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Jan 19th, 2021, 3:21 pm
Joe Wicks Farts During PE Livestream In Front Of 800,000 People

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Joe Wicks accidentally farted in front of 800,000 people during one of his online PE lessons.

The fitness fanatic has returned to keep people in shape during lockdown, and many of his followers got a little surprise just before one of his 9am classes.

Speaking about the mishap, the 34-year-old said he didn't realize that the camera was rolling when he let out the squeaker.

He told Mark Wright: "I'm so embarrassed by what's happened. I pressed the live button on my YouTube stream, and just before, I'm talking 20 seconds before, something slipped out Mark... and you can guess what it will be Mark... "

Joe added: "So I've let out this giant - honestly, the longest ripper I've ever let out in my life.

"I didn't realize it was live, so I've done the ripper-oo, five, four, three, two, one, I jumped in and I only found out today when I saw a link asking: "Did The Body Coach just let an almighty ripper off before his PE with Joe Workout?"

The health and fitness guru confirmed that he was returning with his morning sessions after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced England would be plunged into a third national lockdown.

Taking to Instagram, The Body Coach said: "I've got some great news, I've decided I need to come back and be there for children during this time, through this lockdown when schools are closed to keep their exercise up, to keep their activities there, their energy, their mood, their mental health.

"I'm going to be doing PE with Joe live, three days a week Monday, Wednesday, Friday starting next week on the 11th.

"Children at home, they're not being as active. Their mental health is going to suffer and we need to be getting our kids moving."

During an address to the nation, Mr Johnson said the stricter measures were due to a continued rise in the number of coronavirus cases over recent weeks - with more than 80,000 people in the UK testing positive for the deadly disease on 29 December, a new record.
Jan 19th, 2021, 3:21 pm

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Jan 19th, 2021, 6:12 pm
Eden's Whale Trap: Drone Footage Shows A Whale's Unique Feeding Strategy


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A video that has gone viral on social media shows an Eden's whale's unique feeding strategy. The drone footage, captured in the Gulf of Thailand, shows how the whale manages to trap fish in its mouth in behaviour that experts have called "extraordinary".
According to the Smithsonian Museum's educational website, Eden's whales (currently the subspecies Balaenoptera edeni edeni) only live along the coast in Indo-Pacific waters and can grow up to 38 feet in length.

In this footage - part of an episode on the BBC documentary 'A Perfect Planet' - a huge Eden's whale is seen treading water and keeping its mouth open to create a flow that pulls fish into its mouth. Posted online by wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory, the clip shows a number of fish disappearing into the whale's mouth.

"By treading water and keeping the corners of their mouth below the surface, a flow is created pulling the fish into the whale's mouth. In the panic, some of the fish also seem to jump out the water and into the whale's mouth!" Mr Gregory while sharing the video on Instagram last week, where it has been viewed over 8 lakh times.

https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/edens-whal ... gy-2354624
Jan 19th, 2021, 6:12 pm

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Jan 19th, 2021, 7:21 pm
Toronto woman wins $60-million Lotto Max jackpot with numbers husband dreamt of 20 years ago

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TORONTO -- After playing the same lottery numbers for 20 years that came to her husband in a dream, a 57-year-old Toronto woman is $60 million richer.

“All the hardship is over now,” Deng Pravatoudom said through a translator while accepting her giant cheque on Monday.

Pravatoudom immigrated to Canada from Laos in 1980, along with her 14 siblings.

“My family was sponsored by a local church and because we had nothing, I am thankful for the great support they provided us over the years,” she said.

“My husband and I have worked long hours as general labourers for over 40 years, trying to save what we could for our family.”

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the mother of two adult children and grandmother to two grandchildren was laid off from her job last spring.

While unemployed and praying her luck would turn around, Pravatoudom continued to play the same lottery numbers she had been for the past two decades, which she said came to her husband one night in a dream.

Then, one day after leaving her temple she went to a nearby mall on Yonge Street in North York for some errands and checked her latest Lotto Max ticket. She found out she had won a “Free Play” ticket and decided to add “Encore.”

