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Weekly News Recap: December 23, 2022

Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: December 23, 2023

Argentina's players were overcome by emotion after lifting the World Cup trophy.

The thing about football – the important thing about football – is that it is not just about football. -- Terry Pratchett

Happy Holidays!
On behalf of our entire team, we wish you and your family peace, love, and joy!

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • 9 Science Stories That Restore Our Faith in Humanity (Scientific American) #VeryCool "The science news of 2022 has been strange, dramatic, intriguing and more than occasionally alarming—but the year also saw awe-inspiring breakthroughs and heartwarming successes. Here we’ve pulled together some of the most interesting positive stories of the year, plus a couple that are just plain cool."

  • A Kansas City family created Wish-Bone Italian Dressing. It became an American obsession (NPR) It's a great dressing. "In 1948, Phillip Sollomi debuted an Italian vinaigrette at his Kansas City fried chicken restaurant, the Wishbone. An immediate hit, the salad dressing formed the foundation for an empire: You can find that iconic Wish-Bone bottle in nearly every supermarket in the country. Decades after Sollomi left the company, his family has returned to the city to reclaim their legacy."

  • Why Hot Wheels are one of the most inflation-proof toys in American history (NPR) I had many. "'It is exceptionally rare to find a toy that maintains its price for a few years, let alone more than five decades,' Zahn said. 'Hot Wheels are an anomaly in that the continued sales volume and razor-sharp production pipeline manage to keep costs just low enough to maintain that sweet $1 price point.'"

  • Sask. charities bringing in thousands thanks to donations of $500 'Moe money' cheques (Regina Leader Post) SASKATCHEWAN STORY Nice work Saskatchewan! "'Quite often, people are just saying the money that they’re sending here should’ve come here in the first place,' said Colleen Taylor, advocate with the Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry (RAPM), one of the organizations picked for the Equity [Project.]"

  • Why there is so much happiness in this long-term care home that doubles as a Grade 6 classroom (CBC) SASKATOON STORY More please. "For more than 20 years, Sherbrooke has followed the Eden Alternative, a philosophy that addresses three major elements that can plague the human spirit: loneliness, helplessness and boredom. Developed by Harvard Medical School alumnus Dr. Bill Thomas, the Eden Alternative seeks ways to counter those plagues that often develop in long-term care homes. The philosophy offers creative methods to integrate children, animals and gardens in order to maintain a vibrant community. Sherbrooke follows a 'Village Model,' where nine to 10 residents live in houses that are attached to the rest of the institution by an internal street. By design, Sherbrooke has people as young as 20 living and interacting in homes with folks aged 70 or 80."

  • Rare albino baby porcupine rescued in northern B.C. (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY Very cute. "Manager and co-founder Angelika Langen says Coconut — the name chosen for the porcupine — was taken into the shelter after calls from Smithers residents who had spotted the animal chewing hydraulic hoses and electrical cables at their home. 'Our team went over there to have a look and spotted it and were able to guide it carefully into a transport box and bring it out here,' Langen said about the [animal.]"

  • On the hunt for the best Christmas light displays in the city? A Calgarian has a map for that (CBC) CALGARY STORY Can you say: Over the top (but in a good way). "Growing up, John Cooper loved to walk around his neighbourhood enjoying the beautiful lights adorning homes for the holidays. His friend's house had one of the best displays, he said, and it became his goal to one day also have the best Christmas lights in the neighbourhood. There's no official title or anything, but with a four-hour show that includes more than 10,000 lights programmed in-time to about 60 songs, Cooper's home in the MacEwan neighbourhood is definitely worth a visit."

  • Raven joins road trip down Dempster Highway — for 45 minutes (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY What a wonderful experience. "The bird seemed to be riding a draft by keeping close to the front of the truck. Occasionally, it would disappear from view, alongside the truck or in front, only to appear once again as if it were leading the way down the road."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. ‘We are on top of the world:’ Argentina’s players struggle to find the words to sum up their World Cup triumph (CNN) One of the best World Cup finals I have ever seen. "Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates were certainly made to suffer, but eventually, they got their hands on the World Cup trophy Sunday, after beating France on penalties in arguably the greatest final in the tournament’s history. It’s a moment that will never be forgotten and Argentina’s heroic players could barely sum up their feelings after the full-time whistle."

  2. MacKenzie Scott unveils website detailing her $14 billion in donations – search to see where she’s given in your neighborhood (Business Insider) Brilliant. I encourage you to read the essays. "Details of MacKenzie Scott's extensive philanthropic endeavors are now compiled on a new, searchable website Scott launched Wednesday. Yield Giving includes specifics on her $14 billion in donations to more than 1,600 organizations going back to 2019. The 'gifts' section of the site allows users to search Scott's donations by location, focus area, and key words."

  3. Calgary Zoo unveils names of twin red panda cubs (CTV) CALGARY STORY I love these names. "The Calgary Zoo/Wilder Institute has announced the names of the newest members of the red panda pack. The twin cubs were born on June 11 to parents Udaya and Linus and made their debut in the Exploration Asia exhibit in October. Members of the public were invited to pick their names through an online vote that closed on Monday. On Tuesday, the zoo revealed the winning names were Sundari (pronounced SOON-duh-ree) for the female and Ravi (pronounced RA-vy) for the male."

