Review: Hoppers

The animation feature topped the box office opening weekend

There was a lot of buzz that the animation feature Hoppers beat out The Bride!, making it Pixar's biggest opening weekend in a decade. 

Hoppers was screening at our neighbourhood theatre so we took two kids, aged 7 and 8 to watch this film -- in 3D. 

The 3D enhances the animation, but it isn't totally used to its advantage.

Mabel is an environmental activist in her teens

Nevertheless, the storyline is creative. Japanese-American Mabel Tanaka grows up to be an environmental activist influenced by her grandmother and promises to protect the glade that they used to appreciate together in the city of Beaverton.

But then the mayor, Jerry Generazzo has plans to destroy the natural habitat for animals in order to build a freeway and Mabel is desperate to stop him.

She asks for help from her biology professor Dr Samantha Fairfax, but then Mabel discovers they have developed technology that helps them communicate with animals.

Mabel uses it to try to convince them -- in particular beavers, as they are "nature's engineers" -- to move back to the glade, along with everyone else, but it's not as easy as she thinks.

The premise of the film, that Mabel can communicate with the animals is fun, creative and she also learns "pond rules" and the hierarchy of the animal kingdom. 

Dr Fairfax (left) is Mabel's biology professor

Some of the humour, both physical and the dialogue is funny, but not particularly laugh-out-loud hilarious, but enough to keep the audience interested in seeing what happens next.

Actor John Hamm makes for a sneaky mayor, and Bobby Moynihan is a funny beaver monarch named King George. I was surprised to see Meryl Streep voiced the Insect Queen, a short, but amusing cameo.

Apparently the Pixar animators enlisted the help of ecohydrologist Emily Fairfax who studies beavers and how they change landscapes by altering the flow of streams and rivers.

Hoppers has a strong environmental message, how to strike a balance between conservation and development, and how most humans view their role in the world as being at the top of the food chain.

Ecohydrologist Emily Fairfax

Oh and yes the animals are cute too, thanks to director Daniel Chong's passion for the project. Originally he had pitched a feature on penguins, but it was nixed because it's been done before already!

But then he discovered that beavers are "nature's engineers" and thought that was really cool and took six years to develop Hoppers.

Don't watch too many of the trailers because some of the gags get old really fast. Just go watch it in the theatre!

Hoppers

Written and directed by Daniel Chong

105 minutes

Thoughts on International Women's Day

Carnations for women on International Women's Day

It's International Women's Day and the first thing that comes to mind for me is when I was in Beijing in 2008 and was working in state media.

When it was noon that day, carnations were handed out to the females in the office, and we were told we could leave the office and have a half day off.

What?

It was kind of bizarre, and I said it was OK, I would rather stay, but was told no, it was an order to leave.

I can't remember what I did, but I was disappointed I was not told ahead of time!

A book to consider reading

On the other hand I'm thinking about the concept of "daughtering", where women in the family are expected to manage family dynamics, to organising gatherings to scheduling parents' medical appointments. It's a task that has no monetary value, but is assumed that the daughters will take on this role wholeheartedly.

"Daughtering" was coined by Dr Allison Alford, a clinical associate professor at the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business. She recently wrote a book called Good Daughtering: The Work You've Always Done, the Credit You've Never Gotten, and How to Finally Feel Enough.

She's done a lot of research into this topic, interviewing a lot of women, from the oldest sisters to the youngest, though it is the oldest who is the family anchor, and the other female siblings assist. However when the men decide to pitch in and organise a family event, everyone is in a twitter about how he's made such a lovely contribution. Sound familiar?

Alford says it's important to recognise this "daughtering" concept and that it is not just you doing all the work -- others are too. That said, she believes it is important to show others what you are doing, and that your efforts deserve to be valued.

Along the same vein is my last thought on International Women's Day is America Ferrera's monologue as Gloria in Barbie. It may be given by a fictional character but it resonates:

It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.

Gloria's monologue in Barbie

You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but you also have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but always be looking out for other people.

You have to answer for men's bad behaviour, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for me, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.

But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.

I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.

Picture of the Day: Turkey Tails

Turkey tail mushrooms growing on a log

On my walk in the forest I spotted these circular fungi growing on a log, and they are called trametes versicolor, or more commonly known as turkey tails!

The underside should be white, and I have read they are edible, though they are on the tough side and would need to be cooked a bit longer in liquid. They can also be steamed, grilled or roasted. These fungi apparently have a nutty flavour and chewy texture. 

Another way to eat them is by drying them and grounding them into powder or steeped in hot water to make tea!

