In this issue...
• The world's newest soon-to-be saint is a 15-year-old teenager who died in 2006
• U.S. medical professionals and academics eye fleeing to Canada to continue their professions
• By the numbers X 10 + 1
• CBC Radio's Under the Influence: Star athlete endorsements
• Company releases breast milk ice cream. Would you like one scoop or two on that cone?
• New release: The Hump Day Collection - Volume 1
• Buy them now! Acadian Recipes and More - Volumes 1, 2 & 3, and Forgotten Recipes - Volume 1
• The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, May 5
• Easter arrives on Sunday, April 20!
• Before you go: 7 things you may have missed in the news
• Enjoy the outdoors this winter with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
... and trivia, quotes and more!
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The world's newest soon-to-be saint is a 15-year-old teenager who died in 2006
The world's first millennial saint - Carlo Acutis - is being canonized by Pope Francis on April 27. The 15-year-old teenager died of leukemia in 2006, and his shrine is attracting throngs of pilgrims, including many young people who can relate to his youth.
Article excerpt: "On that Saturday, hundreds filed past - a priest and his parishioners from the Azores islands, a nun from Colombia and her Passionist sisters, a family with two teens from near Venice. Some clutched rosaries, others took selfies or touched the protective glass in front of the seemingly sleeping young man, who died of leukemia at 15 in 2006 and is generating a devotion that astonishes even Assisi’s bishop.
'I’m seeing here a volcano of grace erupting… I can’t believe my eyes,' said the Rev. Domenico Sorrentino. When he became bishop two decades ago, the church next to his residence just off the main street was 'forgotten' by the throngs that visited the monumental Basilica of St. Francis.
Over the last year, more than a million pilgrims paid homage to Acutis, Sorrentino said, drawn by 'his smiling way of living our faith.'
The teen’s happy image, usually in a red polo shirt and carrying a backpack, is as popular in souvenir shops across town as Francis in his simple brown habit.
One store owner picked up a blessed icon the first time she went to the shrine and keeps it glued to her cash register.
'I was really curious about this new saint who attracts youth,' Silvia Balducci said.
Both the church and his family describe Acutis as an exceptionally devout but otherwise regular Italian boy, who’s working miracles after his untimely death precisely by drawing youth to faith when most of his contemporaries are abandoning organized religion."
Click here for a video of pilgrims visiting his tomb. (Please note: The video shows his body.)
Read: Crowds flock to newest Catholic saint in Assisi - a millennial teen whose ordinariness is the draw. Related: What to know about Carlo Acutis, the Catholic Church’s new millennial saint.
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U.S. medical professionals and academics eye fleeing to Canada to continue their professions
There is a silver lining in every crisis, although sometimes that silver lining takes time to manifest itself. In Canada's case, that time is now.
Medical professionals, scientists and academics are moving to Canada or strongly considering it as the United States descends into economic and political turmoil with President Donald Trump's actions on the economy and against experts.
While Canada is certainly negatively impacted by many of Trump's actions, we are benefiting from the so-called "brain drain" currently happening south of the border because many of the "brains" are deciding to move north.
Article excerpt: "Renowned Ottawa heart surgeon Marc Ruel was planning a move to the United States last year, with the University of California, San Francisco 'thrilled to announce' that he would be leading a heart division in their surgery department.
But Donald Trump's threats toward Canada were such that Ruel has now decided to remain in Canada.
'Canada is under duress right now,' he told CBC. 'I felt my role and duty at this point was to directly serve my country from within.'
Ruel is not the only medical professional now reluctant to work in the United States.
That means Canada's health-care system could stand to benefit from the political upheaval unleashed by the U.S. president, as American physicians look to move north and Canadians forgo opportunities south of the border."
Canada should take full advantage of this situation. We need to attract as many medical professionals and academics as possible while they are amenable to making a change. This will only help our economy and society move forward during these turbulent times.
Read: Trump threats open "floodgate" of inquiries from U.S. physicians about moving north. Related: A U.S. brain drain could be Canada's brain gain.
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Company releases breast milk ice cream. Would you like one scoop or two on that cone?
No offence, but this won't be making it onto my grocery list anytime soon. Frida has just come out with breast milk ice cream.
Article excerpt: "We have the scoop on a surprising new offering by Frida: breast milk-flavoured ice cream.
Yes, you read that right. You will soon be able to purchase a pint of ice cream that tastes like sweet, creamy breast milk.
The Frida company - known for its baby, mom and fertility products, as well as its creative marketing - is now venturing into the food space (at least temporarily) with an ice cream flavour that is unlike anything you may have seen before... and it's due in nine months.
Comments on the company’s Instagram announcement range from, 'I love all of this and here for the chaos,' to, 'I literally can not believe more than one person thought this was a good idea.'
