Burnt Lumpia on TV

This Monday, February 25 I will be making an appearance on (very, very, very local) television--sans the charred lumpia hiding my identity.

Seriously.

If you happen to live in Southern California, and will be at home this coming Monday at 4:30pm, then you will be able to see yours truly on the local Asian station here: LA 18 KSCI-TV.

For some strange reason, I've been asked to make one appearance on the Pinoy television show "Kababayan LA".  For those of you that don't know, "LA" stands for Los Angeles. Oh, you knew that? Of course. For those of you that don't know, the word "Kababayan" translates to "townmate", but on a bigger scale it can mean "countryman," "compatriot," or my own preferred meaning of "homie".

Kababayan LA is described on its website as:

Southern California’s First and ONLY Pinoy Daily TV Show! Each day, host Jannelle So talks to the most interesting and exciting personalities making news around the Filipino community. Watch Kababayan LA weekdays for the latest local and Filipino news as well as the hottest entertainment, gossip and music.

I'm not sure how I fit into all of that. Sure, some may (mistakenly) say that I'm interesting and/or exciting, but I like to think that I was asked on so we can gossip about Britney Spears. Or maybe not...

Actually, I was asked onto the show to talk about blogging. And honestly, that's pretty much all I know about my appearance so far. I don't know if there will be other Pinoy bloggers there, I'm not exactly sure how long I will be on, and I'm pretty sure I won't be doing any cooking (sad, that). But that's probably best as I have little control over my own facilities when I'm nervous, and I'm very nervous about this. So me sitting in a chair is probably the safest bet for everyone in the studio.

As such, I have three goals and three goals only for my appearance on this show:

1. Talk about Filipino food.
2. Do NOT make an ass of myself.
3. Do NOT, under any circumstances, say anything inappropriate to the Oh So Lovely Host, Ms. Jannelle So (My Wife will be watching closely).

I will try my best to accomplish #1, but I can't guarantee anything for nos. 2 and 3. Besides my natural resemblance to being a huge dork, another thing going against me is that the Oh So Lovely Ms. So interacts with her guests in both English and Tagalog.

I speak very little Tagalog.

And by "very little" I mean zero.

The Oh So Lovely Ms. So is indeed aware that I don't speak any Tagalog, but I'm still afraid that she'll forget and then ask me a question in Tagalog, and then I'll answer with:

"Uhh, um, uhhhhh. Maganda!"

Meanwhile, millions of Filipinos across the Southland will be silently judging me. Actually, the judging will probably be done out loud, with furled eyebrows and pointing lips. My mother will hide her head in her hands in shame.  And my dad might, just might, punch something--perhaps a furry little animal, but more likely someone's throat.

I have very low expectations for myself, so on the scale of humiliation and unintentional comedy, I hope I land somewhere between these guys:

I'm not sure if KSCI-TV is available on satellite television, but if so, then all the more eyes to see a potential disaster. And don't worry, if any of you miss this disaster, I will try and post the vid next week.  Wish me luck.

I'ma get on this TV, Mama!
I'ma, I'ma put sh*t dooooowwwwwwwwnnnn.

Comments

[manggy]

I'll miss it for sure, Marvin, so please post a vid!! I'm sure all of your extended family will be recording it anyway...

Here's something for those moments she forgets:
"SINABI NANG HINDI AKO MARUNONG MANAGALOG, EH!! ANAK NG **** NAMAN!!"
Uh, haha :)

[Janice]

dude...get it on YouChoob for your not-so-local fans!!! :D

[Wandering Chopsticks]

Whooohoo! You're almost-famous! Congrats! For some reason, I can't get channel 18 so I'll be anticipating that video!

[dp]

How exciting! Good luck!

You'll have to post the video, even if you make an ass of yourself, which I'm pretty sure you won't :-)

[dhanggit]

oh i wanna see this..i agree with manggy please do post a video on this tv appearance of yours :-)

[elmomonster]

WUT?!?!?! I'm a-settin' mah TiVo! Awesome. I'm sure you'll do great. WOOO HOO!!! Congrats!

[oggi]

Post the video, I'll be waiting!:)

[Krizia]

Dude, no way! I'm sorry I've been away from the Burnt Lumpia for so long! I don't have a computer at home and I'm souper busy b/c I'm GRADUATING. YES! If I had a TV, I'd watch! But alas, all I have is a very staticky radio :(

[desie the maybahay]

all the best with the tv appearance marvin. try to look 'pogi' ;-) looking forward to seeing the clip here.

