The Georgia Straight - Chutzpah Festival - November 12, 2020

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020 | FREE

Volume 54 | Number 2755

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HIGHER THAN LAST YEAR

Israeli pianist Guy Mintus puts a global spin on the music of Gershwin

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3

HEALTH

World can learn from Taiwan’s success in fighting COVID-19

CONTENTS 10 COVER

November 12 – 19 / 2020

Chutzpah! Festival performer and globetrotting piano genius Guy Mintus frolics in A Gershwin Playground of his own making.

by Andy Kang-I Chen

By Charlie Smith

6

Cover photo by Ella Barak

ESPORTS

Dating is about to get a lot more competitive with Game Time, a livestreamed show that offers more than many matchmaking sites.

By John Lucas

9

REAL ESTATE

The average home price in this province is expected to rise almost 10 percent this year, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association.

By Carlito Pablo

This year, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office director general Andy Kang-I Chen (with B.C. cabinet ministers Katrina Chen and Anne Kang) donated 25,000 surgical masks to the B.C. government.

W

hile many countries are battling hard against the coronavirus surge, Taiwan has achieved a record of 200 days without a single locally transmitted case.

Thanks to preparedness and a rapid response, Taiwan’s cases and deaths are very low: 0.03 deaths per 100,000. Taiwan, with a population of 23.5 million, has just 568 infections and seven deaths.

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Meanwhile, life and work have continued much as normal for the majority of people.

For instance, Taiwan’s National Day celebration took place in Keelung City earlier in October with a crowd of about 12,000 people. On October 31, approximately 130,000 people attended the annual Taiwan LGBT Pride in Taipei.

Taiwan is willing to share its experience combatting COVID-19. It has provided four waves of international antipandemic humanitarian assistance by donating more than 55 million masks and PPE to more than 80 countries around the world. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver also donated more than 70,000 medical face masks and sanitizers to school boards, NGOs, and the Indigenous community.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has continued to call on the world to come together to fight the pandemic and work toward recovery. However, for political considerations, the WHO has refused to invite Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer or to allow Taiwan’s full participation in meetings, mechanisms, and technical meetings related to COVID-19.

This has not only deprived the 23.5 million people of Taiwan of their right to health, it has also been unhelpful in the global struggle to defeat COVID-19.

This also set an unfortunate precedent for rules-based global governance.

The successful Taiwan Model can help others combat the pandemic. To recover better together, the WHO needs Taiwan.

A total of 644 parliamentarians from 25 European countries have signed a petition calling on the WHO to include Taiwan in the annual WHA, which continues until Friday (November 14). I sincerely hope that Canada will continue to advocate and facilitate the inclusion of Taiwan to the WHA. g Andy Kang-I Chen is director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver.

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

e Start Here

8 13 15 13 11 7 4 14 8 14 12

BEER CANNABIS CLASSIFIEDS CONFESSIONS DANCE FOOD HEALTH I SAW YOU LIQUOR SAVAGE LOVE THEATRE

Vancouver’s News and Entertainment Weekly Volume 54 | Number 2755 1635 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C. V6J 1W9 T: 604.730.7000 F: 604.730.7010 E: gs.info@straight.com straight.com

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PUBLISHER Brian Kalish FOUNDING PUBLISHER Dan McLeod EDITOR Charlie Smith SECTION EDITORS Mike Usinger (ESports/Liquor/Music) Steve Newton SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy ASSOCIATE EDITOR John Lucas (Cannabis) STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) Craig Takeuchi SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER Janet McDonald GRAPHIC DESIGNER Miguel Hernandez PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR Mike Correia PRODUCTION Sandra Oswald SALES DIRECTOR Tara Lalanne ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Glenn Cohen, Catherine Tickle, Robyn Marsh, Manon Paradis, David Pearlman CONTENT AND MARKETING SPECIALIST Rachel Moore

e Online TOP 5

Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

1 2 3 4 5

COVID-19 in B.C.: 38 schools and 17 flights are dealing with new exposures.

Luxury housing bounces back as $23-million mansion sells in Shaughnessy.

Persian-French Golestan bakeshop puts Vancouver location up for sale.

How to stay healthy during chilly and dark winter months in Vancouver.

B.C. government freezes rent increases until July as an “interim measure”. @GeorgiaStraight

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5

ESPORTS

Dating gets competitive with Game Time

by John Lucas

Sadly, The Dating Game’s host in the 1960s and 1970s, Jim Lange, didn’t live long enough to host Game Time on CapitalRoyale.com. Photo by Prostock-Studio/iStock/Getty Images Plus.

S

till trying to find your Player 2? Let’s face it: when you spend all your time playing Fortnite, dating can be a challenge.

Oh, sure, there are matchmaking sites aimed specifically at video gamers, like GamerDating. But where’s the fun in that?

Anyone can use a dating website or app.

And while you can make a valid argument that the dating scene is competitive

enough as it is, gamers tend to like adding just a little extra challenge to things.

Enthusiast Gaming’s EGLX Digital 2020 runs through Friday (November 13). It includes The Dating Game, which purports to be based on the classic game show of the same name. TikTok star Tori Pareno hosts, “with popular couples in the gaming entertainment universe tasked to answer revealing questions about their relationship”.

Wait a sec, that’s not The Dating Game at all; it’s The Newlywed Game!

Lonely game geeks need not despair, however. Turns out there’s a forthcoming livestreamed dating show called Game Time.

According to a news release, “bachelors and bachelorettes get to select and compete against suitors for the ultimate gamer dream date”. The pilot will debut exclusively on CapitalRoyale.com—although when appears to be a closely guarded secret.

