"Won't you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Streeeeet...
how to get to Sesame Streeett... how to get to Sesame Street.."

Today's show has been brought to you by the letter "F" and the number "8."

hehehe... man, do i feel old.

"Ei-gg--ht!" I hissed through my teeth as I the last rep at the incline bench.

Found this quaint little gym in Alabang last week, seven-minute walk from the office. A joke next to Fitness First, but, hey, works for me just fine.

Actually kanina pa ako naiinis kay San Goku sa TV, but the owner of the gym [who had, I think, 16.5 to 17" arms and looks like a junkyard dog] wouldn't change channels.

He also had a "Certified Muay Instructor" hung on the wall with his picture in it; so I decided not to push the envelop an inch further.

I went about the "bakal" business and kept glancing at Goku's
ridiculously defined delts and traps, and then glacing at my own, back-and-forth, back-and-forth. hehehe...

I mean, hey, this is not the topic of this post; but let me just point out that even if Ronnie Coleman [a personal favorite] blasted heavy for the next hundred years, he will never come close to achieving Goku's delts. 'tanginang shoulders yan.

Which brings me to my real point.

Why does GMA dub its cartoons in tagalog?

I mean, I love GMA and everything, but bakit puro anime na lang ang nakikita natin sa TV? Wala ng English cartoons on primetime.

The last time I checked, BATMAN BEYOND and JUSTICE LEAGUE was on Studio 23. Not exactly mainstream TV these days.

Ba't ayaw ng GMA na ipalabas ang mga ito sa primetime? Talo ba ang mga ito sa anime?

Okay, hey, I perfectly understand why animes have to be dubbed in tagalog but isn't there english versions of these shows? Why not show those?

And where the F*** is Sesame Street?!

What I'm trying to say here is these tagalog-dubbed cartoons do not help the kids learn. They have zero educational value. Nada. None. Ziltch.

Except maybe "Kamehameha waaaaaaAAAAVE!!"

But that doesn't even count unless the kids search the net and find out what or "who" Kamehameha really is.

I was weaned on Sesame Street and Superfriends [that's what they were called back then, before JUSTICE LEAGUE came]

Saturdays and Sundays were just pure delight as my chavacano "Mama" coooked polvoron [using Bear Brand] and me and the neighborhood "Dirty Dozen" [read: literally not figuratively] sat in front of the TV -- from Sesame Street to Superfriends.

I cant recall how long the gap is between those two shows, but I remember before Superfriends I still managed to fall off the local aratiles tree and earned myself four quick whips on the ass.

But I digress. hehehe.

Back to the point.

I am proud to declare that huge part of my english vocabulary and grammar I owe to these two great shows. And the gang spoke and wrote mean English too. These were gradeschoolers in a small town.

And we breezed through Writing and Composition like Katrina over New Orleans.

I mean, what's a poor barrior kid got to do? but force himself to learn proper english in order to understand the best cartoon shows on TV. It was a given. You learn what Superman is saying or you perish. Period.

And Superman and Batman were the best speakers in the house.

You learn how to construct basic but correct sentences and how to pronounce words properly from hearing their "To the Bat Cave!" and "Up, Up, and Awwaaay!" and other cheesy lines.

Sesame Street is even better. Here you also learn Math and Art. and, again, PROPER English.

Sesame Street spawned a generation of good speakers and writers. Jessica Zafra would not disagree.

But now, what has mainstream TV got to offer?

Tagalog car-f**kin-toons.

Kids these days are overloaded with cartoons and yet unable to properly distinguish "he's" and "his"

I say kids have to be exposed, especially those in the lower to middle class, to english in the most efficient way there is: TELEVISION.

And the honchos of GMA should feel socially responsible enough to help.

Instead of feeding the kids re-runs of Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT, why don't they offer more sensible cartoons?

And for Pete's sake, get rid of the tagalog dubbing.

I am not unpatriotic, but for crying out loud, kids have to have a good english foundation in order to fare better in later life.

Do not, I repeat, do not let another generation grow up to be lovers of telenovelas and telefantasias with, godforbid, an aversion to any show which is "IN ENGLISH."

The box-office earnings of the galactically-stupid "Enteng Kabisote" should be enough cause for alarm.

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And then the huge gym owner switch the TV to another
channel, showing an english show -- WWE.

F***!

I am outta here.

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