Month: July 2026

Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • Opioid deaths in Canada dropped 23% in 2025. CBC.
  • New Orleans man becomes first in Louisiana functionally cured of sickle cell disease. WAFB.
  • Data collected from 132 countries reveal that global blood collections increased by nearly 19% between 2013 and 2023. Voluntary, unpaid donors accounted for over 85% of the estimated 120 million blood donations received in 2023. Mirage.
  • By 1850, Massachusetts had been stripped to perhaps 10% forest; today it is 60% wooded. Perhaps the “greatest forest recovery in the history of the world.” Inside Climate News.
  • 35 years ago, fewer than 800 alewives, a type of fish, were making this trip up the Sebasticook River. Last year, they numbered 9 million. Inside Climate News.
  • Renewables covered record 58% of German electricity consumption in first half of 2026. Clean Energy Wire.
  • This new reactor system converts plastic waste into sustainable jet fuel with promising economics. Tech Radar.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Needlemouth by K-Ming Chang

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

Cindy wakes each morning with something in her mouth such as a needle, a coin, or a bird. It’s delightfully weird. Just the sort of thing I like. She is living with her aunts and her cousins Mandy and Yangyang.

Cindy doesn’t remember her parents or where she came from. She comes to this house every summer, but doesn’t remember any previous summers. She discovers a room in the house she’s never noticed before. I have dreams like this, so this felt very dreamlike to me. Being in the room gives her the urge to hurt herself.

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The X Files Season 3

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

At the end of last season, Mulder appeared to have died. Season 3 starts with “The Blessing Way” (S3, E1) in which a dead Mulder talks to his dead father and his dead father figure, Deep Throat. I like that we get a lot of minor characters in this one. Scully meets with Mulder’s mother who was strangely absent last episode. Krycek is also here and he shoots Scully’s sister. At this rate, neither Scully nor Mulder will have any family members left by next season. It’s too bad their family members exist merely to be killed off. We also get the first appearance of The Well-Manicured Man, another member of The Syndicate which keeps aliens a secret.

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Woodrow Wilson by John Milton Cooper, Jr.

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment

Thomas Woodrow Wilson born was born on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia. He was the third child and first son of Reverend Joseph Ruggles Wilson, minister of First Presbyterian. Reverend Wilson was a heavy smoker, scotch drinker, and billiard player. He was outgoing, witty, and fond of puns. (Woodrow Wilson himself didn’t smoke, but had the occasional scotch.)

Like his mother, Tommy had blue-gray eyes that changed color with his mood. In 1857, his father was called to Augusta, Georgia and the family had slaves to serve them leased by the church. His father got an honorary doctorate and went by Dr. Wilson thereafter. 

Tommy was four when the Civil War broke out. Not only did southern states leave the union, but southern Protestants also seceded from their national organizations. Dr. Wilson was a high ranking member of the Confederate Presbyterians. However, two of his brothers were Union generals and his father was anti-slavery. He never reconciled with his family after the war. Tommy didn’t get to know his Wilson relatives until he was a grown man.

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Good News Friday

~ D. J. Moore ~ Leave a comment
  • New tiny home village will house the homeless with $300 monthly rent and free healthcare. Good Good Good.
  • In Brazil, nearly 656,000 teens gave birth in 1996. In 2025, that figure had plummeted to around 276,000—a 58 percent drop in under three decades. Rewire News Group.
  • Scientists identify 64,000 sq miles of coral reef capable of surviving climate crisis. Reuters.
  • Arizona’s 26 wildlife crossings have reduced collisions by 90%. Good Good Good.
  • UK sales of electric vehicles just overtook petrol cars for the first time. CarbonBrief.
  • Renewable energy is overtaking traditional power projects across Africa. AP.
  • In a scientific first, researchers recovered ancient DNA that humans left behind on rock art and cave walls. Smithsonian Magazine.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.