Zohran Mamdani has struck a blow to the Democratic party’s centrist-do-nothing passivity

Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani

I was thrilled this week when New York Democratic assemblyman Zohran Mamdani shocked his party's centrist-do-nothing establishment and won the Democratic primary to run as mayor in New York City this fall.  This Guardian article by Moira Donegan describes well how Mamdani's immense skills and message won the day over a party establishment foolishly deadset against him. 

The centrist-do-nothing establishment, which has long dominated the New York Democratic Party, almost turned the deeply blue state red in the last couple of elections due to its incompetence and corruption.  They tried it again this year, so wedded to their bad instincts and lust for easy power, by endorsing the thoroughly discredited former New York governor Andrew Cuomo for mayor of NYC.  Cuomo, of course, resigned as governor a few years ago in disgrace over multiple sexual harassment allegations, and was generally seen as a centre-right friend of big business. 

Name recognition and the old 'inevitability factor' was supposed to sweep Cuomo into the mayor's office this year so he could accomplish...not sure what he hoped to accomplish, to be honest.  Centrist-do-nothings usually simply want to seize office in order to make sure nothing else is done with it to upset their powerful status quo or solve any major crises so that tax and regulation levels remain comfortable for the establishment and wealthy.  Sure they say progressive things on the campaign trail, and then they do nothing for the people once in office.  

This Democratic Party approach in the U.S. has led to defeat and enabled fascism with the second victory by Donald Trump last November.   

In a country so broken and corrupt, with its democracy in tatters and its government unable to deliver basic life improvements for its citizens like universal health care, affordable housing, jobs and growth, voters have sadly turned to the strongman liar psychopath now sitting in the White House.  

Establishment Democrats seem to be the dumbest political strategists on the planet.  They resemble establishment "centrists" or "progressives" the world over: always hostile to anything resembling non-market solutions, creativity or outside the box thinking that actually works.  

These establishment folks are just about hanging on to their own power and acting as gutless as possible.  Their answer to the Trump threat has been to abandon progressive ideals and even occasionally pretend to embrace some of the hate, thinking a lighter version of Trump is exactly what voters will want in 2028.  

California Governor Gavin Newsom whose recent move throwing trans people under the MAGA bus is a shining example of a Democratic establishment schmuck embracing hate because he thinks it'll make him more popular.  

Those centre-right Democrats couldn't be more wrong.  When voters are ready to throw MAGA out, they won't be looking for something similar.  They'll be looking for its antidote.   The candidate who most authentically embodies that antidote to Trump will be the next Democratic President.  If the Democrats again pick a centrist-gutless-do-nothing as their candidate in 2028, voters will reject them again and we'll have President Vance or, universe help us, Dictator Trump.  

I've been waiting for a left-wing American Democrat like Mamdani to come around for some time.  We haven't had up until now a so-called 'democratic socialist' candidate this talented at communicating his basic messages, which have resonated strongly with the base of NYC Democrats.  

When a candidate, whether they be a socialist, or a business Liberal, shows superb charisma and an incredible ability to communicate and connect with ordinary, struggling voters' concerns, it's up to us on the moderate-progressive left to recognize it. 

When someone shows us they know how to answer the tough questions, allay fears, inspire confidence and unite voters, we should embrace such candidates, not shun them.   

Mamdani was smeared in this race with lies about his positions on Israel, which showed how low his opponents would go to stop him.  A billionaire-backed Super PAC ran ads that even darkened his beard to make him look more sinister, clearly Islamophobic.  Mamdani was fearless in his own defence and seemed to get more popular after those negative ads were released against him.  Voters, at least in New York City, aren't that stupid.   

The old ways of selecting safe, uninspiring Biden-esque or Clinton-esque Democrats have clearly failed.  Donald Trump came back and crushed this version of the Democratic Party.  

How?  Because those do-nothing centrists did nothing to make the lives of ordinary Americans much better.  If some policies were passed here and there that were supposed to benefit those voters, it matters not because most voters weren't aware of the policies or how they'd benefit from them.  Biden ended up being the worst Democrat for governing in the modern era thanks to his old, bygone approach to politics.  He expected his good deeds would be communicated honestly and widely via the mainstream media to all voters who had no other options but to watch the nightly news on ABC, NBC, or CBS.  Nope, in fact about half of voters were getting their information from Fox News and the right-wing fantasy blogosphere.  

America is a broken country, the gap between its rich and its poor and middle class is widening, its place in the world is sinking under its crazy Trump leadership, its health care system remains horrendous, its education system a joke, its gun violence out of control, the list goes on.   

