No. 1057: In which Dracula, donkeys, LGC and Sir David Attenborough all take a bow (and don’t forget Mom!)

 

Your mother! Welcome to Friday, dear readers, and not just any Friday but the Friday before Mother’s Day 2026.

We’re wrapping up a busy Springtime workweek and setting up what’s likely to be a busy holiday weekend – Mom’s big day is indeed this Sunday, and it’s already too late to book that brunch, so you better think fast.

You bet your ass: Today is May 8 and while it won’t set any speed records, we’re kicking off your week-in-innovation review with World Donkey Day, saluting a reliable and intelligent species now in its 6,000-and-something-ith year of human service – a true workhorse (ouch) of agriculture, transportation and many other industries.

Also showcasing intelligence and reliability across industries is Free Trade Day – reducing tariffs, eliminating quotas and otherwise enhancing global economic efficiency by breaking down international import/export barriers (and domestic economic efficiency, as we’ve painfully learned in reverse).

Drupe, there it is: Today’s festive menu is a study in advertising, altruism and acquired tastes, starting with National Have a Coke Day – part classy commemoration, part sales scheme celebrating the 140th anniversary of the first-ever glass of Coca-Cola.

Less driven by the marketing department is National Give Someone a Cupcake Day, combining affections and confections every May 8, while National Coconut Cream Pie Day offers a sweet reward for fans of the fibrous, one-seeded drupe (which, strangely, is not everyone).

By any measure: Also befuddling, at least to Americans, is the Metric System, which was created on this this date in 1790 in France and subsequently embraced by most of the planet as the definitive international standard of measurement (but not here).

Fairy king: Also weirding out a bit was Volume 1 of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s “Fairy Tales” (a.k.a. “Eventyr, Fortalte for Børn,” or “Tales, Told For Children”), which combined the fanciful and the macabre – and a decidedly Western context, all previously unheard of in children’s literature – when it was first published on May 8, 1835.

Paramount importance: Also successfully blending genres has been mountainous moviemaker Paramount Pictures, which was founded on this date in 1912.

Blood drive: Paramount was nowhere in sight 68 years ago today, when “Dracula” – the Gothic horror classic featuring Christopher Lee as the title bloodsucker – premiered in the United States. (The film was distributed by British studio Hammer Film Productions, for those keeping score, and released in America as “Horror of Dracula” to avoid confusion with an earlier Universal Pictures version of the Bram Stoker tale.)

001: And speaking of major motion pictures, it was May 8, 1963, when British superspy Bond, James Bond first graced American screens in “Dr. No” (released globally by Eon Productions and domestically by United Artists, for the record).

The Sean Connery-led blockbuster was the first of 27 big-screen Bond adventures. Yes, 1967’s “Casino Royale” parody counts (as does 1983 independent production “Never Say Never Again”) – and no, the 1954 TV adaptation of “Casino Royale” (featuring Barry Nelson as American agent “Jimmy Bond”) does not.

A bigger boat: American author, screenwriter and activist Peter Benchley (1940-2006) – who leveraged the success of his bestselling novel “Jaws” into a lifelong ocean-conservation mission – would be 86 years old today.

Also born on May 8 were African American poet Phillis Wheatley Peters (alternately Phyllis Wheatly, 1753-1784), an emancipated slave who became the first African American author (and third American woman poet) to be published; Swiss humanitarian, businessman and social activist Henri Dunant (1828-1910), who won the first Nobel Peace Prize after co-founding the Red Cross; Danish botanist Emile Christian Hansen (1842-1909), who revolutionized beermaking and other brewing arts by cultivating pure strands of yeast; American hatmaker, judge and politician Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), the 33rd President of the United States (and one of the most consequential); and Japanese videogame designer and producer Keiji Inafune (born 1965), whose work on the “Street Fighter” and “Mega Man” series ranks him among history’s top videogame artists.

Life on Earth: And take a bow, Sir David Frederick Attenborough! The world-renowned naturalist and broadcaster – whose eight-decade career has been marked by groundbreaking documentaries on ocean and plant life, ancient ecosystems, climate change and other beautifully breathtaking environmental-science themes – turns 100 today.

Send birthday wishes for the namesake of the Attenboroughnculus tau (a new species of parasitic Chilean wasp christened in his honor as a 100th birthday present from London’s Natural History Museum) to editor@innovateli.com, where our ecosystem withers without your news tips and calendar events.

 

About our sponsor: Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano PLLC is one of the region’s most highly regarded and recognized law firms. Our attorneys are thought leaders, dedicated to achieving success through excellence. With our broad experience in land use, development, litigation, real estate, corporate and environmental law, we have the vision and knowledge to serve our clients and our communities. Please visit sahnward.com.

 

BUT FIRST, THIS

Video compressor: One of Long Island’s most prestigious marketing houses is “moving the ball uphill,” according to its CEO, with a savvy ROI-focused white paper on state-of-the-art video production.

