Australian-Chinese Journalist Released

Cheng was detained for three years before being released

Late last night Vancouver time it was a relief to see Australian-Chinese journalist Cheng Lei had been released after three years in detention in China and was now back in Melbourne.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong greeted Cheng with a hug at the airport.

"She was in extraordinarily good spirits. I think I was more emotional than she was," Wong said of Cheng. "I think she's pretty tough. She looked great."

Cheng (left) and Wong hugged at the airport

Wong said she had promised Cheng's two children, 11 and 14, that the government would do all it could to bring their mother home.

"It was really moving to meet Cheng Lei yesterday and speak to her kids who are not much older than mine," Wong said.

She added she encouraged Cheng to thrive and be healthy and happy now that she's free. "That's what all Australians want you to be," Wong said.

It is believed improved relations between Australia and China helped secure Cheng's release, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had "good, constructive" meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang about Cheng's case. 

In the last two weeks a deal was struck where Cheng would plead guilty to charges related to state secrets with no additional time in custody.

When she was working for CGTN, she was arrested in August 2020, with China's Ministry of State Security saying Cheng had provided a foreign organisation with state secrets she had obtained on the job in violation of a confidentiality clause signed with her employer. A police statement did not name the organisation or say what the secrets were.

Cheng has returned to her family

A court in Beijing convicted her of illegally providing state secrets abroad and was sentenced to two yeras and 11 months, the statement said.

Meanwhile Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the Chinese judicial system tried the case " in accordance with the law, fully safeguarding the rights enjoyed by the person concerned in accordance with the law."

However, in a letter that was made public in August, Cheng wrote how she only had sunlight in her cell for 10 hours a year, and to keep mentally fit, she recalled every place she had visited and moments, both special and simple, like the experience of sand between her toes to sunsets.

Nevertheless, Geoff Raby, a former Australian ambassador to China and a friend of Cheng, described China's explanation that she had been released according to the law as a "face-saving solution."

He said Wong and Albanese deserved credit for stabilising bilateral relations with China, and bringing up Cheng's case at every opportunity.

"Persistence and constantly coming back to this issue and advocating on her behalf in private but at very senior levels... trickles down through the Chinese system and I think the result we see thankfully... yesterday is a product of all that effort," Raby told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

VIFF Review: Winter Chants

A record of village life in Ho Chung

Since she was a teenager, Tsang Tsui-shan has wanted to preserve the culture and stories of Ho Chung, the Sai Kung village she was born and grew up in, in Hong Kong's New Territories.

She became a documentary filmmaker and Winter Chants is her latest work recording the Peace and Light Festival that pays tribute to the village, those who have passed, and thanks the gods for protecting them. It is an event that is only held once every 10 years and those living overseas use this as an opportunity to return and hold family reunions.

Tsang returned to her village in early 2020 to begin documenting the preparations for the event, but then Covid-19 began to spread, and while it was relatively contained in Hong Kong, the government did not want large crowds to gather which put the festival organisers in a difficult situation...

The simplicity of life in Ho Chung village

In Winter Chants, she uses a lot of archival footage and photographs to demonstrate not only how large scale the event was and what performances and rituals were held for several days, but also how Tsang herself participated as an emcee for one or two events. While she doesn't reveal her face explicitly, Tsang narrates the documentary.

She also shows how the next generation is keenly aware of how important it is to preserve the village's culture through fraternal twins who create and publish a magazine about villages in Sai Kung. They note how Westerners have a publication called "Sai Kung", but even though it's about the same district, the local twins can't relate to the stories at all.

Their own magazine talks about village life in Chinese, and the twins deliver a copy to every mailbox and leave several copies in various business establishments. It's heartening to see young people in their 20s very passionate about where they come from, not necessarily from a political standpoint, but a cultural one, with making money not the priority.

Another man with an artistic bent paints murals on the wall bordering the village to welcome back the diaspora to the festival, and he even encourages young children to help him paint. It's a lovely way to encourage inter-generational participation, and the end result reflects activities and culture of the village.

The multi-day festival appeases the gods

Meanwhile the village elders are trying to organise the festival, but have to keep watching the government regulations change constantly, with then Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's voiceover explaining how people need to wear masks, keep their distance, and how people will be fined if too many people gather together.

The pace of the documentary is slow, much like village life in Ho Chung. Children play in the narrow paths, elderly people chit chat outside, but it isn't bogged down either. Winter Chants is like a poetic love letter to Ho Chung village and its people, documenting this important cultural event that brings the villagers together in a bid to appease the gods to protect them from, ironically, disease!

One gets the sense that Ho Chung will continue to thrive despite what is going on around it, thanks to young people who are willing to continue traditions forward, and to record and document the past to ensure a smooth continuum. 

