Weekly News Recap: November 3, 2023

Weekly News Recap: November 3, 2023

Internationally-known designer Maya Lin is designing a 13,000-square-foot terrace and rooftop space as part of the substantial upgrades and renovations to Calgary's Glenbow Museum. (Maya Lin Studio)

We shape our buildings: thereafter they shape us -- Winston Churchill

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: Underwater pumpkin-carving in Greater Victoria's Esquimalt Lagoon (CBC) VICTORIA STORY Happy (belated) Halloween. "For the past two decades, Wilson Diving has been hosting a Halloween carving event beneath the waves."

  • VIDEO: #TheMoment a B.C. grocer built a mind-boggling Batman box display (CBC) KELOWNA STORY #Stunning "A silent guardian — a watchful protector — Batman looks out over the aisles at a Save-on-Foods in Kelowna, B.C., thanks to the handiwork of master merchandiser Eric Falkenberg, who has now won eight national awards for his colourful displays."

  • Self-proclaimed 'Indigenerds' claim space in streaming, sci-fi and table top role-playing games (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Very cool. "Three Indigenous artists and content creators are Indigenizing nerdy popular culture while battling stereotypes, building communities and collaborating with one another."

  • Service dogs in training attend special live music rehearsal (CBC) CALGARY STORY #AccessibilityWinner "The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra welcomed over a dozen puppies and young dogs to a live music performance [...] as part of a service dog training initiative at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. A first-of-its-kind initiative for B.C. and Alberta Guide Dogs saw around 20 future service dogs and their trainers attend a rehearsal of Roman Rabinovich in Concert to help the puppies get accustomed to new environments filled with various sounds and people."

  • Canada's very first robot roller coaster just opened in Calgary (Daily Hive) CALGARY STORY "Calgary just got a robot roller coaster and it’s the first one ever in Canada! Telus Spark says the attraction is welcoming in a 'new era of excitement.' Calgarians have been having a blast with the robot from the future since it opened at the end of September."

  • B.C. teen who helped save grandfather after hunting trip accident given Good Samaritan award (CBC) VANCOUVER ISLAND STORY #Hero "A Vancouver Island teenager who called for help when his grandfather was injured in an all-terrain vehicle rollover has been given a Good Samaritan Award from B.C. Emergency Health Services (BCEHS). Carter Burkard, who was 13 at the time, was out hunting in the Lake Cowichan area of Vancouver Island with his grandfather John Burkard on Nov. 3, 2022. Snow had begun to fall, and they made a wrong turn, sliding over an embankment. While Carter jumped safely off the all-terrain vehicle, his grandfather was pinned underneath and suffered serious injuries."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. $2.25M public art sculpture coming to downtown Calgary (CBC) CALGARY STORY #Awesome "A $2.25-million public art piece is in the works for the grounds of Calgary's expanded BMO Centre. The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation and the Calgary Stampede announced Wednesday that the large-scale public artwork at the BMO Centre's new plaza will be produced by U.K. artist Gerry Judah. The steel sculpture is called Spirit of Water and will stand about 21 metres (70 feet) and weigh 50,800-kilograms (112,000 pounds)."

  2. Canada looking to stabilize immigration levels at 500,000 per year in 2026 (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "After increasing its immigration targets several times in recent years, the federal government announced Wednesday it's aiming to maintain its target of welcoming 500,000 new permanent residents in 2026. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the target is meant to support the labour supply while easing pressures on housing and health care."

  3. Manitoba woman whose son died in Bosnia named National Silver Cross Mother (CBC) CANADIAN STORY We are so grateful for his sacrifice and his service. #WeWillRememberThem "Christopher Holopina was six days away from the end of his peacekeeping deployment in Bosnia when the armoured vehicle he was in rolled in a ravine. 'He was the only one [killed],' his mom, Gloria Hooper, said this week from her home in the small French village of St. Claude, Man., about 90 kilometres west of Winnipeg and just south of Portage la Prairie. 'We could hardly wait for him to come home, and I thought after, yeah, he came home, but not the way he wanted or that we wanted.' The crash that killed the 22-year-old happened July 4, 1996, but for Hooper, it might as well have been yesterday."

