Offbeat Article

Patrick Stewart teaches 'quadruple take,' becomes captain of internet

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 29 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

[&lt;a href="//storify.com/cbccommunity/patrick-stewart-teaching-quadruple-take-is-now-cap" target="_blank"&gt;View the story "Patrick Stewart teaches 'quadruple take,' becomes captain of internet" on Storify&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;h1&gt;Patrick Stewart teaches 'quadruple take,' becomes captain of internet&lt;/h1&gt;&lt;h2&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;Storified by &lt;a href="http://storify.com/cbccommunity"&gt;CBC News Community&lt;/a&gt;&amp;middot; Wed, Aug 28 2013 11:34:39&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;Patrick Stewart Acting Insane In A Treehouse http://twitter.com/maya_negi/status/372747064461246465/photo/1maya negi&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;He played captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise and now Patrick Stewart may as wellbe named captain of the internet.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;The actor, known for his roles as Captain Jean-LucPicard on &lt;i&gt;Star Trek: The Next Generation&lt;/i&gt;, Professor Charles Xavier in &lt;i&gt;X-Men&lt;/i&gt; and countless Shakespearean characters, likesto let his hair do-- well, likes to entertain his followers online.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Since joining Twitter, fans of the Stewart have seen howdownright dorky the posh-voiced thespian can be.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;But his latest online share may just be the best example andpossibly the best thing you'll see on the internet today.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In a YouTube video uploaded last night by his fiancée SuzyOzell, Stewart teaches a free masterclass in the "quadrupletake."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Quadruple Take Masterclassmadameozell&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;"The first three were based on truth, on naturalism, on spontaneous, naturalistic acting," says Stewart, 73, while Ozwell, 35, giggles.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;quot;What makes a girl want a boyfriend old enough to be her grandfather?&amp;quot; When that boyfriend is Patrick Stewart.Casey Bohn&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;"This, the quadruple take, is in a different category of acting altogether but it's the only one I know and you'll be glad to hear that I don't have anything beyond the quadruple take."&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;how is Patrick Stewart so adorableButter Sunset&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Everything is going to be sad today so take a break right now and watch Patrick Stewart teach you the quadruple-take: http://bit.ly/1dmxscnMax Fisher&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;quot;Hush, You're here to learn and not to talk!&amp;quot; - Patrick StewartJuliland.com&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;'Attended an online masterclass with Sir Patrick Stewart' = Watched a 3 minute vertically filmed youtube clip of him doing a quadruple take.Matt Downton&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;The two-minute video that looks like it was shot in a treehouse has already been watched more than 400,000 times.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stewart's no stranger to &lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jd1Ih8EUmw" class=""&gt;engaging&lt;/a&gt; (see what I did there)fans online and sending the social media world into a fun frenzy.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Last week he visited Twitter HQ, where the team gave us this little gem on Vine. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Twitter... The final frontier? These are the voyages of @SirPatStew.Vine&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;And just last week, he was hanging out in the woods with friend Ian McKellan and getting his first bow hunting lesson. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Finally, lesson 1 in the use of my beautiful Xmas gift. Instructor: brother-in-law to be, Andy. Audience: Sir Ian. http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/369951738112913408/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;p&gt;After moving to Park Slope in Brooklyn, N.Y.,buying a couple of ironic hats and trying his first ever "slice," he'salso become a sort of hipster king. &lt;a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/05/patrick-stewart-pizza/65720/" class=""&gt;The Atlantic got a whole article&lt;/a&gt; out of this tweet: &lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;My first ever pizza &amp;quot;slice&amp;quot;. Please note: the authentic NY fold. http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/339786117530415104/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;To clarify: 1) I've never had a &amp;quot;slice&amp;quot; 2) I've been a Habs fan all of 4 weeks 3) I'm also a fan of Bloomberg's soda legislation.Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Continuing Ed: Deep Dish. Must admit - at home with a knife and fork. http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/341333653864976384/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Stewart is clearly a fan of posing with food. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&amp;quot;It's how we do it in Belgium...it's called a Belgium Dip.&amp;quot; http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/275279713616932866/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Self portrait with candy floss http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/332548335187677184/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Who doesn't love winter citrus season? http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/301116351232217089/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;And he's not one to take himself too seriously. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;If you're ever sad, just remember that Patrick Stewart's avatar is this. http://twitter.com/ItsJohnBurns/status/372080849417555968/photo/1John Burns&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;ALL HAIL @sunnyozell on her birthday. http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/282996859495120897/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Patrick Stewart is 73? Damn he looks good!Badcrumble&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Add Stewart's present-day Twitter antics to the current '90s retro trend and you have a recipe for meme heaven. &lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Wordpress&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Randomoverload&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Imgur&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Pandawhale&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Imgur&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Imgur&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Whetherspeaking as a feminist and giving an incredibly personal account of his youth and history witnessing domestic violence...&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Patrick Stewart Gives Passionate Response to Question At Comicpalooza 2013x5xeCS2cwjLyzBkxJpnTtg&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;...or honestly admitting that he adores MTV's &lt;i&gt;Beavis and Butthead &lt;/i&gt;-- "It's brilliant. I've got all the tapes," he told the Guardian in 2005 -- Stewart shows he's a man of many sides worthy of all this esteem.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Also, he likes cats.&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Another gruelingly busy boxing day. http://twitter.com/SirPatStew/status/283982286783934467/photo/1Patrick Stewart&lt;/div&gt;

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How close is too close? Testing personal space boundaries

CBC News reporter Chris Brown tested out several personal space bubbles in downtown Vancouver Wednesday. (CBC)

British researchers think they may have quantified the precise distance when close becomes too close.

The study, conducted by the University College of London and published today in The Journal of Neuroscience, tested the blinking reflexes of 15 subjects aged 20 to 37, as an electric pulse was applied to a specific nerve in one of their hands.

The closer their hand got to their faces, the bigger the blinking reflex was, and the conclusion was that 20 to 40 centimetres, depending on the person, is the boundary of the personal space bubble.

The University College of London researchers also found, after tallying anxiety surveys filled out by their test subjects, that those with more anxiety traits tended to have the larger personal space boundaries.

University of Victoria professor Richard Gifford has studied personal space extensively and he says a number of other factors play into feelings around what's too close.

"The correct distance varies with person, the other person, the social situation, the culture, what they are talking about, et cetera," he said.

Gifford also says people have a hard time sometimes explaining their personal space needs.

"We learn all these rules as we are growing up, but we couldn't really state the rules, we just learn them as we go along."

CBC News reporter Chris Brown tested out different personal space bubble boundaries in downtown Vancouver Wednesday. Click the link above or the video 'play' icon above to see the results.

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U.S. man robs $1 from bank, waits for police

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 25 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

A 50-year-old man allegedly robbed $1 from an Oregon bank and then waited for police to arrest him so he could get medical treatment, sheriff's deputies said.

50-year-old Tim Alsip allegedly robbed an Oregon bank of $1 then sat down to wait for police to arrest him.

"This is a holdup. Give me a dollar," Tim Alsip allegedly wrote on a note passed to a Bank of America teller in Portland Friday.

The suspect got the dollar and his wish; police arrived and arrested him on robbery charges.

Clackamas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Nikolai said deputies learned that Alsip wanted to be arrested so he could get medical treatment. He has repeatedly sought police attention in the past week, flagging down police and urging citizens to call 911 on him.

Nikolai said Alsip also called 911 himself complaining of dental pain and drug overdoses.

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North Korea upset over Switzerland's ski lift ban

North Korea objected on Saturday to a ban on imports of equipment for a luxury ski resort mainly for the ruling elite, indicating toughened U.N. sanctions are impacting the impoverished state.

Under the leadership of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who studied in the Swiss capital Berne and is believed to have enjoyed skiing in the Alps, the reclusive North has carried out work on the "Masik Pass" ski project since last year, in rivalry with South Korea which is hosting 2018 Winter Olympics.

Last week, Switzerland halted the sale to the North of equipment for a ski resort and luxury sporting goods including golf, horseback riding and water sports under the sanctions.

North Korea reportedly asked several Swiss companies to provide chair lifts and cable cars worth the equivalent of $7.24 million for its grand Masik resort.

North Korea's Skiers Association said in a statement carried by KCNA news agency on Saturday that countries should not prohibit Pyongyang from buying equipment which does not produce any rocket or nuclear weapon.

"Some countries, pressurized by the U.S. high-handed practices, are blocking the DPRK from importing even equipment to be installed in mass sports facilities such as the ski resort," an association spokesman said. North Korea's official name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Although the statement did not elaborate on which country blocked the import, it called such a move unjustifiable and a violation of the UN Charter that states sanctions should not affect people in relevant countries.

Earlier this year, North Korea threatened nuclear and missile strikes against the United States and South Korea at the height of tensions after it was hit with UN sanctions for its February nuclear test.

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Topless blogger keeps Kelowna mayor abreast of equality issue

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 24 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Some people in Kelowna are wondering what their mayor was doing in chatting with a topless blogger after the interview was posted to YouTube two days ago.

The video starts out in routine manner, with Mayor Walter Gray being interviewed by Lori Welbourne, a columnist with The Province, a Vancouver daily, about whether it is legal for women in Kelowna to go topless.

