Good News Thursday

Editor OGN Daily
Oct 30
4 min read

What better way to start the day than with a quick blast of upbeat news stories?

Ryan Gosling wearing a cream coloured jacket — Ryan Gosling

Hollywood in Hampstead

A Hollywood A-lister’s move to a leafy north London suburb has reportedly left mothers “swooning” at the school gates. Ryan Gosling has moved from the US and bought a property in Hampstead with his wife Eva Mendes, bringing their daughters Esmerelda, 11, and Amada Lee, nine, with them. Gosling is in the UK filming the latest Star Wars movie Starfighter. A local said: "Yes, he's here and so delightful chatting to everyone at the school gate – such a lovely man. And everyone can't stop talking about how good looking he is, the mums are practically drooling over him." Another ecstatic person took to Instagram to reveal he held a door open for them, saying: "Today's unexpected adventure, Ryan Gosling holding the door open for me at a cafe in West Hampstead. What a gent!... Quite unexpected really!"

Sketch of trees beside water by Renoir — Credit: Morgan Library & Museum

Rare Opportunity

With soft brushstrokes, lush landscapes, and charming scenes of women, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s work has a distinctive look. The French painter is known as one of the leaders of the 19th-century impressionist movement, but this fall, a museum in New York City is focusing on a different side of his creativity. An exhibit called Renoir Drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum features 100 of the artist’s works on paper, including lesser-known informal sketches alongside some of his finished art. It marks the first major showcase of his drawings since 1921, offering a rare window into Renoir’s artistic process. Available to view until February 2026. If you can't make it, see some of the works here.

Betty “Legend”

At age 80, Betty Kellenberger has become the oldest woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. "Being healthier at 80 than your doctor expects is such a joy,” Betty “Legend” Kellenberger told The Trek. That might be an understatement. On 12 September, Kellenberger made history by becoming the oldest woman to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. With 2,200 miles under her belt, she admits that she’s tired and in need of a nap. That may also be a bit of an understatement. Betty had been dreaming of thru-hiking since childhood. “Bear in mind that the trail was only 20 years old when I was born. I read about it in elementary school. Georgia to Maine and everything in between. Pure magic. It caught my attention and my imagination.”

Wind Turbine Wall — Credit: Joe Doucet & Partners

Form & Function

Alongside the advent of rooftop solar panels, what other ways could homes generate clean electricity? One of the most intriguing and delightful options is called the Wind Turbine Wall, and it’s a large wall-shaped structure, almost like a stylized fence or backdrop. Filled with spinning blades, the kinetic machine is more like a sculpture than a power generator, but that’s what makes it so fascinating. This aesthetically pleasing design means that homeowners could capture clean power while keeping the look of their home’s uncluttered and beautiful. The work of Joe Doucet and Partners, we love both the function and design, which we imagine could usher in a new type of eco-friendly architecture.

Aston Martin DB5 in silver — Credit: Ted7 | Broad Arrow Auctions

Could Fetch $1 Million

Rightly considered a supercar in its day, Aston Martin’s DB5 is arguably the first vehicle to attain superstar status as well, thanks to playing the sidekick of covert operative James Bond in the 1964 film Goldfinger. It’s a model that, in automotive terms, refines the stylistic conventions of the 1950s while perfectly complementing Britain’s edgier Mod ethos of the subsequent decade. Unlike the actors from that era, however, the DB5 has defied age and maintained its relevance throughout the more than six decades since its premiere. Its seemingly timeless allure will once again be demonstrated when this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage, an example of the most muscular variant of the nameplate from the final year of production, will be ready for its close-up at Broad Arrow’s Las Vegas Auction tomorrow.

brainwave neurons — Vitamin K may reverse Alzheimer's damage

Powers of Vitamin K

Researchers in Japan have developed enhanced versions of vitamin K that could help the brain repair itself by generating new neurons, reports SciTechDaily. These redesigned molecules, created by combining vitamin K with retinoic acid, showed three times the ability to turn stem cells into neurons compared with natural vitamin K. The study found that the novel vitamin K analogues exhibited potent neuronal differentiation-inducing activities, suggesting they could serve as regenerative agents to help replenish lost neurons and restore brain function in neurodegenerative diseases. The researchers also uncovered a previously unknown mechanism through which vitamin K promotes the formation of neurons, involving metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs), particularly mGluR1. Further analysis demonstrated that the novel vitamin K compound could efficiently cross the blood-brain barrier and produce higher levels of the active form of vitamin K in the brain compared to the standard form.

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” Earl Nightingale

On This Day

Orson Welles performing for the radio dramatization of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds

30 October 1938: Orson Welles's radio dramatization of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds was broadcast, causing great alarm - though reports of a nationwide panic were unfounded - as some listeners feared a genuine invasion from Mars.