Karen Perl-Pollard

Working towards being interested and interesting. Curiosity may have killed the cat - but it makes my day!

[U Calgary @UCalgary]

Canada’s entrepreneurial university #UCalgary is committed to translating discoveries into real-world solutions. UCeed researchers, innovators and startup founders have taken over 40 successful new technologies to market – and counting https://t.co/8RX9COFTAQ @InnovateCalgary

[Billy Oppenheimer @bpoppenheimer]

Colin Jost & Michael Che are the longest-tenured Weekend Update anchors in SNL history.

But after their first few episodes back in 2014, an NBC executive called a meeting with SNL producer, Lorne Michaels.

“Do you think Jost and Che are working?” the exec asked.

Michaels said,

"No."

"Oh," the exec said, "you know?"

Yes, Michaels said. He said he was well aware that his new Weekend Update anchors were not performing all that well.

"But it's a thing," Michaels told the exec. "People have to be bad before they can be good."

He likes to use the analogy of an ugly baby:

"All babies are ugly (unless they're your baby), but after three months, everyone says, 'What a beautiful baby.' You just have to live through that period of people not being good."

Takeaway 1:

Lorne Michaels said people are bad before they are good. And what's true of people is true of just about all creative work.

The co-founder of Pixar Ed Catmull, for instance, calls early mock-ups of Pixar movies—coincidentally—“ugly babies.”

“They are not beautiful, miniature versions of the adults they will grow up to be,” Catmull writes.

“They are truly ugly: awkward and unformed, vulnerable and incomplete. They need nurturing—in the form of time and patience—in order to grow.”

Takeaway 2:

Colin Jost and Michael Che, Lorne Michaels told the NBC exec, just needed some time to get through the period of being bad.

The record producer Rick Rubin talks about how it’s an underrated ability: the ability to sit with discomfort through that period of being bad.

Talking with his fellow multi-Grammy-winning producer Finneas O’Connell, Rubin said, “There’s a great deal of patience involved."

Because, he said, everything is bad for a while before it gets good.

Finneas agreed, saying,

“I think it’s shocking every time how bad things can be on their way to being good.

It blows my mind.

It’s like when someone’s solving a Rubik's Cube, and it looks like they’re so far from solving it right before they solve it.

When you’re in the middle of something—you listen to it, and you’re like, ‘Tomorrow, this might get amazing, but today, it’s so bad.’

The exciting thing is that it’s every time.”

“Every time,” Rubin repeats.

- - -

“You’re only as good as you’re willing to be bad…You’re never going to get good unless you’re willing to be bad.” — Randall Stutman

Follow @bpoppenheimer for more content like this!

[Alex Boyd @alex_n_boyd]

Brutal. This comes just days after Edson's evacuation order for wildfire was lifted.

[Centre for Sexuality @YYCsexualhealth]

We're looking for great people to facilitate our programming! Whether it's school, community or professional settings, we're working toward improved health and well-being and safer environments for all. Check out the postings at https://t.co/wZwYLmkeSQ.

#yycjobs #nonprofitjobs

[Karen Perl-Pollard @PerlKaren]

Good luck Houston Peschl at the Triple E Awards in Barcelona! #Haskayne #ACEEU_Awards #2023Entry542

[Scary Underwater @scaryunderwater]

Speed of a crocodile 😧🐊

[Dr. Steph (Stephanie Cooper MD- ObGyn/ Mfm) @DrStephanieCoo1]

https://t.co/f5ikMy12b6 At 22+6 weeks of pregnancy we tell families ‘there is nothing we can do”, and a day later “if you want, we can do everything”. Imagine the trauma for families having to make these decisions at the the threshold of neonatal viability.

[Karen Perl-Pollard @PerlKaren]

@duygu_gulseren Thinking of you...

[Tomas Pueyo @tomaspueyo]

Anybody aiming at colonizing Mars should realize that the Earth's oceans are
• Easier to reach
• Easier to colonize
• More fertile

Oh, and there's nearly 3x land in the Earth's oceans (140M sqm) than in all of Mars (56M sqm)

[Jeremy, Writer & Dad & Collector of Parks @JeremyWingert79]

My hot take is that most of us have not adequately processed the trauma of the pandemic. And our sprawling, unprocessed trauma chews away at our brains in myriad ways that make us anxious about why we can’t seem to live our lives as instinctively or as joyously as we did in 2019.

[Global Calgary @GlobalCalgary]

University of Calgary campus briefly locked down while police investigate report of man with knife https://t.co/QcQPVFiijR #yyc

[Calgary Police @CalgaryPolice]

We are currently on scene at the University of Calgary campus investigating reports of a male with a knife. No injuries have been reported. We ask the public to avoid the area while we continue to investigate.

[Calgary Chamber @CalgaryChamber]

Does your business look out for the triple bottom line – people, profits, planet? Let us help you tell your story and celebrate your pride in social responsibility! Apply for the @CPA_AB Social Entrepreneurship Award before time runs out: https://t.co/mdwcYqHp5U

[Reuters @Reuters]

Scotland has become the first country in the world to legislate free period products for women and girls in need. The products will be available in locations such as educational settings, cafes and community facilities

[Edmonton Journal @edmontonjournal]

Online hub a 'one-stop shop' for domestic violence help in Alberta

#yeg
https://t.co/4MlCHSAQiG

[Calgary Sun @calgarysun]

Dawn Farrell named Trans Mountain's new CEO and president https://t.co/rpb8mszVuC

[Jason Herring @jasonfherring]

Excellent photos by Jim here. ~80% of panels on the Peace Bridge were shattered overnight, amid a city campaign intended to discourage vandals.

City estimated last month replacing six panels costs about $80,000. Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong told me 35-40 panels are broken today. #yyc

[Dawn Walton @CTVdawnwalton]

👀Suncor CEO suddenly steps down; effective immediately. No reason(s) given.

[Rob McLister @RobMcLister]

BREAKING: The @federalreserve just boosted its key rate by 75 bps, the most it's tightened policy in one meeting since November 1994.

It's now highly probable the @bankofcanada follows with a 75 bps blow of its own on July 13.

[Kevin Nimmock @KevinNimmock]

NEW: Alberta is no longer requiring people to isolate when they have COVID.