FRANKIE’S FAVOURITE EATERIES 

Is it pronounced pha, pho, va, vhue, or bheh?

All I know is I love it. I’ve been having pho since the good old days of Pho Hung on Bloor, next to the Park Hyatt, in the 90s. Soup is one of my favourite things, and I’ve had pho at at least 30 different spots in Toronto, but also in Miami, San Fran, New York, LA, Paris, Vancouver, and in Vietnam, of course — which is very fun and lively. You get beer, and the tradition is to smash the finished cans on the floor, and it’s often had in the AM, btw — the soup… well, maybe the beer also 🤦‍♀️.

This past weekend I skied with my son at Blue Mountain. For those of you who are not from this area, it’s a bunny hill compared to the great hills around the world, but it’s ours and we are grateful.

There are plenty of good places to eat at the village. My son and I love Firehall Pizza, but I was craving soup.

As you drive to Blue Mountain, you pass through a town called Collingwood, and it’s so cute. I noticed on the right a little place called Minh’s. Based on the colours and liveliness of pho places lately, you just know it’s Vietnamese.

We stopped in after skiing on our second day. I’ll be honest — I wasn’t expecting great. I thought maybe good, but not great. It was great. We started with tempura shrimp 🍤 — delicious. We had the chicken wings. I don’t know what the batter was, but it tasted like a mix of fish sauce and cornflakes — they were hot. Just spicy enough and super delicious.

Onto the soups. If you are a pho lover, you know it’s all about the broth. This broth is great, the meats are great, and the accoutrements are the usual.

Minh’s for the win!

Happy Holiday to everyone who reads this, and thank you for sharing it with your friends. I love seeing the new people added each week :)

Oh yeah, by the way, I decided to get new ski boots — yep — I bit the bullet and went with rear entry. It’s so embarrassing, like a 4-year-old kid with rentals, and easy to put on. But you know what? I’m not Alberto Tomba, and I’m there for a good time, not a long time. The fit is great, and my biggest challenge was getting them on and off — I dreaded it. Oh yeah, also the heat. It’s a full cavity in the front, keeps my toes warmer as well. Okay, okay — you lose a touch of performance, but I’ve become a three-hour-and-let’s-have-a-late-lunch type of guy now.

Who’s ready to hit the slopes? By the way, the boots are Nordicas, and I got them at Corbetts in Oakville. Staff is amazing — highly recommended 👍.

Check it out!

TECH SPOTLIGHT

ChatGPT is jumping on the year-end recap trend with Your Year with ChatGPT, a personalized look back at how users spent time with the chatbot in 2025. The experience dishes out fun, Spotify Wrapped–style “awards” (think Creative Debugger), along with playful visuals, a custom poem, and an image inspired by each user’s interests. It’s lightweight, optional, and privacy-forward—available on web and mobile for eligible users with chat history enabled. Less data dump, more personality, and a reminder that even AI likes to reflect before the new year.

Check it out!

REAL ESTATE SPOTLIGHT

If you're looking for a cute little condo in the city in a great neighborhood, I like this one. 

At today's prices it should be more like 799 but I like it. 

Check it out!

On The Scene “Party of The Week”

By George Pimentel

Take a sneak peek at this week’s event photos, your 🫵 backstage pass. 

WORD OF THE WEEK

Temporize

What It Means

To temporize is to avoid making a decision or giving a definite answer in order to have more time.

UNTAMED PODCAST

WATCH BELOW

FRANKIE’S SONG OF THE WEEK

I always liked this track! 

100 WEEKS OF POSITIVE MESSAGES

Frankie did 100 days of positive messages 3 years ago. He wanted to center them around mental health and positivity. We will post them each week for 100 weeks.

“When you see something happening that needs attention, you need to step up.

A friend of mine said that he reads an article by a famous neurosurgeon that describes the biggest thing missing for most people is a coach.

I really loved that, and I think there is a lot of truth to that.

Most people need someone to bounce ideas off, a mentor of sorts, a friend can be good but friends can also shy away from giving you the real truth for fear of offending you.

I’ve been asked by many people especially recently regarding mental health if I can give them some guidance. Some people are even crazy enough to ask me about their careers and work.

If I can give my best thought when it comes to “finding your way”, it would be this.

I would encourage you to imagine the way you want your life to look at 75 years old and work backwards.

