“I’m Wanita”: Wanita’s Big Chance!: Toronto Hot Docs

This is my last Hot Docs Film to be reviewed and after seeing so many serious and less than cheerful documentaries I came across one from Down Under “I’m Wanita” that is a bit more relaxing than being enshrined in doom.

Wanita, a hard drinking and party animal and former sex trade worker is a well- known country music performer in Australia with a small-town Tamworth being the country music capital of Australia and her home. Wanita since early childhood has been addicted to country music and is well schooled in the classic and traditional country music school such as Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams and Charly Pride. Music from a different era but more from the heart and soul than the modern country music I hear. I’ll take Patsy Cline over the modern unrecognizable country music. Keith Urban? Give me a break.

Wanita has a dream of recording an album in Nashville and somehow she finds the money to do this even hiring a well known producer, Billy Yates, so off she goes first stopping off at Memphis and New Orleans. Wanita seems a bit overexcited and consumes too much alcohol to make a mark in these two cities but gets its together in Nashville and records her album which she thinks is a country music marvel and it indeed sounds good. However not good enough to propel this 46-year-old woman into international stardom but her dream has been reached!

We do learn about Wanita’s tumultuous personal life and her autism. Perhaps that is what made her somewhat obsessed by country music? Perhaps the alcohol is but an attempt to self-medicate. So get ready for a personal and musical adventure.

In closing from what I hear Wanita favours a more traditional country music and I couldn’t be happier with that choice. If only we had an opportunity to hear more of her music. You needn’t think you are a fuckwit Wanita! Love that session band in the New Orleans studio! Love what I heard in your Nashville album.

This is part of Toronto Hot Docs and you can watch up to May 9th and buy tickets here https://www.hotdocs.ca/

Directed by Matthew Walker.

Combating Zoom fatigue

Ten tips for zoom-fatigued hoteliers

Adam and Larry Mogelonsky248 postsPosted on Yesterday at 9:14 am

Zoom fatigue

If you aren’t suffering from ‘Zoom fatigue’ by now then consider yourself lucky. The increased cognitive strain of looking at people while also trying to figure out what each is saying can be exhausting. This is doubly true for hoteliers who work in an industry notorious for its meetings upon meetings.

The sorry news is that Zoom, Google Meets and Microsoft Teams are here to stay. Yes, we crave to meet in-person, but the efficiencies of videoconferencing (that is, cost savings) make them too good to disregard. Acknowledging this, it’s time to reflect on how we can improve our communication skills via this medium so that team members remain as productive as possible.

As we are in the hotel industry, we should aim to inject a sense of traditional hospitality into videoconferencing. This will work to boost spirits while also reinforcing a proper sense of attentiveness necessary for when your teams will interact with guests onsite. As such, here are ten hotel-centric suggestions for getting the most out of videoconferencing.