But things take a turn when Welbourne asks Gray to hold the microphone while she makes a wardrobe adjustment.

"What are you doing?" the mayor asks as the buxom blonde pulls down her halter top.

"It's really hot in here," Welbourne responds as she picks up the interview.

"Really," the mayor replies, doing his best — but failing — to keep his eyes up.

The mayor goes on to explain there are no longer any laws in Kelowna preventing women from being topless in public.

Mixed reaction from locals

The mayor later told CBC News the segment was a gag and he was just playing along, but some Kelowna residents aren't laughing.

Mark Provoncher wondered whether it was appropriate for Gray to be involved in the video.

"I'm not sure that that's a fair thing for him to be a lightning rod for," Provonchier told CBC News.

But residents Dave and Ellen Thomas weren't as bothered.

"I don't have a problem with it. Well, he's doing that and [federal Liberal Leader] Justin Trudeau has come out saying he smokes pot. They are supporting what they believe in."

International Go Topless day is held every year on the Sunday closest to Women's Equality Day, which falls on Monday this year .

There is no word whether Kelowna's mayor plans on participating.

Women in Canada won the right to bare their breasts in public in 1996 when the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned the 1991 conviction of Gwen Jacobs, saying "there was nothing degrading or dehumanizing" about her decision to take off her shirt in public.

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U.S. man robs $1 from bank, waits for police

A 50-year-old man allegedly robbed $1 from an Oregon bank and then waited for police to arrest him so he could get medical treatment, sheriff's deputies said.

50-year-old Tim Alsip allegedly robbed an Oregon bank of $1 then sat down to wait for police to arrest him.

"This is a holdup. Give me a dollar," Tim Alsip allegedly wrote on a note passed to a Bank of America teller in Portland Friday.

The suspect got the dollar and his wish; police arrived and arrested him on robbery charges.

Nikolai said Alsip also called 911 himself complaining of dental pain and drug overdoses.

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Frank Stronach bares chest in Austrian election

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 22 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Austria's general election campaign is heating up with two high-profile contenders — one of them a Canadian — going way beyond rolling up their shirt sleeves — they've taken the shirts right off.

Borrowing a page from Russian President Vladimir Putin's playbook, the beefcake displays are the latest twist in the rivalry between populist Canadian candidate Frank Stronach and Heinz-Christian Strache, head of the anti-immigrant and EU-skeptic Freedom Party.

The two are both seeking the protest vote in Austria's Sept. 29 election.

On a continent where mainstream electioneering is normally a staid affair, Stronach was first to doff his shirt. Wearing jeans and a smile, he revealed a trim 80-year-old upper body as he stood next to his private lake during weekend interviews with Austrian dailies.

"I don't need to be ashamed of my body," said the Austro-Canadian billionaire, founder of auto parts giant Magna International Inc.

Strache, 42, responded immediately.

In this undated photo provided by the Austrian Freedom Partyvia Facebook, the party's head Heinz-Christian Strache poses in his bathing suit. (Austrian Freedom Party via Facebook/Associated Press)

A photo of the tanned and athletic candidate in swimming trunks appeared Sunday on his Facebook page, with the caption "top fit in the election campaign!"

The bare-chest battle went into round two on Monday, with Austria's major newspapers carrying both photos — along with articles debating whether such displays constituted below-the-belt campaigning. The photos were republished Tuesday.

Commenting on the "naked duel," the tabloid Oesterreich praised Stronach for "showing the new self-confidence of the generation '60 plus.' In politics. In fitness. In looks." At the same time, it warned that Strache's decision to challenge Stronach's gambit "with his fitness-centre muscles" now risks turning the campaign into a circus.

The rivalry started when Stronach founded his "Team Stronach" organization last year.

It aims for the same voters that Strache's Freedom Party views as its own — Austrians disenchanted with both the conservative People's Party and the Socialists, parties that now form the government coalition. While differing on some issues, both Stronach's and Strache's parties are campaigning on the need for change.

Strache's party regularly polled third with support close to 30 per cent before the billionaire entered the fray, but the Freedom Party leader now says he will be happy with 20 per cent of the vote next month.

Experts are still debating on whether the show of skin will help or hurt the two men, but Austria's other parties are content for now to flex only their political muscles.

Andreas Schieder, a leading Socialist official, urged both men to focus on the politics of "naked facts, instead of naked upper bodies."

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NASA space telescope rebooted as asteroid hunter

NASA will reactivate a mothballed infrared space telescope for a three-year mission to search for potentially dangerous asteroids on a collision course with Earth, officials said on Wednesday.

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, telescope also will hunt for targets for a future mission to send a robotic spacecraft to rendezvous with a small asteroid and relocate all or part of it into a high orbit around the moon.

Astronauts would then visit the relocated asteroid during a test flight of NASA's deep-space Orion capsule, scheduled for launch around 2021. Orion and a heavy-lift rocket called the Space Launch System are slated for an unmanned debut test flight in 2017.

NASA is spending about $3 billion a year for Orion and Space Launch System development.

All-sky map

Launched in December 2009, the WISE telescope spent 13 months scouting for telltale infrared signs of asteroids, stars, distant galaxies and other celestial objects, especially those too dim to radiate in visible light.

As part of its all-sky mapping mission, WISE observed more than 34,000 asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and another 135 asteroids in orbits that come close to Earth.

Overall, scientists cataloged more than 560 million objects with WISE.

Most of the telescope's instruments were turned off when its primary mission was completed in February 2011.

NASA plans to bring WISE out of hibernation next month and operate it for another three years, at a cost of about $5 million per year, said NASA spokesman Dwayne Brown.

"After a quick checkout, we're going to hit the ground running," WISE astronomer Amy Mainzer, with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement.

NASA already has found about 95 percent of the near-Earth asteroids that are 1 kilometre or larger in diameter.

15-year asteroid project

The agency is about halfway through a 15-year effort to find 90 percent of all near-Earth objects that are as small as about 140 meters in diameter.

The search took on a note of urgency after a small asteroid blasted through the skies above Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 2013 and exploded with 20- to 30 times the force of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. More than 1,500 people were injured by flying glass and debris.

Later that same day, a much larger but unrelated asteroid soared closer to Earth than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet.

The events prompted Congressional hearings and new calls for NASA and other agencies to step up their asteroid detection initiatives.

The Obama administration proposes to double NASA's $20 million Near-Earth Objects detection programs for the 2014 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

About 66 million years ago, an object 10 kilometres in diameter smashed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, leading to the demise of the dinosaurs, as well as most plant and animal life on Earth.

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Toronto transit workers reject Canadiens-coloured uniforms

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 21 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Toronto transit workers are rejecting proposed new uniforms because they look too much like those of the Montreal Canadiens.

The red and blue colour scheme is seen as a little too close to that of the Habs, and union president Bob Kinnear says TTC operators don't want to wear uniforms that remind them of the Toronto Maple Leafs' arch rivals.

"They just don't look good to begin with but the fact that they do reflect the Montreal Canadiens colour scheme has been very dissatisfying to our members here in Toronto," Kinnear told CBC's Daybreak Montreal.

New uniforms would replace the current grey and maroon motif. (Bob Reno)

The TTC is bringing in new uniforms next year with several options being considered.

Kinnear says he believes if the uniforms are imposed, his members will boycott the proposed red and blue striped golf shirts.

TTC union president says a proposed striped golf shirt is particularly disliked by employees. (Bob Reno)

He says the TTC has not confirmed it is moving forward with this colour scheme and is confident the uniforms will be redesigned.

"I think considering the overwhelming response from the employees, there's going to be some reconsidering," said Kinnear.

The TTC's current uniforms are grey slacks with a light blue shirt.

The TTC is bringing in new uniforms next year with several options being considered. (Bob Reno)

Kinnear defended the Maple Leafs' last playoff defeat in game 7 against the Boston Bruins, saying his TTC union members will support the home team regardless of past performances.

"We're in a rebuilding process and we in Toronto like to look forward. We like to think about the future and move forward," he said.

STM union rep proposes swap with TTC

A representative of the union representing Montreal bus and metro drivers said his members would gladly take the proposed uniforms for the Toronto drivers off the TTC's hands.

"They can ship them down here," said Tom Mouhteros. "We've been wearing blue. We never complained."

" All we were missing was the Toronto maple leaf, and we never complained," Mouhteros repeated."That's a good point: we supported them for so many years, they can support us."

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500 vintage Chevys to be auctioned by Nebraska dealer

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 20 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Seventeen years have passed since Ray Lambrecht closed his Chevrolet dealership, a small-town operation in northeast Nebraska with a big and valuable secret.

For decades, the owner of the Lambrecht Chevrolet Co. in Pierce held on to new cars and trucks that didn't sell right away. He stashed them in warehouses, at his farm and in other spots around the town he worked in for 50 years.

'To find this many new, old vehicles is unheard of. It's like a white buffalo.'—Yvette VanDerBrink, auctioneer

Now, his automotive nest egg — about 500 vintage cars and trucks — will go on the auction block. Next month, visitors from at least a dozen countries and throughout the U.S. will converge on the 1,800-resident town, or bid online.

