In this issue...
• Moosehead Breweries cans its bottled beer production
• Fans distraught as The Simpsons' Quebec French version being cancelled after 35 years
• Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club Dinner & A Movie For A Year draw!
• By the numbers X 10 + 1
• Artificial intelligence (AI) will help man keep his voice alive for loved ones as his illness progresses
• Before you go: 7 things you may have missed in the news
• Introducing the new Rose Michaels brand of colouring books!
• Enjoy the outdoors with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
• Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
• The Hump Day Collection
• Send a FREE happy greeting card to someone to brighten their day!
... and trivia, quotes and more!
| |
Moosehead Breweries cans its bottled beer production
Wow! I was completely surprised to hear this. Moosehead Breweries of Saint John will stop selling bottled beer later this year and revert solely to cans and kegs.
Article excerpt: "'After all, the Moosehead green bottle has been an iconic symbol of our brewery for generations. But ultimately, we’re following the lead set by Canadians, who have made it clear that cans are their preferred way of enjoying not just our beer - but every beer across the category,' (Moosehead President Andrew) Oland said in a statement.
The brewery also says cans offer better protection against light and oxygen and require less material and energy to produce and transport.
Moosehead Breweries’ entire product line will move to cans and kegs, with the final run of bottles taking place in December.
Oland told CTV News the production change is not expected to result in any layoffs, and may actually open the door to more products.
'This will give us time, an opportunity in the years to come, to look at either larger cans or smaller cans,' said Oland.
'Who knows what Moosehead will be selling beer in 50 years from now, but it will all be the great beer that we brew here at Moosehead.'
Moosehead Breweries says Canadians can expect to see bottles on shelves in limited quantities into early 2026."
Those long-neck green bottles are iconic, like the brown stubbies before them. Sorry to see them go, but glass is very difficult to recycle and a lot heavier than cans to transport, so I understand. This trend will likely continue with other breweries. According to the company, cans also better protect the quality of the beer. Added to low sales in comparison to cans, the writing was on the wall for the bottles.
Moosehead fans can enter The Last Bottle contest to win the very last bottle that comes off the production line. Click here for details on how to enter.
Read: Moosehead Breweries will no longer sell beer in bottles.
| |
Fans distraught as The Simpsons' Quebec French version being cancelled after 35 years
The beloved Québécois French version of the long-running The Simpsons animated sitcom has come to an end after 35 years, and fans are not happy! In fact, they've started a petition to bring it back!
Article excerpt: "The uniquely Quebec version of The Simpsons - dubbed in Québécois French and featuring local place names, politicians, current events and popular expressions - has come to an abrupt end, leaving fans without their beloved adaptation.
An online petition launched last week to save Les Simpsons has garnered more than 22,000 signatures as of Monday. Spearheaded by Quebecer Joshua Biasotto, the petition calls on Disney+ Canada to ensure new seasons of the show on the streaming service are dubbed in Québécois.
'I took the initiative, not to put pressure, but to show to Disney that the Quebec people care about their Quebec version of The Simpsons,' he said in an interview.
Teletoon, the television network owned by Corus Entertainment, did not renew the broadcasting rights in Quebec for The Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad. It was Corus who was responsible for dubbing the shows. And now, while the 37th season of The Simpsons is set to debut in the fall, the Québécois dub, which is one year behind and on its 36th season, is on hold."
And yes, the characters retain their names in the French version, but obviously the pronunciations are - of course - very French.
For more information on non-English versions of The Simpsons, you can check out Wikipedia.
Read: Homer leaves Quebec: Petition to save Québécois French dubbing of The Simpsons.
| |
Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club Dinner & A Movie For A Year draw!
Hi everyone! After a six-year hiatus, the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club's Dinner & A Movie For A Year draw is back!
One early-bird prize of a gift basket featuring a popcorn popper and other goodies will be drawn on November 24, while our grand prize consisting of 12 x $100 gift cards to local restaurants (that's $1,200 in total, folks!) and 24 movie tickets will be drawn on December 9! Tickets are $20 each or 3 for $50. If you're interested, please message me on Facebook, email me at brian@briancormier.com or call me at 506-874-8725! We can make payment arrangements from there!
