FREE | APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020
Volume 54 | Number 2724
HUNGRY COYOTES
Time to guard your pets
Millennials in the FIRE movement see lots of opportunities in a bear market
CANNABIS
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Young & Free
COOKING TIPS
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REAL ESTATE
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eSPORTS
CONTENTS
April 9-16 / 2020
4
COVER
Millennial investors in the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement see lots of buying opportunities in a bear market.
NEWS
More coyotes and fewer cats? Denning season might mean danger for outdoor pets during pandemic by Martin Dunphy
By Charlie Smith Cover illustration by Jeff Kulak
4
CANNABIS
Canadian cannabis stocks have been pummelled over the past year, but now they’re showing signs of life. By Charlie Smith
5
REAL ESTATE
Interior designer Sarah Gallop believes the pandemic is forcing people to rethink their ideas about their homes. By Carlito Pablo
6
HEALTH
No need to spend a fortune on fitness tools for home workouts. Here are five under $50. By Gail Johnson
8
ESPORTS
The business of eSports is booming online, but it’s live where the real money will be once again made. By Mike Usinger
e Online TOP 5
e Start Here 9 ARTS 6 BOOKS 8 CONFESSIONS 7 FOOD 8 LIQUOR 10 MOVIES 9 MUSIC 2 NEWS 6 STYLE 11 SAVAGE LOVE 7 WINE
Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.
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2 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020
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Bold coyotes and empty streets could spell trouble for outdoor cats with lax owners. Photo by Dylan Ferreira/Unsplash
he coronavirus global pandemic has emptied streets and sidewalks and led to a surge in stories with headlines about animals taking over cities worldwide. Pictures of mountain goats wandering in a town in north Wales, wild turkeys in Boston and Oakland, a puma jumping fences in Santiago, Chile, and wild boars in Barcelona have captivated self-isolating people everywhere. Although widely circulated socialmedia reports of dolphins in Venetian canals and drunken elephants in Yunnan, China, have been debunked, several Twitter posts about coyotes roaming a deserted San Francisco recently were picked up by international media and sensationalized. Given that Vancouver has had a permanent population of coyotes for more than three decades, has there been an uptick in sightings here, with our equally vacant and quiet neighbourhoods? And will our pets, especially free-ranging cats and unleashed dogs, become sustenance for the bold and clever hunters often referred to as “tricksters” by the First Nations peoples who lived alongside them for thousands of years and who gave them prominent roles in their myths and legends? According to Dannie Piezas, the urban wildlife programs coordinator for the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES), the answers are “yes” and “maybe”.
COYOTES MOVED into the Lower Mainland, and into the consciousness of many Vancouverites, in the 1980s. The BC SPCA estimates that there are between 2,000 and 3,000 coyotes living in the Lower Mainland. The wily members of the Canidae family—which also includes wolves, jackals, foxes, and even domestic dogs—started moving out across North America from their semi-arid Great Plains and southwestern desert territory in the 1800s, when human invaders cut forests, established farms and ranches, and extirpated populations of the coyote’s most feared natural predator: the grey wolf. Coyotes adapted well to living near the colonizing humans, and it wasn’t long before they moved near, then into, cities that incorporated parks, ravines, and other wooded areas. There, coyotes could hunt the small mammals that make up the majority of their diet: squirrels, rabbits, rats, birds, and mice. Unfortunately for humans, valued domestic animals and pets—mainly cats and dogs—sometimes became just another item on the opportunistic carnivore’s varied menu. It is not uncommon in Vancouver to see homemade posters with pictures of missing felines on telephone poles in residential areas frequented by coyotes. Piezas manages the nonprofit SPES’s Co-Existing With Coyotes program, which has been educating Vancouver residents about living peacefully with the adaptable canids
for almost two decades. Besides producing school presentations as well as signs and pamphlets that teach people how to react to coyotes when encountered, how to keep pets and young children safe, and how to remove attractants from properties, the program—which is cosponsored by the provincial Environment Ministry and the park board—also operates a phone line and an email address by which residents can report sightings. (See bottom of story.) Those reports are then transferred to an online citywide sightings map, which also indicates whether or not the coyote appeared aggressive, attacked a pet, was feeding, or seemed to be ill or injured. “I think I started getting more sightings in late February,” Piezas told the Straight during a phone interview from her home, where she is working during the health emergency. “A couple of neighbourhoods had a jump in reports because people were seeing them a lot more in the daytime. And because people usually think they’re a nocturnal animal, they just wanted to check in and see if this was concerning behaviour. But in their natural environment, like outside of the city, they won’t exclusively hunt in the nighttime; they’re actually more daytime hunters. “That [nocturnal] behaviour is more observed in the city, actually as a reaction to us,” she added, “because it’s a lot busier with more pedestrians and traffic in the daytime and the coyotes want to get around that.” That increase in sightings is normal at this time of year, she said, due to the coyotes’ annual denning season, which lasts for a few months. “When we talk about the denning season,” Piezas explained, “it’s pretty much when the coyotes are going to be raising their pups, and so they will be getting their dens ready by this time, by April, because by mid-April, that’s when we’re expecting to have the pups born inside the dens. And then towards May is when they’ll begin to come out, because at four to five weeks, that’s when they start to emerge and go along with their parents to learn how to hunt and to survive.” Piezas said some people calling in sightings recently noted that the coyotes seemed bolder, but she chalked up that behaviour to natural instinct. “During February to March, that happens not because of food, actually, but because they are trying to signal to everyone in the community, particularly dogs, because they are very sensitive to other canids at this time. They’ll be signalling that ‘Hey, we’re here, and we want to safeguard this territory because we are raising this family.’ “And so it’s not so much that they‘re desperately looking for food,” she continued, “but it’s actually an intentional messaging that they’re doing to let the community know that they’re there.” She noted, however, that hunger will play a larger role in diurnal appearances in the near future. “But later on, as they’re looking for
food for the pups, yeah, they will probably come out a lot more in the daytime so they can find food for the pups.” AS FOR THE possibility of pets, especially cats, falling prey to emboldened coyotes hunting both for themselves and for stay-at-home moms during a time when there is far less daytime vehicular and pedestrian traffic—not to mention far more sequestered pet owners at home all day and exposed to cats’ demands to be let out in the warmer weather and longer days—Piezas said, essentially, that predators will follow their instincts. “If the case is, indeed, that more pets are being left unsupervised outside in our situation today, then coyotes probably will take advantage of whatever food sources are there. It doesn’t change the fact that pets should be kept inside or supervised well and that dogs should be leashed at this time, especially now that the breeding season is here. “If there is an abundance of prey in general—and, again, they really prefer rats and mice and squirrels and other small mammals—cats, if they are available in an area and if they’re fairly easy to catch, then, yeah, they probably wouldn’t want to turn away that opportunity.” Piezas stressed that a Chicago study found that cats and dogs make up only about three percent of urban coyotes’ total food intake there, and that no one can say with certainty why any given cat has gone missing. “It’s hard to get a measure of the number of cats that fall prey to coyotes just by the number of cats that go missing, because we don’t actually know if all of those are coyote attacks. But if we’re able to study their remains in their scat—or you can even do isotope studies of their fur—you can get a notion of where their food is from. “Of course,” she admitted, “if you do a scat study, you won’t be able to tell if that three percent of cats is pets or feral cats.” Piezas added that such a study has not been done in Vancouver. “There isn’t much funding for that research.” g For coyote resources or tips on how to behave if you encounter a coyote while walking alone or with a dog, go to https:// s t anley parkecolog y.c a/conser vat ion/ co-existing-with-coyotes/. To report sightings that will be recorded on the society’s map (https://stanleyparkecology. ca/conservation/co-existing-with-coyotes/ coyote-sightings-map/), go to https:// stanleyparkecology.ca/conservation/coexisting-with-coyotes/coyote-sighting/. You can also call 604-681-WILD (9453) and leave a message; Piezas said someone will return your call that day. Or you can email coyotes@stanleyparkecology.ca if you have further questions, and someone will respond to your query. If a coyote is behaving aggressively toward people (not dogs) or appears dead or injured, call the Ministry of Environment conservation officer line at 1-877-952-7277.
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freshstmarket.com APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 3
FINANCE
Millennials see buying opportunities For FIRE movement advocates with long time horizons, a bear market means that stocks are on sale by Charlie Smith
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Financial coach Bob Lai and author Ayoe Ingemann Lai, financial counsellor Jessica Moorhouse, and millennial retirees and authors Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung are all confident that stock markets will rebound.
oronto residents Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung did something most of us could never imagine. In 2015, while still in their early 30s, the married couple decided to retire from their engineering jobs. They did this by saving their money, driving down their expenses, renting (not buying) a home, and investing in stock-market index funds. They’ve chronicled their story on a blog and in their 2019 book, Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required. It’s one of several books written by people in the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) movement, and in it they explain how they’re able to live off the proceeds of a $1-million investment portfolio. Shen and Leung achieve this by spending just four percent—$40,000 per year— and ensuring they have a sufficient backstop in cash in case of a sharp downturn in the stock market. ”We haven’t worked for the last five years and we’ve been travelling the world, writing the blog and writing the book,” Shen, 37, told the Straight by phone from a Bloor Street Airbnb in Toronto. “Every single day keeps getting better.” They’ve visited dozens of countries, most recently Indonesia, before returning to Canada just as the COVID-19 crisis was intensifying. They were pleasantly surprised to learn that Airbnb rates had crashed. They’re paying less for a two-bedroom unit on the 33rd floor with a view of the CN Tower—$56 per night—than their friends are forking out on long-term leases. “It’s going to drop our living expenses from $40,000 to $35,000 if it keeps up like this,” Leung, 37, said cheerfully. The value of the couple’s investment portfolio dropped by six figures on a single day when North American stock markets went into a free fall in March. Although they expressed sadness for those facing serious health consequences from COVID-19, they remained remarkably upbeat about their financial future. They’re not alone in this regard. The Straight reached other millennial Canadians in the FIRE movement who said similar things. One thing they all agreed on is that during a bear market—which is defined by market indices falling more than 20 percent from the peak—stocks are on sale. “There are actually really good opportunities for millennial younger people, who have a longer investment horizon,” Shen said.