The series is the brainchild of Shaon Berry, the founder of Metro Esports and Entertainment Group. Berry said in the release: “Video game competition becomes a lot more exciting when the first prize wins the man or woman of your dreams. Our talent is diverse, and their backstories are compelling and most importantly, with all the complicated realities of millennial dating the competition definitely isn’t friendly, and we absolutely love it.” g

MORE ESPORTS ONLINE AT ECENTRALSPORTS.COM

Clash of Clans World Championship set to begin later this month

I

by John Lucas

t might not garner the same mainstream-media attention as, say, the LoL Worlds or the Overwatch League Grand Finals. Make no mistake about it, though, the Clash of Clans World Championship is a big deal.

How big? Well, consider that more than 36 million players and two million teams from around the world participated in the in-game Clan War Leagues or ESL Play pre-qualifier tournaments. ESL and the game’s publisher, Supercell, opted to move to an online format.

The Clash of Clans World Championship—happening November 27 and 28—will be streaming live on the Clash of Clans YouTube channel. Viewers will be able to watch the world’s top eight teams compete for the US$1 million prize pool. ATN.aTTaX, Vatang, Ni Chang Dance, x6tence, Darkest MuZhan, and QueeN Walkers earned their spots in the World Championship Finals by winning one of six monthly qualifiers.

The final two wildcard spots were filled in a special round of online voting by fans. H.T Family and eleVen Original earned the most votes and a ticket to the world finals. g

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

FOOD

Torizo Ramen Bar helps to feed a noodle revolution

W

by Craig Takeuchi

hile many people in Asia are accustomed to consuming noodles with broth yearround, those who grew up in western cultures tend to think of such bowls as wintertime fare. However they might be regarded, there’s one thing we can all agree upon: they provide a bellywarming antidote to the universal experience of a growling stomach.

Unfortunately, the economic maelstrom of the pandemic has taken some noodleshop casualties along with it. Among them have been Ramen Takanotsume’s location on Bidwell Street off Robson (although its Richmond location remains open at Aberdeen Centre) and the Ramenman, one of the few independent ramen shops in Vancouver.

But only a few blocks away from where the Ramenman once stood near Yaletown is a new noodle bar that is going against the grain of these uncertain times and proving that nothing stops a good bowl of noodles.

Nestled between Yaletown and the West End, Torizo Ramen Bar quietly opened up at 1265 Granville Street, the former location of Alpha Sushi Bar, on October 23. This one’s from the Zakkushi

Torizo Ramen Bar, which opened in late October on Granville Street, aspires to offer new takes on Japanese noodles, like duck ramen (left) and Torizo tan-men, that diners won’t get weary of eating.

Group, which not only launched the Zakkushi yakitori izakayas in Vancouver and Toronto but also Menya Raizo in the City Hall area in August 2018.

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With a clean and pleasingly light decor, the petite space currently has seating for 17 patrons during the pandemic. (Takeout is available as well.)

Although most ramen shops in Vancouver use tonkotsu (pork broth), Torizo uses two types of broth: clear chicken broth, which is lighter and more nuanced than tonkotsu yet still flavourful; and vegepotage, or vegetable broth. Also, all ramen bowls at Torizo feature thin noodles.

Hiroshi Yoshida of the Zakkushi Group told the Georgia Straight that with Torizo, they sought to offer ramen that can be eaten daily without becoming tiresome, all while providing variations that haven’t been seen before. That’s evident from a glance at the innovative menu.

For those who prefer the classics, there’s chicken shoyu ramen (including bamboo shoots and Japanese leek with arugula as a garnish). But the other bowls span a range of intriguing offerings.

Chicken vege-potage ramen comes with some uncommon toppings—broccoli, brussels sprouts, semi-dried tomato, yellow bell pepper—along with tried-and-true favourites like dried seaweed, corn, and red onion. For those who want more bite, it’s also available in a spicy-sauce version.

There’s also the Torizo tan-men, which features vege-potage broth and comes see next page

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

7

DRINKS

Tale of Cake conjures up some truly sweet visions

A

by Mike Usinger

start to dance in your head. (A quick point of clarification here: we’re talking artisanal offerings from bakeries like Ganache Pâtisserie or Pâtisserie Lebeau. Not one of those Reddiwip atrocities from Safeway.) So if a few of your favourite things include shaved Noir Intense handcrafted chocolate from Chez Christophe in Burnaby and LIVIA’s insanely great Brandied Sour Cherries from the heart of Commercial Drive, get ready for the next best thing to reservations at Will Goldfarb’s Room 4 Dessert.

s a valuable public service, we crack open spirits from B.C. to Bahrain and beyond.

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Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky THEIR WORDS

“Glenmorangie A Tale of Cake is a shade of rich copper, but the taste is pure technicolour, luscious, sweet and complex with multi-layered bursts of honey, white chocolate and fruits with a lilting hint of mint.”

TASTING NOTES

Check out the bottom of A Tale of Cake’s label, and you’ll see the following: “Tokaji Dessert Wine Cask Finish” and “A Sweet, Multi-Layered Whisky Lusciously Reminiscent of Cake”. Maybe it’s the semi-subliminal

COCKTAIL TIME Glenmorangie’s A Tale of Cake is the next best thing to Will Goldfarb’s Room 4 Dessert.

advertising, but sip and savour things, and visions of hazelnut orange marmalade slump cake and German Black Forest cake will

Much like October is all about pumpkin lattes and the summer was made for Margaritas, fall is seen as whisky time, especially for bottles stamped with “Product of Scotland”.

Let’s face it—thanks to the global shitshow that is COVID-19 2020, you aren’t going to the land of Shirley Manson, Sean Connery,

and haggis-flavoured gum any time soon.

That’s right—no sitting by the hearth in an 18th century Scottish castle as the fog swirls through the moor outside. No hoping to catch a glimpse of Nessie while strolling the wind-whipped shores of Loch Ness. A Tale of Cake comes off the bench brilliantly for cocktails normally calling for Canadian rye or American bourbon.

Try this recipe from Glenmorangie.

