Weekly News Recap: May 24, 2024

May 24, 2024 Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: May 24, 2024

Christine Sinclair poses with the special Barbie doll honouring her accomplishments on the soccer field. (Mattel)

Reading Brave New World is a far more disconcerting and challenging experience [than 1984], because you are hard-pressed to put your finger on what exactly makes it dystopian. The world is peaceful and prosperous, and everyone is supremely satisfied all the time. What could possibly be wrong with that? — Yuval Noah Harari, 2022

SOME GOOD NEWS

Christine Sinclair gets her own Barbie doll (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Once again, Mattel scores. And, honestly, what a line up! "Barbie dolls will honour Canadian soccer star Christine Sinclair and tennis champion Venus Williams, plus seven other athletes, as part of a project announced by Mattel on Wednesday. The others being depicted as dolls as part of the 65th anniversary celebration for Barbie are gymnasts Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and Alexa Moreno of Mexico, Aussie soccer player Mary Fowler, French boxer Estelle Mossely, Italian swimmer Federica Pellegrini, Spanish paratriathlete Susana Rodriguez, and track and field sprinter Ewa Swoboda of Poland."
VIDEO: 2 'lonely' alpacas in Tappen, B.C., find friendship (CBC) TAPPEN STORY I did not think a story about two alpacas would bring tears to my eyes...#NothingToSeeHere "Two alpacas who suffered years of neglect from other animals have formed a bond at The Llama Sanctuary in Tappen, B.C."
A Manitoba farmer had a surplus of potatoes. So he gave millions of them away (CBC) MANITOBA STORY 100,000 extra bags of potatoes! What! "What would you do with millions of potatoes? Manitoba farmer Isaiah Hofer faced exactly that conundrum recently. 'Last year was an exceptional year for potatoes … people that have been in this industry for the last 40 years, they've never seen something like this,' said Hofer, who grows about 560 hectares of potatoes at Acadia Colony Farms, northeast of Carberry, Man."
After more than 50 years, Sask. WW II vet gets permanent headstone to replace wooden cross (CBC) CANADIAN STORY We thank them and all those who honour them for their service. "Denis Denniel fought at Juno Beach in the Second World War and died in 1968. Up until last week, his grave in the veterans' plot of Swift Current's Mount Pleasant Cemetery was marked by a wooden white cross that had his name misspelled. Now, a permanent granite headstone marks his grave."
Pioneering gene therapy restores UK girl's hearing (BBC) As a hearing-impaired person, these stories are always close to my heart. "A UK girl born deaf can now hear unaided, after a groundbreaking gene-therapy treatment. Opal Sandy was treated shortly before her first birthday - and six months on, can hear sounds as soft as a whisper and is starting to talk, saying words such as 'Mama', 'Dada' and 'uh-oh'. Given as an infusion into the ear, the therapy replaces faulty DNA causing her type of inherited deafness. Opal is part of a trial recruiting patients in the UK, US and Spain."
VIDEO: East Preston celebrates Liza Brooks on her 105th birthday (CBC) NOVA SCOTIA STORY How did she do it? Apparently, 'Taking a walk, and coming back in the house and having a cup of tea' #LoveHer "Residents of East Preston, N.S., gathered this week to mark a special birthday. Liza Brooks turned 105 [last week]. She was born on May 15, 1919. 'To be here today, to celebrate her birthday at 105, it's amazing,' said Mary Thomas, a friend of Brooks. Thomas grew up just down the street from Brooks on Brooks Drive."
VIDEO: #TheMoment a raccoon interrupted an MLS game (CBC) #Raquinho #Lolz "Football commentator Callum Williams recounts the moment a raccoon ran onto the field during a match between the MLS's Philadelphia Union and New York City FC, evading security for several minutes until they captured it with a garbage bin."
VIDEO: Sask.'s Rebecca Strong takes $1M top prize on Canada's Got Talent (CBC) SASKATCHEWAN STORY Congrats Rebecca. I was rooting for you (and voting for you). "Newly crowned Canada's Got Talent champion Rebecca Strong is confident the win will bring her more opportunities to expand her career. The Indigenous singer living in Prince Albert, Sask., took home the competition's first $1 million prize at the end of the show's third [season]."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

