Weekly News Recap: December 15, 2023
Weekly News Recap: December 15, 2023
Shohei Ohtani, most coveted free agent in baseball history, to sign $700 million contract with Dodgers. By Andy McCullough and Ken Rosenthal. Dec 9, 2023
Baseball was, is and always will be to me the best game in the world. -- Babe Ruth
SOME GOOD NEWS
Want to hear the wonder of deep space? This music is made from NASA's telescope data (CBC) #CosmicallyCool "Music can often transport you to another time and place. But now a Montreal composer is bringing listeners far out into the cosmos with a piece of music created from NASA's data on the Milky Way."
Pair of Endangered Corpse Flowers Defy Odds to Bloom at Same Time–Now Bearing 700 Seeds (Good News Network) #Beautiful "There is more than one species of ‘corpse flower’ and in an incredible coincidence, two managed to bloom at the same time in a Japanese botanical garden, allowing the two to pollinate naturally. The result of this incredible stroke of fortune is that one of the corpse flowers has now fruited, bearing 736 seeds critical for conserving this wondrous botanic enigma."
Woman who threw bowl of food at Chipotle worker sentenced to work 2 months in fast food job (CNN) #Karma "Judge Timothy Gilligan gave her the choice of a 90-day jail sentence or a 30-day sentence on top of 60 days working in a fast food job. 'Do you want to walk in her shoes for two months and learn how people should treat people, or do you want to do your jail time?' Gilligan asked [...] at the hearing."
TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK
Personal, political perceptions stall community action on climate adaptation: study (uAlberta) CANADIAN CONTENT "[A] University of Alberta study gives more insight into how personal beliefs of the public and politicians hamper decision-making around climate adaptation to better protect communities. Urban planners, engineers, executive managers and emergency management specialists responsible for developing and implementing adaptation strategies have been hindered by ideological barriers from both the governments and the public they serve, the research shows."
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame completes overhaul to modernize museum (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Well done folks! "Canada's Sports Hall of Fame has completed a seismic shift from bricks and mortar in Calgary to a hybrid involving a museum in Gatineau, Que., and an emphasis on digital storytelling. From Wayne Gretzky to Georges St. Pierre to Clara Hughes to thoroughbred Northern Dancer, no other institution dedicated to Canadian sports history covers the same breadth of sports and artifacts as Canada's Sports Hall of Fame."
Shohei Ohtani, most coveted free agent in baseball history, to sign $700 million contract with Dodgers (The Athletic) #Boom "Ohtani announced his decision on Instagram. The deal ends years of feverish speculation about Ohtani’s future. Ohtani, a 29-year-old two-way sensation, has captivated the industry since he left Japan for Major League Baseball heading into the 2018 season. He has done things that appeared impossible in the modern era, feats that harkened back to Babe Ruth."
A new biopic of 'La Vie En Rose' singer Edith Piaf will use AI to recreate her voice (PBS) Curious to hear what people think of this. "Warner Music Group is partnering with Piaf's estate to produce a film about her life. Its director, Julie Veille, declined to be interviewed, but a press release says she will use AI to recreate Piaf's face and voice to narrate the film. It will surely be judged in the working-class neighborhood of Belleville, where Piaf was born and raised."
Study finds service bots deter customers even when they work as well as humans (Troy Media) #Um #Duh But, curiously, studies in the non-profit sector have shown that bots work quite well at engaging stakeholders, at least for the early part of the relationship. "People seem to have little fondness for consumer service bots – so much so that even when an interaction with one is equal in speed and efficiency to that with a human, customers will still report dissatisfaction with the bot."
Fossil from Alberta badlands finds prey inside the stomach of young tyrannosaur (MSN) ALBERTA STORY #PickyEater #DrumsticksOnly "A dinosaur fossil found in the Alberta badlands has revealed new details about the diet of young meat-eating tyrannosaurs. The research, published [...] in the journal Science Advances, is based on a well-preserved Gorgosaurus libratus specimen discovered in 2009 by a technician from the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta. 'We describe the first tyrannosaur skeleton found with prey items preserved inside the stomach,' Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor in the department of earth, energy and environment at the University of Calgary, said in an interview."