A SLICE OF CAKE OLD FASHIONED

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Garnish with a twist of orange peel. g

Taboo makes for a nice throwback to summer

W

by Mike Usinger

Rice Lager

like citrus whisper on the back end when Taboo starts to warm up, but the key descriptor there is also mild. Which is to say that if you need something that reminds you of the summer that just was, you’ll do well to load up the fridge.

e taste the latest in Lower Mainland beers and then give you a pocket-sized review.

ON TAP

Ravens Brewing Co. Taboo Citra Dry Hopped

DEEP THOUGHTS

THEIR WORDS

“It starts with creating a traditional rice lager base—large amounts of flaked rice are added to the kettle of conventional lager grains. Generous amounts of Citra, Amarillo, and Simco are added to the whirlpool and again during fermentation.

Citra is this show’s star, imparting fruit aromas and flavours into this deliciously crisp lager.”

TASTE TEST

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

Taboo is a great beer when you don’t want something strong.

part notes of peach, passion fruit, melon, apricot, and numerous other exotic offerings you’ll often find in the headdresses of Carmen Miranda. Light, light, and light are good operative words for Taboo Citra Dry Hopped Rice Lager, especially when it’s poured cold—maybe that lack of an overpowering front-end kick is the rice talking. There’s an India Pale Ale-

from previous page

Let’s talk label art. Lest we upset the ghosts of Marie Anne Lenormand and Éliphas Lévi, it’s important to reveal that our knowledge of tarot cards falls somewhere between nothing and less than zero. That said, cans of Taboo are adorned with what appears to be a Texas scramble of mystical-looking cards. Highlights include Strength, Wheel of Fortune, the Magician, and the Empress.

Also making the cut was the Fool, which according to the Interweb, represents “new beginnings, having faith in the future, being inexperienced, not knowing what to expect, having beginner’s luck, improvisation and believing in the universe.” A new beginning? Given the kind of year it’s been, sign us up. And pass the Taboo. g

with the same items (except for seaweed and corn) plus chashu chicken, Japanese leek, citrus, and—something not seen on most, if any, ramen menus in this city— marinated beets.

Southeast Asian influence shows up in cilantro chicken ramen, accompanied with yellow bell pepper, semi-dried tomato, and red onion. Meanwhile, a rare entry in Vancouver is the sous vide duck ramen, with lime, arugula, yellow bell pepper, semidried tomato, and seven kinds of pepper.

There are also dishes ranging from misosimmered mackerel or takoyaki (octopus balls) to sous-vide duck breast with house-

made balsamic sauce or simmered beef tongue, all of which can be enjoyed as snacks with alcohol. In addition to beer, whiskey, and sake, the cocktail menu includes housemade kiwi, lemon, or apple vinegar highballs; a sake ginger highball; a yuzu honey radler; a ramune sour; and more.

Yoshida said that although opening a ramen shop during a pandemic presented its difficulties, another challenge was creating ramen that balanced traditional elements but incorporated new influences.

But this promising start can provide hope not only for the industry during the pandemic but also for the ongoing evolution of ramen in this city. g

REAL ESTATE

Home prices expected to jump 10 percent this year

by Carlito Pablo

65,023 homes sold in B.C. The sales represent a 12.5 percent increase over the 57,798 homes sold in the first nine months of 2019.

SFU economist Lucas Herrenbrueck wrote an economic model in September to explain why housing and other investments have risen during the pandemic. In a 15-page paper on the SFU website, he stated that the outbreak of COVID-19 has increased demand for assets while reducing people’s opportunities to spend on other things.

“In a typical recession, incomes fall, and households respond to shrinking budgets by reducing their consumption expenditure,” With less than two months before the pandemic year ends, the B.C. Real Estate Association has issued rosy numbers about the housing market. Photo by Daniel Tadevosyan/Getty Images.

T

he B.C. Real Estate Association predicts that the average price of a B.C. home by the end of this year will have risen 9.9 percent over 2019.

The BCREA made the projection in its fourth-quarter housing forecast. The estimate exceeds the association’s previous housing prediction.

In its third-quarter housing forecast, released on August 25, the BCREA stated that the average house price in 2020 will top that of 2019 by 7.7 percent. The fourth-quarter prediction, which projected the 9.9 percent increase, came out earlier this month.

“The housing market had a record fall season and prices are rapidly rising as pentup demand floods into an under-supplied market,” BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson said in a November 4 release.

In 2019, the average price of a B.C. home stood at $700,396. With BCREA’s projected 9.9 percent increase, the price will come up to $770,000.

The numbers are higher within the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver than in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, which includes White Rock, North Delta, Surrey, and Langley. In Metro Vancouver, the average price of a home is expected to reach $1,060,000 by the end of 2020, a 7.4 percent increase over last year. In the Fraser Valley, the average price will reach $790,000, a 9.5 percent increase over 2019.

In its fourth-quarter forecast, the BCREA also predicted that sales in 2020 will top the record last year. The association stated that sales in the province are expected to rise 16.9 percent, to 90,450 units. In 2019, 77,350 homes sold in B.C. The bright outlook by BCREA stands in contrast with an earlier forecast by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

On June 4, 2020, CMHC predicted a nine to 18 percent decline in average home prices in the country over the next year.

From January to September 2020, a total of

Herrenbrueck wrote. “This results in a rising marginal value of income, a falling desire to save, and a low valuation of financial assets.

“In a pandemic, on the other hand, households reduce consumption of socially-exposed goods and services in order to protect their health,” he continued. “Thus, it is the consumption restrictions that cause income reductions, and the result is a falling marginal value of income, an increasing desire to save (since additional income cannot be consumed, at least not in the way we want to most badly), and a high valuation of financial assets.” g

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asking price by more than half a million dollars. The 2722 West 7th Avenue property was listed for $1,945,000.

As a designated heritage property, the home is protected from inappropriate alterations and demolition.

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation (VHF) explains online that the Williams House is secured through agreement with the City of Vancouver.

