Like A Teapot

Having not heard from my mother for a while, I decided to give her a call tonight. I had suspected that she had gone to visit her father this past weekend and I was right. Apart from seeing her father, she also attended a dinner event celebrating the birth of one of her sisters' first grandchild.

She also informed me that she was in the middle of watching the final episode of the American television series Prison Break. Now that was interesting. First I did not expect the show put on Chinese television. Second, I never thought she would ever be interested in such material. I asked if she was watching the English version or a dubbed Chinese version, she said it was the latter. She also mentioned that the main actor of the show, whom she thought was quite good, had visited China and gone on a popular talk show earlier, which I did remember reading about here.

Though I knew about the tv series, I have never watched it myself and could not immediately recall its English title. So I typed in the Chinese title to google it. And guess what, "Reality Prison Break Show in Belgium" emerged as one of the top search results. I clicked on it and found it a breaking news item. An English BBC version is here.

This is amazing material. Not the least because a similar incident took place in Belgium a few years ago and things of Belgium seem to have made quite a bit of headlines lately. Yesterday I was going to comment on this remarkable Belgian on the right. He was a painter of the 19th century. He may not be a great artist, but he truly had guts. And I admire him for that despite what The Economist says.

Wow, tonight's French language debate among Canada's five political leaders was really boring!

Each leader had a designated interpreter to provide simultaneous English translation for TV viewers. The moderator had one as well. It is obvious that all but one interpreters are natural French speakers. As they all carry an eccent, the thing became really dull after a while. Remember the debate format was more like a round table discussion. The least dull voice was that of the female interpreter who provided voice for the female Green Party leader; her tone managed to match the leader's fiestiness.

I was watching in bed. In spite of my deep interest, I soon felt asleep.

I need distraction today and happened to have an appointment that brought me out of the house.

The weather is not good. It is cloudy and raining. Not a heavy downfall, but rather spare large raindrops hitting the head. I appreciate the cool air, especially in light of the fact that a heat wave is coming up on Thursday, which is forecasted in both west coast Canada and the United States.

I bought lots of grocery. I also bought Chinese medicine for my sprained ankle. I got both herbal pastes and a special oil that is made of herbs. I have the paste on right now.

I was a bit dazed the whole time I was out, due to bad news received earlier in the day. I sighed loudly a few times in my friend's car and also when walking on a parking lot. My friend brought up the topic of the Olympia. She watched synchronized diving but missed the opening ceremony.

Synchronized diving and artistic gymnastics, two of my favourite events are over now. There should be more diving though, for the indivicuals. I do not know the schedule, as I am not as crazy about the game as some people thought. It is just the fact that China is the host this year that makes things more interesting for me. It is interesting to learn of the world's reaction to the Chinese approach.

The opening ceremony is a fantastic showcase of Chinese creativity and ingenuity. It cleverly and successfully reminds the world that the four great Chinese inventions - gun powder, paper making, printing, and the compass - forever changed China and the world. At least this is a clear message that Canadian television viewers received when watching the ceremony at home, as it is repeatedly emphasized by CBC's star presenter Peter Mansbridge, who was doing the live coverage in Beijing.

I do not know how other national news networks covered the opening ceremony. But I feel no one could have done a better job than Mansbridge. He is respected by Canadians and is respectful of Chinese history and culture. I mentioned him in a post on the US Super Tuesday election coverage (without giving his name). He is simply cool and is definitely fast becoming an icon of Canada.

Thank heavens I had dinner before 7:30 PM today. Yesterday it was way past 8:00 PM.

I am having the radio on and listening to a talk show's phone-in program. The topic a moment ago was: "Would you vote for Barack Obama or John McCain if you lived in the United States?"

I had to laugh when a man called in to say:"I wouldn't vote for McCain; McCain doesn't make sense!" After the talk show host made a sound, he repeated "McCain doesn't make sense!" which made me laugh even more. That is exactly what I thought the first time I saw McCain on TV last year before the primary. It was really surprising that he soon became the forerunner on the concervative side.

A previous caller said he would vote for McCain because Obama's "hope" would not help the economy.

In less than 24 hours, we'll learn of another important US primary result.

Many Canadians are fascinated by this year's US presidential election. CBC's Super Tuesday special report of some weeks ago is clear proof.

That day, at the outset of the program, I was amazed by the efforts put in by the CBC, although I was also much delighted. But, as if they could read my thought, the presenter wasted no time to inform me that such a program was warranted because lots of Canadians were interested.

Ah, public interest, of course. I remember I sat back thinking "Great, I am not nuts; if I am nuts, there are lots of nuts in this country."

That night I watched the entire CBC program, which started and finished relatively early, as well as reporting of several US networks, which lasted into late night. As usual, CBC did a fantastic job (with understandable limitations). As for the US networks, I think CBS did a better job.

The hightlight of the CBC report was street interviews, with voters walking out of a polling station at different locations. Americans were unexpectedly greeted on the sidewalk with "Hi, we are from Canada..."

I was struck by the polite and candid responses from the Americans. You can see they are ordinary people unaccustomed to media attention; but after overcoming the initial stun, which is minor but visible, they all quickly focused and succintly answered the questions with admirable sensibility. No one stuttered or babbled away. I was so proud of each of them for the integrity shown. But, hey, who can resist Canadian friendliness? With our presenter's unassuming way and the mention of Canada, everyone would be duly disarmed. I am proud to be Canadian.

God bless the polling stations.