THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BWA HA HA HA HA LIST

Actually, I was not aware of this particular 2015 list.  Nobody bothered to take it seriously because it was so ridiculous. It was a day when the meaning of Beauty became synonymous with Comedy. Pity, nobody lingered to savor the joke. More out of revulsion? I only got to know it yesterday. The undermining of resurgent Pinoy teen stars are still ongoing like I described in the Scandals series though it evolved into subtler undermining tricks after it was first exposed in this blog: in a forum where some Pinay teen actresses were being lauded, this list was suddenly uploaded, clearly intended to undermine. As expected, the list turned into a laughingstock instead. Apparently, the list is still constantly recycled in the propaganda network of the villains: they most likely treated it as a propaganda coup, though it was practically useless because only a few bother with them anymore anyway. They don't have to admit it but they have simply become washed-up years ago. The only noise remaining comes from their propaganda outlets. For a special purpose?

The list of supposedly "most beautiful people" were dominated by ordinary-looking South Koreans so that promptly destroyed its credibility. There was no hassle because there were no subscribers or readers who would withdraw their membership for pure revulsion (For one, when I use lists in this blog,  I use only accountable ones from magazines or subscription websites where ridiculous lists can mean withdrawal of  subscriptions or membership altogether). It was a website like any website, but apparently it was handy for psy-op operations like this one. Needless to say, it failed to deliver .

I decided to write about this now because it appears the villains have upped the level of  their delusion. Inadvertently, the new developments suggested a bigger conspiracy which would need updating our understanding of this issue. The hallmarks of a tired playbook were there: say some truths but speak more lies that could be confused with the truths. Show some really beautiful faces and insert simple faces that must be confused as beautiful too. The gimmick has become hackneyed: the list was simply ignored (though even true beauties Kathryn Bernardo & Liza Soberano were used as supporting cast to give credibility to the charade).

In the usual conversations about beauty among friends where beautiful people is the favorite topic, Koreans still don't figure at all though their propaganda machine is rampant here. The list was actually hilarious: the houseboy-looking rocker was supposedly one among the "Top 10 most handsome in the world" though I couldn't find any among my female & gay friends who doesn't think he's ugly. Gigantic leap indeed from being ugly to the Top 10 Most Handsome in the world, that's hard to beat! The "most beautiful girl of the world" was just as ridiculous: she was not ugly but definitely looked out of place among the really beautiful ones in the list (and none among them were her countrywomen).
         
 The problem is that the more credible lists might be degraded by ridiculous lists such as this. Of course, we know this pseudo-affirmative gimmick has been done so many times before by pretentious campaigns that people are now jaded. Many, like me, laughed when they actually saw it. So did all my friends.

My college professor friend thinks the South Koreans are being used. The question is for what purpose?  I first thought that this was a simple pro-Mongoloid campaign but my  friend had a different take: This looks like a pro-Mongoloid campaign on the outside but the fact that the promotions done were lopsidedly in favor of the South Koreans over the Chinese & Japanese (who incidentally have far bigger markets & relatively more interesting culture & people) revealed  another story. Throwing some crumbs to the Chinese & Japanese  was just done to recruit them to a Mongoloid campaign which actually has its ultimate aim in their own denigration, especially to the Chinese, the main target. For example, China & Japan were given 4 slots each in this Top 100 list but 8 were given to the South Koreans. More critically,  they were made irrelevant in the international  promotion infrastructures given to the Koreans. For one, the Koreans were even allowed to use the illegal pirate sites for promotions  and we know who actually control these sites. The Korean promotion is to give them a headstart as the trendy & beautiful Mongoloid face of Asia, undercutting the ascendancy of the soft power potential of the resurgent Chinese, the feared cutural hegemon of the near future. An unorthodox  geopolitico-cultural war?

What do I think? Frankly, I couldn't care less. People have long seen through these tired social engineering  gimmicks. My only concern is that now that their perennially unrequited desire to be the most beautiful Asian is undercut by the popularity of the Cute Pinoys who became resurgent despite the lack of a propaganda machine, what will that make of the Cute Pinoys? More sabotage?

SCANDAL!!! PART 6: I Can Not Be Corrupted, Sorry! It Won't Be Fun Anymore so No Way

About 5 days ago (August 6, 2015), the figurehead of the propaganda front masquerading as fan club of Pinoy artists in the Post-Soviet space contacted me in my VK account and offered me to relieve him in his post. That in effect, I can become the new administrator AKA figurehead of their propaganda front whose lies I just began to document and expose (so far I exposed one in my blog & another one in my VK account). He admitted that at least 95% of what they were publishing were true (only 5% were lies?) but he claimed it was his companions who did those without his knowledge. I'm not judging him if what he's saying was true, he might have been actually used because it's de rigueur that propaganda fronts use innocent figureheads to pretend plausible deniability. Needless to say, I rejected him outright. Not out of any emotional reasons, but more on practical considerations. The propaganda front was established there for a particular reason and they are not to stop now. But the fact they were found out, documented and exposed has already produced the effect I was expecting: they have to make it appear they are not what they actually are and make good 100% in what they are doing. The Pinoy artists will only benefit for the meantime. In fact, I've toned down my VK account, limiting myself only to publicity of the Pinoy artists with films being shown in Kazakhstan and let them feature more Pinoy stars. I only do this for fun, but that's their career.

