KEY POINTS:
- TIME magazine published their latest cover, saying “2020 is the worst year ever”, with a red cross on a white background and black characters. The red cross mark appeared only four times on the cover of the magazine.
- Although a lot of bad things have happened in 2020, we still have EIGHT pieces of good news to share.
TIME magazine published their latest cover, saying “2020 is the worst year ever”, with a red cross on a white background and black characters.
American Broadcasting Company (ABC) reported on December 6 that it is easy to resonate with the cover of TIME magazine’s upcoming issue. There’s a massive 2020 with a red cross and the small words “the worst year ever.” on the cover.
According to US media reports, the red cross has a particular symbolic significance, because the magazine has only used it on four occasions: the first use was during the death of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader of Germany; the second was the outbreak of the Iraq war in 2003; the third was the killing of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the leader of Irak al Qaeda organization, in 2006; and the fourth, was when the US army killed the leader of al Qaeda, bin Laden, in 2011.
US media are saying the TIME defined 2020 as the worst year ever partly because of two reasons, the Covid-19 pandemic and the US general election.
Tragedies in 2020
As we all know, there are many tragic incidents in 2020. For instance, the Covid-19 pandemic, on-going political demonstrations around the world, Nth room incident in Korea, the explosion in Beirut, locust plague in Africa, forest fire in Australia, Black Monday in the stock market, and the collapse of crude oil prices to negative numbers, etc.
Besides, many celebrities left us this year. For example, Kobe Bryant, Lee Teng-hui, Alien Huang （小鬼）, Chadwick Boseman, Sir Sean Connery, Larry Tesler, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lee Kun Hee, Stanley Ho Hung Sun, Li Wen Liang, Diego Armando Maradona, Kurt Bilteaux Thomas, Go Soo-Jung, Ashraf Sinclair, Liu Zhen, Ken Shimura, Luo Pei-Ying, Benny Chan and Patrick Quinn etc.
Now the GOOD news
However, there is still some good news that we have noticed and decided to share some positive energy with you.
1. Improvements in the natural environment
Lockdowns in cities around the world and the time-out of most industrial activities appeared to have drastically improved air quality. Satellite images showed that the reduction of air pollution and the significant decrease in the concentration of CO2 in the air.
Reports from Carbon Brief shows the carbon dioxide emissions in China alone has reduced by 25% due to the lockdown.
Besides, wild animals were set free while people remained at home. They roamed empty streets during lockdowns around the world. Goats were taking over a town in Wales, while the streets of Thailand swarmed by macaques, deer in Japan’s Nara Park wandered in the neighbourhood in search for food.
The water in the Venice canals which has been murky for quite a long time can finally clear up with the break from a break from tourist arrivals and heavy boat traffic.
2. SpaceX Crew Dragon liftoff
SpaceX Crew Dragon has finally launched and successfully connect with the international space station on May 30 after a few postpones. Even though it is a joint effort with NASA, this is the first time in human history that a private enterprise has participated in the space program. Therefore, it is a significant milestone in commercial space flight, shedding lights into possibilities for the private sector in space exploration. In other words, our space travel plan is on its way.
3. Virgin Hyperloop airless tube conducted the first human passenger test
On November 8, Virgin Hyperloop completed their first human passenger test of the high-speed “capsule train”.
Hyperloop, also known as super high-speed rail, is a general term for vehicles that can run at high speed in a vacuum tube, with rates up to 600 miles per hour. In 2012, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reconceived the technology. Virgin Hyperloop was founded in 2014 based on Musk’s vision of this future transportation system.
The test was conducted on the DevLoop test pipeline in the desert outside Las Vegas, Nevada. The first two passengers to board the train were Josh Giegel, the CTO and co-founder of Virgin Hyperloop, and Sara Lucian, the Director of Passenger Experience. The test speed of the cockpit reached 172 km / h.
4. Possible sign of life found on Venus
On September 14, journal Nature Astronomy published the discovery of phosphine, a toxic gas, on Venus and its analysis by scientists at MIT, Cardiff University, and elsewhere.
The team claimed to have no other explanation for the discovery of phosphine other than the possibility of the presence of life on Venus. On Earth, phosphine can be produced by microorganisms in “anaerobic” environments. This oxygen-independent ecosystem includes sewage treatment plants, swamps, paddy fields, lake sediments, as well as the excreta and intestines of many animals.
In other words, we might be having a spare home planet.
5. Parasite won the most awards at the Oscars
The crew of Parasite led by the director Bong Joon-ho took home major awards including Best Pictures, Best International Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director at the 92nd Academy Awards in February. It is the first movie in a foreign language to win the Best Pictures award in the Oscars history. This win is a highlight for Asian, especially the South Korean film industry.
6. The release of the new seasons of Haikyuu and Attack on Titan
This piece is exclusively for OTAKUs to celebrate the return of their favourite shows.
For those who are not familiar with Anime, Haikyuu means volleyball in Japanese kanji. The story follows Shōyō Hinata, who is a boy determined to become a great volleyball player despite his small stature. Season 4 premiered in 2020 and the fifth season is coming up as well.
As for Attack on Titan, it’s basically about a world where humanity lives within cities surrounded by enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans.
The show is finally winding down to its fourth and final season after seven years in the making. The first episode will debut in December on Funimation and from the sound of it, Crunchyroll as well.
7. Uncle Roger went viral
Uncle Roger, a role played by Nigel Ng, a UK-based Malaysian stand-up comedian, has brought much joy to people around the world. Since the release of his egg fried rice critic in July, his subscribers on YouTube and followers on social media accounts increased drastically.
He successfully demonstrates Asian cultures to the rest of the world and has brought the Western and Eastern food culture to a “battle”. This battle is a lead to a better understanding of people from both sides of the world. He has also shown the success of making twist to careers when we face difficulty beyond our control.
As Malaysians, we have extra joy and pride to witness his success and appreciate the positive energy that he is bringing to the world.
8. The establishment of WeirdKaya!
Last but not least, remote studies due to the Covid-19 pandemic has led us to bring you more joy and exciting updates, mainly from the ever-changing China behind the Internet firewall and our beloved homeland, Malaysia. From time to time, we will also gather weird news from other parts of the world. Stay tuned!
Editor: Raymond Chen