“I couldn’t believe a few days later that free ticket would be worth $60 million,” she said.

And, it was her husband who got to tell her the great news.

“I went to line up at the bank. I gave the ticket to my husband to check. After I came out to the car, that’s when he told me,” she said.

Pravatoudom said she was “ecstatically happy and crying at the same time" when she found out she won the $60-million jackpot from the Dec. 1, 2020 draw.

“I have always prayed for a blessing that my family would be taken care of.”

With the big winnings, Pravatoudom said her and her husband plan to move out of their apartment and buy a house, pay off some bills, help out their family, and travel once it is safe to do so.

“With this money I will be capable of helping my children out more, whatever they want I will be able to buy it for them, a car and new clothes,” she said, adding “not like before when I was unable to help them out as much.”

As a special treat, Pravatoudom added she will also be buying herself some diamonds.
Jan 19th, 2021, 7:21 pm

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Jan 19th, 2021, 9:39 pm
Dancing duo replaces doddery pair in age positive sign overhaul

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A road sign design competition set out to challenge ageist stereotypes, which according to research can become self-fulfilling prophecies

Walking sticks and hunched-over figures are familiar ways to visually designate old age – but should they be? This question was the starting point for a competition by the charity Centre for Ageing Better, which asked designers to submit ‘age positive’ alternatives.

The winning entry, a submission by London-based SwaG Design, gave the original symbol of the couple crossing the road an energetic spin, with their walking stick becoming a dancing cane.

“Dancing is one of the things that people of all ages love,” said Jon Miller from SwaG Design. “It promotes physical, mental and emotional health as well as a chance to be sociable, expressive and uplifting.”

Research has shown that stereotypes can become self-fulfilling prophecies, as they can affect how older people view themselves, their capabilities and the sorts of activities they take part in.

More than 120 entries were received in the competition, which was run in partnership with Public Health England. Miller and his team will now work up a final design and a wider set of icons and illustrations that depict the diversity of people in later life.

The new design is not intended for use as road signage, but will be used in reports and other materials to represent older people in a positive way. The winning icon will be made publicly available for unlimited use by any individual or organisation, to offer alternatives to the “currently limited” choice of icons. Final designs are expected to be ready by February.
Jan 19th, 2021, 9:39 pm

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Jan 19th, 2021, 11:11 pm
Divorce lawyer, 51, ‘stripped naked and masturbated at work while swigging beer’ :D

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A 51 year-old divorce lawyer stripped naked in his office and fondled his privates while drinking a beer, it is claimed. Shane Taylor was arrested late Thursday, a week and a half after a lawsuit was filed over his alleged repeated sexual harassment of a staffer at his office in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Taylor is said to have targeted the paralegal by grabbing her breasts and buttocks, and pinning her against a desk. He is further accused of threatening to fire the woman from her job if she refused to give him oral sex – and is said to have followed through on that warning after the woman continued to spurn him. Taylor’s alleged sex pest behavior is said to have culminated on an occasion when he exposed himself to the paralegal at work. He then took his other clothes off, and lay on the floor while fondling himself and drinking a beer. WKRG reported that the paralegal accused Taylor of sexual assault, battery and invasion of privacy after she was dismissed. The lawyer has yet to be charged over those incidents, and was instead picked up on Thursday over a separate domestic violence allegation made by a different person.
Taylor’s website boasts that he enlisted in the US Army, then worked as a police officer for 10 years after leaving. The under-fire lawyer also boasts of his literary achievements, including a book on privacy and the war on drugs. His bail has been set at $1,000.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/15/divorce- ... -13913016/
Jan 19th, 2021, 11:11 pm

Exodus A.D.: A Warning to Civilians by Paul Troubetzkoy [10000 WRZ$] Reward!
https://forum.mobilism.org/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=5556807
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Jan 20th, 2021, 5:55 am
Bigfoot or moose? Possible sighting shocks, excites residents of small B.C. community

‘Twas the night of Christmas

And through the West Koot,

Not a creature was sighted,

Except maybe Bigfoot.

