Review: Hamnet

Buckley and Mescal star in the Oscar-nominated Hamnet

The heavy rain today was a good reason to head to the theatre to watch Hamnet, the film by Chloe Zhao that has been nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best actress.

I have to admit I did not see Nomadland so I was not sure what I was expecting with Hamnet.

It is a devastating, intense processing of grief, and how people deal with it differently.

Buckley plays Agnes, Shakespeare's wife

Zhao wrote the screenplay with Maggie O'Farrell, who wrote the novel, fictionalising what William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) might have gone through when their son Hamnet dies at the age of 11.

The scene opens with two tall trees with their roots entwined, as Agnes lies curled up near their roots; she is a free-spirited, strong-headed woman, the daughter of a forest witch, who knows herbal medicinal treatments, and when holding someone's hand, can see into their futures.

Shakespeare is a Latin tutor, frustrated as he is working to pay off his father's debts. He wants to write plays, but is stuck in a small village. He meets Agnes and to help the story move along quickly, they get married and have children, an older daughter Susanna and twins, Hamnet and Judith.

But the bubonic plague spreads and Hamnet dies, and this scene is absolutely tragic, watching Agnes' reaction. In an podcast interview with the New York Times, Buckley says there was no particular direction in the script about how the scene would play out; they just let the camera roll, and viewers are in agony watching Agnes in raw emotional pain.

Watson delivers important lines in the film

She and Shakespeare deal with the immense grief differently, causing the pair to have a rift between them, and the audience wonders how or if that will ever be reconciled. 

Meanwhile, Shakespeare's mother (Emily Watson) says the most poignant lines in the film, as she too has experienced the loss of a child.

"What is given may be taken away, at anytime," she says. "The trick is never to let down your guard. Never think you are safe. Never take for granted that your children's hearts beat, that they sup milk, that they draw breath, that they walk and speak and smile and argue and play. Never for a moment forget they may be gone, snatched from you in the blink of any eye, borne away from you like thistledown."

It is words of advice that transcend time.

Hamnet is a slow-moving film, giving a lot of time for the actors and the scene to breathe before moving on. The bubonic plague is not a big storyline in the plot, but it's not really hovering much in the background either. 

Zhao (middle) with the cast of Hamnet

There is a belief that Shakespeare spent more time in London than Stratford-Upon-Avon because he did not like his wife, but author O'Farrell says there is no evidence of him detesting her. So she reframed the their relationship as a loving one, and focusing more on Agnes, rather than the Bard.

Perhaps that explains why Buckley has the best actress nomination, but Mescal also deserves a nod for his portrayal of a frustrated artist who channeled his anger and grief into one of his best plays, Hamlet.

Interesting to note that Buckley says while shooting the film she was so keen on having a child that after they finished filming, she got pregnant a month afterwards.

She first saw the film eight months pregnant and says the experience of being Agnes has profoundly affected her as a mother.

Hamnet

Directed by Chloe Zhao

126 minutes

Let the Winter Games Begin

The cauldron at Milano was lit creating a giant fireball

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics has officially begun and the opening ceremonies went off without a hitch -- including the woman showing Italian hand gestures as her microphones didn't work (on purpose). 

Nice blend of classical with Andrea Bocelli singing Nessun Dorma, and Lang Lang on the piano in a white suit and black shoes, and a voluptuous Mariah Carey in her regal robes belting out Volare.

How the Italians dealt with the lighting of the cauldron in two locations was spectacularly done, with the sun-like structure inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's intricate knot designs. It turned from blue to red and set off the fireworks which was an exhilarating display.

Can we talk about some of the uniforms?

Canadians wear maple leafs on their bodies

Some loved the Canadian uniform designed by Lululemon with the giant red maple leaf on the maroon-coloured vest that is draped over the shoulders, on top of a long brown coat. Apparently the vest can be worn as a scarf -- wonder if an athlete can model this for us -- and it can also double as a pillow. Useful?

Others preferred the Roots designs from before featuring red and white varsity jackets with the red berets worn backwards. 

Probably the most consistently preppy are the American uniforms designed by Ralph Lauren, unabashedly featuring the American flag all over the sweaters and jackets. 

Mongolia got a shout-out for its traditional garb, inspired by the 13th and 15th Mongol Empire. The long robes were made with Mongolian cashmere and designed to keep the athletes warm, as they would have done centuries ago.

Shades of blue from the Chinese team

But what about China? Was someone in the Chinese committee tired of the red and yellow colour scheme? In previous years Chinese netizens have made fun of the colour combination, saying the look was reminiscent of scrambled eggs and tomato, a homestyle dish.

This year the Chinese team was dressed by Li-Ning and the athletes came out in shades of blue -- dark for men, pastel for women. How yawningly predictable. 

Nevertheless, Chinese state media have praised the uniforms, adding netizens have commented, "China looks awesome" and "This looks so cool."