Winter Chants

Directed by Tsang Tsui-shan

102 minutes

VIFF Review: The Pot au Feu

Most of the film is centered in this kitchen

One of the closing films of the Vancouver International Film Festival was The Pot au Feu, also known as The Taste of Things or The Passion of Dodin Bouffant by director Tran Anh-Hung. It's interesting to note that exactly 30 years ago he became an international star with his film The Scent of Green Papaya.

In The Pot au Feu, Tran makes viewers hungry, watching actors Juliette Binoche and Benoit Magimel cooking numerous dishes using 19th century cooking equipment. One of the earlier scenes in the film is the French version of Eat Drink Man Woman, spending a lot of time watching mostly Binoche's character prepare a roast loin of veal, a whole turbot poached in a milk bath, a vol au vent, which is a puff pastry where the inside is hollowed out and creamy vegetables spooned in, and a Baked Alaska -- yes it existed in the 1830s.

Dodin cooks a romantic meal for Eugenie 

Magimel is Dodin, who seems to be wealthy enough not to "work", and instead has an estate with a large garden to grow vegetables, acquire fine wines and entertain his male friends who are serious gourmets, while Binoche is Eugenie, his loyal cook for over 20 years who intuitively knows exactly what Dodin wants. 

Oh and they are lovers too; he has asked her many times to marry him, and she politely refuses, saying the arrangement they have now is fine.

There isn't much of a plot in The Pot au Feu: an Eurasian prince comes calling and wants to impress Dodin and his friends with a terribly lavish meal that lasts eight hours. The chef is none other than Pierre Gagnaire himself who in one scene reads out the outlandish menu.

Chef Gagnaire plays... a chef in the film

The other storyline is Eugenie who has fainting spells and the doctors don't know what is wrong with her; When she convalesces, Dodin uses the opportunity to finally cook for her and presents a romantic meal for one that includes oysters topped with caviar, a chicken with slices of black truffle stuffed under the skin and the cooked in a broth that is used for consomme, then the meat is the main course. 

Then there is a precocious girl Pauline, who helps out in the kitchen and Eugenie and Dodin immediately see she has the potential to become a great cook.

Director Tran uses a lot of mise en scene, long lingering shots of the food being prepared from scratch, and how they cook things methodically but with a lot of love and care through how they handle the ingredients. He also uses a lot of natural light, while the lighting at night, particularly the dinner for Eugenie is dimly lit.

Tran (left) directing Magimel in the kitchen

The dialogue is relatively sparse, as the food seems to speak for itself, while viewers can sense the sexual tension between Eugenie and Dodin -- Binoche and Magimel were together for five years and have a daughter together, so they are very comfortable with each other on screen.

Sadly there isn't much character development in the film, but the real star of The Pot au Feu is the food. I had been forewarned not to watch the film on an empty stomach and it's true. Clocking in at 134 minutes, it's a long film about cooking and eating food. However, it surely has inspired some audience members to try their hand in the kitchen, and are probably relieved they have modern cooking appliances and not have to tend to a fire to heat the stove...

The Pot au Feu

Directed by Tran Anh-Hung

Stars Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel

134 minutes

VIFF Review: All Ears

Hu Ge is Wen Shan, an obituary writer

Director Liu Jiayin sent a video message before the screening of her film, All Ears. She apologised for not being able to come because of visa issues, but reminisced that her breakout film Oxhide was shown at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and fondly remembered the trees at Stanley Park.

She thanked Vancouver again for seeing All Ears and wryly hoped that everyone could follow along the subtitles.

Wen Shan struggles to figure out his life

It wasn't too hard to do that -- the dialogue is sparse but meaningful, discussing life and death, and how people want to remember loved ones.

Wen Shan is a failed scriptwriter who makes a living as an obituary writer in Beijing, and is a good one at that. His friend works in the funeral home and refers business to him, and from there has had many people hire him for his literary skills.

After he's written one about a deceased brother, we viewers find out what his work is like -- one sibling will relate their view of events which contradicts another. But in the end, the obituary Wen Shan writes reveals the brother in the best possible light, which is what every family wants to do for the most part.

Another is a businessman whose father has passed but has barely anything to say about him because he barely spent any time with him which is telling, and may represent today's China where some people are so driven to make money that they don't care much about anything else. 

He helps others process the deaths of loved ones

Interestingly the businessman's nine-year-old son has something to contribute to the obituary, a hint to his own father.

Meanwhile, Wen Shan struggles to figure out his own life, nearing 40 years of age and seeing his peers move on and get good jobs, leaving him behind, living on his own in a sparse apartment. He can't admit to his parents what is really going on and finds solace hanging out in the zoo.

He also seems to have a younger man as a roommate, but he turns out to be a character Wen Shan has created, but has been stuck on developing his story.