The policies espoused by so-called Democratic socialists like Mamdani include universal child care, rent control, free or more accessible city buses.  Yes, left wing policies designed to provide real benefit to those struggling out there.  These policies could work as Mamdani is promising a modest tax increase on the richest of New York City to pay for them.  That sort of tax increase might not work so well in most major cities, but the elites of New York literally have nowhere else to ascend, so fleeing the best city in the world due to a 2% tax increase seems unlikely for most.  The rich will barely notice it, but they will notice when more New Yorkers, able to afford their rents and the cost of living, boost the economy and unite the city in new ways.  For once, Democrats have a mayoral candidate in New York willing to fight for working people's needs, not just the wealthy and privileged.  That benefits everybody, not just working people, Mamdani has convincingly argued.

I am fundamentally a pragmatic progressive.  I will occasionally support moderate, centre-right Liberals when it makes sense, as it did this past year in Canada with Mark Carney.  Carney captured the zeitgeist with a few genius lines about standing up to the American bully and defending Canada's sovereignty.  It was an existential moment he met, and progressives, centrists and some conservatives lined up behind him as the clear choice to lead Canada. 

This doesn't mean that blue Liberalism is the only way to go.  It only means it's working in Canada for now.  It could also be working even better, were Carney to listen to some good, progressive advice like this.  

But a moderate, centre-right approach I think won't necessarily work well in the U.S. right now.  What will work?  Someone authentically capable of convincing struggling, working class and middle class Americans that Democrats understand their pain and will be fighting - FIGHTING - to make their lives better at every turn.  

Mamdani achieved that and is on his way to becoming New York mayor and a new Democratic star.   America needs this kind of progressive change.  

So-called centrist-do-nothings tired of losing to fascist Republicans had better get smart and learn to love the Zohran Mamdanis of their party.     

Toronto's Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ film festival wraps as Pride Month kicks off!

Happy Pride Month to all as we start off June!  

I am feeling even more proud than usual at the moment after having just seen a slate of decent queer films at the just-wrapped 2025 Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, a great event every late spring in our community. 

This year’s Inside Out festival did feel more like a community film festival again with films programmed to appeal to the audience, while not sacrificing quality.  As a paid member, Inside Out now offers six complimentary tickets to their screenings, which is a great bargain for a film lover like myself and an excellent way to promote memberships.  I grabbed 7 tickets overall as that’s all my schedule could handle and I am happy to give you my thoughts on some of them below.  

I missed the Brazilian feature flick Baby, which screened on the opening night of this year's festival, as I had some birthday celebrations to attend elsewhere that evening.  But this one is high on my list to hopefully catch soon as I heard a lot of positive word of mouth about it.  

Of the seven screenings I attended, I have to say that the Canadian documentary Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance by director Noam Gonick was the best and most rewarding.  A thoughtful, engrossing documentary, it chronicles using crucial archival footage the fights over the years by various segments of Toronto’s and Canada’s 2SLGBTQ+ community at resisting and overcoming societal and police oppression to become stronger and liberated - to eventually take to the streets proudly as we do every year through Pride parades.  First, the queers of the 60s and 70s fought back against constant police attacks, and used the experiences of the 1960s civil rights movements as inspiration.  One segment’s gains inspired another still oppressed segment, such as 2S individuals to also fight back and earn respect.  Toronto had its Stonewall in the early 80s after the community fought back against police raids of our bath house spaces.  These attacks on our community served to unite us together in solidarity, one of the key themes of the film.  

Parade: Queer Act of Love & Resistance

This film delicately, honestly and powerfully proves that firm activism willing to take risks and push ourselves out into the open has been an effective tool for winning over both public support and our own self-respect.  Conservatives are still taking aim at trans people the world over, and our fight for each other continues.  Solidarity is key.  

The final chapter tells the story of Black Lives Matter, when activists both queer and Black led the parade in 2016 and brought it to a halt to protest the presence of the very folks who’ve been our sworn oppressors: the police.  That action actually led to the ban on uniformed police officers in the Toronto Pride parade, an event originally founded as a protest against police oppression.    

Our community still gets targeted by regressive police, more interested as ever in protecting private property than they are for community safety for 2SLGBTQ+ people.  That ban needs to stay in place, and if certain conservative elements object, they need to take a history lesson.  Watching Parade: Queer Act of Love & Resistance would be a great start. 

Sauna

The Danish feature film Sauna stood out as my favourite narrative drama feature.  The wonderfully honest film chronicled an absolutely beautiful but less than bright young cisgendered man's touching and awkward romance with a trans man in unvarnished, modern day queer Copenhagen.  Played by Magnus Juhl Andersen, our cisgendered hero Johan says very little, letting the audience guess at his motivations as he, recently out of the closet, stumbles into the arms of William, a transitioning trans male student, played beautifully by Nina Terese Rask.  Despite a few dumb mistakes, Johan's heart seems genuine.  A lost soul trying his best to navigate what can often seem like a cruel, indifferent modern gay community, Johan's efforts to support his new love seem often misguided and naive, but ring true as deeply relatable.  