  1. Review your equipment and location. Many older laptops lack the RAM to handle or hold video from a camera while others may have driver conflicts. Those working from their cottages may find that there is insufficient internet bandwidth for videoconferencing. In all cases, audio-only communications may be better as lag or a low framerate can be jarring for recipients.
  2. Know your software. All videoconferencing programs are slightly different. When dealing with staff, you have likely already subscribed to one application or another. But when it comes to guests, understand that the customer is always king and you must meet them on their turf. Besides understanding the basic differences of all these programs, one commonality is that it is difficult for multiple people to speak at once, so be especially patient and plan your approach accordingly.
  3. Check your own image. Lighting and sound are important. Similar to meeting someone in person, what you wear will leave an impression, both for your team and for guests. While it’s fun to joke about meeting in your pajamas, the honeymoon phase of videoconferencing is over and perhaps it’s time for a dress code to be implemented. Remember too, you’re on camera all the time, so no odd facial expressions please. I attended a meeting where one of the invitees decided to floss her teeth.
  4. Background check. Most of us are working at home, often from a desk in a room that might also be a bedroom. But that does not mean we should see an open clothes closet, kids watching TV or other personal effects. Conversely, the artificial background images available on many applications appear phony and often create odd grayscale bordering effects when you move in your seat. My advice is to treat your background as an extension of your personality where family portraits, shelves full of books and artwork can also deepen your rapport with other users.
  5. Be punctual. If you’ve called a meeting for a specific time, be there a few minutes before to check out your audio, video and lighting. Don’t make attendees wait as this can quickly become a bad habit that others will imitate.
  6. Stick to an agenda. If you need to, print out the agenda and have it handy for your reference during the meeting. Many people are finding that they have too many videoconferencing meetings already, meaning that boredom and frustration abound. Short and sweet ensures that your team’s concentration doesn’t wander, while perhaps you can also allocate some time at the end of weekly checkups for an open discussion or for others to bring up certain issues you haven’t covered.
  7. Avoid wearing headgear. I know many headsets offer superior sound clarity but they make you look like a pilot or a taxi dispatcher. This is hospitality, not air travel. You already have the unconscious psychological barrier of video versus in-person to deal with and you don’t need another obstacle for effective personal communication.
  8. Consider using the record button. This may be important if a complex point is being discussed that does not result in a direct and clear next step emerging at the end of the meeting. Proper etiquette also suggests that you take the time to advise participants accordingly so that they don’t feel hoodwinked afterwards.
  9. Treat the meeting seriously. Issue a summary or recap of next steps, then send it out within 24 hours of the meeting. With so many younger team members who may not have the necessary self-discipline skills in place, this is critical to keep everyone on track with their objectives and to ensure that all staffers know their specific roles without having to nag.
  10. Get used to it. While it is hard to imagine a hotel executive committee meeting held regularly this way, it is not out of question. Whatever you believe regarding the seriousness of a second wave, the fact remains that our society nowadays runs on fear and even an inkling of an outbreak may force you back into isolation. Videoconferencing is here to stay, so you must learn to integrate it as part of the regular workweek.

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 56 “Not Everyone Likes Squid: Dora Birdbrain Speaks Her Mind”

Predictably Squid had not been invited to speak with any of the “well known and respectable charities” for fear he would attack their wealthy patrons or corporations who continually harassed employees into contributing to the charity of the day favoured by their senior management teams. His views on American imperialism would not be appreciated due to the American origins of so many of these charities such as The Disunited Way. The boards of directors of these charitable corporations had no desire to threaten “international” relationships. The last thing they wanted was attacks by Squid on their patronizing attitudes towards the “handicapped” or “impoverished”. These old boys were donating their valuable time and effort to helping these “poor buggers” and how dare anyone dare criticize them. Not only that blemishes on their record might prevent them for being nominated to enter The Canadian Businessman of The Year competition.

The established media virtually blacklisted all reporting of mutant rallies using the excuse the mutants were communists led by the revolutionary Squid. Whereas the media would occasionally report the antics of Marinated Brains as head of the Canadian Communist Party. They did however publish many anti-mutant letters to the editor. For example the Montreal Afar paper published a letter from Mrs. Dora Birdbrain who lived in the Montreal suburb Pointe Afar;

Deport Trouble Causers!

Dear Editor:

I think it is high time we clean up the streets of Montreal. There are too many dirty long haired welfare bums and draft dodgers prowling our streets like wolves corrupting our youth and our wholesome Canadian way of life. It is high time some level of government stands up to these vagrants with a firm hand They deserve the Bulgarian treatment where the Bulgarian government forces long hairs to shave their long hair off and have a both before entering their country. Send in the police force and army under some emergency order to wipe out their dens of subversion or take them to re-education camps. Better yet send them back to the USSR as they are no better than communist scum.

Talking about scum this Squid fellow is a lunatic claiming to have seen the founder of Montreal Jacques Cartaway kidnap Indian chiefs hundreds of years ago. This man is a dangerous nut whose brain has been steeped with LSD and communist ideology. I hear he gave our closest allies, the United States, severe trouble in Columbia and Nicaragua. Obviously he shows a lack of respect for democracy. At this moment the Americans are waging a valiant war against Vietnamese Communists yet dirty commies and draft dodgers are on our streets burning American flags. They are whipping up problems against President Johnson. Our neighbours need strong moral support from Canadians. The last thing our ally needs is to be stabbed in the back by Canadian rebels and red sympathizers.