Review: Chinese Lessons

Pomfret's memoir about China from the 1980s

In 1981, 22-year-old John Pomfret was the in the first cohort of American students to study in China. He recounts his experiences living in a dorm with seven Chinese men at Nanjing University, trying to make up for lost time following the Cultural Revolution that upended their lives.

Pomfret chronicles his experiences, and those of his classmates over the decades in his memoir, Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China. He writes about the lives of his five classmates, four men and one woman in unflinching accounts about how dirt poor they were, or how their parents or grandparents were tortured or murdered by the Red Guards, and how they were sent down to the countryside, and the only way out was to get into university.

He studied in Nanjing University

Their early lives are so tragic and horrific, but Pomfret believes it's critical to explain this background to readers so that they understand why his classmates individually did what they did later in life. These students were the next generation post-Cultural Revolution who tried to ride China's economic boom in the 1990s and 2000s, with varying degrees of success depending on their idealism or pragmatism.

At the same time Pomfret weaves in his own personal experiences, most notably how people reacted around him as a foreigner; he honestly recalls his sexual desires to meet women, and these memories are endearing but also pretty funny.

Following graduation, Pomfret went back to the United States and began working as a journalist and because of his Mandarin skills he eventually returns to Beijing to work for the Associated Press in the late 1980s.

Pomfret (left) during the 1989 protests in Beijing

The pivotal moment in the book is his account of what he saw and experienced during the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, followed by the shocking and bloody massacre on the evening of June 3. It's riveting reading, as he remembers so many details, from riding his bike down alleyways to avoid the tanks to witnessing live gunfire and wounded demonstrators.

Soon after he was accused of having alleged links with student leaders and soon after was expelled from China. As a result Pomfret situated himself in Hong Kong, but was covering all kinds of conflicts in Bosnia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Turkey.

A few years later in 1992 The Washington Post manages to get approval for Pomfret to return to Beijing as the bureau chief and he reunites with his classmates separately to see how they are doing as well as track how China has changed post-Tiananmen.

His Chinese press credentials in China

Throughout the book he touches on topics as family, marriage, the one-child policy, jobs that were attached to work units, the free market economy, buying apartments, and entrepreneurism through the experiences of his classmates. It really gives a good on-the-ground view of what it was like for locals navigating the system.

Towards the end of the book Pomfret writes about marrying and having a child born with health issues, but then soon after a mysterious virus begins to spread. It's SARS. Reading it now, a few years after the Covid-19 pandemic, one can see the similarities of how the virus spread almost exactly the same way, during the Spring Festival, and how the Chinese government dealt with it. We still don't know exactly how it started, let alone SARS.

Pomfret is a journalist I followed during the 2019 protests in Hong Kong; he is a rare old China hand who managed to adapt and understand the city and how it differs from the mainland. Many China journalists who were parachuted into Hong Kong during the protests did not have a firm grasp of how the city and its people are not the same as those in China and so their stories were not as nuanced as Pomfret's.

He writes passionately about China

His writing in Chinese Lessons is straight-forward and at times stark, but also sprinkled with wry humour -- the reader is constantly on this rollercoaster ride of emotions that range from depressingly bleak to suddenly light and hilarious. But one can see his love for the country and its people, as well as the funny quirks of the place.

It's a fantastic first-hand look at the rapid changes in China through not only Pomfret's eyes, but also those of his classmates who were willing to tell their stories not only to him, but to the world.

A Meteor's Flash and Boom in Metro Vancouver

Some residents were able to capture a shot of the meteor

Last night just after 9pm, I heard a muffled boom and some minor vibrations.

I knew it wasn't an earthquake but it was very unusual.

Lots of other people on social media thought so too.

People reported seeing a bright flash

Turns out it was a "fireball" meteor about the size of a soccer ball that flew into Earth's atmosphere, causing a bright flash in the sky, followed by two booms in quick succession.

The fireball was seen as far west at Comox, British Columbia, as far east as Merritt, and as far south as Seattle, Washington.

Johanna Wagstaffe, a CBC meteorologist and science reporter said local seismographs showed a spike at around 9.10pm, and that the sonic boom is "classic evidence" of a meteor travelling through the atmosphere.

She noted meteors don't often appear in western North America. "But it's always a big deal when we can visually experience something falling from space."

Wagstaffe explained a sonic boom occurs when an object travels through the upper levels of the atmosphere so fast -- from between 20 to 70 kilometres per second -- that it compresses the air ahead of it and heats up. In this case, the meteor was traveling 33 kilometres per second, or around 119,000 km/h.

A seismograph registered the boom at 9.10pm

The American Meteor Society also confirmed the meteor sighting, and described it as a fireball, as the duration of the flash was too short to be human-made debris, and that it was a natural fireball made of stone, metal, or a combination of both.

