Canton clips

East meets West

I love how Hong Kong is an amalgam of old Oriental and new cosmopolitan. It’s Chinese enough, but not too Chinese… meaning the public rest rooms are actually clean. In fact I was in a bathroom cubicle when the idea occurred to me: if the Philippines had been colonized by the British instead of the Americans, maybe we’d be in a much better state that the sordid one we’re currently in. We’d have a stronger economy, better education, more efficient transport systems and cleaner public facilities, including toilets.

This is CNN

Whenever we go abroad, we tend to watch a lot of CNN when we’re in our hotel room. It’s as if there’s this inherent compulsion to find out what’s happening with the rest of the world because we’re not home… perhaps in order not to feel so adrift and out of touch.

My favorite CNN news anchor is Richard Quest, the Briton with the hoarse voice and expressive, almost exuberant, manner of speaking. He makes even the most dreary news sound interesting, even entertaining. I especially love watching him report from the street, where he really gets into it, with matching hyper gesticulations and audacious interview questions. Every time I watch him, I think to myself, now there’s a guy who really loves his job. I appreciate his zest, his humor, his vitality… I’m tempted to use the word “vivacity” but it sounds too flippant; I don’t want to give the impression he’s not a serious, credible journalist, for he is. But what sets him apart from his colleagues at CNN is that Richard Quest is not just a talking head, because he puts his heart into what he does.

Then there’s my least favorite CNN news anchor, our very own Veronica Pedrosa. Or maybe I shouldn’t say “our very own” since she doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge her being Filipino. She speaks with this absurdly affected British accent that annoys me, especially when she pronounces her own frickin’ name “Pay-drow-zaa.” My friend Shirley once pointed out how ridiculous it is that Ms. Paydrowzaa pronounces “tsunami” the Western way, with a silent T. “Bakit, diba meron naman tayong tsonggo? Tsinelas?” It’s impressive how Ms. Paydrowzaa has gotten to where she is, but it’s impossible for me to admire someone who has lost touch with and seemingly turned her back on her origins.

Lost and not found

I lost my beloved ankh pendant in a Guangzhou flea market. (To the hieroglyphically challenged: the ankh is the ancient Egyptian symbol of life. It resembles the Christian cross, which my pendant was often mistaken for.) The clasp of my necklace must have snagged on my bag strap and opened by itself, and the ankh fell off. What made it even more frustrating was that I didn’t lose the chain, which could have been easily replaced. I tried not to get too upset over it, forcing myself to think that it was only a material possession, and I’ve lost items with far more sentimental value. I guess I will just have to take on the challenge of finding a new ankh accessory. Sigh.