Can we also talk about no sign of Eileen Gu, the Chinese-American freestyle skier who makes US$23 million a year from non-sports activities from modelling to endorsements? She was not the flag bearer again this year.

This will be her second Olympics after she won two golds and a silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and conveniently seems to be able to represent China despite holding two passports (which China does not allow dual citizenship). 

Will Gu repeat her medal performance this year?

In several interviews over the years, Gu has said: "When I'm in the US, I'm American, but when I'm in China, I'm Chinese."

That statement seems to fit neatly into one comment online: "Being Chinese like Eileen Gu once every four years is just about right; being Chinese everyday is a bit too challenging."

The scrutiny of this 22-year-old continues! And it will keep going if she competes again in 2030...

Canadian is Top Dog at Westminster Show

Linton with Penny and their prizes as Best in Show

Did you catch the 150th Westminster Kennel Dog Show the other day? Penny, the statuesque Doberman pinscher beat out an Afghan hound, an Old English Sheepdog, and a smooth fox terrier for the big prize.

What's especially cool about Penny is that she's from Toronto, Canada.

Her handler, Andy Linton, was very pleased -- he last won -- also with another Doberman pinscher called Indy back in 1989. 

This win with Penny was especially sweet, as Linton was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a few years ago. "I had some goals, and this was one of them."

Linton kisses Penny on their win

He has explained in interviews what it feels like to have the degenerative disease that affects movement and speech, which can impact his confidence and physical coordination when competing.

"Some days you just don't feel like moving. You're stiff and stuck in a place," he said.

But training four-year-old Penny kept him motivated.

"She's really helped me out considerably, over the last year especially," Linton said.

Originally from Brush Prairie, Washington state, Linton started out being a surfer in Southern California, not a dog handler.

But in the 1970s he started learning how to train dogs for competition, and showed his first dog in 1974 at the Beverly Hills Kennel Club. 

In 1989 he won the Westminster Kennel Dog Show -- the World Cup for dogs -- with Indy, a red Doberman. But it was quite tense days before the competition.

Penny posing with the New York skyline

When the dog arrived from California to New York, Indy almost died of bloating, with a grossly dilated stomach.

She was rushed to the Animal Medical Center where the vets knew they were dealing with a dog in competition and so they fed the dog intravenously through her legs than shave her coat. Afterwards she rested and the rest is history.

"It's pretty weird to do this 37 years later, after I've done it before," Linton said. "It's kind of an emotional moment for me."

Indeed -- what an accomplishment especially with his own personal health challenges. Highly respected by his peers, Linton has proven he is not a one-hit wonder, and plans to continue working with six dogs as long as he can.

As for Penny, after a tour around New York, including a photo call at the top of the Empire State Building, she returned to Toronto.

"Penny's going to retire from showing and become a certified therapy dog, because she loves to be pet so much," said her owner Theresa Connors-Chan. "And hopefully she'll be a mama."

Vancouver Will Have One Night of Fireworks

The city will have a fireworks show this year

What does $2 million (US$1.46 million) buy you in Vancouver?

A two or three bedroom condo in Kitsilano or downtown, or perhaps a detached house in East Vancouver.

The $2 million could be used to keep libraries open seven days a week, or give to food banks to ensure people have food to eat, fix potholes, or fund arts groups so they can hold their annual events.

But no, Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver majority have voted to spend $2 million on fireworks for an hour this summer.

The three-day Celebration of Light, a fireworks competition that was held for three decades was cancelled indefinitely last year because of the lack of federal funding, and Sim felt it was necessary to bring it back -- kind of.

He said it was a "deeply personal" issue, claiming his family had "struggled financially" when he was young, and really looked forward to free events like the fireworks.

Sim added the city had "never pulled our support" from the fireworks, and "had already committed $1.4 million to the event", so the increase is actually $600,000.

Sounds like someone is trying to massage the numbers.

His opponents on city council were not impressed, smelling smoke.

Green councillor Pete Fry, who has also announced he will run for mayor later this year, said that the event was not financially viable.

"The reality is that it was a business model that was not sustainable," he said. "They couldn't make it work, for a variety of reasons, including the lack of federal funding. We need to recognise that we are in this austerity budget. ... We're talking about the allocation of $2 million at a time when this city has talked about a zero means zero austerity budget."

In November City Council voted for a zero percent increase in property taxes, but that meant 400 jobs cut, while utility fees for water, garbage and sewer will go up 4 percent.

Meanwhile COPE councillor Sean Orr also questioned if it was worth spending $2 million on a one-hour fireworks show.

We also wondered that too. The fireworks show would be literally burning money in the sky for an hour. And then what?

While there are complaints that Vancouver is a "no-fun city", now isn't the time to put on something so frivolous. 

