Weekly News Recap: September 27, 2024

Weekly News Recap: September 27, 2024

The Forest Lawn Community Association unveiled its new basketball court, playground and gathering space on Thursday. (Colleen Underwood)

Almost all creativity involves purposeful play. -- Abraham Maslow, American psychologist

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • This bride describes her wedding — at her dying mother's hospital bed — as the 'perfect day' (CBC) LABRADOR STORY And, in peace, joy. #IHeartThis "A Labrador mother's dying wish to see her daughter get married prompted a couple to host a wedding in a hospital — a ceremony pulled together in just four days earlier this month."

  • VIDEO: Bear charges at B.C. man in his own garage (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY #PresenceOfMind "A B.C. man got more than he bargained for when he walked into his garage earlier this week. In video posted to Instagram, Alex Gold shared security camera footage of a black bear charging at him and stopping just centimetres away as Gold begins to clap and make noise."

  • VIDEO: A Hovercraft Built From Scratch Sails ‘Like Magic’ (New York Times) CANADIAN STORY This is so COOL! "Robert Tymofichuk, a teacher in Alberta, Canada, spent nearly 2,000 hours building an operational hovercraft from salvaged car parts and with no blueprint."

  • Calgary couple find their 'Zen' through axe throwing (CBC) CALGARY STORY Not something you hear everyday but I love it. "Nick Kolomyja reckons axe throwing may have saved his life [...]. 'You work 21 days straight. I never got to see my kids. I was burnt out, worked hard, found this, found a new passion in life and just went for it,' said Kolomyja, 45."

  • VIDEO: This 11-year-old does gymnastics atop the rubble of Gaza as the war rages on (CBC) Children are amazingly resilient. "For most child athletes, playing sports usually takes place in a gymnasium, or in an outdoor or indoor field. But for Wassim Naqqar, the war in Gaza has forced him to practise in unusual places — on top of a torn-down building, in refugee tent camps and sometimes on the sand by the sea."

  • How 2 friends nourish their long-distance friendship with one word a day (CBC) CANADIAN CONTENT *#Brilliant "It begins with a single word. Each day, Annette Venebrügge in Hamburg, Germany, types a one-word message and sends it to Tina Oehmsen-Clark in Toronto. And each day, Tina records and dispatches a single word to Annette [...]. They envisioned it as a way to be in touch, to deepen their friendship and to do so while playing with language.”

  • VIDEO: Escaped pig dodges police as schoolchildren cheer (CBC) KELOWNA STORY Ha, best day of the school year for those kids (and that pig). "A pair of escaped pigs managed to duck and dodge police in West Kelowna, B.C., in front of a crowd of cheering schoolchildren [...]. The chase unfolded outside Mar Jok Elementary [...] following reports that the pigs had been spotted on the loose in several locations eating rosebushes and wandering the [streets]."

  • What do you do when a rhino breaks a leg? Call a horse doctor, of course (CBC) File this under things-they-did-not-mention-in-vet-school. "Dr. David Stack sometimes can't believe that just six months ago, he performed what's believed to be a first-of-its kind leg surgery on a rhinoceros. Stack, a veterinary surgeon, led the team that conducted keyhole surgery to repair a white rhino's fractured leg near Liverpool, England."

  • VIDEO: Move over, Paul Rudd — these microscopic videos are more vivid than the latest Marvel movie (CBC) These are incredible. "It's not every day we get to see the tiny world that exists beyond our vision, but that's what the Nikon Small World in Motion competition is all about."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: Permanent Indian Residential School memorial in Calgary on time, budget (City News) CALGARY STORY Congrats to all, can't wait to see it open at the Confluence site. "A permanent memorial in Calgary honouring the children who didn’t return home from residential schools and those who continue to feel the effects of that trauma will be completed by this time next year."

  2. What are the fundamentals of philanthropy today? (The Philanthropist) CANADIAN STORY Good. We need some change. "Funders and conference speakers say they’ll be highlighting non-qualified donees, participatory grantmaking, and youth-led organizing as fundamental to working in philanthropy today at Philanthropic Foundations Canada’s 25th-anniversary gathering."

  3. Octopuses hunt alongside fish, but will wallop them if they fall out of line (CBC) #\MyBossIsAnOctopus LOL. All kidding aside, Octopuses are amazing. "Despite their reputation as loners, it turns out octopuses will happily hunt in groups with other species — as long as everyone knows who's boss. Scientists in Germany have captured hours of footage of octopuses working in tandem with different species of reef fish to track down prey like smaller crustaceans, fish and molluscs and flush them out of their hidey-holes."