UPenn loses $100 million donation after antisemitism hearing (KRON4) "The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) lost a major $100 million donation [...] amid fallout from UPenn President Liz Magill’s comments at a recent House hearing on campus antisemitism. In a letter to UPenn Senior Vice President Wendy White, lawyers for Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, said Stevens would be withdrawing his gift, now valued at about $100 million, that was expected to fund the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance. Lawyers for Stevens allege UPenn violated the terms of Stone Ridge’s limited partner agreement with the school."
Calgary traffic reporter goes viral after response to body shaming comment (CBC) CALGARY STORY I heart this so much. "The usually unflappable host, who has been at Global Calgary since 1995, was about to give a live report on the morning show when she decided to read out a message she received during a break. 'I'm just gonna respond to an email that I just got saying, 'Congratulations on your pregnancy. If you're gonna wear old bus-driver pants, you have to expect emails like this,' ' Horton said. 'So thanks for that,' she responded. 'No, I'm not pregnant. I actually lost my uterus to cancer last year. And this is what women of my age look like. So if it is offensive to you, that is unfortunate. 'Think about the emails that you send.' "
Pantone's 2024 colour of the year is Peach Fuzz: A 'warm and cozy' hue to feed the soul (CBC) #PeachFuzz "In a countdown so highly anticipated in the design world that it's akin to New Year's Eve, the 2024 Pantone colour of the year was revealed this morning. And it is: Peach Fuzz. The hue is described in Pantone's media release as 'a velvety, gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body and soul.' The 'warm and cozy shade highlights our desire for togetherness with others and the feelings this creates,' the release said. Pantone also called Peach Fuzz 'subtly sensual,' 'heartfelt' and described it as 'communicating a message of caring and sharing, community and collaboration.' "
Do you have rizz? Do you even know what it means? (CBC) I told my daughter that I had rizz. She is still laughing. "CBC's Jason Peters tests people's knowledge on the Oxford University Press's 2023 word of the year."
SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS
These daily questions improve my life by 10x (Alex Mathers) Great questions. We can always use more questions.
Mind-mapping: A Visual Tool to Better Organize Your Thoughts & Ideas (Mj Jens) In case you never had a chance to get in on the mind-mapping craze, now is your chance.
Why You Should Build More Awe into Your Routine (The Startup) We need more #Awe
The Most Powerful Morning Routine I’ve Found After 3+ Years of Experimenting (Better Humans) This is a super-comprehensive 18-minute read. Worth every minute.
How to Read Faster and Remember More (Mark Manson) Some very cool tips on how to read business books. And more.
Start Your Day With Math (Keith McNulty) It will save your life.
The 7 Simple Steps to Delivering Impactful Presentations (Better Humans) Good tips.
TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK
Glenbow Reimagined Receives $2.5 Million Gift from the Palmer Family Foundation (Newswire) CALGARY STORY Nice gift to an amazing project. "Glenbow is thrilled to announce that its fundraising campaign, Glenbow Reimagined, has received a $2.5 million gift from the Palmer Family Foundation towards the design and installation of the pavilion on Glenbow's rooftop terrace."
Taylor Swift donates $1 million to Tennessee tornado relief fund. How you can help too. (USA Today) "Taylor Swift is extending her generosity to a place close to her heart. Following the devastating tornados that swept through multiple Tennessee counties, Swift made a $1 million donation to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. "
$20 Million Donation to Howard University Supports GRACE Grant Program (Yahoo Finance) "A $20 million donation to Howard University from Carrie Walton Penner and Greg Penner will support the GRACE Grant Endowed Fund, an initiative to eliminate college costs and keep first-year students enrolled through graduation."
LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES
VIDEO: Polar Bear at the Calgary Zoo Gives Little Girl a 'High Five' (Parade Pets)
VIDEO: Become a garbage-picking raccoon in this new — and extremely Toronto — game (CBC)
Principal adopts student who was sent to his office (Good Morning America)
Taylor Swift makes history as Time's Person of the Year for 2023 (CBC)
Sandra Day O’Connor, First Woman on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 93 (New York Times)
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