The two-day auction will feature mostly unsold Chevrolets that have sat untouched for decades. They'll go on the block in as-is condition. About 50 have fewer than 20 miles on the odometer, and some are so rare that no one has established a price. The most valuable, including a rare Chevy Cameo pickup, could fetch six-figure bids from collectors who view them as works of art to display or as restoration projects.

"To find this many new, old vehicles is unheard of," said Yvette VanDerBrink, the auctioneer coordinating the event. "It's like a white buffalo."

Preparations for the auction began in June, and VanDerBrink has taken calls from as far as Iceland, Singapore and Brazil. The two least-driven cars, a 1959 Bel Air and a 1960 Corvair Monza, each have 1.6 kilometres on their odometer. The oldest vehicle with fewer than 33 kilometres dates to 1958; the newest is a 1980 Monza with about 14 kilometres.

Unusual sales approach

On a recent afternoon, VanDerBrink stepped over hubcaps and engine parts in the cramped, dust-caked dealership that closed in 1996. In the corner sat the sky-blue 1958 Cameo with 2 kilometres, a cracked windshield and a dented roof — but its interior is unblemished.

Nearby, a red-and-white 1963 Impala waits with about 18 kilometres logged. Manufacturer's plastic covers the seats. The car was never titled. A yellowed, typewritten window sticker touts its original price: $3,254.70.

Ray Lambrecht opened the downtown dealership with his uncle in 1946, on the corner of Main Street and Nebraska Highway 13. Live elephants meandered out front that day, with Chevrolet banners across their backs.

The U.S. Army veteran quickly established himself as an unusual salesman: He gave his lowest price up front, without negotiation, and encouraged hagglers to try to find a better deal elsewhere. He rarely advertised, but was one of the first dealers in Nebraska to lease vehicles.

His low-price, high-volume approach helped secure regular government contracts, and he often sold cars to the state. In 1954, Lambrecht drove then-Gov. Robert Crosby down Main Street in a parade celebrating the 100-year anniversary of Nebraska as a territory.

Lambrecht rarely sold cars or pickups that were more than a year old, and he used holdover models as a kind of rainy-day fund. Unlike most dealers who lowered prices to move out-of-date inventory, he assumed the older cars would appreciate over time.

"I believe that Dad's sales approach reflected his personal style," said his daughter, Jeannie Stillwell. "He is a very honest, straightforward man who was focused on giving his customers the best price right from the start. Negotiating over price was a waste of time, and so that element of the sale was eliminated."

'The rarest of the rare'

The most valuable vehicles were stored for decades at a nearby warehouse, until a heavy snow collapsed the roof. Some were damaged, but many were saved and moved elsewhere. And the models at the dealership are among the best preserved, even as the building gave way to bats and holes in the roof.

The rest of the cars sat under trees at a nearby farm the Lambrechts owned, in the company of trade-in vehicles he didn't want to resell. Years passed, and trees started to poke through fenders and rusted pickup beds. The dealership's longtime mechanic lived on the farm, but when he died, his family moved away. Vandals and thieves pounced.

Ray and his wife, Mildred, retired in 1996. Ray, 95, and Mildred, 92, live in town, but the couple's health has declined. They decided to sell the collection so others could enjoy the cars and pickups, Stillwell said.

News of the auction enthralled the vintage car community, where rumours have swirled for years about a quirky Nebraska dealer who held on to his old vehicles. Nowadays, most classic cars have new paint jobs, interiors and engines. A true "survivor" has most, if not all, of its original material.

"This kind of stuff is absolutely the rarest of the rare," said Mark Gessler, president of the Historic Vehicle Association in Gaithersburg, Md. "You can see plenty of cars that have been restored. We want to ensure that we're celebrating the original craftsmanship, the original technique. It's a touchstone of our past."

The low-mileage cars and pickups will likely generate the greatest interest from collectors, who view them as works of art to be displayed, said Jay Quail, executive director of the Chicago-based Classic Car Club of America. Quail said he often sees old cars on eBay billed as classics, even though they're refurbished.

"I'd look at it and think, `My God, it would have been worth way more if you just hadn't touched it,"' Quail said. "It's like having a Picasso in your garage. Collectors will pay for a car that's totally unmolested."

At the same time, Quail said it's difficult to savour a barely-driven beauty.

"As a collector, do I just want to have the car sit?" he said. "If I bought a '63 Corvette with only one mile on it, I don't think I'd enjoy it very much. You couldn't drive it."

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Hamilton man wins Tim Hortons Duelling Donuts competition

Andrew Shepherd crowned winner of Duelling Donuts competition on Monday

The Canadian Press

Posted: Aug 20, 2013 8:32 AM ET

Last Updated: Aug 20, 2013 11:04 AM ET

A dreamed-up doughnut that melds together chocolate, caramel and pecans has earned its inventor $10,000 and the knowledge he beat out 63,000 entries in a Tim Hortons contest.

Andrew Shepherd, who was born in Hamilton (which is also Tim Hortons' birthplace) was crowned the winner of the Duelling Donuts competition on Monday.

The 39-year-old dubbed his creation The Tortoise Torte, which won against the runner-up doughnut The Oreo Borealis.

"I was ecstatic," Shepherd said. "It's kind of surreal."

He said his doughnut uses a vanilla base and plays on flavours that are already merged together in other treats such as ice cream and candy.

"I wanted to come up with a classic-flavoured combination," he said.

Judges included 90210 star Jason Priestley

A panel of judges that included actor Jason Priestley whittled down the pool of applicants to eight finalists, with doughnuts such as Monkey C-Donut, Monkey Do-Nut and S'more Of It.

Priestley, best known for his role on the show "Beverly Hills 90210," was recruited for the contest after a cameo on the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" last February.

The episode joked that Canadians are a doughnut-eating people, with the Vancouver-born actor touting the invention of The Priestley doughnut in a fake documentary.

His namesake is a strawberry-vanilla doughnut stuffed with a chocolate Timbit.

Tim Hortons had a chef whip up the fictional pastry, and the public's reaction spawned the idea of a contest where people could submit their own doughnut ideas.

Priestley said he enjoyed his role as a judge.

"It was a quintessential Canadian moment and I'll remember it — and all the doughnuts I ate — for years to come," he said in a statement. "The Tortoise Torte was nothing short of awesome, and, who knows, it may become a new favourite for Tims fans across Canada."

Winner will celebrate with 'a lot of doughnuts'

The contest launched in June and after judges narrowed down the contenders, online voting was the final step to choose a winner.

Shepherd, who works in the health-care industry, said a "grassroots campaign" from friends and family helped him to win the contest through word-of-mouth.

He said he wants to thank those people with a party complete with "a lot of doughnuts."

His second priority is to take his wife on a trip to Switzerland — a luxury he said was previously out of his budget.

"It's somewhere I've always wanted to go," he said. "I'm a bit of a foodie, and they have cheese and chocolate there which are my two favourite foods."

Tim Hortons has said it would use the winning doughnut as inspiration for a new menu item.

Shepherd said seeing his imagined pastry in reality, sitting on Tim Hortons shelves, would add to his recent "roller-coaster" experience.

"I'd be able to go into any store anywhere and see something I created," he said, adding that he chose to enter the contest as a creative outlet and not just because of a possible windfall.

"It was a fun thing to do," he said.

"I do think Canadians are pretty fond of their doughnuts."

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Surprising discovery in gun safe ordered online

Written By Unknown on Senin, 19 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

A gun safe made in Mexico was found to contain $420,000 worth of marijuana. (Matilde Campodonico/Associated Press)

Authorities in Ohio say a man who ordered a gun safe online opened it up only to discover 127 kilograms of marijuana inside.

Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart in western Ohio says the safe was made in Nogales, Mexico and that it was sent by truck to Ohio.

He says the marijuana has a street value of $420,000 US.

Federal authorities who are investigating say the truck driver who brought the shipment into the United States is now missing.

The Ohio sheriff says that truck was carrying a full shipment of safes, but none of the others contained any drugs.

He says the safe with the marijuana was delivered to Ohio in June, but authorities have kept quiet about it while they looked into how the safe got into the U.S.

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Replica weapons cause fright at B.C. zombie event

Some people in downtown Vancouver got a bit of a scare at an annual zombie parade this weekend — but it wasn't the gory-makeup or calls for "brains" that had them and authorities concerned.

Vancouver's annual Zombie Walk, first held back in 2005, has now grown into an event that attracts thousands of zombie enthusiasts to the city's downtown core.

Translink's Transit Police said that on Saturday afternoon they received numerous calls from concerned citizens who thought that some undead-looking travellers headed downtown on the SkyTrain were carrying weapons.

Const. Graham Walker said the "zombies" were only carrying replica weapons as part of their costumes, but officers had to respond to all calls as if they were the real thing.

"Ourselves, along with Vancouver Police, have responded to a couple calls where plastic guns were subject to the call," he said. "To the members of the public, they looked very real."

Officers made sure the apparent weapons were fakes, and asked the owners not to flash them around for the sake of everyone's safety.

"Most of the time people were allowed to keep them, but asked to store them in a more safe way that doesn't cause alarm."