At least, that’s how the famous poem could go after a group of travellers spotted what they say might have been a Bigfoot — also known as a Sasquatch — near Silverton, B.C., on Christmas night.

Editor’s note: The village of Silverton is located on the east shore of Slocan Lake in B.C.’s West Kootenay region, and is about a 90-minute drive north of Trail.

Four friends were heading to their home on Highway 6, just south of Silverton, on the evening of Dec. 25 when the people in the front of the vehicle saw what looked like a “huge, man-like figure” on the side of the road.

“I didn’t see the creature myself, I saw the prints,” said Erica Spink-D’Souza, who was in the back seat.

She’s become the informal spokesperson for her companions.

“But the person on the front seat cried out ‘Oh my gosh look at that!’”

Spink-D’Souza said “they said it looked like a huge grizzly, or it was a large man, standing up.”

But before Spink-D’Souza could catch a glimpse, the figure turned, went on all fours, and headed deep into the bush.

“We tried to turn around and look again, but it was gone,” she said.

After arriving home and putting her kids to bed, they returned to the scene to look for signs of the mysterious creature.

“We saw all these different tracks, and then we saw these tracks that were really alarming,” she recalled. “They were bipedal tracks in a straight line into the woods?

“I got a little spooked, it was alarming to see such big prints. But there were no bear tracks.”

Spink-D’Souza and the others examined and photographed the tracks. She then filed a report with a Bigfoot organization online.

‘Un-hoax-able’
The head of the Bigfoot Field Research Group, Matt Moneymaker (who also co-hosted a long-running Animal Planet TV show called Finding Bigfoot), described the tracks as “un-hoax-able.”

“The surrounding pristine snow proves the tracks were not fabricated by humans,” he said.

“The stride length is beyond the ability of a human trying to leap through knee-deep snow. The drag marks and depth of the tracks prove they are not from a leaping rabbit. The linear pattern shows that it was not a bear.”

Moneymaker also said it’s unlikely that someone was trying to hoax random travellers on an empty stretch of road on Christmas night.

Spink-D’Souza, who just recently moved to the area, said she’s never had something like this happen to her before, though she’s heard weird animal sounds howling in the bush around her new home.

She said locals she’s spoken to have generally accepted her claim.

“Well, it’s the Kootenays,” she said, laughing. “I tell them what happened, and they start telling me their Bigfoot stories.

“People were saying ‘Oh, that’s The Wanderer, there’s a sasquatch who wanders around here,’” she said. “It sounds like around here people are pretty open to the possibility there is one.”

Investigators arrive
The sighting was strong enough that members of an Okanagan Bigfoot group returned to the location about 10 days after the sighting.

But after investigating the scene and examining the tracks carefully, the team put a damper on the excitement.

“They suspect the tracks are from a very large moose,” said Moneymaker, who’s based in California.

“The witnesses may have seen a large female moose facing forward and mistook it for a man-like figure.:(

But since nearly two weeks have passed since the initial sighting, Moneymaker said there’s still room to believe.

“It’s up in the air,” he said. “In most cases I can usually say it’s looking more one way than the other, but in this case I can’t. I think there are moose tracks in the area, yes, but there are witnesses who said they did not see a moose.”

Moneymaker said he’d love someone with a drone to fly along the trail of the purported tracks to see where they lead.

Ancient hominid?
Sasquatches are thought by some to be present in the West Kootenay.

Paranormal researchers believe it could be a lost sub-species of hominid, like the extinct Gigantopithecus, a large ape-like creature whose remains have been found in southeast Asia.

However, no convincing physical evidence has ever been found to support those claims.

For Spink-D’Souza, the incident has left her with a larger sense of the magic of the world.

“It leaves me with a sense of awe and wonderment on all the beautiful mysteries of this world,” she said, noting Indigenous cultures recognize the existence of the sasquatch.

“In terms of looking for evidence, in concrete ways, that’s fine, but I do hold a respect that there are people around who know of the existence of sasquatch and that’s marvellous.”