Leung pointed out that because they’ve invested in index funds, their portfolio will never be obliterated because not every company can go to zero. He cautioned that the couple is not saying that the market has necessarily bottomed out, because that’s impossible to predict. But he emphasized that through “dollar-cost averaging”— i.e., investing the same amount each month in an index fund—it helps people ride out the highs and the lows. “So when the market drops, you pick up more and more and more units.” THE MILLENNIALS, sometimes defined as those born between 1980 and 2000, are the largest generation in U.S. history, even larger than the baby boomers, according to Goldman Sachs. This means that they’re going to have an increasing impact on equity markets in the years to come as their wealth accumulates. For many younger investors, this is their first bear market. Jessica Moorhouse, a 33-year-old Toronto financial planner, recalled how difficult it was living through the 2008 financial meltdown just as she was hoping to enter the workforce. Those difficult times spurred an interest in financial issues and led her to launch a blog. “It’s very fresh in my mind,” she said. Moorhouse believes that many young people have been spooked by the recent downturn, but she feels that this fear stems from a lack of understanding or knowledge. “I have faith in humanity,” she said. “I have faith people will find a solution for this health pandemic. I have done so much research and reading that I do see a pattern. “The future may not happen exactly like the past,” Moorhouse continued, “but if you look at the past 100 years, that’s a pretty good template for what could possibly happen in the future.” As the first generation of digital natives, millennials have no difficulty using technology to instantly gain access to price comparisons, product information, and data about the investment markets. Many, like Moorhouse, also came of age during a disruptive period: the clampdown after the 9/11 attacks. A fair number of them, including Leung, were burned by the global market meltdown of 2008. As a result, many are more accustomed than those of older generations to dealing with transformative changes. Shen, for instance, grew up very poor in a village in the Chinese prov-
4 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020
ince of Sichuan. There, for a while, her family only earned 44 cents per day before they came to Canada. Another member of the FIRE movement, South Surrey resident Bob Lai, also knows what it’s like immigrating to a new country. He was born in Taipei, and his family moved to the seaside community of White Rock when he was 13 years old. “It was interesting,” Lai, 37, recalled in a phone interview with the Straight. “We didn’t really learn any English beforehand. We knew basic phrases. The first year was a pretty big challenge.” He said that he’s been inspired by his father and a cousin, who each retired in their 40s. In 2011, Lai and his Danish-born wife, Ayoe Ingemann Lai, had an epiphany: if they tracked their net worth each quarter, lived frugally, and generated more passive income, they could be financially independent by their mid-40s. One of their keys has been to develop dividend income. It has reached $23,000 per year, according to an interview Lai gave to Forbes.com earlier this year.
I have faith in humanity. I have faith people will find a solution for this health pandemic. – Jessica Moorhouse
Lai studied physics and engineering in university and now blogs about financial independence at tawcan. com. According to him, one misconception is that everyone in the FIRE movement is a cheapskate. In fact, Lai and his wife like to travel, periodically going to Denmark and Taiwan. “It’s not a fad,” Lai said. “It’s a different lifestyle. It’s living below your means and understanding what brings happiness to you. Is it buying a luxury car? Or is it travelling? It’s finding what works for you.” In his case, it means not ordering 200 cable channels that he’s not that interested in watching. Lai and his wife haven’t even had a TV in their home for 10 years. And he insisted that gaining financial independence is a team effort for couples. If one of them isn’t
on board, he said, it makes it exceedingly difficult for the other partner to achieve his or her goals. For them, the key is to set aside enough each month to keep investing in the market. However, he also admitted that the recent stock-market downturn was “interesting”. “Well, our portfolio dropped, I think, by something like over $200K now,” Lai revealed. “I still sleep at night. I’m not worried. For us, we’re still in our accumulation phase, meaning we’re still buying assets to built our portfolio. “For me, this is a good opportunity,” he added. “I actually welcome this. I’ve been asking for a bear market for years so that we could pump a lot of money into the market—buy stuff for a discount—and then, eventually, things will recover.” Unlike many others in the FIRE movement, Lai doesn’t restrict himself to index funds. He also buys individual stocks because he wants to increase his dividend income. “We invest in things we use on a daily basis, like banks, cellphone companies, utility companies,” he said. He also expects crude oil and natural-gas prices to eventually pick up again, though he’s not as optimistic about the airlines. “It will be interesting to see how the REITs (real estate investment trusts) are doing, going forward,” Lai said. “If these small businesses are closing indefinitely, that will hit the REIT sector.” Lai acknowledged that those in the FIRE movement are generally not impulsive people. These are young adults who are perfectly capable of long-term planning, an activity that’s rooted in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. In this regard, they may have things to teach others facing severe money challenges as a result of losing family income in the COVID-19 pandemic. Lai advised that couples encountering financial hardships should really examine their future over the next year, five years, and 10 years, rather than thinking they can simply defer their mortgage payments and continue with their previous lifestyles. “Can you start investing $100 a week?” he asked. “Or even $100 a month? It’s like slowly building that investment instead of thinking paycheque to paycheque.” A 33-YEAR-OLD downtown Vancouver renter, Stephanie Williams, has been planning to retire early for many years. She told the Straight by phone that it’s common for FIRE
people to develop multiple income streams. This makes them more resilient in the case of unexpected financial circumstances, like a drop in stock-market values or a sharp increase in the unemployment rate. She noted that there are quite a few tech workers in the movement, as well as doctors and dentists. “Most people who are involved in FIRE are very smart people,” Williams emphasized. “That’s what they have in common.” Williams is a receptionist for an accounting firm and is working from home during the pandemic. Her 31-year-old partner, Cel Rince, is an editor who also works at home. They’re hoping to retire within two or three years, even though they’re not high-income earners. According to Williams, they would need an investment portfolio worth about $700,000, which is achievable in that time frame if they continue to invest in index funds. She doesn’t expect their income to drop to zero because Rince will continue taking on editing projects that interest him, on a part-time basis. She also thinks that she will make money from time to time during retirement. And that will be sufficient for them to live on four percent of their investment portfolio each year. “That would actually be all the income we need,” Williams said. “But we want more security first.” They’re not high-income earners, but they’ve still managed to invest regularly by driving down their expenses to $28,000 per year. That’s accomplished by not going to restaurants, not owning a car, and not buying alcohol. “We’re not going to be having kids,” Williams added. If there’s one piece of advice that they have for other millennials, it’s not to sell their investments in a market downturn. “The worst thing you can do is sell when it’s falling,” Rince declared. “That’s the absolute worst thing you can do. You need to stay the course and wait for the market to recover.” Then he recalled once reading an article reporting that the best investment returns were achieved by people who were dead. That’s because they never sold their holdings, which continued appreciating in value after they were in the grave. That brought forth a wry observation from Williams. “The lesson here is, as far as investing goes, be as much of a dead person as you can,” she quipped. g
REAL ESTATE
CANNABIS
Crisis transforms our ideas of home Canadian weed stocks finally show signs of life
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by Carlito Pablo
e’ll probably never see our homes in the same light again. As we spend more time sheltering in place, certain home features are likely going to come into sharper focus. Interior designer Sarah Gallop notes that although these things aren’t new, they may be more desired in renovations and new construction because of our experience with the ongoing pandemic. The founder and principal designer of the Delta-based Sarah Gallop Design Inc. cited mud rooms as an example. Mud rooms are transition spaces between the outside and the inside of a home. Gallop noted that property owners may want more than just a mud room at their place. “Perhaps there will be more desire for people to have their laundry rooms attached to those rooms again, so that things can just be cleaned right away;” she told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. According to Gallop, some homes have laundry upstairs, but that could change as owners may not want to have to carry things from outside through and up into the house. She also anticipates more demand for additional bathrooms. “A lot of bedrooms have their own bathroom, so if one person in the family got sick, they could quarantine at their own bedroom and bathroom, and then the rest of the home could still be used by the healthy people in the family,” Gallop said. She stressed that even before the pandemic hit, there had been an increasing demand for multiple bathrooms. Gallop also pointed out that pantries have always been in huge demand, and she doesn’t expect that to change. “Pantries are a very common
by Charlie Smith
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After 12 straight months of decline, pot stocks may have hit bottom. Photo by Tilray
Sarah Gallop sees a shift in interior design. Photo by Paul Grdina Photography
request in the homes that we do,” the interior designer said. Then there’s home automation. According to Gallop, advancements in voice-activated technology to control home functions, like Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo devices, are already progressing. “It’s very relevant to what’s happening today, with people not wanting to touch things, and controlling your faucet with your voice, controlling your lights with your voice…and all these different things that can be integrated into the system,” Gallop said. She does not believe that concerns over the transmission of viruses will significantly impact the common preference for an open layout in homes. She said people will still want a space where they can gather as a family to play and do different things. Sarah Gallop Design Inc. gets requests from homeowners who want space for a small office, she noted, but some do not incorporate that in the design because they have never experienced working at home. “I could definitely see that changing,” she said.