Walker also said officers also recommend leaving scary-looking props at home.

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Gary, Indiana, offering homes for $1 US

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 18 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Gary, Indiana, plans to offer houses for $1 US in an effort to attract residents back to the once-thriving city.

Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson has spearheaded the plan that would allow people to buy abandoned homes if they demonstrate the financial ability to bring them up to code within six months.

Prospective owners would have to meet income requirements (starting at $35,250 US for one person) and would be required to live in the home for five years before they received full ownership.

(Google)

About one third of the homes in the city — about 10,000 houses — are unoccupied and many have fallen prey to vandals and arson.

In June, the city moved to begin the scheme with 12 homes up for offer in a single neighbourhood.

"Essentially what we do is give those houses out through a lottery process. People have to qualify, families have to qualify through income, through the ability to fix up the homes, because these homes have been abandoned and so they do need some work – anywhere between $25,000 to $50,000 worth of work," Freeman-Wilson said in an interview with CBC's Lang O'Leary Exchange.

The benefit would be that the new homeowners would pay taxes, remove the homes from the city's list of derelict buildings, and improve the character of the neighbourhoods where they settle, Freeman-Wilson said.

"The way that we make money is that these homes that currently are not paying taxes because they are vacant are returned to the tax rolls, but it also raises the value of adjacent homes because what is happening is that because houses are abandoned, the houses on the block that are well-maintained by their residents are also losing value," she said.

She envisions 50 to 100 homes a year offered under the scheme if the pilot is successful.

Gary, about 32 kilometres southeast of Chicago, was a steel town with 180,000 residents in the 1960s. It is now home to fewer than 80,000 people and decades of layoffs have scuttled its industrial base.

Like Detroit, which filed for bankruptcy last month, it suffered racial friction that caused waves of residents to flee to the suburbs. But the city does not face a debt load like the one that sank Detroit. Instead, its liabilities are around $8.4 million, though it has a backlog of infrastructure maintenance that cannot be met until it has more revenue.

Freeman-Wilson, who bought her own first home through a similar program years ago, believes that stabilizing neighbourhoods and encouraging home ownership will make the city a more attractive place to live, despite its high crime rate.

She says the city is rebuilding as a transportation hub, investing in its airport and lake port as well as becoming home to several trucking terminals.

An application process for the $1 homes attracted about 400 people and, after a preselection process, the qualifying finalists will be chosen by lottery.

Other post-industrial cities including Detroit, which has hundreds of square kilometres of hollowed-out neighbourhoods, are watching the experiment.

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Princess pleads not guilty in cockfighting case

Princess Irina Walker, daughter of the last king of Romania, has pleaded not guilty to operating a cockfighting business with her husband at their Oregon ranch.

Irina Walker, seen in this booking photo provided by police in Multnomah County, Ore., appeared in court on charges she ran a cockfighting business on her ranch. (Multnomah County Sheriff/Associated Press)

She entered the plea at a hearing on Friday.

Government prosecutors warned that Walker is a flight risk because she was born in Switzerland and could be granted asylum in that country.

Judge John V. Acosta ordered her to surrender her passport and told her not to leave her home county, except to go to nearby Hermiston for groceries and medical appointments.

A total of 18 people have been charged in the case.

Walker's daughter, Angelica Kreuger, said her mother loves animals and would never watch a chicken die in a fight.

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Does One Direction's new hit borrow too much from The Who?

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 15 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

[<a href="//storify.com/cbccommunity/does-one-direction-s-new-hit-borrow-too-much-from" target="_blank">View the story "Does One Direction's new hit borrow too much from The Who?" on Storify</a>]<h1>Does One Direction's new hit borrow too much from The Who?</h1><h2></h2><p>Storified by <a href="http://storify.com/cbccommunity">CBC News Community</a>&middot; Thu, Aug 15 2013 07:08:04</p><div>Music critics and fans are pointing out some similarities between One Direction's hit single <i>Best Song Ever </i>and The Who's 1971 classic <i>Baba O'Riley</i>, with the verdict ranging from "homage" to outright "plagiarism." <br></div><div>Does One Direction's Best Song Ever sound too similar to The Who?One Direction , the boy band inspiring awe from teenage girls around the world, have come under fire for their new song Best Song Ever. A...</div><div>A scathing review on Clickmusic reads, "we find the 1D team resorting to plagiarism once again as The Who's <i>Baba O'Riley</i> is sterilised and repackaged for fans who probably don't know any better."<br></div><div>One Direction: 'Best Song Ever' single reviewSomeone should call Trading Standards over the song title as 1D sterilise The Who's Baba O'Riley Read more on One Direction Listen to One...</div><div>But Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush, in her review of the song, wrote that while the tune's first 20 seconds do sound very similar to The Who, "it<em> has</em> to be intentional and an homage, since it's <em>that</em> obvious. But that's where the similarities end, people."</div><div>One Direction, 'Best Song Ever' - Song ReviewLet's get it out of the way now. Yes, the first 20 seconds and the intro of One Direction's new single 'Best Song Ever,' which factors in...</div><div>You can judge for yourself here: <br></div><div>Best Song Ever (Audio) - One DirectionVEVO</div><div>The Who - Baba O'rileyzumie94</div><div>Some people say the similarities are obvious if the intros are played back-to-back, as they are in this YouTube video. <br></div><div>Baba O'Riley vs Best Song Ever - just coincidences?simomac97</div><div>London's XFM posted a remix of the two songs on SoundCloud a few weeks ago, saying that 1D is "borrowing a couple of bits and bobs" from <i>Baba O'Riley</i>. <br></div><div>THE WHO vs ONE DIRECTION by The Xfm Breakfast ShowPopsters One Direction borrowing a couple of bits and bobs from the legendary The Who...</div><div>When the comparison hit Twitter today after the Telegraph's coverage, some One Direction fans wondered who these "The Who" guys were, anyway. <br><br>"They're called 'The Who' for a reason," read <a href="https://twitter.com/OnlyLove1D/status/367995907456790530" class="">one tweet from a IDer</a>. The hashtag <a href="http://topsy.com/s?q=%E2%80%8EDontTouchBestSongEver" class="">#‎DontTouchBestSongEver</a> briefly trended when fans got it into their heads that someone was trying to take down the song over the controversy. <br><br>Other, perhaps older, Twitter users mocked One Direction fans for their musical ignorance.<br></div><div>Seeing Directioners question who The Who are is making me lose the very little faith in humanity I had left‏‏ ‏ ‏‏ ‏ ‏</div><div>Directioners are asking who The Who is though, hahaha http://pic.twitter.com/ZfMSCWCx3WHold The Jars.</div><div>Tumblr</div><div>I am laughing at how Directioners are actually Tweeting &quot;Who are The Who?&quot; http://pic.twitter.com/kvoccEX0i6consulting detective</div><div>&quot;Who even are The Who? They're nothing compared to One Direction.&quot; http://pic.twitter.com/Qx0eaH5iw2 peter parker </div><div>What do you think? Is <i>Best Song Ever </i>a ripoff of <i>Baby O'Riley</i> or an homage to The Who hit? <br></div>

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Christchurch, N.Z., gets post-quake cardboard cathedral

A temporary cardboard cathedral will become the new place of worship for a displaced Christchurch, New Zealand congregation after a deadly Feb. 2011 earthquake demolished their former church.

"This building will attract people," said Craig Dixon, the cathedral's development manager, on a video explaining the church's construction. "It's going to be a fantastic structure."

The new cardboard cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand opened to the public on Aug. 5. (Facebook)

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake rattled Christchurch in 2011, causing a spire of the downtown Christchurch Cathedral to fall into a public square.

After the disaster, church officials contacted Japanese architect Shigeru Ban — who has made a name for himself using cardboard tubes as construction materials for emergency shelters — to construct a transitional cathedral.

Ban complied and offered his design to church officials free of charge.

On Thursday, his newest cardboard structure will be officially welcomed into the church with a dedication ceremony.

The transitional structure uses cardboard tubes, timber beams, structural steel and concrete.

A total of 98 tubes, measuring up to 20 metres long and weighing 120 kilograms, make up the cathedral's slanted ceiling.

In tribute to the congregation's original home, the new cathedral boasts a triangular stained-glass window incorporating images from the old cathedral's original rose window.

"It is a building which says much about Christchurch's resilience and creativity," said Tim Hunter, Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism's chief executive.

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Trapped U.K. churchgoer tweets her way to freedom

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 14 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

[View the story "Trapped U.K. churchgoer tweets her way to freedom" on Storify]

Storified by CBC News Community· Tue, Aug 13 2013 09:41:02

@PlymChiefInsp @CouncillorTudor @CarlEveCrime Wine intact officer don't worry hic hic. Last pic before release lol http://pic.twitter.com/XSFmxJBrf1-.-.Sarah.-.-

A 43-year-old British jam maker is the toast of Twitter today after successfully using the microblogging service to free herself from the inside of a locked church.

Sara Greep of Plymouth, England found herself trapped in the Minister Church of St. Andrew Sunday after volunteers mistakenly locked the doors while she was praying in a private area.

Knowing full well that she'd be stuck inside until that evening's service, the mother-of-two grabbed her smartphone in an attempt to find assistance.

