Ready? Get set! TEXT!

Tomorrow night starts THE GREAT GLOBE ADVENTURE. This is what I've been working on for the past weeks with Argem. The "great dreams(G)" tv plug has been airing for a week. A Creative Director from another agency texted our bosses to say that it was a "great commercial". Which we should consider a really great compliment considering it was done using the TV (betacam) equipment and not with film.

The shoot started at 8am on a bridge somewhere in Balara, where we had to stop traffic for over an hour to shoot the the opening running scene that actually just appears for two seconds. Our day ended at 3am at GMA studios, shooting the "team" in their living room.

The show itself looks exciting. I guess you can call it the Pinoy version of AMAZING RACE. The pilot episode will have celebrity contestants (a usual ploy to make people watch). Succeeding episodes will have "regular" people. But from what I've heard, these "regular" contestants are tri-atheletes and swimmers and very pretty gym instructors. So, it should prove very interesting!

Catch it every Sunday, 8:30pm on GMA.

Play the Trivia Game and win great (ahem) prizes! :)
Text GREAT to 2255 to start playing.

(Hmmm... lately, I've been using "great" in a lot of my sentences. That's just great. *doh!*)

I now wonder what the comptetion will do.

After we came out with the game show TXTRS5, they came out with SMART K N B?
Maybe they'll produce the SIMPLY AMAZING RACE? he he he ... I'm sure you saw that coming.

FROM THE FWD. EMAIL DEPT:
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Your Guide to Philippine Newspapers: A Must Read

1. The INQUIRER is the newspaper read by the people who run the country. if you don't know who runs the country, don't read the inquirer, as you may end up thinking that a newspaper actually runs the country.

2. The MANILA BULLETIN is read by people who don't care who runs the country, as long as the telephone numbers in the classified ads are correct, and the prices negotiable.

3. MALAYA is the newspaper read by people who used to run the country and think they still do. it is confusing to read Malaya because while the date may be correct, the administration is always wrong.

4. The PHILIPPINE STAR is read by people who will run the country, as soon as their newspaper overtakes the inquirer in circulation and advertising revenue. Until that happens, they will be happy to read the absolute latest in show business news.

5. The MANILA STANDARD is read by people who might run the country someday, if certain Chinese geomancers so predict. It is also read by people who think they are in another country, or even another planet, judging by the stories that come out in that newspaper.

6. TODAY is preferred by people who will oppose anyone who happens to be running the country, unless those persons happen to be the Powerpuff girls or the Eraserheads, in which case they will be heartily endorsed by a certain female columnist.

7. The MANILA TIMES is read by people who think they are close to the people who run the country. the fact that so few read the times might lead to conclude that a) only a select number are close to those who run the country, or b) practically no one cares what those who run the country are up to.

8. No one has claimed to read the TRIBUNE recently, although some employees of that newspaper are said to do so from time to time. As for the people who run the country, they simply assume that this newspaper does not even exist.

9. ABANTE is read by people who have a vague idea that someone is indeed running the country. They will promise to figure out who that is AFTER they read Xerex Xaviera's latest sex confessional.

10. TORO is bought by people who cannot even read, but who can make out the pictures taken from cut-out scenes from bold movies. They will be surprised to learn that somebody actually runs the country, since they believe that the smut they buy would surely be outlawed, if that were the case.

I finally got my copy of THE COMPLETE COPYBOOK TALES and was shocked to find out that J.Torres and Tim Levins ripped-off my life. Even worse, they wrote a more exciting version of my life. (Actually, I said the same thing after watching Kevin Smith’s MALLRATS.)

Each episode of THE COPYBOOK TALES happens in two timelines. It always shows the lead character Jaime Cruz, as a comic book fanboy in the 80s and as a struggling comic book writer in the 90s. And every little detail of his life just seemed to mirror my life.

Jaime Cruz had a barkada who loved comic books. They always rushed to the comic book store every week during New Comic Book Day. He had a younger brother who called him kuya and pestered him when they were kids. He wore a black jacket, which he never seemed to take off. He and his friends watched STAR WARS dozens of times and acted out scenes in public. He kept a journal, which he called his Copybook, which eventually became the source of his comic book, which is the comic book that I read. How very metafictional. (Oooh… big word, I haven’t used since college…. getting headache)

Then there’s Jaime Cruz in the 90s. In between odd jobs, he’s trying to pitch his super-hero comic book and at the same time trying to write a new one… trying to deal with his writer’s block, hoping that watching the next couple of TV shows would eventually inspire him.

That was me. Went through all that. Maybe he experience things that I didn’t and vice-versa. But the similarities are just uncanny.

If you grew up in the 80s, you’ll like this book.
If you grew up in the 80s and collected comic books, you’ll love this book.
If you were forced to take on the responsibilities of a grown-up in the 90s and struggled to make your dreams come true while doing odd jobs, then you really have to get a copy of THE COMPLETE COPYBOOK TALES.

I got my copy at Central Comic Headquarters. 3rd floor, FRB Arcade, Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City. Tel (632)433-0898. www.cchq.com.ph

Actually, I got their last copy. New copies will arrive in a week or two. Just give them a call.