Talibong1 Talks
A 19-year-old Ilonggo has gained wide following for his Tonton and Benjo adventure series via the Internet’s YouTube, a site that has made —since 2005— video sharing and blogging, and, lately, posting of comments, possible. The adventure series of the young Ilonggo, who assumes the name Talibong1, is apparently the most widely viewed locally-produced YouTube entries this side of the world.
Three of his most widely-viewed works are actually spoofs of the period films, Troy and 300. StarLife columnist Carlo Leonardia described Talibong’s videos, in his Come to Think of It item on Aug. 12, as ones “which have spread faster than cellphone sex scandals and have gained him a cult-like following among wired Ilonggos”.
A YouTube check showed that the final of the trilogy, Tonton ang Paghaharap, has registered 578,747 views as of Friday morning and the number continues to rise. Benjo kag Ang Batalyon Pitbull has 457,105 hits and Benjo Mangayo Ko Kwarta was viewed 353,053 times. While the hits should be waning by now, StarLife noted that the figures rose by about 14,000 for Mangayo Kwarta, about 23,000 for Batalyon Pitbull and 28,000 for Paghaharap in the past four days alone.
StarLife managed two weeks ago to know the whereabouts of Talibong1, who has requested his real name not mentioned – from a former high school classmate at Central Philippine University, where the YouTube sensation is presently a Nursing senior.
StarLife—in its attempt to find out the reasons of the series’ phenomenon – compiled three reasons based on viewers comments: the Tonton and Benjo series are short, thus does not demand so much of the viewers’ time, they use familiar language in the script– the Ilonggo dialect and expressions that are common (bords, pilo-pilo, clean cut, IR-or incident report —, a term used in Nursing classes when things go off the norm) yet given dimensions of humor and hilarity. Viewers also find appeal to the delivery of the script which is far from being studied or rehearsed.
The following is our email interview with Talibong1, who also sent us the photos (other than the YuTube screen reproductions) used in this article. He expressed appreciation for the Bacolod media’s interest in his story (he has been featured, too, in the current St. La Salle’s SPECTRUM magazine issue and acknowledged that grabe ang kagat sa Bacolod and acknowledging that the first interview requests came from the Bacolod media)
Why did you choose the name Talibong1?
Talibong is a place in Zarraga town where we had our Community Health Nursing duty. I thought it’s unique monicker -- one of a kind.
When did you start your Benjo and Tonton production?
Sometime in April or May.
How did the idea of producing Benjo and Tonton and other videos come about? Why those names?
My friends and I just thought of it when they slept over at my place one night. Benjo and Tonton – these guys are by band mates (laughs). I chose their names because they’re my friends. More names will be coming soon, (laughs).
Do these guys join you in your production?
I usually do it by myself. But sometimes Benjo, Tonton and a few others, like Myro – about five of us — are there for some ideas and effects, laughter especially laughs), XD (term for “smiley” or laughing face”).
Prior to your Benjo and Tonton series and other YouTube clips, what preoccupied your time?
My studies… computers and (laughs) sleep. I’ve been a computer fanatic since birth I think (laughs).
Since when did you get into YouTube?
Since it became operational.
What made you decide to put your videos on YouTube?
Trip trip lang na.
YouTube shows a lot of feedback from viewers. When did you start gaining wide following?
What wide following??? (laughs). Oh, the feedback comes from anywhere in the Philippines and from any free country in the world.
Like what countries?
Dubai, others in the Middle East, U.S.A. especially, all over, Africa included.
How many video shows have you made? Which is the most popular?
Ten. I really don’t know which is popular but the one with the most number of views is Tonton: Ang Paghaharap. Each viewer has his own favorite.
How often do you produce?
Everything comes on the spot actually.
Whose voices are those of the characters?
They’re mine. All mine, including the cat’s. (laughs).
Where did you get your video production skills?
I didn’t study anything on that. Everything is self-exploration (laughs). Piho ba.
Did it ever occur to you that you might have violated copyright laws? Did you seek any legal advise?
