Best of the Week: The fall of Bataan and the next Janina San Miguel
Awesome Channel Of The Week: Nickelodeon And Nick Teens
MANILA, Philippines - The MTV-owned Nickelodeon recently released it’s 2011 Fall Programming, which is going old-school. Nick will be bringing back ’90s hit shows like Pete & Pete, All That and Rugrats—favorites of kids born in the era when YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook weren’t even buffering. This was approved after a clamor from fans to get the shows re-aired populated social networks. Clearly, for kids of the ’90s (who are probably the current working class had they not gotten preggers), this is welcome change in the regular Nick programming. We can’t wait to see Chuckie and Tommy again!
Tv Event Of The Week: Binibining Pilipinas 2011, The Pageant
Forget about the victorious Azkals match against Palestine that we may never see, or a timely TV appearance by P-Noy right exactly when the country needs (or wants) to see him; this week, the grandest and most extravagant TV event will happen. It’s the 2011 Binibining Pilipinas coronation night! Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year again when we choose which faces we send to the world’s most prestigious beauty contests and represent the country in a major, major way. Mounted this year by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities’ new media partner ABS-CBN, the national search’s 48th edition is expected to produce a good batch of ladies that will stand a chance at taking home a crown. Forty candidates will be competing in the pageant tomorrow night, and the telecast is set at 10:30 p.m.. Remember to watch the competition and see for yourself which among the candidates deserve to have their pamily play a bery imfortant role.
Politician Of The Week: Barack Obama
“Yes, we can.” That was the winning slogan Barack Obama used in 2008 to win over the American population in a historic win, making him the first African-American president of the world’s most powerful country. Three years later (and a YouTube video back-masking “Yes, we can.” to “Thank you, Satan.”), Obama launches his 2012 re-election campaign on Twitter, this time with the slogan “It begins with us.” Expected to cost over a billion dollars, Obama started his campaign albeit cheaply but fashionably digital by tweeting to his more than seven million followers, “While I stay focused on the job you elected me to do, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.” A link to his website was also tweeted, where a video greeted visitors with the essence of his 2012 bid: grassroots politics. And because of his use of social media to jump start his re-election bid, some already expect him to be retweeted.
Man Versus Mob Award: Charlie Sheen’s Violent Torpedo Of Truth
Remember how Chris Brown grudgingly asked why Hollywood can forgive Charlie Sheen for his sins but not him? Well, it seems like his moans may have been heard. Actor Charlie Sheen, born of Adonis DNA and tiger blood, is now rebuked by the same legion of fans that supported him when he first joined Twitter. The first leg of his widely anticipated tour ended up in a disaster after fans demanded for a refund while he was still onstage. The 45-year-old actor was forced to cut the show short after the crowd became uncontrollable while some started leaving the venue. For this, Sheen claims this first leg was just an experiment. “You paid your hard-earned money without knowing what this show was about,” he even told the audience, refusing them for a refund.
National Holiday Of The Week: Araw Ng Kagitingan
For those of you who don’t know, today, April 9th, is Araw ng Kagitingan. Yes, those working today will be paid double, while those who are not may be paid their daily wage, depending on company policies. The first of three red-letter days this month, Araw ng Kagitingan (which translates to Day of Valor) commemorates the 1942 Fall of Bataan, where about 76,000 soldiers surrendered to the Japanese. This event led to the infamous Death March, killing about 11,000 people on the way from Bataan to Pampanga. Araw ng Kagitingan was originally called Bataan Day, but was renamed Araw ng Kagitingan by President Marcos’ Executive Order No. 203, absorbing two other holidays: The Fall of Corregidor and The Bessang Pass Day. Since this year’s commemoration falls on a Saturday, a long weekend was no longer arranged by the administration.
Quitter Of The Week: Katie Couric
The last time we hailed someone as Quitter of the Week was when Maria Ressa resigned from ABS-CBN, so this week we’re bestowing the honor to somebody from the same field. This week, news about Katie Couric leaving her post as anchor to the CBS Evening News came out on Associated Press, though she has not yet confirmed it, as of press time. Couric’s contract will be expiring in June, and the anchor is expecting to launch a talk show in 2012. She held the post for five years, succeeding Bob Schieffer in the same post the late great Walter Cronkite once held. Since ratings in the recent years have dwindled dramatically, CBS will now be looking for a strong successor to Couric, who took the helm in 2006. The network’s flagship evening newscast is currently third at the ratings, with NBC’s Nightly News leading the race. At the rate things are going, it’s about time Sarah Palin tried delivering the news.
Gay Wizard Of The Week: Hogwarts’ Professor Remus Lupin
It’s always big news when a wizard, respected and revered at that, turns out to be gay. Have we not learned our lessons when the headmaster himself admitted he preferred wands and broomsticks than pumpkins and pies? All right, we may be overreacting, but this week, speculation arose that Albus Dumbledore might not be the only queer professor to teach at Hogwarts. David Thewlis, the British actor who plays Professor Lupin in the movies, admits that at first, he thought his character was gay, even getting advice from director Alfonso Cuaron to portray the character like a “gay junkie.” Thewlis, who says he hadn’t read the books yet when he did the movies, was of course, wrong as his character ends up romantically linked to Nymphadora Tonks in the finale.
