you nerd.

he looks the part, he sounds the part, and when he talks about airplanes and space exploration, he confirms his role in the part.
Richard Quest, you are such an adorable nerd.
I latched onto BizNews because of your chemistry with Hala, and the two of you never seem to be on the same page when it comes to pop culture. She knows Friends, movies, the latest incident on the football pitch. You... don't. But you can talk endlessly about Harry Potter, NASA and the history of the Concorde and Hala might as well not pay attention.
But when you agree on something, that's the best part. Your common stand on David Blaine's so-called "magic" by starving himself for 40+ days. Or how you both decided that Botox better be the thing to blame for actors' lack of acting abilities. And, most recently, the ridiculous hat fashion for Charles and Camilla's Royal Wedding.

Anyway. I had to say it because Richard was just rhapsodic about the "world's largest passenger jet" a few days back. He was absolutely... he was so excited. I just wish Hala'd been there to make fun of him for it.
Just like that time with the Concorde:

Tuesday, 21. October 2003

Richard: I could sit and look at this pictures of Concorde coming into London all day.
Hala: Some people do take it quite far. Turn a 60-mile-round-trip to see a plane take off and land. I don’t. Different strokes...
(Laughter)
Richard: I want a new presenter.
-- quote "stolen" from Liz's site. Thank you Liz :) --

so anyway. once more, with feeling: Quest! and Inside the Middle East!
check your local listings (or the appropriate fan forum thread) for schedules on these programs. What do i look like to you, TV Guide?

(you are so hearing from me next week about these programs)


to add: aggh. vic, you lunatic. now i, too, want to go and be in atlanta on may 30-june 1.
sigh.

such ungodly hours

HALA's BACK!
will i do this everytime she disappears off the face of the planet only to magically reappear a week (or two. or more) later?
yes.
you look well, hala. you look... happy. to be back at work? or did something fun happen while you were away?
either way.
Hala's back!

god. i cannot wait for ItME. there goes my weekend. between hala, the daily show and quest (!!!), i don't think i'll be stepping out this weekend.
oh gosh. Quest. questy with jon stewart, billy connolly and ricky gervais. this ought to be fun.

Richard: no matter which side of the fence i take on this...
Hala: just agree with me and it will be alright.

(ahh, the good old days of Richard/Hala. they were discussing World Women's Day, which Hala contends is an oxymoron for women's equality if there is a special day for it.)

Wellingtons

It's not Hala, but it'll do: who else loved Questy and his "report" on wellies (Business International, 22April)? You could tell he was amused enough already about having a national week dedicated to -- let's face it, these are rubber boots. It's bad enough there's a week for it, then he had that guy who was completely enamored with the things. Oh, Richard. Loved your expression when the guy waxed rhapsodic over the things. Also loved how you oh-so-carelessly tossed the welly aside. When that guy said you could write poems about wellies? :) Whomever has a picture of Richard being overcome by wellies, send them my way.

Max was World Business This Week. Max, you're improving everytime I see you.

But what the heck is Fionnuala (spell checker down!) doing in Atlanta?

MAY 1!!!

actually, i just wanted to give nods to that guest and to annalewis25 for putting the Hala thread back on page 1 of the fan forum site. and, yes, guest, i totally agree: Hala and Richard have this way of looking at the camera and making you feel like they're delivering the news especially for you. as for charisma, um, i may have to say Richard's on top of that list, because even when he's being British, or even rude, you still want to keep listening to him. Hala takes on this if-looks-could-kill expression when she disagrees with what the interviewee is saying.
sadly, it is this side of Hala that i find the most endearing.

i need psychological help.

edit: i'll get it on the 29th, too, but since CNN says May 1, i will abide by CNN's declaration of scheduling :)

christiane and liz

Hala being away has allowed me to broaden my horizons, so here are a few little comments on some of the rest of the pack:

- Christiane Amanpour: You get banned from Iran, you are chief international correspondent, you are the Queen of CNN. And you're funny - who knew?

"I have to stay alive now." - Christiane Amanpour, on how having children has changed her (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno)

- Liz George: I miss Liz George. I never really realized how much until I watched MainSail yesterday. She's so infectious, I found myself smiling with her. Now, Liz George reporting is a wonderful way to get your global tragedy. ;)
That sounds like fun. Max Foster and Liz George being co-anchors. I could dream, can't I?

Hala, where art thou?

Quick edit: Yes, I realize she may be off filming ItME. But it's so nice to whine and complain. Can't wait for May 1.

Sumi Das

Yes, this has absolutely nothing to do with Hala, but it's CNN-related, so I'm posting it anyway. Sumi Das is now an official CNN employee!!! Yes, she's going to be a reporter, and not an anchor that we can watch on a regular basis, but i don't care.