Above is part of the message of the Admin of the Fake Pinoy Group (We use direct Google translation  in order that I won't be accused of putting my own interpretation): "I have noticed that you are keen on Filipino culture, you do not want to become the administrator of the group? Will no longer be propaganda, and I will give all the control to you. I have very little free time"

 But of course, the 5% lies are what that front is about. It's just a matter of time, every animal has its own DNA which it has to act upon... but even then, we've been tipped off beforehand, we will be there waiting.

 Now, if they indeed had seen the light and reinvent their genes, so much the better. Anyway, their work is really puny in the scheme of things. The Pinoy artists have already made inroads that even the villains haven't achieved in that area, and Pinoys won't need them as much as they needed to piggyback on the Pinoys in the limelight. As we have shown, this front is used by the villains to capture the Pinoy fans as ready captive for South Korean propaganda (Scandal 4 & 5).

 With this latest turn of events, we saw how they really operate, but which I expected because that's the textbook procedures in counterpropaganda: coup d'etat at the top. Reminiscent of the move to turn in the stars who were the original target of the initial sabotage, or the blatant influence on admins of some local fan clubs.

 Frankly, I don't find the South Koreans as threats. They have very obvious deficiencies which are fatal roadblocks to their big ambition (Plastic Surgery has its limits, for one). It's actually funny that they were caught doing what they were not supposed to be doing (just like the politician being caught dipping his fingers to the pie: if he was not caught, nobody would have been the wiser). But these are mere hiccups if they want to set things right.

 As I mentioned, I made a deliberate decision to limit myself in my VK account on the stars with films shown in Kazakhstan (or any place in the world where they are hot, for that matter). That is now beginning to be felt on my blog. This blogging is supposed to be fun, and I find it more fun monitoring the inroads of the Pinoy stars in their international forays. So far, I find only few of our local stars as interesting and it would be more fun zeroing in on only those who are interesting.

 As to the question of James Reid, have I really turned my back after the Houseboy-looking Rocker incident? My change in tactic was just a coincidence. In the beginning, I fed mostly Jadine articles because I was always thinking of my South American readers, my initial international readers. Moreover, ever since I stoked a diversionary intrigue to deflect the blowback of the Para Sa Hopeless Romantic flop on the Jadine love team, readers have looked to this blog as a Jadine fanatic. Wrong, it was just that I saw some bad moves, and it was like instinctively saving a baby from being run over by a speeding car. But the fact that I was mostly featuring the team limited my audience. When I started featuring Lizquen, the deluge of the readers made me really think but I played it slow so as not to offend. Then I got my perfect alibi: the Houseboy-looking Rocker incident was a perfect time to shift gears. I actually received unsolicited emails which said they understood. Whatever they understood, I am not sure. If ever On The Wings Of Love is shown in Kazakhstan or anywhere else, I'll be promoting them again. The Houseboy-looking Rocker Incident didn't mean a thing: James Reid will still have his handsome face so that means the villain still lost. They sabotaged him because fans loved his handsome face in the first place.

ESCAPING THE KOREAN ASIAN TRAP: Can LA PROMESA do a JANJIKU in Peru?

So how is Pangako Sa 'Yo/ La Promesa faring in Peru?

Just recently, we were witness to a relatively lackluster start which ended in a skyrocketing finish of Pinoy teleserye Pangako Sa 'Yo/ Janjiku in Indonesia. In Peru, the teleserye has also started slow, will it finally pick up as it hurtles on to the finish line? In both cases, they were shown in relatively "un-stellar" channels. In Indonesia, the ascent of Pangako Sa 'Yo/ Janjiku created a wave that lifted the local channel shows to the top. Will the same thing be duplicated in Peru?

La Promesa is being shown in a station that is called by Peruvians as "cold antenna" (antenna fria)", just like TV5 in the Philippines. Panamericana TV generally fares low in the ratings. Just like MNCTV before in Indonesia in the beginning when  Janjiku was shown. But we saw later that as Janjiku rose up the Indonesian  charts in the homestretch, it took along with it to the top of the ratings the sinetron shown before it and the one shown after it (the former Ayu Ayu Anak Depok City & Untuk Selamanya for the latter). See first table where Ayu Anak Depok City was #7 while Untuk Selamanya reached # 14. It is not a surprise that both Ayu Anak Depok City & Untuk Selamanya dropped out of the Top 20 when Janjiku ended its run.