There is a violation I believe but in YouTube many are doing it. Tani wala lang eh (legal problem) kay pasadya man lang ni. No, I haven’t asked for any legal advise.
How are you doing in school?
I’m surviving. Kabit-kabit (laughs).
Has the production affected your studies?
Not really.
How would you describe yourself as a student?
Clean cut (this expression has become one of the most popular punchlines in his clip, apparently referring to soldiers who do not sport long beards).
Do people in the university know you as the mind behind Benjo and Tonton series?
I think some, other than my friends, know.
In one of your scripts, you mentioned your university as the school to go to. Any
feedback from school officials about your works? What do they say?
I was told some officials met and talked about it. I don’t know if it’s really true...pero wala naman to kuno…but, thanks, my teachers love my work!
Tell us about your family.
Tagu-on ko lng ni ah…haha (StarLife later learned his father works abroad).
How do you manage to protect your privacy? Will you ever show or introduce yourself as the maker of Tonton and Benjo?
Well, a few people know me by now. But I don’t mind it. Pabay-i da sila ah… Some know me. Now and then some get to know me.., but not always. The others know me long before I made the series.
Do you have a ‘fans’ club’ now?
I learned there’s a Benjo and Tonton Fans’ club in Friendster (an Internet friendship link). Whahahaha, Salamat sa nag-ubra (While he did not admit it, StarLife learned of plans for the holding last weekend of a Tonton and Benjo activity during the University Week celebration at CPU).
How long do you intend to keep the Benjo and Tonton series going?
As long as it kicks!
In your scripts, there appears recurring lines about education and going to school. Is this intentional to put across some values? Do you do a lot of brainstorming with your friends?
Because the production is on the spot, generally, the lines flow freely especially that they are not formally scripted. Wala na ko may mahambal nga daan..ti gaguluha lang na iya (laughs). Ga purutikul na lang ko nay a mag start na ko dub (laughs).
Online comments show plenty of positive feedback from your viewers. You get negative feedback too…?
Negative feedback? May ara gid na ya…damo (laughs).
What is the most touching feedback you ever got?
Honestly, the ones sent by viewers abroad telling me….nga dula ila mingaw kag enjoy gid sila.
Why do you think your series has become so popular?
It’s funny… I really don’t know why.
AVDelCarmen
Friday, August 31, 2007
Q and A with Talibong1
Here's the Q and A of Starlife editor Allen Del Carmen with Talibong1, creator of the now famous Benjo and Tonton series on Youtube. This article is actually coming out on StarLife Sunday's Sept. 2 issue but I'm posting it ahead with his permission. Talibong1's videos can be accessed by clicking this link
Thursday, August 30, 2007
New RP football website
Unlike in other parts of the world, football or soccer is not the No. 1 sport in the Philippines.
Basketball, fuelled by a novel and effective marketing arm called the PBA, is king in this country, where finding a potential seven-foot talent is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Children pick up basketballs early, harboring dreams of making it big in the pro league someday. With the lure of big bucks in the PBA, the status quo as far as my memory could summon is basketball at No. 1 with boxing and billiards and now badminton not far behind, while all the other sports battle for the crumbs.
The set-up is perpetuated by local media with newspapers, magazines and television alloting major space for basketball, college basketball, the NBA and everything basketball. There's this basketball channel on cable also, which except for airing home shopping segments for an hour is devoted to basketball.
The PBA is already part of Filipinos' way of life. One does not need to be a die-hard basketball fan to help the league. All the teams are named and owned by consumer brands, thus its consumer cash that keeps the league running.
The fact remains though that basketball is not the sport for Filipinos. We remain the best team in Southeast Asia but judging from our ninth place finish in the Fiba-Asia championships, we are falling behind our Asian neighbors. And our Olympic dream remains as it is: a dream.
We reached the Olympics in 1972 when there were no Yao Mings, Yi Janlians, Michael Jordans Kobe Bryants or Lebron James.
