Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief:
An exceptionally popular holiday gift is the digital assistant. It’s worth catching up the November cover story on the grand growth and reach of Alexa, Google Home and that ilk. Important to keep one’s eyes open. - The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/11/alexa-how-will-you-change-us/570844/
Jiayang Fan digs back into two-century-old history between China and the West to help explain the perceptions of the arrest in Vancouver of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. - The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/how-china-views-the-arrest-of-huaweis-meng-wanzhou
This review of a book about the value of grudges--and they are crucial to cultivate, the author argues--will amuse to the point of wanting to buy it. - The Spectator
https://spectator.us/relish-cultivate-grievances/
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
Significant oil price and cost implications for global shipping on the horizon from low-sulphur fuel rules. - U.S. Energy Information Administration
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37793
Wind power drawing private investor interest while avoiding the usual gusts of hot air from partisan political windbags. - Forbes
Carrie Schmidt, editorial researcher:
This one may require a handkerchief and a quick check in the mirror if you wear eye makeup: My Dad’s Friendship With Charles Barkley. - WBUR, Boston’s National Public Radio station
https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2018/12/14/lin-wang-charles-barkley
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Brand reimagining and increased medical research have helped cannabinoids go from being seen as dangerous to being seen as desirable. The piece also notes how some of the 113-plus cannabinoids in the cannabis plant are being isolated and tested to determine medical uses. - GQ
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/cbd-oil-uk
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has created a fascinating documentary about soldiers of the First World War by digitally restoring and colouring archival footage to make brittle, flickering 100-year-old images come startlingly to life. This story gives a glimpse into the technical wizardry and storytelling sensibilities that went into making They Shall Not Grow Old. - New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/movies/peter-jackson-war-movie.html
The U.S. president’s defenders predicted the judge slated to sentence former Trump adviser Michael Flynn would leap to the disgraced lieutenant general’s defence and give the FBI merry judicial hell. They were wrong. “I’m not hiding my disgust, my disdain, for this criminal offense,” U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said. This account of the sentencing hearing is long on courtroom drama. - Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/im-not-hiding-my-disgust-or-my-disdain-veteran-judge-upends-hopes-of-trump-allies-as-he-spotlights-flynns-misdeeds/2018/12/18/6fe78382-02f1-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html?utm_term=.3ea6715a9c3d
Tyler Orton, reporter:
Robert Mueller is the most unknowable man in Washington. - The Washington Post
It’s the holidays, so here’s a helpful how-to on decoding the hidden calories in alcohol. - Vox
https://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12251286/calories-alcoholic-drinks-chart
Tough to get Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum to speak to local media, however, MacLean’s managed an interview. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer anything particular illuminating for those in B.C. (or the rest of Canada). - Macleans
https://www.macleans.ca/politics/the-b-c-mayor-who-promised-to-fire-the-rcmp/