This Squid Marxist claims he is fighting for the rights of mutants. Does he think he is defending the rights of freaks in a circus? We Canadians have a wonderful record of dealing with mentally and physically handicapped peoples and our native Indians and Eskimos will be thanking us for generations sending their children to residential schools to take their savagery away from them. I saw Chief Sellemout of the Quebec Cree Association express his gratitude to the residential schools of Quebec for giving young Crees the language and skills needed to excel in our world. No matter Indian, Eskimo, psychiatric patients and the handicapped are well taken care of in Quebec. I give donations to many institutions so yes we normal people top up the generous support the Quebec government offers to the disadvantaged. Without governmental and citizenry donations these people would be living in slime pits. If these people are tricked by Squid to joining his mutant movement they’ll be back in the Middle Ages

It is our Christian duty to help these people. It isn’t our fault these people are incompetent and incapable of taking care of themselves. It really burns me up when I hear about Squid’s attacks on how we treat our Indians and Eskimos. He even has a fancy name for them “indigenous”. They have the safety of wonderful reservations. Isn’t that what their elders fairly bargained treaties for? Of course there is a bit of poverty but not strange as they like to drink so that is why we have rescued their children and placed them in residential schools. Their betterment may take time as after all Rome was not built overnight.

We give cripples and the gimp jobs weaving baskets and making pottery and they are overjoyed to have the opportunity to do something. In fact I purchased a lovely vase at our church bazaar last week made by one of those unfortunates. Isn’t amazing what those people can do! But Squid rabble roused and gives the false illusion to these people they can do better. Surely these people realize their incompetency prevents them doing more serious work.

I work as a volunteer at the Mugless Mental Hospital and the inmates live like they would in a hotel. Even the CIA is conducting make better therapy with LSD. Innovative and exciting and totally focused on patient care. A large staff exists so that mental illness can be cured yet Squid has some insane idea to abolish mental hospitals. How could they function in the real world? If we opened the gates we would face anarchy which no doubt Squid wants. His idea of street centres for mental cases! These people associating with other mental cases all day long! They need strong minded people to tell them how to properly lead their lives. What they need is institutionalized care so at best they can be re-integrated into society. Why at the Mugless Mental Hospital we take them out for a picnic twice a year! What more could they ask for. What would our children think about being exposed to a bunch of wild lunatics running through the streets? Think of the impact on their tender minds. What are social workers for! They visit patients and explain to them how they can properly function in the real world. Why should these poor dears be exposed to the reality of life. It would destroy the work of so many wonderful doctors. We all know the benefits of lobotomies and electro-shock therapy but oh no Squid is against these practices.

If there is anything that convinces me that Squid is a Red is the strong anti-American terms he bandies about. We all feel pity for the suffering masses in the poor countries of the world but they get so much sun and heat it is no wonder they are so lazy. The Americans invest in these countries to ensure democracy takes a strong foothold and the citizens can develop a strong work ethic. Those people need education and not a revolution. Does this Squid person know how gold mines in Brazil have brought out never before seen tribes of primitive savages who they have resettled for their own benefit.

Squid is the one who should be made a guest at a mental institution where a cure for his fuddled head can hopefully be found. Soon our world’s fair Montreal Expo will be opening up so everyone who is concerned about the reputation of this country should write letters to their elected representatives to start a campaign to clear the streets of undesirables. If visitors to Montreal were to see such communist vagrants terrorizing the values of good law-abiding citizens what would they think?

Mrs. Dora Birdbrain (Chair of the Women’s Revival Movement for Temperance)

Trudeau threatens free expression in Canada

Free expression
By Beryl Wajsman, Editor The Suburban

We have the wrong Trudeau as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrined our right of free expression as a foundational law of the land. Section 2(b) states that “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s proposed Bill C-10 will wipe that away. The Bill would give Ottawa China-like censorship powers. That is not our Canada. This Prime Minister Trudeau should be ashamed.

This Bill started out last November to expand the powers of the CRTC under the Broadcasting Act to regulate digital streaming platforms like Netflix and You Tube on the same basis as radio and television. Suddenly, several weeks ago, the Liberals added an amendment that would give the CRTC power to regulate all “user-generated posts” anywhere on social media — streaming or not — and indeed throughout the Internet. The CRTC would have effective power to remove or block anything it considers offensive or improper without any prior notice or process of appeal. This was a total about face from the Trudeau government’s months long assertions that the Bill would not be used against individual expressions on either the net or social media. The censorship powers this would give this government would be on a par with China’s as when that government takes down images of the Tiananmen Square Uprising that many Chinese individuals post on the anniversary of that attempt at freedom.

