when an anti-establishment hippie is established...

Bored to tears and near death this coercion to pore into figures and facts in their heads

 

I sit dulled to all else but the screen I look in, this machine that digests my soul and myself

 

Gritting my teeth I press play and rewind

 

and repeat the mechanical spiels in my mind

 

A compulsion is growing to smash my fist through

 

The jangle of coppers and browsers and bytes

 

To extract the bloodcurdlingred from the white.

  

Posted by: Hoon at 05:25 | link | comments (3)

Tele-voyeur

 

It’s time to stare bug-eyed at TV screens once again as Pinoy Big Brother opens the house and Season Two to viewers and voyeurs around the world.  Over the national anthem, “Pinoy Ako” as sung by former Pinoy Dream Academy scholars, the first six of fourteen housemates stepped out early this week to become specimens in what many have called “the largest experiment on psychology and human behavior.” (Outside of television itself, I’d say).The premise returns to the original: fourteen boys and girls are thrown together in a house rigged with cameras and mics. They are then watched, fish-like, as they scamper around the house complying with tasks doled out by an all omniscient “Kuya,” who comes in the form of a booming voice. PBB sets aside party themes for now--- previous editions had featured celebrities, teens and aspiring vocal stars, respectively.

The reality show’s director, Lauenti Dyogi, says he and PBB’s Dutch creative consultant, Anuska Ban, aka “Big Sister,” had decided to stick to a standard formula. Ban had said that in other countries they chose housemates with extreme personalities, and it didn’t work. The tattoos and stripping were altogether too much---prompting this season’s selection of “normal people who could be your neighbor.”

Enter the first six: Australian hottie and World of Warcraft addict Ezekiel; ex-PDA finalist and commercial model Wendy; graduating nurse and obligatory funny man Nel; Samba Dancing Diva Saicy; Cheering Chick colegiala Gee-Ann, who entered the house with a doll she talks to, and a half-Austrian named Mickey, who speaks neither English nor Tagalog. (Actually, I’ve never had an Australian hottie for a neighbor, or a Samba Dancing Diva or a Cheering Chick who talked to dolls, for that matter. In fact, the closest I might have living on my street is Nel the funny graduating nurse).

Only when Kuya feels like it--- remember, Kuya is a quirky fella who only does stuff when he wants to--- will he unveil the rest of the housemates. For now, they remain under the exciting codenames “Basketball Hunk,” “Diskarte Queen,” “Lovable Sweetheart,” “Prodigal Son,” “Good Son,” and “Sassy Girl.”

The show’s been on only a couple of days and already all sorts of thrilling house scenes are presented: Mickey only speaks German. Gee-Ann speaks to household items. Gee-Ann breaks down in tears. Mickey comforts Gee-Ann with a tissue paper.  Nel and Wendy prepare dinner. Zeke and Saicy sip shakes in the garden. Zeke quips: “Parang panis na yung corned beef.” Wendy breaks down in tears. Kuya orders everyone to flop around in giant slippers. Kuya orders everyone to knock down giant cans with their giant slippers in a wacky version of tumbang preso. Mickey doesn’t understand anything. Mickey doesn’t break down in tears.  Mickey kicks everyone ass and proceeds to win the best player award, receiving a pair of normal-sized slippers as prize.

Make yourselves cozy. The next 126 days guarantee us 181, 440 juicy minutes of promising scenarios like this, starring ordinary people that are just like us.

 

Something to actually be excited about: Show execs have revealed that fifteen more cameras and microphones have been placed around the house. Let’s hope they did not miss the shower rooms this time.

 

 

 

Posted by: Hoon at 06:47 | link | comments