It's Sim's attempt at getting in voters' good books before the upcoming civic election later this year. Will voters return the favour?

So Long, Sammy's Kitchen

Restaurant was an institution for over 50 years

The latest old school restaurant to close in Hong Kong is Sammy's Kitchen in Sheung Wan. It was well known for its giant neon cow sign which was taken down in 2015 after it was deemed an illegal structure, but thankfully it is preserved at M+ in West Kowloon.

It was sad news to hear of its impending closure, but it wasn't the first time the restaurant threatened to shutter.

One could have escargots in garlic butter sauce

Back in 2017 the owners announced they would close Sammy's Kitchen and like many others I rushed over to try it, not once but twice. It was so busy before the purported closure that it actually continued operating, until a few days ago on January 31.

The restaurant was best known for Hong Kong style western food, like beef Stroganoff, escargots with garlic butter baked in cheese, beef Wellington and even Chateaubriand for two. Don't forget desserts like peach Alaska, souffle, and banana flambe.

It was opened over 50 years ago by Sammy Yip and his friends, who had experience working in hotel kitchens and decided to strike out on their own.

When I went nine years ago, the cavernous, dim restaurant was run down and tired. Tables were covered in plastic sheets with a Burberry tartan design. 

Hong Kong style western food on the menu

The menu, presented in plastic binders had so many dishes, one wondered how the kitchen in the back could produce all those items, but apparently did, arriving piping hot at the table.

Did no one think to at least edit down the menu a bit to make it easier for the kitchen and control food costs a bit more?

Nevertheless, perhaps there is a time and place for things and the food at Sammy's Kitchen is long past it's due date. 

There are many other restaurants in Hong Kong that do beef Wellington and Chateaubriand much better, though I will concede probably cost more. And in general diners are more sophisticated and expect better quality, which is why they have also moved on from Sammy's Kitchen.

At least we'll have the neon cow sign to remember it by.

End of the Line for Frozen Juice from Concentrate

Frozen juice from concentrate will be discontinued

A core memory from childhood is about to go the way of the rotary phone, the fax machine and CD player.

It's frozen juice from concentrate.

By April Minute Maid will discontinue producing frozen juices as consumer demand declines and tastes have changed.

I remember when we bought these canned juices and I would wait for them to thaw out for a bit before opening the can and turning it upside down for the bright orange cylinder-shaped slush to drop with a thud into the juice container before adding three cans of cold water and then mixing it with a wooden spoon. Voila! Instant orange juice.

Minute Maid makes not only orange juice, but also lemonade, Fruitopia fruit punch, and Five Alive juice blend.

But these days consumers don't want the hassle of having to make juice from concentrate when they can just buy it in a bottle from the supermarket, though juice consumption has fallen because of concerns of the amount of sugar in these drinks.

It turns out frozen juice has been around since World War II when food scientists had to improve food and beverage quality for American soldiers. 

Then when Bing Crosby collaborated with Minute Maid on an animated commercial featuring the juice in the late 1940s, the product took off in the domestic market.

But now nearly 80 years later, only 7 percent of consumers are buying frozen juice from concentrate; more people are drinking water or probiotic drinks like kombucha.

I'm the latter category of drinking water, but it was fun making orange juice back in the day...

Review: Grit by Angela Duckworth

Want some inspiration? Read for some grit tips

What makes someone succeed? University of Pennsylvania Psychology professor Angela Duckworth believes it's a combination of discipline, passion and grit.

In 2016 she wrote the book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance with lots of interesting stories backed up with research, her own and many other psychologists past and present. You could say Duckworth is passionate about the subject and determined to know everything there is to know about grit.

Some of the stories on people like Jeff Bezos when he was a child, or Warren Buffet's tips on career goals, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll in 2013, and actor Will Smith insisting he will be No. 1, one way or another, who said this in 2003:

Duckworth has numerous examples of grit

"The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is: I'm not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me. You might be smarter than me, you might be sexier than me. You might be all of those things. You got it on me in nine categories. But if we get on the treadmill together, there's two simple things: You're getting off first, or I'm going to die. It's really that simple."

He said this long before he smacked Chris Rock on stage during the Academy Awards in 2022. This kind of dates Duckworth's book (and same with how Bezos has turned out), but their stories still show how they became successful.

In Grit, Duckworth says just because someone has talent or genius doesn't mean they have grit , compared to someone who is determined and practices relentlessly. When you have talent and add effort, you get skill. And with skill added with more effort leads to achievement.

But what about flow, the state in which athletes and artists do their sport or art effortlessly? A competitive figure skater described it like this:

"It was just one of those programs that clicked. I mean everything went right, everything felt good... it's just such a rush, like you could feel it could go on and on and on, like you don't want it to stop because it's going so well. It's almost as though you don't have to think, everything goes automatically without thinking..."

