These wonderful media outfits

Of course everyone is  talking about the recent suicide of ex-AFP chief Angelo Reyes. 


Thank God for overruled office policies concocted by idiots with penis-envy for people listening to portable music devices. 


Everyone who were tuned in to radio stations (Im more of an MP3 listener---my playlist blows all radio format to bits) jerked their head back in unison as if stung by some nasty insect when the news flash from whatever top 40 FM station they were listening to hit them.


By 9:30 AM people at the office were scuttling like ants with their antennae pulled out bumping at each other on the way to the huge TV in the lobby.


As expected, the network covering the event was all business at giving the people their daily dose of intrigue, suspense, and the sick glorified form of voyeurism. 

The coverage didn't disappoint: The hyperkinetic style of talking, interviews of people 'shocked that the man went through with such a dastardly act because he seemed in control and cool all the time', and police reports peppered with delightful terms like 'probably', 'probable', and 'we can assume'. In hindsight, all police media statements in the Philippines have been that way since I was born.


And the collective 'tsk' 'tsk' coming from the audience that either meant they were sorry for the dead man or they were sorry that not another one of the accused joined him. Either way, it's amusing to watch the audience react to the images and sounds splattered all over the boob tube.


Nothing like a little high-profile death as a worthwhile distraction from the mind-numbing routine of updating the database for shipping clients.


It's not until the first primetime news coverage that I actually complained. 


When someone dies, specially high-profile military officials accused of corruption, I tend to go overboard with my imagination that it may have been an elaborate murder setup meant to look like a suicide; as well as a host of other questions I wanted to ask like why the hell did he deviate from the usual method of the fastest, simply blowing-your-brains-out and opted for the chest where the likelihood of suffering before you die is a lot higher.

Simple, common questions like those were never asked even once during the entire week of primetime news broadcasts. What you get in exchange, is the most cringe-inducing 'tribute' about the deceased courtesy of interviews (testimonials actually) with his closest friends, family, a neverending rotation of his scholastic achievements and professional success. It practically accomplished what soap operas can only dream about these days in manipulating the emotions of the viewers.


Makes you wonder when someone will appear onstage all teary eyed saying some cliched testimony about how great a fellow the guy really is. Oh wait, they already did that. Just how exactly do broadcasting media practitioners in this country operate? At least the big, prominent ones. Because the whole time they were focusing on the suicide story the only relevant information that came out of it was how much Filipino viewers were undiscerning in the news content of their news programs. 


Even if it's already insulting to the intelligence.

Prosti The Snowman

a lot of the presidential campaign materials, specially the ones shown on tv ought to be given a special awards ceremony for the tackiest, most insulting-to-the-intelligence, amoral, and downright ugly pieces of excreta ever to assail a person's senses. this is a new highpoint (or low) in the history of philippine politics. a long time ago you'd get jingles and tv plugs that were reasonably done with a modicum of restraint (and even good taste) and the consideration that maybe people aren't that stupid to buy whatever bullshit they decide to cram over the collective consciousness of the masses.

now you have statesmen (clowns, actually.) doing rap songs more embarrassing than than the public humiliations done to them by their little sisters, filthy rich real estate moguls trying hard to hammer everyone how destitute they are, and senators with their own version of a schoolyard brawl capped with seemingly harmless ‘insertions’. it would have been better had it ended in an actual fistfight but I guess they’d probably say they had “class”. Classy people stooping lower than humanly possible to eke out the last of whatever dignity they have just to get that elusive vote. At least whores have the decency to do what they do in private. You get the usual “iaahon ko kayo sa kahirapan” and “susugpuin ko ang korupsyon”. but then you wonder why the hell nobody asks them HOW. In less than four months non-taxpayers and unemployed members of society will again define how i’m going to be taxed.

At least this proves that advertising really changes things for you. No matter how banal, controversy-ridden, and totally devoid of any platform to run your position is, advertising neutralizes everything and makes you look good in front of most people. Just bombard the net, airwaves and broadsheets with your image and people will succumb to the sick pavlovian conditioning you did from endless exposures to your image. Never mind that you’re the asshole who’s gonna take control of their lives for the next 6 years. Nevermind that you’re definitely going to recoup all those billions spent on endless rotations on that sea of garbage jingle spinning in everyone’s head like an irritating mosquito that keepes buzzing in your ear that you just can’t kill.

this reminds me of jive guys who proudly proclaim pink as their favorite color. not because they're gay, or perhaps they really do like it despite society's nearsighted perception on gender preferences, but because it's one way of telling the world "hey! i'm a macho guy comfortable with my own sexuality. look at me. aren't i cool for liking something normal men hate? by the way check out my abs." so what it all boils down to is your simple garden-variety attempt at cuteness and attention-grabbing ploys designed for people with an iq of a carrot. and believe you me, it really works.

I overheard this from someone a few days ago: “kaya naman pala magtapon ng maraming pera sa campaign, ba't di ginawa nung senador pa lang at gamitin yun pera para tumulong talaga? ikanga e, kung gusto mo talaga tumulong, tutulong ka."

if you want to shoot, shoot. if you want to plunder, make godawful campaign materials.