All Ears is a contemplative look at life, death, how to live one's life and legacy. Director Liu also explained in her video message that she hadn't made films for 10 years and was facing internal struggles in that time, much like the main character. While it is not autobiographical, it is universal. 

All Ears

Directed by Liu Jiayin

Stars Hu Ge, Wu Lei, Xi Qi

112 minutes

VIFF Review: The Boy and the Heron

A grey heron taunts Mahito when he arrives in his new home

One of the films at the Vancouver International Film Festival that sold out on the first day tickets were available was Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron, which was believed to be 82-year-old Hayao Miyazaki's swan song, but apparently since then he has said he will continue working.

However The Boy and the Heron does seem to be Miyazaki's parting gift, yet another of his fantastical stories on a massive scale, with deep themes about youth and old age, selfishness and selflessness, birth and death, trauma and devotion.

At today's screening there was a very long line of people waiting in the standby queue, hoping for the slim possibility of being able to view the feature-length animation, but only a few were able to get in as almost all the seats were taken except for seats in the front.

This may not be Miyazaki's last film...

Many in the audience were young people, some even brought young kids along, but it was not a My Neighbour Totoro kind of film...

The year is 1943 and during the Pacific War, Mahito's mother dies in a fire in the hospital she works at. The boy has traumatic flashbacks and has trouble processing her passing. A few years later, Mahito is now 12 years old, and he and his father move from Tokyo to the countryside where he meets his new mother, Natsuko, who is his mother's sister. And she's pregnant.

It's a lot for him to process, and on top of it Mahito is not liked by his classmates in his new school because of his relatively wealthy background.

But he quickly notices a grey heron following him and soon it speaks to him in a human voice, taunting him about his mother... and there is an abandoned tower that looks like a brick castle on the property that takes him to another world that involves pelicans, giant parakeets and the cutest little white blobs called waruwaru.

It's interesting to note many of Miyazaki's storylines seem to involve children who are left to their own devices, usually in the countryside, and discovering a supernatural world where they make friends and allies to help them on their mission or journey. The Boy and the Heron is definitely in this category, as numerous characters help Mahito.

Mahito meets many characters who help him

It seems this 124-minute film is Miyazaki's most autobiographical film to date. His family also evacuated from the city to the countryside during the war, and he lost his mother at a young age. She was apparently known to be opinionated and was a source of inspiration for Miyazaki's films, and one can see that in films like Ponyo, Porco Rosso, and now The Boy and the Heron.

The title is a bit of a misnomer because it's not just about a boy and a heron; it was inspired by a novel written in 1937 called How Do You Live?, about a 15-year-old boy and his relationship with his uncle. The book is literally in the film, left by Mahito's mother for him to read.

The fantastical worlds that Miyazaki creates are so interesting and creative, which also results in funny dialogue to create a bit of levity.

In a time where computer-generated animation is the norm these days, Miyazaki still hand draws all the scenes, a tedious process that also results in a look that doesn't have a perfect sheen, like say those of Pixar. 

Definitely worth watching again, as it's a lot to absorb the first time around!

The Boy and the Heron

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

124 minutes

  

Homeless Numbers Rise in Metro Vancouver

Many municipalities are seeing increases in homeless people

Every three years there is a count of the homeless people in Vancouver and the surrounding municipalities, and sadly the numbers are getting higher in every area, many of them are indigenous and seniors.

Counting was conducted by the Homelessness Services Association of BC and the statistics are shockingly high in areas like Delta with a 159 percent increase, 91 percent in Richmond, and 86 percent in the Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam an Port Moody). Surrey has seen a 65 percent increase to 1,060 who don't have a proper roof over their heads.

Vancouver has the highest number of homeless at 2,420, but among the slowest growth at 16 percent compared to 2020.

Many homeless are indigenous and seniors

Indigenous people are hit the hardest -- they only make up 2.4 percent of the populations, but are one-third of the homeless population. Seniors are next along with LGBTQ+, youth in the foster care system, and visible minorities. 

This year 4,821 people across the region are experiencing homelessness, a 32 percent increase since 2020; homeless advocates say this is the "minimum" number, and there are probably many more that volunteers could not find.

The count was conducted on March 7 and 8 this year, finding people in shelters, transition houses, hospitals, police cells, alleys, doorways, parks and vehicles. At the time of the count, two-thirds had a temporary roof over their heads, while the rest were unsheltered, either sleeping outside, living in a tent, or couch surfing.

In addition one in five were over the age of 55, and 10 percent of them said they were experiencing homelessness for the first time as a senior.

"The number of seniors have been going up significantly, and that's really challenging. In an environment with ever increasing food costs and housing costs, seniors are disproportionately being impacted," said Stephen D'Souza, executive director of the Homeless Services Association of BC.

More than two-thirds of the respondents had experienced homelessness for at least a year, a significantly larger number since the last survey in 2020.