For the first time, federal law would give the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission the power to judge the content of every post, every user video, every podcast,and every website to determine whether it is free of any information it doesn’t like and full enough of Canadian content. The power to regulate websites would also, indirectly, give Ottawa the power to control the content of newspapers for the first time. All this is being cloaked in the virtue-signalling of political correctness that Canada does not want to offend the sensibilities of any groups that make up our “diversity.” As always, vote pandering trumps long-entrenched individual civil liberties. No other western democracy has attempted such far-reaching powers.

Short of overt incitement to violence, freedom of expression must be indivisible. That’s why Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau put the protection in the Charter. It’s easy to say that this is being done to prevent the spread of hate and misinformation, but the standards on what constitutes those — other than overt incitement to violence — are all subjective. That’s why expression has been such a completely protected right in all modern,western civilizations. Nobody trusts state bureaucrats to decide what constitutes hate and truth. Nobody has that kind of Solomonic wisdom. But there is plenty of political opportunism to stifle liberty for expediency.

Freedom of expression is meant to protect the free battleground of ideas. There is no place for censorship of diverse views on racism, Indigenous issues, crime, Western civilization, religion, abortion and a whole host of other issues. Imposition of orthodoxy of thought is anathema to the fundamental principles of a free society. This Bill would ingrain a star-chamber process forcing conformity on all Canadians.

In February, Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, said the goal of Internet and social media regulation should be to prevent the “chipping away at the credibility of our institutions, at the fundamental trust in Canada’s public service and the institutions that support the very important work that is being done in our country.” Chipping away? What this Bill would do would be to destroy the fundamental right of every Canadian to criticize our institutions and public service which is a foundational keystone of our citizenship. It is the right that is the very “spine of our democracy” as Lorne Gunter has so eloquently written.

Free expression, like democracy itself, is messy as Churchill said. But messy is a small price to pay for freedom from government control. China employs some two million people to monitor what its citizens post. That’s the door that C-10 is opening. And to those who would say that “we’re not as bad as China,” we would say that is hardly a standard worthy of comparison.

Sadly, the Bloc and the NDP have indicated they will support the Bill and the amendment.Only the Conservatives have come out against this Bill. It’s up to all of us. Bombard your MPs with emails and letters and yes, posts. Let them know you don’t need the state to make up your minds for you. That’s the privilege of every citizen of a free society.

editor@thesuburban.com

Markdale Dies and Is Reborn Thanks to Obscenely High Toronto Real Estate Prices

Two hours from Toronto lies the town of Markdale. Jesse McCracken takes us there to film his father and grandfather and Markdale. After all this is where he grew up and drifted away from this town of 1,500 in the Grey Highlands Municipality.

There is no doubt the town was on the verge of total obscurity as business after business closed and the only factory left is Chapman’s Ice Cream. Even the school has closed as well as the town’s medical facility.

Through McCraken’s father, one of the initial members of a motorcycle club called “The Redneck Riders”  we hear about the gold old days when Markdale was bustling to its point of near demise. Grandfather is a real character loving his tattoos, cigarettes and beer and beer. The stories are sometimes sad but reflective of two generations in the family. The town is mostly full of old white people. The Rotary Club members are for the most part old men in the sunset of their lives. The church service is attended by a scant few.

Quite frankly the town is on its knees with no reason for anyone to remain and who will come with young children to a town that does not have a school!

I know comparisons are odious but this documentary reminds me of a film from Brazil I saw last night called the “Last Forest” where the indigenous Yamomami people of Brazil and Venezuela are faced with extinction as rampant hordes of gold prospectors cut down and destroy the forest home of the Yamomami. The change of time has a way of upending life.

However a new housing development starts attracting a multi-cultural migration from Toronto with its unaffordable real estate prices. Chapman’s buys the school. The new Rotary Club president is the youngest ever. Markdale is saved by the high real estate prices in Toronto and can the existing residents adapt to the change?

Jesse is reconciled with his father and seems to have found hope that Markdale can be saved if the locals can handle the change of the guard to youth and multiculturalism.

A gentle and calming documentary that brings its viewers hope of a renaissance of Markdale.

You can see the film up to May 9th.You can purchase tickets here https://www.hotdocs.ca/

Poetry Break: “Do I Need Your Permission to Piss Politicians?”

Do I Need your Permission to Piss Politicians?

