he’s the ring leader to the circus of a show. Not surprising though as he was a one-time mayor in Cincinnati, a lawyer, a political pundit and a country music singer among many other labels under his belt. I don’t remember much about the show but I think it was about someone who cheated on somebody and it was an incestuous relationship as well. Then, there was the requisite booing, name calling, slapping, hair pulling and chair throwing. The buffed security guys half-heartedly broke the characters’ frenzy just enough to prevent major bodily harm. The show ended rather quick as they only take a few minutes break in between key scenes and before long, Jerry delivered his much awaited sage thought (or lesson?) of the day. The TV show just seems long in comparison due to the commercial breaks. We didn’t really know if the show aired on TV. The producers told us beforehand that it depends if the show made the cut based on the energy it generates (translation: shock value). Jerrys_2At the end of the show, people lined up for a photo op with Jerry. We had one taken as well for posterity’s sake. I was able to dig out that photo from my so chaotic archive and here it is.