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club supports our community through the funds we raise. Some of our recent charities and organizations include:
• Ronald McDonald Family Room (The Moncton Hospital)
• Diabetes Canada "D Camps" (summer camps for children)
• Anglophone East School District School Supplies Drive
• Atlantic Wellness
• Junior Achievement New Brunswick
• Make-A-Wish Canada - New Brunswick Chapter
• Krista Richard's Community Sports Program
• Krista Richard's Bikes and Trikes for Everyone Program
• McNaughton High School Reach for the Top Team
• Boys and Girls Club of Moncton
• Peter McKee Community Food Centre
• Antler Breakfast
• YWCA Moncton
• Quilts of Valour
• Project Linus - Moncton Chapter
• Karing Kitchen
• Habitat for Humanity
... and many more throughout the years!
Thanks in advance for your support!
| | |
Artificial intelligence (AI) will help man keep his voice alive for loved ones as his illness progresses
A lot of artificial intelligence (AI) has gotten a bad rap lately, but one man in Quebec is using it to keep the memory of his voice alive as he loses it due to illness.
Article excerpt: "Leaning into a small microphone in a Quebec City studio, Dr. Alec Cooper takes a breath and reads out part of the often-quoted 'To be, or not to be' soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet.
'It's pretty dramatic,' said Cooper, backing away from the microphone and letting out a laugh.
'I just realized, my God, it really is talking about death.'
It's a subject Cooper says he's been forced to think about over the past year and a half after he was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal motor neuron disease. He was initially given an average life expectancy of two to five years.
The family doctor, originally from Victoria, had 1,800 patients before announcing his snap retirement last year.
Staying busy renovating his house to become wheelchair accessible, Cooper has also been spending more time in front of a microphone - recording common sayings, elaborate poems and his favourite book passages as part of the process to clone his voice for when the disease progresses further.
He's using AI-powered voice technology by ElevenLabs - a U.S.-based company that is offering the tech to one million people who suffer from degenerative diseases, including ALS, mouth cancer, stroke victims or those with Parkinson's disease.
The AI tool allows users to input a small amount of audio which generates a voice clone with that person's natural tone and inflection when they need to rely on text-to-speech devices. Cooper started feeding the ElevenLabs bank himself at home and is getting help from professionals at the local rehab centre.
'When the voice is gone, it's gone forever,' said Cooper.
'Thanks to this technology, the disease can't take my voice away.'"
Sophie Dupont, a speech language pathologist, explained in the article that "when the disease progresses to the point of impacting speech, a patient can be equipped with devices which can formulate words and sentences in their own voice when the disease progresses to the point of impacting speech."
This technology will help a lot of people and make a horrible diagnosis just a little bit more manageable for the patient and their loved ones.
Read: This Quebec man is losing his voice. An AI tool is helping bring it back to life.
| |
Introducing the new Rose Michaels brand of colouring books!
Do you like to colour? Do you know people who like to colour? The new Rose Michaels brand of colouring books for people of all ages is now available on Amazon Canada for $13.99 CAD, Amazon USA for $9.99 USD and in a number of other international Amazon marketplaces, as well. (International prices vary.)
Current books include:
• Let's Color Some Shoes and Purses
• Let's Color Some Letters
• Let's Color Some Trees and Birds
• Let's Color Some Cars and Trucks
• Let's Color Some Rockets
• Let's Color Some Doors
• Petal by Petal 1-2
• Silly Happy Monsters 1-2
• Goofy Ghouls & Friends 1-4
Coming soon:
• Demons & Monsters 1-2
• Skulls & Flowers
• Mythical Creatures
• Owl Mandalas
• The Owls Coloring Collection 1-3
• Christmas Coloring Fun
To view the entire list of Rose Michaels' colouring books, visit her website or follow her Facebook page.
| |
Trivia: Did you know?
December 25 is perhaps the most famous birthday, but it's also the rarest (February 29 aside, of course), with the fewest people born on that date than any other.
