Netflixing

Netnet Camomot .

NETFLIX is the latest, hmmm, HBO? Are we even allowed to compare?

Netflix is where I watch old movies and some TV series as the early bird catches the worm, Tokhang catches the small fish, and the president’s war on drugs seemingly fails to catch all the big fishes. It did manage to catch some big fishes, which makes his fans happy since that proves they were right after all in putting him in Malacanang.

Meanwhile, the former president may have to face more hearings as the Dengvaxia scandal hovers above his head which surely looked forward to a quiet retirement once upon a time. But retirement is not meant to be as he faces one more scandal: the Mamasapano massacre. Whew.

If we base comparisons on their speeches, the former president wins with his calm delivery and conscious efforts to exclude curse words. Imagine him blurting out PI which has ceased to mean Philippine Islands for the current administration. Imagine him urging the military to shoot at the vaginas of suspected female rebels. Imagine him being chummy with China and US President Donald Trump. No, you can’t imagine that because he has always been politically correct. He would respect China and the US president but not to the extent of agreeing with all of their decisions. The former president’s public image is that of a pious man, the son of two Pinoy heroes who liberated Pinas from the clutches of a dictator, as he also cares as the ever thoughtful and loving kuya of Kris. He was able to maintain that image during his term as president, an image that his team zealously continues to protect.

And then, there’s the current president who blurts out PI like it’s the country’s mantra. If that’s the public image his team wants us to accept and live with, then, be ready for four more years of that till the next presidential election.

It’s refreshing, though, to have a president who says it as it is. Don’t you exclaim PI, too, when your recovering knee could hardly complete a position where you’re on top? On top of a situation, that is. There you are, ready to mingle and giggle, but the knee refuses to cooperate. Darn.

I’ve heard of grandmothers shouting PI, b***t siyang in*, y*w*, which must have awakened their ancestors who dug their way up from six feet under. These grandmothers and their curse words lived long and prolific lives, with their own children and grandchildren also adopting curse words and inserting them in almost every sentence they utter, i.e., p***ng in* ni si b***t siyang in* nga y*w*! Brrrrr. Even writing those words, without saying them allowed, affects your thoughts, the part where they tell you to be proper.

But there are people who never say a curse word, who behave like an angel, and yet are the exact opposite of what their public image has promised. Lucky are those whose public image is real for they don’t have to be fake.

Talk of fake, are goods made in China still considered as fake? “God created the world. Everything else is made in China,” as the saying goes. We went to a sale last Wednesday where an unfamiliar brand of electric fans had a buy-1-take-1 sign, inspiring us to find out where they were created. Well, made in China, of course.

We now have three electric fans, with two bought last Wednesday, and one in a previous sale. Three other fans, bought in the past but not at sales, are also ready for the summer. If ever friends will ask why this house has six fans, we will simply say, Nag-sale man gud.

Fake is the word that we may also use for aliens which I’m guessing is what “Stranger Things” has. I continue to watch it despite the fact that I hated “Alien” and “Men in Black.” If you’ve seen one alien, you’ve seen them all. There’s no reason to go back for more. To remove thoughts of slimy aliens from my minute brain, I watch “Julie & Julia,” “The Intern,” and “Sisters.” Movies that don’t veer too far away from reality. Movies that inspire happy thoughts. Movies that make us laugh and smile.

The Philippine government should be in touch with reality, too. If, say, someone confesses to be funny, and the evidence proves that indeed he’s funny, there’s no reason to dismiss his application as a comic for a comedy bar and send him back to his hometown for more practice. He already said he is and even has a photo with a government official who ended up detained due to allegations that she’s also funny, no thanks to that photo, so, what part of his “yes” did you not understand?

But if you’ve had enough of Senate hearings where reality seems scripted, there’s Netflix to entertain you with real scripts that may or may not feature real people. Truly a popcorn moment. Yum!