I'm locked in inside St.Andrews Church! I was in private praying chapel & when I came out, everyone was gone & doors locked. #Plymouth #help-.-.Sarah.-.-

Trying to think of best way to get out of this church with minimum disruption. It's quite calm & peaceful in here so in no hurry #Plymouth-.-.Sarah.-.-

"I realised I was locked in so I started going through my phone book, thinking of all the people I could contact," Greep told the Guardian. "But it was a lovely day outside, I thought most people would be out enjoying the weather. I didn't want to bother anyone so I just started tweeting."

Strange feeling, locked in St.Andrews Church, thinking of every family member & not wanting to bother them, even the husband. #Plymouth-.-.Sarah.-.-

Phone signal keeps cutting in & out & battery low, so I'm going to see if I can research a number to ring. Locked in St.Andrews Church :S-.-.Sarah.-.-

Locked inside St.Andrews #Plymouth Long wait til doors open at 18.30. Will be drunk on holy wine by then http://pic.twitter.com/SGC7AETWmn-.-.Sarah.-.-

Eventually, she was able to find a caretaker's phone number on a pamphlet inside the church -- but couldn't get through.

So instead, she continued to politely rile up support among her roughly 150 Twitter followers.

@SarahGreep are you ok? Can I ring any one however you obviously have a phone so silly question!Janet Hopkinson

@HappyHoppy07 I'm looking up contact details to call someone thank you :)-.-.Sarah.-.-

@SarahGreep are you out yet???Seán Paull

@seanpaull all the fire doors are padlocked shut & alarmed. What times next service today anyone? #St.Andrews #Plymouth-.-.Sarah.-.-

While she waited to hear from someone - anyone - with a key to the door, Greep kept herself occupied by making a video for YouTube and exploring the church.

Locked inside Church #St.Andrews #Plymouthsarnic69

As I'm Gods prisoner locked inside St.Andrews does that qualify me as authorised to go in kitchen. Need a cuppa! http://pic.twitter.com/b0n1jZl3eU-.-.Sarah.-.-

Eventually, the local police caught wind of Greep's plight through Twitter and arranged for the building to be opened.

@SarahGreep @CouncillorTudor @CarlEveCrime Dear all, Keyholder contacted and now en route from peverell to set sarah free, Hurrah!Brendan Brookshaw

@PlymChiefInsp @CouncillorTudor @CarlEveCrime Yes I just got call too to say on way, will be here in 5 mins. :)-.-.Sarah.-.-

@SarahGreep @CouncillorTudor @CarlEveCrime have you been freed yet sarah? i am worried about the communion wine stocks :)Brendan Brookshaw

@PlymChiefInsp @CouncillorTudor @CarlEveCrime Just been let out this door thank you! :) http://pic.twitter.com/BsvqeeR7kA-.-.Sarah.-.-

It may have been an uncomfortable few hours (especially without an open bathroom to use) but Greep appears to be taking the incident -- and her newfound local fame -- in stride.

I always said you can't believe anything you read in @TheSunNewspaper Virtually nothing here is true! http://pic.twitter.com/D0HyoafuBY-.-.Sarah.-.-

Awww my niece wants fame like her auntie lol. My fame has come without fortune ... unfortunately lol! http://pic.twitter.com/y4zDKRCSC3-.-.Sarah.-.-

She also managed to link up with Tudor Evans, the local city councillor who first alerted police to the fact that Greep was trapped.

Me and Tudor in St.Andrews today! :) @CouncillorTudor http://pic.twitter.com/lSkijWKfWc-.-.Sarah.-.-

And just to show that there were no hard feelings, the award-winning jam maker (who also Tweets under her business handle, @JannerJam) gifted some of her sweet product to St. Andrew's Church.

Just gave St.Andrews Church special edition no.3/50 Strawberry & Blueberry for their fundraising #NoHardFeelings http://pic.twitter.com/rVDkR0zPKaJanner Jam

Have you ever been trapped by accident within a building? Share your stories below.

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Prague company offers 'Crony Safari' corruption bus tour

Forget art galleries and architectural wonders — a tour company in Prague is offering tourists a unique glimpse of life in the Czech Republic, taking people on a bus tour of the "monuments of corruption" that are scattered across the city.

Petr Sourek, operator of the Corrupt Tour company, told CBC Radio's As It Happens about a bus tour that shows visitors the "best of the worst" in Prague.

The company's website says the tours offer people the opportunity to visit "a wide range of corrupt businesses as well as the leading practitioners of corruption."

"The Prague officials are usually not very happy about it, which I don't understand, because it's very creative," Sourek says of his "Crony Safari" tours.

Listen to the full interview here.

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Thieves return goods and leave apology note at charity

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 11 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

[<a href="//storify.com/cbccommunity/thieves-return-goods-and-leave-apology-note-at-cha" target="_blank">View the story "Thieves return goods and leave apology note at charity" on Storify</a>]<h1>Thieves return goods and leave apology note at charity</h1><h2></h2><p>Storified by <a href="http://storify.com/cbccommunity">CBC News Community</a>· Fri, Aug 09 2013 12:42:18</p><div><p>How's this for a guilty conscience? </p><p><br></p><p>Thieves in California recently returned some stolen goods and left a touching apologyletter after realizing that they had robbed a charity which helps survivors of sexualassault. </p></div><div>Good Guy Thieves return stolen laptops once they realize they stole from a charity that helps victims of sexual violence. - ImgurImgur</div><div><p>At around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night, Candy Stallings, executive director of the Sexual Assault Service Center in SanBeradino, Calif., received a call from her alarm company alerting her that there was suspicious activity at the center. </p><p><br></p><p></p><p>By the time police arrived to the scene, the thieves weregone -- along with six computers, a laptop and other valuables. </p><p><br></p><p>A few hours later, Stallings received another call frompolice telling her that there was, yet again, suspicious activity on the premises of the non-profit. </p><p><br></p><p>When she arrived at the centre, she found a shopping cartcontaining all of the stolen goods. Inside of one laptop was the note -- which has now goneviral.</p><p><br></p><p>"We had no idea what we're taking," the note read. "Here [sic] your stuff back. We hope that you guys can continue to make a difference in people's lives. God bless."<br></p></div><div>Burglars who stole computers from an office building in the suburbs of Los Angeles returned the items - ImgurImgur</div><div><div>The thieves' change of heart surprised a police officer on the scene, who told NBC Los Angeles that he had never seen something like this happen. </div><div><br></div><div>It also surprised many who read about the story, leaving some with mixed feelings. </div><div><br></div><div>Many touted the story as an example of some human goodness.</div></div><div>I'm sort of amused and conflicted by this story. Some faith in humanity restored, I guess, a little bit...?http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/thieves-return-computers-after-realising-they-had-burgled-a-charity-8754153.htmlLucy Wainwright</div><div>I LOVE this story. Thieves return what they stole with an apology letter! nydailynews.com/news/national/...Sweetina Kakar</div><div>Only Thieves in California will steal from a center that helps ppl..Thn feel bad.. and return the stuff the next day! WITH AN APOLOGY LETTERRaynden Fernandez</div><div>There is honor among these thieves at least - Burglars return stolen goods, leave note abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=...Amit Sachdeva</div><div>Thieves with a conscience? Now that is a first! Thieves return computers after realising they had burgled a charity independent.co.uk/news/world/ame...Dr Aisha Gill</div><div>But the thieves did break into five offices, break the law and -- according to police -- tamper with wiring for the alarms that has left the center with thousands of dollars in damages. <div><br></div><div>Morally, it can be argued that they saw the error of their ways. But legally, it was still a crime. </div></div><div>Are these thieves still immoral because they were stealing? Or do their actions absolve them of immorality? The... fb.me/2UxV43C0xChained Reality</div><div><b>Do you think that returning the stolen property and adding a note make this crime more forgiveable? Share your thoughts below.</b></div>

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Rare Canadian stamp could be worth $1 million

Stamp enthusiast Brian Grant Duff remembers the thrill of handling what was, until recently, thought to be the only two examples of Canada's rarest stamp, the two cent "large Queen on laid paper."

It's estimated by some to be worth as much as $1 million.

Grant Duff was in his early 20s, and working for Vancouver dealer Daniel Eaton. Eaton obtained one example of the rare stamp from Britain's stamp and collectibles giant Stanley Gibbons in 1986, and the second one from Winnipeg stamp dealer Kasimir Bileski in 1993. For nearly 90 years, the two copies were the only ones known to exist.

Grant Duff said he would carry one of Eaton's large Queen on laid in a case and display it at stamp shows around B.C. and in Ontario and Quebec, not fully realizing the risk of carrying something that could one day be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"It was just a great opportunity for a young man in stamps," said the 48-year-old, who now runs his own collectibles shop in Vancouver. "Frankly, there hasn't been another highlight in my career to that degree since that time."

So when Grant Duff heard recently that a third example of every Canadian stamp collector's wildest dream was discovered in a circuit book — a book that contains stamps and is passed between collectors and dealers — and bought earlier this year by an unnamed collector for roughly five dollars, he was gobsmacked.