Gallop said that even when things return to a prepandemic normal, working at home may become “more regular than it did before”. “I think that people are going to figure out how to use their spaces differently,” she said. That includes areas that are conducive for study by children as schools shift to online learning during the pandemic. As for her family, Gallop and her husband set up their daughter with a small table, chair, and a computer in the home gym. Gallop said she has observed—while watching her daughter interact with her teacher and classmates—that those who were sitting in place and not walking around with their devices were “most focused and the most engaged”. “I think that the tasks become quite challenging when you’re sitting on a couch and trying to, like, work on your knee or on a bed or something like that,” Gallop said. So although we may appreciate spaces in our homes in a different way because of the pandemic now, we may value them more than ever in the future. g
ould cannabis stocks be ready to rebound? It might seem like an odd question, given that all major Canadian licensed producers saw their share price fall for 12 straight months through February. Yet all of them also showed a significant upswing in the latter part of March after plunging to their 52-week lows. And most continued showing momentum by April 6. Although some might snicker and ask if the recent jump is a typical bear-market “dead-cat bounce”, there are reasons for some to believe in cannabis stocks. That’s notwithstanding the volatility that has dogged stock markets ever since the World Health Organization described the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic last month. Let’s start with the fundamental in the cannabis sector. First off, people may be more likely to consume more weed when they’re stuck at home playing Call of Duty, watching HBO, and listening to tunes rather than working. Secondly, there’s been an onslaught of edibles, topicals, and extracts coming on the Canadian market since they were legalized late last year. Thirdly, provincial regulators, notably in British Columbia, have
been cracking down on unlicensed retailers. That’s creating more room for licensed private and public stores to thrive. And the licensed retailers only carry product from publicly traded licensed producers. That’s not to overlook some troubling issues plaguing the licensed producers, including a monumental loss in market capitalization during the past year. In addition, the cost of their weed tends to be significantly higher than what is available from private, unlicensed dealers. Technical market analysts tend to look for a sign of a breakout rather than focusing on fundamental factors. And to see all these stocks behaving in more or less the same manner could be taken as an indication that the overall sentiment is changing. But be careful—this market is not for the timid. g
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STYLE
Local boutiques pivot to digital by Janet Smith
BOOKS Bold new titles search for light in uncertain times
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by Brian Lynch
pring literary gatherings, along with the schedules of some major publishers, may be on hold right now, but we’ve seen the release of powerful new titles over the past couple of weeks, among them the three below. Although they appear dark in theme at first glance, each is, in its own way, here to shed light.
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A Chanel purse at Mine & Yours’ increasingly popular e-store; painted signage on its boarded-up Howe Street location; and Tenth and Proper before it had to go virtual.
s winter turned a corner toward spring, the prospects looked sunny for Vancouver luxury-resale retailer Mine & Yours. Owner Courtney Watkins was outgrowing her space at 1025 Howe Street and was looking at larger digs. By March 14 she was in Toronto, ready to launch a monthlong pop-up on swishy Yorkville Avenue. She had a $15,000 lease for the space and her product had been shipped. Then COVID-19 lockdown hit. Watkins had to cancel the pop-up, work out a plan to postpone it with the landlord, and send all her apparel and accessories back home to Vancouver. Like so many of this city’s fashion retailers, she’s had to pivot almost overnight—first boarding up her boutique, then figuring out ways to go virtual and online. “Luckily, we had an online store, and we have doubled what we do with online content, posting 20 to 30 stories a day,” says Watkins, who’s managed to keep and redeploy most of her brick-and-mortar staff and has increased e-sales by 60 percent in just two weeks. All inventory is part of a “Give 10 Get 10” sale, with 10-percent-off stock and all purchases sending 10 percent to frontline healthcare workers. “I’m probably going to lose money for the next few months [overall], but my hopes are that we can keep these online sales at what they are when things open again.” COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on
independent boutiques here, with the double whammy of having to close brick-and-mortar stores combined with an economic hit to their customers’ wallets. But already, it’s also changing business models and altering the way we shop for clothes—and that goes far beyond a sudden boost in e-commerce. Of course, this holds true for bigger fashion companies too. Nordstrom just accelerated the launch of its Canadian website, Nordstrom.ca, which opened for business on April 6. Vancouverbased global brand Aritzia quickly unveiled a massive online “Thanks to You” sale that’s raised over $5 million for an Aritzia Community Relief Fund, with 100 percent of revenues going to its employees and their families. For the smaller fashion retailers here, it’s meant getting innovative with online sales, and also trying to find new virtual methods of maintaining personal shopping experiences. And as much as they’re reeling from their own financial hit, a lot them are finding a way to give back to the community: Gastown’s the Block, for instance, has donated 10 percent of all online sales to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Online Shopping, especially poring over the resale finds at Mine & Yours, offers something to do when you’re locked down at home, Watkins surmises. “People are on their phones and looking for stuff to do.” At recent check, her growing site’s new items included a chic grey-suede-and-leather Faye bag
by Chloé, black-and-gold Alexander McQueen sunglasses, and a pair of black-leather-fringe Marni mules perfect for lazing around your loft. But Watkins has also noticed a surge of people posting and tagging small businesses amid COVID-19. “I’m feeling very supported by our community and our customers,” says the retailer, who had a big shop-online mural painted in pink and white on the boarding she had to put over her storefront. “I actually did a personal thank-you email to anyone who bought clothes online in the last two weeks.” Now she and her team are trying to boost virtual shopping. Watkins starts the process by having customers fi ll out a questionnaire with their sizing and three favourite brands in clothes, bags, and shoes. Then she pulls some clothes and walks them through the accessories in the store via online video. “People aren’t jumping on it yet,” Watkins says. “I had to reach out to clients, but once I suggested a shopping appointment, people were into it. It keeps that personalized touch.” OVER AT TENTH & Proper (4483 West 10th Avenue) in Point Grey Village, the crisis also took long-time boutique owner Marion Fudge by surprise. “It was a bit of a shock,” she admits. “I had just finished my treatment for breast cancer March 6; seven or eight days later I had to shut down my store. I pretty much had to lay everyone off,
so I just started scrambling immediately to just keep me going as a small business. There’s not a lot of cash flow. But my landlord’s been really kind and just cancelled my rent for April. So I’m extremely lucky for that.” Fudge immediately began researching ways to launch an e-store, taking pictures of her stock and getting a crash course in Shopify. It goes live this week. Like Watkins, she feels lockdown has accelerated a move to digital that would have had to come anyway. Recent city research has shown the foot traffic for the retail area along West 10th Avenue has decreased in recent years, she points out. “It’s been about having the time to do it,” she says. Now that time is of the essence, Fudge is already doing virtual shopping appointments with some of her clientele. “I’ve got one this afternoon,” she says. “I have an iPad, I get an idea of what they’re looking for, and I put together a few things they can try on. They either pick it up or I can drop it off, because most of them so far have been right here in the neighbourhood.” What are people buying right now? Smart-casual looks that don’t necessarily break the bank, Fudge says, like spring tops and silk scarves. Customers seem to want to support small local business right now. And part of it is to just feel better in these isolated times, Fudge observes: “There’s definitely a retail-therapy thing going on.” g
Five under-$50 home-workout tools
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by Gail Johnson
ith at-home workouts being the hottest fitness trend out there right now, you might be wondering what kind of equipment to have on hand to make the most of your living-room exercise regime. If money and space are no object, you might invest in a rowing machine, treadmill, elliptical machine, stationary bike, Bosu Balance Trainer, and/or TRX Suspension System. Nice workout if you can get it. Here are a few suggestions for fit- A resistance band is easy to use, while gliding discs get versatile. (both from Amazon.ca). ness tools under $50 that are ideal for small spaces and will help take your crunches, and pushups (hands on the or place it under your feet while lying self-directed sweat to the next level. floor, shins or ankles atop the ball) as on your back to lift your hips up off the well. Target your hamstrings by lying floor and down again. Anytime you’re STABILITY BALL on the floor, resting your calves on the working on an unstable surface, you Now that you’re working out at home ball, lifting your hips up, and slowly recruit and challenge the core muscles. and working from home, these large drawing your knees into your chest. orbs can do double duty as a desk chair Lying on your back with your legs ex- RESISTANCE BAND and a fitness tool. When sitting on one, tended up toward the ceiling, squeeze These easy-to-use, rubbery bands with try to keep your balance not by swivel- the ball between your ankles or shins handles (sometimes called tubes) come ling your hips but rather by engaging while slowly lowering your legs to the in a range of colours, lengths, and tenyour core muscles, keeping your up- floor. (You should never feel any pain sions. They’re a great alternative to free per body still. The further apart your in the lower back; that’s a red flag and weights or dumbbells for strengthening muscles and working the upper feet, the more stable you’ll be; once a signal to stop.) The list goes on. and lower body. With a handle in each you get used to sitting on one of these, hand, stand on top of the band and bring your feet closer together, then MINI EXERCISE BALL lift one leg off the floor, then maybe Not to be confused with the smaller lift your hands up to your shoulders close your eyes. You can sit atop a ball Stott Pilates ball, this can be used to and back down for a bicep curl, for into do all of your usual upper-body support the neck or lower back dur- stance; keeping both feet on top of the strength work, like shoulder presses ing certain exercises. Or you can tube, take big steps from side to side. and straight-arm raises; use it for ab- squeeze it between the knees while There are dozens of exercises you can dominal crunches, oblique abdominal doing squats or abdominal crunches, do with these. (Google them.) 6 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020
RESISTANCE LOOP If you’ve ever been to a physiotherapist, you may have seen these closed-loop, flat, thin bands that resemble oversize elastic bands. They’re often used for rehabilitation and increasing range of motion. Like resistance bands, they can be used to strengthen various muscles from head to toe. Loop it around both legs a few inches above the knees while doing squats or walking “crablike” forward and backward, for example, or use it for tricep extensions or lat pulldowns. (DIY hack: use an old pair of nylons or tights.) GLIDING DISCS These come in sets of two, look like f lat Frisbees or paper plates, and help engage your muscles through their full range of motion. Here are some ways they add a little oomph to your workout: to make pushups even harder, place each hand on a disc. Gradually slide your hands apart as you lower your chest toward the f loor and slide them back in as you lift back up. You can place the ball of each foot on a disc, sliding into side, reverse, or forward lunges. Some discs can be used on carpets. (If you’re in a pinch and have smooth f loors, use dish towels.) g Gail Johnson is a certified fitness instructor.
