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CTV News
40 minutes ago
- CTV News
Retired geologist takes Calgarians on a fossil discovery tour outside a Safeway
The rocks outside the Kensington Safeway are full of ancient fossils estimated to be up to 450 million years old. Talk about a historical tour! A retired Calgary geologist hosted a fossil discovery tour Sunday through the heart of Calgary, where he showed participants examples of fossils that were 450 million years old. Best of all, instead of having to drive to Drumheller to discover the ancient rocks, the group met at the Safeway in Kensington. There, 10 large blocks of tyndall stone, originally from the famed Tydall Formation in Manitoba, which have been serving as rest spots for weary shoppers for years, are actually full of corals, sponges, nautloids, algae, pelecypods, starfish and brachiopods that are all preserved in the limestone. Koning hosted about 15 people Sunday, including a family from Kenya and a girl from Hong Kong. He's given the tour in the past, for the Canadian Energy Geoscience Association and the Alberta Wellness Association and Alberta Paleontological Association -- but when he first discovered that the Safeway limestone blocks were full of fossils, he didn't believe it. " I had never noticed it," he said. 'I've walked through here many, many times, and, and then suddenly I noticed this fossil, and that led to me checking out all these all these blocks here, and finding a whole different variety of fossils. 'And that led to me doing this tour.' Tako Koning Retired Calgary geologist Tako Koning hosted a fossil discovery tour Sunday in Calgary. (CTV Calgary) After examining the ancient rocks outside Safeway, Koning escorted the group up to SAIT, where he said the cladding on the John Burns Building is also full of fossils. Once he realized what he was seeing, Koning did some fact-checking. 'I checked with some experts, some expert paleontologist at University of Calgary, University of Saskatoon, and took pictures of these rocks, and then they confirmed that what I was looking at, the age I was looking at, and the species of fossils. So everything that I show here has been confirmed by experts in the field,' he said. Tour participants gave Koning's tour two thumbs up. 'This tour has done a really excellent job of making us all aware of the incredible pre-historic wonders that you can find, just on your doorstep,' said one woman. 'It's really, really cool.' 'Rocks hold a lot of history i them,' said a man, 'and most people are just sort of strolling by and this gives you another level of appreciation for history -- for maybe the history of Calgary and definitely the history of the planet.'
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Film producer Debbie Nightingale co-founded the documentary festival Hot Docs
Debbie Nightingale produced movies and television shows before a personal plot twist led her to become a goat farmer. Over time, her Ontario farm became a popular tourist attraction. Ms. Nightingale, who has died at 71, was a prominent member of the Canadian film and television industry whose many credits included co-founding a documentary festival now known as Hot Docs. In a career lasting more than three decades, she served as executive producer for the documentary Quality Balls: The David Steinberg Story, a 2013 documentary about the Winnipeg-born comedian, as well as for the 2010 series, Living in Your Car, a comedy about a high-flying executive convicted of fraud who tries to rebuild his life from his luxury car, for which she received a Gemini nomination. Some other notable projects include serving as producer for Chicks with Sticks, also titled Hockey Mom, a made-for-TV movie; Bailey's Billion$, about a talking golden retriever inheriting a fortune; and Lipstick & Dynamite: The First Ladies of Wrestling, a feature-length documentary about trailblazers in the choreographed sport. Hot Docs returns for 'exciting new chapter' after most tumultuous year in film festival's history The latter had its world premiere at Hot Docs in Toronto in 2004, by which time the showcase was a decade old. A group of documentary filmmakers had formed a Canadian Independent Film Caucus and one of them, Paul Jay, suggested starting a festival to finance their activities. He asked Ms. Nightingale to serve as an unpaid festival manager. 'The feeling was, 'Oh god, not another film festival.' But Paul made a compelling argument. The only thing, he told me, was that I had to raise the money,' she told Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail in 2018. 'It took six months to get about $100,000, which in 1993 was a hefty chunk of change.' Ms. Nightingale's experience running industry events, including for the Toronto International Film Festival, proved invaluable, and Hot Docs grew to become North America's biggest documentary showcase. She became executive director of Hot Docs, while also sharing her expertise by serving on other boards, including Women in Film & TV Toronto. 