This phenomenon was also seen in Peru when the first Pinoy teleserye , Bridges of Love/Puentes de Amor, was shown. For almost a decade, South Korean dramas were shown in Peru but they were always at the bottom of the Peruvian rating charts, generally  earning 1-2 points as a matter of course  (hilariously, this perennial unpopularity was constant  but  their many Spanish propaganda websites were also constant in proclaiming they were popular). But when Puentes de Amor  unexpectedly became the top telenovela for the Panamericana station, earning double those normally earned by the kdramas, the kdrama shown before it was suddenly lifted too (earning up to then unheard-of 3 points). Moreover, the slot of Puentes de Amor , which was later given to another kdrama, inherited the ratings of Puentes de Amor for a while.  That should have made them happy,  but when another teleserye was bought (Pangako Sa 'Yo/ La Promesa), the now familiar strategy of scenes of "avid" Korean fanatics suddenly protesting exploded (they were perennially at the bottom of the ratings-  it's too much a stretch to believe they always manage to convert miniscule fans into combative fanatics, be it in the Philippines or Peru, but it seems this strategy was effective enough to "massage" executives, be it in the Philippines or Peru). It was surprising because both the South Korean & Pinoy teleseryes were shown in the same channel & at different times, so it makes you wonder why they trashed the Pinoys.  But it's easy to understand what was happening if you look back over the pattern of past events described in this blog- the constant sabotage of Pinoy artists in the international arena as described in our previous posts (See Tales of SABOTAGE in the sidebar). Especially that we first detected the sabotage done in a Spanish-language  pirate website when the  Pinoy film  Diary ng Panget became a hit among the Spanish-speaking Asian film fanatics. It was obvious that they didn't want to be upstaged by another Asian, especially Pinoys sharing the history and physical features of the disputed market. Now they were actually humiliated by Pinoy teleseryes in a Spanish-speaking public space.

The showing of La Promesa was delayed due to dubbing issues. Meanwhile, at this point, there were hossanas in their propaganda press that the persistence of the South Koreans after a decade of low ratings were paying off (understandably, nobody mentioned of the effect of Puentes de amor). It was written that "it was good they persisted" (understandably also, nothing was mentioned  what were the quid pro quo in exchange for the miracle of being shown for a decade despite their permanence in the bottom of the ratings).


Their gloating was short-lived, however. The kdramas soon returned to their familiar places in the bottom of the Peruvian ratings when La Promesa was finally shown. Below is the typical ratings of the shows of Panamericana TV. The 3 kdramas (Cuando un hombre ama (1 point), Los dos madres (0.8) , Melodia del Destino (1.4)) are permanent fixtures in the bottom of the ratings.

If you look at all the shows being shown in Peru- as always, they were at the bottom in the lowest-rating station..

As has been confirmed by this blog, the Pinoy teleseryes have always trounced the South Korean kdramas where they faced off everywhere in the world. In Peru, like everywhere in South America,  the South Koreans never managed to elevate the status of Asians, it just made them permanent in the bottom of the ratings. The arrival of a Pinoy teleserye therefore assured the teleserye of a dragging baggage. Could the teleserye trascend the heavy prejudice to Asians wrought by the unpopular South Korean dramas in the preceding decade? Fortunately, Puentes de Amor managed to soar a bit to heights not reached by the other Asian, but it's clear that the marketing of Pinoy teleseryes should be so  designed so as not to be trapped into being merely Asian, contaminated as it is by the long-standing South Korean permanence at the bottom of the ratings. The relative popularity of Pinoy teleseryes in Peru derives from their Asian Latin appeal, and we just hope the Latin appeal will engender enough connection to finally get off the Asian trap cultivated by the Koreans in the bottom of the ratings. La Promesa hasn't exactly reached yet the heights of Puentes de amor- but it is picking up.  Will it shoot in the homestretch too like in Indonesia?

KAPIT-TUKO KOREAN-STYLE: Anatomy of the Fake Fame & How To Cling Desperately (plus Tips on How To Mob an Unknown in an Airport)

I'm a keen student of the use of Propaganda and that is probably the appeal of Showbiz to me (that is, besides Politics, another propaganda-driven enterprise). Most of the reality we see is mostly propaganda, especially politics. And once you see the "script", "reality" loses credibility, like what is happening to the mainstream political press where it is not so taken seriously anymore these days. While the gullible would still be expected to be the majority, there would come a time when you are not sure anymore, like now. When the tricks have been revealed, the magic is gone. You can feel the shift in  the dynamics & everybody can appreciate the true  reality more clearly once the propaganda was unmasked.

Same in Showbiz. If you have read the biography of the Rolling Stones, you would have known the various tricks to propel their popularity. When they were just starting, their manager hired people to scream, to present a fake popularity which the gullible entertainment press lapped up & consequently wrote about a hot new band, triggering the subsequent bandwagon of real fame (they still had no money to bribe in the beginning so the innocence of the press was genuine).

Reading the Comments in this blog actually led me to discover another propaganda mirage. One of the biggest propaganda creation is the so-called Korea Wave. At a time when the so-called Korean boybands supposedly sold hit albums after hit albums (when nobody could be heard singing their songs), the local producers thought there was a new trend so they created their copycats as usual instead of investigating who was the real buyer of the albums. While previous trends (which up to then only came from the West) produced local hit groups, nobody among the Kpop copycats succeeded. Was there really a trend, or just a propaganda ruse? True, songs from boybands a la One Direction were hot locally in the airwaves- but why the immediate demise of the local kpop copycat bands? Were some here, who were supposed to know better, still not capable to distinguish the true from the fake before committing their cash to a supposed trend?

