attack of the singkits

okay. it's been going on for too long. first it was anime. that was fine with me. the graphics themselves were enough to warrant appreciation.

then came the spanish telenovelas. beautiful women, hunky men... enough said.

but then came the taiwanese telenovelas (or tsinovelas, as they call it). no offense to those who think the members of f4 are delicious, i find myself thinking them quite ordinary. nothing spectacular, you know.

and as if the invasion of primetime tv wasn't enough, the music videos came, then the songs on the radio, and now, my neighbor's kid, who can't be more than 7 years old, is singing the damned taiwanese songs!

i'm betting she doesn't understand a word she's saying. but assuming that she does, i'm pretty sure she would be one of the small percentage of filipinos...

what is it about these foreign shows that get us filipinos all rabid and frothing at the mouth?

but come to think of it, we've been watching english programs since time immemorial.

maybe that's it. at least for me, i grew up in an environment where english programs held reign. different strokes, little house on the prairie, jennifer slept here, cosby show, three's company, and the numerous english cartoons (but hey, voltes v and mazinger-z and daimos rocked) and the ever present sesame street...

english programs were something i took for granted. they were always there. so i didn't think much of it. then when the new foreign programs came on, i got jolted.

maybe i just don't like change. maybe i prefer to listen to songs i understand. maybe i'm racist... (could be.) hope not. i did like sassy girl (korean ), amelie (french), my wife is gangster (korean), 2002 (taiwanese) and malena (italian).

maybe i just don't like the fact that they are getting more coverage than local shows and local artists.

all these maybes.

maybe i just don't like people calling me dawmingsu just because the bar is getting in the way of my haircuts.

oh well. back to the books.