Apparently, so was the Vincent Graves Green Philatelic Research Foundation, a postal history research organization based in Toronto that recently examined the third copy.

"A two cent large Queen was submitted to the Expert Committee in March 2013 showing laid lines in the paper," the centre said in a report released last month. "It was not an obvious fake. Accordingly considerable analysis has been undertaken to determine if it is genuine. If so it would be the third known genuine copy."

145-year-old stamp

After months of analyzing 12 different aspects of the stamp, which was dated March 16, 1870 and had "creases and a tear," the centre declared it to be authentic.

"They started issuing the two-cent-large-Queen in 1868," Grant Duff explained. "If it was dated 1870, might it have been a fake? It was too good to be true, basically, but they've determined it was a genuine example."

According to Grant Duff, the 145-year-old stamp is so rare because it is an anomaly. The green-hued stamp, which features a profile portrait of Queen Victoria, was printed perhaps by mistake on "laid" paper — commonly used for stationary, and has alternating light and dark lines — at a time when printers were transitioning to "wove" paper.

Grant Duff estimates between a hundred to 400 of the stamps were printed on laid paper. The two that were acquired by Eaton were both authenticated by the Royal Philatelic Society in London in 1935.

Grant Duff helped Eaton sell one of his acquired examples in 1986 for approximately $90,000. They traded the second example, which was then sold to its current owner for about $200,000, he said.

The Unitrade Canadian Stamp Catalogue estimates that the large Queen on laid would now be worth at least $250,000. However, Canadian stamp collector and business man Ron Brigham, who is selling his stamp collection this fall and who owns one example of the rare stamp, announced earlier this year it is valued at $1 million.

"It's possible because it's so rare," Grant Duff said. "Even a third one being discovered probably doesn't hurt the market."

Grant Duff, who has been collecting stamps since he was seven years old because he enjoys the "handfuls of history," said he hopes whoever now owns the third example of the large Queen on laid will keep it in collectors' hands, rather than donate it to a museum or a philatelic society.

"If I'm really lucky, I'll get to handle the third one one day," he said.

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Archie comic's first gay kiss

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 10 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

[<a href="//storify.com/cbccommunity/archie-comic-s-first-gay-kiss" target="_blank">View the story "Archie comic's first gay kiss " on Storify</a>]<h1>Archie comic's first gay kiss </h1><h2></h2><p>Storified by <a href="http://storify.com/cbccommunity">CBC News Community</a>· Fri, Aug 09 2013 16:31:25</p><div>The only openly gay character in the Archie comic universe, Kevin Keller, had his first kiss scene in an issue released today.</div><div>Kevin Keller's First Gay Kiss Inspired by One Million Moms Controversy SEE MORE HERE - http://s.shr.lc/164nzNY http://pic.twitter.com/rhvoLMxPz5Wanker Lad</div><div><p>The kiss, featured in <i>Kevin Keller</i> - a spin-off comic - features a controversy in the fictional land of Riverdale thatdraws from the real-life controversy over the comic's homosexual content.</p><p><br></p><p>When Kevin kisses his boyfriend goodbye a woman standing nearbywith a small child says, "DidI just see that with my own eyes? Young man, there are children in this place!Your behaviour is unacceptable!"</p></div><div>Kevin Keller gets his first kiss and a dose of homophobia in this #Archie comic featuring #OneMillionMoms: http://pic.twitter.com/E9asrpm6FoLOTL Magazine</div><div><p>Her discontent echoes criticism heaped on the comic bythe group One Million Moms.</p><p><br></p><p>Dan Parent, writer and creator of the character,  told the Associated Press that the idea cameabout after One Million Moms decided to boycott Toys R Us because the store wasselling copies of the issue depicting the characters wedding. </p><p><br></p><p>Kevin's wedding appear in <i>Life With Archie</i> - a magazine-style comic featuring stories where the cast of Riverdale characters are adults.</p></div><div>Ibtimes</div><div><div><p>Archie Comics CEO JonGoldwater issued a statement during the attack on the wedding issue:</p><p><br></p><p>"As I've said before,Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone," hewrote. "It's an idealized version of America that will hopefully becomereality someday. </p><p><br></p><p>"We're sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.comfeels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to theiropinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller willforever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free ofprejudice, hate and narrow-minded people."</p></div><div><br></div>While the random mom in the comic and her real life inspiration might be against Kevin's smooch, many fans took to Twitter to be just as supportive as Veronica, Betty, Archie and Jughead have proved to be.</div><div>I kinda love that Archie is now more progressive than a vocal segment of bigoted comic fans. I should pick up some new collections!Laura Sneddon</div><div>another reason why i will always love the archie comics. buzzfeed.com/lilyhiottmilli... #saynotoomm #suckonit ✏sam</div><div>Way to go Kevin Keller! buzzfeed.com/lilyhiottmilli...mktoon</div><div>The Best Things in Pop Culture This Week featuring KEVIN KELLER #10! eonli.ne/15XCF7e via @eonlineArchie Comics</div><div>Soo ecstatic about the new @archiecomics Kevin Keller comic! Seriously amazing. on.aol.com/video/archie-c... #archiecomics #kevinkeller #comicloveCamelot Fabrics</div><div><p>Kevin's <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2010/04/23/archie-veronica-gay-kevin.html" class="">first appearance was in Veronica #202</a> in 2010 and so was successful that the comic sold out and have to issue a reprint - the first in the comic's history. </p><p><br></p><p>After that he returned again in a short four-part series focussed on his life before the main cast of characters in Riverdale ever met him. It featured flashbacks of his youth and noted his great relationship with his dad.</p><p></p></div><div>Mediaite</div><div>Archie Comics announced in 2011 that the hugely popular Kevin would be getting his own spin-off comic, which was first released in February 2012.  </div><div>Comicsworthreading</div><div>Comicvine</div><div><p>Parent was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2011 for creating Kevin. </p><p><br></p><p>This year, the 'It Gets Better Project' - an initiative launched in response to suicides of youth who were bullied because of their sexual orientation - named July 9 'Kevin Keller Day' and released a video featuring Keller's creator, Parent, discussing his origin. </p></div><div>It Gets Better: Kevin KellerIt Gets Better Project</div><div>Comicbookresources</div>

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Thieves return goods and leave apology note at charity

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DJ's fan thrilled to be smashed by cake at Toronto concert

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 09 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Electronic DJ Steve Aoki's caking of a 19-year-old crowd surfing quadriplegic man at a Toronto music festival over the weekend is being described as one of his best tosses yet.

"Pretty much every time I have ever seen Aoki I've always prayed to get caked," said Ian McAdam, whose video of the crowd-crazed incident has gone viral online. "It was just right spot, right time."

'Pretty much every time I have ever seen Aoki I've always prayed to get caked.'—Quadriplegic fan Ian McAdam

The Mississauga electronic music fan was attending VELD Music Festival over the weekend at Downsview Park with his brother and a group of friends when he was "volun-told" he was going to the front.

"Five or six ripped dudes picked me up and carried me 20 or 30 feet into the crowd towards the front," McAdam said.

Describing his wheelchair as weighing upwards of 350 lbs, McAdam said the "juice heads" had him suspended in the air near the stage when he captured Aoki's attention.

Electronic DJ Steve Aoki, Ian McAdam, centre, and brother Erik McAdam backstage at VELD Music Festival in Toronto. (Ian McAdam/Supplied)

The U.S. DJ has garnered fame for his signature on-stage antics of throwing cakes into the crowd, sometimes at close range.

"As soon as Steve saw me he instantly went for one of his bigger cakes and right at the drop of the track just hail maryed it," said McAdam, estimating the cake was launched a distance of about 20 metres. "The last thing I see before I clench my eyes is just 'Dim Mak' written on the cake — that's his record label."

A video shot by McAdam's brother Erik captures the moment as Aoki climbs atop the DJ booth and tosses the cake, which spirals through the air.

"Right after it happened it was literally Super Bowl touchdown," McAdam said. "I was definitely thankful everyone was so willing to help me."

The caking also led to a backstage meeting after the show with Aoki and some of his other favourite artists.

"Those guys are so nice," McAdam said. "Aoki is hands down the most fun artist to see."

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Teen pilot aims for round-the-world record

An Australian teenager hoping to earn a place in the aviation record books stopped in Labrador Thursday, midway through his mission to fly solo around the world.

Ryan Campbell, 19, set out from Australia on June 30, just a day after 21-year-old Californian Jack Wiegand became the youngest person to fly solo around the world.

"It's a crazy, out-there dream that I didn't think was achievable and for a whole number of reasons," Campbell told CBC News on the airstrip at Happy Valley-Goose Bay, where he stopped for a layover.

The stop was not a complete rest from flying. As soon as he landed, he boarded another plane for a low-flying tour over Labrador's vast wilderness.

"I live and breathe aviation," he said.

"I could spend all day in an airplane if I could [so] the experience to go fly in a float plane in Canada was fantastic and was something that, for an Aussie, was a very out-there thing to do."

'I live and breathe aviation. I could spend all day in an airplane.'—Ryan Campbell

Campbell is piloting a single-engine Cirrus SR22 that is not much taller than he is.

He often spends all day in the plane, with his longest stretch so far reaching 15 hours.