Kind of hard to compete with the most famous birthday boy on that date, eh?
| |
Quotes of note
• 1. "When you get older, you learn certain life lessons. You apply that wisdom, and suddenly you say, 'Hey, I've got a new lease on this thing. So let's go.'"
- Robert Redford (1936-2015, American actor and filmmaker (shown in photo)
• 2. "I have never been hurt by what I have not said."
- Calvin Coolidge
• 3. "A lot of critics object to what I do, but I got into comedy to make people laugh, and I've always worked hard."
- Adam Sandler
• 4. "People's minds are changed through observation and not through argument."
- Will Rogers
• 5. "The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."
- Robert H. Schuller
• 6. "My dear friend, clear your mind of can't."
- Samuel Johnson
• 7. "Always remember that your calmness under fire is your best defense in any argument or discussion."
- Robert Greene
• 8. "If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance."
- George Bernard Shaw
• 9. "I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me."
- Noel Coward
• 10. "I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done."
- Steven Wright
| |
Enjoy the outdoors with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
In September, the group is walking on the Riverview Riverfront Trail, with meet-up at the gazebo on Coverdale Road in Riverview.
In October - to start its remarkable 20th year! - the group moves to Centennial Park, with meet-up in the parking lot up the street from the main entrance on St. George Boulevard.
The group meets for walks every Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m. New participants are always welcome! For more information, please contact Wayne Harrigan at 506-386-2187 or via email.
| |
Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
My three volumes of Acadian recipe books (English and French) and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1 are out now and make a great addition to your recipe book library or a gift for someone else! They are available on Amazon Canada, Amazon USA and in some local retail outlets in Southeastern New Brunswick:
• Chapters, Dieppe NB: Volumes 1-3, Forgotten Recipes
• Le P'tit Coin Acadien Poutine Râpée, Bouctouche: Volumes 1-3, Forgotten Recipes
• Monument-Lefebvre, Memramcook NB: Volumes 1-3
• Centre culturel Kent-Sud, Bouctouche NB: Volumes 1-3 (French versions only)
| |
The Hump Day Collection
The Hump Day Collection 1 is now available for purchase through Amazon in ebook or paperback (300+ pages) format. The book contains 75 updated and revised Hump Day stories that ran for many years in a local newspaper. I've been asked many times to put these in book format, so I'm hoping you'll like it! For ebook lovers, the book is part of the Kindle Unlimited subscription-based program from Amazon. To purchase today:
• Chapters, Dieppe NB
• Amazon Canada: amzn.to/4gckiQX
• Amazon USA: amzn.to/3CnKfiF
|
Send a FREE happy greeting card to someone to brighten their day!
When was the last time you received a wonderful heartwarming greeting card in the mail to brighten your day? It's probably been quite some time, right?
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club wants to change that. They have launched a campaign called Inspiration which will see individuals receive cheerful greeting cards containing an uplifting message.
The cards are intended for anyone who would appreciate a happy message, be they health-care workers, teachers, students, seniors, retail or restaurant workers, delivery drivers or anyone else, including family, friends and neighbours.
The message inside each card reads, “Someone who thinks very highly of you wanted us to send you this sunny smile to brighten your day!” The cover of the card shows a smiling sun graphic accompanied by the words “Hi! Bonjour!” The cards are printed in both official languages.
Any names and addresses collected during the campaign will be kept confidential and not used for any other purpose. The cards are sent anonymously. Recipients will not know who made the request.
Requests for cards may be sent via email to inspiration@monctonsunriserotary.ca. There is no cost for sending or receiving a card. Requests must include the name and full mailing address of the person who will receive the card, including the postal code. The envelopes will be hand-addressed and sent with a real postage stamp. As well, Rotarians will hand-write a short greeting inside the card.
The Inspiration Campaign is a service project of the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club. Bricor Communications has also joined the campaign as a sponsor.
| | |
About this newsletter
Brian Cormier's Weekly Update is distributed weekly from September to June. If you're reading this newsletter online and want to subscribe, please email me, fill out the subscription form on my website, or subscribe via the "Join Our Email List" button at the top of the newsletter (if you're viewing this in a browser.) This newsletter is not published in July and August and on holidays.
| | © 2025 Bricor Communications | | | | |