The Williams House in Kits was repainted in 2005 to match its original colours.

d ONE OF VANCOUVER’S legally protected heritage homes has a new owner. For $2.5 million, a buyer has taken Williams House, a 1911/1912–era home in Kitsilano.

The home acquired the protection in 2005 as a result of its voluntary designation as a heritage property by the owners at the time. The owners also participated in VHF’s True Colours and Restore It programs.

The home was constructed in 1911-1912 by builders Bentley and Wear as “one of a cluster of six houses on this side of the block”. g

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9

ARTS

Israeli jazz pianist frolics in A Gershwin Playground Guy Mintus will present imaginative interpretations of the famed composer’s work at the Chutzpah! Festival

by Charlie Smith

On May 10, 1948, Bernstein, then 29 years old, led an orchestra of 17 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust—known as the Displaced Persons Orchestra—in afternoon and evening performances.

I wanted to think what these songs mean to me now in 2020.

– jazz pianist Guy Mintus

The cover of the Guy Mintus Trio’s new album, A Gershwin Playground, shows references to the New York composer’s lyrics as well as mementos from Mintus’s life. Photo by Ella Barak.

G

eorge Gershwin’s jazz standards occupy a unique place in the pantheon of 20th-century American music. They ingeniously fuse classical with popular music, reaching a crescendo in the Depression-era folk opera Porgy and Bess. Immortal and melodic hits like “Summertime”, “Rhapsody in Blue”, “Someone to Watch Over Me”, and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” have been a staple of Hollywood films, awards shows, and lounge acts the world over.

So why would a sensational Israeli jazz pianist, Guy Mintus, want to create an entire album of this music 83 years after the Jewish composer’s death?

“I wanted to think what these songs mean to me now in 2020—and not try to reproduce something that already exists,” Mintus, 29, says on the line from his home in Israel.

The first single from the Guy Mintus Trio’s A Gershwin Playground, “Summertime”, is a rich demonstration of this.

Mintus injects his trademark high-voltage energy, including rapid-fire piano fills and a pulsating jazz beat, to what’s normally a placid lullaby. He explains that, to him, this song is about driving out the bad

10

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

energy affecting Porgy and Bess, whose lives are filled with difficulty.

“Really, the idea behind it is less about putting the baby to sleep,” Mintus says.

“It’s more like sending away the evil eye.”

Previous interpretations of “Summertime” have been slow and serene, but Mintus points out that it’s also possible to dance away demons. To achieve this, he’s injected “Summertime” with lively Latin and North African rhythms and Middle Eastern scales, as well as musical influences derived from global tours and studies in New York and India. Mintus traces his own Jewish family history to Poland, Iraq, and Morocco, further enriching his musical palette.

“Everything you hear on the album, it came from a very intuitive place,” he says.

“It just came out of me. And it kind of has to happen like that because it needs to be real. It needs to be raw.”

Another Gershwin standard, “Rhapsody in Blue”, is a song that Mintus considers part of his DNA. In 2018, he performed it with the Bayerische Philharmonie on the 70th anniversary of two famous Leonard Bernstein concerts in Bavaria following the Second World War.

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

“They were all there in the displacedpersons camp after the war, waiting for a sign of somewhere to go,” Mintus says. “In the middle of this, they started an orchestra. When Bernstein heard about it, he decided to conduct it.”

The centrepiece of these 1948 concerts was Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, which Mintus reprised in a unique way for the first time at the 70th-anniversary show. He points out that the audience included the survivors’ descendants from Europe, Israel, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand.

“They all came specially for this occasion, so it was like a really defining moment,” Mintus recalls.

He has also performed “Rhapsody in

Blue” for two of Bernstein’s daughters, Jamie and Nina, in their New York apartment.

“So it’s a piece that’s close to my heart,” Mintus continues. “It’s very powerful. It connects classical, blues, and a lot of influences—some klezmer as well.”

While intuition is at the core of Mintus’s artistry, he also engages in a lengthy refining process in the rehearsing, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering of an album. He employed a similarly meticulous approach to the album cover for A Gershwin Playground.

“These songs were some of the most famous and played jazz standards ever,” Mintus says. “And yet we took them into our own playground and kind of pulled them apart and then put them back together— took them into really different worlds and expressions and mood and atmosphere.”

So the cover also represents a playground, but not of toys. Instead, it’s filled with different objects of significance to him and his bandmates, bassist Omri Hadani and drummer Yonatan Rosen.

“There is a little code, a riddle in it, because there are a bunch of objects there that represent something to do with Gershwin, like the New York taxi or the piano or the little Statue of Liberty,” Mintus adds. “But more than that, there are objects taken from lyrics from songs—songs that are on the album. And this is pretty subtle. It’s not so that easy to guess.” g Guy Mintus will perform a livestreamed solo concert at the Chutzpah! Festival on November 24.

Chutzpah! TIP SHEET

playwright Kafrissen’s new play about the discovery of a “lost” Yiddish play.

c PIGULIM BY ELLA ROTHSCHILD (simulcast, November 23) Dancerchoreographer Rothschild’s cultural narrative unfolds against the backdrop of a meal at a long dining table.

THE CHUTZPAH! FESTIVAL of

international Jewish performing arts takes place live and online from November 21 to 28.

c BEN CAPLAN (recorded concert, November 21) Big-bearded, boomingvoiced singer-songwriter Caplan opens the festival with folk-rock tunes from his latest album, Old Stock. c SHTUMER SHABES (SILENT

SABBATH) BY ROKHL KAFRISSEN

(simulcast, November 22) A look behind the scenes at New York–based

c HOURGLASS BY IDAN COHEN (Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre and simulcast, November 21) New dance work by choreographer Cohen set to 4 Piano Études by minimalist composer Philip Glass features a duet with Racheal Prince and Brandon Lee Alley, joined on-stage by pianist and conductor Leslie Dala. c IRIS BAHR (simulcast, November 26) Podcast host Bahr performs interactive stand-up comedy at her livestreamed Chutzpah! appearance. g

ARTS

Palestinian-Jewish love triumphs with humour

J

by Carlito Pablo

ess Salomon likes to say, in jest, that there were only three people at her wedding.