So okay, enough of my basketball rant and back to the original purpose of this post: to introduce the new philippine football website. The website is a far cry from the previous one philfootball.info, which I do not want to link because clicking it will only lead you to a picture of a woman looking at her laptop.
The best feature of the previous website is its forum. There, football fans converge and discuss anything about football. In the absence of tv coverage, it was the forum which provided the gamecast of some games of the men's national team in Bacolod during the SEA Games and the Asean Football Championships.
I also relied on the forum to pick up leads on stories. I marveled at comments of some forum members, some of whom really have a point and worth listening to. Some lamented the sad state of the sport in the country and offered solutions or alternatives. Some bashed Johnny Romualdez, the Philippine Football Federation president, for his poor leadership. While everyone was united in hailing the Askals' victories. There I met people who show genuine concern for football.
If only Mr. Romualdez was reading the comments.
Apart from the old PFF website, there's pinoysoccer.com which became the unofficial news portal of the sport. Alain Escalante runs the site.
I understand the new site is taking its first few steps. But it isn't an excuse to mislead people online. Their is no international football match for the Philippines in the coming weeks whatsoever but the website shows some sort of a calendar of national team fixtures. Another thing is the lead story in the site: RP beats Cambodia, 4-2, in SEAG group play. This story is close to two years old. What was more appaling was the fact that my story about West Negros College winning a tournament in Barotac was the content of that old RP-Cambodia headline story.
I already texted Vince, the philfootball administrator, to inquire about this. He has yet to reply.
Reinventing the website is a good move. But doing it half-baked again raises some doubts on the sincerity of the PFF.
Basketball, fuelled by a novel and effective marketing arm called the PBA, is king in this country, where finding a potential seven-foot talent is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Children pick up basketballs early, harboring dreams of making it big in the pro league someday. With the lure of big bucks in the PBA, the status quo as far as my memory could summon is basketball at No. 1 with boxing and billiards and now badminton not far behind, while all the other sports battle for the crumbs.
The set-up is perpetuated by local media with newspapers, magazines and television alloting major space for basketball, college basketball, the NBA and everything basketball. There's this basketball channel on cable also, which except for airing home shopping segments for an hour is devoted to basketball.
The PBA is already part of Filipinos' way of life. One does not need to be a die-hard basketball fan to help the league. All the teams are named and owned by consumer brands, thus its consumer cash that keeps the league running.
The fact remains though that basketball is not the sport for Filipinos. We remain the best team in Southeast Asia but judging from our ninth place finish in the Fiba-Asia championships, we are falling behind our Asian neighbors. And our Olympic dream remains as it is: a dream.
We reached the Olympics in 1972 when there were no Yao Mings, Yi Janlians, Michael Jordans Kobe Bryants or Lebron James.
So okay, enough of my basketball rant and back to the original purpose of this post: to introduce the new philippine football website. The website is a far cry from the previous one philfootball.info, which I do not want to link because clicking it will only lead you to a picture of a woman looking at her laptop.
The best feature of the previous website is its forum. There, football fans converge and discuss anything about football. In the absence of tv coverage, it was the forum which provided the gamecast of some games of the men's national team in Bacolod during the SEA Games and the Asean Football Championships.
I also relied on the forum to pick up leads on stories. I marveled at comments of some forum members, some of whom really have a point and worth listening to. Some lamented the sad state of the sport in the country and offered solutions or alternatives. Some bashed Johnny Romualdez, the Philippine Football Federation president, for his poor leadership. While everyone was united in hailing the Askals' victories. There I met people who show genuine concern for football.
If only Mr. Romualdez was reading the comments.
Apart from the old PFF website, there's pinoysoccer.com which became the unofficial news portal of the sport. Alain Escalante runs the site.
I understand the new site is taking its first few steps. But it isn't an excuse to mislead people online. Their is no international football match for the Philippines in the coming weeks whatsoever but the website shows some sort of a calendar of national team fixtures. Another thing is the lead story in the site: RP beats Cambodia, 4-2, in SEAG group play. This story is close to two years old. What was more appaling was the fact that my story about West Negros College winning a tournament in Barotac was the content of that old RP-Cambodia headline story.