It is a state that does not have anything to do with improvement, Duckworth says. "In other words, deliberate practice is for preparation, and flow is for performance."

What is deliberate practice? She says it is a clearly defined stretch goal; full concentration and effort; immediate and informative feedback; and repetition with reflection and refinement.

In order to do that it doesn't necessarily mean endless hours of doing something over and over again, but intentional, deliberate practice with the goal of improving, which entails making it a habit, a ritual that is done daily.

With these kinds of ideas and research, readers wonder what they can do to get grit, and Duckworth addresses this in the last few chapters of the book, particularly how parents can instil grit in their children through discipline, but not the Asian Tiger Mom way, but teaching them to finish what they started and to do it well.

It also has to do with passion, because without it, why bother? Duckworth says if a child wants to quit a sport or a musical instrument or dance, they can't stop on a whim, or when they have a bad day; they should only do that when there is a natural end, like the season or school year is over. 

She also stresses that it's important to be a role model for your children, so they see that you struggle and that you are determined to finish a challenge like a marathon, or complete writing a book.

As writer Alex Martinez says: "To finish things, you have to put the work in. When I was younger, I'd meet many people who were writing stuff. They'd say to me, 'Oh yeah, I am a writer as well, but I've never finished anything.' Well, in that case, you are not a writer. You are just somebody who sits down and writes things on a bit of paper. If you've got something to say, go ahead and say it and finish it."

But one doesn't have to be a parent to try to instil grit in children -- they can be extended family, friends and teachers who encourage kids by giving them opportunities and knowing how to push them, by saying things like, "I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them", instead of "I'm giving you these comments so that you'll have feedback on your paper."

The child or student realises that someone believes in them and wants to see them do well which can inspire them to do better next time. That's what Duckworth's research shows.

When it comes to work, company culture that promotes grit will also develop employees who want to work hard. Not the Chinese "996" way, where one works from 9am to 9pm, six days a week, but what Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase says in the company manual, How We do Business: 

"Have a fierce resolve in everything you do." "Demonstrate determination, resiliency, and tenacity." "Do not let temporary setbacks become permanent excuses." and "Use mistakes and problems as opportunities to get better -- not reasons to quit."

And finally, don't just finish something, but finish strong, putting in as much effort as you did in the beginning and at the end. 

Duckworth says one can grow their grit and the time to start is now.

It Can't Get More Canadian Than This

Carney asks Williams to "do the leg thing" in photo op

I was wondering when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney would meet superstar Hudson Williams of Heated Rivalry fame and it happened today!

They met at a gala tonight in Ottawa to promote the Canadian film and television industry, and the two men who have dominated my social media feeds in the last week finally shook hands, hugged and even had pictures of Carney holding up Williams' left leg. BFFs indeed.

Carney praised Tierney (second from right)

Carney praised the TV series on Crave, saying viewership in the first week grew over 400 percent, and one-third of those viewers have re-watched the show. The prime minister added that blueberry smoothie sales have also gone up exponentially.

He also credited the series creator Jacob Tierney for making Heated Rivalry in Canada despite the smaller production and marketing budget because he was given more freedom to produce it the way he wanted.

"So Jacob did the right thing. He did the smart thing. He came home to Canada," Carney said. "He came home to a nation that celebrates what makes us different."

It's proof that despite limited funds the show has been a massive success mostly due to Tierney faithfully bringing author Rachel Reid's book to the small screen. He used unknown actors as the two leads, while many online have pointed out how the camera shoots focus on the characters so there is no need for a lot of extras. Others say it's shot like a movie, with the colours reflecting the characters' inner feelings. 

The Canada fleece will be available "soon"...

Today the Mayor of Ottawa declared it was "Shane Hollander Day", which is kind of weird naming it after a character, but it seems Mark Sutcliffe was determined to claim him first.

Nevertheless, Carney got the biggest prize -- the coveted fleece jacket that Williams actually wore in episode 2. Yesterday it was announced that the Team Canada fleece will be commercially available soon.

All over social media people are buzzing today about seeing Carney and Williams together and how proud they are to be Canadian.

It's crazy!

 

Celebrating Failure as a Sign of Progress

There's a new exhibition -- in a Vancouver shopping mall -- that most people can probably relate to.

Called The Museum of Personal Failure, it's a collection of artefacts from the public, from a dead plant to a wedding dress and a spilled can of paint with anecdotes to explain why they were not successful.

It's the brainchild of Burnaby resident Eyvan Collins, who started it when a relationship of his fizzled out.

"I felt like a failure. It was a heartbreak," Collins told the CBC. "I just needed to do something with it -- and this is what I did."

He made posters saying, "Failures Wanted" and plastered them around Metro Vancouver. People responded with offers of all kinds of items signifying their failures.

Collins says failure is an essential part of life. 

"It's part of making an attempt. Sometimes it goes the way you want it to, sometimes it doesn't," he said.