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking from the Philippines was a disturbing but touching story of four young men stuck at the edges of Manila where they typically trade off their bodies to make money and to survive.  After one of their friends overdoses, they struggle to deliver his dead body back to his family, eventually realizing only they are each other’s family, the ones keeping themselves alive, not the indifferent society in which they find themselves. 

The short narrative film Coming & Going was the best short I saw in the ‘I Know Who You Did Last Summer’ shorts screening.  Delightful, well-written and well-acted, I was hooked from start to finish watching a unique one-week romance blossom over its 23-minute running time.  

Other films entertained but were less stellar.  

In Ashes

In Ashes attempted to show the depths of craziness that heartbreak can cause as one young man obsesses over and stalks his ex-boyfriend of a few months in a series of ridiculous actions that baffle everyone who knows him.   The downward spiral is sad to watch, but also one to which many can relate.  We’ve all been there, but perhaps hopefully behaved better than this!  The cop-out ending though where he simply finds another stunningly cute young man now devoted to him seemed more like a fairy tale than realistic.  I was hoping to see a message that promotes the notion that our obsession with relationships is what's driving us crazy.  

Sandbag Dam from Croatia was a touching, well-crafted ode to the impossible choices queers have to make between devotion to family and personal liberation.  

Ponyboi

Ponyboi from the U.S. has its strengths, including a strong performance by lead River Gallo as an intersexed person struggling to break free from cycles of violence and disrespect in their New Jersey life and reconnect with family.  All the acting was bang on and I’ve rarely seen as authentic a depiction of the Jersey vibe than here.  But the script was overwrought and sought to squeeze in way too much.  I’m all for character arcs, but did everyone need to have major life epiphanies all within the same 24-hour period depicted in this film?  This felt a lot like it was trying too hard to be some new queer, intersexed version of Pulp Fiction, and didn’t quite succeed.   Kudos though to the film for finally getting cutie Dylan O’Brien to show off his butt in one nice scene near the film’s beginning.  

Today's tonic: "Let’s drop the phoney Alberta versus Canada nonsense. The province has met the enemy — and it is them"...

Today's tonic: "Let’s drop the phoney Alberta versus Canada nonsense. The province has met the enemy — and it is them" by Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work in Vancouver.

 

"In 2014 the industry hired 128 workers for every million barrels of oil produced. Last year, thanks to self-driving trucks, automated facilities, and downsizing, that number halved to just 61.

 

 "So it’s no surprise residents of my home province are cranky.

 

 "Their economy produces more GDP per worker than any other. The economic pie they bake is bigger than ever. But the average Albertan’s standard of living is lower than a decade ago.

 

 "It wasn’t Ottawa that laid them off, cut their pay, froze the minimum wage, drove up electricity and insurance costs, and put their health care at risk. It was the enemy within.

 

 "Alberta’s oligarchs aren’t speaking for the province, they are speaking for themselves.

 

 "And the sooner the rest of the population can get past the phoney Alberta versus Canada narrative, the sooner they’ll start toward a genuine solution to their woes: namely, winning a fairer share of the abundant wealth they already produce."

Today's other tonic: "ANALYSIS: Did Mark Carney just shake up Ontario Liberal politics?"

Today's other tonic: "ANALYSIS: Did Mark Carney just shake up Ontario Liberal politics?

"In removing Nate Erskine-Smith from cabinet, the prime minister might have complicated Bonnie Crombie’s hold on the Liberal leadership," by John Michael McGrath.   

"Erskine-Smith’s sudden free agency would be the kind of thing that could cause Crombie-skeptical Liberals to crystallize and successfully demand a new leadership contest. But he has his own detractors in the Ontario Liberal Party as well (obviously, or he would have won the 2023 leadership race.) It’s only a slight exaggeration to say that there are three broad camps in the Ontario Liberal party right now: people who want Crombie to stay, people who want Crombie to go — and people who want Crombie to go but equally don’t want to see Erskine-Smith win the next leadership race. Which side of the question that third camp eventually aligns with may determine Crombie’s fate."

Today's tonic: "Mark Carney is already staring down a history-making decision"

Today's tonic (and similar posts, where I highlight important articles published elsewhere) is back. 

 "Mark Carney is already staring down a history-making decision," by Irwin Cotler and Sir Bill Browder.  

There are many sane voices still at work around the world despite the corrosive powers of Putin, Trump and several others.  

"Seizing Russia’s frozen assets is not only legal, but is financially feasible, strategically sound, morally right, and popular among Canadians. It will strengthen international law by setting two important precedents. The first is that the right to human life and the obligation of states to uphold international peace and security ranks higher than the right for states to enjoy absolute protection of their property without accountability — no matter how else they might violate international law."