The main reason is the skyrocketing rents that have made it so difficult for people on low-income budgets to afford, along with cost of living, substance abuse and mental health issues. 

Another interesting point is that the homeless population is mostly made of people from Vancouver -- they are not people who migrated from other parts of the country. Four out of every five people were homeless in the community where they used to be housed. 

Mayors blame the province for not building low-income housing fast enough, while the BC government claims the federal government isn't doing enough to release more funds.

The blame game hardly helps the situation -- all levels of government need to earnestly tackle the issue of homelessness quickly and effectively before more people lose their homes in the next few years.

Michelin's Underwhelming Announcement

The Michelin Guide Vancouver is in its second year

There was barely any excitement in the days leading up to the second year of the Michelin Guide in Vancouver. So was it surprising that only one -- yes just one -- new restaurant was added to the other eight one-star establishments?

Tonight's announcement was held at the Fairmont Pacific Rim's ballroom, not the massive Convention Centre, and only about a dozen seats reserved in front of the stage.

Okeya Kyujiro is the ninth one-star restaurant

A few industry people I talked to before the event started assumed there would be more stars handed out, but no, they were completely wrong.

So the coveted star was handed to a Japanese omakase restaurant called Okeya Kyujiro in Yaletown that opened last September. It has another location in Montreal that opened three years ago. It was nice to see the two chefs and server dressed in traditional Japanese attire and fitting that they also won the Michelin Outstanding Service award.

And there was a new prize handed out -- Michelin Young Chef Award -- which went to Warren Chow of Wildlight Kitchen + Bar, a place I visited a week ago and quite enjoyed the lunch. Service was better than the first time I went, but then again the place was barely half full.

Chow was thrilled to win the award -- he said he had no idea beforehand and was shaking with excitement. He just turned 31 years old yesterday so this Michelin nod is quite the birthday present.

And then that was the end of the awards ceremony. 

Warren Chow Best Young Chef

Before the big announcement of the ninth one-star restaurant, every other chef, restaurateur, sommelier, manager and so on were on stage to get their two minutes' of fame. Emcee Mijune Pak asked not only last year's one-star restaurants to come up, but also the Bib Gourmands and the Recommended Restaurants. All 77 of them were up on stage at one point or another.

Perhaps it was done so that they got some attention, but for the media it was hardly newsworthy.

Even international director of the Michelin Guide Gwendal Poullennec didn't show up. Apparently he's too busy launching guides at the moment to return to cities for the second year...

So what's next for 2024? 

One more one-star restaurant?

The Michelin Guide has puts itself in a pickle. Vancouver has great restaurants, but are they really Michelin-starred restaurants? Now there are nine one-star restaurants. Of those are any worthy of being elevated to two stars?

 

It's Raining Puppies in HK

Typhoon Koinu arriving in HK as imagined by @surrealhk

The Hong Kong Observatory has raised the T1 signal as the city braces for Typhoon Koinu to arrive on Thursday, and already the memes have been raining dogs, dogs, and more dogs.

That's because koinu in Japanese means "puppy". 

As a result, creative designers have taken to photoshopping the cutest puppies in the eye of the storm.

Unfortunately the impending typhoon has led to a severe disruption in the outdoor night bazaars that have been held in several districts.

Entrepreneurs trying to make a quick buck will have to suspend their businesses until the typhoon (and rain) go away.

However, some are questioning the effectiveness of these night bazaars.

"The success of the night bazaars should not be measured solely by economic factors, but by social ones, as they managed to get more visitors to the waterfront," said Ivan Wong Wang-tai, chairman of the Wan Chai District Council.

"But how much money can a night market earn? We should focus on how to fundamentally improve our economy, through hi-tech manufacturing and finance for example, instead of relying on this."

Agreed. Night markets are the only things the government can think of to stimulate the economy?

Nevertheless, here's hoping Typhoon Koinu isn't as destructive as Typhoon Haikui!

Picture of the Day: Julius the Giant Pumpkin

Julius is resting (and growing) under a tarp in Vancouver

A neighbour in Vancouver is growing a gigantic pumpkin in their front yard.

The gourd's name is Julius and it's over 500 pounds.

"Julius started out as little as the size of a marble and now he's 500 pounds," said Michael Polay.

People who walk by the pumpkin patch invariably start conversations with the Polay family, who have never grown such a big pumpkin before.

For the past decade they have grown regular-sized pumpkins for their two children for Halloween, but nothing like Julius.

"It's actually a full-time job," said Polay. "We are in the patch everyday making sure he [the pumpkin] is well-watered and fed."

He got the pumpkin seeds to grow Julius from Jeff Pelletier, who grew a massive 1,167-pound pumpkin last year that was named the "prettiest pumpkin" at the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off held at Krause Berry Farms for the past decade.