It is believed the meteor landed tens of kilometres north of Coquitlam in a heavily forested area, so the chances of finding the fragments are extremely slim. Maybe one day years from now a hiker will discover the fragments? You heard it here first.

The Stressful Life of Professional Musicians

Mao performed flawlessly on three hours' sleep

It's a tough life being a professional musician who travels around the world performing. Not only do you have to learn lots of pieces by memory, but also play them flawlessly despite jetlag and not enough sleep.

That was the case of Mao Fujita, 27, who was in Vancouver this past weekend.

He was supposed to fly direct from San Diego and arrive Saturday at 9pm to perform the next day at 3pm at the Vancouver Playhouse.

However, he texted the organiser of the Vancouver Recital Society, to say his flight was delayed until midnight.

Then he phoned a few minutes later to say he would have to cancel the concert because his flight was cancelled!

She told him to tell Air Canada he had a contractual obligation to perform the next day and he had to get on the flight.

He managed to get the last seat on the plane Sunday morning at 6am -- but that meant leaving his wife behind to get the next flight to Vancouver.

Mao arrived at 11.30am and went straight to the venue to practice despite having only three hours' sleep.

A few hours later he performed in front of an almost sold-out show, playing works by Beethoven, Wagner, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Berg.

I sat in the fourth row on the left side to watch Mao's fingers dance on the keys, and during intermission, the couple on my left switched seats with another. 

The new couple told me they had been sitting on the other side where they could see the expression on the pianist's face. They observed that it was as if he was in a trance, or another world as he played.

Needless to say many in the audience jumped up to give him a standing ovation and Mao treated us to an encore by Rachmaninoff, How Fair This Spot, Op. 21, No. 7 that he himself transcribed for the piano.

After the concert, Mao's wife Haruki arrived and the concert sponsors treated them to dinner and he was so excited to eat! He hadn't eaten pretty much all day!

The Chinese dinner included poached geoduck, stir-fried beef with eggplant, choy sum with braised tofu, spare ribs, Chiu Chow braised duck, soup with tofu, mustard greens and more geoduck, and dessert of taro with sago.

With a filled stomach, Mao and his wife went back to the airport to catch their next flight to Seattle where he performed last night, and then took the next flight to New York. He plays Carnegie Hall tomorrow!

Mao performs 70-75 concerts per year on top of his studies, which he will complete this year. 

We sure hope he makes time in his busy schedule to come back to Vancouver again soon!

British Columbia Takes a Stand on Daylight Time

Kids jumping for joy at Eby's "Pacific time" announcement

Big news today for British Columbia -- this coming weekend we will change our clocks forward one hour permanently.

Premier David Eby announced the change, saying, "We are done waiting. British Columbia is going to change our clocks just one more time -- and then never again."

He is referring to the authorities on the west coast of the United States in Washington State, Oregon and California. Originally he had said he would wait for them to decide if they were going to stick with one or the other so that businesses would not be confused with times, but perhaps Eby was done waiting, or didn't hear back from them and decided BC was going its own way.

The new time zone will be called "Pacific time".

The entire province will be following Pacific time except for East Kootenay, which observes mountain time with Alberta.

Eby noted Yukon has already permanently changed to daylight time, and hopes the US will follow. Back in 2019 BC already passed legislation to make this possible, but just didn't have a specific timeline.

Interestingly American President Donald Trump had expressed interest in changing to daylight time after the 2024 election, Congress has not passed legislation for it.

So it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few months... there will surely be a lot of confusion on the west coast in terms of what time it is come November, but in the meantime many people are pleased that we'll have longer daylight hours and no more "jetlag" from springing ahead an hour after this weekend.

However, Eby's critics are crying foul because the announcement was suddenly made without much recent consultation; they believe it's a distraction from the horrible budget he delivered last week...

 

Review: Nomadland

McDormand stars as Fern, learning how to be a nomad

In 2017 journalist Jessica Bruder published Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, a non-fiction book that followed retirees who lived in vans and traveled around the country to find work after the global financial crisis. 

Actor Frances McDormand read it, bought the rights to option the book for a movie, and persuaded Chloe Zhao to write and direct it. They took the book and included some of the actual nomads in there, such as Linda May and Bob Wells, who runs workshops on how to live independently in their vans.

Originally McDormand was thinking of teaching these nomads how to act, but instead she and fellow actor David Strathairn embedded themselves with them, which makes Nomadland a kind of docu-drama. And it won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress in the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021.

Many scenes show the vastness of the country

McDormand throws herself completely in the role of Fern (not based on someone in Bruder's book), a widow who used to live in Empire, Nevada, where she and her husband worked in a mining company. But it went bankrupt and Empire lost its postal code; people had to leave and go elsewhere.