Here’s the real background. The Montreal-born comic is of Jewish heritage. In 2015, she married fellow stand-up Eman El-Husseini, a Muslim woman.

Salomon’s spouse came to Canada as a little girl when the First Gulf War erupted in 1990. El-Husseini’s Palestinian family fled Kuwait, where she was born.

And so the gag goes that at their nuptials, it was just Salomon, El-Husseini, and a United Nations peacekeeper.

Together, Salomon and El-Husseini form the comedy duo El-Salomons. They’re a married Jewish-Palestinian lesbian couple.

Now based in New York, the two will close the 20th annual Chutzpah! Festival. The Vancouver event, also known as the Lisa Nemetz International Jewish Performing Arts Festival, runs from November 21 to November 28.

Reached by phone at their home in Brooklyn, Salomon and El-Husseini spoke about the deep affection they have for each other. “There are a million reasons she and I shouldn’t be together, but our love is that strong,” El-Husseini told the Straight.

One of those reasons, Salomon quickly interposed, is the fact that El-Husseini is a Leo and she is a Taurus.

“Not a good combination,” quipped Salomon, a former UN war-crimes lawyer.

According to El-Husseini, she and Salomon hope that their love story will “unite people”.

“We’re basically enemies,” El-Husseini said. “It’s really

Eman El-Husseini and Jess Salomon are Palestinian and Jewish married comedians who perform together. Photo by Mike Bryck.

like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.”

Salomon noted that some people mistakenly think that it’s all a joke. They suppose it’s like a comedy sketch, wherein the spouses are simply playing roles.

“Sometimes unbelievably so—I mean, these people overestimate my commitment to comedy,” Salomon said.

“I have to explain that it’s a real relationship. So we do love each other, and it’s not some setup to a punchline.”

Salomon noted that the hardest time they have is usually with the couple’s respective peoples. Sometimes she gets called a “traitor”.

“Jewish people don’t seem to have an issue with the

homosexuality,” Salomon said. “It’s really the Israel-Palestine material that they get very nervous about.”

El-Husseini once joked on-stage that she had to go through checkpoints at Salomon’s apartment.

However, the positive reaction they get from others proves what their union represents: that love surmounts barriers of race, culture, religion, class, and sexual orientation. They find support, especially from couples who are familiar with the difficulties of falling in love with a person of a different background.

“They see themselves in us, and they relate and they’re so happy they hear comedy that speaks about them,” Salomon said.

Salomon once related on-stage a real story about going to an LGBT rally in New York with her spouse. She carried a sign that read “Jihad Me at Hello”.

The sign was a riff on a romantic line in the Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger movie Jerry McGuire. It was not a play on how they really got together in real life in Canada.

“She did not actually have me at hello,” Salomon said.

According to her, she and El-Husseini had known each other for two years before anything romantic happened.

On-stage, El-Husseini relates that she married her first kiss. The real story is that El-Husseini had never been with a woman until she and Salomon fell in love.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the El-Salomons’ act will be digitally transmitted online on November 28.

Salomon noted: “We’ve been told at many points that we have a lot of chutzpah, which is Yiddish for ‘so brave’ ”. g

Dare to Say delves into some deep places

by Charlie Smith

DANCE DARE TO SAY

A Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT2) production in partnership with DanceHouse. Livestreamed from The Hague on November 6. No remaining performances

d THE GREATEST DANCE programs can force a person to ponder the most profound aspects of their own existence. Nederlands Dance Theater’s Dare to Say, led by artistic director Emily Molnar, achieved precisely that with world premieres of two new choreographic works. She’s familiar to Vancouverites as the artistic director of Ballet BC from 2009 until this past August.

A star of both shows was the stunningly creative Sophie Whittome, a former Ballet BC dancer. In a dazzling pas de deux with charismatic French dancer Auguste Palayer in Four Relations, they sit side-by-side on two seats—almost like they are waiting for a train or a bus. Then, suddenly, they explode into wild arm and body movements, coupled with dramatic facial expressions, as this segment takes on a life of its own.

Their relationship seesaws between

Sophie Whittome and Auguste Palayer showed off their skills on chairs. Photo by Rahi Rezvani.

curiosity, passion, and a battle for supremacy. At one point, Whittome appears to be banging Palayer’s head on the floor as if to knock some common sense into him.

Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman’s creativity seems boundless. In Four Relations, a baby sails down from the sky, a woman appears in a heterosexual couple’s dream, and a gay couple dressed identically in white morphs into cups of coffee between their bickering, fighting, and making up.

The first show, Bulgarian Dimo Milev’s Fusions and some confusions, unfolds more slowly, with dancers initially coming across as puppets at the whims of an external force. Two men in business attire (Jesse Callaert and Barry Gans) move around the stage with herky-jerky movements. They’re clearly not in control—and that’s given away by their expressions.

Only when they move onto a platform at the centre of the stage are they free to behave naturally. This is most apparent when Gans appears to be admiring himself in a mirror, smoothly and effortlessly groovin’ to some music.

This contradiction between how the dancers’ movements are dictated in the outside world and their relative freedom in a private space represents how we all feel at times. As this private space shrinks, the dancers experience greater stresses.

The music is, at times, foreboding. The relatively dark space and spare set add a sinister feel to Fusions and some confusions.

And, yes, there is some impressive fusion taking place on-stage involving dancers writhing around in azure bodysuits.