You scold us you politico hypocrites for gathering as humans
then you threaten to fine us
we don’t follow your undemocratic orders under the guise of emergency orders for the public interest
the interest you fucked up knowing full well the warning of SARS and recommendations made
no surprise as you also ignored countless warnings about the morass of long term care
perhaps your edicts have wisdom
but why edicts in the first place
because you had your chance politicians to avoid all this suspension of liberties
and we have to pay the price for your historical incompetence
and listen to the sickening toady media urging
24/7 about untested vaccinations as the saviour of the world
The Fifth Estate with the integrity of a turd
supposedly informing us as a herd

Ruminating this on a walk on a public trail I confess it’s time to piss
but you’ve locked all washrooms for public safety
so where do I go?

Robert K. Stephen

A Couple of Portuguese Reds: Never Ending Quality?

The first one is a Terra Lenta Premium 2018 from the Alentejano region in Portugal. It is a blend of Trincanderia, Aragonez and one of my favourite blenders Alicante Bouschet.

On the nose concentrated black cherry with some blackberry and blueberry. There is a bit of red plum and the tiniest bit of cinnamon. Not a great amount of tannin in this wine and a long slow burn of a finish. Dare I say peppery?  Mostly black cherry, licorice and a hint of chocolate.

As with most Portuguese reds this is best with food and I am thinking of a traditional Douro duck casserole although this would pair well with roasted pork, those incredible Portuguese roast potatoes and shredded cooked cabbage. Not having been invited to a media tour of the Alentejano which means lots of food with wine I am not sure what local dishes would suit the wine. That is part of a good wine media tour and that’s local food on the Quinta where the grapes are grown and food offered is usually prepared by a group of local ladies that are feeding both you and the field workers. Save the fancy restaurants for the evening in town unless of course you are visiting a commercialized winery with its own restaurant. I fear the local ladies may disappear one day like manual foot crushing of wine. Progress?

I would say no benefit in ageing although it will happily sit in the bottle for a couple more years.

A good wine and for the price it shows Portugal can produce quality wines for Canadian pensioners.

(Terra Lenta Premium Alentejo 2018 DOC, Carmim, Reguengos, Portugal, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 646083, 750 mL, 14.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating, 89/100).

Again we turn to Alentejano for an Album Reserva Red 2018. This is a blend which includes for the first time I have seen in a Portuguese wine some Petit Verdot. There is also some Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Aragonez.

On the nose black cherry, blueberry, blackberry and fig jam. On the palate moderate tannins with blackberry jam, blueberry pie, cooked rhubarb with a long finish. Give me some rare ox filet in Portugal or a rib steak or prime rib. Great with food but also by the glass without any food or with some nibbles like mushroom paté. The wine was aged in French oak but skillfully so and certainly not new oak. The price point is eminently reasonable.

(Album Reserva Red 2018, Vinho Regional Alentejano, Lua Cheia, Portugal, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 477711, 750 mL, 14%, Robert K. Stephen A little Birdie Told Me So Rating 92/100).

“The Last Forest” (A Última Floresta): The Next Step Genocide? Toronto Hot Docs

The Yanomami indigenous people live in Northern Brazil and in Southern Venezuela. They have been there for at least 1,000 years which is 500 years longer that the nation states of Brazil and Venezuela.

The greed of gold, oil natural resources and hydro electric projects threatens the indigenous way of life. The processing of gold creates mercury waste which is dumped into rivers or sloppily contained by the gigantic corpotate gold mines in Peru or by the small timers in Brazil and Venezuela.

The Yanomami people were threatened by a horde of 45,000 prospectors in 1986 leading to the death of 1,500-1,800 indigenous people. Again in 1993 another wave of prospectors swept into Brazil including a massacre of 16 villagers despite the fact that Brazil recognized the land rights of the Yanomami in 1992. The backlash lead by Brazilian journalists and international advocates resulted in peace for 25 years. That is until the leader of the Brazilian government of Bolsanaro in 2109 supporting “development” allowed another influx of 20,000 prospectors to ravage forests, contaminate rivers with mercury and is attempting to legitimization of the prospector invasion. The Trump of Brazil leaving a legacy of the extinction of the Yanomami people and the Amazonia rainforest.