UPDATED: My Favourite Films of 2024!

Demi Moore in The Substance

UPDATED: I wanted to see a handful more movies before I published my annual list below, but today I'm ready.  (As I see more flicks from 2024 after the initial post, I will assess them accordingly, and if they break into my top list, I'll include them below.) 

As dear followers of my annual list already know, I like to pick great films that impacted on me the most this past year, films that left a deep intellectual, emotional or psychological impression on me, that spoke to my values or desires or fears in truly unique ways this year, movies I will never forget.

2024 was a truly great year for feature films with so many good projects bursting into my top ten, with many left out.  

This is not some objective, film critic list of the best of the best.  These are merely my favourites of 2024:

1) The Substance - Never have I seen a wilder, more hilarious, more brutally honest satire than this body horror comedy.  The post-Trump victory was the perfect time for this jaw-dropping exploration of female self-hatred to surge into the zeitgeist and devour its horrible male characters.  Just when you think it's gotten as crazy as it can, it amps up the crazy even more, beautifully telling a unique parable about the psychological and physical damage caused by a fading Hollywood starlet, played to perfection by Demi Moore, who experiments with a black market drug that promises to transform her into the body of her youth.  It doesn't go so well.  It's supremely bloody and totally bonkers by the end, but I loved it.  I wouldn't normally pick a movie filled with this much female nudity as my top pic, but all of it is completely appropriate and serves the narrative perfectly, and in fact enhances the experience.  And yes, there is at least one uber hot man's ass in close-up in this too, so it's fair on that scale as well.  Directed by the brilliant French director Coralie Fargeat, this masterpiece puts a very big mirror in front of modern society and it looks pretty darn horrible and disgusting.  

2) Anora - Girl meets boy and gets swept off her feet.  But this time, the girl is a street smart sex worker living in New Jersey, and the boy a wayward son of Russian oligarchs.  As the hot young couple's brief paradise unravels in tragically hilarious fashion, one can't help but forgive the leads for daring to try to break away from the empty nonsense that is their lives.  Of course, the slightly funny tone of the piece is a decent cover for the harsh realities that undermine the road to a happy ending.    

3) Dune: Part Two - Mesmerizing, engrossing re-telling of the classic book, with an emotional resonance and excellent acting that was missing somewhat from Denis Villeneuve's first part of this trilogy.  

4) Wicked: Part One - It's all here: the characters, the music, the storytelling, the colourful sets and costumes, the deep emotions, the superb acting and singing, this film hits all of the right notes and then some.  I can't wait for Part Two.  

5) I'm Still Here - Fernanda Torres carries this quietly devastating Brazilian drama about a wife and mother coping with her husband's unjust arrest by military police during that country's dictatorship.  The immense inhumanity of the violent authoritarian regime's actions against its citizens, ripping an innocent family apart, is laid bare in fine detail here.  I truly hope this one wins Best International Feature at the Oscars in March. 

6) Monkey Man - I finally caught this amazing gem recently after missing its initial release back in the spring.  I was blown away by the frenetic energy, pace, and the extreme but beautifully choreographed violence in this shockingly good directorial debut by Dev Patel, who's never looked hotter in the lead role.  This isn't some sweet retelling of Slumdog Millionaire, that's for sure.  This brutal satire / thriller shatters the racist hypocrisies of Modi's India.

7) Challengers - Sexy and fascinating exploration of a troubled throuple consisting of two mostly straight and very hot young men and the female object of their desire.  All three share a passion for tennis, and their pursuit of that passion from their teen years to early adulthood acts as an appropriate metaphor for the setbacks and triumphs they inevitably face.  

8) Alien: Romulus - Finally, a terrific, tragic and scary Alien movie, a wonderful tribute in some ways to the best originals (1979's Alien, and 1986's Aliens), and a much deserved addition to the franchise.  This one is probably the third best of the franchise, if you ask me.  

9) Nosferatu - This brilliantly crafted, beautifully shot new vampire horror classic took my breath away.  From the first moments of the young heroine's plight to the stunning conclusion, I was riveted throughout. It also helped to have beautiful actors Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson to stare at.

10) A Real Pain - A quiet, engrossing journey shared by two Jewish-American cousins played by Jesse Eisenberg (who also wrote and directed) and Kieran Culkin (in a hilarious turn well-deserving of the acting accolades) who've grown apart in their adulthood as they take a historical tour of Poland on their way to see the house where their late grandmother used to live.  It often had the same vibes as Before Sunrise, one of my favourite movies, as the characters explore the surprising sentiments and memories the experience evokes.  