Why do so many small towns have a Chinese restaurant? (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Venessa Liang thought her family's situation — being the only Chinese people in a small Saskatchewan town and running a restaurant — was unique [...]. It wasn't until Liang was older that she realized restaurants like Ben's Place dotted the Canadian landscape, not only on the Prairies but coast to coast to coast."
The Dead End of Technological Progress (Statecraft Magazine) Long read but...worth it. "What sort of world are we creating with the constrictions that our definition of ‘progress’ place on technological development? The implicit ideal in my hypothesis — that ‘progress’ means more comfort, more entertainment and more safety — seems to be a world without struggle; a post-scarcity society where everything is done by technology, we are all constantly engaged and entertained, and no one need bother themselves with pain and danger. Whether or not this ideal is possible is irrelevant: it is what we demand from the technology that we create and consume."
Federal panel lists 35 'plausible' future threats to Canada and the world (CBC) CANADIAN STORY The idea that we might be leaning towards a world where we live in different pockets of truth, untruth, and mixed truth is...super creepy. "In a new report, a think-tank within Employment and Social Development Canada cites 35 'plausible' global disruptions that could reshape Canada and the world in the near future. [...] Leading the report's top ten list — those threats that could have the greatest impacts and are most likely to happen — is the threat to truth."
FAMU Vice President Resigns As $237 Million Donation Scandal Continues (Yahoo Finance) We have been following this story for weeks. It is a sh**show. I expect that the president will resign within weeks. A cautionary tale about private share values and giving. "On Wednesday, Shawnta Friday-Stroud, who also served as executive director of the FAMU Foundation, resigned from her role as FAMU’s vice president for university advancement. Before the Gerami donation, Friday-Stroud had been a successful fundraiser for the school; under her leadership, the school had far exceeded its $15 million fundraising goal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, bringing in $26 million. Though Friday-Stroud has resigned from her fundraising position, she will stay at FAMU as dean of the School of Industry and Business."
VIDEO: 'Oldest-known fossils' showcased in new Royal Tyrrell Museum exhibit (CTV) DRUMHELLER STORY I have seen this exhibit. It is fabulous. Please go. ViTreo is proud to be working with the Royal Tyrrell Museum. "Thousands of people travel to Drumheller, Alta., each year to explore the prehistoric, now there's an option to better understand the world's first lifeforms. Royal Tyrrell Museum's newest exhibit First Life explores life from the beginning of the timeline. 'This exhibit will actually feature some of the oldest known fossils on the planet,' said the museum's executive director Lisa Making. Fossils in the exhibit date as far back as 4.6 billion years and the evolution boom that followed around 500 million years ago. Some of them were discovered in Alberta."
Eyes on the fries: Alberta snatches potato crown from P.E.I. (CBC) ALBERTA STORY #Whoop "Prince Edward Island no longer produces more potatoes than any other Canadian province. Yes, you read that correctly. We're No. 2. Alberta, the Prairie province known for its thick cuts of red meat, is now the potato king of Canada. But just by a skin."
Canadian authors remember Alice Munro and her literary legacy (CBC) CANADIAN STORY I shared her passing last week. Now, Canadian literary luminaries weigh in. What a loss. "Alice Munro, a Canadian author who was revered worldwide as master of the short story and who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, died on May 13, 2024 at the age of 92. The prolific author leaves behind a strong literary legacy — along with many Canadian authors who were inspired by her and her work."
VIDEO: UBC researchers study how orcas breathe using drones (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY I know it seem obvious but...imagine doing this as human. #WhalesAreAmazing (I know they are technically not whales... don't cancel me). "Imagine breathing in, heading out the door, grabbing some food and coming home – all before taking another breath. That's exactly what orcas do, according to Beth Volpov, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. She's the co-author of new research into the breathing habits of the endangered whale. By tracking 11 orcas, a team of UBC researchers confirmed that the marine mammals take one breath each time they surface between dives."
Calgary Stampede history to be featured in new $44M centre, open year-round (CBC) CALGARY STORY Thank you Don and Ruth! "If 10 days in July isn't enough time to scratch the Calgary Stampede itch, a new centre that will give visitors a year-round immersive experience of the show will soon fulfil that need. More than a century's worth of stories and artifacts from the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth have been given a home at the Sam Centre, which aims to blend traditional and modern approaches to showcasing the valued archives. Inspired by historic prairie architecture, the $44-million centre will offer interactive exhibits, multimedia shows, permanent displays and a restaurant. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new space on Wednesday, Don Taylor, scissors in hand, did the honours. His father, the late Calgary philanthropist Samuel Taylor, is the centre's namesake."
Why this solar storm was so monumental, and other things to know about the light show (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT Wow, what a show! "As you may have heard by now, the sun is near the end of what's called a solar maximum, an 11-year cycle where it's more active, producing plenty of sunspots on its surface. These sunspots are an entanglement of magnetic fields that can sometimes erupt with a solar flare. The sun produced a series of strong solar flares last week, resulting in at least seven outbursts of plasma, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

I love taking notes. Here’s how I do it (Vlad Naiman) More nerdy note-taking tricks. You're welcome.
The Stripe: Not just a pretty face (UX Design) Who knew! #ZebrasKnew
Mindfulness for Elite Performance (Runner's Life) Super interesting story and idea.
Making more impactful design presentations (UX Design) Such great tips and tricks.
How I Tricked My Brain To Like Doing Hard Things [Dopamine Detox] (SoulSync) We all need to get off our dopamine drip.
Overcome Learning Plateaus (Rational Badger) Plateaus are opportunities.
How Mike Tyson Push-Ups Transformed My Upper Body Strength in Just 30 Days (Fitness Volt) I am going to try these. At least one...right?

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

Major donation by Izzo family will help transform climate change exhibit at Liberty Science Center (ROI) "Paul Hoffman, CEO of Liberty Science Center, may have been (half) joking Monday night at the 12th annual Genius Gala when he said: 'Science says you will feel better if you donate to Liberty Science Center.' If that’s true, the happiness levels of Ralph and Karen Izzo were elevated to new highs after the couple made a $1.5 million donation to the center to help fight climate change. The ever-gracious Hoffman said the gift will enable the Jersey City science center to dramatically upgrade an exhibit at LSC."
Children's Health, UT Southwestern get $100 million donation for pediatric hospital (ABC) #Boom "A new pediatric campus to replace Children’s Medical Center in Dallas got a boost this week in the form of a $100 million gift from the Mack Pogue family, Children’s Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center announced."
Transformational $1 Million Donation in Honor of Andrea Lewis Siek, RN will Support Nursing Education, Careers at St. Peter’s (SPHP) #Lovely "At a special gathering on Saturday, May 11, at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom in Troy, local philanthropist Richard Siek announced he was making a more than $1 million donation to St. Peter’s Health Partners’ [...] Mission Scholars Program in memory of his late wife, Andrea Lewis Siek, RN. The announcement was followed by an unveiling ceremony, where the Mission Scholars Program was renamed the Richard E. Siek & Andrea Lewis Siek, RN Mission Scholars Program."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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