And the next step for the Yanomami people is death through environmental poisoning or a “dreaded resettlement”. Yes, I saw a documentary about the resettlement of indigenous peoples to make way for a gigantic Brazilian hydro-electric project. Indigenous people transferred to dangerous, drug infested, gang controlled camps so bad evangelists like buzzards flock to save souls or to convert heathens. See any similarities to the treatment of indigenous populations in North America!

Moving back from destiny we are treated in the documentary to an intimate look at the Yanomami people that might as well be a carbon copy of countless indigenous communities in North America. Steal and pillage and then move them to “reservations” or better said internment camps. History repeats itself so before you say how terrible Brazilians are they are not much different than our ancestors.

Aside from the inevitability of the destruction of the Yanomami perhaps the tenderness of the film is the view we have into the daily existence of these people and their hostility, at least amongst the elders and the shamans, toward the greedy “non-natives” who only dream of money and greed.

We are also treated to the Yanomami view of the creation of their people which is re-enacted in part and at times it is difficult to distinguish the tale from reality but it could be the story of creation is so inborn in their daily existence that reality and myth are difficult to distinguish.

We must mention the role of Davi, a Yanomami shaman, who has spearheaded resistance to “non- native” exploitation and as Maxima is symbol of local resistance to goldmines in Peru so is Davi for the Yanomami peoples.

In a beautiful sequence the shamans of a Yanomami village get completely “enlightened” through inhalation and snorting of some jungle herb in an attempt to fend off the demons.

Can they ward off the evil demons? Most likely not. Quite similar to the destruction of many indigenous communities in Canada through diseases and greed of the colonialists.

At best then a glimpse of a past that will be wiped out by the greed of the “non-natives”. Shameful as it may be we a looking at a documentary that will be playing in some museum in 20 years like some National Geographic Special.

The 2021 Brazilian documentary is directed by Brazilian Luiz Bolognesi and will be available virtually until May 9th as part of the Toronto Hot Docs Festival.

Tickets can be purchased at https://www.hotdocs.ca/

The documentary can only be accessed in Canada.

Unfortunately, history repeats itself.

You can see the trailer here https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-norton-ext_onb&ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-ext_onb&hspart=norton&param1=b3eb0a94-1c71-4ea2-85e8-a9f995ce7608_2020-05-26_cr&param2=ds_direct_may20&param3=ngc_22.20.2.57_wk22_2020&param4=1000&source=direct&p=the+last+forest+documenraty&type=cr_ds_may20_wk22_2020#id=1&vid=a2fcfd84929ad2dcaca8783ef4be270c&action=click

Florida puts brakes on COVID intrusions: Is there a time and place for ending government by emergency order?

Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Landmark Legislation to Ban Vaccine Passports and Stem Government Overreach

On May 3, 2021, in News Releases, by Staff

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Today, Governor Ron DeSantis was joined by local legislators and small business owners in St. Petersburg where he signed Senate Bill (SB) 2006, landmark legislation aimed at stemming the tide of local and state government overreach.

The bill takes aim at arbitrary lockdowns, vaccine passports and enhances emergency preparedness for future emergencies. Governor DeSantis also signed Executive Orders 21-101 and 21-102 suspending all local emergency orders until July 1, 2021, at which point local orders will be permanently invalidated pursuant to SB 2006.

“Over the last year we’ve avoided protracted lockdowns and school closures in Florida because I have refused to take the same approach as other lockdown Governors. This legislation ensures that legal safeguards are in place so that local governments cannot arbitrarily close our schools or businesses,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decision. I’d like to thank President Simpson, Speaker Sprowls and the Florida Legislature for getting this legislation got across the finish line.”

“While many states around the country are just now beginning to re-open, under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, Florida has been responsibly opening back up over the last year. Our economy is bouncing back stronger than anyone could have imagined as more and more people flee high tax, high regulation states and chose the freedom we have here in Florida,” said Senate President Wilton Simpson. “This legislation codifies the actions our Governor took to over the last year to respond to the pandemic, from our state stockpile to a dedicated emergency fund. It also protects us from the government overreach we have seen in other states.”

“We have made it a mission in Florida to be ready for whatever disaster comes our way. Nobody could have predicted we would face a global pandemic such as this, but this session we looked at every aspect of the pandemic to determine how we can best be prepared for the threat of tomorrow. This bill balances protecting public health and guarding our economy from government overreach,” said Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls. “I applaud Governor DeSantis for doing what was necessary, despite the cries of critics and naysayers, to ensure Florida remained healthy and strong.”

