The New-Life Boy - FUNFARE by Ricardo F. Lo

He’s the star of the new Lifebuoy commercial, which has turned him into an overnight sensation far faster than his regular shows on GMA 7 (S.O.P., Click and Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin) have ever done. But Wyngard Tracy, the think tank behind GMA’s Artist Center, would rather call him The New-Life Boy for the simple reason that the boy is effectively helping pump new life into an industry again entering another dry season (caused by, among other things, the uncertain political situation and the censorship issue).

He’s none other than James Blanco, the model child and model student – of a doting mother in the Lifebuoy commercial – you know, the middle-class guy who fulfills his dream of having his mom save up enough money to buy him a T-square, only for him to reluctantly lend it to his pretty campus crush.

"His fresh face and youthful charm epitomize the confident young men of today who are ready to face the world," said Wyngard. "But James is more than just a pretty face."

Only 19, James is attracting the attention of not only televiewers but also producers – and gossipmongers, too. Already, he’s being unfairly linked to Kuya Germs who, idle tongues claim, has given James a condo unit. (Kuya Germs, one of showbiz’s most generous and helpful souls, is often victimized by below-the-belt rumors which are proven false in the long run.)

"I’m still living in our house in Project 3, Quezon City," said James in reaction to the rumor. "I’m still living with my mom."

What’s true is that Regal Films is set to launch James, along with Cogie Domingo and Danilo Barrios, in Cool Dudes which will launch the trio as the current-day counterpart of the 80’s Regal Babies (Gabby Concepcion, William Martinez, Albert Martinez, etc.).

For Funfare readers who have been requesting for an item on James, here are some facts about him:

His full name is James Blanco Castillo. He stands 5’8" tall and weighs 150 lbs. His favorite food is beef kaldereta. Other favorites: Blue (color), Cesar Montano (actor), Julia Roberts (actress), Patti Austin (singer), Side A (band), jazz (music), his home (hangout), playing basketball (hobby), and simple/honest girls.

Besides the one for Lifebuoy, James also did commercials for Cebu Pacific, Rexona and Talk & Text.

Lesson in grammar

Meanwhile, here’s Funfare’s usual little lesson in grammar from Funfare-friendly Ramon Alfonso C. Fuentes ("A Concerned Senior Citizen"):

Knowing you as one who is seriously concerned about correct English grammar, you may be interested to know about an argument I overheard among some young people – obviously students – while they were viewing Winner Take All, the quiz portion of a noontime TV show.

One of them insisted that since the subject "winner" is singular, therefore, the predicate should also be singular in form, i.e., "takes". A lot of viewers may also have similar doubts.

Of course, I did not butt in, as it would have been improper, since I did not know anyone in the group.

It occurred to me that, evidently, those young students were not taught that in the English language, there is a locutionary device called, "ELLIPSIS", especially in idiomatic expressions. Ellipsis is the omission of words that are presumed or intended to be understood. The actual, full and complete sentence represented by "Winner Take All" is: "THE Winner SHALL Take All", in which the words "the" and "shall" are supposed to be understood.

But the more rampantly committed error is in the use of "than" in an ellipsis. For example, today, many people – even in the supposedly learned media – say: "He is older than ME", instead of the correct: "He is older than I". Most people forget that the full, correct, unellipted sentence is actually: "He is older than I (am old), in which "am old" are omitted and "than" functions as a conjunction and not as a preposition, as some claim. As can be very clearly discerned, it is wrong to say: "He is older than me (am/is/are old). In the latter case, if the ellipsis were not resorted to, the error would be very evident and flagrant.

Actually, however, the battle between those who consider "than" as a conjunction and those who consider it a preposition in the foregoing example, is far from over – even the Merriam-Webster lexicographers are bending over backward somewhat. But "than" was considered a conjunction, in the said example, even before the 12th century; while the controversial preposition stand started – out of an error – in the last half of the 15th century. So, the "purists" anteceded those "prepositionists" by a good 350 years.

I hope you would consider the matter serious enough to merit your enlightened consideration.