There's also a "Wall of Reject", featuring firing notices and rejection letters.

I'm sure many people would have some of these lying in the back of their desk drawers.

His mother, Jennifer Campbell donated her wedding dress for display.

"I wanted to sort of tell a story about a failing that occurred in my marriage, and how we were able to move on," she said.

"I've called it Threads of Innocence, because it's about the innocence of false fairy tales or things that you think are going to happen when you're young... and it doesn't happen."

The dress is even shown in a cardboard moving box to signify her being able to move on from it. 

Meanwhile, bladesmith Casey Vilensky submitted a knife he can't be sharpen because he made mistakes while making it.

"Failure is a step forward. You don't go forward until you fail. You have to be able to look back at your failures, figure out why they failed and change the process and move on. I don't harp on them... I put them in the bucket," he said.

If I were to submit something to the Museum of Failure, I'd probably donate my empty sketchbooks.

I keep meaning to get back into drawing, but have left them blank, too terrified to make a mistake. A fear of failure.

But it's totally unfounded!

Or probably some jewellery from failed relationships... 

What would you donate to the Museum of Failure?

The exhibition is on until February 3 at Kingsgate Mall.

Anne Frank's Story Still Resonates Today

Thinking of Anne Frank on Holocaust Remembrance Day

When I was in elementary school, my mother gave me a copy of The Dairy of a Young Girl and got to know Anne Frank this way, and was impressed by her deep, sophisticated, thoughtful observations and feelings at a young age. This was also how I got to learn about the horrors of the holocaust.

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and I just saw a traveling exhibition in a school in Vancouver called "Anne Frank: A History for Today."

Presented by Anne Frank House, there are several large panels that document what was happening in Europe in the 1930s with the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany and how these big historical events coincided with those of the Frank family.

Anne was born on June 12, 1929 and had an older sister, Margot, her mother Edith, and father Otto. Anne writes that her father was 36 years old when he married her mother who was 25 in 1925.

The stock market crash in 1929 which led to the Great Depression resulted in growing unemployment, and Hitler of the Nazi party promised jobs, promoted antisemitism, and criticised communism. When his party was voted into power, Hitler began doing as he promised, and began making life difficult for Jews, attacking Jewish people and businesses in Kristallnacht, or Night of the Broken Glass.

Germans were told not to patronise Jewish businesses, or associate with them, and later Jews were forced to give up their businesses to the government. Nazis didn't like gypsies, Blacks or the disabled either.

The Franks were uneasy with the situation and in 1933 they moved to Amsterdam where Otto set up a company that sold spices and pectin to make jam. 

But the Nazis weren't satisfied with just controlling Germany. In 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland and the following year entered the Netherlands, which surrendered in a week. 

In the meantime Otto tried to apply for visas for the United States, Cuba and Britain, but they were either granted and he didn't receive it on time, or their applications were not approved. In July 1942 the family began living in the secret annex behind his office, which is where Anne recorded her innermost thoughts for two years, until they were suddenly arrested in August 1944.

Anne and her sister Margot died days of each other of typhus in a concentration camp, mother Edith died on the way to the camp, and Otto was the only survivor of the family, when he and others were liberated by the Soviets in January 1945.

Watching a documentary about the Franks and Nazism immediately drew parallels with the ICE raids in the United States, in particular what has happened in Minneapolis these last few weeks. Immigration Customs Enforcement agents are violently taking down and arresting who they think are illegal immigrants, detaining them and sending them out of the country.

They are doing President Donald Trump's bidding, as he claimed these undocumented people are violent drug dealers, rapists, pedophiles, murderers, gang members, and terrorists who need to be removed from the country.

The US Department of Homeland Security reports to have removed over 670,000 people, and over 2 million self-deportations.

Now two American citizens are dead after trying to protect these alleged criminals.

It is eerie and shocking to see how this is happening today just south of the border from us. 

How is it that history is repeating itself in 2026!

Review: Rental Family

Fraser plays a token white guy trying to help Japanese people

An unemployed American actor in Tokyo is desperate for work and stumbles on an opportunity -- to play the part his client is paying him for -- a journalist, a second gamer, a groom, a father.

That's the premise of Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser as Phillip Vanderploeg as the aforementioned gaijin, or foreigner in Japanese. It seems the part is made for him until you see that he executive produced the comedy-drama, which is not particularly hilarious, but sweet at times during the 110 minutes.

Phillip connects with an actor with dementia

At first Phillip is confounded with the idea of playing a character in real life, but his boss Shinji (Takehiro Hira) says this is what clients want, to be seen, or he is a means to an end. 

In the case of single mother Hitomi (Shino Shinozaki), she needs a "token white guy" to be the father of Mia (a very cute Shannon Mahina Gorman) so that she can get into a prestigious school, and for adult daughter Masami, Phillip is a journalist to jog her father Kikuo's memories, a famous elderly actor (Akira Emoto) with dementia.

