Weekly News Recap: July 30, 2021

Weekly News Recap: July 30, 2021

Margaret MacNeil, right, of Canada, reacts after winning the final of the women's 100-meter butterfly as Sarah Sjoestroem, of Sweden, looks on at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 26, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (David J. Phillip / AP)

The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself. -- Dawn Fraser (Australian swimmer, 3-time winner at the Olympics)

Events

  • 2021 Battle of Alberta Golf Tournament (Sportsnet) ViTreo is proud to be working with the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre. "The Battle of Alberta Charity Golf Tournament supports the vulnerable children and youth of Central Alberta – helping to raise funds to provide crucial programming and resources. Whether you are Team Oilers or Team Flames – this event comes together for one goal: Our Kids."
    To support this event or the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre visit their website HERE.

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • 7-year-old boy beats cancer, makes massive toy donation to Children’s Mercy (ABC) I heart this kid. "Tripp’s Toy Drive began as a few posts on social media, then it grew to involve benefit concerts and viral TikTok videos. [...] Tripp and his mom went on countless shopping excursions with the monetary donations to get the games, stuffed animals and coloring books he liked to play with during his long hospital stays. He said he loved picking out items other kids would love."

  • These adventure cats bring joy to their owners — and social media followers (CBC) #AdventureCats "Canadians have embraced the outdoors in droves over the past year-and-a-half due to pandemic-related lockdowns — and their fluffy, tree-climbing, bird-watching feline companions have been tagging along. These intrepid animals are known as "adventure cats," as they are put on leashes to explore the outside world with their owners, whether they are hiking, kayaking or even skiing."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Mary Simon officially becomes Canada's first Inuk Governor General (CBC) Congratulations Your Excellency. "As she was sworn in officially today as Canada's 30th Governor General — the first Indigenous person ever to hold the position — Mary Simon praised Canadians' 'selflessness' and vowed to 'bring people together.' Simon — an Inuk from Kuujjuaq in northeastern Quebec — took her oaths [...] in a ceremony at the Senate chamber in Ottawa." RELATED: Governor general-designate Mary Simon speaks with the Queen, Mary Simon's installation outfit was designed, sewn and beaded by Inuit women.

  2. Gold for Canada's Maggie Mac Neil and other highlights from Tokyo Olympics (CBC) Congrats! Watching you win this was a real treat. We are all proud of you. #GoCanada "Mac Neil of London, Ont., wins women's 100m butterfly event." RELATED: VIDEO: Maggie Mac Neil GOLD medal for Canada | Swimming, Women's 100m Butterfly Final | Tokyo 2020, Olympic wake-up call: Canada secures emotional bronze medal, new national records.

  3. Skateboarding and surfing? This is not your grandparents Olympics (CBC) It is also very cool to watch. "The 7,000 seats at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in Tokyo will be empty when the street skateboarding competition kicks off on Sunday, but organizers are hoping a surge of fans tune in to the coverage and that the new Olympic sport helps make the Games more relevant to a younger population. Skateboarding, which started to emerge on the streets in the 1950s, is making the jump this year to the Olympic stage along with other new events, including surfing, sport climbing and karate."

  4. German Olympic gymnastics team, tired of 'sexualization,' wears unitards (CBC) #MorePlease -- this is excellent. "The team's outfits looked similar to the others in the room as the arena lights gleamed off crystals crisscrossing their chests and down their crimson and white sleeves. But the German gymnastics team's new Olympic suits didn't stop at their hips. For decades, female gymnasts have worn bikini-cut leotards. In qualifying on Sunday, however, the German team instead wore unitards that stretched to their ankles, intending to push back against sexualization of women in gymnastics."

  5. Alex Trebek honoured with Geographical Society grant program for emerging explorers (CBC) Nice Move RCGS! "The Royal Canadian Geographical Society in Canada and the National Geographic Society in the U.S. are honouring the late Alex Trebek with a special grant program named after the longtime Jeopardy host."

  6. Cleveland changes MLB team nickname to Guardians after months of discussion (CBC) Well done Cleveland. BTW, the video is excellent. "Known as the Indians since 1915, Cleveland's Major League Baseball team will be called Guardians. The ball club announced the name change [...] with a video on Twitter narrated by actor Tom Hanks, ending months of internal discussions triggered by a national reckoning by institutions and teams to permanently drop logos and names that are considered racist."