 One could expect novelty as an initial kick to a phenomenon but when a bandwagon did not arrive for the fake one, the ruse would eventually implode. Like what has happened with the Koreans. Actually, if you read the propaganda sites created to pretend popularity, it is humming the usual pretend narrative as if nothing happened. But, as a reader once commented, it took a little blog like ours which pricked the balloon of propaganda. Suddenly, reality focused: low-rating of kdramas, no Korean melody in the airwaves (no  budget to support their own albums for a decade?), etc. That is how flimsy the "popularity" was, you don't have to do much, just redirect the attention to the fact. This also happened in Peru: if you read Korean propaganda, they were very popular in Peru. But this blog discovered that they were shown there for almost a decade, true- but all those time, they were in the bottom of the Peruvian charts, earning 1-2% rating, managing to be noticed slightly only when the Pinoy teleserye Bridges of Love (Puentes de Amor) was shown there & consequently upgraded Asian profile. One can only guess the reasons how they managed to be shown for a long time there with those low ratings and it's definitely not due to their popularity. What was clear was, as one reader put it, their lack of shame in pretending popular & clinging kapit-tuko in a market which has been resistant to them for a decade. What better proof of unpopularity?

Frankly, all of these should have been  something to just laugh about. But unfortunately, they were apparently willing to sabotage a fellow Asian- the Pinoys-  just so they could delude themselves & believe their own  propaganda (read Tales of SABOTAGE in the sidebar). Part of the kapit-tuko package of delusion? It's obvious they will sabotage (more assiduously) for a long time yet.

These are interesting times because they are undertaking big efforts to reshape back reality to the narrative of their propaganda. Their propaganda machine is doing double-time in regaining whatever momentum they thought they had. Unfortunately, the basic reason why they didn't succeed, & won't succeed again, is (as one reader put it) they didn't look the part. They can't change how they look no matter how Plastic Surgery advances, or how strong the propaganda noise, so we know how this still would end up.

But at least, we could learn from their propaganda tactics. We definitely should be wiser before we commit our cash to a supposed trend. Also, we could definitely use the modus operandi of using fake fans. One can always blame  fake fans as scapegoat- they can be as noisy or  combative when protesting for you no  matter if you are a permanent inhabitant of the bottom of the ratings like when they protested the Pinoy teleserye "La Promesa" in Peru when they sensed the Pinoys had more appeal to a market which rejected them for a decade. Oh, anyway, the fake fans don't have to be combative always- they have their other uses too. They can be ordered to mob you no matter how unknown you are in the airport.

COMEDY HOUR & Other Suspenseful Stories: ... Meanwhile, in Colombia, Fil-Colombian mestizo journalist Manuel Teodoro reports on the Pinoy Drug War in "SEPTIMO DIA" Caracol TV

There are many things happening in Pinoy showbiz, both international & national. But they pale in comparison to what's currently offered by politics. Both local & international. You find yourself wondering which was in fact more entertaining- politics or showbiz? Really, there is no contest.

I have to admit, politics has been lately dishing out more laughs hands down. I've actually somewhat stopped treating it seriously for sometime now. Despite the many wars, international politics came out somehow hilarious for years, but lately, the domestic front has joined the fun, been busy twisting itself whichever which way for more laughs, as if making up for lost time. With the incarceration of the biggest comedian, Leila De Lima, it simmered down for a while but many emerged recently to take her place in the comedy store. Most people today have the opinion we are in the most dangerous phase of recent modern history because of hectic international geopolitical games, but somehow the danger is upstaged by the many ridiculous events going on at the same time. You know it was not intended to be so, therefore you are sure, some major change is just off the corner. Added suspense. Dark humor, anyone?

It turned out my hunch was right all along- even when I was a student, reading all the political theories & so-called expert opinions, there was something not quite right, as if the arguments were contrived & not really convincing. Really, putting people in boxes & expect them to think & act according to the rules of the boxes? Very unnatural all along, don't you think? The old gimmick of over-rated experts talking so you should just go along  have become hilarious as the experts themselves turned out to be the biggest flops of them all, the self-important media turned out to be as mercenary as the most corrupt they attacked, etc. Worse, the old self-upright arguments like freedom of the press, human rights, people power,etc.  have certainly become spoofs of the real things. Really, a country like the Philippines with a noisy surplus of such issues being surpassed in the prosperity game by countries in the neighborhood  with supposedly less regard for such democratic ideals, is the biggest joke. Most delicious of all, watching the news has often become moments of guffaws.  We are at a time when it is so easy to pick out who are the fools by how they react to current events.

I was only too glad none in the crowd where I circulate is that stupid.

So how can showbiz catch up with the laughs easily coughed up by politics? My interest has been on the spontaneous  international impact of Pinoy teen stars but recent events certainly gave me cold showers. I am not sure now who owns a TV station when it is now featuring the news I laughed myself off watching at international news channels. If even a taxi driver could see the ruse (I rode one when my nightly jogging was rudely interrupted by heavy rains & the talkative driver educated me on the real owners of Daesh/Abu Sayyaf), how can't an educated TV news director or the supposed owner of the station itself?

This business about the Koreans. I have uncovered the fictitious Korea Wave for some time now. A massive propaganda fiction, & the local minions are currently busy with more propaganda, but I guess, we know how this will turn out anyway. For the past nearly two decades, we were bombarded by the same tricks but by the time I started investigating the then-accepted-by-common-assumption Korean popularity two years ago, it turned out they were nowhere near their supposed popularity in reality. With all the supposed local hoopla, I still have to see a change in the general indifference, & I live in a part of the metropolis where there are many local Korean residents & businesses. If I didn't discover the acts of sabotage done on Pinoy stars 2 years ago, I wouldn't waste my time with them. A popular Korean-made premier phone didn't mask their looks anyway (If Kuya Kim looks like their supposed to be hottest matinee idol, I have no more comment). What could not be done for  two decades means it's hopeless already-  and arguments are likely to be overtaken by events anyway, so why bother?

