Bridegroom

Film and television can harness the power of the human emotion like no other medium can. And that is why documentaries like Bridegroom are so effective in highlighting societal challenges such as homophobia and bigotry. Through various first-person narratives and archival footage, Director Linda Bloodworth-Thomason weaves together a chronological account of Shane Bitney Crone and Tom Bridegroom’s heartfelt story of love, acceptance, hope and despair as a gay couple living in the United States of America.

Photo credit: Webpronews.com

Crone had met Bridegroom through mutual friends in 2005 and by all accounts, had quickly fallen in love with him. Six years later, with marriage on the horizon, tragedy strikes and Bridegroom is killed in a freak accident. Still reeling from the sudden loss of his life partner, Crone is banned from attending Bridegroom’s funeral by his partner’s family and is forced to hold a celebration of life thousands of kilometres away in California.

Photo credit: Oprah.com

The title of the documentary is both on point and tongue-in-cheek given the fact that homosexuality and the definition of marriage are both polarizing topics in the United States. While I commend Bloodworth-Thomason for bringing to the forefront the ramifications of hate and bigotry within our society, I found myself asking if that was the only purpose to this documentary?  Or, was it Bloodworth-Thomason’s objective to draw a connection between Crone’s story and the issue of marriage equality in the United States? If so, additional voices were needed to help connect the dots for there were moments when I felt that the documentary was simply an extended version of a same-sex anniversary reel.

While intended or not, Bridegroom is a potent reminder that regardless of one’s sexual orientation, love is steadfastly democratic: how much you receive is directly proportional to how much you give. And thanks to the support from both family and friends, both Crone and Bridegroom grew-up open to loving and were able to forge an intimate and nurturing relationship with one another that many of us can only dream of.

Watch Bridegroom on Netflix.

Click HERE to visit the official site.

Metrotown

Photo credit: 604now.com

I went to a shopping mall today called Metrotown.

Actually, its official name is Metropolis at Metrotown and it boasts over 450 shops and services and bills itself as the largest mall in British Columbia.

While I don’t consider a trip to a shopping mall all that exciting, it’s what I felt during my visit that made me want to tickle the old keyboard.

When I had enrolled at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) as a full-time student, I had rented an apartment across the street from Metrotown.

Photo credit: vancouversun.com

At the time, the mall played a pivotal role in my life not just because of its proximity to my home, transit and school, but because of poignant memories that I can still derive from walking-by certain merchants that I had patronized all those years ago (some of whom are still there to this day).

While I’m sure the folks at Kwik Images & Metrotown Postal don’t know me from Adam, I will never forget using their services to send out my demo reels to prospective employers, hoping that one of them would say, “Yes”. And indeed, one of them did! After casting my net time and time again through Kwik Images & Metrotown Postal, I finally caught my catch in the form of a facsimile offering me a new job and a chance to start a new adventure in a different part of Canada.

But that adventure was made possible thanks in part to my employment at Rogers Wireless (who have been a tenant at the mall for over a decade).

Photo credit: wikimedia.org

With their logo affixed on top of one of the looming office towers, its sight brings me back to a time when my productivity (and value) as a proletariat were measured and assessed by metrics such as the duration of my service calls and the number of sales I could acquire per shift.

Photo credit: moddb.com

I am also reminded of a time when I sought comfort and camaraderie amongst my team-mates as we battled the hordes of “zombies” that would invade our phone lines every shift. And while I was fortunate enough to move on to a different career path after my stint with the “Walking Dead”, some of my former colleagues chose to stay on and a chance encounter in the food court nearly a decade later proved to me that some folks make better "zombie slayers" than others.

Gawd Bless Em’!

If there is one thing that I have learned thus far, it is that nostalgia isn’t limited to just photographs and keepsakes. A whiff of cologne or even a visit to a shopping mall can unleash a flurry of memories that may have been buried like an ancient artefact – only to be unearthed by a sensory synapse.

Like item #12 at Kim Bo Ting!

Still cooking up my favourite dish after all these years, you will find Kim Bo Ting in the food court next to Tim Hortons. As a frequent customer back in my college days, the staff at the time knew my order from memory and would always greet me with a warm smile. Even though they have all since moved on, item # 12 can still be found on the menu and the recipe hasn't changed at all. So if you're ever in the neighbourhood, stop by Kim Bo Ting in the food court and you may find me there as well:

Photo credit: urbanspoon.com

Eating my Korean Udon noodles and reminiscing of a time long since past.