  7. Calgary is getting a new park that focuses on mental health (Daily Hive) This is great. Nice move Parks Foundation! "[Parks Foundation Calgary] revealed plans for an innovative new outdoor space that will be known as 'A Park with Wellness at Its Heart.' While the park will be located in a public area and open to everyone, plans have been created specifically with children and youth’s mental health in mind."

  8. Long Read: The arts vision for Calgary’s Downtown and the need to include artists (LiveWire Calgary) "Compared to other Canadian cities, Calgary’s investment in the arts remains weak. According to a 2019 report by the Conference Board of Canada, in 2015 Calgary awarded one of the lowest amounts of grants per capita. It was below cities with a smaller share of people employed in the creative industries than Calgary, such as Edmonton and Winnipeg."

  9. Canada's vaccination laggard: Alberta trails nation with slow uptake for 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccines (CBC) Ugh. "Alberta first-dose vaccination rates are lagging behind other provinces, a reality described as complicated, frustrating but not insurmountable. According to aggregate data compiled by CBC News, 75.2 per cent of Alberta's eligible population had received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of July 27. The national average is 80.6 per cent. The picture is brighter when it comes to eligible residents who are fully vaccinated: Alberta's 63.6 per cent is in step with the national average and ahead of B.C., Quebec, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island." RELATED: Calgary Stampede COVID cases grow to 84, as doctors say repercussions still unknown.

  10. The fashion industry's 'plus-size' label shames women to fit an unhealthy standard (CBC) "Over a year into the pandemic, I finally had enough courage to venture out and buy new clothes. I know most of us have to some degree experienced 'the COVID 15,' and I was no exception. No amount of regular exercise could counteract the stress, the long hours and occasional lack of access to healthy foods with Quebec's curfew in effect for several months. I could not deny that I had gained a few pounds and that most of my pants had gotten uncomfortably tight. It was time to treat myself to an upgrade. [...] As I tried on item after item, nothing fit until I started trying the pants on in the 'plus-size' section. For the first time in my life, despite only being 10 pounds over the upper limit of a healthy body mass index for my height, I was now forced to shop in a separate area. I was now labelled a 'plus-size' woman and could no longer shop in many of the trendy, mainstream stores because they didn't carry their items in my size. I was shocked, angry and immediately self-conscious."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Distracted? Forget Productivity Apps – Try This Text-Based System Instead (Life Working) I have been using text-based systems for a long time. My overarching reason: they are future-proof.

  2. How To Train the Most Forgotten Muscle in the Human Body (In Fitness And In Health) As someone who is working through a serious shoulder injury, this article is extremely timely.

  3. 12 Strong Headline Format Tips That Can Help You Write Viral Articles Today (Better Marketing) In a world of link-bait, you better be on your game.

  4. 3 Dead-Simple Productivity Strategies Only Few People Apply (Post Graduate Survival Guide) All three are great but #2 is awesome.

  5. 5 Minimalist Work Practices That Will Make You More Productive Than Ever (Masterpieces In Progress) They had me at #1.

  6. You Just Need These 12 Tools to Become Paperless, Even If You’re a Beginner (Data Driven Investor) I have tried. Really I have but, for me, I still think differently when I write on paper.

  7. After 200 Podcast Interviews, These 9 Questions Built the Strongest Connection (mind cafe) As a podcaster myself and as someone who is naturally curious, these are all great questions to ask someone.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Local developer gives $50 million donation to community mental health project (Guelph Today) Nice gift! "Helen Fishburn, executive director of Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington, made the surprise announcement at [the] groundbreaking that the $50 million building is being donated by the developer Vesterra Group of Companies."

  2. Billionaire George Soros donates $1million to racial justice organization seeking to defund the police (Daily Mail) "The Hungarian-born American philanthropist donated $1 million to the Color Of Change PAC on May 14, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. The PAC refers to itself as the 'nation's largest online racial justice organization,' calling for 'divesting from and dismantling the systems that unjustly harm Black people.'"

  3. Children’s Wisconsin receives $20M donation, largest single gift in history (Fox News) #Woot "Children’s Wisconsin and The Yabuki Family Foundation, led by former Fiserv CEO Jeff Yabuki, announced [...] the largest single donation in the hospital's history: a $20 million gift to transform the delivery of integrated mental and behavioral health care at every Children’s Wisconsin primary care and urgent care location."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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