[raissa]

na ah! I will time my lunch during the airing of this show so I can catch it. hahaha I hope Janelle gives you a chance to talk *blush*

[Lorena]

Congrats on being on TV! I've really enjoyed your blog and think it's great that you get to share it with folks in LA (and hopefully with those of us outside of LA via the wonderful world of YouTube).

I actually work in PR and thought you might want to consider some of the below tips for your interview. A lot of my clients have done successful live interviews just by keeping the following things in mind. They're fairly common sense tips, but they're good ones to focus on. Hopefully, you'll be able to read through them before going on air!

1- Relax! Think of it simply as a conversation between you and the host.
2- Keep your answers short. Answers should be about 20-30 seconds. This keeps the conversation lively, with neither one of you "controlling" the conversation too much.
3- Use your voice. Make yourself sound interesting and interested. A little humor helps, too (which you've got in spades!).
4- Look at the interviewer when talking, not the camera. This makes it easier to relax and relate.
5- Avoid excessive stats, vocabulary and jargon; simplify things when possible. It just makes it harder for people to relate to you if you use too many technical terms.

Just keep the real audience in mind-- all the folks at home. You're trying to get your message across to them. So, just think about whatever your key message is (examples: blogging is easy; it's really fun learning how to cook Filipino food; anyone can do what I'm doing; etc.) and make sure to emphasize it when possible.

Good luck-- although I'm sure you won't need it! ^__^

[Katrina]

How cool! I await the video with bated breath. You are now officially a celebrity! Hehehe!

If the host asks you a question in Tagalog and you don't understand, simply respond in the Pinoy's time-honored fashion: HA?! ;-D

[Julie]

Hooray for you, and how exciting!!! And yeah, you are pretty dang interesting and exciting! It's probably good that you won't (didn't, by now) get to cook, as from what I've seen and heard, you only get like three minutes on live TV, and I can't think of any Pilipino foods you can cook in three minutes. Maybe wrap a lumpia? ;) Man, you'd better YouTube this!!!!

[cam cam]

Why look at you! You have become quite the local celeb. I don't have cable so you totally have to post it on your blog if you can. I can't wait!

[elmomonster]

I SAW IT! Have it TiVo'd! You did awesome! I wish the hostess let you speak more...too much her, too little you.

[Burnt Lumpia]

I don't know what that means, manggy, but somehow I don't think I should say it;).

It will see if I can post it here Janice.

I am nowhere near "almost-famous" W.C.! It's more like, completly-invivisble:)

Thanks dp! I don't think I made an ass of myself, but I'll let everyone else judge that.

Will do, dhanggit.

Thanks elmo.

I hope you're not waiting with baited breath, oggi. I don't want it to be a let-down.

Congrats on the gradumacating Krizia!

I tried my best to look pogi, desie. But I looked like a nervous wreck. Minus pogi points for me.

Hello raissa, I hope I didn't ruin your lunch;)

Thank you very very much for the tips Lorena. And yes, I was able to read them before I went into the taping. I tried my best to relax, but I was still very nervous.

I am by no means a celebrity Katrina. And luckily, I didn't have to answer anything with, "HA?!" :)

I definitely don't think I could've cooked anything with the time alotted, Julie.

Thanks cam. Local celeb I am not, though.

I'm glad you were able to catch it, elmo. I think because we were short on time, Jannelle, the hostess, was just trying to move things along. She was very nice and made me feel comfortable.

[veron]

I can't wait to see the video marvin. congratulations!

[Matt Hurst]

You were somewhere right in the middle of those two donkeys you posted videos of. Which, of course, is a compliment.

[raissa]

My lunch wasnt ruined at all.=) By the way, the video of your television debut =) is already on the website.

http://www.kscitv.com/

Good job! Deserving of an Ube Chiffon Cake. =)

sidenote: Jannelle really talks more that the guests have less airtime.

[oggi]

Marvin I just watched your TV debut and you looked great, so relaxed like pro! Congratulations! You are now a celebrity! I'm using up too many exclamation points.:D
My only beef is that the host talks way too much and there aren't many close-ups of you.:)

[Babette]

Hey Marvin, congrats, you did real well. :)

[White On Rice Couple]

How fun! You're the next Food Network Star!
BTW- our first cooking video is up!

[Pat]

Hey Marvin, any chance you could YouTube your TV debut so the rest of the world outside LA can watch it? You're now a full-fledged food celebrity!!! Whoopie-doop!