But having started writing about the sabotage on Pinoy teen stars (read Sabotage series below the banner or  Tales of SABOTAGE from the sidebar), it got me thinking about many things. If you've been following the Comments, they were coldly discussing the expected next Korean war. We have here free-spirited readers so it was no-holds barred as usual. One wrote there was a reason why the division of the Korean peninsula was never resolved. It remained for a purpose. The massive propaganda for the South Koreans- the tools used indicated the South Koreans have massive support from a bigger godfather which didn't help them in their most basic need- peace in their land. There's a bigger story about to unfold there and some readers are catching the drift?

After the laughs, comes the real suspense?

Meanwhile, in Colombia, a Fil-Am (Filipino father, Colombian mother) who was formerly an RPN anchorman migrated to the country of his mother (& his wife) & became that country's most celebrated TV journalist. He returned home recently to the country where he grew up up to his 16th birthday before emigrating to the US, to report on the current drug war in the Philippines.

I won't allow comments in this post. If you have something in mind, just add your comments to this post (click here) .

NOTE: Caracol TV was the Colombian station which supposedly bought the teleserye Puentes de amor (Bridges of Love) but hasn't shown it yet.

Not Another Network War: CAUTIVA/HANGGANG MAKITA KANG MULI & LA PROMESA/ PANGAKO SA 'YO on PANAMERICANA TV PERU

NOTE: We initially published this post on February 14 with a title "CAUTIVA/HANGGANG MAKITA KANG MULI opens on Peru's Panamericana TV". At first, I resisted the urge to focus on the ratings performance of the two teleseryes being shown in Peru (Cautiva/Hanggang Makita Kang Muli & La Promesa/Pangako Sa Yo) because I didn't want to turn the whole thing into a de facto Pinoy network wars abroad. But on second thought, I decided it best to highlight them because the teleserye is at a point where it is really being noticed as one of the main nodes of the diversified Asian telenovela products. People there really are not aware of the network war brouhahas in the Philippines. They are mostly interested in the product itself, and I thought focusing on how they respond to each teleserye will give us a feedback on what ticks there.

To a Pinoy, the news that an afternoon Kapuso teleserye starring lesser known actors trounching a primetime Kapamilya blockbuster starring the country's top young loveteam  in the ratings in another country is surprising. It's important to emphasize they are not shown against each other but right after the other.

I reposted this because it has a nice comment section on how sensible Pinoy teleserye fans are monitoring the Peruvian reaction to teleseryes. You can watch the teleseryes from 5:30-7:30 AM Manila time at the Panamericana website. They are shown one after the other from 4:30-6:30 PM Peruvian time.


February 14, PERU time (February 15 in the PHILIPPINES): this new teleserye opens on Peru's Panamericana TV.

This ushers in a new period of teleserye history in Latin America, where two teleseryes will be shown one after the other for the first time from 4:30- 6:30 PM. Cautiva from 4:30-5:30 while La Promesa is heating up from 5:30-6:30 PM.

Кристиан костов/Kristian Kostov, the Russian Kazakh-Bulgarian Justin Bieber

Eurovision has lost its credibility to me long ago. I found it rather provincial, most likely part of the general decline of the continent in recent years. It still is awry this year-  except there's a saving factor. The winner from Portugal was typical of the drabness one expects of Eurovision, but the second place finish of a boy who represented Bulgaria more than compensated for the usual mess. It was all accidental. I was looking online for a clip of the Russian song позови меня (Call Me) when I discovered a version of a 15 year-old  Moscow-born Russian boy (Kazakh mother & Bulgarian father) singing it at the 2015 X-Factor Bulgaria. That led me to discover the now-17 year-old Kristian Kostov singing the second-placed Bulgarian entry titled Beautiful Mess (yeah, the mess that is Eurovision suddenly made beautiful by his better-than-Justin Bieber song).

He actually looked like my former neighbor (yeah, a Pinoy, with the usual multi-racial background, but the Caucasian genes were   from a grandparent). He also sang beautifully like Kristian, aspired for a singing career but chickened out when he found out he had to open his zipper to a scout.

BEAUTIFUL MESS- Eurovision 2017 in Kyiv, Second Place
BEAUTIFUL MESS music video Позови меня- X-Factor Bulgaria 2015 

LYRICS: 

Позови меня (Call Me)
Музыка: Матвиенко И.
Слова: Пеленягрэ В.

Позови меня тихо по имени,
Ключевой водой напои меня,
Отзовётся ли сердце безбрежное,
Несказанное, глупое, нежное.
Снова сумерки входят бессонные,
Снова застят мне стёкла оконные,
Там кивают сирень и смородина,
Позови меня, тихая Родина.

Позови меня на закате дня,
Позови меня, грусть-печаль моя.
Позови меня.
Позови меня на закате дня,
Позови меня, грусть-печаль моя,
Позови меня.

