Change of heart

Released in ‘77, Rod Stewart’s You’re In My Heart would go on to top the charts in the US and Canada. A tale as old as time, the soft rock ballad told the story of two lovers, but that perfectly raspy voice made it oh so fresh. 

Might it be that the heart does more than metaphorically store our love? There’s no scientific mechanism behind it, but there are interesting reports of heart transplant patients experiencing bizarre personality changes.

Is that what Bonnie meant? ;)

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NEWBrew certainly sounds like it could be any other craft beer, but this Singapore-based brewery may have a leg up on the competition when it comes to getting its hands dirty.

It was on full display in crowded areas at COP29 in Singapore last month, available for anyone who wanted to give it a shot. Most probably weren’t aware, however, that the water in this particular beverage is sourced from treated wastewater.

“I didn’t know. I was really surprised,” said Ignace Urchil Lokouako Mbouamboua, an international relations student from Congo. “I can even suggest that they make more and more of this kind of beer,” he added with a smile.

Singapore has no natural source of fresh water, making it imperative for the micro island nation in Southeast Asia to be strategic and conscientious when it comes to where it gets such water.

NEWBrew itself doesn’t source the water, but gets it from NEWater, which does. Singapore is heavily invested in catchment, desalination, and recycling in order to make sure its 6 million citizens don’t go thirsty.

Does NEWBrew pass the taste test?

“It’s fresh, light, cool. It has a nice flavour,” said Peter Rummel, director of infrastructure policy advancement at software firm Bentley Systems.

Would you try it?

Amazon announced the other day that it’s officially in the business of selling cars, partnering with local Hyundai dealerships in 48 states to sell cars directly to consumers on the Amazon online platform.

The list of participating cities includes major markets in participating states, and will allow well over 100 million Americans to have online access to buy a car—as long as they want a Hyundai, of course.

That’s just to start, though. The ecommerce behemoth noted in its announcement that it plans to expand to other regions over the next year, while also launching partnerships with other automakers. This will only apply to new cars for the foreseeable future, though.

According to a study conducted by CarGurus, 69% of Americans wish more of the car buying process could be completed online. The Amazon-Hyundai deal allows for this without Hyundai—or any future affiliate—having to refurbish their own online operations in order to accommodate such demands.

And as far as Amazon is concerned, the value is in getting to expand its product offerings in a major way without having to invest in storage space, since automakers will already have that piece taken care of.

Now that’s gotta be music to many a Staker’s ears.

A new study analyzed a treatment called genicular artery embolization (GAE) and found it’s able to treat those with osteoarthritis in the knees with minimal invasiveness while often preventing the need for outright knee replacement.

“This study addresses osteoarthritis, which is a significant public health issue and the leading cause of chronic pain and disability worldwide,” said the study’s lead author, Florian Nima Fleckenstein from University Hospital Berlin in Germany.

“With millions of people affected by knee osteoarthritis, particularly in aging populations, finding effective, minimally invasive treatments is critical.”

Osteoarthritis reportedly affects 365 million people around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Those who suffer from it deal with altered genicular arterial branches around the knees; blood overflows to the area, causing inflammation and pain.

GAE involves particle injections into the affected branches, slowing or cutting off blood flow, reducing inflammation and ultimately eliminating pain.

According to Dr. Finklestein, those involved in the study saw 87% and 71% improvements in their quality-of-life index and pain score, respectively, after a year of monitoring post-treatment.

After teasing a tour announcement over the weekend, Guns N Roses announced they’d embark on a world tour next year, starting with legs in Europe and the Middle East.

The tour is scheduled to begin in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 25, and the European leg will conclude at Germany’s Wacken Festival on July 31.

GnR haven’t played together since wrapping up their four-month North American tour in November of 2023.

Speaking on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk recently, Duff McKagen confirmed the band is indeed working/sitting on new material, though plans for if or how to release it are yet to materialize.

"Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. There's new material. I don't know how we're gonna put it out. I think that's a question too. Like, do you put out a record? Do you just keep putting out singles? I don't know what the right answer is there in this day and age."

Since reuniting in 2016 after over 20 years apart, Slash, Duff, keyboardist Dizzy Reid, and Axl Rose have toured the world multiple times, adding rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, and additional keyboardist, Melissa Reese.

The band has put out remastered or previously unreleased original material since, but freshly written songs are yet to see the light of day.

That story about NEWBrew got us thinking about old brews. If you know your beers, and your classic beer slogans, then why don’t you crack open today’s trivia ;)

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Trivia courtesy of funtrivia.com. Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


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