  4. Wikipedia’s donation request drama (The Hustle) "With 16B monthly visits, most people scroll past these notes without blinking twice. Yet, interestingly, their wording was recently the subject of intense debate among Wikipedia’s volunteer contributors.Many felt the message’s original language, which supposedly gave off the impression that Wikipedia was on the verge of utter financial doom, was unethical given the reality of Wikipedia’s strong financial situation, per Slate."

  5. U.S. Postal Service honors the late civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis with a stamp (NPR) Well deserved. "Civil rights giant and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who spent decades fighting for racial justice, will be honored with a postage stamp next year. In a Tuesday announcement, the U.S. Postal Service said the stamp 'celebrates the life and legacy' of the leader from Georgia, who risked his life protesting against segregation and other injustices in the violent Jim Crow-era South."

  6. Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed commuting patterns for good? (Statistics Canada) CANADIAN STORY "Approximately 11 million Canadians were car commuters in May 2021, usually travelling to work by car, truck or van either as a driver or passenger. This is nearly 1.7 million fewer (-13.2%) compared with five years earlier. Every province and territory except Prince Edward Island and Yukon saw fewer people usually commuting by car in 2021 than five years earlier. The number of car commuters in Ontario fell by one-fifth (-20.2%) to 3.8 million in May 2021, the largest drop nationally, followed by Alberta (-13.7%)."

  7. ATCO and MRU team up for systems thinking (Mount Royal University) CALGARY STORY What a great partnership! "Mount Royal University’s Institute for Community Prosperity (ICP) and ATCO are celebrating the formation of a forward-thinking partnership that will ensure the growth and development of the ICP’s signature Map the System program as well as ATCO business directives. The partnership will provide students increased opportunities to deepen their research competence and understand important and complex social challenges using a systems-thinking approach. It will also allow ATCO employees access to Map the System education and idea cross-pollination with emerging talent."

  8. Study: Immigrant women among board directors and officers: From admission in Canada to executive roles (Statistics Canada) CANADIAN STORY Still so much to do here. "Women who reach an executive role in their careers tend to hold lower-level positions than men, or ones with less decision-making authority—patterns that are reflected among immigrant women executives. Executives contribute either as a board director or as an officer. Among all executives, immigrant women were the least likely to contribute on a board of directors, with 48% of immigrant women working as board directors and 52% as officers. In contrast, Canadian-born men (65%), immigrant men (61%) and Canadian-born women (53%) were all more likely to work as board directors."

  9. The Need for a Secretariat for Canada’s Charitable Sector (AFP Global) CANADIAN STORY #YES "Despite the fact that the charitable sector contributes 8.4% to Canada’s GDP, our sector does not have a dedicated secretariat in government, tasked with ensuring the well-being and viability of the more than 170,000 charities and nonprofits in the country. After holding more than 25 meetings with organizations and officials in 2018 and 2019, the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector issued its report on the sector, which included a Recommendation (Recommendation 22) for the Government to create one."

  10. ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ is closing soon — meet some of the lifers who have worked on it for decades (CNBC) The end of an era. "After more than three decades, 'The Phantom of the Opera' is getting ready to hang up its mask on Broadway. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical has played to over 145 million people worldwide in 41 countries, 183 cities, and in 17 languages — and it has received 70 major theater awards including seven Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. 7 Underrated Landing Page Tips (Benjamin Watkins) Landing pages need way more attention than they are getting. This helps.

  2. How to Think About Goals and Perennial Habits (Perennial) I love the being-going-doing framework.

  3. The Ten-Book Rule for Smarter Thinking (Better Humans) What are your ten books?

  4. The Best Time of Day to Exercise (In Fitness And In Health) I get that mornings can be best but...I like afternoons better.

  5. How to Do Bullet Journal Weekly Planning and Reviews (Better Humans) One of my worst habits is my lack of weekly reviews. This helps.

  6. A Ten-Step Process for Team Leaders to Reduce Meeting Overload and Take Back Their Time (Career of you) Diary pruning is a must.

  7. MAPS NOT IN YOUR WORLD ATLAS: (Skyline) These are mind-blowing. I really love the wolf-pack one.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. $15.3 million gift for brain research at McGill University will bring new insights into neurological diseases and disorders (McGill University) MONTREAL STORY "Scientists around the world are beginning to use new techniques in analyzing single brain cells to understand conditions like depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Now, thanks to a new gift of $15.3 million from the Ludmer Family Foundation to McGill, the University and three hospital research partners will establish the Ludmer Centre Single-Cell Genomics Brain Initiative (SCGBI), with a mission to increase our understanding of the role that individual brain cells play at the molecular, anatomical and structural levels."

  2. York University tackles urgent global health threat of antimicrobial resistance (YorkU) TORONTO STORY "While recent health-care attention remains on the ‘triple threat’ of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, we cannot overlook the emerging pandemic of antimicrobial resistance — an already critical problem with the potential to become so dire that a small cut could lead to death, as without reliable antibiotics, some infections could be untreatable, say researchers from the York University-based Global Strategy Lab (GSL). Creating solutions to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will be made possible with a unique project initiated by York’s GSL and an $8.7-million grant from Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation that supports science to solve urgent health challenges."

  3. Donation of $26-million boosts cosmic research in Montreal (Globe and Mail) MONTREAL STORY "Scientists working at the cutting edge of cosmic exploration at two Montreal universities have been given a $26-million boost to sustain their efforts. The donation from the Trottier Family Foundation was announced on Monday by McGill University and the University of Montreal. The funding will support a pair of institutes dedicated to astrophysics and the search for life on other worlds at a time when researchers at both centres are making key contributions to the field."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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