She packs up some stuff and lives in her her van, and meets people like Linda who give her pointers how to be a nomad, with tips on on working at Amazon, how to manage an RV park, and later processing food or making fast food. It gives viewers an insight into what it's like to work in these low-paying jobs, some of them seasonal, and how tight money is.

The audience also gets tips on how to live in a van, including having a bucket to go to the bathroom...

When fellow transient people meet, they are all friendly and happy to share, there is hardly any competition; one gets the sense there is good energy there.

Fern drifts from job to job, and one wonders how this will end, but that's the point -- these people need to survive financially and these gigs are the only things they can get, and drive to the next one, wherever it may be.

The nomad community is kind and helpful

However, another interesting characteristic about Fern is that she is fiercely independent. She is given several opportunities to live in a house and have some security, even from her own sister, and a fellow transient guy who likes her, but Fern refuses; she would rather wander on her own and not feel obliged to others.

The cinematography of Nomadland shows the winding long roads, the vastness of the outdoor space, and how humans are so small in the country. 

Zhao is sympathetic to these nomads and it's fascinating seeing her tell their story by letting them be their authentic selves. After watching Nomadland, one wonders if they could live like these nomads, but perhaps it's not something you think about until circumstances forces you into that situation. 

It also reminds you to be kind to others, as they might literally be surviving day by day and just need a break. While it's the life they have chosen, they are just trying to live life on their own terms, which makes them happy.

Nomadland (2020)

Written and directed by Chloe Zhao

108 minutes

Picture of the Day: Spring has Sprung

Bumblebees already here in Vancouver

You know it's spring already in Vancouver when you spy a bumblebee rolling around in a crocus...

iPods are Rad Again

Remember the iPod?

Gen Z have been embracing vinyl and cassettes, point-and-shoot cameras, and ditching smartphones for "dumbphones" -- ones without apps or the ability to go online. 

This trend is called Newtro, the revival of retro cultural artefacts in young people's quest to get away from algorithms and technology harvesting as much information from users as possible.

And now Gen Z have recently discovered iPods.

Remember those? 

You could rip CDs and store all the songs in there, along with nascent podcasts that hardly had any sound effects and rough editing, and listen to them on headphones connected to the jack. iPods were a massive step up from Walkmans (cassettes) and Discmans (CDs).

The rest of us have our iPods stuffed in the back of our drawers collecting dust, but these music gadgets can go for as much as $300 these days.

This is my iPod Touch from 2008. I believe it's the first generation.

I actually won it in a lucky draw from Time Out Beijing, otherwise I probably would not have bought it.

But it was so useful in bringing music I wanted to listen to at the gym, and later in Hong Kong listening to podcasts or relaxing music on long commutes.

It could also had internet access, but the memory capacity is so low, you can hardly do anything with it online.

However back then it was just one step away from the iPhone...

Hong Kong's A Symphony of Lights Bids Farewell

The 15-minute light show at the HKCEC

I was surprised to discover Hong Kong's 8pm "A Symphony of Lights" show has been running for 22 years! No wonder it was... not good.

At the appointed time, there's lasers and lights shining from various rooftops from buildings in Central, Admiralty and Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, and in Tsim Sha Tsui and West Kowloon on Kowloon side for about 15 minutes. There's music that goes with it, but you can only hear it if you are near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and the Avenue of Stars.  

The lasers created a Star Wars effect

During the Covid-19 pandemic, after dinner, I would walk from Kennedy Town to get to the Convention Centre on time so that I could listen to the music. That's how exciting my evenings were, since restaurants were closed by 6pm. Bars, movie theatres, karaoke lounges had all shut down. 

While the lights and lasers give a kind of Star Wars effect, it gets old, really fast.

So it was a relief to hear the light show will finally get revamped.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said the new show will feature 3D projections and various themes.

"Over the past 20 years, A Symphony of Lights has been optimised and updated many times, but relying solely on laser performances from buildings has become somewhat insufficient," she said.

"After gathering feedback over the past year, we have decided not to allocate resources for major modifications to it."

But A Symphony of Lights won't be slinking away right away -- Law promises there will be special farewell events to mark the end of the show that started back in 2004.

She suggested the new light show would be theme-based, such as Halloween and Mid-Autumn Festival to maximise effect, and would not be shown daily to encourage people to come out to watch it.

Good intentions, we will be keen on seeing what the government comes up with...

Japan's National Dish

Japanese curry but make it vegetarian

I made some Japanese curry tonight using the packaged roux.

However, unlike the usual combination of beef, potatoes and carrots, I made mine vegetarian, chopping up potatoes, eggplant and kabocha.