If you see a sasquatch, you’re invited to contact the Bigfoot Field Research Organization through their website.

source
https://globalnews.ca/news/7581006/bigf ... community/
Jan 20th, 2021, 5:55 am

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Jan 20th, 2021, 2:22 pm
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I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 20

What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

EXAMPLE POST
Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag
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A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)

on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life :lol:
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them to under a minute, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories :lol: :lol: :lol:

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS


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Jan 20th, 2021, 2:22 pm

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Jan 20th, 2021, 2:28 pm
Giant 'Trump Baby' balloon acquired by the Museum of London

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The Museum of London has obtained an infamous balloon depicting outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump as a diaper-wearing baby for a protest-themed collection.

The 20-foot-tall "Trump Baby" balloon, created by British artist Matthew Bonner, made headlines worldwide when it was flown over London during Trump's first visit to the city as the U.S. president in 2018.

The balloon was flown multiple times during subsequent Trump visits to Britain and toured the world before being acquired by the Museum of London.

The museum said the balloon will be displayed alongside other items related to public protests in London.

"By collecting the baby blimp we can mark the wave of feeling that washed over the city that day and capture a particular moment of resistance -- a feeling still relevant today as we live through these exceptionally challenging times -- that ultimately shows Londoners banding together in the face of extreme adversity," museum director Sharon Ament said.

The "Trump Baby" team applauded the balloon's new home.

"We hope the baby's place in the museum will stand as a reminder of when London stood against Trump -- but will prompt those who see it to examine how they can continue the fight against the politics of hate," the team said.

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/01/19 ... 611090721/
Jan 20th, 2021, 2:28 pm
Jan 20th, 2021, 2:59 pm
Man spends $400 to find out limping dog was imitating owner

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A British man said he spent about $400 to have a veterinarian examine his dog's limp, but it turned out the canine was just imitating his owner, who had a broken ankle.

Russell Jones of London said he noticed after his ankle was broken that his dog, Billy, was keeping one of his front paws raised while walking.

Jones posted a video to Facebook showing the dog hopping next to him as he walks with the use of crutches.

Jones said he spent about $400 to have a veterinarian examine Billy and take X-rays of his apparently injured leg, but the medical professional was unable to find anything wrong.

The veterinarian told Jones his dog was imitating the way he walks with his broken ankle. Jones said Billy had been limping since the day after his ankle injury.

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/01/19 ... 611083849/
Jan 20th, 2021, 2:59 pm

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Jan 20th, 2021, 3:36 pm
Cat 'guides injured walker to safety' after he got lost in Swiss Alps


A hiker claims he was guided back to the right path after he sprained his ankle and got a lost in the Alps.
The Hungarian man said he became disorientated and found his intended route blocked while walking in the mountains near Gimmelwald, Switzerland.
Fortunately, he encountered a friendly local cat who guided him back to safety.

The walker, posting with the username sc4s2cg, has described his experience on Reddit, and a 2013 video purporting to show the same encounter with the black and white cat was linked to on YouTube.
Gimmelwald is a small village in Bernese Oberland at the foot of the Junfrau-Aletsch Unesco World Heritage Site
The lone walker said he had sprained his ankle and was unsure how to get home after discovering the only route back had been closed.

“[The cat] was just wandering around, [then] found me while I was resting from a hike,” he said.

“Then she was walking and kept looking at me to follow [and] led me straight to the path that would take me back down to the valley.

The walker explained: “Gimmelwald is a tiny, tiny stunningly beautiful village [and] I actually got ‘lost’ in the surrounding mountains.
“It was the end of ski season when I got to [the village of] Lauterbrunnen, so the lifts weren't working and some of the trails were closed.”
The Reddit post has attracted significant interest from local walkers. A number of users were quick to observe they, too, have seen the cat.
It later became apparent the cat belonged to a couple who own a nearby hostel.

source:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 18136.html
Jan 20th, 2021, 3:36 pm

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Jan 20th, 2021, 4:06 pm
Cat Was Thought to be a Goner in California Mudslides. 3 Years Later, the ‘Miracle Cat’ Showed Up Again

We don’t know whether or not cats truly have nine lives, but the tale of a California calico named Patches is something straight of the song, ‘The Cat Came Back’—except for “the very next day” part.