11) Nickel Boys - A beautiful exploration of the friendship between two young black men incarcerated in a brutal reform school for alleged delinquent boys, based on the historic Dozier School, a reform school in Florida that operated for 111 years and was revealed as highly abusive.  The film's style of oscillating between beautiful POV shots from the perspectives of the two main characters is compelling and really helps the viewer become engrossed in their experiences.  Ultimately, I found this story about racial injustice and wrongful imprisonment to be slightly more accomplished than the similarly-themed Sing Sing.

12) September 5 - A superbly made and true-to-life depiction of the ABC Network sports journalism crew covering the 1972 Munich Olympics that was forced to switch gears to broadcast live news coverage after terrorists took the Israeli Olympic team hostage.  That live TV coverage became the first "breaking news" event ever, seen by more people than the 1969 moon landing.  As someone who has worked recently in media including in the technical backrooms covering the Olympics, it was a real hoot for me to watch the authentic workflows and retro-technology at play here amid the tense drama.  

13) Sing Sing - A modern day, non-homophobic, deeply moving new version of Shawshank Redemption, in some ways.  Colman Domingo and the whole cast of mostly actual male prisoners explore the joys of being fully realized human beings while incarcerated.  This is a radical reminder that all people, not just those who have managed to stay out of the American injustice system, are deserving of basic human dignity.   If you can see beyond your right-wing prejudices, you might enjoy it.

14) Conclave - A well-done, well-acted, earnest story about a secret meeting of Catholic cardinals struggling to decide on the future of their entire faith.  The spectre of its mostly male cast playing politics and manipulating each other to earn the papal crown irritated on some sexist levels amid the political climate we're now suffering through, but this film's surprise ending proved most cathartic and satisfying. 

OTHER FILMS I SAW IN ORDER OF APPRECIATION:

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Fierce, violent, colourful, engrossing, perhaps not quite as accessible as its Mad Max predecessor.  Anya Taylor-Joy does almost as good a job as Charlize Theron did in the same role.)

Gladiator II (Liked it better than the original, and Paul Mescal is a hero for the 2020s (ie. he's not an asshole like Russell Crowe has turned out to be.))

On Swift Horses (A surprisingly resonant and sexy queer film that nicely explores the struggles of both queer men and queer women in its bygone era.) 

The Last Showgirl (Pamela Anderson blows it out of the water with this heartfelt performance as an aging Las Vegas showgirl who's taken immense pride in her work even as the world around her abandons her.  There are some very touching and occasionally sad moments in this little gem, especially the relationships with her female showgirls and her adult daughter who resents her career choices.) 

A Complete Unknown (Timothee Chalamet beautifully (what role could he not play beautifully) captures the spirit of Bob Dylan and may be on his way to winning his first Academy Award in March.) 

La Chimera (Little known gem spoken mostly in Italian explores a sexy English archaeologist played by Josh O'Connor who joins a collective of grave robbers trying to find fortune and maybe some long lost love by looting Etruscan tombs in central Italy.) 

Piece by Piece (A wonderful documentary about Pharrell Williams that just happens to be told beautifully with stop motion Lego.). 

The Brutalist (Super accomplished and ambitious, this masterpiece explores the tragic search for success and acceptance in America experienced by a genius architect and later his suffering wife escaping post-war Europe.  I liked it but found it slightly empty emotionally.) 

Unstoppable (Inspiring, feel good biopic about a one-legged champion American wrestler played to perfection by Jharrel Jerome.). 

Nightbitch (Amy Adams goes a bit nuts while isolated with her newborn baby in this nicely entertaining comedy-drama.) 

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (An excellent and fitting sequel to the strange, quirky original.).  

Babygirl (Nicole Kidman does her usual intense thing, but ultimately I found this story of a dissatisfied woman's rebellion from her boring marriage and sex life rather timid.  The setup didn't quite deliver the radical payoff needed to make this more than a simple story about a woman who walks a bit on the wild side before coming back.)

Queer (Daniel Craig chews up the scenery here and is fascinating to watch from start to finish.  While the film is beautiful from an art direction perspective, the narrative is empty, and we simply don't care much about this drug-addicted man, and we care even less about his superficial and mostly silent boy toy who accompanies him for reasons never explained.  The nudity in it was certainly exceptional, I can definitely attest to that.) 

Juror #2 (Nicholas Hoult finds out he may have played a major role in a tragedy in this decent moral tale by director Clint Eastwood.). 

Fly Me To The Moon (Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson entertain in this frothy, simple tale of faking the 1969 moon landing for the masses.)

Maria (Angelina Jolie is great in this role, but the movie is a bore and not nearly as interesting as I think the filmmakers and star assumed it would be. )

The Idea of You (I liked the idea of older and still beautiful Anne Hathaway having an affair with a much younger boy band star played by the super sexy Nicholas Galitzine, who's also excited me in recent years playing gay roles including in Red White & Royal Blue and Mary & George.)  

