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Weekly News Recap: November 1, 2024

Vincent Duckworth

Weekly News Recap: November 1, 2024

Bruce McKean’s $200-million donation to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation marks the largest cumulative donation to mental health in Canada’s history. The donation will be used to support research, studies and two new buildings at CAMH’s Toronto Queen Street location. Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail

There's no such thing as a vote that doesn't matter. -- Barack Obama

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • VIDEO: Dua Lipa: Tiny Desk Concert (NPR) If you have not listened to Dua Lipa, you are in for a treat. "When Dua Lipa came to visit the Tiny Desk, she had nothing to prove — and much to live up to. After all, the singer’s Tiny Desk (home) concert, recorded in London in the aftermath of her 2020 blockbuster Future Nostalgia, still holds the record for the most-viewed Tiny Desk concert in history, her 130 million views surpassing even the likes of Mac Miller and Anderson .Paak."

  • VIDEO: The mates who have met for a pint every Thursday for 56 years (BBC) #Committment "It's Thursday night in the White Swan where, in one corner, songs by Cliff Richard, Derek and the Dominoes and Rick Astley are among those being belted out through the speaker - and by some of the less sober punters. At the other, quieter end - huddled around a table of half-full glasses of Stones beer and alcohol-free Guinness - are Paul Haynes, Bill Munden, Ken King, Peter Thirlwall, Brian Ayres and Dick Cotton. None of them can imagine being anywhere else in the world right now, as Thursday night has been pub night every week for the last 56 years. The group, all now in their early eighties, reckon they've scarcely missed two dozen meet-ups since 1968."

  • Paddington Bear given UK passport by Home Office (The Guardian) How cool is this? "He has been one of the UK’s favourite and most prominent refugees for two-thirds of a century. Now Paddington Bear – official name Paddington Brown – has been granted a British passport. The co-producer of the latest Paddington film said the Home Office had issued the specimen document to the fictional Peruvian-born character – listing for completeness the official observation that he is, in fact, a bear. 'We wrote to the Home Office asking if we could get a replica, and they actually issued Paddington with an official passport – there’s only one of these,' Rob Silva told Radio Times."

  • VIDEO: Flames fans amazed by new horse sculpture outside Saddledome (Daily Hive - Offside) CALGARY STORY Beautiful and cool. "Daily Hive was able to get in touch with the creators, Kyle Jensen and Ian Rice. The two are a Calgary-based artist duo who run True North Absurdities. Together, they have created several interactive sculptures, including three that breathe fire. The horse seen by many outside of the Saddledome is the duo’s latest, having just been completed at the end of September."

  • VIDEO: Designers Anna Sui, John Fluevog, Zandra Rhodes on how their style spans decades (CBC) VANCOUVER STORY We have a​ few Fluevogs in the house...just a few. "Three fashion designers walk into a shoe store. It's to celebrate one of them, who has an annual festival dedicated to his designer shoes. John Fluevog, Anna Sui and Dame Zandra Rhodes were united in Vancouver last week for what is known as Flummunity Fest — a three-day gathering that hosts guest speakers and showcases new collections."

  • VIDEO: A look behind the scenes of an Oilers game (CBC) EDMONTON STORY For all hockey fans...not just fans of the next Stanley Cup winners ;-) "Hours before puck-drop, the production staff runs through the show. Everything Edmonton Oilers fans watch and experience during a game at Rogers Place is calculated to the second. We got a look behind the scenes at what goes into the big-screen production."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. VIDEO: People removing their bricks along Olympic Plaza pathway ahead of revamp (CTV) CALGARY STORY I get that change happens but this appears to be a fairly significant stewardship fail. "Bricks along the pathway at Calgary's Olympic Plaza have been removed and it wasn't by the city. It appears people are coming to grab bricks with their names, family members' names or a saying ahead of the plaza closing. The bricks cost $19.88 each, matching the year and allowing Calgarians to add their names to the Olympic legacy."

  2. VIDEO: We Are Lethbridge Polytechnic (YouTube) LETHBRIDGE STORY Lethbridge Polytechnic launches its new brand. Congrats to all."

  3. Meet the guy ‘off the street’ behind a stunning $203-million gift to CAMH — the largest mental health donation in Canadian history (Toronto Star) TORONTO STORY This is why having a philanthropic culture is so important. What a gift! "Bruce McKean called up the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health one day in 2017, asking to have a look around. He was what’s known in fundraising terms as an unknown, 'a cold call,' a 'walk-in.' On the elevator ride up at CAMH that day in 2017, McKean — a 'guy in jeans off the street' — casually dropped a big number, one that left his tour guide stunned."

  4. Tracy Johnson | Top 40 Under 40 2024 (Avenue Calgary) CALGARY STORY Congrats to Tracy and to all the Top 40 Under 40 Class of 2024. "She became CEO of the Calgary Public Library Foundation while still in her 20s and now works to support the Library with funding for enhanced programming and services."