First heat up oil in a big pot and saute the onions, stirring occasionally to get them caramelised a bit. Then add garlic, and in my case the vegetables. 

Let that cook for a minute or two before adding water that almost covers the ingredients and let it simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

Now it's time to add the roux. Turn off the heat and a new tip I learned on YouTube was to melt each roux cube in a ladle to ensure the flavour permeated the sauce.

Then turn on the heat again and let it simmer for about five more minutes. When it's done, serve it with some white rice.

The end result was a comforting dish that will get better with time.

Interesting to note Japanese curry is practically a national dish, with its origins from Indian cuisine introduced by the British during the Meiji era (1868-1912).

In 1945, a powdered instant curry roux was developed, making it easier for households to make this popular dish. 

By 1968 the pouches of curry roux came out, much like the ones we have today.

Itadakimasu!

Chinatown Eats: Pan-fried Pork Patty

Pork patty on rice at The Boss Bakery and Restaurant

Yesterday we went to Vancouver's Chinatown for lunch, and our go-to is The Boss Bakery and Restaurant on Main Street. The cha chaan teng offers lunch specials, featuring a rotating menu with 12 dishes with portion sizes that are impossible to finish in one sitting.

Sometimes the menu has pan-fried pork patty with rice and this signature dish is delicious.

However, one needs to be patient, as it takes a long time to cook.

Typically these pork patties are steamed, but here it's carefully pan-fried, and because it's very thick, it takes a while to cook through.

A good pork patty doesn't use ground meat -- it should be pork butt or shoulder with some fat, otherwise the texture will be too tough. Then the pork needs to be sliced thinly into strips, and then the strips carefully diced into small pieces. This is what gives the pork patty a meaty texture.

The diced pork is mixed with cornstarch, oyster sauce, some chicken boullion and white pepper for flavour and then formed into a patty.

For steamed pork patties, some are also seasoned with finely diced water chestnuts or preserved mustard greens before the mixture is placed in a shallow dish and then steamed for about 15 minutes.

In the case of The Boss, the thick pork patty is steamed and then fried to add a bit of char, and then served on a large mound of white rice, garnished with thin ginger slivers and scallions, and one broccoli floret. A small dish of sweet soy sauce is included for extra flavour.

The result? Tender, and very meaty patty that goes well with rice. Bring a food container to carry leftovers home!

Review: Oscar-Nominated Animation Shorts

There are six nominees for the animation short category

Went back to the theatre this afternoon to watch the Oscar-nominated animation shorts. There were more people who came to watch, and the 83-minute length probably made it more palatable for them.

The Three Sisters by Konstantin Bronzit (14 mins)

An amusing story made funnier with sound effects about three sisters living on a remote island and then a big scruffy sailor comes to rent a home from them. 

Forevergreen by Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears (13 mins)

A bear cub is friends with a tree in the forest, but once he has a taste of potato chips, he's hooked. It's a kind of fable, cute story about friendship and the importance of healthy eating.

The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (17 mins)

This stop-motion animation is impressive

This short is produced by the National Film Board of Canada, renowned for its filmmaking, particularly in animation. This tale is made in stop motion and the details are impressive. 

A desperately poor boy discovers that when the girl next door cries in her sleep, her tears become pearls. It's well-written script and told through the voice of actor Colm Feore.

Butterfly by Florence Miailhe (12 mins)

Representing France, this beautiful animation was painted in oil paint to create movement. The story is about the life of Jewish French swimmer Alfred Nakache, who was born in French Algiers in 1915. He was the top swimmer in North Africa in 1931, and was one of the pioneers of the butterfly stroke.

He represented France in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and came in fourth in the 4x200m relay with three of his countrymen, beating out the German team.

Forevergreen and Butterfly about Nachake

However, 1943, he and his wife Paule Elbaze and daughter Annie were arrested by the Gestapo and held in prison and an internment camp before they were sent to Auschwitz the following year; he was separated from his wife and daughter and never saw them again.

Nachake managed to survive because he was assigned to the camp infirmary where he received food rations. In January 1945 he was sent to the death march that ended at Buchenwald, where he was liberated by American troops in April 1945.

Director Miailhe made the animation about Nachake because her father knew him from the camps. It's a lovely tribute and viewers get a short, but concise biography of his life through images.

Retirement Plan by John Kelly (7 mins)

Ray imagines what his retirement will be like

Actor Domhnall Gleeson is trending at the moment, starring in Taylor Swift's latest music video, Opalite; they were both guests on The Graham Norton Show when Gleeson offhandedly suggested he would love to be in one of her music videos, and Swift's reaction has a look as if a light bulb went off in her head.