I already texted Vince, the philfootball administrator, to inquire about this. He has yet to reply.
Reinventing the website is a good move. But doing it half-baked again raises some doubts on the sincerity of the PFF.
Latest photos for Nanay
Our Nanay Xenia
Things haven't been the same since you left, Nanay. We miss you so much, me, Jebjeb and Lenlen all feel that part of us is missing and are always be with you. Our love transcends the distance from Bacolod to LA. We miss your reassuring presence, rants, sound advices, occasional cooking, unique way of malling on a shoestring budget, among others. Email exchanges, chats and long telephone conversations are not enough sometimes because nothing beats the feeling of having you here with us --- your sanctuary, where you can be yourself as we shower you with love.
Our love, however, pales in comparison with what you have shown to us. You make us feel that you are near and on the edge of your seat, ready to catch us when we trip or fall. You are always behind us in every road we take --- whether its bumpy or smooth. There's no way we could match your love for us Nanay. We can only try.
Your Inday Lenlen
Your Toto Jeb
Manong Bourge
Lunch at Entings
No comment?
Reporters need to get as many sides of the story as possible especially if it is a sensitive case. There are times however when the source (a government official) who, for example, is accused of corruption or money laundering wants to keep his mouth shut and refuses to answer questions related to his case. There is no gag order. He just does not want to speak out.
The following day the story would usually come out like this: Government official X refused to comment on the allegations. the word "refused" was used when it should be "did not comment".
A classic case of declined to comment vs did not comment came out just last week and analyzed by the Columbia Journalism Review. I an attaching the link to the story. Read on. Its actually quite interesting because at the center of it is Mr. Steven Seagal, the 50-something action star, whoo once came to the Philippines to shoot a commercial for a popular liquor brand.
The following day the story would usually come out like this: Government official X refused to comment on the allegations. the word "refused" was used when it should be "did not comment".
A classic case of declined to comment vs did not comment came out just last week and analyzed by the Columbia Journalism Review. I an attaching the link to the story. Read on. Its actually quite interesting because at the center of it is Mr. Steven Seagal, the 50-something action star, whoo once came to the Philippines to shoot a commercial for a popular liquor brand.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
delinquent me
Juggling work and school and of course, my responsibilities at home, has left me in a sorry, disoriented state as of the moment. good thing rachele (my girlfriend of 30 months and a half who works in Manila) came home to Bacolod for the long weekend. Her presence lightened me up. But work and school remained demanding. I survived the long weekend but not without getting unsatisfactory grades in Journ 216 Writing for Broadcast and missing an important assignment in Journ 259 Theories in Journalism. The recent events have also denied me time to blog. Again, I am a delinquent blogger, which was my official status during the summer.
Rachele and me with the nasty zit
My recent failures have again thrown me into the depths of self doubt. I overcome this feeling when I churn in what I felt was a good, well-written story on my page. I'm bracing myself for the worst this week with three other long stories due to another publication where I contribute. I know I'll pull through and when I do, I'll have to buy something that I deserve. For now, though, I don't deserve anything. Not even a pat in the back or a dime.
On a positive note, Im taking this opportunity to congratulate a few close friends who are now registered nurses after passing the June board exams. Kudos to Camille and Lime.
nurse Camille
Rachele and me with the nasty zitMy recent failures have again thrown me into the depths of self doubt. I overcome this feeling when I churn in what I felt was a good, well-written story on my page. I'm bracing myself for the worst this week with three other long stories due to another publication where I contribute. I know I'll pull through and when I do, I'll have to buy something that I deserve. For now, though, I don't deserve anything. Not even a pat in the back or a dime.
On a positive note, Im taking this opportunity to congratulate a few close friends who are now registered nurses after passing the June board exams. Kudos to Camille and Lime.
nurse Camille
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