LEAN OUT: A MEDITATION ON THE MADNESS OF MODERN LIFE (By Tara Henley. Appetite)
The “madness” in the subtitle has gotten a bit madder recently, for sure, and many of us are feeling nostalgic right now for old worries of the kind described in this distinctive memoir and travelogue. Even so, the experiences that local writer, journalist, and Georgia Straight contributor Tara Henley sets out here—about the dire personal costs of overwork, stress, and burnout, and the innovative ways people around the world, Henley included, have sought to heal themselves—are taking on an urgent new relevance. When the COVID cloud lift s, we may all be left with a clear new sense of what makes life worth living and what doesn’t. GOOD CITIZENS NEED NOT FEAR (By Maria Reva. Knopf Canada)
Vancouver’s Maria Reva sets this politically charged new novel in her native Ukraine around the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse, when an entire apartment block is accidentally deleted from municipal records and its residents are left to improvise their own paths through historic uncertainty. Reva (who is also known to local lovers of the performing arts as an opera librettist collaborating with such companies as ERATO Ensemble and City Opera Vancouver) conjures a small, darkly funny world condemned by official neglect to rebuild itself off the grid. RADICAL ACTS OF LOVE: HOW WE FIND HOPE AT THE END OF LIFE (By Janie Brown. Doubleday Canada)
There is no wisdom like wisdom about mortality, as Vancouver oncology nurse and counsellor Janie Brown has learned from decades of experience. Here, she gathers insights from 20 conversations she’s had with dying people in her care, offering them to show that “we know how to die, just as we knew how to come into this world”. Even as the topic is carefully avoided in our culture, to the point of taboo, Brown intends these “teaching stories” to “heal, nourish and strengthen your hearts”. g
FOOD / WINE
Pros offer tips for stay-home cooks
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by Gail Johnson
s a registered dietitian whose late father had diabetes, Vancouver’s Renée Chan has had a life-long interest in healthy food. Add to that her travels to Hong Kong to reconnect with her roots through Chinese cuisine and her experience working as a restaurant cook in New York, France, and beyond, and the founder of the True Nosh Company draws on a breadth of flavours, techniques, and experience to teach people how to cook. Under normal circumstances, she’d be offering multiple classes a week in person in her company kitchen and studio, making everything from gluten-free dumplings to sugar-free fruit preserves. Now, the sessions are taking place online. (Visit True Nosh for info.) Chan (who’s also a certified yoga instructor) is one of a few local culinary talents who shared tips with the Georgia Straight for folks who are doing more cooking these days and who could use a little guidance. For starters, Chan recommends getting some basic sauces (like tomato, curry, or black bean), which are highly versatile. “You can add some vinegar and oil to it to make it a dressing, or even just add it to a simple stock or bouillon with water to make a soup,” Chan says. “Adding a whole can of stock to the sauce can make a soup where you can throw in some noodles and mixed veggies and protein like chicken, tofu, or even dumplings to make a noodle bowl.” To thicken a sauce, cook and let some of the liquid evaporate or stir in a little bit of potato or flour starch or soluble fiber like psyllium husk whisked with some water. “Use this
Renee Chan says that keeping a few basic sauces at hand allows for versatility.
as a gravy to brighten up some leftovers like chicken or turkey or even mashed or baked potatoes. You could even pour it over steamed rice with some roasted veggies and protein like chicken, pork, beef, or tofu cubes or slices.” Look for different kinds of frozen mixed veggies. A Thai version with red peppers, baby corn, green beans, and water chestnuts can be added to a noodle stir-fry with Asian blackbean sauce or hoisin sauce. Or add basic frozen vegetable mix to tomato or curry sauce and pour over ovenroasted chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or pan-seared fish or firm tofu. Adding a can of beans or chickpeas to soup or rice increases nutrients and makes for easy one-pan meals. “I always have a variety of
different coloured canned beans and chickpeas in my pantry, because they add wonderful protein and fiber, hence thickness, to my stews and curries without adding any starches. “Spices I always have in my pantry are garlic powder, black pepper, sea salt, and paprika,” she adds. “Paprika adds colour, some flavour, and a little sweetness and smokiness to dishes that need a little pick-me-up.” David Robertson, cofounder of the Dirty Apron Cooking School, Catering & Delicatessen, says that stay-at-home orders present an opportunity to keep things simple. But he encourages people to try new things, too. “There’s no need to have tons of dried pasta on hand, as most pasta recipes are as simple as water and
flour or eggs and flour,” says Robertson, author of Gather: A Dirty Apron Cookbook. “Fresh pasta recipes can easily be found online. Fresh pasta can be cooked in two to three minutes and tossed in olive oil or butter with garnishes like cheese and nuts and fresh herbs.” Now’s also a great time to dust off the crockpot, especially if you’re new to cooking; it’s much less intimidating than having multiple pots and pans going at the same time. “Another simple way of cooking that our family does at our house is a simple salad with a hot protein to go with it,” Robertson says. “That might be a barbecued steak, roasted chicken breast, a nicely cooked piece of fish, or even portobello mushrooms. This way you focus on just one hot item, which is a lot less pressure than having to juggle two or three hot pans.” Consider having dried legumes and grains on hand for salads: lentils, barley, wild rice, quinoa, couscous, and the like. Meeru Dhalwala, a self-taught chef who creates the menus for Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants, recommends turning to healthy, fi lling staples such as chickpeas, bulk mung beans (which have a likable taste and take half an hour to cook), and sweet potatoes, especially Japanese varieties. Ready-made hummus and baba ganoush make great dips. “I grew up with a mother who insisted when your mind is stressed, your body has to be ‘inside strong and clean’ so as not to add more subliminal stress,” says Dhalwala, whose cookbooks she coauthored with Vikram Vij include Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey. “She would make me and my younger sister, Ritu, munch on celery, green bell peppers, and
carrots to help us ‘stay smart’. And she never made it seem a necessary chore. She let us choose our dip. I got a bit of peanut butter and my sister got a tablespoon or two of strawberry ice cream that she would gleefully stir into a soup. I can still smell the combination of cardamom, imitation strawberry, and peanuts. “You can sauté onions and add them to anything,” she adds. “And do remember the celery, bell peppers, and carrots.” g
S plash OF WINE
Township 7’s Seven Stars Polaris
TECH SHEET: Made of 100 percent South Okanagan unoaked Chardonnay grapes in the traditional méthode champenoise style, this bubbly has aromas of Granny Smith apple, lime, and fresh bread, and a clean finish. UNOFFICIAL SIP: Refreshing, rich, and gorgeously dry, it tastes like stargazing when you’re falling in love and everything in the world is unfolding as it should. In other words, perfect. NEXT LEVEL: Serve with chilled seafood, Gorgonzola, risotto, or—how can it be wrong when it feels so right?—Paqui Mucho Nacho Cheese chips. In this upside-down COVID-19 era, comfort food and champers coexist quite nicely.
by Gail Johnson
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ESPORTS
Lockdown remodels eSports business
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by Mike Usinger
hen future historians look back on the global entertainment landscape, they’ll remember the spring of 2020 as a moment when eSports solidified its status as one of the all-time-great heavyweight players. This has been a time marked by record-setting League of Legends viewership on Twitch, the exploding popularity of NASCAR iRacing, and the trash-talk-fuelled success of the NBA 2K20 tournament. But something’s gotten lost in all the positive news. Although eSports giants like Dota 2 and the Overwatch League have quickly adapted to a world where mass social gatherings are off the table, the move has come at a hefty cost. Stop and think about what you saw at centre stage last November, when FunPlus Phoenix won the League of Legends World Championship finals in Paris. Hint: from a marketing perspective, it was all about the on-stage presence of Louis Vuitton and Nike. The business of eSports has become a massive one, and that means brands ranging from Mercedes-Benz to MasterCard have been spending a lot of money to have a visible presence at the live parties—parties that are now on hold as eSports has successfully pivoted back to its online roots in response to COVID-19. Still, online isn’t where the future lies. As much as online play remains a deeply entrenched and important pillar, the goal has always been to get eSports on the same playing field as traditional sports like the NHL, NBA, and NFL. And the key to that is packing arenas. Early indicators were promising, not only in traditional hotspots across China, but also on this side of the world. Recall, if you will, August 2016, when Toronto became Canada’s first city to host a live League of Legends event. When tickets for the two-day Legends Championship Series summer finals went on sale, the Air Canada Centre (home of the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs) sold out in 34 seconds. Part of the attraction is that live eSports mega-events are designed around the philosophy that nothing entertains like a spectacle.
