Bright Side: A Convicted Fraudster, A Fat Bear, And A Very Happy Accident

Welcome to the Bright Side, a weekly roundup of all the good news and ideas you might have missed from the past week.

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Competition season for fluffy bears

Welcome to “The Chonkening.” If there’s one sure sign fall has officially arrived, it’s Fat Bear Week. Every year, wild bears roaming Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve unknowingly compete in a single elimination looks-maxxing bracket to see who can gain the most ba-chonk-a-donk before hibernation season. If you’ve played before (all you have to do is “vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness and success in brown bears”), you’ll recognize returning champ Chunk, who may or may not be hoping to defend his beefcake title. He won last season by crushing boatloads of salmon — even with a broken jaw — and looking large and in charge on camera.

 

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Other than comparing before-and-after pics for bears with names like Marshmallow, Bucky, and Backpack, you can also learn about how different bears coexist, what they like for dinner, and how humans care for their natural habitat. Previous champion Grazer beat Chunk 2:1 and was the first mama bear to win the tournament two years in a row. (Go moms!) Check out the bear-y cool live feed from the park, or take a peek at the National Park Service Instagram for elite commentary on bears doing bear stuff before they hit the hay this winter. 

The meme of the fall

I’m obsessed with the rise and fall of the Theranos health startup that alleged it could diagnose disease using a single drop of blood. (Cool idea, but it didn’t work.) A teaser for Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s new documentary “You Can See Everything” has sparked a kind of fame that disgraced Theranos founder (and Steve Jobs impersonator) Elizabeth Holmes could never have anticipated: her own meme.  

@darbywarhol Elizabeth Holmes really speaks to me here ngl #elizabethholmes #trending #funny #relationship #MemeCut @A24 ♬ original sound – Blaine

During what seems like a staring contest with Fielder, Holmes assures him, “I’m engaging with you as a human being. Why would I deceive you?” Fielder responds with a skeptical “Okay.” I’m reading into it, but it’s as if you asked a clown if he’s gonna spray you with water from that flower on his jacket, and he just looked at you, unblinking, with a painted-on smile and his finger on the trigger. I’m curious about Holmes’ life before she went to prison for fraud and “deceiving investors” according to the FBI. But viral “why would I deceive you” memes about taking dogs to the vet, finally finishing cross-stitch projects, and not (definitely) skipping leg day are giving me life. 

A desert transformation thanks to El Niño

Lately, the weather forecast feels like watching someone pick Powerball numbers. But I can’t help but think of Chris Farley’s hilarious “SNL” sketch back in the nineties when he was El Niño personified. “Yo soy El Niño,” he said, stuffed in ruffled mambo sleeves and a wrestling belt. “For those of you who don’t habla Español, El Niño is Spanish for … the Niño.”

 

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El Niño gets a bad rap as we shrug off its unseasonable temps (why is everything too cold and too hot at the same time?). But the weather system’s also working a little magic in the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile, which has erupted in a brilliant super bloom thanks to history-making rainfall. Millions of seeds that were previously sitting dormant got the green light to transform into a “flowering desert” or “desierto florido.” Over 200 different species of wildflowers sprouted forth from the sand, transforming the arid landscape into a technicolor wonderland. This is your sign that anything’s possible.

A concrete success

I love stories about everyday life stuff that I never really think about. This week, I heard of a new memoir called “Trash” from actual refuse-collecting author Simon Pare-Poupart, who’s been called the Anthony Bourdain of garbage collecting for so intimately humanizing the people doing our dirty work. 

Along the same lines, an introvert filmmaker’s quirky documentary about building materials in New York City also made headlines this week. It’s literally about cement. After opening his own 42-seat micro movie theater in Queens called Low Cinema, filmmaker John Wilson hit the streets with a camera. Giving “mockumentary” in its awkward and sometimes comedic tone, “The History of Cement” made $90,000 during a one-theater run. “The project of changing the way people see things is never-ending. It’s what art-making should do,” Wilson says. 

It’s tough out there in showbiz (even live snakes had to audition in “person” for Mozart’s “Così fan tutte” at New York’s Metropolitan Opera). Still, despite the odds, “The History of Concrete” serves pure entertainment by introducing the Ghostbusters of satisfying sidewalk gum pressure washing, “Elvis Prezzle,” and the rock solid life motto, “Never forget why you’re doing it: Because you love it.” A triumph. 

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Shoutout to our friends in Wyoming for emailing a sweet message of support last weekend! One last bit of inspiration: If you ever feel like the road ahead feels impossibly long, a truck driver carved a replica of all five boroughs of New York City out of balsa wood, and it’s now on display at The Museum of the City of New York, bringing joy to millions of fans two decades after he started his hobby project. Keep going. And make those Fat Bears proud. — Lauren

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