Being told her father disappeared, Mia is angry when she first meets Phillip, but soon she grows attached to him and draws him pictures; he feels hey, this is a job I can do. The same could be said with his relationship with Kikuo, who feels comfortable around the American, even though he doesn't act like a journalist taking notes or recording interviews.

However, Phillip's initial reluctance becomes real when the situations he's in become more complicated, or don't go according to plan, and that's when Shinji tells him to cut the cord and extract himself from the client.

Phillip plays a dad to 11-year-old Mia

But is is that easy? As Phillip accuses his boss of running a soulless company that claims to help clients make personal connections, but they are really fake.

Most heartwarming was the "jailbreak" that Phillip and Kikuo make to go to the latter's hometown, but viewers can sense what will happen next.

The ending seems to be neatly tied up in a bow, but Rental Family is not meant to be too deep either. Nevertheless it brings up the theme of loneliness and how people yearn connections with others. Fraser is thoughtful in his role and respectful of Japanese culture, even if his character doesn't completely understand it.

Rental Family

Directed and co-written by Hikari

110 minutes

Canadian Cities Fight Over Heated Rivalry Star

Williams' star has blown up and everyone wants a piece

It's funny how some Canadian cities want to own a piece of Hudson Williams, one of the co-stars of Heated Rivalry.

Tourism boards are using whichever angle they can to promote their city's connection with the hottest TV show at the moment.

The 24-year-old Williams is a BC boy -- born in Kamloops, British Columbia, and studied Film Arts at Langara College in Vancouver.

His last job before he was chosen to act in Heated Rivalry was being a server at The Old Spaghetti Factory in New Westminster. Williams admits he was terrible at serving.

In the show, his character Shane Hollander is the captain of the fictional Montreal Metros, while his dad David was a graduate of McGill University, which is why Montreal is claiming Hollander, the fictional character.

Meanwhile Ottawa boasts being the "birthplace of Shane Hollander", which is amusing, when Kamloops says it is the "birthplace of Hudson Williams."

Perhaps even more stranger than fiction is that it has been announced that Williams and his co-star Connor Storrie will be two of the torch bearers for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics!

Will they smooch before lighting the cauldron to fan the flames of passion?

Unbelievable.

 

Popularity of Heated Rivalry Spawns Numerous Tangents

Heated Rivalry has blown up as the hottest show now

This week my social media has blown up with either clips of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's decisive, call-to-action speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, or of scenes from Heated Rivalry, the Canadian TV series that has turned the two stars, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie into celebrities overnight.

In real life and in fiction, both are pushing back against angry men who want to aggressively take over the world and demand subordination from trad women.

There is so much analysis of Heated Rivalry that it's pretty crazy how everyone has fallen for the two characters, Canadian Shane Hollander and Russian Ilya Rozanov, who are hockey players on rival teams and are smitten with each other.

Analysts opined why the show appeals to women

Aside from the sensual sex scenes, many say female viewers are so obsessed with the show because the two actors are gorgeous men who play a very physical game, but when it comes to their relationship, they are very sensitive -- which analysts like psychologists say is what women want in men.

There is the yearning in the dialogue as well as subtle body language to hint their intentions which female viewers love picking up in the show.

Heated Rivalry was inspired by the book of the same name written by Canadian Rachel Reid in 2019, but it turns out there was a real heated rivalry story many years earlier between two female hockey players, Canadian Caroline Ouellette and American Julie Chu, who faced off against each other in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Both were team captains and both wore the number 13. While they were fierce rivals on the ice, Chu and Ouellette became friends and then lovers, but kept their relationship private for many years. After they were both played in the Olympics four times, they hung up their skates and have two girls and live in Montreal. Ouellette is the assistant coach for the Canadian women's hockey team for the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics next month.

Storrie and Williams became celebs overnight

Another tangent is that the phenomenon that is Heated Rivalry the show, is not new in Asia. As pointed out in Lingua Sinica's Substack, BL, or "Boys' Love" has been going red hot for years in Thailand, Taiwan, Japan and China.

The shows appeal mostly to women and some men, with storylines that range from mutual love without physical touching to those that include sex scenes. Thailand has the most mature BL scene, which generates a lot of revenue not only from the shows but also from meet-and-greets with the fans.

These events in Thailand can last five to six hours, where tens of thousands of fans from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, fill stadiums to see their favourite stars in person. The fans snap up all kinds of memorabilia, which means lining up for an hour just to buy them. General admission to these fan events alone costs HK$2,600 (US$333), and together with airfare and hotel, means these fans are around 30 to 40 years old, and mainly female.

So in a way the West is finally discovering BL, which is already hundreds of miles ahead in Asia. And with Shane Hollander the character and Hudson Williams the actor both half Asian, Heated Rivalry has gained a huge fan base across the Pacific.