We can all be sensuous at times after we shed our work clothes. That is, until the external world starts closing in on us. g

24th annual

EASTSIDE CULTURE CRAWL virtual preview week nov 2-9 2020 open studios nov 12-15 & nov 19-22 virtual & in-person by appointment

cculturecrawl.ca cu ult ltur ur rec ecra raw ra wl.cca

a visual arts, design & crafts festival

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

11

ARTS

Parfitt drawn to complex characters in Amaryllis

V

by Charlie Smith

ancouver theatre director Mindy Parfitt has a vision for her “little company with a big dream”. The Search Party captured six Jessie Awards this year for its debut production of The Father.

In a phone interview with the Straight, Parfitt said she wants the Search Party to deal with deep subjects. In addition, this must be accompanied by a “very rigorous production value”.

“I think that’s partly why The Father did so well,” Parfitt said. “People acknowledged that there is a need for that kind of work here.”

Jessie awards for outstanding production and outstanding direction were among the honours bestowed on the tearjerking tale of dementia. So it might come as a surprise that Parfitt’s newest directorial endeavour is a comedy, The Amaryllis.

Written by Michele Riml, its world premiere will be held at the Firehall Arts Centre on Thursday (November 12).

The play revolves around a brother and sister who spend a great deal of time in a well-kept apartment with a couch, an old reclining chair, a TV, and a coffee table.

The brother, Jeremy Keener (played by

Mindy Parfitt thrives on directing plays with characters twisted by their experiences, such as The Amaryllis, starring Shawn Macdonald and Amy Rutherford (above). Photo by Emily Cooper.

Shawn Macdonald), is an agent, and his sister, Lucy Keener (played by Amy Rutherford), is a voice-over artist.

“The characters are complex and interesting,” Parfitt said. “One of the things that I really appreciate about the piece is that it

8, 2020

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is dealing with sort of the ripple effects of powerful experiences.”

According to her, Riml dealt with this with a great deal of humour and grace.

Parfitt has been directing plays for 15 years, but this was the first project that

she has overseen during a pandemic.

She credited the Firehall Arts Centre for laying down a solid foundation with its health protocols, which have been in place for several months.

The two actors, Macdonald and Rutherford, functioned within their own bubble. But for Parfitt, who kept her distance, it created a certain formality in the room that normally doesn’t exist when she’s directing plays. That’s because she and the cast couldn’t share food or be close to one another.

“I’ve had to create different skills and rely on different tools around building comfort in the room and the sense of collectivity,” Parfitt said.

The set designer, Ana Cappelluto, worked from her home in Montreal. Parfitt said there were fewer challenges when it came to stagecraft, thanks to the props person, Heidi Wilkinson.

In the past, Parfitt worked as a freelance director so she could remain committed to raising her children. As a result, she said, she didn’t tick off all the boxes that hiring committees were seeking in theatre, notwithstanding her set of skills and experiences.

“I haven’t been able to climb the artistic ladder, in a way, because of that choice I made about how I needed to parent my kids,” she said.

So when she was ready to devote more time to theatre, she launched the Search Party. It was a way to advance a longer-term vision and create some impact.

“I’ve run businesses before, so there’s a part of me that is very attracted to that administrative element of the work and to the business side of the work.”

So would she ever entertain the idea of making a film, given that the pandemic has exerted a brutal toll on the theatre community? Parfitt hasn’t ruled out this idea.

“If you had asked me that question nine months ago, I would have said, ‘Absolutely not, the Search Party is a theatre company,’ ” she said. “But we’re in a different world, and I think I need to keep myself open about where the Search Party can go and the places that it can express itself.”

Parfitt conceded that film directors tend to be a little more autocratic than theatre directors. But she also acknowledged that as she enters her 50s, she’s feeling stronger about what she’s doing professionally.

“I think there’s a part of that that is about feminism,” Parfitt said. “It’s about valuing my voice as a woman and saying that the work that I do has importance.

And my vision has importance. And my voice has importance.” g

Media Partner

The Amaryllis is at the Firehall Arts Centre from Thursday (November 12) to November 22.

12

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

CANNABIS

A post-election tale of three Canadian weed stocks

by Charlie Smith

Canopy Growth maintained that lofty price following the two trading days before Remembrance Day. On November 10, Canopy Growth shares closed at $30.89 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This came on the heels of the company’s November 9 financial report. It showed record quarterly net revenue of $135 million for the Smith Falls, Ontario–based licensed producer.

Even though there was a net quarterly loss of $97 million, investors were pleased

by Canopy Growth’s increase in market share in the Canadian recreational-weed market, as well as its plans to achieve $150 million to $200 million in cost savings.

Investors in Aurora Cannabis Inc., Tilray Inc., and Canopy Growth Corp. were feeling high in the days following the U.S. election, but only one maintained momentum. Photo by Grav/Unsplash.

C

anadian weed company stock prices surged in the first few days following the U.S. election. And none more so than Aurora Cannabis Inc. But then the post–Biden victory party hangover kicked in big time on the final trading day before Remembrance Day, taking away some of those gains.

The Edmonton-based company’s share price shot up a stunning 55.87 percent on Friday (November 6), closing at $12.75 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This more than doubled Aurora’s market cap to $1.55 billion.

It came on investors’ realization of the significance of the Biden victory. After all, he had promised to decriminalize weed at the federal level in the United States. Plus, ballot measures legalizing recreational cannabis use passed in four states: New Jersey, Montana, South Dakota, and Arizona.

It was high times, indeed, for investors in licensed producers. From November 4 through the end of trading on November 9, Aurora shares rose a whopping 135 percent, reaching a peak of $18.71 on November 9 before closing at $14.65.

However, less-than-stellar first-quarter results, released on November 9, sent the stock tumbling on the following day.

Aurora reported net quarterly revenue of $67.8 million. Its adjusted loss before income tax, depreciation, and amortization amounted to $57.9 million. And on November 10, Aurora shares closed at $10.78, wiping more than $300 million off the company’s value since the previous weekend.