Before COVID-19, the Vancouver Titans were aiming for packed arenas. Photo by Jen Smith/Wikimedia
Consider, for example, Riot Games’ League of Legends live finals, which have featured digital dragons swooping from the rafters and the clever rolling-out of League of Legendsspawned virtual K-pop idols K/DA. But this spring has been all about the postponement of arena events that would have boosted the already meteoric-like profile of various leagues. Locally, 2020 was the year that the Overwatch League’s Vancouver Titans were to stage their first two homestand weekends at Rogers Area. Obviously, the postponement of the team’s May 16-17 and July 4-5 home dates means a lot of tickets won’t be sold. And the economic damage doesn't end there. Anyone who’s visited the merch table after a Rugby Sevens weekend knows that when you’ve just seen something incredible, you often want to take something home as a souvenir, whether it’s a $40 T-Shirt or a $200 team jersey. Then there are the intangibles. The Vancouver Titans are owned by Canucks Sports & Entertainment, which also signs the paycheques for the Canucks. The organization’s eSports director, Tim Holloway, told the Straight that the homestands were important for fostering a sense of community. “How I like to describe it is that it was going to
The Georgia Straight Confessions, an outlet for submitting revelations about your private lives—or for the voyeurs among us who want to read what other people have disclosed.
be kind of related to something like the South by Southwest music festival,” he said, “where we would be engaging and hopefully growing a lot of small, different communities that otherwise weren’t aware of each other, growing them into one holistic community, if you will—everyone from your core that’s loved the team since their Team RunAway days to someone that would be having their first eSports experience.” Tellingly, in a release announcing that live matches by all teams were being moved online, OL officials said, “The Overwatch League was built to deliver season after season of live, citybased events in front of our amazing fans.” Note that they didn’t suggest that the Overwatch League was built for those who’d rather spend 12 hours a day on Twitch while cooped up in the house. The Overwatch League isn’t alone. The League of Legends’ LCS and European Championship are going ahead, but without in-person spectators. Call of Duty has cancelled all homestand live events in favour of online matches. Electronic Sports League (ESL) held its highprofile Intel Extreme Masters World Championship tournament in Katowice, Poland, in February, but with no live audience. ESL’s flagship World Championship, scheduled for Shanghai
later this year, is also in a holding pattern. Despite—or perhaps because of—such disruptions, online numbers have been huge. Global audiences devoted over 286 million hours in March to watching the big three of eSports: League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. But exclusively-online isn’t how eSports had hoped to be doing business in 2020. Nicolas Maurer—whose Team Vitality empire has teams in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Rocket League—told Forbes last month that major economic fallout has come with the retreat to online-only events. “Teams have obviously taken a hit in terms of live event revenues, for example the citybased model that we see in Overwatch League where ticket and merch sales belong directly to the host team,” he said. As anyone who’s ever been to a Vancouver Canucks game at Rogers Arena knows, someone’s paying a lot of money to have their brand name advertised on the boards, in the concourses, even in the washrooms. And as with the Super Bowl and the Olympics, the higher the profile of a sporting event, the more money is at stake. Which brings us back to last November’s League of Legends World Championship finals. If you were one of the 100 million who watched the live broadcast from AccorHotels Arena in Paris, you might have noticed that China’s FunPlus Phoenix team accepted the winner’s trophy while standing beside a futuristic trunk designed by Louis Vuitton. The team’s members wore Nike sneakers and Nike-swoosh jerseys. You can bet that this demographically perfect product placement didn’t come cheap. And with League of Legends teams currently playing out of their homes in isolation, such lucrative centre-stage-in-a-packed-arena branding opportunities won’t be presenting themselves for the foreseeable future. For now, eSports is doing fine back where it started: online. But it’s in packed arenas where the march forward to world domination will continue. g
Liquor Nerds: Sweeten up happy hour
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by Mike Usinger
Scan to confess Rose and Smoke Scented One Rose on it’s own reminds me of old women. The smell of cigarettes is just an annoyance. But the two scents together overwhelm me. It’s her. I’ve ‘hated’ rose since then, but it still intoxicates me when mixed with smoke.
Inspector Clouseau Classic slapstick is one of the ways I’m keeping myself entertained while at home. I was watching “The Pink Panther Strikes Again” and that scene where He pretends to be a dentist kills me every time: “There’s only one man who would pull the wrong tooth! Hahahahahahaha! Hahaha, it’s Clouseau! Hahahahaha! Kill hiim!”
One good thing At least the quarantine means there’s no way I can get back with my ex, because if it wasn’t happening I’m pretty sure that I would have weakened by now.
DIY fabric face masks While passing by that sexy men’s underwear store on Davie, I realized how easily a large pair of thong underwear could be adapted to serve as a face mask. The triangular front piece even has a pouch-shape that would fit around the chin and lower face, and the elastic straps could be altered quite easily as well. It would be a stylish and innovative way to keep one’s breath droplets to oneself. And, considering that we all still have to stay 2 metres away from each other, it would be a good way to bring a little bit of sexy back to this erotically bleak period we’re in. Leopard print, anyone?
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8 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020
elcome back, fellow Liquor Nerds. It’s been another seven long days in lockdown, but let’s all agree that the idea of happy hour kicking off at 5 p.m. sharp has been pretty sweet. Not long ago, you had to put in some serious work before it was cocktail time at home. Remember the snail’s-pace car commute from downtown Vancouver to the depths of Surrey? Or wondering how the hell you were going to get your tired ass up Adanac Street while cycling home from Railtown to North Burnaby? These days, thanks to COVID-19, you only have to walk from the kitchen table to the liquor cupboard at 5:01 p.m., and the bar is officially open. Let’s start this week’s Liquor Nerd off with a quick recap. Last week, we talked about how you can make a whole raft of cocktails —Whiskey Sours, Gimlets, Lemon Drop martinis—with three basic ingredients: liquor (of course), fresh lemon or lime juice (no ReaLemon or ReaLime!), and simple syrup (which more than lives up to its name). Today, let’s take things a little further down the simple-syrup road. As noted last week, simple syrup is idiotically simple to make: you put equal amounts of sugar and water in a saucepan, boil them until you have a clear liquid, and store that in the fridge once it’s cooled. But here’s the great thing about simple syrup: it doesn’t have to be simple. In fact, it’s limited only by your imagination. Remember how, back in the day (a.k.a. February), cocktail menus were designed to make expensive drinks sound more complicated than they were? Think fanciful, hifalutin’ terms like “housemade Earl Grey simple syrup”. You know how to get your hands on that strain of simple syrup?
The Rosemary Gimlet features a fresh take on simple syrup. Photo by Gail Johnson
You can drop $15 on an eight-ounce bottle of Porter’s Organic Earl Grey syrup at Cocktailemporium.com. Or you can make a pot of Earl Grey tea, mix one cup of it with one cup of sugar, boil it, and you’re done. Now you’ve got something that’ll give your next French 75 a decidedly English spin. And don’t stop with tea. Boil five or six sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary in a cup-and-ahalf of water, steep for a half-hour, and then mix the strained water with an equal amount of sugar—and you’ve got a botanical syrup that will keep for weeks in the fridge. Use the same steps with two tablespoons of dried lavender, three cinnamon sticks, a handful of dried sour cherries or two dozen whole cranberries, always making the tea to your taste. Some like a stronger flavour, other prefer a more subtle touch. And then, the next time you’ve got a recipe that calls for simple syrup, get creative by reaching for one of these
easy-as-boiling-water creations. Here’s a cocktail guaranteed to impress your guests as you continue to build your home-bar program while waiting for the world to return to normal. Because credit needs to be given where it is totally due, this comes from the great mixologist Danielle Tatarin and the amazing Keefer Bar. ROSEMARY GIMLET
1 3/4 oz gin 3/4 oz fresh lime juice 3/4 oz rosemary syrup Pour into a cocktail shaker halffilled with crushed ice. Shake well and pour into an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary if you are feeling extra fancy. g Mike Usinger is not a professional bartender. He does, however, spend most of his waking hours sitting on barstools.
ARTS / MUSIC
Museums and galleries build virtual space by Janet Smith
From left, recent collection pieces from MOA posts: Beau Dick’s Transformation Mask (photo by Jessica Bushey), Xingru Wan’s Medicine Deity (detail, photo by Kyla Bailey), and Debra Sloan’s By the Sea, city girl with crow, Finial with Martyr’s leaf, and The Apple does not fall far from the tree (photo by Alina Ilyasova). From the VAG exhibit on Google Arts & Culture, Douglas Coupland’s Brilliant Information Overload Pop Head (right).
