Narinig mo na ba ang L8est?

Curtain raisers:

* Narinig mo na ba ang L8est about a sexy young actress who’s "malingering" abroad? It’s been months since her work (in that foreign land) was done but she extended her stay. Reason: She has found a handsome hunk who can satisfy her insatiable sexual appetite and fulfill her wildest sex fantasies.

* Narinig mo na ba ang L8est about another young (drama) actress who also "malingered" abroad but has come back recently with several added, ehem, "poundage"? The buzz is that she doesn’t know who the culprit of those "excess poundage" is –her old local boyfriend or the new "imported" boyfriend with whom she has broken up? Both men are "newsmakers" in their own right.

* Narinig mo na ba ang L8est about a young star who did a flop show abroad? The venue’s capacity is 1,500-plus but only more than 200 people showed up. A week later, a sexy actress and a sweet young singer, along with a singer-comedian, also did a show in the same venue, suffering the same sad fate. Only about 200 came, most of them holders of complimentary tickets.

Pip in politics

It’s Guy & Pip time once again, this time on the campaign trail. Or haven’t you noticed?

Out there in Camarines Sur, Nora "Guy"Aunor is busy shaking hands and patting backs in her effort to clinch the province’s congressional seat.

In Las Piñas City, Tirso "Pip" Cruz III is doing the same thing, running for vice mayor (with Cesar Gonzales as running mate).

Both Guy and Pip are flashing the same "V" sign they used to wave decades ago everytime they greeted their die-hard fans most of whom now have children of voting age.

"In fact," said Pip, "my loyal fans and their children are helping me in the campaign. They help in distributing my campaign leaflets."

Also on hand to help is Pip’s wife, Lyn Ynchausti, and their three children TG, 19, an International Studies junior at De La Salle; Bodie, 15, a Computer Science freshman in the same school; and Dyanin, 12, a high school student at Shekinah Christian Training Center.

Guy and Pip have pledged to campaign for each other. If time permits, Pip will go to Camarines Sur to accompany Guy in her sorties; while Guy has promised to go with the Cruzes on their house-to-house visits.

Running under the Lakas-NUCD banner, Pip’s campaign slogan is, you guessed it PIP (as in Partners In Progress). Pip has been resounding all over the city’s 20 barangays (with a voting population of more than 210,000).

Because he’s showbiz, Pip has been the target of mudslinging by his opponents. You know, "Artista lang ‘yan, walang alam ‘yan." Being a Born-again Christian (a Baptist), Pip doesn’t throw mud back, but only the "V" (also as in "peace") sign.

Asked why he decided to plunge into the murky and oftentimes life-threatening political waters, Pip said, "If I can make a difference in my own little way, why not?"

If elected, Pip would concentrate on development and mobilization of the youth through sports, education and employment. But he won’t turn his back on showbiz. "My earnings in showbiz is for my family," said Pip. "Public service is public service."

So far, so good. Except for a darker skin caused by constant exposure to the summer sun (8 a.m. to 12 noon and then 2 to 6 p.m. of sorties daily), Pip remains unscathed (not even by the mudslinging).

Lesson in grammar

Meanwhile, here’s Funfare’s usual little lesson in grammar from Funfare-friendly Ramon Alfonso A. Fuentes ("A Concerned Senior Citizen"):

Your colleague, Butch Francisco, in his Starbytes piece (STAR, March 1, 2001), asked (I just don’t know if he was serious.): "Is there an English word for mataray?"

I don’t know how to directly get in touch with him, so I hope you would be kind enough to convey a suggestion. There are a number of appropriate English equivalents for the Filipino mataray. Among them are: termagant, shrewish or vinegary. Termagant, in my view, is the closest.

Incidentally, I’m glad you’re still serious in our common effort to edify the TV airheads that "year anniversary" is redundant. (Re: Pia Hontiveros’ goof per your column of Feb. 28, 2001. On the other hand, I chanced upon Dina Bonnevie mentioning it twice in her GMA 7 show last Feb. 26.)

Per chance, if you feel accommodating currently, it might be a good idea to show them exactly the reason why, by citing the etymology of the word "anniversary," to wit:

1. The free or base morpheme, "anni" in "anniversary" is rooted in the Latin term "annus", meaning "year."

2. The bound or combining morpheme, "versary" is based on the Latin word "versus" (the past participle of "vertere"), meaning, "to turn."

As can be very clearly discerned in the foregoing etymological explanation, the word "year" is a built-in component of "anniversary." That’s why it is redundant – and indeed, most embarrassing – to say "year anniversary."