According to Jefferies Financial Group analyst Owen Bennett, the stock’s performance didn’t match its financial results.

“Some may look at this performance, which also included gains of over 20% at one point intra-day today, and assume a

much improved fundamental outlook and strong quarterly numbers,” Bennett write in a note, according to MarketWatch. “This is not the case, with Q1 [first quarter], for us, not really standing out as anything special or overly encouraging.”

Nanaimo-based Tilray Inc. experienced something similar, albeit on a smaller scale.

The NASDAQ-listed licensed producer’s stock rose by 23.15 percent on November 6 and a stunning 66 percent in the week of the U.S. election. As a result of this momentum, Tilray shares closed on Friday at US$9.53 on NASDAQ, leaving it with a market cap of US$1.22 billion. That translates to almost $1.6 billion in Canadian currency.

But by the end of the trading day on November 10, Tilray shares had fallen to US$8.33. That was a decline of 13 percent in two trading days. Ouch, say the investors.

Tilray’s most recent earnings report, released on November 9, actually sent shares higher before they went into a tailspin the following day. It posted a thirdquarter loss of US$2.3 million on sales of US$51.4 million.

“We realized solid year-over-year revenue growth in our core businesses and have achieved a significantly more focused, efficient and competitive cost structure, all of which position Tilray for future success,” CEO Brendan Kennedy said in a news release.

The most valuable of Canada’s weed companies, Canopy Growth Corp., also enjoyed a big run-up in its stock price in the week of the U.S. election. Shares jumped 20.9 percent on the week to close at $30.59 in Toronto on November 6. This lifted Canopy Growth’s market cap above $11.3 billion.

Unlike Aurora Cannabis and Tilray,

Scan to conffess

“Canopy Growth is positioned for continued growth as we establish a strong leadership position that is showcased through our vast portfolio of differentiated brands and products—including our industry leading cannabis-infused beverages,” CEO David Klein said in a news release. g

MORE CANNABIS ONLINE AT CANNCENTRAL.COM

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.

Whoop!

I’ve never really orgasmed from a dream until recently and hot diggity!

Some of the best I have ever had.

Invisible I have become old, and therefore invisible. That was OK, until Covid. Now being invisible far too often means stepping off the sidewalk - sometime into traffic - to maintain a safe distance from someone much, much younger than me. Someone who doesn’t even see me, because I have become... invisible. Makes me sad.

I’m not proud of it but...

I would rail any of the dudes from Hallmark Christmas movies even though there’s a 90% chance they’d be Trump supporters.

Dinner I ate fries tonight. They were good. I made them.

les be honest I am a lesbian and engaged to the person I was with for 17 years - I had a amazing affair with a “straight “ co worker - it lasted 3 months and I can’t seem to stop thinking of her. - Everyday we were together and fell fast and hard, so much so she was going to leave her man . Now she is with her man cause she chickened out and I left my woman for her. What a disaster. how do you stop loving someone which clearly was a bomb.

Side note - I think of her and I everyday, all day. YIKES

Visit

to post a Confession NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

13

SAVAGE LOVE

Foursomes aren’t taboo, just trickier to arrange

by Dan Savage

b WHY ARE THREESOMES much more accepted in the popular imagination than foursomes? I was just googling “finding foursomes” and the first result is an article about threesomes that takes for granted that people are looking for MFF. That is a form of heteronormativity, right?

I am not judging threesomes, of course, but asking why foursomes are perceived as more taboo. Would be interested in knowing more about what you think about this or if you have any resource to recommend, as I am approaching this now with my partner for the first time.

- Willing To Foursome

PS: Love what you do with your work.

I don’t think the popular imagination has conspired against foursomes or that foursomes are really that much more taboo than threesomes, WTF. Rather, I think threesomes are easier to arrange than foursomes and the popular imagination reflects that fact. Think about it: finding two people who wanna fuck each other is hard. Finding three people who all wanna fuck each other—Person A wants to fuck Person B and Person C, Person B wants to fuck Person A and Person C, Person C wants to fuck Person A and Person B—is harder still.

Adding a Person D to the mix makes the wannafuck math infinitely more complicated. Which is not to say everybody fucks

> Go on-line to read hundreds of I Saw You posts or to respond to a message < NESTERS MARKET (MAIN STREET)

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PARK RANGER / WHITE KNIGHT

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 9, 2020 WHERE: Nesters Market Main Street

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 4, 2020 WHERE: Nelson and Broughton Streets

I saw you at Nesters Market (Main Street) and you caught my eye. We were at checkout at the same time, but with different tellers. I had hoped to be able to somehow say hi to you, and then just as I was leaving another guy started talking to me outside and asked me for my number... I kindly declined, but wished we had been able to connect. Well, here goes nothing! Or something?!

There was an older lady, quite frail, trying to figure out how to cross a huge puddle with her shopping cart. It was pouring rain; you jumped out of your work truck, swept her off her feet, and carried her across the puddle, putting her down on the sidewalk and then bringing her her cart of groceries. I didn’t know Park Rangers did that? Can I call 311 and ask for you?

Not going to lie, I’m a little wet after watching that, and not because of the rain! Chivalry is not dead - thanks, Ranger!

CUTEST STANFORD GUY WITH GLASSES

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 5, 2020 WHERE: Little Mountain Gallery You were sitting in the front row at Jokes Please at LMG. One comedian singled you out and I was pretty nervous for you, but you were cool as a cucumber. You’re British and incredibly cute. I was sitting with my friend, who got singled out for having a poet’s ponytail, in the front right section. I was tall and wearing green, maybe you remember me? If yes, let’s go for a walk sometime, I’m curious why you had two phones.

PARK ROYAL LULULEMON YOU WERE WITH YOUR DOG, WEARING A HAT, IN LINE

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s

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 1, 2020 WHERE: Park Royal Lululemon When: Sunday Nov. 1, late afternoon. Where: Lululemon, Park Royal You - woman wearing a beige/white hat, hanging out with her dog at the front of the lineup at Lululemon. Me - I walked up to you in the line and told you that you had an amazing smile. Then your smile got bigger...