Fog That Wraps Around Vancouver

There's been some dramatic photos of Vancouver these days

Vancouver has had over a week of fog, a very unusual occurrence, and hopefully tomorrow evening will be the last day. Environment Canada has issued fog advisory warnings for pedestrians and motorists to be careful on the roads because at times there can be zero visibility.

The fog is caused by a ridge of high pressure, trapping moisture; one meteorologist explained it like steam trapped in a pot covered with a lid. In the past several days there has been hardly any wind to blow the fog away.

The Lions Gate Bridge enveloped in fog

As a result Vancouverites have been hearing a lot of foghorns, as ships depend on them to navigate waterways when there is limited visibility.

"In restricted visibility situations, such as on foggy days, these international regulations require anchored ships to sound their horn every minute and transiting ships to sound their horn every two minutes," explained Port of Vancouver spokesperson Sarah Matek.

Driving around the city enveloped with fog can be daunting at times, with some areas where you can hardly see anything, and others are clear. By evening the fog rolls in again and driving in the dark without cars in front of you can also be kind of scary. 

Last night an Uber driver told me of other motorists crossing the road lines into incoming traffic because they couldn't see where they were going!

The fog may dissipate by Thursday night

That said it's been a boon for photographers, both amateur and professional to take some dramatic shots of Vancouver.

Cantopop Group RubberBand in Vancouver

Mau of RubberBand performed in Vancouver

A Hong Kong friend had an extra ticket to see the Cantopop band RubberBand so I watched them perform tonight at the Vogue Theatre downtown.

The venue was pretty much sold out, with lots of eager fans to see their favourite band live.

Singer Mau Hou-cheong, guitarist Clement Fung Ting-ching, bassist Lee Siu-wai, and drummer Lai Man-wang are celebrating the band's 20th anniversary with a North American tour of San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto and New York City.

Hong Kong fans embraced the band at the Vogue

During the set with an intermission in between, Mau told the crowd he had lost his voice a day earlier, but he sang as much as he could without straining his voice. The fans were appreciative of his call-outs to Vancouver, and sang the lyrics to many of the songs.

While the band formed in 2005, RubberBand didn't sign with a label until the following year. In 2018 they became independent and started their own music label called R flat. 

The indie band became particularly popular during the Umbrella Movement in 2014, as they supported the protesters occupying the streets calling for universal suffrage.

In January 2022, RTHK blacklisted 10 local groups and singers, including RubberBand together with Denise Ho, Anthony Wong Yiu-ming, Kay Tse and Charmaine Fong.

A year later RubberBand toured around Europe, performing to Hongkongers who emigrated overseas. Coming to North America is an extension of the tour, with RubberBand making its United States debut.

No rest for the wicked -- after finishing the performance around 10.40pm, the band held a meet-and-greet after the show for VIP ticket holders and then fly to Toronto tomorrow. 

 

China's Birthrate Continues to Fall

China's birthrate made a record 17 percent drop last year

China's birthrate has dropped for the fourth consecutive year, despite government efforts for couples to have more children.

Last year registered births fell to 7.92 million, down 17 percent from 9.54 million in 2024, the biggest drop since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Yi Fuxian, a demographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was quoted in The Guardian that births in 2025 were "roughly the same level as in 1738, when China's population was only about 150 million."

The government's incentives aren't enough

The falling birthrate is not news the authorities were hoping to hear after years of trying to encourage couples to have more kids.

One of its initiatives that begins this year is 90 billion yuan (US$12.9 billion) poured into the first nationwide childcare subsidy program for children under the age of three. There are also plans to expand national healthcare insurance to cover all childbirth-related expenses, including IVF treatment.

But when the economy is slowing down coupled with high unemployment -- particularly among fresh graduates, people don't feel it's the right time to have kids, who have also become a very expensive investment.

The average cost of raising a child in China until the age of 18 is 538,000 yuan -- more than 6.3 times as high as the country's GDP per capita, compared to 4.11 times in the United States, and 4.26 times in Japan, according to a Chinese population think tank.

It's also a big problem when companies frown on young women getting married and having children, overlook them for career advancement, and society still expects women to do the household chores.

Instead women are pushing back, choosing either to remain single and childless, despite calls from the government, including Xi Jinping, for Chinese people to "actively cultivate a new culture of marriage and childbearing and strengthen guidance on young people's view on marriage, childbirth and family."

The drumbeat has already begun, with women receiving calls from community workers asking about their plans to have children. But dangling 3,600 yuan ($500) a year for families with children under the age of three is hardly much of an incentive, particularly for those living in cities. 

So... perhaps a re-think on how women are treated before coming up with plans on bumping up birthrates?

Picture of the Day: Magical Light

When the sun hits fog among the trees

Sometimes the forest inspires some amazing photographs and today was one of them.