This isn't the first-ever batch of breast milk ice cream. According to NPR, a London ice cream shop used donated breast milk to create its Baby Gaga flavor in 2011. But the BBC reported that their sales were frozen due to safety concerns."
To be clear, the ice cream is simply breast milk flavoured, not made with actual breast milk.
Either way, just make my sundae with plain vanilla, please. I'm not feeling terribly adventurous today.
Read: A new breast milk-flavoured ice cream just made its birth announcement.
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CBC Radio's Under the Influence: Star athlete endorsements
This week's episode of CBC Radio's Under the Influence series with host Terry O'Reilly looked at star athlete endorsements.
• April 3, 2025 - Two Minutes For Looking So Good: Star Athlete Endorsements. Synopsis: "This week, we’ll tell the stories behind some of the most famous - and infamous - sports star endorsements of all time. We’ll talk about a Rocket Richard commercial that spawned a catchphrase that nearly every Boomer can recite. We’ll look at a powerful Nike commercial Serena Williams did about women in sports. And we’ll talk about what it took to put quarterback Joe Namath in pantyhose." Click here to listen to the episode.
Click here to watch the Maurice "Rocket" Richard commercial for Grecian Formula mentioned in the episode.
Click here for the show's website and here for the show's podcast archive.
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New release: The Hump Day Collection - Volume 1
I'm thrilled to announce that The Hump Day Collection - Volume 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 location)
• Amazon Canada: amzn.to/4gckiQX
• Amazon USA: amzn.to/3CnKfiF
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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) (Volumes 1-3, Forgotten Recipes)
• Le P'tit Coin Acadien Poutine Râpée (Bouctouche) (Volumes 1-3)
• Jean Coutu Pharmacy (Champlain Street, Dieppe) (Volumes 1-3)
• Monument-Lefebvre (Memramcook) (Volumes 1-2)
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The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Trivia Night will be held on Monday, May 5
The next Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club Trivia Night of the 2024-2025 season will be held at St. Louis Bar & Grill, 1405 Mountain Road, Moncton, on Monday, May 5, beginning at 6:30 p.m. $10 per person (cash only). Facebook event listing: bit.ly/3Eb41yL.
Participants may play as teams or individuals. The winning team gets 50% of the door receipts as their prize.
It is strongly suggested that participants arrive by 5:15-5:30 p.m. for a seat. Trivia begins at 6:30 p.m. sharp and is usually over by 8 p.m. Everyone welcome!
Please note that restaurant reservations are NOT available for this event. First come, first served. Limited seating of approximately 50 guests.
Participants may bring an optional non-perishable food item (box of granola bars, Kraft Dinner, cereal, etc.) for distribution at Krista Richard's Community Sports Program events, of which the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club is a sponsor. Any donations will be gratefully received and provided to Krista for distribution to her program participants (school-aged children from Moncton-area schools).
Since Rotary Trivia Nights began in 2016, the Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club has donated more than $20,000 to Atlantic Wellness, Karing Kitchen, Ray of Hope Kitchen, Salvus Clinic, The Humanity Project, BGC Moncton (Moncton Boys & Girls Club), Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Project Linus - Moncton Chapter, Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement New Brunswick, Children's Wish Canada and Krista Richard's Community Sports Program, among others.
The Greater Moncton Sunrise Rotary Club gratefully acknowledges the kind and generous sponsorship of our restaurant partner, St. Louis Bar & Grill.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a no telephone rule at these events. The answers cannot be researched except among discussion with your team members.
The remaining Trivia Night schedule for 2024-2025 is as follows:
• Monday, May 26
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Trivia: Did you know?
The name of Foghorn Leghorn's canine archenemy in the Looney Tunes cartoons isn't Rover, Fido or Rex... it's Barnyard Dawg!
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Quotes of note
• 1. "A child born to a Black mother in a state like Mississippi... has exactly the same rights as a white baby born to the wealthiest person in the United States. It's not true, but I challenge anyone to say it is not a goal worth working for."
- Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1967-1991) (shown in photo)
• 2. "You can disagree without being disagreeable."
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• 3. "One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived."
- Niccolo Machiavelli
• 4. "Either you run the day or the day runs you."
- Jim Rohn
• 5. "Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil."
- Aristotle
• 6. "Know how to listen, and you will profit even from those who talk badly."
- Plutarch
• 7. "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be."
- Kurt Vonnegut
• 8. "As you get older, three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two."
- Sir Norman Wisdom
• 9. "Never memorize something you can look up."
- Albert Einstein
• 10. "I can live for two months on a good compliment."
- Mark Twain
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Enjoy the outdoors this winter with the Greater Moncton Walking Group
In April, the group is walking in Rotary Park, Dieppe, with meet-up in the Rotary Lodge parking lot located at 505 Melanson Road.
In May, the group moves to the Dobson Trail in Riverview with meet-up in the parking lot on Quinn Court.
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.
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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.
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