On that note, I now wonder: where is Hala? The fan forum for her has been relegated to the second page! This is not good.

best. weekend. ever.

so. friday afternoon was dedicated to watching the pope's funeral, and to be honest i didn't really pay attention, because that's just how i am. it was nice, though, to witness such an event.

anyway. moving on. the fun part of the weekend actually happened starting saturday. so with the papal hoopla on the slide, we move on to other news. okay, actually, saturday morning kind of sucked. it was massively slow. moving on.
the wedding of prince charles and camilla parker-bowles, which was going to be partly covered by richard quest, was going to be in the afternoon. call me optimistic, but i just knew CNNi would find a way to get richard to talk to hala.
and talk they did.
me goofily watching CNN as richard and hala talked to each other, discussing everything from fashion to the repercussions of the union... they may never admit it, but we know they miss each other.
did anyone else notice how amused hala was by the whole thing? and her comment on the hats? the woman is wicked.

sunday: inside the middle east. halahalahala... hala don't taste the dead sea!!! she did it anyway. got to love that look that crossed her face when she did. (to see the look, click here - courtesy of Starman)
oh look. alessio vinci learning to surf. who else thought alessio was adorable in that wet suit? (aggh. i just used the word adorable to describe a CNN bureau chief)
max foster doing world business this week. oh, max. i'm usually not a fan of wide foreheads, but call me.
hala had a report-like thing differentiating Prince Charles' two weddings, which you know she just found amusing. hala, is this your attempt at jeanne moos-like reporting?
then there was a montage of the different hats seen during the royal wedding. my suspicion is that some editor wants to be on hala's good graces and made that for her amusement. because it sure amused me.
i didn't see her report during sunday, which could be entirely my fault, i don't know. all i know is that i also saw the daily show.

finally, this morning. it wasn't quite hala, but it was suzanne simons. okay, suzanne, i like you, but what is the deal with your bangs? grow them out, quickly!

so. actually i'm just gloating that richard and hala shared screentime. i love these two together. even when (or especially when?) they're exchanging snarky remarks.

the only thing missing? liz george.

here's hoping the week is as good as the weekend on CNNi.



quick edit:
a quick amendment to the post: as proof that i am losing my mind, i stated that i saw ItME on sunday. that would be erroneous: i saw it on saturday morning. so that comment on saturday being slow would be wrong. or something. i don't know. point is, inside the middle east aired on saturday morning.

oh no. if my sense of time is shot, the rest of my sanity can't be too far behind.

pardon me for that mistake.

*slowly backing away out of the room*

hala's glasses

i miss hala's old glasses. she used to have this pair that was a whole lot less... (okay, i'll say it) nerdy than the ones she's been wearing lately. what's going on? what's the deal with those big clunky glasses? i mean, they do absolutely nothing for hala's features.

i bring it up because this morning, when i tuned in to learn about the latest headlines, hala was wearing her big clunky glasses. and if it weren't hala, i just know i'd have been waxing rhapsodic over why an anchor would be wearing those things.

i still remember the first time i saw hala wear glasses. i was riveted.

anyway.

my boss gave us the afternoon off if we want to go and watch the pope's funeral. people at work know i'm non-practicing, so they asked me if i was going to take our boss up on the offer.
answer: (and possibly miss questy, vinci and amanpour? on purpose? on what planet?) yes.
it's official: i am a CNN nerd.

how to start your day

Not much. Just to say that Questy kept me company through most of yesterday (I was home sick, and he constantly checked in to tell me about the latest goings-on at The Vatican).
Oh, and Hala woke me up this morning. Sleepy, fumbling with the remote, I switch on the TV to check on the time, and lo and behold: Hala Gorani. She also sent me on my way to work, as I left not soon after she told me about the latest news headlines. so there.

oh, ooh, maria ressa did some reporting yesterday about the prayers for the pope things that are happening locally. just sharing.

So it is...

A few things.
1) Hala and Richard sharing screentime last Friday. Mad, mad props to my mother for understanding my little obsession and recording some of it. They were all serene and serious, which, while deviating from the usual Questy/Hala interactions, is still a reunion, nonetheless. Loved the part where Hala takes back the "Pope is in a coma" statement and later on saying,
"We are expecting a statement from the Vatican in a few minutes, no speculation there."

2) Hala and Shihab sharing Saturday's shift. Well, Shihab's improved a bit since the last time I criticized his co-anchoring skills.
"Nothing is written in stone as of yet." (Hala still smarting from the mis-report on Friday, I think)

3) Hala's ponytail, or whatever it was she was doing with her hair on Sunday. Pretty.


and, this no longer has anything to do with Hala, but who is that rather good-looking guy at the London newsdesk? I keep missing his name. He was co-anchoring with Fionualla at 0600 HKT on Monday morning. He's pretty to look at...