Знаю, сбудется наше свидание,
Затянулось с тобой расставание,
Синий месяц за городом прячется,
Не тоскуется мне и не плачется.
Колокольчик ли, дальнее эхо ли,
Только мимо с тобой мы проехали,
Напылили кругом, накопытили,
Даже толком дороги не видели.

Позови меня на закате дня,
Позови меня, грусть-печаль моя.
Позови меня.
Позови меня на закате дня,
Позови меня, грусть-печаль моя,
Позови меня.

Позови меня тихо по имени,
Ключевой водой напои меня,
Знаю, сбудется наше свидание,
Я вернусь, я сдержу обещание.

CAUTIVA/HANGGANG MAKITA KANG MULI to return, this time on Peruvian primetime, at 7 PM starting Monday

My readers are really fast. I will do a more formal article on this later, barring any last minute sabotage from the usual aspects. You see, this is practically a slap to their  delusions. Lol. 

The most succesful Pinoy (& Asian) telenovela on Peruvian TV will be shown again a mere few weeks after its initial run, this time on the primetime 7:00 slot, starting Monday. It was previously shown in the afternoon, 4:30 PM, where it earned high ratings for its normally low-rating station.

You can add your comments to a previous article (click here).

MAJOR, MAJOR Exciting Times, Indeed: Meanwhile... FOREVERMORE opens on Televista Nigeria

Venus Raj- "...major, major..."
Donald Trump - "... major, major..."

No, I was definitely not bored blogging. The truth is, I purposely didn't blog regularly like before. True, the situation was certainly icky- (dealing with and writing about cheap people, a.k.a. mercenaries, always is & I usually cut a wide berth around them in real life, like any self-respecting person would) -  but I guess, I suddenly realized the comments to my latest articles were certainly injecting extra energy to the blog. I was mostly getting ideas for my articles from the comments anyway, so I thought, why not let the comments power the blog for a change?

I know my friends are the anchor commentators but along the way, they were joined by other intelligent souls which just left me in awe for their wonderful imagination: it was not the usual discussion one reads in the usual showbiz forum (or political forum for that matter)- there was firing from all the cylinders, no unorthodox base was spared here. We might be discussing showbiz one minute but we could be seeing things from the perspective of exploding nuclear missiles the next. Just the kind of conversation that gets my juices flowing. Certainly no boring moment here.

Wonder of wonders, our hits didn't dip even if we posted the least number of articles this month. It means, everybody was looking up for the latest in the comments everyday. So we are evolving. We have here a blog-forum which refuses to be boxed in by superficial narratives or hackneyed cultural Marxism. Just the way I like it.

Meanwhile, these are exciting times, so many things are happening in the world that at times appear even surreal. Our blog should ride the excitement for a while. I will close the Comments for ordinary posts (like this one) so we can concentrate on the more "controversial" ones.

By the way, this blog is still mainly about Pinoy showbiz. Lest we forget.

Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the international hit teleserye of LizQuen loveteam (of Enrique Gil & Liza Soberano), Forevermore , returns. It has already been shown in almost the entire Subsaharan Africa last year.

No Gabi ng Lagim in Indonesia/KATHNIEL FILMS ON MNCTV: BARCELONA & CRAZY BEAUTIFUL YOU soon

Kathniel fever continues to rage in Indonesia. Two of their films will be shown soon while their 2013 teleserye Kaulah Takdirko/ Got 2 Believe is still being serialized on the same station. The title is translated as You are my Destiny. With Kathniel all over, there is no gabi ng lagim in Indonesia.

(Definition of Gabi ng Lagim: an eerie night when loveteams are ugly & disgusting)

Meanwhile, I'll be off on a vacation. Pre-Holy Week thing as appetizer to a bigger one on Holy Week itself (Ya, I know, a little weird, but what the heck, I do love my vacations).  It has been very hectic in this blog so we need to recharge (now, I use my blog as an excuse). Forgive me but I will close the comments in this one, I might not have time to participate (I'm really enjoying the interaction, I have intelligent readers & I enjoy mind sword plays with intelligent people).  But I want everybody to recharge too. We have more hot issues in the backburner waiting for our "intellectual" comments.

GABI NG LAGIM: The Hot Loveteam Thing turned out to be a Happy Accident after all, so what next?

We had our fun, but there are signs everything just might have been a flash in the pan. I mean, the unexpected resurgence of Pinoy young stars in many parts of the world. Kathniel. Jadine. Lizquen. We have posted the milestones of their fame all over the world in this blog (frankly, that was mainly what the blog was about). They became big in the Philippines, but fortunately, they had international appeal so off they clicked. It was fun while it lasted.

I won't debate the loveteam combinations in the Philippine setting. I have to admit I have no interest in the local dynamics. My interest sprang from my discovery that the 3 loveteams were creating inroads in many countries in different parts of the world. I scanned the blogospheres of each country to monitor their trajectories (that sprang from my love of places & languages). The only teleseryes I watched, I watched dubbed or subtitled online from a foreign  TV station's website (I still have to watch one from my TV which I rarely use anyway).

What clicks in the Philippines doesn't necessarily click outside. Anybody who joined me in my journey & learned to scan the foreign pages would attest to the varying reactions to Philippine stars. The reaction to what I called the Big 3 was special compared to the reaction to other Pinoy stars. But it seems, all indications point to the fact that the Big 3 thing might just have been accidental. Why so?