This morning it was foggy, but with the forecast promising it would be sunny with a high of 10 degrees Celsius.

It was around noon when the sun hit the fog and created exciting lines of sunshine to dramatic effect.

Not Quite the Real Thing

The Williams Sonoma plate at Alouette Bistro

I went to Alouette Bistro in downtown Vancouver for lunch today with a friend.

When I sat down I was surprised to see the plate on the table looked like the Canton Rose pattern that was popular in the late Qing dynasty; it was named after the southern Chinese city (now Guangzhou), when it was the only Chinese city exporting china.

The Canton Rose design refers to the pink roses that were hand painted on the plates along with butterflies, birds, and other flowers.

A Canton Rose platter at Yuet Tung China Works

These colourful plates, decorated with gold paint, were called guangcai, and one of the last factories that make and sell these kinds of porcelain is Yuet Tung China Works in Hong Kong.

Its office/shop/studio is located in Kowloon Bay, and visitors need to be very careful walking through the rooms that are piled high with plates, bowls, tea cups, vases and platters -- if they break anything, they have to buy it.

Back at the restaurant I couldn't help but turn the plate around to see where it was made and saw Williams Sonoma printed on the back. This design is called Green Famille Rose.

Here's the description on the Williams Sonoma website:

"Fanciful, festive and inspired by Chinese porcelain, our hand-finished salad plate comes in eye-catching colours. Each gold-rimmed porcelain piece features a unique design embellished with flora and fauna, including multicoloured butterflies. It layers beautifully with the rest of the collection for both everyday dining and special occasions."

Stacks of bowls in the Canton Rose pattern

While we appreciate the nod to its Chinese origins, a bit more historical context would have been appreciated. That said these plates pale in comparison to the originals.

Just Checking -- Are You Dead?

People living alone can check in with the app every two days

The most downloaded paid app in China at the moment is the morbidly sounding, Are You Dead?

Its name is a play on a popular food delivery app, "Are You Hungry?" with "Si le ma?" [Are you dead?] sounding like "E le ma?"

While the app launched last May, in the last few weeks, tens of thousands of young people have downloaded the app because, well, it's practical.

It has become the most downloaded app in China

The app is straight forward: every two days you need to check in with it, otherwise it will send a message to your emergency contact, informing them that you may be in trouble.

For many, this seems like a useful solution if you are living on your own, young or old, and is a good way to notify others in case something happens to you.

"People who live alone at any stage of their life need something like this, as do introverts, those with depression, the unemployed and others in vulnerable situations," posted one user on Chinese social media.

"There is a fear that people living alone might die unnoticed, with no one to call for help. I sometimes wonder, if I died alone, who would collect my body?" said another.

Research institutions have projected there will be some 200 million one-person households in China by 2030 -- four years from now.

The app's founders, young developers who were born after 1995, say they want to expand the app's reach to seniors, particularly those in the rural areas, saying, "we would like to call on more people to pay attention to the elderly who are living at home, to give them more care and understanding. They have dreams, strive to live, and deserve to be seen, respected and protected."

We all do, really. And the app is also a reminder for us to check on our loved ones to make sure they're OK.

Ming Pao Closes in Canada

Ming Pao will print its last edition on January 17

The media landscape in Canada continues to shrink with Ming Pao announcing it was winding down operations in Vancouver and Toronto due to financial reasons, with the last day of publication on January 17.

My dad was very upset to see the headline stating this on the front page of the Ming Pao paper on January 12.

Sing Tao (below) is available online

That was the same day employees based in the two cities were given termination letters that were sent by the parent company in Hong Kong.

"Staff in Canada were informed by management that the decision to cease operations and halt publication was made by the Hong Kong headquarters," the notice said. Sixty employees are affected.

Ming Pao was the only Chinese-language print newspaper after Sing Tao ceased printing its Canadian edition in August 2022, though a digital version still continues. 

Started in 1993, Ming Pao also published a weekly magazine that covered Hong Kong's entertainment scene, and a food publication featuring recipes from the city's well-known Chinese and western chefs.

For many Chinese immigrants, Ming Pao and Sing Tao were papers they depended on for news from a Hong Kong and China point of view. They also covered stories that were focused on Asia that would rarely make it in western media, and gave practical advice on settling down to newcomers to Canada.

Ming Pao's food magazine

People like my dad are newspaper readers, so used to touching newsprint, and in his case, likes to cut out articles in the paper, and sometimes shares them with friends. 

We used to subscribe to both papers and when Sing Tao stopped its print edition, he was encouraged to read it online, but that it is not something he is comfortable doing. 

It's a pity to see fewer media outlets operating, which means less information being disseminated and fewer opportunities for the media to hold others, particularly governments to account. And with Ming Pao closing, that means only Sing Tao is left to be the voice of the Chinese community in Canada.