Weekly News Recap: July 28, 2023

Weekly News Recap: July 28, 2023

Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, celebrates after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France in Paris on [last] Sunday.

Life is short and the Tour de France is long. -- Giles Smith

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Experience: Keanu Reeves ‘crashed’ my wedding (The Guardian) #LoveKeanu "It was the evening reception and everyone was drinking and dancing. I went outside through the double doors, and there he was, standing looking almost sheepish and shy: Keanu Reeves. My jaw dropped and I said, 'Oh my goodness, nice to meet you.' And he said, 'Really nice to meet you, too!' So I invited him in, offered him a drink and some food, and we got chatting – I think my five-year-old daughter was trying to climb all over me at the time. He said congratulations on getting married, wished us well and gave me a hug."

  • West Virginians rush to aid Polish marching band that lost instruments, uniforms while traveling (12WBOY) #TheKindnessOfStrangers "'It was really amazing to see the community rally together for the power of music, for the sake of music, for the sake of creating the arts and upholding the arts. It was truly beautiful to see everyone pull together,' Hoffman said. 'Hundreds of people shared the Facebook post. Tons of people were asking their friends, their family, pulling instruments out of their basement, out of storage, eager to help in any way that they can.' Hoffman said that instruments that could be considered family heirlooms were laned to the band and that some of them likely hadn’t been touched in several years. Propst said that schools in Buckhannon alone loaned at least eight instruments and that outfits from Grafton and Philippi also loaned what they could to the roughly 50-person band."

  • Vibrating haptic suits give deaf people a new way to feel live music (NPR) This is cool! "His team started by strapping vibrating cell phone motors to bodies, but that didn't quite work. The vibrations were all the same. Eventually, they worked with engineers at the electronic components company Avnet to develop a light haptic suit with a total of 24 actuators, or vibrating plates. There's 20 of them studded on a vest that fits tightly around the body like a hiking backpack, plus an actuator that straps onto each wrist and ankle."

  • Edmonton Corn Maze Salutes RCMP With 150th Anniversary Themed Maze (ToDoCanada) What a lovely tribute. "This year’s corn maze pays tribute to the RCMP’s 150th anniversary with the iconic RCMP 150 logo design featuring a saluting Mountie. It’s a chance for visitors to honour the RCMP’s significant role in shaping Canadian history and serving communities in Alberta. The maze offers an educational experience about the RCMP’s contributions and dedication to protecting and serving the region."

  • VIDEO: Life in plastic, it’s fantastic … for these Barbie collectors (CBC) I heart Barbie. "Barbie is having a bit of a moment due to the upcoming film starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera, but for these Edmonton collectors, she’s always been in style."

  • Father and son drive for 2 days from Virginia to Niagara Falls to load up on ketchup chips (CBC) A uniquely Canadian flavour. "This year, Rich said they decided to return to Canada, with hopes to see Quebec. But plans changed and they ended up going back to Niagara Falls, to get another taste of the tangy, tomato-seasoned chips. Rich said he knows he could've ordered the chips online, but said he wanted to bond with his son."

  • VIDEO: Donair costume sparks online bidding war (CBC) The mind boggles. "More than 600 bids on the costume have the price soaring to more than $16,000."

  • Blind man swims across B.C.'s Georgia Strait in 11 hours to raise money for guide dogs (CBC) I would take twice as long. Very inspiring. "A blind B.C. man completed an 11-hour-long swim from Sechelt to Nanaimo on Sunday, raising over $120,000 for people in need of guide dogs. Scott Rees, 39, was greeted at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo with a warm welcome from dozens of friends, family members, and supporters. 'Hearing the cheers on the beach gave me the fuel, the fire I needed for the last 200 or 300 metres,' Rees said after the swim. He arrived around 5 p.m. after just under 11 hours — exceeding his expectations of making the crossing in under 12."