“If there is one thing that this pandemic has taught us, it is that Florida continues to be the example of how to govern during these unprecedented times. Leaders like Governor Ron DeSantis, President Wilton Simpson, and Speaker Chris Sprowls are the reason that vaccines are widely available, our business are back open, and we continue to head down the path of normalcy again. The passing and signing of SB 2006 codifies many of the lessons learned from the ongoing pandemic. I couldn’t have gotten this bill across the finish line without my colleague Rep. Tom Leek in the House. There is still work that needs to be done and I look forward to marching towards a better, safer future,” said Senator Danny Burgess.

“This legislation strikes the appropriate balance between protecting one’s safety and one’s personal liberty,” said Representative Tom Leek.

SB 2006 will ensure that neither the state nor local governments can close businesses or keep students out of in-person instruction at Florida schools, except for hurricane emergencies, and caps all local emergency at seven-day increments.

The legislation also allows the Governor of Florida to invalidate a local emergency order if it unnecessarily restricts individual rights or liberties. The bill also improves Florida’s emergency planning for future public health emergencies, by adding personal protective equipment and other public health supplies to the inventory of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Additionally, the legislation codifies the prohibition of COVID-19 vaccine passports. Governor DeSantis enacted this prohibition through an executive order last month, blocking any business or government entity from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

“Any Given Day”: Insider’s perspective on mental illness; Toronto Hot Docs

Director, writer and producer Margaret Byrne takes us down a road that is a long journey where it seems impossible to ever reach a happy destination. The road we travel upon is mental illness in Chicago where Chicago’s Cook County offered a specialized probation for mental illness diagnosed detainees. A special court geared to provide treatment with a goal to integrating “criminal offenders with mental illness” back into the community.

Byrne follows three participants in the Mental Health Court. And their road to integration never seems to be reached. There is hope, optimism then relapses. Byrne herself is a participant in the mental health system suffering from major depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies. She has been institutionalized on several occasions. Even during the filming of the documentary she admitted herself to a psychiatric institution for treatment. Her perspective is that of an insider and her own personal insights are the big takeaways of the documentary. Her view is that mental illness is cyclical and taking the wrong medications and not taking care of yourself or giving in to what you are fighting can put you back to square one. Mental illness just keeps happening with the solution seemingly impossible to attain. You need someone to be accountable to. In the case of Byrne it is her sister Jenny and her daughter that keep her from spinning out of control as she realized she had to get it together or risk losing custody of her daughter.

The three people she focuses on in their lucid and well moments are often charming and likeable but then on a regular basis there is a crash perhaps often due to substance abuse that puts them back in the hole. As Byrne notes you can appear ordinary but when “that time” comes it is not pretty and you want to look away from it but we shouldn’t look away from what is bad as we often do hence the mentally ill are left on the streets ignored and rejected. Byrne was inspired by the continual battles her subjects were trying to manage and that inspired her to go back into therapy. So while the film is ostensibly about 3 subjects with mental illness is it really is about 4 people with Bryne being number 4 and offering penetrating and simple insights perhaps that are needed by viewers to anchor this documentary from being just a series of interesting observations to being an honest and excruciating painful if not haunting view of mental illness. A must view for all wishing to understand the mental health system and the seemingly insurmountable.

I will let you viewers hear the stories the documentary presents but I am unsure of the conclusion you will draw. On my part it is that mental illness is a demon that can strike a person for many reasons that could be sexual abuse as a child, substance abuse or horrific life events. But there is no magic answer for a complete inventory of what causes mental illness and more disturbingly there is no answer. You can be well educated and having things go your way and then pow.

As a closing comment I wrote an article on therapeutic yoga for seniors that caught on like wildfire in Canada and I ended up giving an address to family practitioners in Canada at their convention. They seemed to appreciate my off-beat address and one psychiatrist approached me afterwards and we started chatting and a comment she said stuck in my mind and that was depression was a lifelong condition and the best one could hope for was remission. After “Any Given Day” I am beginning to think she was right.

This is Toronto Hot Docs film and you can access as of April 29th-May 9th if you are located in Canada. You can purchase tickets at the Hot Docs website https://hotdocs.ca/p/hot-docs-festival