Latest news with #Lajoie
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Lincolnshire Marriott Resort celebrates 50th anniversary with a multisensory trip back to the 1980s
Lincolnshire Marriott Resort celebrates its 50th anniversary season with a high-octane trip back to the 1980s. Always Something There … is a totally rad musical celebration of the pop culture and fashion of the 1980s, with the most awesome mixtape of hits by Madonna, Pat Benatar, Debbie Gibson, and Whitney Houston, and other music icons, director James Vásquez said. Always Something There … opened June 26 at the Marriott Theatre as part of a curated pairing of theatre and pop-up dining at the newly created, Back to the Grill, presented by Three Embers Restaurant, running June 18 through August 10, 2025. Brad Lajoie, general manager at Chicago Marriott Lincolnshire Resort, said each pop-up is an extension of the current stage production at the theatre, transporting guests to another realm while enjoying a themed food and beverage menu led by the culinary team at Three Embers Restaurant. As Back to the Grill, Three Embers Restaurant is transformed into a vibrant homage to the 1980s, complete with diner-style booth seating, bold neon accents, and reimagined album covers and movie posters inspired by favorite 1980s icons. 'This fun pop-up series enhances a guest's overall experience by creating a seamless, immersive journey that begins before the curtain rises and continues well after the final bow,' Lajoie said. Chef de cuisine Ed Laxner, said in coming up with menu items for Back to the Grill, he first listened to the Always Something There… soundtrack for inspiration. 'This brought back my childhood memories and the dishes I grew up eating – I took inspiration from that to elevate the dishes and to add the typical Three Embers seasonality to them,' Laxner said. New menu items like Loco-Motion Taco Salad, We Got the Bleu, chicken cordon bleu with bacon, Dreamloaf, a vegan meatloaf with classic sides, and Sweet Emotion Forest, a decadent take on Black Forest-style dessert and more. Lajoie says they introduced this multi-sensory initiative in celebration of Lincolnshire Marriott Resort's 50th anniversary, inviting guests to deepen their theatrical journey with a themed meal before or after the show, bringing the story to life through a curated culinary experience that engages all the senses. Always Something There … is a vibrant new jukebox musical by Chicago-raised playwright Sandy Rustin (Clue, The Cottage, Mystic Pizza). Set to an electrifying soundtrack of hits from the 1980s, this show delivers a fresh twist on the time-travel tale, promising a fun and relatable experience for audiences of all ages. When Samantha Craig wakes up on the morning of her 45th birthday, back in her 18-year-old life, she finds a golden opportunity to relive her senior year of high school in suburban Chicago, 1989. Armed with the wisdom of her adult self, Samantha can reshape her teenage choices. She can rekindle friendships, reclaim her voice, and maybe even get a second shot at first love, according to the program description. 'Guests aren't just watching a story — they're tasting it, feeling it, and living it in a more memorable and meaningful way,' Lajoie said. Visit for more information.