But in Retirement Plan he is the voice of Ray, a middle-aged bespectacled guy who fantasises about what he will do when he retires, like reply to every single email and read 30 years' worth of unread emails, organise his closet, get a dog and on and on which got chuckles from the audience. 

Eiru by Giovanna Ferrari (13 mins)

The main character Eiru is a Celtic red-head girl who is desperate to prove her courage, but the clan laughs her off. However, when the well runs dry, she is the only one small enough to go down to see where the water went. 

Review: 2026 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Shorts

Perfectly A Strangeness follows three donkeys

The Oscars, one of the biggest film events of the year is fast approaching on March 15, and art house movie theatres around town are showing the nominees for Best Live Shorts, Best Documentary Shorts and Best Animation Shorts.

I hunkered down for the Best Documentary Shorts, which turned out to be 157 minutes long, screening all five docs one after the other. 

Perfectly a Strangeness by Alison McAlpine (15 mins)

This Canadian entry seems strange at first -- why are we following three donkeys as they slowly walk up a hill. Where are they going? The sweet docile trio end up by an unmanned astronomical observatory that opens up at night and reveals some amazing footage of the universe, and a juxtaposition of nature and technology. 

The Devil is Busy by Christalyn Hampton and Greeta Gandbhir (31 mins)

I quickly surmised this film was about an abortion clinic and it was sad to see the measures the staff had to take to ensure their clients, who they call guests, feel safe and supported during their visit. The main character is Tracii, who is the first to arrive at the clinic and explains how safety is so crucial, as well as her own personal story. Viewers also meet the doctor who performs the procedures and says how politics is making it harder for women to have control over their own bodies. She never imagined it was easier for her to get access to this kind of healthcare when she was young than her daughter today. Meanwhile outside there are male protesters who use religion to try to guilt the women from going in. The filmmakers don't speak to them directly, but Tracii gives the audience the backstory on one of them. The Devil is Busy is a highly emotional film, showing how women are losing their reproductive rights today, and that there are people who are trying to help them.

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud by Craig and Brent Renaud (38 mins)

The brothers from Little Rock, Arkansas were only two years apart and older brother Brent became a video journalist going to war zones and his younger sibling Craig followed him. But Brent became the first American journalist to die soon after the Ukraine war broke out in March 2022. Craig is determined to bring his brother's body back, and reminisces about the places they covered, from Afghanistan to Somalia, Haiti, Iraq and Mexico. Some of the footage is frightening to watch, but that is what Brent wanted to show people, that war is horrific and we cannot pretend it doesn't happen. The documentary is a tragic tribute to Brent, and ends by letting viewers know that hundreds of journalists have died trying to report the truth.

All the Empty Rooms by Joshua Seftel (33 mins)

Journalist Steve Hartman was known on CBS Evening News as the guy who would find human interest stories to lighten the end of news casts. But in 1997 he was assigned to cover his first school shooting, and it wasn't his last. He said he became numb reporting them as was the rest of America was hearing them. So he started his own project of contacting families whose children had died from school shootings and got his photographer friend Lou Bopp to take pictures of the kids' bedrooms. It's absolutely devastating to get an idea of who these children were through their bedrooms, and how their parents and siblings are coping. 

Children No More: "Were and are Gone" by Hilla Medalia (36 mins)

After the October 7 attacks and Israel retaliates with attacks on Gaza, a large group of protesters in Tel Aviv stand silently and stoically holding candles and pictures of Palestinian children killed in the war. Week after week they stand and sit in public places to get attention, which leads to emotionally charge scenes. Some passersby tell the protesters they are delusional, or that the priority should be the Israeli hostages, not children in Gaza. 

Hong Kong Skates to Best Finish in Olympics

Lam had Hong Kong's best finish in the 2026 Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina has been dominated by the Norway, the United States and Italy as the first, second and third on the medal standings respectively, while Canada has been struggling to get on the podium.

The Canadian women's hockey team could not bring back the gold medal and had to settle for silver, while their male counterparts just squeaked past Finland, winning 3-2, to get into the finals against the US this Sunday.

But can we talk about the small team from Hong Kong?

Today 19-year-old Joey Lam Ching-yan made her Olympic debut finishing seventh in the women's 1,500m short-track speed skating event! Lam was at the back of the pack, but four skaters had spills in her heat which helped her get into the finals.

The seventh place finish is the best result for Hong Kong in the Winter Olympics and Lam is on cloud nine.

"It is absolutely unbelievable. I still feel like I am dreaming. I never thought I could make it to the Final A before. Thank you to everyone who supported me along the way and encouraged me to never give up," Lam said.