'Every part of the Hot Docs we know today grew from what Debbie helped establish,' the organization said in a statement released on her death. 'She recognized the importance of documentary filmmaking and providing a place where filmmakers, funders and audiences could connect. Without her, we wouldn't be here.' Even as she succeeded in her entertainment career, she dreamed of raising animals in the countryside. In 2008, she and her husband, a soon-to-retire literary agent, purchased a 25-acre (10.1 hectare) hobby farm with a Victorian farmhouse in Campbellford, about 180 kilometres east of Toronto. The property, which cost $450,000, came with three horses and 20 chickens. While she enjoyed her weekend immersion into a more bucolic lifestyle, she also soon discovered she had a limited knowledge of animal husbandry. For Hot Docs, a new leader and new vision aim to steady a beleaguered film festival 'The chickens seemed easy enough at first: all I had to was feed them, collect their eggs and clean their coop,' she wrote for Toronto Life magazine. 'That was until I walked in one day to find one lying dead. The next day, I walked in to find another dead chicken, and another the following morning. It was like a scene from The Birds – and I was convinced that I was somewhat responsible. When I called the vet in a panic, he burst out laughing. 'The thing about chickens,' he said, 'is that they live, and then they die.' They weren't spring chickens, he told me. They'd died of old age.' She moved to the farm full-time after purchasing four Nigerian dwarf goats at $100 each, juggling her day job as a film executive by e-mail while tending to the farm from dawn until well past sunset. An education in hircine care was gained through YouTube videos and word-of-mouth instruction. The addition of a buck to the herd quickly led to four pregnant does. One morning, she was greeted by a shivering kid separated from the does in the barn. 'I freaked out: whose baby was it? What if it hadn't eaten or bonded with its mother?' she wrote in Toronto Life. 'I called our breeder. 'Just pick up the baby,' she said nonchalantly. 'The mother will start screaming once you do.' She was right: As soon as I grabbed the kid, Pearl bleated bloody murder.' The couple later moved to a 200-acre (80.1-hectare) farm outside Port Hope at Newtonville, about 100 km east of Toronto, adding sheep, pigs, alpacas, miniature Icelandic horses and a mule to the menagerie. Experience in marketing movies and television programs proved invaluable in gaining a following for the farm, named Haute Goat, on social media. The farm became a popular attraction, including such scheduled events as a 'shmurgle,' during which customers spend an hour hugging, cuddling, snuggling, scratching and otherwise enjoying the playfulness of a goat herd. The farm also hosts an annual event called Goatchella. The farm includes an 18-hole disc golf course, a café called the Screaming Goat, and a shop selling products made from goat milk such as cheeses, chocolates and fudge, as well as skin-care products, including soap, lip balm and face cleansers. Deborah Esther Nightingale was born in Toronto on Oct. 14, 1953, to Helen (née Coffer) and Bernard (Buddy) Nightingale. Her Polish-born paternal grandfather was an upholsterer who repaired cinema seats before starting an office furniture manufacturing company, which became the family business. Her father eventually sold the business before working in commercial real estate. Ms. Nightingale died of a rare form of lung cancer at Northumberland Hills Hospital in Coburg, Ont., on July 10. She leaves Shain Jaffe, her husband of 27 years. She also leaves children Sarah, Leland and Noah Nightingale-Forfar; stepchildren Gita Jaffe and Meave Forfar; four grandchildren; a sister, Caron Nightingale; a brother, Ben Nightingale; and her stepmother, Margaret Nightingale. For all the early hiccups in farming, Ms. Nightingale proved an adept agriculturalist. In 2015, she and her husband received a premier's award for their products made from goat milk. At a ceremony, two Ontario MPPs presented a plaque, as well as a certificate from the Premier and a cheque from the province for $5,000. Ms. Nightingale said success depended on their goats. 'They are our livelihood and our inspiration,' she told a reporter from the Brighton [Ont.] Independent newspaper at a ceremony in which she received the award. 'Time to get going. I've got goats to feed.' You can find more obituaries from The Globe and Mail here. To submit a memory about someone we have recently profiled on the Obituaries page, e-mail us at obit@
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Disney Stock Before Q3 Earnings: Buy Now or Wait for Results?