CBC
15-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Open letter to federal leaders from Manitoba researchers gets support from hundreds of Canadian academics
Social Sharing An open letter from a group of Manitoba researchers has garnered support from hundreds of other scientists and academics across the country, sounding the alarm about the effects of research cuts in the U.S. on Canadian research and urging federal political leaders to take action. The letter, which was shared Friday and as of Tuesday afternoon had more than 750 signatures, said it comes "at a critical moment for global science." "The dramatic dismantling of research infrastructure in the United States, the world's historical leader in scientific investment, has left an international innovation vacuum," it says. Julie Lajoie, an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba and one of the academics who wrote the letter, said the current climate in the U.S. has created "a unique moment in time" in the opportunity it presents for Canada to step up to fill the research gap. "We cannot rely anymore just on our neighbour…. We need to take our spot and we need to take our place," said Lajoie, whose research includes infectious diseases like HIV. "And [to be] able to do that, we need to have the government to finally see that science is important, research is important." The letter says layoffs and program cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration in areas including pathogen surveillance, climate resilience, vaccine development, occupational health, cancer research and women's health at major health and environmental agencies in the U.S. "jeopardize the scientific and public health security of every country that has benefited from U.S. leadership and collaboration." That includes cuts to funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, which supports more than 300,000 scientists, and layoffs at the Environmental Protection Agency's research office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Researcher warns of 'spillover effect' Paul Marcogliese, an assistant professor of biochemistry and medical genetics at the University of Manitoba who was among those who signed the open letter, said maintaining the status quo for research funding in Canada would represent "a degradation of our science," partly given how intertwined Canadian research is with funding or collaborators in the U.S. "There's already colleagues of mine where that funding has been put at a standstill. And then there are also folks that are, of course, collaborating with Americans. So there's a spillover effect of our research funding decreasing," Marcogliese said. "Certainly, five to 10 years down the line, if nothing changes from what's happening, we're all going to be further and further behind." While the U.S. research climate provides an opportunity for scientists to bring their expertise to Canada, the letter says "a significant investment" in Canadian research is desperately needed "to capture this opportunity." "If we want to attract those American scientists, we need to provide them the funding to do that," Lajoie said. "Right now, funding in Canada is so limited." Among those who signed the letter was at least one U.S.-based academic: Zen Faulkes, a biology instructor at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg, Va., who's originally from Canada and described the last few months as "catastrophic for American science." Faulkes said while those changes make him think it would be "nice to go home, for both personal and professional reasons," he hopes to see more discussion about Canada's plan to improve its research funding so there are more opportunities for scientists like him interested in potentially moving north of the border. "I'm not going to say that I would just take any job that opened itself up because, you know, moving is always a complex proposition. But boy … I would welcome the opportunity to look at some offers," Faulkes said. "An offer from Canada would weigh very, very strongly in my consideration." Calls for funding increases The letter urges the federal government to raise spending on science and technology to 1.25 per cent of Canada's GDP, a change it says needs to include a doubling of funding for what's known as the tri-council agencies responsible for the country's research funding: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. It also calls for a research accelerator fund to be established "to match and incentivize provincial, business, and non-profit investments in direct research and research infrastructure," and for the government to remove the cap on international students. "We get requests nearly every day by e-mail from all over the world, from highly trained individuals that would like to pursue graduate studies with us," said Marcogliese. "There shouldn't be a cap on that, and added levels of bureaucracy for us to deal with, in trying to recruit an international graduate student." The letter argues that research should be seen not as a cost for Canada, but as "a strategic catalyst for Canada's long-term prosperity, delivering significant returns through both economic growth and improved quality of life" — noting every dollar invested in research and development in Canada yields roughly $4 in GDP, according to findings from the Support our Science Campaign.
Fox Sports
02-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox Sports
Torpedo bats, axe bats, and knobs: A history of baseball bats