Polay even got the seeds from this particular winning pumpkin, which explains why Julius has grown so much, but not as big as Pelletier's. Nevertheless, the Polay family still intend to bring their pumpkin to the weigh-off even though it probably won't win.

But they have set their sights on growing a 1,000-pound gourd next year! 

Four Vancouver Businesses Gutted by Fire

The three-alarm fire started at 10pm at the back of Nando's

This morning we woke up to the news that some businesses in a neighbourhood near where we live were destroyed after a fire last night. It's quite a shock as I was just in that area yesterday to do some errands. 

The fire reportedly broke out around 10pm last night behind Nando's restaurant, an Afro-Portuguese chain that served flame-grilled chicken with a spicy sauce. The fire spread to the next door businesses called Deer Island Bakery and Yummy Yogurt, as well as Pho Tan Vietnamese Restaurant and Sandy Farm Market. They are located at 41st Avenue between East Boulevard and Maple Street.

The four businesses were torn down today

Periodically we would go to Sandy Farm Market for fruits and vegetables. It was a Korean-owned store and they closed on Sundays to go to church.

Not only were the businesses gutted, but also people who lived in four units above one of the buildings were homeless.

Fifty-five firefighters fought the three-alarm fire to get it under control. 

"At this time we can't say we don't know exactly where the fire started. There's so much damage right now... We'll be trying to ascertain the cause," said assistant fire chief Keith Stewart.

From photographs taken from the scene, it looks like Nando's has collapsed into itself, though Stewart has said at least the four businesses will have to be demolished, and an excavator was brought in Monday to take them down.

It's so tragic to hear about the fire -- which results in losses for business owners and people being out of work.

VIFF Review: Pianoforte

The film follows pianists competing in the Chopin competition

Yesterday I watched another documentary as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival, called Pianoforte, which follows several pianists vying to win the International Chopin Piano Competition. Needless to say it's stressful to watch the competitors deal with the immense pressure.

The competition started in 1927 and from 1955 is held every five years. The 2020 competition was postponed for a year because of the pandemic, and that is the one that was filmed in Pianoforte. There are some 160 competitors, that gets knocked down to 80, then 40, then eventually down to the final 12. Four runner-ups are announced before the winner.

The director Jakub Piatek approached the organisers of the competition in 2019 about doing the documentary and they were interested. He admits not knowing much about classical music, which he says allowed him to ask a lot of questions that would inform the viewers of what was going on.

(left) Gadjiev and Armellini are good friends

But it seemed most of the audience who watched the film yesterday had a musical background. When the venue manager introduced the film and said "Chop-in", many people snickered and a man said, "It's show-pan" and the manager giggled and had a good laugh.

Piatek interviewed 40 competitors in video calls, and then met them in person when they had to perform in the preliminary round in Warsaw, Poland, and that helped them narrow down the pool to about six or seven pianists. Some were knocked out in successive rounds, and so in the film there are only quick clips of them packing up their suitcases despite having filmed their back story in their respective home countries.

Because of the pandemic, Piatek had to rely on finding film crews in places like China, Japan, Russia, Italy and Poland.

The final group of people they followed were diverse in race, outlook, and approach to the competition. Italian-Slovenian Alexander Gadjiev seems a bit older than everyone else with graying long hair, only wears shirts, and slacks, and practices his own kind of meditation that involves moving his wrists in circles.

Hao with his teacher Li and director Piatek

Leonora Armellini of Italy has long chestnut brown hair, and hangs out with Gadjiev. They give the appearance of slackers, filmed in bars drinking alcohol and chatting with strangers, but the judges could see their passion for Chopin. 

Hao Rao is a 16-year-old from Jishou, in Hunan province, China. He is accompanied by his piano teacher, Vivian Li. She is very encouraging, but constantly telling him to practice and he dutifully obeys. There is a striking scene of him at home in a small apartment. He plays the piano while his mother cooks nearby, and his father watches him from behind. They politely listen, but probably have no understanding of the talent their son has.

His mother pulls out a binder filled with the train tickets they have taken to lesson and competitions. He travels 16 hours to Guangzhou for his lessons which is quite the feat -- and proves his love of music. Li later admits that her teacher had primed her for this Chopin competition, but when it came down to it, she chickened out, claiming she was not ambitious enough.

Hao contrasts with a young Russian teen about the same age as him whose teacher is very tough on her, a woman in her 60s who came from the Soviet-era of piano training. The teen, who has very long hair, is caught between focusing on her playing and being belittled by her teacher.

This Russian teen believes she is talented... or not?

Another Italian pianist is brutally honest about how stressful the competition is, and says she has nightmares of zombies invading her village and she has to kill them all, but that's easier than playing in this competition. 

A Polish pianist even uses his smartphone to film himself playing because he knows the cameras are going to film him at the piano and so he wants to know what he looks like...