He is alone, apart from the company of clouds, his iPod and a GoPro camera he's using to chronicle his mission.

He admits to rocking out a bit in the cockpit, but otherwise stays calm, collected and focused.

"We still have a long way to go," said Campbell, who expects to clock about 200 hours of flying time before he finishes.

"We've had a few little hiccups we've worked through with the aircraft and maintenance and stuff like that, so there is a long way to go — it's as simple as that. So I don't think we'll get too excited yet. The excitement will hit when I'm in Australia."

On Friday, Campbell set out from Labrador to cross the Atlantic, with his next stop in Iceland.

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Monet paintings get cheeky Amazon reviews

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 08 Agustus 2013 | 22.56

Comments on this story are pre-moderated. Before they appear, comments are reviewed by moderators to ensure they meet our submission guidelines. Comments are open and welcome for three days after the story is published. We reserve the right to close comments before then.

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Is Barbie's Mars Explorer doll out of this world?

Mattel partnered with NASA to make the Mars Explorer Barbie to commemorate the first anniversary of the Mars Curiosity rover's landing on the red planet. (Mattel)

In collaboration with NASA, Mattel is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Curiosity Rover's landing on Mars with the Mars Explorer Barbie doll.

"Ready to add her signature pink splash to the "red planet," the Barbie® doll is outfitted in a stylish space suit with pink reflective accents, helmet, space pack and signature pink space boots," says Mattel in a press release posted Monday.

Barbie's space suit is certainly more stylish than that of a normal astronaut. The packaging for the figure includes art of the Mars Curiosity rover - accented in pink - roaming the Martian surface.

It also includes a link to the Women at NASA website, which promotes women's contributions to science and encourages girls to consider and encourage careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics.)

The figure is one from Barbie's "I Can Be" product line that portrays Barbie in several careers, from a dentist to a news anchor to an engineer. This isn't the first time Barbie's been sent into space: in 1965 Mattel released the Miss Astronaut Barbie to commemorate Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space.

Some commentators have criticized The Mars Explorer Barbie's overly pink outfit and focus on style - indeed, the new figure includes much more pink on the suit and accessories than 1965's Miss Astronaut version. In contrast, the 1985 Astronaut Barbie doll was almost entirely pink, complete with poofy sleeves and knee-high boots.

"Mars Explorer Barbie's un-gloved hands seem to be blissfully impervious to both the chilly Martian weather (average temperature: -80 degrees Fahrenheit) and the high radiation levels of the thin Martian atmosphere," writes a sarcastic Megan Garber for The Atlantic.

"Why the hell did Mattel make NASA's astronaut Barbie pink?" reads the title of a piece by Gizmodo's Jesus Diaz. "If there are no astronaut suits with pink elements, why make them pink? 'Because girls like pink' is probably their weak non-argument."

Left: The 1965 Miss Astronaut Barbie figure. Right: 1985's version of Astronaut Barbie. (Mattel)

Reaction hasn't been all negative, however. Continues Diaz: "If this small step for a doll ends with a woman taking a giant leap for all Humanity on the surface of Mars, we all can be happy about it."

For some readers, a few pink accents to grab the attention of little girls appears worth it, especially since the packaging includes information about several women space explorers and was a collaborative effort with NASA itself.

"Anything that goes against the pernicious and persistent stereotype that girls should hate math and love shopping -- even if it is a pink, gloveless, ridiculously photogenic astronaut Barbie -- is a wonderful thing," writes commenter agonist on The Atlantic's article.

"While your knowledge-loving friends like Computer Science Barbie and Architect Barbie are both positive role models and not doomed, once you start that long trek to the red planet, you're going to hit the point of no return real quick."

What do you think about Mars Explorer Barbie? Is it a positive message to young girls about space exploration as a career, or cheap marketing pink-washing? Is it both of these, or neither?

Vancouver couple ties knot on bus where they met

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 07 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

A Vancouver couple has exchanged wedding vows on a TransLink bus, as part of I Love Transit week in Vancouver.

It was a fateful day in April 2012, when a girl from Germany and a rocker from the Prairies laid eyes on each other.

Then magic happened for Nina Schmidt and Jarred Greff on the #3 bus going up Main Street.

"I was at a state in my life where I was like, 'I'm not going to meet the right guy.' But there he was on the bus." Schmidt said on Tuesday.

"We had eye contact the entire time and a seat got available next to me, so he stood up and sat down."

The pair chatted briefly, but didn't exchange phone numbers, so Schmidt tracked him down at his place of work later that day, with some prodding from friends.

A couple of days later, they went on a 22-hour date at a bowling alley, where Greff accidentally bared all.

"My ball skipped my lane and into somebody else's and knocked a few of their pins over and my pants fell down and I mooned Nina on our first date," the groom said.

The pair still marvels at the randomness of finding love on a bus.

Schmidt nearly missed the bus that day and Greff didn't plan on taking it, but decided to at the last minute because he was late for work.

"It's the symbol for our love," Schmidt said. "Every time we think of the bus story, we are really thankful that that happened."

Wedding guests were simply told to come to the bus stop at Burrard Street and 15th Avenue at 3 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Many said they were surprised by the unique venue for the ceremony.

Translink provided the couple with the bus.

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Bus-sized blob of fat found in U.K. sewer

British utility company Thames Water employees have discovered what it calls the biggest "fatberg" ever recorded in the country — a nearly 14-tonne blob of congealed fat and baby wipes lodged in a sewer drain.

That's enough "wrongly flushed festering food fat mixed with wet wipes" to fill a double-decker bus, a company spokesperson said.

A sewer inspector, or 'flusher,' removes a build-up of fat from a sewer wall in May 2007. (Luke MacGregor/Reuters)

Thames Water deals with fatbergs all the time, thanks to the widespread use of household oil and food fat. But few reach the mammoth size of the one found under a road in the London suburb of Kingston.

With 108,000 kilometres of sewer pipes to monitor, and fatbergs forming around even a few wipes that catch on to a corner or a wall, Thames Water says it must be constantly vigilant.

This blockage — built up over an estimated six months —was discovered after residents in nearby apartment buildings were unable to flush their toilets.

Examination found that the mound of fat had reduced the 70-centimetre by 48-centimetre sewer to just five per cent of its normal capacity. It damaged the sewers so badly that it will take six weeks to repair them.

The company said Tuesday it was sharing news of the massive lard lump in hopes that customers will think twice about what they dump down the drain. It also released video footage of the fatberg, filmed by a remote vehicle gliding through the sewer like an underground amusement park ride.

The company said untreated fatbergs can cause flooding and backups.

"It's very lucky we caught this one," said Craig Rance, a spokesman for Thames Water.

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Man in middle of swim to Detroit hauling 334 bricks

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 06 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

A long-distance swimmer who calls himself "The Shark" is in the middle of a 30-hour, 22-mile dip in Lake St. Clair near the Michigan-Canada border.

Jim Dreyer is hauling two dinghies filled with 334 bricks weighing a total of more than 906 kg (2,000 lbs).

An online tracker showed him roughly half done early Tuesday morning.

He began Monday morning and plans to end Tuesday afternoon at Detroit's Belle Isle.

"Next stop, Detroit," he said, before hitting the water to the delight of the onlookers who had gathered to see him get started.

The soon-to-be-50-year-old planned to come ashore Tuesday afternoon to greet fans, well-wishers and representatives of Habitat for Humanity, the charity that inspired Dreyer to undertake his latest swim.

He's trying to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity.

One dinghy is equipped with a radar target so Dreyer will show up on radar screens. He has to feed himself and doesn't plan to leave the water until coming ashore in Detroit.

Jim Dreyer said he expects to set one this time around for longest distance swimming while towing a ton of bricks — a record that doesn't currently exist. (Carlos Osorio/Associated Press)

Dreyer is swimming with a GPS tracking device that will post his position online. It also comes equipped with a messaging system that allows him to communicate with the outside world.

At the touch of a button, Dreyer can send out three pre-programmed messages.

One lets his crew know he's OK. A second tells them he's not and to send a boat to his position. A third shows that he's in a life-threatening situation and requires immediate assistance from the Coast Guard.

Dreyer has made direct crossings of the five Great Lakes.

He's been in tough situations before, overcoming high waves during his 60-mile (96-kilometer) crossing of Lake Superior and falling ill, vomiting repeatedly and dropping 20 pounds (nine kilograms) while swimming across Lake Huron.

He feels better about his chances for this swim.

Dreyer has been preparing for his current swim since October, doing strength training, completing 32-km (20-mile) swims and at one point towing a 2,700-kilogram (6,000-pound) boat in the water.

"I'm confident that if anyone on this planet can do this, it's me," Dreyer said with a smile before the swim.

Water temperatures are expected to remain in the 20- to 22-degree Celsius (68- to 71-degree Fahrenheit) range, which pleased Dreyer, and he's hoping the weather remains calm.

The holder of a number of world records for endurance swimming, Dreyer said he expects to set one this time around for longest distance swimming while towing a ton of bricks — a record that doesn't currently exist.

"Nobody has ever pulled a ton of bricks any distance," he said. "Pretty surprising, right?"