You've been hearing all about torpedo bats of late, and with good reason. New equipment isn't introduced to Major League Baseball often, but the torpedo bat represents a change in the design of a piece of equipment that's been part of the game from the start: the baseball bat itself. The New York Yankees having themselves an offensive explosion against the Milwaukee Brewers on opening weekend certainly helped bring them into the spotlight , but big games from the likes of Elly De La Cruz helped keep it there. The thing is, the torpedo design is not the first change to baseball bats. They didn't just arrive on the scene in the 19th century looking like they do today — it took years and years, well over a century even, to get from the kind of bat the game started with to the one that Giancarlo Stanton holds in his hands today. Let's look back at the bats that have existed in MLB, however briefly, and think on what could even be coming next. [Related: The secret behind the Yankees' newfound power? Torpedo bats ] Banana bat If you thought "torpedo bat" was fun to say, or that a bat shaped like a bowling pin was a little silly to look at, then you need to be introduced to the banana bat. Patented in 1890 by Emile Kinst, the banana bat is curved a bit like a banana, though not as pronounced, even if the patent image makes it look like Kinst was influenced by ancient Egyptian swords . Here's what the banana bat actually looks like in real life: Kinst's idea was that the curve of the bat would create spin on a struck ball in a way that would make it difficult for fielders to handle it. It didn't become the new sensation he'd hoped, though, but at least the Savannah Bananas can make jokes about literal banana bats now in this post-torpedo world. The dream lives on, Emile Kinst. The dream lives on. Mushroom bat Food was the only way to make new bat types relatable in those olden days, so, following the banana bat, the next innovation was the mushroom bat. This one changed the knob of the bat to look even more like a mushroom, hence the name. The idea was that the weight distribution of the bat would be better with a tapered, thin handle and a thick, mushroom-shaped knob at the end, but the longer knob also meant a little less bat designed for the actual hitting part of the bat's job. The mushroom bat isn't the most well-known alteration to bat design, but you can buy a replica from the Baseball Hall of Fame's shop, if you're into that. Wright & Ditson bat If batters found success with one knob, imagine how much more they could have with two? That was the idea behind the Wright & Ditson Lajoie bat, which had a normal knob at the bottom of the bat, but then a second knob a few inches above that, for batters to still have a knob to utilize when they decided to choke up, or for separation between their hands on the handle of the bat. These bats are sometimes found being auctioned off for thousands of dollars, such as this used model with the name "Lajoie," after Hall of Famer Nap Lajoie, branded right onto the barrel, that Lelands sold . No-knob bat This is jumping ahead to the future a bit, but the complete opposite of the Wright & Ditson "Lajoie" model with its two knobs is the one Mets' second baseman Jeff McNeil uses. It has no knob at all! This is an older style that has almost vanished entirely from the league — as pointed out in 2018 when McNeil was a rookie, Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente used to swing a knob-less bat, but today McNeil's decision is just seen as a bit weird to players used to having a knob there. The knob-less bat has a fascinating design, since it still does thicken up toward the bottom of the bat, but it remains smooth up and down the barrel instead of using the mushrooming design that's standard, and has been so, since the idea was first introduced. Axe bats Axe bats aren't ubiquitous by any means, but part of the reason you won't see Dodgers' star Mookie Betts switching to a torpedo bat just yet is due to his familiarity with — and success with — the axe bat. Former Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was the first to utilize the axe bat, and former Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia became its champion for a bit, with the idea being that it might help to keep him from all the hand and wrist injuries he'd suffered over the years. Yahoo! Sports , covered the rise of the axe bat in 2015, and explained that Hall of Fame and hitting legend Ted Williams had compared swinging a bat to swinging an axe nearly half-a-century before in his book, The Science of Hitting. "Try it for yourself. Get a bat and swing it against a telephone pole. I do this with doubting young Washington players. Where is the wrist position at point of impact? Square and unbroken, that's where, just as when you hit a tree with an ax." These are still in use, and while they didn't take the entire league by storm as it looked like they could a decade ago, the axe bat might end up outlasting many of the adjusted knob designs of baseball's past. That's something to remember when it comes to the torpedo bat, as well: not everyone in the league has to use one for it to be a successful innovation, or useful for the players who do find success with one in hand. Bottle bat The torpedo bat is a new design, yes, but it's not the first bat to decide that redistributing weight of the bat to where it could be best utilized was the right play. Heinie Groh used a "bottle" bat that looked like, well, a bottle. Perfectly named bat, really. Groh's career took place both immediately before and after Baseball's Deadball era, and since the ball in that time was practically made out of rolled up socks and dreams, finding just the right bat to send it flying was a lot more common than it is today. Changes in wood It's not just knobs and handles and barrels that have been adjusted over the years. Baseball bats have been made out of hickory — a dense, heavy wood that helps explain why the bats sluggers used in the earlier days of the game weighed as much as Dustin Pedroia did — and out of ash, until the availability of ash became a problem when the trees became endangered due to ash borers feeding on them. Maple has been the standard for some time now, though, that switch brought its own issues. The wood was both light and strong, but because of the way the wood was grained — it's slope-grain —, it also