SCREEN | On Tamio Wakayama's Life 'Between Pictures' x DOXA 2024

"My boyhood years were a kaleidoscope of joy and pain."

DOXA Documentary Film Festival

Multimedia artist Cindy Mochizuki chronicles the remarkable life and career of the Japanese-Canadian photographer in Between Pictures: The Lens of Tamio Wakayama. Told through the framework of Wakayama's own family history of being imprisoned in internment camps, the Telus documentary follows his tireless efforts to capture the 1960s civil rights movement in the American South.

VIFF 2022 | Korean-Canadian Memories – 'Riceboy Sleeps' Well

"A man is only allowed to cry three times in his life."

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2022—Sophomore filmmaker Anthony Shim writes and directs a beautifully touching Korean-Canadian mother-son family drama full of social realism inspired by his own childhood in Riceboy Sleeps. Set and shot mostly in the sleepy Vancouver suburbs (filmed in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows), we follow an immigrant single mother struggling to raise her young son with cultural pride while assimilating in 1990s Canada.

GRUB | Trendy Dining x Haven Kitchen + Bar x Langley

Langley—Haven Kitchen + Bar markets itself as "modern casual dining", whatever that means to you. Located just off a seemingly random car park somewhere in the suburban depths of the Fraser Valley, the trendy spot feels intimately hip and vibrant with a nice array of dishes and beverages to enjoy.

GRUB | Freebird Chicken Shack x River Market

New Westminster—Maenam Chef Angus An and Chef Justin Cheung continue the theme of remixing Asian culinary efforts with their latest poultry focused fast food eatery, Freebird Chicken Shack, located inside the River Market and across the hall from their other venture, Longtail Kitchen.

KAFFE | Café Crawl x Old Crow Coffee x New Westminster

New Westminster—A quick stroll down from River Market and the Quay, Old Crow Coffee Co. is located near the end of long Front Street tucked behind train tracks and the old parking lot.The cafe has a certain no-nonsense character and feel for its solidly stark outside appearance.

WANDER | Vancouver Biennale x Trans Am Totem x False Creek

"Are you down on cars or are you down with cars?"

False Creek—You may have been wondering exactly what that massive totem pole on the grassy median at Quebec Street and Milross Avenue is. The Trans Am Totem is a public art project selected to be a part of the 2014-16 Vancouver Biennale exhibition. The monument, two years in the making, was assembled by North Vancouver artist/sculptor Marcus Bowcott and is best described as a five car vertical traffic jam atop one another and stacked on a 20-foot high old-growth cedar tree stump.

From Beer to Lunch x Steel & Oak Brewing x New Westminster

Beerfest for lunch at Steel & Oak Brewing Co.'s tasting room in New Westminster on July 10 and 11, 2014.



I finally made it to the much buzzed about brand new craft brewery out in New West.

From Milk to Lunch x Avalon Dairy Tour x Burnaby

Avalon Dairy industry factory tour and luncheon in Burnaby on June 2, 2014.



Avalon Dairy opened up its doors for an industry tour of its milk operations and factory line where they produce their fresh dairy farm products.

From Pizza to Lunch x Central City Brew Pub x Surrey

Lunch at Central City Brew Pub at Central City Shopping Centre in Surrey on October 13, 2013.



I made the rare trek to Surrey and Central City Plaza to meet Scott and Dennis for beers and lunch on this quiet Thanksgiving weekend Sunday afternoon. The guys ordered a couple double "incredible" Caesar cocktails (with bacon, blue cheese stuffed olives and horseradish). It was more satisfactory in taste than its lavish composition.

From Grapes to Wine x Langley Passport x Vineyard Tour

Langley Passport's wine route and vineyard tour around the Fraser Valley on September 8, 2013.



We hit all of Langley's wineries in one Sunday afternoon. Out of summer, Jelly Marketing along with the city and township of Langley are promoting visitors tour all the nearby vineyards with their passport program. A few of us, well fifty-four of us actually, hopped aboard a charter bus to knock off all the wineries in a few hours. You can check them out for yourself and download your own passport. See below for all my highlights and notable vintages from each winery.

ChineseBites x Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot x Burnaby

ChineseBites signature dishes tour dinner #13 at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant on Kingsway in Burnaby on August 28, 2013.



AYCE Chinese hot pot can be a delicious yet deadly proposition. We ventured into Burnaby (they also have a location in Lansdowne Centre mall in Richmond) for some Mongolian style hot pot at Little Sheep for this ChineseBites meal.

From the Weekend: Global News BC 1 x Top Story

Global News: BC 1 channel's Top Story (third) segment hosted by Ted Field with guest Laura Ballance (from PNE Playland) and myself talking weekend events on May 3, 2013.



Jump to the 17:25 mark.

ChineseBites x Shanghai Élan Restaurant x Crystal Mall

ChineseBites signature dishes tour dinner #9 at Shanghai Élan Restaurant inside Crystal Mall in Burnaby on November 5, 2012.



It was time for something a little different with our Chinese dining crew as we went for some Shanghainese style food in Burnaby. Grace couldn't stop raving about the signature deep fried sweet and sour rock cod. It was  very crispy and delicious.

ChineseBites x Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant x Burnaby

ChineseBites signature dishes tour dinner #5 at Grand Dynasty Seafood Restaurant at Grand Villa Casino Hotel in Burnaby on September 12, 2012.



After a short hiatus, our Chinese dining group made our way to Burnaby and the new casino to try some upscale fine dining.

Young Women in Business x YWiB SFU x My Social Network Workshop

Yours truly will be speaking at Simon Fraser University to their chapter of the Young Women in Business (YWiB) organization and student club next Saturday morning on November 26 for their My Social Network workshop.

Dinner x Sushi Garden x Kingsway x Burnaby

Late night eats Sushi Garden Japanese restaurant on Kingsway in Burnaby on October 12, 2011.



We hit up the Kingsway location of Sushi Garden across the street from Metrotown. I had only been to the Burnaby North location on Lougheed.

Singer Kristie Yung x Summer Tweetup x OpenRoad Honda

Kristie Yung performing live for the Summer Tweetup at the OpenRoad Honda dealership in Burnaby on July 21, 2011.



Catch Kristie performing live for AXIS 2011 at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre this Saturday night. Get your tickets here (and check here for discount codes). Watch her interview with Angela Jung from The Buzz Event below.

Concert: The Black Keys x Outdoors x Deer Lake Park

The Black Keys with Cage the Elephant live in concert at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby on June 27, 2011.

"The Black Keys get swamped in love at Deer Lake Park." – Vancouver Sun

BCIT Broadcast Short Film: 'Command Z' – A Zombie Comedy

Every BCIT Broadcast Journalism student makes a short film or "fun feature" during their first semester. The best one each year is awarded the Jello Award. My group won last year.

This year's winner, Command Z, blows them all away. This 12-minute short film is a zombie comedy epic. It features some excellent writing and production values done by Rafferty Baker, Brittany DeAngelis, Mitch Pollock, Marc Staeling, and Anita Sthankiya including an opening narration by CKNW host Bill Good. Enjoy.

BCIT Broadcast: Katy Perry 'Teenage Dream' Parody

Watch this hilarious music parody of Katy Perry's pop hit single, "Teenage Dream", done by first-year BCIT Broadcast Journalism student, Justin Morissette, called "Best News Team". The music video mocks our program and campus radio station, Evolution 107.9 FM. The in jokes and references are spot on. You can also listen and download the audio here.