Killer Body Count (A better than most horror centring around a teenage girl's struggles to explore her perfectly healthy and horny sexuality while surrounded by a bevy of super hot young men at some kind of a Catholic anti-sex intervention camp.  Of course, this being a silly horror, any one who reaches orgasm soon finds themselves massacred by a mysterious killer.  The unique and radical angle here: it's the young men who all without exception strip naked and let the camera ogle their smooth physiques before they perish, while ladies are mostly spared.  If you've been waiting your whole life to see some anonymous naked young hunk show off his ass in a horror movie while being sliced literally in half, this is the flick for you.  An entire industry of genre movies did the same thing to women for decades, so to finally see this one give the boys a taste of their own medicine was a thrill.)

The Program (A compelling documentary that explores the alleged U.S. government program designed to study the multiple sightings of alleged Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) or UFOs in parts of America, including groundbreaking congressional hearings into the subject in recent years.  This doc is fair and raises several compelling questions without crossing over into wacko territory.)

Saturday Night (Not many funny or joyful moments here, and a whole lot of filler - who would've thought the last 90 minutes before the first Saturday Night Live broadcast would be so boring?  I do love Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, but I'd love Gabriel LaBelle in anything.).  

Damsel (Mildly entertaining, but not enough to recommend.) 

The Exorcist (Oh my God, please avoid this horrible, totally unscary and ill-conceived film that shows Russell Crowe has no idea how to identify a good script before signing on.)

 

OTHER FILMS I WANT TO SEE ASAP, IN ORDER OF PREFERENCE:

The Room Next Door

The Life Of Chuck

The Apprentice

We Live In Time

Hard Truths

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Emilia Perez

Heretic

The Order

Rumours

The End

Scoop

Kraven: The Hunter

The Piano Lesson

Inside Out 2

The Return

Memoir of a Snail

The Wild Robot

All We Imagine As Light

A Different Man

Blitz

Megalopolis

Lee

Twisters

Poolman

Small Things Like These

Despicable Me 4

Red One

Argylle

The First Omen

Oh, Canada

Y2K

Today's tonic: Breaking the CBC and our link to public broadcasting?

Breaking: the CBC and our link to public broadcasting? by Susan Riley

 

If this is public broadcasting’s last chance to save itself, it needs to move fast—and the majority of Canadians who, polls say, still support the limping institution will need to make their voices heard.

OPEN LETTER to Mayor Olivia Chow re: Toronto's terrible Ferry Service to Toronto Islands

August 25, 2024

Dear Toronto Mayor Chow, 

The state of Toronto City ferry service to the Toronto Islands is awful.   It seems like the management of the ferry service don't take seriously their responsibilities to provide predictable, reliable service at the advertised times and the result is an angry public, myself included.   

On two recent occasions, I've been trapped on the island with my partner as we waited hours for a ferry (for which we had already paid) to return us back to the mainland.  Advertised departure times on the city's website are COMPLETELY IGNORED by ferry staff as ferries seem to come and go when they please.  No apologies to waiting residents are ever given by any ferry staff I've seen after these long waits.   In early July, we arrived at Hanlan's Point on the island hoping to catch the 9:45 pm return ferry to the mainland.   The 9:45 pm schedule never came, nor did the 10:30 pm.  Only the 11 pm showed up with over 300 people waiting impatiently to board.  

On August long weekend Sunday, a similar occasion happened at Centre Island.  We arrived on time for the 9:45 pm schedule thinking perhaps the Toronto Ferry service would respect its advertised time for Centre Island as they don't for Hanlan's Point.  When we arrived at 9:30 pm at the Centre Island ferry port, there were over 400-500 people already waiting in front of us.  No ferry showed up until 10:10 pm, 25 minutes late, however only about half of those waiting made it onto that ferry, which angered and frustrated hundreds of people.   We had to wait for the next ferry which didn't show up until 10:40 pm.  

 

The waiting stall by the Centre Island port resembles a place you'd force animals to wait for slaughter.   It is dark, crowded and if there were some kind of emergency, or panic, hundreds of Toronto residents could be greatly injured or killed.  The conditions are that bad.  Furthermore, there was ZERO information from City of Toronto officials to help or guide the crowd.  No sense when the next ferry would arrive.  Calls to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal were met with defiance and lack of empathy.  Our justifiable outrage at their pathetic service was ignored - in fact, city staff hung up on me rather than explain why ferry services were so different than advertised.   The staff person didn't seem to care about the dangerous conditions that the city was forcing people into waiting for a return ferry home.   I took the picture below of the giant stall where people were forced to wait for a ferry that may never come. 