  4. Friends actor Matthew Perry dead at 54 (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT RIP Chandler Bing. "Friends star Matthew Perry, the Emmy-nominated actor whose sarcastic, but lovable Chandler Bing was among television's most famous and most quotable characters, has died at 54. The actor, who was raised in Ottawa, was found dead at his Los Angeles home"

  5. Stamp honouring hockey trailblazer Willie O'Ree unveiled by Canada Post (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Nice work Canada Post. "Canada Post unveiled a stamp honouring hockey trailblazer Willie O'Ree on Saturday. O'Ree is credited with breaking the colour barrier as the NHL's first Black hockey player."

  6. Saskatoon’s Remai Modern doubles attendance (Galleries West) SASKATOON STORY This is a great outcome. "Saskatoon’s Remai Modern, during its first full year of an admission-by-donation policy, has had a 117-per-cent increase in attendance over the previous year when admission prices were in effect. Tracking for the first nine months of 2023 shows the Remai heading towards the best-ever year of attendance since 2018, the first full year the gallery was open. The number of visitors for the past year, ending this October, totalled 189,999."

  7. Alberta government ousts Banff Centre board, taps administrator to review arts facility (CBC) BANFF STORY "The UCP government has removed the entire board of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, replacing the directors with a single administrator tasked with reviewing the institution's inner workings."

  8. Acclaimed American artist Maya Lin designing Glenbow rooftop terrace (CBC) CALGARY STORY #GoGlenbow "Calgary will see a new public facility designed by an internationally recognized artist and designer as part of the multimillion-dollar upgrades to the Glenbow Museum. Maya Lin, best known as the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., is designing a 13,000-square-foot rooftop terrace."

  9. Who is the real Buffy Sainte-Marie? (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT "Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous ancestry are being contradicted by members of the iconic singer-songwriter’s own family and an extensive CBC investigation."

  10. Alberta francophone to be appointed next Supreme Court justice (CBC) ALBERTA STORY Congratulations! "Canada's next Supreme Court justice will be Mary Moreau, a French-speaking judge from Alberta [...] Her appointment keeps with the tradition that reserves at least two of the nine seats on the Supreme Court for judges from Western Canada."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. 6 Books that Famous CEOs Loved Reading (TwosApp) I am reading "Benjamin Franklin" by Walter Isaacson right now.

  2. Ask These Questions During Meetings — The Art of a Productive Meeting (Nova. Blog.) These are great questions!

  3. The Overton Window — Why Some Ideas Stick While Others Struggle (Saumil Mehta) Super interesting concept. How ideas in society change over time.

  4. Types of Information and MECE Principle (Paralloid) Mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive (note, not exhausting). Cool way to categorize.

  5. How to Present a Strategy in 6 Slides (Shea Cole) If you can't get it across in six slides...

  6. Expert 1-on-1 Meeting Templates for Impactful 1-on-1 Meetings (Fellow App) You're welcome.

  7. A simple but effective icebreaker (Agile Batman) Cool and...fun!

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. U.Va. biz school receives $50M donation from alum (Virginia Business) "A University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumnus and his wife, also a U.Va. graduate, have added $50 million to an earlier gift of $44 million for the business school, which adds up to the largest donation in Darden’s 68-year history."

  2. Harvard Announces Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture Following $16M Donation (The Crimson) Far out man! "Harvard will be launching a new interdisciplinary program focusing on psychedelic drugs, the University announced last week. Funded by a $16 million donation from the Gracias Family Foundation, the Study of Psychedelics in Society and Culture will fund 'cutting-edge scholarship' and 'research support,' along with endowing a professorship in the [field.]"

  3. $5M family donation kicks off wellness centre campaign (Vernon Matters) KELOWNA STORY "It’s Game On for a new fundraising campaign at Okanagan College. OC students, donors, leaders, staff and community members were on hand Thursday for the launch of the Thrive Here campaign to build a new recreation and wellness centre on the Kelowna campus [...] High-profile donors have stepped up to support the $14 million facility, including the Folk family, who have donated $5 million."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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