Edgewood-based Lorraine Gregory Communications has rolled out “From Video Projects to Video Systems,” an authoritative report on the latest and greatest in leading-edge video production and its importance to modern marketing programs. The free-to-download white paper dives deep into the dangers of disconnected video-production efforts (from duplicated work to inconsistent messaging), the importance of skilled asset management (improving return-on-investment across platforms) and other value-added benefits of professional-grade streaming and promotional content, all leveraging LGC’s decades of multifaceted expertise.

Chief Executive Officer Greg Demetriou said the goal of the intel-heavy report is to “share what we’ve learned on various subject matters” across the modern marketing spectrum. “We have an agency in the front of the house, a factory in the back and our own TV studio,” Demetriou told Innovate Long Island. “We’re on top of everything, and we need to share the knowledge we’ve gleaned from the marketplace.”

Heart of the matter: An April 16 visit from a “living specimen” gave Long Island medical students hands-on instruction in ultrasound technologies – and a frank lesson in real-world medicine.

First-year students at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell were graced last month by Lynbrook High School student Aidan Pearsall, who was born with a single-ventricle heart – a rare congenital heart defect that threatened the newborn’s life and required an immediate, three-stage surgical intervention. Surgeons were able to reconfigure Aidan’s heart so the right side of the organ could carry the load, and while he must take daily medications and avoid contact sports, the now-17-year-old is thriving (even serving as the official photographer for Lynbrook Owls sporting events).

While allowing students to see Aidan’s reconfigured heart through state-of-the-art ultrasound imaging, the visit delivered a powerful and humanizing lesson, according to Zucker School Associate Professor Robert Hill, director of the school’s Anatomical Gift Program. “Aidan’s visit is very much in line with the philosophy of our school,” Hill noted. “We focus not on individual facts but on the application of these facts to a holistic understanding of health, disease and patient care.”

 

TOP OF THE SITE

Scam alert: As costs rise and small-business margins plummet, a Long Island restaurateur is imploring Albany – and Congress – to get a grip on economically ruinous insurance-fraud scams.

In this together: We’re thrilled to deliver these thrice-weekly newsletters and our plentiful online content without fees or paywalls – but we need sponsors and subscribers to do it. Fortunately, modest Innovate Long Island sponsorships are the industry’s best bang for your buck … and our newsletter subscriptions are always easy, always free.

 

ICYMI

Real-world workforce demands have encouraged Long Island colleges and universities to roll out all kinds of innovative degree and certificate programs.

 

BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)

Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:

From New York City: Electric-bike bigwig CYCROWN combines unparalleled power, high performance and smart connectivity in its new fat-tire Nomad Pro.

From Michigan: Warren-based cannabis up-and-comer Gelato Canna partners with national hit Fat & Weird Cookies on a first-of-its-kind infused-confection collaboration.

From New York City: Professional boxing disruptor Team Boxing League lands a combat-sports combo with a big-time distribution agreement.

 

ON THE MOVE

+ Jane So has joined Stony Brook Gynecology and Obstetrics, part of the Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group. The board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist has 10 years of professional OB/GYN experience.

+ Michael Grasso has been appointed director of athletics at Rockville Centre-based Molloy University. He has been interim director of athletics since August 2025.

+ Uniondale-based Rivkin Radler has announced several new hires:

• Lisa Bonanni has been hired as an associate. She was an associate attorney at Coughlin Midlige & Garland in Manhattan.
• Vanessa Costantino has been hired as an associate. She was an associate attorney at Kerley, Walsh, Matera & Cinquemani in Seaford.
• Mardeline Cruz has been hired as an associate. She was a commercial litigation attorney at BakerHostetler in Manhattan.

+ Philip Gunraj has been hired as vice president and chief financial officer at the Patchogue-based Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk Inc. He was chief financial officer at Damian Family Care Centers in Jamaica.

+ Sara Carissimi has joined the Hauppauge-based Law Office of Louis L. Sternberg as partner. She was partner at Hauppauge-based Theresa A. Mari P.C.

+ Leonard Badia has been hired as assistant dean of career and professional development at Central Islip-based Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center. He was chief clerk at the District Court of Suffolk County in Central Islip.

 

Like this newsletter? Innovate Long Island newsletter, website and podcast sponsorships are a prime opportunity to reach the inventors, investors, entrepreneurs and executives you need to know – on Long Island, and soon, across New York State (just ask Sahn Ward). Gregory Zeller can tell you more.

 

BELOW THE FOLD (Ted Turner Edition)

Changing channels: The biggest ways the media mogul changed television forever.

Yacht rock: Recalling the accomplished seaman’s greatest sailing victory.

Giving a damn: How Turner heralded the Age of the Mega-Donor.

Ted talk: Please continue supporting the fantastic firms that support Innovate Long Island, including Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano – like the dedicated conservationist Turner, achieving success through savvy property management, innovative thinking and generous spirit. Check them out.