Sonya's Patates Braavos: Edition #17 💌🥔

TLDR:

welcome note 👋 

Hello, brave patates! 🥔 One full week of being back in Canada and man do I love being home. I came to Ottawa this weekend and I feel so happy to be back in my own place! Living alone is unparalleled for introverted souls.

back to regularly scheduled programming

Watch: Bodkin: a gripping Irish-British dark comedy with signature dry humour, twisted mystery and crime, and entertaining music.

Watch: Thank You, Next: a relatable Turkish romance TV show, about loneliness, love, despair, and the desperation of dating. Fabulously stylish outfits, that I haven't seen in any American shows 😂

Play: Hogwarts Legacy: besides a short-lived stint playing Spore many moons ago, I've never been one for video games. But having read Harry Potter 8 times (that's how I learned English!), I knew this was the one for me. David got it for me on a Steam sale. I am floored by the beautiful graphics and world-building. It's so surreal to be in the world you grew up with, with the classic Harry Potter music. I got my own wand! Unicorn hair core, aspen wood, in black. It's so fun to roam the castle, cast spells, and reveal hidden things.

This weekend: I am saddened to miss the UJA Walk for Israel event in Toronto this Sunday that brought together 50K (!) Jews and allies but I am so glad it went well.

Waking up on Saturday morning to the news that 4 hostages were rescued successfully and returned alive and in good medical condition to Israel was a blessing. I can't imagine being held in captivity for 8 months by terrorists. I can't even begin to think about the women held there. I hope they can find peace. That's what the AI “all eyes on Rafah” Instagram campaign (with snow-capped mountains???) was about by the way - IDF going into a civilian compound where the hostages were held (!) to rescue them, under continuous gunfire. The hostages abandoned by the Red Cross and other
“human rights” organizations. Embedding hostages, weapons, and command centers into civilian objects is intentional by Hamas to win the world's sympathy. But if this was your family? We don't leave anyone behind. Of course, I am saddened by the deaths of civilians, like any normal human being. But I also know they'd be alive if not for October 7th, started by Hamas. To stop the war and the bloodshed concocted by Hamas and Iran, they need to return the hostages. But no world outcry for that. Hmm…

Moving on, I am in Ottawa for the next 3 weeks so make your move if you'd like to hang out.

While I was away, there was a fire in my building - some idiot threw a cigarette butt down and it ignited someone else's whole balcony… thankfully, Ottawa Fire was on the scene within 2 minutes and no humans were harmed, or even the apartments. But it got me thinking I need to get a fireproof safe. My computers, furniture, can be replaced. But sentimental old photos? Antique books? There's no price on that. Insurance can't get that back for me. Oh, I want to get a kitchen fire blanket too (you might have seen the ads for it), since a lot of home fires start that way.

In other news, I quit working at Apt613 after 4 years. I love the people I was closely working with day to day. But I can't be that close to the Canadian arts community anymore. None of the following is a reflection on the organization specifically, just the broad arts community. The organization remains close to my heart and I don’t have anything against it; they do great work.

But I can't go to arts events and see keffiyehs, previously traditional regional scarves used by a terrorist leader as a symbol of armed “resistance” (aka terrorism) decades ago, which continues to this day. I can't see arts events fundraising for UNRWA, members of which actively participated in October 7th and have ties to terrorists. I don’t want to see events with #freepalestine in the description, which tells me everything I need to know about what this person believes (“from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is from Hamas charter and has now been recognized as hate speech in USA and some European countries because it calls for the killing of all Jews and Israeli citizens (2 million Arabs mind you) who live in the land). I can't witness the ongoing deliberate ignorance, glorification of terrorism, and antisemitism. Leaving doesn’t mean it’s not happening but I need to distance myself. My mental health is not worth it. I've had conversations with people in the community. But when someone staunchly believes in their emotional truth, no amount of articles, facts, or logic will change their mind. And it's not my job to convince adults to think differently. It's not up to me to do the emotional labour of educating people when we have all the world's information available at our fingertips. All I can do is seek strength in my community, show up authentically, sincerely, and never compromise on my values. It's part of who I am as a whole.

If you got this far, thanks for reading ❤️ cooked something yummy? lmk. went to a cool event or read a fun book? lmk. see you on the flip side 🥔