As many of you know, I am a hard-core, foaming-at-the-mouth Washington Nationals fan -- tattoo, massive bobblehead collection and all. Long ago, I made a promise to myself: If they won the World Series, I would instate a five-year grace period. Five years in which the joy of finally winning a ring would keep me from stressing over whether they won or lost, or how badly they played. The Nationals won the World Series in 2019, and it was one of the happiest days of my life. Now, they are literally the worst team in baseball, and I am completely at peace. Is it fun watching them lose by double digits to another basement-level team? No, but the sheer euphoria of that World Series win is still carrying me through. After all, no one can be the best all the time. Might as well enjoy it anyway.
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| Our favorites this week Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week
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Credit: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images |
Duck, duck, grape
Look at these ducks! They're working so hard. Vergenoegd Löw The Wine Estate, a winery in Cape Town, South Africa, employs about 1,600 ducks to help ward off pests around their precious grapevines. Troops of flightless Indian Runner ducks are cajoled on a 14-day circuit through the vineyard, eating and fertilizing the ground as they go. Vineyard staff got the idea from rice paddy workers in Asia, where ducks are used for similar purposes. South Africa's wine industry is something of a tastemaker in the business, so the practice may be spreading soon. Duck eggs from the industrious little fowl are even served in the vineyard's restaurant. But not the ducks, of course! "That would be like eating a colleague," says Gavin Moyes, the estate's tasting room manager. |
Credit: Wasin Pummarin/Adobe Stock |
Oh what a world
There's something so fun about "best places" lists. Reading through one is like taking a mini vacation, and it's nice to see how many of these remarkable cities, attractions and natural wonders you've seen with your own eyes. We have two new great lists this week: A 2022 list of the World's Greatest Places from TIME, and a 2022 list of the World's Best Cities from Time Out, which describes the rundown as the "ultimate travel bucket list." Time Out's top city for the year is Edinburgh, Scotland (above), with its gorgeous architecture and poetic green horizons. TIME doesn't rank its list, but good luck ever getting to all 50 of them -- one of their greatest places is ... the International Space Station. Hey, they're probably not wrong! |
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A round of applause to... |
Chris Hemsworth, for being a thoughtful coworker. I don't love including little celebrity anecdotes, because of course stars are going to try to show their good sides. But Natalie Portman recently said that Hemsworth, her co-star in the new movie "Thor: Love and Thunder," stopped eating meat before filming their kiss scene because Portman is vegan. Honestly, that's just nice! For the record, Portman says Hemsworth eats a lot of meat. (He does give off big meat-eater energy, doesn't he?) It's the little things, people. |
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The search for life beyond Earth could go in a very creative direction in the near future. Scientists believe some planets and moons in our solar system may have oceans, and those oceans could contain evidence of living things. This decade, NASA expects to launch robots that could dive below the waters of these far-away bodies, even tunneling below icy crusts to reach the mysterious worlds below. Some of these robots may even be the size of a cell phone. |
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Ah, the elegance that emerges when beauty and purpose unite. The World Architecture Festival Award has released its short (?!) list of 250 buildings from 50 different countries, and they are nothing short of stunning. Many of them marry sustainable practices with designs that pay homage to the surrounding landscapes and cultures. This solar-powered structure in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (above), looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. It was originally conceived by the late Zaha Hadid, an architecture icon and personal hero of mine. Another really cool design comes from the Hebei province in China. The Wastewater Cleansing Terraces complex showcases an ecological way to clean water -- a major challenge in the area and around the world. |
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CNN Hero Nelly Cheboi knows the power a single computer can hold. She grew up in poverty in Kenya, and through her family's hard work, was able to to go college in the US on a scholarship. That's where she discovered her passion for computer science and realized how many doors are unlocked when you have a mastery of technology. Her nonprofit, TechLit Africa, uses recycled computers to create technology labs in schools in rural Kenya. Through her work, thousands of children like her can see a brighter future on screen. |
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There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.
- Astronomer Carl Sagan in his book "Pale Blue Dot." This passage is a meditation on an extraordinary image taken in 1990 at the fringes of our solar system, showing Earth as nothing more than a, well, pale blue dot. "That's here. That's home. That's us," Sagan wrote. (Read it all again, even if you've read it a million times before.) These words took on new meaning this week when NASA released new images from the James Webb telescope. In these images, we can see up to 13.1 billion light-years away, to when the universe was new. What a privilege it is to be alive. What a privilege to be here right now, together, on this pale blue dot. |
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Rec of the week Brought to you by CNN Underscored |
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Shameless animal video There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now. |
Friday was Shark Awareness Day! I personally am aware of sharks every minute of my life, but don't let one person's crippling fear get in the way of appreciating these fascinating creatures. Here, engage in some exposure therapy with a trio charming bamboo sharks from the Denver Zoo. (Click here to view) | |
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