It's these small scenes that reveal the stress, the relationships between the pianists and their parents or teachers, the humour and the passion. Pianoforte does not focus too much on the playing because really, who are we to judge? We can see their agony and dread, elation and relief on their faces, and that's all we really need to know.

If you follow the competition, you will know who won, but it is not revealed until the end of the film. It's not important -- it's what drives these people to compete for 21 days straight and we as the audience can sympathise with them.

Pianoforte

Directed by Jakub Piatek

89 minutes

VIFF Review: Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

Coombs with Casey and Finnegan by the treehouse

The Vancouver International Film Festival has kicked off and I saw the Vancouver premiere of the documentary, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe.

Inside the Vancouver Playhouse, practically every seat was taken as everyone in the audience was ready to walk down memory lane.

Rogers (left) was a visionary

Mr. Dressup was a part of children's lives for almost 30 years, encouraging them to play, make crafts, sing songs, dress up into various characters and most of all, be kind to others. He hung out with two puppet characters, Casey and Finnegan. No one could figure out if Casey was a boy or a girl, and a culture critic points out that Casey was probably the first non-binary character ever on television! Finnegan was a dog that only whispered to Casey.

That's the Mr. Dressup that I knew, I had no idea of the origins or what happened after I grew up, and this documentary traces the whole career of the man behind Mr. Dressup, Ernie Coombs.

He was originally from Maine, and knew Fred Rogers, who was passionate about changing children's television into something more educational as well as entertaining. Rogers was lured up north to Canada to work at the children's TV department of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and he got Coombs to come along with him.

Rogers created the pre-cursor to Mister Rogers' Neighbourhood and it was very successful in Canada, and Coombs helped out as a puppeteer and one of the human characters on the show. 

However, after his contract ended after a few years, Rogers moved back to the US. Who would replace him? Coombs, with his own show, first called Butternut Square. 

Coombs created the character Mr. Dressup

After a while it was suddenly cancelled, but the show's producer managed to get part of a studio and they created Mr. Dressup. He had what he called the Tickle Trunk, where he stored all his costumes to dress up in, showed children how to draw (from his experience of painting background sets), made crafts with toilet paper rolls, and hung out with Casey and Finnegan who were in a tree house (which still stands in the CBC Toronto foyer). 

At first the show was very scripted, but Coombs had trouble following it, and so they began ad-libbing most of it, but with clear concepts decided beforehand. It was rehearsed twice before taping live. He got on tremendously well with the puppeteer, Judith Lawrence, who incidentally was from Ballarat, Australia. 

Decades later, Lawrence decided she'd had enough and retired -- CBC even dared to claim that Casey and Finnegan were the property of the broadcaster, but she had created them herself and so Lawerence, Casey and Finnegan left the show.

Coombs continued and the show had more learning opportunities with various rotating characters (and puppeteers).

Coombs with puppeteer Lawrence at the CBC

The documentary also delves into Coombs' personal life, his wife Marlene (Lynn) who he met on the TV set, and his adult children talk about their father and what he was like at home (no different). They also talk about the tragedy of losing their mother in a car accident, and later how Coombs died after a massive stroke around 9/11.

I had completely forgotten or not known that Coombs had died a week after that horrific day. Losing Coombs was also sad, as he had influenced so many children who are now adults. 

Pop culture historians note in the beginning, the CBC was the leader in children's television, pouring in so many resources into it and drawing in some half a million kids watching everyday. What happened? Sesame Street (only a temporary drop in numbers), but also the Conservatives won the federal election and began cutting the CBC budget. We can blame former prime minister Brian Mulroney for that!

So Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe is a nostalgic remembrance of Coombs, a comprehensive look at his career, and his contribution to Canada and children's television, and how he influenced millions of children across the country. Even in his later years he easily drew a crowd on college campuses and in pubs!

What a lovely tribute and many in audience were weeping by the end.

Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe

Directed by Robert McCallum

90 minutes

2023

Picture of the Day: Mid-Autumn Moon

The full moon peeking through the trees

Happy Mid Autumn! 中秋節快樂!

It really is a sign of fall when the Mid-Autumn Festival comes around. In Vancouver the leaves on some of the trees have begun changing colour to yellow, orange or red, and chestnut trees have released their prickly green round cases that break open and reveal the dark brown hard seed on the ground.

Tonight the moon is particularly full and after dinner around 8.30pm we snapped a picture of it as it began to rise in the sky.

After that we ate some slices of mooncakes. We got boxes of mooncakes this year from The Boss Bakery & Restaurant in Chinatown, where they make traditional ones with two salted egg yolks that are pretty darn good.

We also scored the famous Peninsula Hotel's egg custard mooncakes. They are not as heavy, and have a slight coconut taste.