split into dangerous shards when they broke, to the point that MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association had to make effective governing of the maple bat production process a subject of collective bargaining in 2008. Maple might not be the end of the exploration of different wood types, either. Bamboo can be used alongside maple to make for a stronger composite bat, for example, and there are bats that are made only of bamboo that producers like Rawlings put out. Unlike with the kind of bats players are used to, these bamboo bats are made of multiple pieces of bamboo rather than from one tree, like maple or ash are. Like with maple bats becoming more popular after the success Barry Bonds found with them. However, all it takes is for someone to introduce the change — the axe bats weren't approved for use until they were, either, which is how this all goes and the game gets to continue to evolve. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic
CBC
06-02-2025
- Health
- CBC
U of Manitoba-led program tackling HIV in Kenya in jeopardy due to Trump's cuts to USAID
The Trump administration's freeze on American foreign aid is sending a chill into the Manitoba non-profit space, with some humanitarian workers saying it's putting the global initiatives they're working on at risk. Prof. Julie Lajoie, with the University of Manitoba, said the billion-dollar freeze in humanitarian assistance puts at risk the future of a decades-long initiative spearheaded by Manitoba researchers to care for and prevent HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in Kenya. "We got told yesterday that we were no longer able to operate our clinics, which means that by Monday [they] have to be shut down," Lajoie told Information Radio host Marcy Markusa Thursday. "We are right now trying to see if there's a way to bypass USAID and get funding through another organization … but we are in an emergency crisis." Dozens of senior officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have been sacked and thousands laid off as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to dismantle the flagship agency charged with delivering humanitarian assistance. Tech billionaire Elon Musk — who heads the Trump administration's government efficiency agency — has said on his social media platform X, formerly called Twitter, USAID is a "criminal organization" and that it is "time for it to die." The University of Manitoba program gets some of its funding from an American AIDS relief program the U.S. State Department says has helped save 26 million lives across 55 countries. Lajoie, who holds the Francis A. Plummer professorship in global infectious diseases, said if the program were shut down, it could have mortal consequences. "I have a collaborator. She's a sex worker.… She has been living with HIV for 20 years," Lajoie said. "She's telling me, 'I have six pills left at home. Next week … what's going to happen to me?' And it's [a] heartbreaking question that we don't know how to address." 'Shocked' The U.S. government says it spends roughly $40 billion US on foreign aid every year. Earlier this week, the United Nations warned the freeze could have dire consequences worldwide, including more than 1,000 maternal deaths in Afghanistan and the shuttering of critical health services for millions of refugees in Pakistan and Bangladesh. About 48 per cent of global funding for the UN's humanitarian emergency response came from the U.S. government last year, according to its aid co-ordination agency. "I was shocked with the decision," said Abdal Rahman Qeshta, partnerships manager with the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation. Many Manitoban non-profits and charities are scrambling to figure out what to do next, Qeshta said. "It will lead to budget cuts and scaled-back operations" and delays, he said. "They would face … difficulties in how to communicate this to their local communities, to the beneficiaries of all of these programs." In the early 2010s, Qeshta worked for a multi-year, USAID-funded program that supported hundreds of thousands people living in Gaza. Similar large-scale projects would not be possible if the foreign agency disappears, he said. "It's not only about, like, the money," he said. "It's about … the technical side. It's about the networking as well, or the networking capabilities that they have on the field." Bruce Guenther, disaster response director for the Mennonite Central Committee, said the suspension will lead to a huge gap that will be hard to fill. "Humanitarian assistance is needed now more than ever. There's 305 million people that are in need of humanitarian aid," he said. "That's people facing climate crisis, that's people facing displacement due to conflict.… When we think about the impacts, it's very saddening." Climate initiatives on pause The Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development said the funding freeze has already affected their activities. The charity said the cuts mean they'll have to stop initiatives to implement protections against climate change in about 30 different developing countries — more than a third of the members of its global network. The institute said USAID had committed more than $6 million for the climate adaptation program. Another project to improve regulations on artisanal gold mines partially funded by the Americans has also been suspended. CEO Patricia Fuller said that includes several countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, including small island nations and some the world's least developed countries. "Countries like the United States and Canada … have an interest in a more stable world," she said. "This kind of thing is of very short-term interest on the part of the United States. It will contribute down the road to more fragility … and developing country governments that have less confidence in countries that support them — and the U.S. in particular."