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ith the world’s museums and galleries shutting their doors due to COVID-19, international hotspots from the Louvre to the Smithsonian have been offering 360-degree tours and virtual exhibits. With the click of a mouse, you can see Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceilings or take a long look at Rembrandt’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son” at St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum. Here in Vancouver, our own museums and galleries are also finding digital ways to carry on. Everything from live-stream curator conversations to social-media spotlights on collection pieces are showing that art and artifacts can reach far beyond walls. Over at the Vancouver Art Gallery, staff have launched the new Art Connects series. Every Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and Friday at 4:30 p.m., the gallery live-streams interactive conversations through Zoom, featuring guests from local and international art scenes. Everyone is invited to join. “It’s definitely about maintaining visibility with our audience and engaging with our audiences in ongoing and meaningful
ways,” Diana Freundl, the VAG’s interim chief curator and associate director, tells the Straight. “Art Connects is about taking the existing programs and artwork of the gallery and putting it on a digital platform.” The first installment, on March 31, found curators Grant Arnold and Mandy Ginson taking questions and leading a virtual tour of images in the now-closed exhibit The Tin Man Was a Dreamer: Allegories, Poetics and Performances of Power. Another on April 3 riffed on freestyling. So far the response has been strong, says Freundl. “At the talks when the gallery has an opening, the audience caps at 100, whereas 300-plus attended the last webinair,” she says. “That’s twice the size, and you can have visiting guests while there are travel restrictions.” (You can register for Art Connects via the VAG’s Zoom channel.) Clearly, the pandemic shutdown is pushing the gallery to explore new platforms that may last long after the virus is sent packing. “It definitely creates opportunities for innovation for sure,” Freundl says. “It’s in that testing space right now.…How can you create a global
a riff on the worldwide #MuseumFromHome movement. “The first order of business was to look at what was available, and our collections were already online,” says Bonnie Sun, senior marketing and communications manager at the museum. “We probably took that for granted before. Now we realize it’s the bedrock of what we do. You can look at almost 50,000 objects online.” Website visitors can go in and search MOA’s vast collection by category— places, peoples, cultures, categories, or time period—or by keyword. “Gameboard” yields a 1906 Inuit-carved tusk cribbage board depicting intricate hunting and village scenes, and “ashtray” finds an argillite-and-abalone Haida-carved model of a canoe, with an eagle perched on its edge. Now the team is spotlighting pieces like these and more on social media. Recent educational posts have featured a Beau Dick transformation mask with a brief history of the late artist, and writeups on standouts from Playing With Fire: Ceramics of the OUT BY UBC, the Museum of An- Extraordinary, the exhibit that had to thropology has launched a wide-ran- be closed down in mid-March. ging effort called #MOAFromHome, Like the VAG, MOA finds itself reaudience without having to travel?” Elsewhere, the museum has redeployed their curators to socialmedia spaces, where they spotlight works in the collection. It’s also using those channels to prompt the public to activate their inner artist. A recent Instagram post of an Emily Carr work encouraged viewers: “Take your mind off the news and pull out a pencil or some brushes! Draw a tree inspired by #EmilyCarr’s forest sketch. Tag us in the results! #DrawingWithFriends.” Online, at Google Arts & Culture, audiences can also take a fuller tour of a past exhibit at the VAG: Douglas Coupland’s seminal 2014 retrospective, called everywhere is anywhere is anything is everything. And the gallery has put up hundreds of talks and other content on its Vimeo channel. Consider these just the first of several initiatives.“We’re also looking more behind the scenes at the mounting of an exhibition, or insider reasoning behind difficulties of mounting an exhibition,” Freundl says.
defining what we commonly think of as a curator’s role, and permanently shifting the way we can appreciate objects that might not see the light of day in a brick-and-mortar-based display. “If there aren’t full-blown exhibitions, are there mini-ways to take their [the curators’] research and knowledge and the relationships they hold and put them together through a digital platform?” asks Sun. The facility has already built an extensive YouTube channel where you can check out everything from a minidocumentary trailer for Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun’s past Unceded Territories exhibit to short profiles of its shop artists, like Haisla-Heiltsuk painter Paul Windsor. Now, Sun says, the team is also looking at live webinairs and recorded or live-stream artist-led workshops for the future. There is time and opportunity now to extend the museum’s reach. “Sometimes I like to joke that the MOA is better-known abroad than at home,” Sun observes. “We’ve noticed online that a lot of interest in our Northwest Coast collections comes from people overseas. Live content means we can deliver it further.” g
Mangan takes Side Door to online gigs
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by Mike Usinger
ecause the whole point of live music is to bring people together, the concert business has been particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 lockdown in North America. Even when things start to stabilize at some point in the future, it’s likely going to take a while before music fans feel comfortable packing clubs, soft-seaters, and stadiums. Among those hardest hit by the pandemic have been musicians who pay the bills by touring, which earns them money in a world where streaming has torpedoed traditional revenue streams like album sales. The superstar likes of Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Post Malone, and Tame Impala are going to have no trouble riding out the coming months. For those operating on a more grassroots level, the cancellation of spring and summer tours means no money coming from tickets sales, and no help with the bottom line from album and T-shirt sales at the merch table. That’s made Side Door—a Halifax-based venture cofounded by Vancouver singer-songwriter Dan Mangan—something of a life preserver for musicians who’ve been desperately wondering where to go from here. Recognizing that artists are looking for a way to generate some income, Side Door is now operating as a one-stop home-shopping hub for ticketed live-streamed shows. An artist announces an online-only performance. Buy a ticket, and you’re able to live-stream the concert on Zoom, joining others who’ve also purchased tickets. Side Door was originally set up as a means for artists not only to map out their tours and choose venues, but also to get an early sense of how many folks would be coming to their shows. “It’s like Airbnb for gigs,” Mangan tells the Straight. “Traditionally, we’ve allowed absolutely anybody access to bring the arts to their communities, presenting shows in whatever space they have—living rooms, bookstores,
A venture cofounded by Vancouver’s Dan Mangan helps musicians generate income without touring.
cafes, warehouses, juice factories, you name it.” To understand why this was important, talk to anyone who has ever toured the country and found out, after rolling the dice by booking a Tuesday-night slot at the Last Chance Saloon in Hanna, Alberta, what it’s like to end up playing for three people. Since launching last year, Side Door has had 2,200 artists and close to 900 venues join the platform, leading to nearly 700 shows across North America. Mangan says that the platform was initially rocked by the arrival and quick spread of COVID-19 in North America. “We’ve had to cancel probably 50 Side Door shows, and it’s been kinda devastating on that front,” he says. “We lost our entire ‘Side Door to SXSW’ campaign, which we’d worked toward for months.” But with no one touring anywhere anytime soon, Side Door has been quick to adapt to a locked-down world. And more importantly, it has figured out a way to help artists monetize their work. As tours were cancelled, artists began to stage free live-streamed concerts from home.
That was great for reaching out to fans and letting them know they weren’t alone, but it was no substitute for income from shows that were no longer taking place at the El Mocambo or the Biltmore. Mangan calls the ticketed online shows a sustainable model for artists that doesn’t rely on donations, that helps people connect at a time when they might feel isolated and alone. “Funnily enough,” he says, “in our transition to doing interactive, ticketed online shows, our core offering hasn’t changed in the slightest—which has always been to foster connection and community through the shared experience of art in alternative spaces, the Internet maybe being the most alternative space possible. The thing that has changed is the platform, of course. We’ve had to adjust things on the fly really quickly to accommodate a totally different workflow.” Mangan was one of the first artists to move to live-streaming when Canada began self-quarantining last month. When the second of two shows at the Danforth Music Hall was abruptly cancelled on March 13, he and his band chose to play the concert to an empty venue, later posting the performance on YouTube. Since then, Mangan has been putting on a live-stream show every Saturday, and donating proceeds to charities like the Vancouver Food Bank. “The pilot tests I ran were just incredible. Six hundred and fifty-plus people logged in, where they can all see each other and I can see them,” he says. “It’s so much more powerful than just streaming blindly to the Internet. There’s a chat thread, of course, which seems to get really active with people cracking jokes, et cetera.” Mangan continues: “Aside from the experiential difference, of course, gating the experience with a hard ticket puts a value on the experience, and we find that over 90 percent of participants are logging in for the entire show, rather than just tuning in passively for a few minutes. And it
means that artists are getting paid, and it means they don’t have to ask for donations or pass the digital hat. Overall, it’s a better experience for artists and audiences alike.” Brooklyn-based Hayfitz is one of countless artists whose lives have been turned upside down by the COVID-19 lockdown. The singersongwriter and multi-instrumentalist was already using Side Door for booking shows before the pandemic. “Side Door shows completely eliminated the monotony of touring for me,” Hayfitz tells the Straight. “No ego, no bells and whistles, just one human with the opportunity of playing my songs for other humans, free of both the literal and industry noise that can so easily exhaust a touring musician. Oh, and the consistent free meals and lodging didn’t hurt.” When COVID-19 exploded into a serious health concern in the States, Hayfitz lost both a three-week tour and an appearance at SXSW. The idea of people paying to see an online show, in much the same way they would to see a concert in a club, is important, Hayfitz suggests, for no other reason than the fact that investing in a ticket reflects a desire to be there. “I’ve done an Instagram Live show [free] and it was one of the oddest shows I’ve ever done,” he says. “I attribute that to not being able to see or hear the audience—it felt lonely. It was also jarring to see people leave the stream midsong or after just one or two songs. If 10 people walked out of your show after two songs, you’d probably be pretty discouraged, right? I look forward to being able to see the entire audience on Zoom and even turn on their mikes every now and then. Not all at once, of course!” Upcoming shows being promoted through Side Door include performances by Mangan, Sarah Slean, Danny Michel, and Jon Capus, with prices ranging from $5 to $7. For a list of upcoming ticketed Side Door shows, or to get involved as a performer, you can go to sidedooraccess.com/shows. g
APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT 9
MOVIES
Disney+ streaming goes beyond Star Wars
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by Norman Wilner
he announcement that Disney fasttracked Pixar’s CG fantasy Onward to Disney+ on April 3 (less than a month after its theatrical premiere) will comfort existing subscribers who missed the chance to see it before theatres closed due to COVID-19 isolation measures—and, presumably, draw a lot of people to sign up for the studio’s streaming service. Once they’re there, however, those newbies may be intimidated by the sheer volume of programming. So we’re doing our thing and preparing a handy guide to the highlights and hidden gems tucked away among the tiles. And yes, we left out High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, but that’s because your tweens already know about it.
