May 1997

  • I took in a few of the offerings of the 1st Annual Toronto International Asian Film & Video Festival, the film portion of Toronto's Asian Heritage Month Festival:

    • Mahjong, a Taiwanese film about a young gangster's attempt to reconcile with his father. Taiwan is shown as a place where many cultures meet in an exhilarating environment of economic expansion. **
    • Chinese Chocolate, a film by Yan Cui set in present day Toronto about Chinese immigrants and settling (the working title of the film was Landing) which dispels any mistaken notion that Asian people are not passionate! ***
    • The Road to Where, a program of several short films and videos about Asian diaspora in Canada, including: Hong Kong or Hay River, the story of an exuberant Chinese woman's trip to find work in the Canada's north; and Shepherd's Pie and Sushi, a recounting of Mieko Ouchi's discovery of her family's past, sparked by the Alberta actor's lead role in the CBC TV movie The War Between Us ***
    • A Hot Roof, an entertaining if slightly overstated Korean film about a group of women battling male chauvinism in a rooftop standoff. ***

    (22-25 May 97)

  • There was a fire yesterday at Green Gables, the house in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island that inspired Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery's book Anne of Green Gables (Akage no Anne)! The inside of the house was extensively damaged. Repairs will be made, but initial reports indicate that they won't be completed until August at the earliest. Green Gables is almost a shrine to Japanese tourists, and is one of their top destinations in Canada. The fascination the Japanese have for Anne is hard to explain to those who don't know Japanese society. Her spunky, determined spirit embodies everything the Japanese would like to be, but can't because of their many rules and obligations. Those who have already booked their summer tours will be relieved to know that PEI has many other worthwhile attractions: beautiful beaches, picturesque coastlines, lobster suppers and Cow's ice cream!
    (23 May 97)

  • Tonight I had the good fortune to meet two prominent Japanese Canadian authors at a book reading. Joy Kogawa wrote Obasan, the first novel about the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War Two, giving voice to what had too long been kept quiet. Hiromi Goto, like me, was born in Japan but grew up in Alberta. Her novel Chorus of Mushrooms evocatively deals with bicultural issues, and was recently chosen as a winner of the Canada Council of the Arts Canada-Japan Book Award. Omedeto gozaimasu, Goto-san!
    (21 May 97)

  • This afternoon I got together with my friends David and Hiroko in High Park for a hanami picnic. David brought some of the delicious pastries he's trying to market to Japan. We had a pleasant enough time, although things were a bit chilly when the sun went behind a cloud. People in Japan, who are already enjoying (?) summertime temperatures, may find it hard to believe that hanami can happen this late, but that's life in the Great White North for you. The Canada geese around Grenadier Pond were looking after their newly hatched goslings.
    (18 May 97)

  • Canadians can't get enough of hockey -- we play it all year round! I've joined a team in a summer league, the Cows On Vacation, and they gave me jersey #9 (same as Paul Kariya!). The first of our weekly matches was tonight -- a skateaway 9-2 victory over the Wolves. The arena complex hosting the league is the Ice Gardens at York University, "The Place To Play" The Game of Our Lives.
    The
    Cows on Vacation (Summer Cowpuckies) - 1997

    We reflect the Canadian multicultural mosaic, with Italian Canadians, Japanese Canadians, Chinese Canadians, a Korean Canadian and some with other backgrounds, all working together towards...a championship T-shirt!
    (13 May 97)

  • Oilers lose the NHL Western Conference Semi-Final in 5! They put up a good fight, winning one game and coming close in another, but couldn't beat the depth and experience of the Snowmen from Denver. Next year? "The chance may never come again."
    (11 May 97)

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