Noteworthy: Someone sure won’t need a New Year’s resolution to get in shape…

By Bruce Penton on December 4, 2024.

Alberta grandmother DonnaJean Wilde has made the Guinness Book of World Records by doing 1,575 pushups – a lifetime number for many people – in one hour. Wilde lives in Beazer, Alta., near Cardston, She did 620 in the first 20 minutes and then slowed her pace, managing only 955 in the final 40 minutes. Slacker!

Yahoo!Life’s report said that in order to make the record official, Wilde had to perform each rep “at a 90-degree elbow flexion at the bottom of the push-up, with full extension of the arm when pushing up.”

Wilde is 59 years old. The women’s world record she was chasing was a mere 1,200.

– You don’t have to see Santa Claus with children on his knee at the mall, or hear Christmas carols playing as background music all over town to know it’s the Christmas season. Last weekend featured the Something For Everyone Christmas Market at the Cypress Centre and the Heritage Christmas Market at Medalta. Coming up this weekend are Mahoney and Friends on Friday night at the Esplanade – one of the best nights of entertainment you’ll experience, Hatters – and the Medicine Hat Concert Band’s Sing a Song of Christmas on Saturday, also at the Esplanade. Next Wednesday, Dec. 11, the Esplanade stage will be graced by Laila Biali and her Wintersongs and Holiday Classics show.

– Pop megastar Taylor Swift concludes the international segment of her worldwide The Eras Tour with three shows in Vancouver this week – Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The tour started in March 2023, covered the U.S., went to Mexico and Brazil and then overseas to Japan, Australia, Paris, Stockholm and Portugal, hung around Europe this summer (Scotland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Poland, Austria and London) before visiting Toronto last month and, finally, Vancouver this weekend.

The website offering rules and regulations for fans to follow (when to start lining up, overnight camping prohibited, bags must be of a certain style and size, etc.) also warns people that “gifts for the artist will not be accepted or collected.” That means you can leave your jar of grandma’s cranberry jelly at home, even though Taylor would thoroughly enjoy it.

In all, Swift performed 148 concerts – each more than three hours long – and reportedly generated more than $1 billion. Her schedule was arranged so she was able to attend almost all home games of the Kansas City Chiefs, an NFL team for whom her latest boyfriend, Travis Kelce, plays. One stop on the tour, Vienna, Austria, had its three shows cancelled due to a suspected terrorist plot. Singapore was the luckiest city on the tour, getting six shows.

Swift’s tenure as the world’s No. 1 entertainer far exceeds Justin Bieber, New Kids on the Block, even the Beatles. She’s come a long way from 2010, when a critic said after a so-so performance at the Grammys as a 20-year-old, that she had “consigned herself to the dustbin of teen phenoms.” A resulting song called ‘Mean’ was a hit.

One more Taylor Swift stat: Between 50 and 90 semi-trailer trucks were used to transport staging, costume changes and colour-coded microphones around the world.

OK, one more stat: There is a clear No. 1 on stage, but behind the scenes, there are 204 people who make the whole thing happen: Musicians, dancers, lighting and sound technicians, camera people, visual effects folks, costume specialists, directors, producers, editors, makeup experts.

– It’s getting crowded in outer space, with Axios reporting that 12,597 satellites were orbiting the earth at the end of 2023. That number has probably increased this year. Eighty per cent of the satellites are dedicated to communication. It’s also getting dangerous, with the possibility of satellite collisions increasing as more hardware joins the orbiting parade.

– Short snappers: The word of the year, as declared by Dictionary.com, is ‘demure.’ Its two meanings are: “characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved”; and “affectedly or coyly decorous, sober, or sedate.” Perfectly describes the incoming U.S.president. … Facebook needs a ‘thumbs down’ icon so the word ‘idiot’ doesn’t have to be used to show your displeasure with a particular comment. … President-elect Trump and his allies’ plan for deportation of illegal immigrants, says the New York Times, is to “revitalize the economy and prioritize the rule of law.” Ah, yes, the rule of law. This from a man with 34 felony convictions in his immediate past. And then we get the Hunter Biden pardon. Something’s stinky in the world of U.S. justice these days. … The Sunshine Trolley’s tour of Christmas lights around the city will be held tonight, starting at 4:30. The trolley leaves from the Visitor Information Centre on Gehring Road. … A great place to make a food or cash donation to the Root Cellar is this Sunday afternoon when the CPKC Holiday Train rolls into Medicine Hat shortly after 3 p.m.

Bruce Penton is a retired News editor who may be reached at brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca

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