Tribute to Looney Tunes Voice Eric Bauza

Bauza was the voice of Looney Tunes characters

Last weekend I watched Coyote vs. Acme, an animation and live action film about Wile E. Coyote who sues Acme Corporation for selling him faulty products.

It was a fun movie, interesting premise to keep the adults interested. 

Then this morning on my social media feed, I saw there were tributes to a voice actor called Eric Bauza, who was the voice of Looney Tunes -- Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn... and it was he voicing those characters in Coyote vs Acme.

One of his last films was Coyote vs. Acme

Bauza, a Filipino-Canadian, died October 25 in Los Angeles of hypertensive heart disease. He was 46 years old.

When he was a child in Scarborough, Ontario, he would imitate the voice of the Looney Tunes characters and later when he was in high school he would do the announcements in voices from The Simpsons. He also drew cartoons and became an accomplished artist.

He went to Los Angeles and worked for Warner Bros. for 15 years with over 400 voice credits, and also won the first ever Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice Performance in an Animated Program for Looney Toons Cartoons.

Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang weren't the only cartoons Bauza worked on. He also did voicing for Ren & Stimpy, The Fairly OddParents, Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island, Dick Figures, and Breadwinners among others.

The animation world paid tribute to Bauza. 

Bauza loved watching cartoons as a child

In a statement to Variety, Chris DeFaria, who produced Coyote vs. Acme, said Bauza offered "absolutely tireless dedication" to his craft.

Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks Chairman Channing Dungey said in a statement that Bauza was a "unique voice talent who brought joy and laughter to millions around the world."

"In addition to his incredible talent, Eric was a treasured part of our animation family. Our hearts go out to his loved ones," Dungey continued.

Bauza was also good friends with Steve Gaskin, and together they started Retrokid, a line of nostalgic clothing and merchandise inspired by childhood television shows. 

"In 2019, Eric and I started Retrokid in my garage," wrote Gaskin on Instagram. "What started out as just a silly idea became something much bigger than either of us anticipated. We both poured everything into it while still trying to find time for our kids, our family's, and our regular jobs. 

"Eric was in LA and had already broken through many ceilings as a voice-actor. His commitment to his craft, dedication to honouring past, present, and future icons, and unrelenting drive to perfect every voice and impression; made him an unstoppable force. Yet, he remained humble, kind, generous, and always put everyone else's needs before his own."

What a big loss for the animation community and his friends and family.

Review: Under The White Gaze

Cheung examines how people of colour are portrayed in media

I just finished reading a thought-provoking book, especially for journalists and media outlets. Called Under The White Gaze, it's written by former Tyee reporter Christopher Cheung, who previously worked at Metro and the Vancouver Courier.

He grew up in a multicultural neighbourhood, went to school with classmates with different backgrounds, and then wondered why people who were not white were not covered in mainstream media in Vancouver. 

As a journalist Cheung tried to rectify the situation, only to encounter many issues. When he tried to specifically do stories about Chinese people, they would downplay their achievements and not think they should be covered in the media, or found mainstream media would only cover different cultures through their holidays, such as Chinese New Year, Nowruz, Diwali, and so on.

It reminds me of the years when I worked at CBC Radio and I was tasked with producing the programming for the Chinese New Year show. There were expectations of what my managers wanted, and what the Chinese community was hoping would be covered in the show. And how do you make it sound fresh the following year, when the same topics are covered, like the symbolism of the food eaten, the tradition of wearing red and the meaning behind "Gung Hei Fat Choy!"

In Under The White Gaze, Cheung explains that even though he as a person of colour may report on a topic through a cultural lens, ultimately it's white editors who decide how people of ethnic backgrounds are portrayed in the media, which can verge on being racist. Hence the white gaze...

Cheung uses a lot of examples in the media, from the CBC, to Maclean's, to the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, and community papers to illustrate his points. Why are ethnic restaurants usually described as "hole-in-the wall", or "hidden gem", or when interviewing someone for whom English is not their first language, why is their broken English literally written out?

In one early chapter he talks about "darlings" and "deviants". Darlings are model minorities, immigrants who come to Canada and work extremely hard to succeed. The polar opposite are deviants, people of colour who give their community a bad name, such as those arrested for trafficking drugs, or convicted for murder.

Another situation is when words in a culture are equated to an English or western word. My father likes to describe jellyfish as "rubber bands", or baked char siu buns as "Chinese hamburgers". Other examples are banh mi is called described as a "Vietnamese sandwich", but then they are sometimes called banh mi sandwiches which is redundant, or dim sum being equated to Chinese tapas, which it definitely is not!