It's quite impressive considering she raced three times in just under three hours.

Her fellow speed skater Darren Kwok Tsz-fung came in 29th in the men's 1,000m and 31st in the men's 1,500m.

Meanwhile Hong Kong also sent alpine skiers Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen and Eloise King Yung-shih, both 21, to the slopes and Yung finished 68th in the men's giant slalom, and did not finish the men's slalom; Yung crashed out in the women's slalom.

Nevertheless they all seem to have enjoyed their time at the Olympics, which is the main thing, to meet athletes from other countries, and see how well they compete against others after years of training.

Suffice to say Lam will probably be the Hong Kong flag bearer for the Closing Ceremonies? 

Picture of the Day: Designer Mahjong Set

Alexander Wang mah jong set spotted at Holt Renfrew

Feeling lucky?

New York designer Alexander Wang celebrated 20 years in the fashion business with a Spring/Summer 2026 show inspired by his mother, hence the theme "The Matriarch".

Included in the designs were mahjong tiles, perhaps a nod to his mother's love of the game?

Tiles in a sleek silver case

And he also designed his own mahjong set, where the tiles are made in silver and chrome, and held in a sleek silver briefcase.

When his fashion show ended, there was a mahjong party and guest Martha Stewart played with these silver tiles with Cardi B.

Apparently the set costs US$5,500 -- but that's not the most expensive one. French luxury brand Hermes has a mahjong set for US$15,000...

Any takers?

 

Review: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Talankin is inadvertently forced to take a stand on the war

It's hard to know what is really happening in Russia, with President Vladimir Putin in firm control.

But the Oscar-nominated documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin gives a peek inside that is courageous, frightening and damning.

"Pasha" Talankin lives in Karabash, east of Moscow and the town is known for having the most polluted air on the planet thanks to the copper refinery, the major industry there.

Students begin singing patriotic songs

Talankin is the events coordinator in a primary school, and his job is to film things that happen there. It is also the school he went to, and feels most at home here, describing himself as a loner. Nevertheless some of the students like him and hang out with him as they get into their teens.

His wry remarks make him easily likeable to the viewer, but things change in February 2022 when Putin announces a special military operation -- in Ukraine.

Suddenly things at the school start to change and Talankin is ordered by the government to film teachers lecturing the students to justify the war in historical terms, and the students marching with the Russian flag, singing patriotic songs, and then uploading the footage to a government website.

This is not what he signed up for and not only is he overwhelmed with having to film so much propaganda, but Talankin himself wonders how he can protest against the war. He watches news clips of protesters being beaten and dragged by the police and concedes he isn't brave enough to do that.

A boy checking out an old rifle

Meanwhile viewers watch the students evolve from being excited to being at school to being bored out of their minds listening to what teachers are forced to tell them, their eyes glaze over. In the beginning they wear white blouses and skirts or shirts with pants, and towards the end are in army fatigues. 

One scene shows members of the Wagner Group at the school passing around a mine to students look at, and casually saying if they go near one that explodes, it will take out their leg; there are grenade throwing competitions, and most chilling is a boy holding an old rifle and aiming it at Talankin as he films him.

Eventually some of Talankin's former students are conscripted, or people at the school know of someone who had to become soldiers. Viewers feel on edge wondering what happened to them.

They also wonder what will happen to Talankin, as Putin declares in 2023 that anyone opposed to the Ukraine occupation would be guilty of treason. Talankin does rebel outwardly, resulting in some of his colleagues strongly disagreeing with him, and eventually students and colleagues are afraid to be associated with him.

One of the teachers marching with students

Mr. Nobody Against Putin was not shot expertly, and it is not meant to be, because all his clips were just for the school's records. But because Talankin had so much filming to do, another videographer was recruited, and that's where there are scenes with him hanging out with students, or of him walking around the school.

He amassed two years' worth of video footage that he and co-director David Borenstein sifted through and put together. The documentary is a brave and harrowing account of what it's like living in a small town, and how one man tried hard to push back in his own way.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

Co-directed by Pasha Talankin and David Borenstein

90 minutes

A Very Chinese Time in People's Lives

Jellycat's red plush horse with a golden mane 

Everyone's getting into the Year of the Horse -- Snoopy, Mr. Men, Sesame Street's Elmo, Miffy, Paddington Bear, even Jellycat issuing a red plush horse with a golden mane.

Are they all in a "very Chinese time in their lives", or Chinamaxxing? 

Or is it all a marketing ploy to appeal to Chinese fans that they are wishing them all the best in the Lunar New Year?

In some ways it's amusing to see non-Chinese recently discovering the benefits of drinking hot water, or demonstrating that they know to take off their shoes once they enter a home, and these days posting on social media, "Kung Hei Faat Choy"!