  5. Iconic Banff sign, a must-see for visitors, moving to safer spot (CBC) BANFF STORY I love this sign but this has been a safety hazard for some time. "A popular selfie spot for visitors to Banff National Park has become a victim of its own success. The two-metre-high, $350,000 'Banff' sign was installed in 2017 on Mount Norquay Road, one of two entrances into the Alberta mountain park's idyllic townsite. But the narrow two-lane road, which runs from the Mount Norquay ski resort seven kilometres away, is fraught with traffic jams, even between the peak tourist seasons of winter and summer. Town officials have decided it needs to be moved."

  6. Microsoft, Google and Amazon turn to nuclear energy to fuel the AI boom (CBC) Ironically, the solution is to ask AI how to use less energy. "Big tech companies are scrambling to secure nuclear energy deals worth billions of dollars in order to meet the growing demands of generative artificial intelligence (AI) — but critics say they need to rethink that and slow down. 'Tech companies have gotten away with a lot just because it's a new area,' Sasha Luccioni, AI researcher and climate lead at New York-based AI developer HuggingFace, told The Current's guest host Peter Armstrong."

  7. A bold experiment in biological engineering (New York Times) Umm...this is freaky. "Science is always focused on breakthroughs and the next big thing. And, too often, there is loads of hype about what benefits to society a particular breakthrough might bring. But when I saw the image of Albert Einstein peering out of a petri dish in the office of Christopher Voigt, the chairman of the Department of Biological Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I knew that he was on to something very big. Something that is almost certainly going to affect our children in the decades to come. The image in the petri dish was built by tiny, living organisms whose DNA had been manipulated by Dr. Voigt and his students so that they were directed to line up in a formation that resembled Einstein’s face."

  8. VIDEO: Saoirse Ronan silences male stars with reaction to self-defence joke (CBC) Good for you Saoirse. "American Irish actor Saoirse Ronan silenced a room full of male stars with just a few words. The Little Women star appeared as a guest alongside Paul Mescal, Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington on BBC's The Graham Norton Show. On the talk show, Redmayne, 42, spoke about the physical training he underwent for his role in the upcoming miniseries The Day of the Jackal, in which he plays an assassin. After Redmayne said he was taught how to use his phone as a weapon if someone was attacking him, Mescal, 28, made a joke saying someone wouldn't think of using their phone if they were in a dangerous situation."

  9. VIDEO: Self-driving tractors to robots: Farmers turn to automation to address labour shortage (CBC) CANADIAN STORY The future is here. "Ken Sarauer is driving his combine through a field of barley on his Saskatchewan farm. His hands are largely off the steering wheel. The machine can harvest a row autonomously, allowing him to focus on several screens showing real-time data on his crops. 'I see it as lane assist in your car,' he said. 'Everybody worries about automation taking jobs. But it allows you to do your job better.'"

  10. Yukon University joins Universities Canada (Universities Canada) WHITEHORSE STORY Congrats to all. This is a huge step. ViTreo is proud to be working alongside Yukon University. "Universities Canada is pleased to announce Yukon University as its newest member, effective immediately. During its fall membership meeting in Ottawa today, Universities Canada’s members approved Yukon University’s application, making it the 97th member of the national association."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Expectation, Perception and Hot Sauce (Perry Wilson) #Spicy A very interesting study and a novel way to test expectation and perception.

  2. How to Draw a Strategy in 4 Easy Steps (Data Driven Investor) I love this idea of drawing your strategy.

  3. I Tried Google’s New AI Tool, NotebookLM — And It Totally Blew My Mind! (The Startup) I used it to make a reasonably believable podcast from a set of notes from a recent fundraising bootcamp with a client -- it was jaw dropping.

  4. The Paradox of Being Present (Thought Thinkers) This is a bit nerdy but worth the squeeze as they say. Enjoy in whatever present you are part of.

  5. Three Reasons to Insist on Outcome-Based Planning (Product Coalition) Outcomes will save us all.

  6. The True Power of the Laplace Transform (Cantor's Paradise) Ok, this is SUPER nerdy but the trigger/cool factor from my engineering eduction made me include it. For math geeks only.

  7. The Unexpected Turf Wars For Lisbon’s Beloved Tart Pastry (Rooted) We love our nata. And just like bagels in Montreal, you can only support one.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. UW law program receives $45 million donation (Seattle Times) "The University of Washington’s law school received a $45 million donation from the estate of renowned attorney Stanley Barer and his wife, Alta. The donation, one of the largest in the UW’s history, will expand the Barer Institute for Leadership in Law & Global Development, which trains attorneys from developing countries."

  2. Algonquin College celebrates historic $2 Million gift from The Joyce Family Foundation (Algonquin College) OTTAWA STORY This is why we love Tim Hortons. (Or, at least, one of the reasons.) "Algonquin College is proud to announce a momentous $2 million gift from The Joyce Family Foundation, establishing a significant endowment to support students facing financial barriers."

  3. $10M Donation Made To Upper Cape YMCA (The Enterprise Falmouth) "Efforts to build a YMCA in Falmouth have received a $10 million boost. The boost came from entrepreneurs and philanthropists Donald R. Smith and Pamela Burkes-Smith. The donation brings the amount raised for the project so far to $23 million. The total fundraising goal for the new facility is $35 million."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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