The book makes the reader think about stories they have read on people of colour and how they were portrayed; it also forces journalists to think carefully about how they should cover cultural topics in the future.

In Hong Kong, non-Chinese communities, particularly Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos and Indonesians should be covered more in the media, and with more sensitivity. For the most part, it's as if they don't exist, unless an employer severely mistreats their domestic helper and is dragged to court. There are many successful professional Filipinos in the city, while many Indian families have long roots in Hong Kong.

Under The White Gaze leaves a lot for the reader to consider, and in particular journalists who want to do a better job of covering their communities, which are becoming even more multicultural. In general we need more understanding of others, giving people the opportunity to speak in their own words with context, and report on them in a sensitive way. That will help all of us understand and appreciate each other even more.

Man Charged with 8 Counts of Murder for Festival Tragedy

Rai addressing the media with Sim (left) this afternoon

Overnight news of the horrific tragedy of the vehicle that plowed into people attending a Filipino street party in Vancouver spread around the world. 

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he was "shattered to hear about the terrible incident."

Even King Charles sent condolences via a social media post.

The damaged SUV at the scene of attack

"Our hearts and prayers go out to all those whose lives have been shattered by such a desperate tragedy and we send our deepest possible sympathy at a most agonising time for so many in Canada," he wrote.

Some people in Vancouver woke up to the news this morning, and the shock, sadness and disbelief happened all over again.

Finally there were some numbers -- in the morning it was reported nine people had died, over a dozen injured.

Then at 2pm there was another press conference, this time with Mayor Ken Sim -- dressed in a black suit -- giving a heartfelt speech conveying his sadness and anger over what happened last night and has asked for a full investigation.

It was good to see him step up and finally act like a mayor. Following the by-election a few weeks ago when his ABC party was hammered, Sim realises he needs to actually do his job. If he takes this opportunity to show that he is performing his mayoral duties properly, residents may actually cut him some slack; but he's going to have to work really hard for forgiveness.

At that same press conference Interim Police Chief Steve Rai disclosed only a sliver more of information, that the now 11 deceased ranged in age from five to 65, and that 17 people are still in hospital.

Rai also confirmed the driver of the vehicle was very well known to police and mental health workers.

Lo charged this afternoon, appeared in court

Later in the afternoon news broke that 30-year-old Kai-Ji Adam Lo was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder in relation to the crash at the Lapu Lapu Festival. There are still a lot of questions around security of the festival, though Rai said a risk assessment was made with festival organisers that it didn't require more security like other events.

However, following this tragedy, the police will have to re-examine how they conduct these risk assessments and if police need to attend every single event held in the city. There are also questions why someone with mental health issues and well-known to police, did not get the help he needed, and why he was still able to drive a car. In this case an SUV.

Witnesses came out in the media to give first-hand accounts of what they saw and heard last night. It sounds absolutely horrific, some hearing boom, boom, boom, and later realising it was the sound of the car hitting people, others who had set up stalls at the festival, were cleaning up and leaving when they saw bodies on the ground. They are completely traumatised.

One admitted that whenever he sees groups of people he is terrified and hears the sounds and remember the images he saw.

But Lo, the driver who is charged with eight counts of second-degree murder, has a troubled past. Last year his older brother was murdered and turned to the public for money to pay for the funeral. And then his mother tried to commit suicide and she spent a month in hospital.

Today Lo appeared briefly in court, did not request bail and will remain in custody until his next court appearance on May 26 in Vancouver provincial court. 

Tragedy Tonight in Vancouver

Multiple people were killed and injured in Vancouver tonight

People in Metro Vancouver are in shock and devastated after news broke that several people were killed and injured after a driver plowed into a crowd participating in a street festival at 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street.

The police held an impromptu press conference at the scene, but did not give much more information than what is already known. 

They would only say that at around 8.14pm a lone male in his 30s drove a vehicle into a street festival called Lapu Lapu Day Block Party organised by the Filipino community. There were food trucks lined along the narrow street selling food, as well as stages for performances.

The narrow road was lined with food trucks

After the incident, festival bystanders took the driver into custody, called the police, who then took him into custody. The police added the suspect was "known to police in certain circumstances", but would not elaborate, nor comment if he had mental health issues.

Media are reporting four hospitals are in code orange, which means they are dealing with mass casualties. 