  • Savannah Bananas turn the rules of baseball downside up (CBC) If you have not watched this team, you are in for a treat. So much fun. "In a game steeped in tradition, the Savannah Bananas are blowing up the rules of baseball, and it’s paying off with an 800,000-person-deep waitlist for tickets to a game. The team’s co-founder says it's all about putting fans first."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. 75 years of serving scoops in Cochrane for MacKay's Ice Cream (Cochrane Times) A required stop whenever we are near Cochrane. #Delicious "MacKay’s continues to attract Cochrane locals and tourists with their world-famous array of ever-expanding ice cream flavours. Husband and wife James and Christina MacKay took ownership of the General Store in Cochrane in 1946. At that time the 1A Highway passed right in front of the shop, along what is now First Street."

  2. Twitter was the Holy Grail of branding. Then Elon Musk ditched it. Experts question why (CBC) I can only wonder. Seems crazy but... "Whatever problems Twitter has faced, it had the significant advantage of a global name that was clear, memorable, had huge awareness, and the kind of brand recognition only dreamed of by most companies. Indeed — like Google, Xerox and Kleenex — Twitter had become an iconic brand, and the word 'tweet' part of the public vernacular. Which is why industry observers are scratching their heads over owner Elon Musk's decision earlier this week to ditch the Twitter name, ditch the blue bird logo, and rebrand the social media platform as 'X.'"

  3. Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96 (National Post) RIP Mr. Bennett. We will not see your like again. "Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” graced a decadeslong career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday."

  4. Alberta premier gives mandate to develop for-profit colleges to offer diplomas and degrees (CBC) I wonder if this is the end of the world or the best thing ever. Curious to hear your thoughts. "Alberta's premier wants the advanced education minister to pave the way for private career colleges to deliver accredited diploma and degree programs. The proposal raises concern from advocacy groups that for-profit career colleges in the province could eventually receive public money after the government slashed funding to public universities, colleges and polytechnics."

  5. Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France for the 2nd straight year (NPR) Congrats Jonas. We loved watching you ride. "Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard has won the Tour de France for a second straight year as cycling's most storied race finished Sunday on the famed Champs-Élysées. With a huge lead built up over main rival Tadej Pogačar, the 2020 and 2021 winner, Vingegaard knew the victory was effectively his again before the largely ceremonial stage at the end of the 110th edition of the Tour. Vingegaard drank champagne with his Jumbo-Visma teammates as they lined up together and posed for photos on the way to Paris."

  6. How does a male orca stay out of trouble? With a lot of help from mom (CBC) Orcas are amazing creatures. #SoSmart "What do female orcas do when they're finished having babies? Protect their adult sons from ill-advised fights, for one. A new study has found that male southern resident killer whales are less likely to get scraped up by other whales when they have their post-menopausal mothers by their sides. 'This indicates that these post-menopause mothers are directing social support and protective behaviour towards their male offspring, and helping them avoid potentially dangerous interactions with other whales,' lead researcher Charli Grimes told As It Happens guest host Robyn Bresnahan."

  7. Issue of 'respectful' communication by grant recipients coming back before Vancouver city council (CTV) Um, this is just wrong. "Vancouver city staff have come back with a recommendation on how to implement a requirement that organizations communicate with officials in a respectful manner in order to receive grant funding. In a report coming to council Tuesday, staff explain that updating the granting policy to include this stipulation is something they were directed to do by council. In March, the issue was raised by ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner who said he was concerned about a recommendation to give an organization $70,000 worth of funding due to comments a representative of that group had made about Mayor Ken Sim during a media interview after the municipal election."

  8. Is Gen Z Down to Clown? The Circus Is Counting on It. (New York Times) I love Cirque du Soleil and I hope this works for them. "Coming out of the pandemic, Cirque du Soleil was in trouble. The company had staked nearly all its revenue in live shows, with their dizzying displays of balletic grace and gravity-defying gymnastics. After filing for bankruptcy protection in 2020, Cirque decided it had to be more than just a circus. It wanted to be a brand, something that could sell perfumes, sunglasses, tote bags and video games. So over the past year the circus brought in consultants, which yielded months of meetings peppered with phrases like these."