Photo I took in waiting stall at Centre Island port on Aug 4, 2024

The number of frustrated Toronto residents is now in the thousands following this summer of incompetence.   I know we are not alone in our frustrations with the city's ferry service.

I know managers of the ferry service and Toronto city council have let down Toronto residents in recent years by not planning better to repair and replace aging ferries.  The temporary loss of 2 ferries this year really inconvenienced thousands of residents trying to get to Toronto Islands.  The level of incompetence in this mismanagement makes me suspect perhaps city officials are simply trying to help out private water taxi services make more money from residents' frustration with the public ferry service.  Because whoever is running Toronto Ferries does not care about public service.  

This also happens at a time when most city services seem to be in major decline, perhaps caused by lack of funding, but also mismanagement by city leaders, and laziness or lack of support for city staff. 

Toronto must do better than this sorry state of affairs. 

We need to build a pedestrian and cyclist bridge to the Toronto Islands immediately so the public can access this great park without having to experience the agony of waiting hours for an incompetent public ferry service to bother to provide the service they are being paid to provide.  

Enough is enough!   The option of going to the Islands these days is very risky as it's clear now that getting back from the island will be a torturous wait for a ferry to show up an hour or two after its advertised departure time. 

What are you going to do in the immediate short term to fix this sorry ferry service in Toronto?

Sincerely,

Matt Guerin

Very frustrated Toronto resident

Today's tonic: "If Pierre Poilievre gets his way, the next Olympics might not be so fun to watch - To eliminate the CBC would turn the Olympics into yet another product that must be paid for to be witnessed. "

Canadian beach volleyball Silver medalists

I haven't blogged in weeks and a lot has been happening, especially politically south of the border.  Please expect some thoughts soon on the ascension of Kamala Harris to the Democratic presidential nomination.

But for today, another topic: It's been a busy summer with work where I supervise a team of media librarians at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Toronto. Our team conducts media management of digital workspaces for two Toronto servers at CBC, one for News and one for all other production including CBC Sports.  We also manage several more servers at CBC locations across the country. 

Our team has been since late July setting up records and maintaining and archiving records of all Olympic events, plus any interviews, footage, stills captured, etc. our CBC crews have been shooting with athletes over in Paris.  We ensure the CBC Sports digital server has enough capacity to take in all of this content so that editors and producers can do their jobs getting Olympic shows to air.  

It is an immense responsibility, one we do every Olympic games (as long as the CBC hosts them for Canada).  We look forward to doing the same work for the Winter 2026 Games in Milano, Italy.  That is, if we still have an English CBC to work for.  

That is, if only Pierre Poilievre is stopped implementing his promise to destroy English language CBC.  The iconic cultural institution with other 80 years of branding and accomplishment, the best source of journalism for English Canadians in this scary world overrun with disinformation.  

Public broadcasting's aim should be to bring Canadians together, as we did these last two weeks with the coverage of the Paris Games.  Public broadcasting also ensures a clear source of reliable information, not tainted by association with private corporate interests.  CBC journalists go after stories to tell Canadians, regardless if those stories favour the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP, or any other points of view.  The CBC is as unbiased a media organization as you can get in English Canada and is structured to provide excellent national, provincial and local news coverage that impacts you in your communities. 

From far right wing eyes, the centre (or CBC) can look left wing.  From far left eyes, the CBC also looks fairly conservative and too safe.  I've always admired the CBC for its clear, concise, non-sensationalist approach to covering the news of the day.  

Today, I'm happy to share this article by Mark Hill in the Toronto Star, which details how the CBC's coverage of the Paris Games this year has brought Canadians together to share moments of joy, excitement, heartbreak and spectacle.  Over 13 million Canadians watched a part of the Opening Ceremony.  

Destroying the CBC would turn our backs on decades of Canadian-first media.  Poilievre's plan would ensure that "Schitt's Creek" for example would never have existed.  That popular English-language comedy became an international hit and its creator has said that CBC gave the kind of artistic freedom to create that show that made it so special and allowed it to find international audiences including several Emmy Awards a few years ago.  

The examples go on and on.  This will be a huge fight to save Canadians' right to journalism, to public broadcasting, to more English language news and entertainment and sports programming.   

Here's an excerpt from Hill's article: 

To eliminate the CBC would turn the Olympics into yet another product that must be paid for to be witnessed. For all their flaws, what’s wonderful about events like the Olympics and the World Cup is that their novelty and nationality attract reams of fans who otherwise couldn’t care less about sports. If Olympic coverage was subsumed by paid networks like Sportsnet and TSN, one more thread that unites us as a country would be severed, and yet another public service would be lost. 

A few weeks of sport won’t solve the country’s issues. But it is a reminder that we are all Canadian, and that the tedious jeremiads claiming the CBC is to the left of Mao are unmoored from reality.