The Walt Disney Company DIS is slated to report third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Aug. 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $23.67 billion, suggesting modest growth of 2.23% from the year-ago quarter's reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings has moved south by a penny to $1.47 per share over the past 30 days, indicating growth of 5.76% year over year. In the last reported quarter, Disney delivered an earnings surprise of 22.88%. The company's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 16.38%. The Walt Disney Company Price and EPS Surprise The Walt Disney Company price-eps-surprise | The Walt Disney Company Quote Earnings Whispers for DIS Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Disney this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. DIS has an Earnings ESP of -0.61% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Factors Shaping Upcoming Results As Disney approaches its third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings report, several compelling positive factors suggest that investors should anticipate strong results that build on the company's exceptional momentum from recent quarters, creating a buy opportunity ahead of results. Disney's Entertainment segment demonstrated remarkable resilience in the fiscal second quarter, with the segment generating $1.3 billion in operating income, representing a substantial 61% increase year over year. This momentum is expected to have carried forward into the fiscal third quarter as Disney+ launched its always-on perks program in May 2025, providing exclusive offers designed for subscribers and enhancing the customer value proposition. The company's direct-to-consumer segment generated $336 million in operating income in the fiscal second quarter, up dramatically from $47 million a year earlier, with this profitability trend expected to accelerate through the quarter under review as integration efforts between Hulu and Disney+ delivered enhanced user engagement and reduced churn rates. Our model estimates for Entertainment revenues (which include Linear Networks, Direct-to-Consumer and Content Sales/Licensing and Other Revenues) are pegged at $10.84 billion, indicating an increase of 2.5% year over year, driven by continued streaming subscriber growth and improved monetization strategies. Disney+ gained 1.4 million subscribers in the fiscal second quarter while Hulu added 1.3 million subscribers, establishing positive momentum that carried into the to-be-reported quarter amid successful content releases and enhanced user experiences. The Sports segment benefited from ESPN's domestic advertising revenues growing 29% year over year in the fiscal second quarter, with preparations for the ESPN direct-to-consumer flagship service launch creating additional revenue opportunities. ESPN's SportsCenter launched its ambitious 50 States in 50 Days initiative, driving viewership and advertiser engagement that is expected to have enhanced fiscal third-quarter performance. The Experiences segment positioned itself for exceptional third-quarter results following Disney's groundbreaking announcement in May 2025 of its seventh theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, representing the company's first Middle East expansion. This waterfront resort on Yas Island will combine Disney's iconic stories with Abu Dhabi's vibrant culture, accessing one-third of the world's population within a four-hour flight radius. Disney Parks generated nearly $67 billion for the U.S. economy while supporting more than 400,000 U.S. jobs, demonstrating the segment's robust economic impact and growth potential. Our model estimate for the Experiences segment (renamed from Disney Parks, Experiences and Products) revenues is $8.4 billion, indicating marginal growth of 0.3% year over year. Disney delivered strong consolidated second-quarter fiscal 2025 results with 20% growth in adjusted earnings per share and 7% growth in revenues to $23.6 billion. Management's optimistic guidance for high-single digit adjusted EPS growth for fiscal 2025 appears increasingly achievable given the multiple positive catalysts converging in the fiscal third quarter, positioning DIS for another quarter of robust financial performance across all business segments. Price Performance & Stock Valuation Shares of Disney have returned 4.7% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector's growth of 6.3%. Disney operates in a fiercely competitive streaming market dominated by the likes of Amazon AMZN -owned Amazon Prime Video and Netflix NFLX, as well as the growing prominence of services from Apple AAPL, Peacock and HBO Max. While Apple and Amazon has lost 19.2% and 2.1% year to date, respectively, shares of Netflix have returned 30%. Disney's Year-to-Date Performance Valuation-wise, Disney trades at a forward P/E of approximately 18.61x despite achieving streaming profitability and executing massive expansion plans, notably below the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry average of 20.25x. DIS' P/E F12M Ratio Depicts Discounted Valuation Investment Considerations Ahead of Q3 Results Disney presents a compelling buy opportunity ahead of third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings, trading at an attractive discount despite multiple catalysts driving growth acceleration. The company's streaming profitability surged to $336 million in operating income, a groundbreaking Abu Dhabi theme park expansion, and access to one-third of the global population, and $63 billion licensing dominance positioning Disney advantageously against the competition. While rivals struggle with streaming losses, Disney's integrated ecosystem of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN creates sustainable competitive moats. Strong second-quarter momentum with 20% adjusted EPS growth, robust theme park performance, and ESPN's advertising revenues surging 29% establishes powerful fundamentals supporting significant upside potential at current valuations. Final Thought Disney's convergence of streaming profitability, international expansion, and robust operational momentum creates an exceptional investment opportunity at current valuations. With multiple growth catalysts accelerating and fiscal third-quarter results positioned to exceed expectations, investors should capitalize on this discounted entry point before markets fully recognize Disney's transformed business fundamentals and earnings potential. Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be. With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028. See This Stock Now for Free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Netflix, Inc. (NFLX): Free Stock Analysis Report The Walt Disney Company (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