Snoopy celebrating the new year

It's great people are more accustomed or accepting of Chinese habits, but it doesn't make them experts on Chinese culture overnight.

It was brought to my attention that a guy from San Francisco on Facebook was explaining or maybe "mansplaining" that people should say "Lunar New Year" instead of "Chinese New Year" to make it more inclusive, as people from Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia also celebrate. 

He even talks about how this year is the "Fire Horse", elucidating about the five elements of water, wood, metal, fire and earth, and that a "Fire Horse" only comes around every 60 years...

Hence Chinamaxxing or being in a "very Chinese time in my life" is so bizarre. The latter assumes that one is Chinese for a period of time, unlike say ethnic Chinese who are Chinese their whole lives.

The former are those who look at all the cool things about China -- electric cars, high-speed rail, online payments, AI and Shein, without taking into account or even knowing about, say, the lopsided ratio of men to women, the high unemployment rate for fresh grads, and the restrictions of living in an authoritarian environment.

Elmo with his Korean and Chinese friends

All this just only a few years after China finally lifted its draconian lockdown measures to control the Covid-19 virus from spreading. People were literally sealed in their own apartment units, while everyone else got bags of food delivered to them, and people queuing up and opening their mouths to have their saliva swabbed.

And now China is super cool?

Quite the transformation, but now that Canadian and UK passport holders can travel to China visa-free until the end of the year, it would be great for people to see the country for themselves and then figure out of they really are Chinamaxxing.

If anything, they would be able to legitimately say their visit was a "very Chinese time in their life."

Happy (or Sad) Year of the Horse

Painter Xu Beihong's depiction of lively horses

Happy New Year of the Horse!

新年快乐！恭喜发财！龙马精神！

This year's mascot has been a big hit -- the plush horse with the upside down smile that was a manufacturing mistake in a factory in eastern China.

For many young people, the unhappy horse reflects how they truly feel about how life is for them these days.

Your choice of a happy or sad plush horse

They call themselves niu ma (牛马) or "cattle horse", a euphemism for how they feel overworked in their office jobs.

"This little horse looks so sad and pitiful, just like the way I feel at work," said a netizen called Tuan Tuan Mami.

"With this crying toy in the Year of the Horse, I hope to leave all my grievances at work behind and keep only happiness."

Another person who bought the sad plush horse said it was more relatable than their smiling counterparts.

"Imperfect is the true reflection of ordinary people. Our flaws are what make life truly vibrant," they wrote online.

Demand for the "cry-cry horse" was so high that the factory had to quickly add 10 more production lines.

The company even reportedly applied for an appearance patent for the sad-faced horse, and expanded its merchandise to include items like keychains and travel neck pillows.

So for those celebrating the Lunar New Year and trying to keep it together for the next few days while visiting relatives, the sad horse knows exactly what you're going through.

加油！ 

Attempting to Cook a Hakka Classic

Hakka dish of braised pork belly and preserved mustard greens

In November we made a trip to Meizhou, a county in southern Guangdong province where the vast majority of the population are Hakka. It's where my mother's family is from and we visited their ancestral home on the outskirts of the city centre in a rural area.

During our visit we sampled a classic Hakka dish, braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens and we were shocked at how bad it was! The first restaurant we ate it, the chunks of pork were so dry; the second day we tried it again and while it was more moist, the flavours weren't melded together. In both cases they weren't cooked long enough and in enough liquid.

Stir-frying pork belly and garlic together

Before the trip I listened to a talk on Hakka food given by cookbook author Linda Lau Anusansananan. I bought a copy of her book, The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food from around the World and today attempted her recipe for braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens.

I had been warned it was not an easy dish to execute, but looking at the recipe this version looked pretty straight forward.

First I soaked the preserved mustard greens to get rid of the dirt and then chopped them into smaller pieces and squeezed the water out.

Then I heated up the wok, added oil and stir-fried a lot of minced garlic for a few seconds before adding the pork belly chopped into one-inch chunks and stir-frying them until they were light brown.

Mustard greens, soy sauce and wine added

Next I added a lot of Shaoxing wine, the preserved mustard greens, sweet soy sauce and more dark soy sauce and sugar and let it boil and then simmer for one and a half to two hours.

I periodically checked the taste of the sauce and added sugar to tone down the saltiness, and the mustard greens weren't tender enough so I added more water and let it boil and then simmer.

By the end of it the chunks of pork belly were very tender and I scooped them out along with the preserved greens before reducing the sauce a bit.

I took the dish to a family dinner tonight and got a lot of positive reviews! I will attempt it again soon!