What did us good this week

Our columnists return to news that has delighted them in recent days.




A Christmas Hockney

PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE BATTERSEA POWER STATION SITE

For the holidays, painter David Hockney has created two animated digital Christmas trees using his iPad that are projected onto the two iconic chimneys of Battersea Power Station in London every evening until December 25 .

If you’ve been to London recently, you may have visited the old Battersea power station – famous among other things thanks to Pink Floyd – which now houses shops, restaurants and offices. For the holidays, painter David Hockney created two animated digital Christmas trees using his iPad that are projected onto the two iconic fireplaces every evening until December 25. It’s colorful and beautiful. A bit like if we were projecting an animated canvas by Riopelle on Silo number 5. Well, it’s also an advertisement for the iPad which has become the 86-year-old painter’s creative tool since the pandemic, but that’s not takes nothing away from the beauty of the thing.

Nathalie Collard, The Press

A really good soccer match

PHOTO GETTY IMAGES

Seeing boys putting their all into a soccer match with complete cordiality, without unhealthy competitiveness, is delightful.

Being a parent of young soccer players means spending years watching little ones run together towards the ball with a lot of enthusiasm, but much less strategy. Then we suddenly find ourselves on a good Sunday in a school gymnasium seeing U9 players making passes, developing plays and at times creating what we must call beauty. No, the indoor soccer match between the Typhoons and the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Tornadoes was not televised. Yet it was exciting. Seeing these boys give their all with complete cordiality, without unhealthy competitiveness, is even more delightful.

Philippe Mercury, The Press

More children go to school in French

PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES

No less than 91.2% of Quebec students attend primary or secondary school in French, reports the Office québécois de la langue française.

Yes, we must be vigilant when defending French. But we must also remember that Law 101 works at school: 91.2% of Quebec students attend primary or secondary school in French. This is 1.7% more than in 2000, mainly because more allophone and anglophone students attend school in French, according to a report from the Office québécois de la langue française. About 32% of Anglophones attend school in French, compared to 18% in 2000. Memo to those who think the decline of French is the fault of immigrants: 92% of students who have a mother tongue other than French or English attend school in French.

Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot, The Press

Order in the Wild West

PHOTO GONZALO FUENTES, REUTERS ARCHIVES

Businessman Elon Musk, owner of the social network

Since we have noticed the damage caused by social networks in our societies and we have called for their supervision, Europe is now putting this idea to the test. The European Commission has opened a formal investigation against X, Elon Musk’s social network. He is suspected of having violated European legislation on digital services, among other things regarding “compliance with obligations relating to the fight against the dissemination of illegal content”. For example, we are talking about disinformation, hate speech and terrorist content. We of course don’t know how it will all end, but in my eyes, the simple fact of seeing a sheriff trying to (finally) bring some order to the Wild West bodes well.

Alexandre Sirois, The Press


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