Just look at the next-in-line loveteams. True, anybody can get lucky in the Philippine setting & I really don't care if a young loveteam is created to pair a cross-eyed garbage man with an obese high society girl, they can make it for all I care. But I would be disappointed if they don't elicit anymore internationally the popularity won by Kathniel, Lizquen or Jadine in saner times. And if you have been monitoring the comments in previous articles, there's a palpable fear that the future loveteams would be disappointments. I don't need to mention their names, not worth our time. And I fear, not worth the time of the foreign fans either. We won't be following hot young Pinoy loveteams anymore in foreign lands?

As one of the comments described it: Gabi ng Lagim... in Pinoy loveteam land.

I kinda agree.

WORLD-CLASS, DEFINITELY NOT LEMONADE: MORISETTE AMON & SAM MANGUBAT

A world pop superstar still has to come out of Asia.  Many can't be blamed for not trying but the honor has been elusive to Asians. It's a mystery because descendants of Asians in the West were able to make the mark: the latest was the Pakistani pride Zayn Malik but there have been lots of Filipino descendants as well who shone even earlier: Enrique Iglesias, Bruno Mars, Nicole Schlesinger, etc. We certainly don't lack good singers here, but it's just as big a mystery why many of those who became famous here even got famous in the first place. It's easy to see why nobody is eager to gamble for them to spread their wings abroad.

I have neglected OPM lately in this blog. Music is something the Philippines should be proud of. Great talent is overflowing everywhere. But I wasn't fond of what's available in the market lately. Our music business side is lame, it really needs to level up in harnessing all the wasted talent. Many times, I thought it was in the lemonade business- we were often offered the lemons.

 But one afternoon of browsing some music videos convinced me Asia might finally have its first serious contender. A simply outstanding voice which got the cracks, the breaks, the hoarseness, the highs, etc. Her voice puts to shame the Beyonce, Shakira, Rihannas of the world. Her looks hint she's Asian but you wonder if there was some Latin there, or even something else, but no matter, she has enough sex appeal & delicateness to melt all your doubts.

I just hope they handle Morisette right. I still have to listen to her  sing a good original song. While I am a believer in the birit abilities of Jona, she has the looks of somebody who can be big only in the Philippines. Morisette  (frankly, she should use her family name Amon, she looks cheap relying solely on the echo of the name of Alanis Morisette) should be marketed a tad higher than simply a birit singer- but a pop icon.

I first saw the  2012 video of Sam Mangubat about 3 years ago. He had better looks than most of the young stars then, he definitely sang far far better, but he lingered singing covers in the web through the years while the lemons became big stars. I bookmarked this video &  I returned to watch it every now & then. Imagine my surprise when I clicked it today & I saw there were already many comments where I read he won second place in a local singing contest. So he was no longer confined to the web. He sounded fuller & surer of himself now, he should have won that contest. The winner sounded he joined  a singing contest held in a  municipal gymnasium, but that just goes to show, some Pinoys still love lemonade. But we are not talking of lemonade-loving Pinoys here. We're talking of Asians becoming world icons.

AKO AY NANDIDIRI: When Having Sex Means Puking At Each Other, When Marrying Means Swallowing One's Vomit

Most of the contributors to this blog are gay and they are all well-educated, two of them are medical doctors and one is a free-thinking college professor. I sought their help when I decided to get serious with this blog. I don't have much time to read about Pinoy showbiz news nor watch teleseryes but I have these showbiz addict gay friends who now always give me the heads up on showbiz happenings. It was actually my gay assistant who informed me about the Pacquiao alleged gay slur drama. Four of the gay contributors were present in the coffee house when we discussed this and our discussion really opened my eyes. There's another side to this issue & I thought why shouldn't I be the champion of this side through this blog.

Most gays don't join this fake bandwagon sorrounding Gay Marriage. For one, this issue makes the typical Pinoy gay puke. Straight guys here are cheap & a self-respecting gay won't be caught sucking another gay man. As one said,"Lalaki ang hanap nila, di pekeng lalaki!* In fact one bravely commented:"I am gay but I am a proud homophobic. I puke merely thinking of having sex with another gay man".

Now why would a self-respecting gay marry somebody who makes him puke when having sex with? How can love grow when they vomit at each other?

In effect, Gay Marriage is a campaign to politically blackmail gays to swallow their vomit & have sex though their whole being is telling them to puke. Just so they belong? How foolish.

Just like the fact that Blacks are still the poorest after all the Black minority rights campaign, it turned out Gay Mariage doesn't matter in the end because so few gays ultimately marry  in those countries which adapted it. Somebody chose to forget most gays actually would rather puke than have sex with each other.

I took this info from Theworldofstraightmen.blogspot.com:
Let's look at Holland, the first country which adapted Gay Marriage in 2001:

As you can see, the biggest number was in the first year (the suckers were probably excited by all the political pang-uuto in the first year) but the interest gradually fell with each year, dropping very low indeed. If there would have been a clamor for Gay Marriage there, it should have been increasing, but the small numbers just kept declining proving this was merely a useless political stunt. Somebody just wanted to manipulate gays for a political aim (I'll discuss this in Part 2). With this paltry result, why bother with all these noisy political noise especially in a country like the Philippines where gays have refined taste and having sex with another gay man makes them vomit? Reminds me of all the big headlines about  the fight for Black minority rights from the 60's but circa 2015 the US Blacks were still burning Ferguson & Baltimore because they would turn out to be still the poorest.