THE TENTPOLES: STAR WARS AND MARVEL
The Star Wars series and the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been the anchors of the Disney+ service since it launched last fall. Of course they are: they’re two of the biggest film properties ever created, with more than 30 features between them. If you have kids, they’re doubtless watching them on endless rotation. Might as well lean into it; it’s going to be a while until we get a new chapter of either one. And maybe schedule a marathon for yourself, if you need it. Just remember that Rogue One is still the only Star Wars prequel worth the bother. THE MANDALORIAN
Speaking of Star Wars, this first live-action series set in George Lucas’s galaxy long ago and far, far away had a lot riding on it: would it be able to stand alongside what fans now call the Skywalker Saga, or is it a bunch of empty fan service, or a nightmare that haunts the dreams of a generation? As it turns out, The Mandalorian is entirely its own thing—a sci-fi version of the old TV series Have Gun, Will Travel that follows a lone bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) as he tries to fulfill a contract that’s a lot more complicated—and considerably cuter—than he bargained for. Created by Iron Man director Jon
as McCarthy’s Adam Sandler magic-shoes movie The Cobbler, but with considerably more control of its whimsical tone, Timmy Failure is just sitting there, waiting to find its audience and become the cult classic it’s destined to be. Best watched late at night when you’re just a little bit punchy, the better to connect with its anything-goes vibe. FORKY ASKS A QUESTION
The Mandalorian riffs entertainingly on gunslinger westerns and samurai movies. Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd.
Favreau and featuring Clone Wars showrunner Dave Filoni as one of its executive producers, it riffs on Sergio Leone’s gunslinger westerns and Kenji Misumi’s Baby Cart samurai movies, with dry humour and surprising emotional resonance from a character who’s sworn never to show his face to another living being. Also, it has Werner Herzog being very, very silly. EARTH MONTH PROGRAMMING
The National Geographic catalogue places a distant fourth to Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm content in Disney+ marketing, but it’s still formidable—and with Earth Day later this month, it’s being placed front and centre on the service. A curated selection of National Geographic productions will be highlighted, among them: Brett Morgen’s Jane Goodall profile Jane; Fisher Stevens’s eco-doc Before the Flood, which producer Leonardo DiCaprio memorably presented at TIFF 2016; and the gorgeously photographed Kingdom of the Blue Whale, Kingdom of the White Wolf, and Sea of Hope: America’s Underwater Treasures. And it’ll be paired with a showcase of recent Disneynature documentaries with child-friendly narratives: African Cats, Chimpanzee, Bears, Born in China, The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos,
Monkey Kingdom, and Wings of Life. PICK OF THE LITTER
In 2018, Dana Nachman and Don Hardy made a charming documentary about Labrador retriever puppies being fostered and trained for service as guide dogs. Disney subsequently commissioned Nachman and Hardy to follow a new set of pups and families for a half-hour reality series. And while this version is a little more overtly manipulative than the movie, it’s still packed with adorable animals, kind and caring humans, and genuinely heartwarming moments. Things are awful right now; watching a show about altruism, goodwill, and fumbly, bumbly puppies is not the worst way to spend your time. TIMMY FAILURE: MISTAKES WERE MADE
What if we told you Disney+ had exclusive rights to the next film from Tom McCarthy, director-cowriter of 2015’s Oscar-winning investigative drama Spotlight? What if we told you it was a very odd, entirely unquantifiable comedy about a fifth-grader (Winslow Fegley) who investigates crimes with the help of a polar bear sidekick? And what if we told you they’d already released it? A project as bananas
Anyone who’s ever watched the little shorts on a Pixar Blu-ray will be familiar with the slight, charming pleasures to be found in this tiny Toy Story spinoff, which features Tony Hale’s easily excited spork wandering around Bonnie’s bedroom bothering his pals about stuff for three or four minutes at a time. Forky’s questions—10 in all—are simple but occasionally profound: “What Is Money?” offers John Ratzenberger’s Ham a chance to lecture Forky on the concept of legal tender, while “What Is a Computer?” lets Kristen Schaal’s tech-savvy triceratops Trixie explain connectivity. And in the delightful “What Is Love?”, creator-producer Bob Peterson introduces younger viewers to comedy veterans Melephant Brooks, Carl Reineroceros, and Chairol Burnett. OTHER STUFF…
Sure, you can feast on decades’ worth of classic Disney productions, from Snow White and Bambi to The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast—and you almost certainly will, at some point—but Disney+ also offers some of the studio’s most egregious misfires. I’m especially partial to The Black Hole, the grandiose 1979 space opera that was meant to be Disney’s answer to Star Wars but ended up a weird, traumatizing nightmare, and The Black Cauldron, a tedious adaptation of Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain that nearly killed the studio’s animation division when it bombed in 1985. They’re not good—like, not at all—but they’re fascinating. g Disney+ subscriptions are $8.99 per month or $89.99 per year, with a free seven-day trial at disneyplus.com/.
The Isolation Diaries: Theatre’s Rena Cohen
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by Janet Smith
A PODCAST C E L E B R AT I N G T H E VA N C O U V E R FILM & TV INDUSTRY
Th YVR The RS Screen S Scene Podcastt ffeatures t award-winning d journalist Sabrina Furminger in conversation with the actors, directors, screenwriters, and other talented artists who power BC’s dynamic film and television industry. More than 70 shining stars have sat across from Sabrina in the YVR Screen Scene Podcast lab since the series launched in early 2019, including Amanda Tapping, Brian Markinson, Camille Sullivan, Gabrielle Rose, John Cassini, Lee Majdoub, Michael Eklund, Paul McGillion, Peter DeLuise, Richard Harmon, Ryan Robbins, Sara Canning, Sharon Taylor, and dozens more.
Listen to the YVR Screen Scene Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. YVRScreenScene.com | @yvrscreenscene The YVR Screen Scene Podcast is sponsored by:
/
10 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020
& our rad Patreon supporters.
YVR Screen Scene is a division of Fish Flight Entertainment
ith theatres, galleries, stores, and restaurants shuttered to flatten the COVID-19 curve, we’ve reached out to people in Vancouver’s creative sector to find out what they’re watching, how they’re coping, and where they’re finding inspiration.
THE ARTIST After 10 years of leading Realwheels Theatre, artistic director Rena Cohen has been preparing to leave the helm. Directing plays like Act of Faith, producing shows like Creeps and Super Voices, and launching a playwright-in-residence program are just a few of her accomplishments that have made big strides for this city’s disability-inclusive arts. While the group launches a search for her replacement, the theatre artist continues to work with it on a project- Outgoing Realwheels Theatre head Rena by-project basis. We caught up with Cohen takes time out with Chester. her during stay-at-home measures, before she starts the next chapter in have felt like a good time to bake mandelbroit (like biscotti) or cheeseher life. cake. Both gluten-free ’cause I’m a NO. 1 THING THAT’S GETTING card-carrying celiac.” YOU THROUGH “We’re fostering a dog, which gets us QUARANTINE SOUNDTRACK outside every day and is a constant “Lizzo’s ‘Good as Hell’ gets me up reason for house cleaning and sani- and dancing, her ‘Phone’ makes me laugh, and how can you not be in awe tizing!” of her impeccable vocals in ‘Cuz I COMFORT FOOD Love You’?” “My slow-scrambled eggs are key to morning happiness. Sometimes I CREATIVE OR LEARNING OUTLET alternate with egg-white omelettes, “Things haven’t slowed down at into which I toss Trader Joe’s Olive Realwheels (yet). Creative projects Tapenade; I’m rationing out that and meetings have shifted online. I’m working as hard as ever, and stuff like its caviar. “I’m eating my weight in choco- that’s my creative outlet. Anticipatlate. Chocolate—the kind with high ing a slow-down in June.” concentration of cocoa—is actually FITNESS HACK high-fibre. You’re welcome. “Love cooking, but have never “See walking Chester (above). See been into baking. Lately, evenings dancing to Lizzo (above).” g
SAVAGE LOVE
Embracing kink is the healthy option by Dan Savage
b YOUR LAST TWO columns and your last two podcasts were all about the pandemic. Everything everywhere is all about the pandemic right now. Can you give it a rest? For maybe a week? Could you answer some questions that aren’t about the pandemic? Any fun kink questions come in this week? I could use a break from the pandemic, Dan, and I’m not alone.
