Want a taste of Québecois cinema? Here’s some movies I recommend to make a festival at home. Cover still from C.R.A.Z.Y.
Drama. About the protagonist growing up as he comes to understand his sexuality, and his relationship with his family.
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This month, my retirement savings surpassed what my parents sold their detached home in an Ottawa suburb for in the mid-nineties, and two-thirds the cost of the two-storey home with a pool they bought in the early aughts.
I can’t afford a small apartment-style condo. The median cost for one is over double the cost of that detached home twenty years ago. It took me a dozen years to build enough savings to afford the down-payment; partly because home prices kept outpacing wage growth, partly because rent exploded during the same period, and ate at my savings. My current two-bedroom apartment costs $2,100 a month, and is a third of the size of the $900/mo townhome I was renting fifteen years ago.
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A few months ago, I mentioned that I was likely terminating my journey with the fertility clinic after being with them for ten years. I signed the paperwork last week; it’s done. There is now a zero chance of having biological children.
Perhaps because I had so many months to reflect on it, I didn’t feel anything in the moment of doing so that I hadn’t already been feeling for months. In that previous post I sounded pretty messed up. Right now, I just feel an emptiness and acceptance.
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I went to Toronto this weekend to see Joe Hisaishi, legendary composer. He was at Roy Thomson Hall to play an original symphony of his, some Ravel, and two classic pieces from Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle.
I couldn’t have asked for better seats; I was as close to him as the musicians of the Toronto Symphonic Orchestra, and could see his face. I was pleased to see how in good shape he was, and in good spirits. He smiled to the performers and motioned praise to them throughout the evening.
Toronto itself was a treat. In addition to watching Joe Hisaishi live, I was able to knock off some other bucket list items:
I hadn’t had a chance to play tourist like this in Toronto since my first solo visit eighteen years ago (More Interviews! (Aka. Back From Toronto). It felt like it could be a place I could make home, were it not for rent being $1,000 more a month than in Ottawa.
Ipsos released the results of a poll that queried Canadians on their attitudes towards sexual and gender minorities. Overall, Canadians are less accepting compared to 2021. This drop was mirrored in Angus Reid polling data about Canadian attitudes to trans people as well.
Given the success of the moral panic conservatives have manufactured around the visibility of gender non-conformity, the numbers are disappointing but unsurprising. The data didn’t look at political affiliations, but I suspect that the drop is disproportionately from those who consume right-wing media.
LGBT people being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity
49% of Canadians are okay with LGBT people being out of the closet, a 12% drop from 2021
Do you have a relative, friend or work colleague who is lesbian/gay/homosexual
52% of Canadians said yes, an 8% drop since 2021
Do you have a relative, friend or work colleague who is transgender
18% of Canadians said yes, the same number as in 2021
Do you have a relative, friend or work colleague who is non-binary, gender non-conforming or gender-fluid
18% of Canadians said yes, a 2% increase from 2021
Are you any of: lesbian, gay, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, asexual, transgender, non-binary, gender non-
conforming, gender-fluid, other than male or female
13% of Canadians said yes
Have you ever attended the wedding of a same-sex couple
13% of Canadians said yes, the same as in 2021
Have you ever attended a public event in support of LGBT people (e.g., a Pride march)
18% of Canadians said yes, the same as in 2021
Have you ever visited a bar or a night-club that caters primarily to LGBT people
24% of Canadians said yes, the same as in 2021
LGBT people displaying affection in public (e.g., kissing or holding hands)
40% of Canadians are okay with it, an 8% drop from 2021
Laws banning discrimination against LGBT people when it comes to employment, access to education, housing and social services, etc.
54% of Canadians are in support, a 9% drop from 2021
Lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes in sports teams
50% Canadians are in support, an 11% drop from 2021
Transgender athletes competing based on the gender they identify with rather the sex they were assigned at birth
21% of Canadians are in support, a 12% drop from 2021
More LGBT characters on TV, in films and in advertising
34% Canadians are in support, a 10% drop from 2021
Same-sex marriage or legal recognition
75% of Canadians support the right to marry / oppose a right to marry but support some kind of legal recognition, a 7% drop from 2021
Same-sex couples should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexual couples do
70% of Canadians agree, an 11% drop from 2021
Same-sex couples are just as likely as other parents to successfully raise children
71% of Canadians agree, a 13% drop from 2021
Transgender people should be allowed to use single-sex facilities (e.g., public restrooms) that correspond to the gender they identify with
45% of Canadians agree, a 6% drop since 2023
Health insurance systems should cover the costs of gender transition no differently than the costs of other medical procedures
36% of Canadians agree, a 4% drop since 2023
With parental consent, transgender teenagers should be allowed to receive gender-affirming care (e.g., counselling and hormone replacement treatment)
48% of Canadians agree, a 10% drop since 2023
Government-issued documents such as passports should include an option other than “male” and “female” for people who do not identify as either
40% of Canadians agree, a 9% drop since 2023