I hate watching the news and you know why...

The biggest question is : Who will replace Gloria?

All you can see on TV right now is everyone trying to get their hands on her. What for? She was an economics teacher in Ateneo and still has a hard time solving the problems of the country. After the impeachment, who will replace her? An actress who has no political or academic background? a newscaster who has high ambitions? A police-turned-politician who exposes dirt on someone and thinks that makes him a hero to the people? Some senator or congressman who just wants to replenish what he lost in the last elections? a politician who is inclined to the left? an actor-turned-politician who can't resign from his old job because his present job isn't enough to feed his family?

You know crab mentality is still prevalent in our culture. You can see people scrambling to get to the top position. Isn't that what crabs do? Why don't they just concentrate on the nation's relevant issues like poverty, employment, energy crisis, crime, tourism et al? We didn't elect these politicians just to shout at each other? and speaking about tourism, did you know that we just increased our tourism by a measly 3% while Thailand who has just been struck by tsunami increased their tourism by 13%? Isn't it ironic? And mind you, Manila is a far better city than Bangkok. Wouldn't it be nice to see one day that all politicians work things out by working together and finding solutions to our nations current problems?

I don't like watching news lately because the politicians are very childish. Mud slinging, bad-mouthing each other. And if what they say about the Gloria tapes are true, aren't they all the same? Even with their hard evidence doesn't mean they can wipe all their dirt on her. But what can we do? A Filipino saying is true that we can't clean our own backyard. And what an international news network said was true when they said Filipinos burn the house down just to kill a rat. Aren't we ashamed? No wonder people migrate. I hope we can learn a lesson from this and one day work together for a better Philippines.

So what are you doing to make our country better?

Love Story in Harvard!

lsih

Grabe! This is the first time I got so engrossed and so attached to a tv series. And most specially to a Koreanovela?!? From a guy like me?!?!?!? Shame on you!!!! But…but…there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Q: How can you guys ever get that “Switch-Will Smith” thing out of you when you don’t get in touch with your feminine side? I mean, how can you win the heart of a girl if you’re always so macho and so conventionally and traditionally male? All I’m saying is, how can your right brain work when you’re always using your left brain? (Tama ba?) I remembered one caption from our college yearbook about this guy. He said “The feminine in man is the sugar in the whiskey”. Wakarimasu ka? Sarang hamnida… As a story writer myself, I always loved to watch great love stories. Remember Casablanca? Even I didn’t guess the ending.
About the stars in the series, Kim Rae Won is known for his hit series “Attic Cat” which is currently showing on GMA 7. That made him popular. He’s also the crush of my wife…hehe gotcha! And my crush (‘kala mo siya lang meron ha?) is Kim Tae Hee. As in the tv series, she’s got the angelic smile. The kinis like apple, snow white skin and typical Japanese anime manga eyes. And to think she’s my wallpaper on my cellphone…hyarhyarhyar… And the theme song “So in love”. Grabe the melody! Over to the max! Letch! I mean if you watched the series, it really fits the story. I bow to the director. He injects the musical score at the right time, at the right moment and the actors cry at the exact right time. Even Korean actors cry. Bihira lang dito sa Pilipinas na umiiyak yung actor. It’s more realistic that way when guys also cry. It makes them human and sensitive. And the downside (for me) in this story is that it makes my heart ache every time I finish each episode. Is the director making us suffer?

And the best part or probably the greatest part of any Korean tv series is that they have few, limited actors. They concentrate mostly on two to four characters. That’s it. Not like in our tv industry, it’s like the whole actors and actresses are cramped up in one tv series and what’s worse, they keep putting new characters so to fit in the actors who have no show. Sa dami ng characters, di mo na alam kung bakit nagkaganon o bakit nagkaganyan. Ang gulong gulo! One great example of a minimal character movie is “Dead Calm” starring Nicole Kidman. This Australian film is set in the middle of the ocean with three characters, the husband and wife (forgot the actor) and parang Billy Zhane, the contrabida. That’s it. For the whole 2 hours, sila lang ang makikita mo. And mind you…it will put you at the edge of your seat! That’s why we have to do something about our movie and tv industry if we want to make it successful.

And one thing about Korean tv, they have very high budget! I think this series cost them around 30M Won. That’s a lot of money. And they had many awards. They even had the perfect kiss award which toppled the kissing scene of Lovers in Paris. Like Park Shin Yang (Carlo) said “Iba talaga humalik ang mga kabataan”. Like LIP is in their late 20s early 30s and LSIH is in their early 20s. And what’s good about these actors are they can really act. Not like in some countries like Hong Kong where it’s all right if you’re beautiful or handsome but can’t act. But in Korea, you have to look good and act better. And this is the first time I know that a tv series is only 8 to 12 DVDs only. So short the series, you can buy them and watch them over and over again. We’ve watched Lovers in Paris, Sweet 18 and this for the nth time. Like gusto ko ng matulog, pwedeng disc 8?

And you know why we like to watch love stories. It’s not to relieve us from stress from work or entertain us but also we love to BE inside the world of the tv series. It’s like we want to live the life of the actors. Like if it were us in their shoes? The feeling of nonchalant-out-of-this-world thingy. To make us feel younger, hassle-free life, no-worries, laid back, let’s-forget-our-problems kinda thing. Like the kids have their superheroes, we have our love stories. And with that, I’ll leave you with a song that melted the hearts of many. The theme song of Love Story in Harvard…with it’s english-entirety…Okay?

Spring, summer, fall & winter dreams..

Those are shining like a star

They keep whispering,

"I'm so in love with you"

Spring, summer, fall & winter love..

It is breezing to my heart

and it keeps telling,

"I'll make you rainbow smile"

I remember when we were angels,

when we dreamed about us

All my days were happy

just like a snowy Christmas

I wish I'd have them always..

Every step i make writes a story

It is full of the heart

feeling love of my life

and missing friends of my time

I Wish I'd have them all..

In spring, summer, fall & winter days…

We've been sharing all the hearts

love shines in my eyes

love just won't fade away

I remember when we were angels,

when we dreamed about us

All my days were happy

just like a snowy Christmas

I wish I'd have them always..

Every step i make writes a story

It is full of the heart feeling love of my life

and missing friends of my time

I Wish I'd have them all..

If you'd all the way show me the world

where I will stay in love

All my days will be white

just like a snowy Christmas

You're just all I need