  9. Iceland's only forensic pathologist is teaching crime writers about death (CBC) Wonderfully dark. "When an Icelandic author needs help getting their crime-thriller just right, there is one man they turn to: Pétur Guðmannsson, the country's only full-time forensic pathologist. After responding to individual queries for years, Guðmannsson launched a course about three years ago to educate all those aspiring authors. "It's a really interesting job and I think it's fun to interact with writers and creators of fiction about the reality of my work," Guðmannsson told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. As a forensic pathologist, Guðmannsson performs autopsies on bodies when a death is deemed to be unexpected, sudden or suspicious."

  10. How the Halifax Explosion relates to Oppenheimer and other Canadian connections to the atomic bomb (CBC) I have not seen it yet but I am looking forward to it. "When the word 'Halifax' is mentioned in Christopher Nolan's new film Oppenheimer, it's brief, almost in passing. But the utterance of the name in relation to the site of Canada's largest disaster instantly conjures up images of destruction on an epic scale. On Dec. 6, 1917, a French munitions ship and a Norwegian steamship carrying relief supplies collided in Halifax Harbour, resulting in one of the largest human-made explosions. It killed nearly 2,000 people, injured another 9,000, and left more than 25,000 homeless, all years before the detonation of the first atomic bombs in 1945. J. Robert Oppenheimer, known as the 'father of the atomic bomb,' would go on to study the Halifax Explosion to predict the effects of the atomic bomb."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. From Paper to Pixel: Mastering the Cornell Note-Taking Method in the Digital Age (Obsidian Observer) This is a great note-taking strategy and one that I have often employed.

  2. We Analyzed 1,626 Banned Books…Here’s What We Found (Statecraft) This is a super interesting data dive. And scary too.

  3. I’ve Failed to Consistently Meditate For 2 Years — Here’s How I Finally Cracked the Code (Better Humans) A really approachable guide to meditation.

  4. Why you should remove even the smallest distractions from your donation page. (August) Required reading for all landing page designers.

  5. How to Be a Better Leader by Communicating More Assertively (Better Programming) I communicate assertively about 50% of the time. I can do better.

  6. 10 Films For When You Feel Lost, Confused or Just Tired (Aamatullah Rajkotwala) A really interesting list of films, most of which I have never heard of.

  7. Boys to Men (No Mercy / No Malice) As the article states. Our young men are failing, and we are failing them. I could not agree more.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. SoftServe celebrates its 30th anniversary with a donation of 1.2 million dollars to purchase 100 ambulances for Ukraine (NineO'Clock) "SoftServe celebrates its 30th anniversary with a donation of 1.2 million dollars to purchase 100 ambulances for Ukraine. The Open Eyes charitable fund of SoftServe will acquire and send 100 ambulances to Ukraine, towards the front line."

  2. VIDEO: Regina Humane Society receives $1.1 million donation to help animals for years to come (Global News) Congrats to all. "'I have nieces and nephews but no children, so I don’t know, it was my wish to help out someone,' said Gerda Fiesel, who donated $1.1 million to the humane society in her and her late husband John’s name."

  3. Gift of $1 billion to McPherson College sparking extraordinary educational journey (Kansas Reflector) This is mind-blowing. There are 800 students at this college. "McPherson College secured endowment pledges to meet requirements of a $500 million challenge donation from an anonymous donor who committed another half a billion dollars to the small liberal arts college in Kansas. The agreement with the benefactor allowed the large donation to be paid out over time or upon the donor’s death to give the college access to $1 billion. A majority of smaller matching gifts made to meet the challenge were estate commitments."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

Welcome to our recap of the week's news, articles, and information of note. ViTreo Group Inc. provides this information for the benefit of our clients, associates, staff, partners, and stakeholders. The content is collected and curated by ViTreo President & CEO Vincent Duckworth. If you would like to submit a link for consideration, please send an email to info@vitreogroup.ca.

The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by ViTreo Group Inc. of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. ViTreo Group does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the ViTreo Group Inc. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate.

Vincent DuckworthComment