Having trudged through ten months of a pandemic, impeached a president twice, and watched the state of the planet deteriorate with little hope for recovery, we’re desperately in need of some good news. Fortunately, a new year brings new prospects for breakthroughs, discoveries, and entertainment. Things are improving everywhere around us, from the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine to plans on reducing carbon emissions in the near future in many countries. Take a minute to appreciate the good things ahead of us, big and small.
- Not only is the COVID-19 vaccination widely available all over the country, it’s reached our school district! All ICSD faculty and staff are eligible for the vaccine.
- On Wednesday, January 6th, the Common Council removed the ban on dogs on the Ithaca Commons. You can now take your dog on a responsible and law-abiding stroll downtown!
- A newly identified snake species found in northern India was named after Salazar Slytherin from Harry Potter! The species is called Trimeresurus salazar.
- The History Center in Tompkins County has reopened with stunning exhibits on a Civil War soldier from Tompkins County, the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ language, and more.
- NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) found an Earth-size planet in the habitable zone! It’s called TOI 700 d.
- We’re getting another season of I Think You Should Leave! If you haven’t seen it, it’s a sketch comedy show starring Tim Robinson on Netflix.
- A new Silence of the Lambs spinoff is coming to Netflix! It’s called Clarice, and hopefully it’ll be accompanied by another season of Hannibal!
- Dr. Anthony Fauci says concerts could resume this fall!
- In related news, the Eurovision Song Contest, which was postponed from 2020, will happen this year!
- Julien Baker, Japanese Breakfast, and Lucy Dacus plan to release albums in 2021!
- Apple users can look forward to new emojis including mustachioed lovers, interracial couples, and a “head-in-the-clouds” face!
- There are just two months until the Tattler’s annual April Fool’s issue comes out!
- There are five new restaurants downtown! La Bodega is in the Dewitt Mall, Ooy’s Café and Deli and Hound & Mare are on North Aurora Street, Kimchi Korean Restaurant is on the Ithaca Commons, and the Greenhouse Café and Cocktail Lounge is on East State Street.
- Ben & Jerry’s has put out a line of frozen dog treats! So far Pontch’s Mix and Rosie’s Batch are available in mini cups and multipacks.
- The US is building a bike trail that will run across 12 states from Washington, DC to the Pacific Coast!
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, and In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway have all entered the public domain. They are now free for use by the American public and free to adapt in a number of ways.
- John Green’s collection of personal essays, The Anthropocene Reviewed, will be released in May.
- The next total lunar eclipse since January 2019 will happen on May 26th and will be visible from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hawai’i, and the western US. For about 14 minutes the moon will turn a deep orange color.
- The first tubeless automated insulin delivery system will be released in early 2021, making blood sugar monitoring and insulin delivery much easier for people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- NASA’s Perseverance will land on Mars in search of signs of ancient life. Its exploration of the Jezero Crater will commence on February 18th, 2021.
- The Al-Huda Islamic Center purchased land in Lansing to be the home of the first mosque to serve Ithaca and Tompkins County.