Records aside, Dreyer's true motivation is Habitat for Humanity of Michigan, with whom he has helped fund building projects for up to 75 affiliates through his swim fundraising, called the Cornerstone Strength Swim Campaign.

Engraved commemorative bricks, including the bricks towed by Dreyer, are being sold to support the building project of the purchaser's choice.

As for what's next on Dreyer's agenda following the "ton of bricks swim," he's not saying just yet.

"I'm always coming up with these crazy ideas," he said.

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NASA's hopes high as Curiosity rover marks 1 year on Mars

The NASA rover Curiosity survived its daredevil landing on Mars one year ago Tuesday and went on to discover that the planet most like Earth in the solar system could indeed have supported microbial life, the primary goal of the mission.

"The stunning thing is that we found it all so quickly," California Institute of Technology geologist and lead project scientist John Grotzinger said on Monday during a ceremony at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, marking the rover's first anniversary on Mars.

"If you asked me a year ago, 'What are you going to find in the first year?' I wouldn't have ever said we were going to find what we went looking for," added Curiosity scientist Ken Edgett, with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.

Now scientists hope to learn whether life-friendly niches on Mars are common and whether any organic carbon has been preserved in the planet's ancient rocks.

To answer those questions, Curiosity is heading to Mount Sharp, a five-kilometre high mound of layered sediment rising from the floor of Gale Crater, where the one-tonne rover touched down at 1:31 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012.

Terrifying landing

To land that much weight in such a specific location, engineers devised a complicated descent system that included a never-before-tried hovering platform that gently lowered the rover with tethers onto the planet's surface and then, so it wouldn't land on Curiosity, was directed away to crash-land elsewhere.

The drama, which a NASA video dubbed "the seven minutes of terror," opened with rocket burns to slow down Curiosity from its 13,000 mph (21,000 km per hour) interplanetary cruising speed and direct it into the thin Martin atmosphere.

Within seven minutes, the rover dropped from seven times the speed of sound to zero, shedding a heat shield, parachutes and the hovering platform in the process.

"I've probably seen that video 100 times in the last year and you still think about how you felt that night, still in wonderment that it really did what it did," said NASA project manager Pete Theisinger.

Rather then heading first to Mount Sharp, scientists decided to explore a region that showedtelltale signs of past flowing water. Drilling into a piece of bedrock, the rover found all the chemicals needed to support simple microbial life, such as microorganisms that rely on chemicals rather than sunlight, for energy.

"It all added up to an understanding of this environment as being chemically favorable for life — not in a harsh way, but actually quite a benign environment that is very much like Earth," Grotzinger said.

Curiosity is expected to be joined next year by another NASA robotic probe, called MAVEN, which will remain in orbit to assess how and why the planet is losing its atmosphere.

MAVEN's data will be combined with ongoing studies by Curiosity, NASA's long-lived Mars rover Opportunity, and a trio of orbiters, including the European Space Agency's Mars Express, to better understand how a planet that seemed to start off so much like Earth ended up so different.

MAVEN arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday. It is scheduled to launch from the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Nov. 18 and arrive at Mars in September 2014.

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Istanbul clinics patch up scruffy beards, 'staches

Written By Unknown on Senin, 05 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

Full beards and mustaches are big business in Istanbul, where clinics are busy booking new and returning clients from across the Middle East who want to enhance their facial hair.

Having these features is more than just a longtime trend; it's also a source of power and pride — and not having enough facial hair can be a problem, according to Dr. Melike Külahçı, who does implants to remedy that.

"It looks like being sick. It looks like not being able to treat yourself or care for yourself. It doesn't look good," she said in a CBC Radio documentary.

Reporter Steve Dorsey took to the streets of Istanbul to investigate the hair enhancement scene and filed this story for The World This Weekend.

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Boy, 4, re-elected as mayor of Minnesota town

Robert "Bobby" Tufts hasn't made it to preschool yet, but he's already been elected twice as mayor of a tiny tourist town in northern Minnesota.

Mayor Tufts' name was picked Sunday during annual Taste of Dorset festival to be mayor of Dorset for a second term. It has no formal city government and has a population of 22 to 28, depending on whether the minister and his family are in town.

Anyone could vote as many times as they like — for $1 a vote — at any of the ballot boxes in stores around town. The proceeds go toward organizing the festival.

Bobby was only three when he won election last year. His mother, Emma Tufts, said she and her son, who turns five in October, got choked up when his name was pulled for re-election Sunday.

The boy picked a random man out of the crowd to pick the name out of a clear tub. and the man was blindfolded twice, she said.

'He's done really well'

While this was happening, Bobby told the crowd how to musky fish, she said.

"He's been going since 3 o'clock yesterday with cameras on his face," she said Sunday afternoon. "He's having a long day but he's done really well. I'm surprised."

Asked how he felt during a phone interview, a tired Bobby made clear he was done answering questions. "I want to be with the boys," he told his mother.

They were on their way to dinner and then planned to go fishing or have a bonfire to celebrate. Bobby, of nearby Nevis, starts preschool this fall.

Emma Tufts said her son's agenda includes raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Red River Valley in Fargo, N.D., and a new welcome sign for Dorset, which bills itself as the Restaurant Capital of the World.

They already raised $750 from a walk this summer and planned to donate half the proceeds of Sunday's T-shirt sales to the charity. He wants to do a snowshoe scavenger hunt this winter to raise money, she said.

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Bike rack time limit outrages Vancouver cyclist

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 04 Agustus 2013 | 22.55

A Vancouver cyclist is outraged after finding a notice on her bike telling her she could not use a downtown bike rack.

Molly Millar says she wasn't expecting a notice when she parked her bike outside the Granville Street office tower before heading into work.

"At the end of the day I noticed I had a ticket on my bike and the ticket said that it was 15-minute parking only and if I did it again they would confiscate my bike," said Millar.

There was no sign indicating the 15-minute rule. Still Millar emailed the building managers asking them to put in a couple of bike racks for employees.

The building's owner Cadillac Fairview responded with an email.

"We do like to encourage cycling to work and our tenants to think about being 'green'...but we also need to maintain the professional image of the building," said the response from the property company.

The company also says the bike rack is for couriers and it does provide all-day parking for office workers in a bikeroom for a nominal annual fee.

But Millar, who is the cycling fashion editor for Momentum Magazine, was still not pleased with the tone of the response.

"I was crazy angry, I am a professional. I cycle. I do not take away from the professional image of the building," said Millar.

Bikes not unprofessional, says advocate

Cycling advocate Richard Campbell of the B.C. Bike Coalition says when it comes to being professional it's unlikely that bikes would harm any building's image these days.

"You don't see people complaining about kind of dull looking cars blocking the view of their business," he said.

Campbell says while there are 1,468 bike racks in the city, the majority are concentrated in the downtown core, leaving a shortage of bike racks in other parts.

"There's still many places in the city where it's really difficult or dangerous to get to by bicycle, so there's still a lot of work that needs to be done," says Campbell.

The City of Vancouver agrees, and is trying to encourage cycling by launching a bike share program next year and expanding its bike lane network through the city.

It also requires new retail businesses to provide bike racks. But that rule doesn't extend to existing businesses.

Millar received a huge response when she posted her parking notice on Twitter, igniting a debate over how bike-friendly Vancouver truly is, but she says she is still not done fighting for the right to lock up her bike.

"There`s always more that could be done. I just want Vancouver to get to a place where we're accepted."

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Mosque's journey from Winnipeg to N.W.T. makes TV debut

Inuvik residents, including members of the town's Islamic community, watch the mosque come in. (Philippe Morin/CBC)

The story about a mosque that travelled from Winnipeg to Inuvik, N.W.T., is making its TV debut Saturday.

The documentary, Arctic Mosque, captures a 4,000-kilometre road and river journey from Winnipeg, where the mosque was built, through two provinces and the Northwest Territories, down the Mackenzie River to Inuvik, a community just north of the Arctic Circle.

Filmmakers and sisters Nilifer and Saira Rahman first heard about the Midnight Sun Mosque from someone at their own mosque in Winnipeg.

"And we thought, 'Wow, this is really bizarre. We have to do a film on it.' So just that gut feeling, I think that's what drove us to go ahead with the project," Nilifer Rahman said.

Work on the documentary began a day before the mosque hit the road on a semi-trailer in August 2010.

It made it to Hay River, N.W.T., in early September, where it was put on a barge and floated 1,800 kilometres to Inuvik, N.W.T.

The sisters say they're relieved the documentary is done — and are happy to have captured such an incredible story.

"I mean, we're talking about a 4,000-kilometre journey [in total]," said Saira Rahman. "We couldn't pass it up. We had to find out whether the mosque was going to make it to the Arctic and how that journey would transpire."

Small trailer served as Inuvik mosque

Before the mosque arrived in Inuvik, Muslims in the community worshipped in a one-bedroom trailer.

But now, the Muslim community of about 100 worships in the world's northernmost mosque.

It cost the Zubaidah Tallab Foundation, a Muslim charity in Manitoba, $300,000 to construct the mosque in Winnipeg and ship it north.

The documentary Arctic Mosque airs tonight on CBC North at 7 p.m. MT.

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