The clamor for Gay Marriage is fake because most gays are revolted by the thought of having sex with a gay man, how much more wed one? Of course, there would still be a few with strong stomachs who can fool themselves to swallow their vomit and say it is love but should we even have to change our way of life centered on an important institution like family just to kowtow to every marginal deviant? Should we disallow beauty pageants just because it would discomfort the majority ugly? Should we shoot the paltry rich just because they offend the majority poor?

Even the  poster figure in the local LGBT scene, a comedian named Vice Ganda turned out to be a connoisseur of straight basketball players. If he is sincere in fighting for gays, why shouldn't he be a true gay model, why doesn't he flaunt a parlorista lover instead? Is money involved in these kinds of campaign? The LGBT groups here, who financed them before they hoodwinked the hooked members to contribute the token funds (the main fund comes from the dark sponsors?)?

Really curious...


It gets curioser in Part 2

THE PROMISE/PANGAKO SA YO returns to African screens via Televista Nigeria

Already, there are outstanding local support infrastructure to Pinoy showbiz in many parts of the world. I use them as frontline sources in my research for this blog. Though I dig as deep to the broadcast stations themselves to get the facts & scan regularly the local blogoshere to detect the trends. I love doing it, I consider it as just a web offshoot of my love for travel, places & languages.

In Africa, you can not go wrong with Africa Fans of Philippine Teleserye. Curiously, it has better Pinoy showbiz coverage than most Pinoy showbiz blogs that I actually  learn from it what I know most about Pinoy stars (The blogger regularly comments in our blog too, btw). I got the picture below  from this site.

The Promise has been shown in almost the whole of Subsaharan Africa last year. Televista is a Nigerian broadcast station that regularly releases teleserye reruns.

MI DOBLE VIDA/ ANG DALAWANG MRS. REAL, Spanish version

It's good that teleserye has managed to stay resurgent in many parts of the world. The interesting thing is that the competition tango between the two biggest Pinoy broadcasting companies, GMA & ABS-CBN,  continues with its incessant whirls & sways. The rivalry has de-facto gone beyond the Philippine shores. Africa & Latin America have been  locked in by new GMA releases but ABS-CBN has been making fastbreak moves within Asia after being initially nudged by its rival, which traditionally was stronger in nearer shores.

In short, Pinoy teleserye is alive. Its interesting stories & good-looking stars continuing to delight the world...

Another GMA teleserye has been marketed to the Spanish-speaking world.

HẸN ƯỚC TÌNH YÊU/PANGAKO SA YO finally shown on Vietnam TodayTV

Outside the Philippines, the top Pinoy young loveteam, Kathniel of Daniel Padilla & Kathryn Bernardo, is probably biggest in Vietnam. It's a big wonder then why their early 2016 hit Pangako Sa Yo arrived there later than in most countries. After travelling the world, from Central Asia to Africa to Latin America, it is finally being shown in the rest of Southeast Asia- after Myanmar,  it just recently  reached the top 5 in the ratings charts of Indonesia. Now finally, Vietnam. I can just imagine the excitement in the vast Kathniel fan infrastructure in our neighbor.

KATHNIEL MOVIE TEASER/ THEME SONG: Daniel Padilla sings CAN'T HELP FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU

BRIDGES OF LOVE returns on Indonesian small screens after all

ABS-CBN must be jumping with joy. Bridges of Love, which was one of the 3 ABS-CBN teleseryes which were pulled out after just a few days of telecast, is returning to the screen after all. Fingers crossed, the other two, Magpahanggang Wakas & Forevermore will return shortly too.

Peruvian Hit, Theme Song & Lyrics: CAUTIVA/HANGGANG MAKITA KANG MULI by AICELLE SANTOS

I have to admit, I watched every now & then the transmission of Cautiva/ Hanggang Makita Kang Muli from the Panamericana website. But it is really too early, 5:30 am, so it was mainly a haphazard effort. Though it gave me great satisfaction to learn each time that my Spanish was not at all rusty, I could understand it fully. Watching teleseryes being shown in various languages has been a boon: I can easily learn languages, & I could refresh them by watching  dubbed soaps, be it in Spanish, like in Peru, or reading the Russian subtitles, like in Kazakhstan (being bilingual, telenovelas there are dubbed in Kazakh but subtitled in Russian).

Cautiva was the surprise hit teleserye in Peru, besting the Philipine hit La Promesa/ Pangako Sa Yo and outclassing the kdramas which for 15 years were consistent in being stuck at the bottom of the Peruvian  ratings charts, below all the telenovelas from Peru, Brazil, Colombia & the Philippines. It was obvious they loved there the theme song of this teleserye, they used it a lot to signal the breaks. Me too. Lucky us, we have here the lyric video.

BLISS Trailer: IZA CALZADO wins Best Actress in OSAKA FILM FESTIVAL for Jerrold Tarog's BLISS