such a hard time getting off with other porn (or without porn) that I always return to it. I genuinely enjoy having vanilla sex with my partner. I feel turned on and I have fun. But I’m often not able to come. It sometimes makes him think he isn’t doing a good job, when in reality he’s doing great and I’m just frustrated with my body. So I guess I’m wondering: does continuing - Columnist’s Oeuvre Vividly Instills Dread to watch belly porn reinforce the kink in my brain? Should I stop watching it Some kink questions did come in and force myself to find other ways to this week, COVID, and I’m happy to come? Should I somehow find a way to answer them. embrace the kink instead? - Big Belly Woes But the pandemic does come up in the second one, which you should Six years ago I roped Dr. Jesse Bering, feel free to skip. author of Perv: The Sexual Deviant in b I HAVE A kink/fetish that’s been giv- All of Us, into answering a question ing me a lot of anxiety over the last few from a dad who was worried about his years. I inadvertently discovered that teenage son’s sexual interest in PokéI’m turned on by big bellies, weight mon. (Yes, Pokémon.) Dad wanted to gain, and stuffing. It’s actually been know if there was anything that could there since I was a little kid, though I be done about his son’s “pathetic” didn’t understand it until now. If it’s sexual obsession. Bering explained relevant, I’m a female in my mid-20s, that his kid’s kinks—that everyone’s in a heterosexual monogamous re- kinks—are hard-wired. “Nobody lationship. My problem is that I have knows why some people are more a lot of trouble getting off without prone to developing unusual patterns looking at pictures or at least think- of attraction than others,” Bering said. ing about my kink. I believe the com- “But whether it’s a penchant for Pokémon guidance is “If it’s not hurting mon, feet, underwear, or spiders, the anyone, it’s fine.” But I feel super gross best available evidence suggests that and ashamed. Neither my partner nor some people—mostly males—have a myself is large, and we both value our genetic predisposition for being ‘sexhealth and fitness. I have absolutely ually imprinted’ during development.” no desire to participate in this activity And once our erotic imaginations with a real person. Every time I finish have seized on something, once we’ve masturbating, I feel embarrassed and imprinted on Pokémon characters or disgusted with myself. Some part of big bellies or wrestling singlets, there’s my brain obviously craves the kink, not much we can do about it. Before but the rest of my brain hates it. I keep we’re adults—before we hit puberty— telling myself I will stop, but I have our kinks, as Bering put it, are “pretty
Employment EMPLOYMENT Careers
POLAR EXTERIOR INC. is looking for Carpenters,Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, Full time. Wage: $ 27.00 per/h Skills requirements: Experience 2-3 years, Good English. Education: Secondary school Main duties: Read and interpret blueprints, determine specifications; Measure, cut, shape, assemble and join materials made of wood, lightweight metal and other materials;Operate measuring, hand, and power carpentry tools (i.e. drills, saws, guns).Fit and install trim items as required;Supervise helpers and apprentices; Follow established safety rules. Company’s business address: 1265 Benneck Way, Port Coquitlam BC, V3C 5Y8 Please apply by e-mail: polarexteriorinc@gmail.com
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Eurohouse Construction Inc is looking for Purchasing Manager. Perm, F/T (30 h/w) Wage: $ 44.00 /h Extended medical benefit package. Main duties: Plan, direct and control purchasing activity of the company; Evaluate suppliers of construction materials;Negotiate cooperation policies with suppliers;evaluate and control contracts;Analyze price proposals, financial reports;Attend meetings, trade shows, and conferences;Maintain and review various records; Determine key requirements for employees, hire new personnel; Process claims against suppliers. Requirements: 3-5 years of experience, Good English, College diploma. Bachelor degree would be considered an asset. Company’s business address and job location: 2474 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1L1 Please apply by e-mail: admin@eurohouse.ca
Child Care
Chinese Folk Dance Tutor Needed Royal Principal Ballet Academy welcomes a Chinese folk dancing teacher for our New Westminster Studio. Duties: Teach dancing, artistic interpretation, recreational lessons; prepare auditions; train & exercise students. F/T, $38/h, 30-40 h/week. Requirement: English teaching, Min. 1 yr Chinese Folk dance college diploma Min. 2 yrs dance teaching exp. Resumes to nadmin@napadance.com
Mind EMPLOYMENT Body & Soul Support Groups
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A MDABC peer-led support group is a safe place to share your story, your struggles and accomplishments, and to listen to others as they share similar concerns. Please Note: Support groups are not intended to provide counselling/therapy. ? Please visit www.mdabc.net for a list and location of support groups or call 604-873-0103 for info. AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS Does someone else's drinking bother you? Al-Anon can help. We are a support group for those who have been affected by another's drinking problem. For more information please call: 604-688-1716
straight.com
much fixed, like it or not”. For all we know, the teenage boy with the Pokémon fetish was completely comfortable with his own niche sexual interests. The dad wrote in, after all, not the kid. (But if you’re a 23-yearold Pokémon fetishist and your dad routinely invaded your privacy when you were a teenager and heaped shame on you about your kinks, please write in with an update!) But I have heard from people who, like you, weren’t comfortable with their own kinks, BBW, and desperately wanted to know what could be done. Most sex scientists and researchers agree with Bering: there’s really nothing you can do, and masturbating to the porn that turns you on doesn’t “reinforce” your kinks. You can’t starve out your kinks by refusing to think (or wank) about them, BBW, and you can’t pray your kinks away any more than I could pray my gay away. Embracing your kinks and exploring them with other consenting adults—or, if your kinks can’t be realized for ethical reasons, enjoying them through solo or partnered fantasy play only—is the only realistic option. That said, some doctors have prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a.k.a. antidepressants, to people who were uncomfortable with their kinks. Those drugs don’t selectively eradicate kinks, BBW; they crater a person’s libido. Taking SSRIs would mean sacrificing the vanilla sex you enjoy with your partner on the same altar with the kink that stresses you out. I can’t imagine you want to go down this route, BBW, which brings us back to embracing your kink and coming clean with your partner. The risk you run in telling a part-
Anorexics & Bulimics Anonymous 12 Step based peer support program which addresses the mental, emotional, & spiritual aspects of disordered eating Tuesdays @ 7 pm @ Avalon Women's Centre 5957 West Blvd - 604-263-7177 ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION Looking to start a parent support group in Kitsilano. Please call Barbara 604 737 8337 Battered Women's Support Services provides free daytime & evening support groups (Drop-ins & 10 week groups) for women abused by their intimate partner. Groups provide emotional support, legal information & advocacy, safety planning, and referrals. For more information please call: 604-687-1867 Distress Line & Suicide Prevention Services NEED SOME ONE TO TALK TO? Call us for immediate, free, confidential and non-judgemental support, 24 hours a day, everyday. The Crisis Centre in Vancouver can help you cope more effectively with stressful situations. 604-872-3311 Drug & Alcohol Problems? Free advanced information and help on how quit drinking & using drugs. For more information call Barry Bjornson @ 604-836-7568 or email me @livinghumility@live.com Fertility Support Group Discover new perspectives make positive changes and learn simple tools to take charge of your reproductive wellness while connecting with other women. The meetings provide a space for open discussion. 2nd Tuesday of each month 7:45 - 8:45pm (Sign up required) Reg & Info call: 604-266-6470 or www.familypassages.ca Genital Herpes Support Group for Women Are you living with Genital Herpes in Vancouver? We are a group of women that draws upon each others knowledge and strength to grapple with this sometimes trying condition. Through mutual support and honest conversation we aim to address the physical and emotional health implications of this virus and how it affects romantic relationships, sex, dating & life in general. Contact: ghsupportgroup@gmail.com Heart of Richmond - AIDS Society operates a confidential support group for persons with HIV/AIDS, or persons affected (family, friends or care givers) by the disease. For info - 604-277-5137 www.heartofrichmond.com
ner about your kink is no doubt at the forefront of your mind, BBW, because the consequences could be immediate, i.e., he might dump you. But not telling your partner about your kink—and leaving him to wonder why you can’t get off with him but have no trouble getting off alone—isn’t risk-free either. If he feels inadequate, if he feels like you’re hiding something from him, if he feels like he can’t satisfy you, he might dump you. So share your kink with your boyfriend, BBW, and kinks should always be presented as crazy and endearing—and potentially really fun— quirks, not as tragedies. You have a thing for big bellies, BBW, you don’t have leukemia. And you can explore your kinks without gaining weight or stuffing your partner until he does. A little big-belly dirty talk could help you get off with your partner, BBW, and even the fittest person can push their tummy out and create the illusion of a rounded belly. Have fun! b MY BOYFRIEND AND I live in San Francisco, where we’ve been sheltering in place. We are, unfortunately, unable to shelter together, which means that we cannot have physical contact, especially since he lives with a parent who’s at heightened risk. (It’s not an option for him to stay with me for the duration.) We’re as frustrated about having to abruptly end the physical aspect of our relationship as you might expect. We go for (distanced) walks during the week, we talk every day, and we jerk off in front of webcams together, but that only goes so far. I was thinking about giving him some of my worn panties for him to do whatever
IBD Support Group Suffer from Crohn's and ulcerative colitis? Living with IBD can often be overwhelming, but you're not alone! 3rd Wed of each month the GI Society holds a free IBD support group meeting for patients & their families to come together in an open, friendly environment. 7:00pm at #231 - 3665 Kingsway. For more information call 604-873-4876 Is your life affected by someone else's drug use? Nar-Anon Family Group Meeting Every Friday 7:30-9:00 pm at Barclay Manor, 1447 Barclay
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he wants with. My question is this: if I were to wash my hands and be cautious while putting together a pervy care package, is there much of a risk of spreading the virus around by doing this? I’m currently in good health, but I know that people can be infected but asymptomatic, and we’re being really careful to keep both of our households as safe as possible. Can the virus be spread via pussy juice? - Very Aromatic Gift COVID-19 hasn’t been detected in vaginal fluids, VAG, so your pussy juice by itself doesn’t constitute a threat. But the virus, which is usually transmitted through the air (by people with the virus coughing, sneezing, or even exhaling), can survive for hours or days on different kinds of surfaces, including clothes. The virus can live for up to 24 hours on cardboard, VAG, which mean it’s the package, not the panties, that is potentially a danger here. If the last person who handled your care package—think the UPS guy who dropped it on his porch—had COVID-19, your boyfriend could wind up exposing himself by touching the box and then his face before washing his hands. But I think you should send him that package—wear gloves while you pack it, don’t send it overnight (your scent will keep for a couple of days), and make sure your boyfriend immediately washes his hands after opening and discarding the package. g On the Lovecast, comedian Pete Dominick: www.savagelovecast.com. Email: mail@ savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @ FakeDanSavage.
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APRIL 9 – 16 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 11
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