CBC Radio Vancouver is broadcasting a news special now, and talked to people who were at the festival, explaining Lapu Lapu was a big community event, where they would meet up with friends and family. Some are estimating up to 100,000 people were there at some point during the day.

Now they are texting and calling each other to see if they were at the festival and if they were OK. One called to say his friends had called him earlier telling him he was missing a good time at the event, and now has found out one of them was hit, but did not have any further news of his condition.

Hopefully more information will come to light in the next few days.

Remembering Chef Margarita Fores

Fores, a tireless promoter of Filipino cuisine has died at 65

This morning I woke up to the tragic news that accomplished chef and tireless promoter of Filipino cuisine Margarita Fores has passed away. She was 65 years old.

According to news reports she died of a massive heart attack in her Upper House hotel room in Hong Kong, where she was on a stopover after traveling to Morocco and Madrid.

One of her chef friends, Vicky Cheng of Vea and Wing, was shocked and heartbroken, as he had only spoken to her hours earlier. He wrote on his social media post:

Cheng with Fores in a collaboration dinner

Why is life so not fair!!?

I was just speaking to you yesterday, you asked me to go out for a night cap…. And I said I had an early morning I couldn’t come out…. I didn’t know it was the last time you were ever going to ask me 😢😭

“Oh no worries! Will always be back to see you!…“ this was the last message you sent me 😭

I interviewed Fores back in 2023 for a Mother's Day story about how chefs' mothers or grandmothers influenced their career paths into the kitchen.

Her mother had just passed in March that year, describing her as "My Mothers, My Rock, My Everything", and how she introduced the young Fores to Europe, in particular Italy and fell in love with the cuisine.

Fores learned how to cook Italian and brought her skills and passion back to the Philippines, opening Cibo in 1997, followed by Lusso, Grace Park, and The Loggia.

In 2017 I made my first trip to her home town, Manila, where a food exhibition called Madrid Fusion was held. She introduced me and several other Hong Kong journalists to Filipino cuisine, from adobo, a braised meat stew, to kinilaw, where raw seafood is marinated in citrus juices much like ceviche. 

Fores fell in love with Italian cuisine

I learned how Filipinos eat rice three times a day and for festive occasions will roast a stuffed baby pig called lechon.

As we took in these sights and flavours, Fores was there to explain and demystify Filipino cuisine. We were excited to learn from her.

Before and after the pandemic she came to Hong Kong frequently, where she made friends with many chefs, praising their food, and was supportive of them.

Thai chef Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn wrote on his social media that Fores set an example to others.

"I will remember to be kind, to hold a good heart even [if] the world turns on me. I will make people smile and laugh. And I will remember to be a good person," he wrote.

Fores was born in 1959 into the wealthy Araneta family, her grandfather J Amado Araneta was a tycoon, and the family had businesses in real estate, food, leisure and hospitality.

In 2016 she was named Asia's Best Female Chef" by the World's 50 Best Restaurants. 

Fores survived cancer twice, including thyroid cancer around 2006. She has a son, Jorge Amado, who was learning the restaurant business from her and has his own restaurant, a mano.

Margarita your big smile and enthusiasm will be missed. RIP.

Dallas Stars has Asian Talent on Fire

Robertson celebrates after his goal against the Oilers tonight

The Stanley Cup playoffs are on and last week the Vancouver Canucks were sadly eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers, now the only Canadian team left vying for the giant trophy.

However, in the third round of the playoffs, the Oilers are wondering what hit them tonight as they were winning 2-0 in the first period and then by the end of the second period it was 3-2 with their opponents, the Dallas Stars catching up.

By the third period the Oilers tried to regain the upper hand, but the Stars clinched two more goals, including an empty netter to win 5-3, leading the series 2-1.

Three of the Stars' goals were from Jason Robertson, who scored a hat trick for this game.

Robertson looks Asian and yes he is -- half Filipino and half... Scottish!

The 24-year old is from Arcadia, California and his younger brother Nicholas was a second-round draft pick for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There are currently four players of Filipino descent in the NHL -- Robertson, his brother, Tim Stapleton  and Matt Dumba. 

Stapleton is the first player of Filipino heritage to play in the NHL, and is half Filipino and half Irish, while Dumba is Canadian and his father's background is a mix of Romanian, German and Russian.

Tonight Robertson was on fire and it was impressive watching him play. His teammates call him Robo. I was rooting for the Oilers, but now things are looking interesting with Robertson on the ice!