Also, Olympic table tennis is wild. Don’t take that away from us.

Happy Pride Month, but beware the growing hatred in Canada and elsewhere

June is the beginning of Pride Month in Toronto and most places in North America.  It’s a time to celebrate the LGBTQ community, our history and the gains we’ve made overcoming bigotry and oppression, as well as remind ourselves of the battles still ahead for equality and dignity.

Most of the world is still hellish for LGBTQ folks for a variety of unfortunate reasons, mostly rooted in ignorance and religious bigotry.  Those fights continue and I'll be happy this week to attend Rainbow Railroad's Freedom Party to help raise money for this crucially important cause.  

But lately even the gains we’ve made in most of the democratic world are under increasing threat thanks to a resurgence of right-wing bigotry and irresponsibility.  

Republicans south of the Canadian border, taking advantage of public ignorance about trans people, have been on a rampage, overstepping government power to try to control and destroy trans peoples' rights and safety.  Sadly, they've inspired some Canadian conservatives to similarly target queer youth in Canada. 

The horrible Danielle Smith, premier of Alberta, is trying to roll back the rights of LGBTQ youth in Alberta schools, forcing educators to out trans youth, banning them from the healthcare they need, and making anti-bullying education "optional" for Alberta schools. 

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe even invoked the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to legislate similar attacks on vulnerable trans youth in his province. 

After his own attacks on trans youth, creepy New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs continues to peddle more attacks on other vulnerable youth, his latest including obsessing over and banning sex education provided to teenage girls designed to teach them about consent and healthy sexuality, before he even bothered to research the education he was banning.   

All of these attacks on vulnerable youth including queer youth are just ploys by conservatives to distract voters from their real agenda, which has always been to give more power to the already powerful elites and gatekeepers of society, all at the expense of the rest of us.  

"Don't worry about those massive tax cuts we are giving the rich while we enslave you and your family to their unfettered corporate greed, and cut your health care and public services!  Look over there!  Those scary trans extremists are trying to rape or hurt your children and only we will stop them," those disgusting conservatives are implying through their legislative actions and messaging. 

Sadly, these efforts to roll back progress seem to have convinced some ordinary conservatives it's okay to embrace their little hatreds.  A new poll out this weekend confirms that general support for LGBTQ rights and visibility is down in Canada by about 10 per cent since 2021.   

None of the gains we've made are chiselled in stone.  In fact, Canadian conservatives have shown they are just as willing as Republicans south of the border to attack our rights and invoke any legal means necessary to play their hateful games.  

Pierre Poilievre has also said he's happy to use the notwithstanding clause to roll back rights.  Considering most of his caucus is still dominated by dinosaurs who still obsess over controlling the bodies of all women on the abortion issue, we ought to be very alarmed about the future. 

I want to urge all people who support equality and dignity for all to reject the politics of hatred being espoused by conservatives or others.  We need to stand up against and challenge this hatred, and to let our more moderate conservative friends, family and neighbours know it's not okay.   

Stay strong, keep up the fight, and carry on! 

Today's warning: "CSIS warns that the 'anti-gender movement' poses a threat of 'extreme violence' to the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Canada"

Intelligence agency says risk will 'almost certainly continue' over the coming year

"Canada's intelligence agency is warning that extremists could "inspire and encourage" serious violence against the 2SLGBTQI+ community — a threat the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says almost certainly will continue over the coming year.

"CSIS's comments come as provincial policies on gender-affirming surgeries and pronoun preferences are being hotly debated across the country.

"CSIS assesses that the violent threat posed by the anti-gender movement is almost certain to continue over the coming year and that violent actors may be inspired by the University of Waterloo attack to carry out their own extreme violence against the 2SLGBTQI+ community or against other targets they view as representing the gender ideology 'agenda,'" said CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam in an email to CBC News."

Today's tonic: "Andrew Scott is right – it’s time to retire the phrase ‘openly gay’"

Actor Andrew Scott

I couldn't agree more with this charming, smart actor, Andrew Scott (currently starring in the awesome feature film All of Us Strangers) that the phrase "openly gay" is old school and needs to be retired, as writer Ryan Gilbey highlights in this Guardian piece.

“I’m going to make a pitch for getting rid of the phrase ‘openly gay,’” said Scott, steering the conversation in a more illuminating direction. “It’s an expression that you only ever hear in the media. You’re never at a party and you say, ‘This is my openly gay friend…’” Why, he wondered, is “openly” always attached to that adjective? “We don’t say you’re ‘openly Irish.’ We don’t say you’re ‘openly left-handed’…There’s something in it that’s a little near ‘shamelessly.’ ‘You’re open about it?’ You know what I’m saying?” He proposed that “it’s time to just sort of park it.”