Basically, every decision you make should be based on what you want people to remember you by, the place you want to retire, the headspace you want to have, the people you want surrounding you, the types of food you want to be eating and the shape you want to be in.

Essentially, have long term goals in mind.

Don’t be afraid to want something that is out of the ordinary and certainly always live with the notion that you deserve a happy and fulfilling life.

My mom always said – I treat myself like a queen, because nobody will do it for me. And she is right. Wear your best outfit, dine with your beautiful China and pamper yourself because nobody will do it for you.

Today is Sunday and today is your perfect opportunity to brighten someone’s day.

Everyone deserves to receive the king and queen treatment from time to time.

🧠A Weekly Dose of Psychology You Didn’t Know You Needed 🧠

Hi everyone! I’m Maya, I hold an Honours Bachelor of Science in Forensic Science and Psychology (basically, I can analyze both a crime scene and your overly complicated coffee order). I’m also an incoming Master of Arts candidate in Counselling Psychology, which means I spend a lot of time thinking about how the human brain works, and why it sometimes does the exact opposite of what we want it to do.

Psych Fact #25: The holidays can make emotions feel bigger, not just better.

Around Christmas, people often expect to feel happier, calmer, and more grateful. But psychologically, the holiday season amplifies whatever emotions are already there. That’s because familiar music, routines, traditions, and even smells activate memory networks in the brain tied to past experiences, not just the present moment.

Your brain doesn’t separate “then” and “now” very well. So joy can feel warmer, nostalgia can hit harder, and stress can feel heavier. It’s not that the holidays “cause” emotions, they turn up the volume.

That’s why two people can sit in the same cozy room with the same tree and feel completely different things.

So if your emotions feel a little louder this season, it doesn’t mean you’re doing Christmas wrong. It just means your brain is remembering more than you asked it to.

Until next time,
Maya 🧠✨

TRIVIA

Category: Cartoons!

CHRIS’ CORNER

New Year, New Hope

The start of a new year is upon us and that means new hope for everyone. Whether it’s in their careers, their personal life, or other things they are interested in.

The sporting world is no different. Even with some leagues being mid-season, the new year brings new hope to players and teams at every level.

For some it’s about winning a scoring title or finishing first in the league. for others it’s winning a trophy (any trophy) or just making the playoffs.

The NFL Playoffs will be starting soon and by the time this is published or read, most of the teams who should be known.

The Raptors are in a playoff position and will look to finish in the top four in the in the Eastern Conference.

The Maple Leafs are floundering in last place, at the time of this writing, and need to fix a whack of issues just to have a shot at the post-season again.

In Europe, there are so many who still have shots at winning their respective leagues, domestic cups, and even continental competitions that to list it would take three columns. Suffice it to say, there are many teams with a lot of hope.

January 1 ushers in a fresh start for individual athletes as well. The new tennis season is coming with the first grand slam, the Australian Open, begins on January 12 and ends in early February.

Pro golf tours are also soon beginning their years with the PGA heading to Honolulu, Hawaii from January 15 to 18.

Sure, there are the top stars that should be good again, but new stars will appear, upsets will occur, and the idea that anyone can win on any given day brings new hope.

And that’s the beauty of the calendar starting a new.

On that note, Ciao for Now and Happy New Year!

By Chris Occhiuzzi

UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS

WEATHER THIS WEEK

TORONTO

MIAMI

PARIS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

CONTRIBUTIONS

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please contact us. Our NL goes out to over 10k business owners, friends, and other professionals in my network. We would love to have people from different walks of life, and we won't judge your writing. If you would like us to keep your articles anonymous, we can do so as well. Also, if you enjoy the newsletter and want to contribute $, please donate to www.camh.ca anytime on our behalf AND please have your friends subscribe, it will mean the world to us. 

Thank you

- Frankie

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Super Frankie is lazy. He loves technology because it makes life more simple. Technology is spawned from ideas that make life easier. He is the founder of Busys.ca which is a company that sells/leases and services printers, laptops, document management software, copiers, IT services, and phone systems throughout North America and Europe.

LET’S CONNECT

*These articles, jokes, and stories are written by individuals handpicked by SFD for their unique way of thinking and writing. While SFD appreciates their styles, he does not necessarily endorse their opinions. This newsletter is designed to bring a smile to your face. If you prefer not to receive this weekly newsletter, please feel free to unsubscribe. You will be missed.