* On the weekend, I found myself watching (for a little while) a livestream of a Australian Asian vlogger fishing at night somewhere in Sydney. Of course, he was catching fish. Is my impression correct that all Asian people are naturally good at fishing, or is that an equivalent to thinking they are all great at maths?
Anyway, watching Youtube videos of people like him who catch stuff easily makes me feel very inadequate as a occasional fisherperson. Of course, if it's a video that's been editted, they may have gone an hour or more with nothing, but here I was watching a livestream, and he was still catching fish. Yet, this guy just seems an enthusiatic and pleasant (doesn't swear a bit) - and possibly lonely? - bloke who enjoys talking to a camera, so it was hard to be too offended.
* I am contemplating a trip early next year to Indonesia, specifically to visit Yogyakarta, mostly famous for its ancient temples, including Borobudur. I think I might have overdone watching Youtube travel vloggers who have been there, though, because while it's good to get information about a place you haven't been to before, watching too many can start to make it feel as if I have seen so much that I don't need to see it in person after all! It's a bit like the way I blame David Attenborough and his ilk for making so many documentaries about African wildlife over the decades that I feel very disinterested in ever actually visiting the continent. (I can also blame modern technology, as good looking video is so easy to make now - including with drones - that even the worst vlogger can give you a very clear idea of what a particular site looks like.)
* Continuing an Asian theme for today, I watched the Taiwanese gay themed comedy/action film Marry my Dead Body on Netflix. I knew nothing about it, but was just looking for a decent international film to watch, and as this one involved the matter of ghost marriage, it seemed intriguing enough.
I thought it a bit too long, but generally, pretty witty and watchable, and interesting in terms of a reflection on attitudes to gay relationships in Taiwan, which (for some reason I don't really understand*), was the first Asian country to go all in for gay marriage. (It was also pretty frank about sex generally for a Chinese culture film, not that it featured any sex scenes, but male butt nudity was played for laughs quite a bit.) I guess you could say it was a little like a gay twist on Ghost, with the addition of some Asian style comedy and action. I liked that it turned out some family conflict was actually based on a misunderstanding, not actual ill will. I have a soft spot for conflict stories that are resolved that way - everyone can forgive everyone else, and on we go.
I read after watching it that it was a big hit in Taiwan, and I'm not surprised.
Anyway, back to the ghost marriage element, which was key to the film. I couldn't remember having read about it before, but then by coincidence while watching a Chinese vlogger from Singapore the next night, I was reminded that there is a small Taoist temple in Tanjong Pagar, and the signage outside of it features an article explaining that it was known for hosting ghost marriages. In fact, looking at my phone, I took a photo of this on Christmas Day in 2018, probably intending to read it all later:
More information about Chinese ghost marriage can be found at Wikipedia, including this detail that featured in the movie:
In some occasions, the family of a deceased person may choose to use a priest as a matchmaker.[5] In other occasions, the family may choose to leave out a red envelope with gifts, believing that the deceased person's spouse would eventually reveal themselves.[6]
The lesson seems to be, if you are of very eligible marriage age in Taiwan or China, don't go picking up random red envelopes found lying around. (Cleverly, the movie gave a particular reason for the protagonist to be picking one up.)
I don't know how often ghost marriages still happen in Taiwan - it would seem it is something left to specific temples, I think. This article from 2017 in Taipei gives an example of an unusual case, but it would appear they still sometimes are pursued.
* I see there is a very detailed Wikipedia entry about the path the country took on this. It was ultimately the courts that said the constitution required it, but it seems there was an active political movement towards it before that decision anyway.
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