I’d like to ask you out:)

99 B LINE, JUST NOW (THURSDAY 6:30ISH)

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s

I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 5, 2020 WHERE: 99 B-Line, Granville Commercial Never done one of these or ever thought I would but hey, why not. You were talking on the phone about an original theatre show that involved parody songs and I was super curious. We made eye contact a number of times, and I had just worked up some nerve and made the decision to go over and say hi before you started talking on the phone again. Would love to hear more about the show if you see this, I’m all about that stuff and have a good skill set to help.

ALICIA OF MCGILL

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 1, 2020 WHERE: Garden, North of Dundas/ Powell. Late September or Earlier October.

Your a dark haired young lady, white spotted dog on Garden, you signed said you hoped to see me again, If you see this and still do, contact me. This may make it easier on you.

FRIDAY AT THE TAILOR SHOP

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 30, 2020 WHERE: Oakridge Tailor When: Friday October 30. You: health-care worker, tattooed arms, having dress altered. Me: picking up order behind you. We chatted briefly, but had to run because it was 3 pm and we had to move our cars so we didn’t get towed. You were intriguing - would you have a safe cup of coffee with me?

LYNN LOOP TRAIL FRENCH BULLDOG

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 1, 2020 WHERE: Lynn Canyon Loop You have red hair, beautiful eyes, and had a French Bulldog with you and your friend. You remarked on my dog, would have loved to chat more but had to go chase my little one down the hill as you were coming up.

Reply with something you remember about my dog/our encounter - would looove to have a drink.

BLUNDSTONE BOY ON BROADWAY

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: NOVEMBER 2, 2020 WHERE: Broadway and Cambie/Ash Broadway boy, you were wearing a bluish/grey plaid shirt with rolled up pants and blundstones. You were listening to some tunes and walking like you had nowhere to be. I liked your vibes. I was the girl with bangs, green sweater and black corduroy skirt and blundstones. Are you free?

WALKING, TALKING, SMILING

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I SAW A: I AM A: WHEN: OCTOBER 24, 2020 WHERE: 1st and Commercial I’d love to put down the phone and walk with you.

Visit straight.com to post your FREE I Saw You _ 14

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

NOVEMBER 12 – 19 / 2020

MFF threesomes might be a common male sexual fantasy, but there’s evidence that newly out bisexual women also arrange a large percentage of them. Photo by Estonian Saunas/Unsplash.

everybody during a threesome, of course, but at the very least everyone involved has to at least be okay with fucking in very close proximity to everyone else involved.

And while complicated to arrange and often emotionally tricky, WTF, threesomes aren’t really that taboo. According to research into sexual fantasies done by psychologist and sex educator Justin Lehmiller, it’s the single most common sexual fantasy. More than 90 percent of men and about nine percent of women fantasize about having a threesome, according to Lehmiller’s research; according to other research, roughly one in five people have actually participated in at least one threesome. (Full disclosure/cumblebrag: I lost my virginity in a MMF threesome.)

Threesomes are heteronormative by design, e.g., they were arranged to fulfill a straight man’s standard-issue MFF fantasy.

But judging from my mail, just as many MFF threesomes are arranged to fulfill the samesex desires of often but not always newly out bisexual women who already have husbands or boyfriends—less heteronormative and more bisupportive/biexplorative. (My mail isn’t scientific evidence, I realize, but it’s what I’ve got.) And for the record, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a heteronormative threesome. Straight guys should be allowed to have and be allowed to realize their sexual fantasies without being shamed, just like everyone else, so long as they’re realizing them with consenting adult partners. And while straight guys have historically done most of the judging and shaming of nonstraight/non-guys over the entire course of human history, the corrective isn’t to heap shame on straight guys with off-the-rack sexual fantasies. It’s to demand that no one should be shamed for their sexual fantasies

and we demonstrate our commitment to that principle by not shaming anyone—not even straight guys—who seek to realize their sexual fantasies with other consenting adults.

And finally, WTF, there is one place where foursomes are far less taboo and could even be described as standard: the organized and mostly straight and often supremely heteronormative swingers scene. If you and your partner are of the opposite sex and are interested in or willing to settle for strictly heterosexual sex where men are concerned, you might find more luck arranging foursomes at swingers parties—once those parties are possible again—than on dating apps. b WHERE DO I go from here? My parents voted for Trump in 2016 and again in 2020.

I’m a lesbian. My partner and I have been together for nearly 20 years. My parents have always been supportive; we have a great relationship. But I can’t reconcile their vote for this piece of trash. They’re not even pro-life or religious. I genuinely don’t understand.

- What The Fuck Do I Do Now?

for George W. Bush in 2004.

Bush’s campaign was pushing anti–gay marriage ballot initiatives across the country in the hopes that bigots would turn out in huge numbers and put his incompetent ass back in the White House. The fact that the thenpresident of the United States—the worst one we thought we’d see in our lifetimes—was waging a demagogic campaign against one of his own children didn’t stop my dad from voting for him. For a second time.

I didn’t stop talking to my father.

While I believe we have to confront family members about their bigotries and that there have to be social consequences when people

My dad voted

see next page

I’ve heard from a lot of people over the last few months whose parents voted for Trump in 2016 but voted for Biden this year. I wish I could say my dad was one of them. b I’D LIKE TO think I am pretty open and understanding to a lot of things. I met a hot guy at my job who says he has a fetish for ass. In a sexting session, I learned he was not only obsessed with my ass but me playing with his, too.

He later revealed there was only one other woman with whom he felt comfortable sharing his gay fantasies. Everything involved ass play, sucking dildos, or DP. (Eyebrow raised.) I asked him if he was curious about gay sex and he said no. In no way does he want a man, he

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