  4. VIDEO: Think your dog can understand words? This scientist says you might be right (CBC) My dog totally understands words. "Walk?" is big favourite. "As a researcher whose interests include the cognitive abilities of different species, the rise of 'talking' dogs further piqued the interests of Federico Rossano, an associate professor in the department of cognitive sciences at the University of California, San Diego [...]."

  5. VIDEO: New med school for family doctors aims to help solve the shortage. Can it do so with doctors alone? (CBC) CANADIAN STORY I so love this! #ScaleUpPlease "The people behind a year-old medical school dedicated solely to turning out family doctors say the small program based in Oshawa, Ont., is disrupting traditional medical education in a way that could help solve Canada's shortage of family physicians."

  6. Calgary’s First Esports Arena Opens at Bow Valley College (The Malaysian Reserve) CALGARY STORY Congrats to all! "The arena is the first in Calgary and features 40 competition ready gaming stations, two full motion-rigged racing simulators, a state-of-the-art broadcast suite, and a dedicated varsity esports training room. 'We’re proud of the facility we’ve created here, but even more proud of the contribution it will make to the future of Calgary’s esports and digital entertainment industry,' says Dr. Misheck Mwaba, President and CEO of Bow Valley College."

  7. Forest Lawn community celebrates opening of park, basketball courts and inclusive playground (CBC) CALGARY STORY Congrats to all concerned especially Parks Foundation Calgary who led this project. "The back side of the Forest Lawn Community Centre has been transformed from a large and often empty field into a vibrant and treed seating area, basketball court and inclusive playground."

  8. Ontario Would Be Fifth-Poorest, Quebec Second-Poorest, U.S. State (National Review) CANADIAN STORY "Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary, has written a piece for the Hub about the gap in economic performance between the U.S. and Canada. America’s much-discussed growth slowdown is very real, but the picture north of the border is even worse."

  9. 5 bison dead after 2 vehicles hit them in Elk Island National Park: Parks Canada (CBC) ELK ISLAND STORY This is awful. "Five bison are dead after two vehicles hit them in a national park east of Edmonton [...]. RCMP are investigating the incident, which killed three bison and injured two others so severely they had to be euthanized. It is the most calamitous collision the park has recorded, according to Dale Kirkland, superintendent of Elk Island National Park. 'It's a really heartbreaking moment for us,' Kirkland told CBC News."

  10. Alberta's population continues to soar as provincial government's mood on growth shifts (MSN) ALBERTA STORY "Alberta’s population is expected to grow by 2.6 million people over the next 27 years — making the province older and more diverse, says a new government report. The province is meanwhile riding a year-long streak in which it has absorbed the highest number of newcomers from other Canadian provinces, new Statistics Canada data show."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. The 3 Rotator Cuff Exercises That Will Evaporate Your Age-Related Soreness (In Fitness And In Health) As someone with a shoulder injury, these exercises are awesome.

  2. Subtle Ways to Be a Brilliant Boss (Psychology of Workplaces) In short, stay cool. (Now, if I could just live that message).

  3. Insulin Vs. Calories —Which controls the Body Fat Thermostat? (Dr. Jason Fung) As a Type II diabetic, I get this. Dr. Fung wrote the "Obesity Code" and the "Diabetes Code", both well-worth reading if you want to understand how we gain and lose weight.

  4. The 7 Most Important Mathematical Constants (Cantor's Paradise) I so remember the awe I had in engineering school with learning these. A cool compendium for math nerds. You're welcome.

  5. What The Egg Controversy Reveals About How Our Bodies Handle Food Cholesterol (The Microscope) I love me eggs.

  6. When the mustard shortage hits, make your own (Popular Science) Way easier than you would think. Thanks to recap contributor Katia for sharing this article with us.

  7. The Only 3 Lower Body Movements You Need To Create a Solid Foundation (In Fitness And In Health) If you want a strong body, start at the bottom.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Victoria Humane Society fetches $2M donation for rescue adoption centre (Oak Bay News) VICTORIA STORY "The purchase of a 38-acre property is promising a new leash on life for dogs and cats in need of a forever home. A $2 million donation from the Craig Mearns and the Mearns Family Foundation has allowed the Victoria Humane Society to purchase the land on the West Shore for a new rescue adoption centre."

  2. U of T receives $25-million gift from Myron and Berna Garron for Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (University of Toronto) TORONTO STORY "A $25-million gift from Myron and Berna Garron will contribute significantly to the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility at University of Toronto Scarborough that will house the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH)."

  3. University of Manitoba receives $5 million donation towards dental clinic (CHVN Radio) WINNIPEG STORY "[UM] announced that Gerald and Reesa Niznick gifted the University of Manitoba’s (UM) Bannatyne campus $5 million towards a state-of-the-art dental clinic."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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