Weekly News Recap: July 2, 2021

July 2, 2021 Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: July 2, 2021

Amanpreet Singh Gill, president of the Dashmesh Culture Centre, says everyone is welcome to cool off in the centre’s large basement area while enjoying some cold drinks to beat the heat. (Dan McGarvey/CBC)

The Earth has music for those who listen. -- William Shakespeare

SOME GOOD NEWS

A marriage proposal at SF's Sutro Baths goes super-viral after Twitter hunts the couple down (SFGate) #Romantic "When Ricky Johnson Jr. stepped onto the concrete at Sutro Baths, all he was thinking about was making sure that he and his soon-to-be fiancee Jazmine didn't fall into the pools. And that she didn't catch wind of the marriage proposal that was about to take place. And that his brand-new white sneakers weren't too scuffed up."
A boat captain found a 95-year-old message in a bottle in Michigan. The internet helped track down the writer's daughter (CNN) "She recognized her dad's handwriting when she saw a picture of the note, even though it was written about 20 years before she was born. Primeau said her dad's birthday was in November and would have been 17 or 18 when he wrote the note and braced the cold of Northern Michigan to throw the bottle in the river."
Here are the craziest photos and videos from last night's celebration in Montreal (Curiocity) MONTREAL STORY #GoHabs "It was a big night for NHL fans [...], as the Montreal Canadiens took home the victory in their game [...] against the Vegas Golden Knights. This marks the first time in 28 years that the Habs are headed to the Stanley Cup Final. Needless to say, folks are pretty jazzed up about it."
Heat shelters providing sweet relief from Calgary's sizzling temperatures (CBC) CALGARY STORY #LoveThis "Community groups, religious organizations and others are cranking up the air conditioning and setting their fans to high this week, inviting Calgarians to take a break from this week's extreme temperatures. 'We know it's quite a serious, dangerous heat wave that's going through our area and it's our responsibility to help those in need so that's what we are doing,' said Syed Soharwardy, chair of the Al Madinah Islamic Assembly, which runs the Green Dome Mosque in northeast Calgary."
Blood test that finds 50 types of cancer is accurate enough to be rolled out (Guardian) #GreatLeapForward "A simple blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer before any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease emerge in a person is accurate enough to be rolled out as a screening test, according to scientists. The test, which is also being piloted by NHS England in the autumn, is aimed at people at higher risk of the disease including patients aged 50 or older. It is able to identify many types of the disease that are difficult to diagnose in the early stages such as head and neck, ovarian, pancreatic, oesophageal and some blood cancers."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