My favourite is still the ones from the Kowloon Shangri-La, with red bean paste mixed with 25-year-old mandarin peel. The combination is so well balanced!

HK's Umbrella Movement 9 Years Ago

Police fired 87 teargas canisters on September 28, 2014

Has it been nine years since the start of the Umbrella Movement?

It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was a seminal moment in Hong Kong's recent history.

Before September 28, 2014, several young people occupied Civic Square at Tamar Government headquarters and they in turn were surrounded by the police.

The occupation of Admiralty lasted 79 days

On that day, hundreds of people descended on Admiralty armed with umbrellas, some wore goggles and shouted at the police to release them. They demanded that they 开门. or "open the gates" but to no avail.

My friend YTSL had just returned from a trip to Japan when she joined in, but was feeling hungry. Seeing as nothing was happening, we went to the nearby shopping mall Pacific Place to have a bite at Dan Ryan's.

While we were eating I happened to check Twitter and the police had shot teargas at the people, around 6pm!

We rushed back to Admiralty Centre and the Umbrella Movement had begun -- people were walking around on what is usually a busy freeway, and traffic had come to a stand still. It was absolutely surreal.

At the time I had to go to Kowloon side for dinner with relatives and watching the TV we were shocked to see the police had fired more teargas -- 87 canisters in total.

This only enraged more people to come out to Admiralty that evening and so on for 79 days and spread to Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and Mongkok.

People of all ages hanging out particularly in Admiralty fostered a sense of community on a large scale; people handed out water bottles, picked up garbage, helped students study, created crafts and art work. 

It inspired artwork and a sense of community

They wrote their hopes for Hong Kong on coloured sticky notes and wore yellow ribbons. 

Then Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying had contempt for student leaders Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Alex Chow Yong-kang, Lester Shum Ngo-fai and Nathan Law Kwun-chung. Most memorable was the televised debate between the young people and the government officials, with the former easily winning in the court of public opinion. 

Leung would deal with academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chan Kin-man, and Chu Yiu-ming later. Tai's grand plan didn't exactly work -- he had to move up his "Occupy Central" idea up a few days and quickly got lost in the shuffle. The media focused on Joshua Wong and he and his colleagues took the reins of the movement.

Nine years later things have completely changed, almost all these people are behind bars or have been convicted for their part, the pro-democratic camp decimated and the Legislative Council only having seats for patriots.

Tens of thousands of people have left Hong Kong and the city is struggling economically and socially.

Meanwhile the Hong Kong diaspora is trying to recreate that community feeling again in their new homes in different ways. It will take time to see if they have succeeded or not. 

Night Market Stalls Due to Power Supply

Struggling "night vibes" in Wan Chai from power issues

"Night Vibes Hong Kong" has kicked off in a bid to get more people out in the evenings and spending their hard-earned money, but so far it's been a struggle for vendors thanks to not enough power supply.

There are some 90 vendors, 44 of which are selling food and drinks along the Wan Chai Promenade, but on the first day there were issues with the unstable electricity supply. As a result vendors had trouble heating up food or taking electronic payments.

The night market meant to evoke dai pai dongs

One was Singaporean skewer shop Satay Pop. "They told us it would be fixed at 3pm, then it was 6pm, and now, it's still nothing," said owner Anson Lau.

Another was Christopher Prezemyski, owner of Bistro Concepts, which has several eateries in Sai Ying Pun, and at Wan Chai he was selling lobster rolls, sushi, tacos and pulled pork sliders with alcoholic drinks.

"The only issue is, I still don't have power, which is actually a little disappointing. We only have basic power for the fridge, but for our hot foods, it's still not working."

He was unable to reheat or steam some of his food offerings as he had prepared to cook with electricity, though the government had allowed vendors to cook with an open fire, in a bid to evoke a dai pai dong atmosphere...

It seems like the Hong Kong government hadn't thought out the logistics of having 90 vendors and the amount of power needed in an area that only has a few spotlights along the harbourfront. 

Government officials hope this helps revive HK

To add insult to injury, vendors were shocked when they were told not to run their businesses on the evening of October 1 when a National Day fireworks display will finally be put on after a five-year absence.

On that day the open-air market will be open from 10am to 4pm and then the vendors will have to close for crowd control measures.

They said the move was "ridiculous". One vendor said it was ironic that the night market was to entice people to come out, and that the market and the fireworks complemented each other.

With the night market closed that night, vendors would be forced to watch the fireworks as people walked past their "closed" stalls.

It's quite amazing that Hongkongers are willing to take a chance on setting up stalls like this and encountering so many issues. Is it because they are desperate to make a buck or they see the potential in a government-run initiative?

1,000 Days in Solitary Confinement

Lai's son Sebastien has been traveling around to rally support

One thousand days in jail. Most of us have no idea what that is like, but that is how long Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has been behind bars. 

