What a strange country we survive in. There’s a hotel in Tofino, BC, the Wickaninnish Inn, that markets “storm-watching” as a reason to check in. It’s a huge success, packing in guests in the worst weather possible precisely in order to see the worst weather possible. Meanwhile on the Atlantic coast at this time of year, Newfoundland’s Fogo Island Inn sniffs its nose and says: “There’s a reason their ocean’s called pacific.”
Wherever you are this weekend, and under whatever weather, here are some things to keep your mind warm and dry.
1. Toronto’s Top 10 new skyscrapers. They’re rewiring our skyline. Most are supertalls, buildings higher than 300 metres (984 feet), which are bigger than a skyscraper (150 metres/492 feet) and smaller than a megatall (600 metres/1,969 feet). Check out the links to each one and see if they’re a new form of urban hell or heaven above.
2. A feast of great shots. Here’s a “best of” from wildlife photography of the year, Nature Conservancy photos of the year, and pano photos of the year.
3. Donald Trump’s corporate deck. He just launched a new media venture, including a new Twitter-like app called TRUTH and a media ecosystem free of “liberal bias.” Here’s the investor presentation he’s using to raise money. My advice is, don’t.
Oh, and speaking of fantasies, here’s a sneak-peak at the new Donald J. Trump Presidential Library.
4. They’re just selling gas. But this commercial for Shell is a two-minute joyride through the streets of Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Honolulu and Monaco. Vroom! Vroom!
5. A field guide to human error. What is human error exactly? And how can we remove it from being a big factor in all kinds of bad things?
6. How deep is the ocean? This infographic bathes us with new insights.
7. The best damnation. Who captures the full horror of our residential schools? The New York Times in this sad, shocking documentary.
8. Opinions crawl while events leap. Some of the best essays on life and money come from the Collaboration Fund’s blogs, like the one on “this is just how things work.”
9. The future will look a lot like the past. A contrarian view of where we’ll be in 2050. Eric Hoel believes “If you want to predict the future accurately, you should be an incrementalist and accept that human nature doesn’t change along most axes.”
10. Bizet’s Carmen, Amy Winehouse style. Watch one of the most beloved operas performed by a Tokyo company, in French with English subtitles.
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