Star-studded Fort McMurray short film aims to help with mental health after disasters (CBC) FORT MCMURRAY STORY This is awesome. "A Fort McMurray filmmaker is hoping a star-studded animated film featuring the voices of Catherine O'Hara and Michael J. Fox that explores the impacts of the 2016 Horse River wildfire disaster will help people to heal. The 30-minute film, Back Home Again, which begins streaming this fall, shows the impact of the fire through anecdotes from woodland animals living in the community."
Yukon University finds new president (CBC) WHITEHORSE STORY Congrats! "The search for Yukon University's next president is over. Lesley Brown will step into the role, as well as that of vice chancellor of the university, beginning [Aug. 16.] Brown, who has a PhD in kinesiology from the University of Waterloo, was most recently the provost and vice-president of academics at Calgary's Mount Royal University, which, like Yukon University, was previously a college."
Jacqueline Ottmann named First Nations University of Canada 10th president (Leader Post) REGINA STORY Congrats to all. "Ottmann is Anishinaabe (Saulteaux), a speaker of the Nakawe language and a member of the Fishing Lake First Nation in southern Saskatchewan. Her late father, Allan Paquachan, was a former chief and her mother is in her 48th year as a school bus driver. Ottmann is the oldest of six children."
MacEwan University announces renowned Alberta oncologist as the school's first chancellor (Edmonton Journal) EDMONTON STORY Congrats to MacEwan and to Tony. I worked with Tony at the UofA. #AmazingHuman "The post-secondary school announced [...] that oncologist Dr. Anthony (Tony) Fields was elected to the prestigious position by the board of governors."
VIDEO: Pipe ceremony seals partnership with Indigenous communities and new Canadians (CBC) CALGARY STORY Congrats! ViTreo is proud to be working with the Centre for Newcomers. "Calgary's Centre for Newcomers entered into an oral contract with a special blessing from Treaty 7 elders to honour the centre's TRC-inspired Indigenous education program."
Canadian military welcomes first female 2nd-in-command as it struggles with sexual misconduct crisis (CBC) CANADIAN STORY This is great news. Congrats to all. "Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen has officially taken over the role of vice chief of the defence staff, making her the first woman to hold the title of second-in-command of the Canadian military."
Calgary Stampede sponsors pull back, shift strategies amid pandemic (CBC) CALGARY STORY "McDonald's, Coca-Cola, UFA, Carstar, Super 8 and Calgary Co-op are some of the companies that have either changed their marketing and sponsorship commitments or have pulled back entirely for this year's Calgary Stampede — the first since 2019. The Calgary Stampede says sponsors routinely update and change their sponsorship agreements. It dismisses the shift as a normal course of business. However, sponsors and marketing experts say the changes reflect some people's views that it may not be the right time to attend the Stampede — that the risks outweigh the benefits, even though organizers have adjusted their plans, case numbers have dropped and vaccinations tallies have surpassed milestones."
Critics blast Catholic Church for spending after commitment to residential school survivors went unmet (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "A growing chorus across Canada is demanding the Catholic Church pay the full $25 million it once promised to residential school survivors — saying it's shameful for the money to remain unpaid while tens of millions are spent on elaborate church buildings."
Shaw says B.C. employees can't have paid leave for COVID-19 shots (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY #Ugh "A Shaw Communications employee and his union are speaking out against the telecommunications giant, after it refused to give some of its B.C. workers paid leave to get their COVID-19 vaccinations, citing federal regulations."
TAKE YOUR PRIDE MONTH AND SHOVE IT (Community-Centric Fundraising) An interesting take on the corporatization of Pride. Thanks to Andrea McManus for sharing this article. "It is Pride Month, which of course means that all queer people gain superpowers and are being cared for by the prime lesbian herself, the Moon. (Apologies if you didn’t know that, but it’s true and I don’t make the rules. Mother Nature is gay. Like, why else would there be rainbows?)"

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

Four Deep Learning Papers to Read in June 2021 (Towards Data Science) #SuperNerdAlert Unless you really like deep learning, I might pass this by. But, I like it so...here it is. My favourite paper: "What are the most important statistical ideas of the past 50 years"
The Top 5 Relationship Questions People Ask in Therapy (On The Couch) Everyone wants to know...right?
How to Stop Feeling Tired All the Time (Personal Growth) I love the mid-day check-in and the reducing mindless screen time (isn't it all mindless) will work wonders.
How to Move from Note-Taking to Note-Making Using a Zettelkasten (Skill Up) I am always trying to perfect my note-taking styles. This looks interesting (if only for its name).
7 Rules for Staying Productive Long-Term (Start It Up) I love productivity systems. I like all of these rules but I am especially drawn to #3.
Throw Away Your Self-Help Books. Get a Bike. (Mitch Horowitz) The single most depressing thing that happened to me personally during the pandemic was the theft of three of my bikes, all a different times but within the span of three weeks. Now, finding bikes is like winning the lottery. Cycling is my mental health.
10 tips to improve your sketches (UX Planet) I would secretly like to be able to sketch better. This is a short but useful article on just that.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

Yale drops drama school tuition following David Geffen’s $150 million donation (CNBC) #Wow! "Yale announced [...] that it is dropping tuition for students in the school of drama starting this August following a $150 million donation from the David Geffen Foundation. Yale said that all current and future full-time students in degree and certificate programs at the drama school are eligible for the tuition cancellation beginning in the 2021-22 academic year."
$4M donation helps protect threatened B.C. island (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY Nice work! "The $4-million donation for the purchase is a gift from the Wilson 5 Foundation, which is the family foundation of Lululemon Athletica founder Chip Wilson and his wife, Shannon, who was a lead designer at the company."
$8M donation from Panda Express will fund new makerspace at Children’s Hospital Colorado (KDVR) "Panda Express says it will give $8.3 million to Children’s Hospital Colorado over the next ten years through its Panda Cares [Foundation.]"

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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