Weekly News Recap: September 8, 2023

Lucille Grenier has been working at the same Quebec City intersection for the past five decades and has no plans to retire. (Rachel Watts/CBC)

If life gives you limes, make margaritas. -- Jimmy Buffett

SOME GOOD NEWS

Dog repeatedly escapes animal shelter, sneaks into nursing home, is adopted by residents (USA Today) #DogsWillSaveUs "He’d had enough of being at the animal shelter, so Scout the dog climbed over one tall fence and then another, crossed a busy highway in the darkness, entered the automatic doors of a nursing home down the road, walked unnoticed into the lobby, hopped onto a couch, curled into a ball and quietly went to sleep for the night."
The Fastest 60-Year-Old Woman on Earth Is Only Getting Faster (Outside Online) Oh man, there is hope for me after all. #OlderIsFaster "If you follow master’s track and field, it’s hard to miss Sue McDonald’s astonishing accomplishments this season, including eight world records in the 60-64 women’s age group—seven ratified, one pending."
VIDEO: This pie sold for $15,000 at an Ontario fair auction (CBC) ESSEX STORY My wife, Christine, makes a mean pie...and her pies have gone for high auction amounts but this takes the ...pie. "In honour of Kady, the pharmacy decided to get together an ad in the Harrow News local paper and encourage others to bid against the pharmacy [...] 'We got a huge amount of pies.' [...] Despite the amount of competition, Fielder and her team would take home the first-place winning pie — a key lime made by Mary Beth Little — for the price of $15,000. And how does a $15,000 pie taste? One person who tried it described it as 'better than sex,' according to Fielder."
VIDEO: Montreal artist puts on unique show inside Sask. water tower (CBC) HUMBOLDT STORY So cool! "Humboldt, Sask., residents were recently treated to a concert inside an unusual venue — their decommissioned water tower. Jen Reimer, who received a Canada Council grant to produce a show, recorded sounds inside the tower during her first visit to central Saskatchewan last year. 'I was going to different spaces across the country and when I came here, the wind was so present. It activated the resonant frequencies of the tower. I could learn a lot about the architecture just listening,' Reimer said."
Meet the crossing guard who's served the same Quebec neighbourhood for 50 years, with no plans to retire (CBC) QUEBEC CITY STORY Adorable. "On a chilly late summer morning, car horns blare, drivers wave and pedestrians greet a beaming crossing guard who has become a fixture in an otherwise quiet suburban neighbourhood of Quebec City. The woman causing the friendly commotion is Lucille Grenier. She has supervised the same intersection between Louis-XIV Boulevard and Seigneuriale Street for nearly 50 years."
Swiper no swiping! Sly foxes help themselves to golf balls on Thunder Bay courses (CBC)THUNDER BAY STORY Tricky little duffers. "Golfers have a lot to worry about on the course. There's the rough, sand traps, and water hazards when out on the course. And in Thunder Bay, Ont., there's also the foxes to worry about too."
VIDEO: What it looks like to soar over Toronto with an aerobatic pilot (CBC) TORONTO STORY "The Canadian International Air Show [took off for its] 74th year soaring above Toronto’s waterfront [recently]. It [ featured] the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, the CF-18 demo team, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and more."
VIDEO: He didn't even plant this sunflower, and now it's 4 metres tall (CBC) WINDSOR STORY Sunflowers are amazing...and beautiful. "David Garlick says a squirrel likely planted the sunflower in his yard that just keeps on growing."
VIDEO: Edmonton model with Down syndrome to make Times Square debut (CBC) EDMONTON STORY I love this. "Seven-year-old Freya Schultejann will appear on the big screen in New York's Times Square as part of an awareness campaign for Down syndrome."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