He was supposed to go on trial earlier this week for his alleged offences against national security and sedition, but it has been now further postponed to December 18. This original trial was supposed to start December 1, 2022, then to December 13 of the same year, then to September this year and now December.

By that point he will have been in solitary confinement for three years before the trial has even begun.

Lai has been in jail since December 2022

Meanwhile his son Sebastien has been touring around trying to drum up support. He has pleaded in Britain for government officials to take up Lai's case as he is a British citizen, but to no avail; they have rebuffed his requests for meetings.

Sebastien Lai has attended various journalism conferences in Europe talking about his father and the need to defend freedom of the press. For this he has received sympathetic ears from editors and journalists, but not many understand the complex situation in Hong Kong and the changes that have happened there.

At 28-years-old, Sebastien Lai is doing his best to publicise his father's case, but has now raised fears of his father's health.

"I don't want to see my father die in jail. He's 75, he's in prison, he does risk just dying. It is very worrying," he said.

Lai's son has seen pictures of his father taken by an Associated Press photographer, when the Hong Kong businessman was led out by guards to have his daily exercise in the maximum-security prison.

Sebastien worried about his father's health

"Some part of me was happy because he's still the same... [but] it also reminded me of his age," Sebastien Lai said. "You never know what's going to happen tomorrow at that age."

However, his father is known to have a strong sense of conviction and belief in God. 

One only wonders how he manages to pass the time and retain his sanity...

Review: Archer in Vancouver

Archer's interior is sleek, minimalist and inviting

A friend visiting from Hong Kong wanted to try Archer, a restaurant that opened a year ago in downtown Vancouver, so we tried it out last week.

I didn't know much about this place except that its menu features ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.

We arrived on time and entered the long narrow space with high ceilings that immediately felt open, welcoming and airy. There are long wooden planks that curve around the ceiling, while mossy green banquette seating finished with polished wood are inviting. 

Lovely plump scallops that were flavourful

While the white walls were a bit bare, we still enjoyed soaking in the interior, and could just see the heating lamps in the kitchen upstairs that probably had a chef's table next to it.

So far, so good.

We each ordered a non alcoholic drink -- lychee iced tea for her, and strawberry lemonade tea spritzer for me (CAD$10 each). Mine was very refreshing, hers had a strong hint of jasmine tea.

For starters we tried the roasted scallops ($29), a creative concoction where they were just fully cooked and complemented with verjus bacon vinaigrette and puffed wild rice for some crunchy texture.

The uni and lardo ($38) is expensive, and looks impressive. Giant pieces of the sea urchin are placed on top of a brioche mini square loaf with thinly sliced ribbons of lardo. Unfortunately the lardo hadn't had time to get to room temperature so it was an ordeal to bite into, let alone slice in half to share. Also disappointing was the uni -- it had none of the sweetness, only bland, barely enhancing the flavour of the brioche. 

Most enjoyed the pea risotto with sunflower seeds

Wet towels should be served with this dish for diners to clean their hands after. Or were we supposed to eat it with a fork and knife?

After an intermission came the mains. We really enjoyed the pea risotto ($36), which had a wonderful crunchy texture from the sunflower seed gremolata, asparagus and the parmesan tuile. 

But what was with the "cheeky Berkshire" ($48)? As my friend put it -- the dish's plating looked like it has been done by a culinary student, not an experienced chef. Grapes ringed the dish, along with unevenly cut turnips, and a fillet of pork jowl sliced up as if for a child. It tasted like a really expensive and pounded piece of char siu. 

Presentation of pork jowl looked very amateur

Nevertheless we hoped for a good sweet finish with dessert and ordered both options on the menu ($15 each). We knew the mille feuille was not promising as soon as we sliced it, and it didn't succumb to the knife by spurting flakes everywhere. Sadly it tasted like stale crackers and we couldn't finish it. Even the scoop of black sesame ice cream looked like it had been sitting there for a while.

The lychee rose was no better. Inside the big white blob shaped like a rose was one lychee. One. The rest was cream that had a faint taste of lychee juice from the can. It was not mousse as promised, but cream decorated with not Okanagan cherries, but one and a half raspberries.

When one of the waiters took this plate away, he did it so mindlessly that the sprinkles of crumbs from the mousse dessert fell not only on the table, but also the chair -- his colleague immediately saw the disaster and quickly wiped it off the table and chair, apologising for the mess.

The lychee mousse had one lychee in it

In the end we paid over $250 (the mille feuille taken off our bill), including tips. While the scallops and pea risotto were the shining stars, they weren't enough to save the rest of the meal. Even after a year a restaurant can't get it right... It's tough to be successful in the restaurant business, but at least the interior is a winner?

Archer

1152 Alberni Street

Vancouver, BC

778 737 6218