Red Deer Museum and Art Gallery receives special award (Lacombe Online) RED DEER STORY Congrats to all. "The Alberta Museums Association (AMA) is pleased to present the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery (MAG) with the 2023 Robert R. Janes Award for Social Responsibility in recognition of its work to integrate social responsibility into all aspects of museum practice."
Rolling Stones announce Hackney Diamonds, 1st album of original material in 18 years (CBC) Can't wait to listen to this. "The Rolling Stones officially announced the release of their first album of original material in 18 years in London, with singer Mick Jagger joking the band has been 'a bit too lazy' in recording new material in recent years."
An ENORMOUS new park is about to open in the Edmonton River Valley (Daily Hive) EDMONTON STORY Gorgeous. "Edmonton is known for the gorgeous North Saskatchewan River Valley, and a massive new park opening in the city’s northeast later this month looks spectacular. The City of Edmonton announced the new Northeast River Valley Park will open to the public on September 24."
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson slammed over Maui fire donation video on social media (New Zealand Herald) "Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson have copped major criticism online after appealing to their followers to donate to their fundraiser for those affected by the Maui fires [...] Winfrey and Johnson launched the People’s Fund of Maui with the intention of putting money 'directly in the pockets' of Maui locals affected by the fires, with Winfrey revealing that she had been inspired by Dolly Parton’s 2017 fundraiser for North Carolina fire victims."
Priceless artifacts found near untouched Beothuk site in central Newfoundland (CBC) NEWFOUNDLAND STORY "When Don Pelley discovered the raised sides of a former Beothuk dwelling in 2016, everyone involved in the expedition knew he'd stumbled upon something special. The circular pit was perfectly intact, where the Beothuk had erected walls about 200 years earlier [...] It was the rarest find in that region for decades."
Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule (New Yorker) "Last October, Colin Kahl, then the Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon, sat in a hotel in Paris and prepared to make a call to avert disaster in Ukraine. A staffer handed him an iPhone—in part to avoid inviting an onslaught of late-night texts and colorful emojis on Kahl’s own phone. Kahl had returned to his room, with its heavy drapery and distant view of the Eiffel Tower, after a day of meetings with officials from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. A senior defense official told me that Kahl was surprised by whom he was about to contact: 'He was, like, ‘Why am I calling Elon Musk?’'"
America Is an Empire in Decline. That Doesn’t Mean It Has to Fall. (New York Times) "America likes to think of itself in garlanded terms. The shining city on a hill. The indispensable nation. The land of the free. There’s something to each sobriquet, to be sure. But there’s another phrase, not always so flattering, that also applies to the United States: global empire. Unlike the other notions, which originated in the birth struggles of the Republic, this one dates to the final stages of World War II."
Margaritaville singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett dead at 76 (CBC) RIP Jimmy. We will not see your like again. "Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavoured song Margaritaville and turned that celebration of loafing into an empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died. He was 76."
In a corner of Italy, upholding ancient tradition of making Parmesan cheese takes a modern turn (CBC) Cats, dogs, and now...cheese. "While still fresh and malleable, each wheel of the cheese is encased in a braille-like plastic that presses the Parmigiano Reggiano name into the circumference, with the date and place of 'birth' of the wheel. For the past two decades, a QR code made of milk proteins has also been embedded in the rind. Yet Parmesan producers say these identifying markers are insufficient in the ongoing struggle to counter what data shows is a $2.5 billion Cdn annual business of low-quality ripoffs — almost equal to the yearly global sales of real Parmesan. To that end, the consortium is now testing a new way to fight fakes, with a digital microchip the size of a grain of salt that can be read with a laser to track and trace the wheels."
Money left to Heart and Stroke Foundation in Manitoban's will misappropriated, lawsuit alleges (CBC) FLIN FLON STORY "The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada alleges over $395,000 was misappropriated from the estate of a Manitoba man who named the charitable organization as his main beneficiary. The foundation accuses co-executor Dallas Mymko — who died last year — and lawyer Gregory Bauman of 'reckless, wanton behaviour' regarding the estate assets of Michael George Kish, according to a statement of claim filed in Manitoba Court of King's Bench on Aug. 21."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

The 37 cheapest nicest hotels we love (Conde Naste Traveller) Some good finds here...including in Chicago and New York. Not sure about how the Toronto one made it (I love the Drake but £220 a night!).
Insightful Map Reveals Different Etiquette Practices Around the World (My Modern Met) Knowing the local manners and customs is helpful anywhere. Apparently, we Canadians like to be 'fashionably late' #LOLZ
The Easiest Way to Make Fresh Mozzarella (and Burrata) (Lifehacker) This is a great way to make your own cheese. And yes, it looks remarkably easy.
10 Hilariously Crazy Bad McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys (Cracked) How about that tickle feathers sponge...eh?
How to Use the AAR Method to Learn From Your Mistakes (Better Humans) After Action Reports have been part of my life for a long time...they really work.
Time Management And Productivity Lessons From The Military. (Carl Pullein) Some great lessons here. Luckily, for me, I learned most of these as a young cadet and they have all served me well.
Soaked: The Myths and Facts of Hydration (Wise & Well) I am just not a big water drinker...

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

University gets largest donation in school history for student scholarships (CBS) "One Kentucky university will be able to help more students begin their college career thanks to the single largest donation in school history. [Officials] with the University of the Cumberlands announced the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation has donated $25 million to support student scholarships."
Widow’s £1 million donation sees launch of new Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence focused on deadliest childhood cancer (Brain Tumour Research) "A £1 million donation from a Gloucestershire widow who lost her husband to a brain tumour has enabled the charity Brain Tumour Research to establish its fourth Centre of Excellence which opens on the Sutton campus of The Institute of Cancer Research, [London.]"
U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum receives $1M donation (The Mining Journal) "The U.S. National Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum has received a 'generous donation' by ski community legends. Chuck and Jann Perkins of Stowe, Vermont, recently donated $1 million to the museum. Through the donation, the museum will be renamed the 'Charles N. and Janet B. Perkins Building | Home of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum.'"

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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Vincent DuckworthSeptember 8, 2023Comment