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Patches went missing in January 2018 when a mudslide demolished the home she shared with owner, Josie Gower. Gower’s partner, Norm Borgatello made it out alive. Gower, along with 22 other Santa Barbara residents, were not as lucky.

Gower’s loved ones surmised that Patches “was a goner” as well, but three years later—the cat came back.

After wandering the streets for a time, Patches wound up at the Animal Shelter Assistance Program. Thanks to a microchip registered in Gower’s name, the shelter staff was able to locate Gower’s daughter, Briana Haigh, who in turn, alerted Borgatello to Patches’ miraculous return.

When cat and man were reunited for a poignant New Year’s Eve reunion, Patches recognized Borgatello immediately. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Haigh says that having Patches show up just before the three-year anniversary of her mother’s passing felt like a message from heaven. “I think it just warms the heart a bit,” Haigh told NPR. “I know my mom would be really happy.”

And as for Patches? Looks like she just couldn’t stay away.
Jan 20th, 2021, 4:06 pm

Twitter: Fatima99@fatima99_mobi
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Jan 20th, 2021, 4:49 pm
HISTORY BREWS IN ST. LOUIS UNDERGROUND

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Most city undergrounds are home to sewage lines, transit trains, and Ninja Turtles, but researchers have recently unearthed something brewing below the streets of St. Louis, Missouri—a 19th-century beer cave!

Last spring, the McHose and English Cave Recovery team discovered the cavern beneath a community garden in the Benton Park neighborhood, an area popular for brewing back in the 1800s. The complex of natural caves provides a cool place to store beer.

The team was able to drill two small holes from the garden down into the cavern, with two cameras and a lidar scanner providing a sneak peek at the cave’s size and route.

“It’s like 30 feet wide with a ceiling of 7-by-15-feet tall,” said Bill Kranz, the project’s facilitator. “We were all out here in the alley, jumping around like crazy.”

Though the cave may have started as a beer bunker, it has also been home to a mushroom farm and a wine grotto.

Historians and St. Louis residents alike are hop-timistic about the prospect of the revelation.

“It really gives us an opportunity to reconnect with that past and hopefully step foot in a garden that hasn’t been opened in over 100 years,” said Alderman Dan Guenther.
Jan 20th, 2021, 4:49 pm

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Jan 20th, 2021, 7:35 pm
Ontario man’s ‘Paint with Jeff’ goes viral on TikTok, helps special needs community

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TORONTO -- An Ajax, Ont. man has become an artistic internet sensation, thanks to his TikTok and Instagram accounts called ‘Paint with Jeff.’

Jeff Mitsuo’s process and paintings are featured in the video clips, which have been viewed millions of times on the social media platforms. It’s an ongoing project for Mitsuo, made possible with the help of his friend, Jake Stevens.

“Jeff and I went to high school together,” Stevens told CTV News Toronto. “I was assigned to work in his special needs class and we’ve just been friends ever since.”

Mitsuo was born with Cerebral Palsy and a developmental delay. Stevens says there are often limitations when it comes to what activities they can do together, and that painting was a new discovery for them this past year.

“Once the pandemic started, I wanted to find new activities that we could do inside,” explained Stevens. “So we ended up trying painting together!”

Stevens captured videos of Mitsuo painting to show his parents how much their son was enjoying it. He says the videos were so joyful that they decided to share them on TikTok. From there, Mitsuo’s ‘Paint With Jeff’ account took off.

“It started to blow up,” Stevens said. “He had like 20,000 views on a video, and it just snowballed into one million, two million and then a couple videos hit 16 million.”

Stevens admits that he was nervous exposing his friend online, but that the overwhelming reaction to ‘Paint with Jeff’ has been positive.

“[Jeff] personally enjoys when I share the comments with him,” Stevens said. “I’ll like read them, like, ‘oh Jeff you’re a famous artist now and people all over the world love you’. They love his art, and that makes it all worth it.”

Mitsuo’s art has had so much exposure that followers on his accounts began asking if they could purchase his paintings. Stevens set up an Etsy account, and before long Mitsuo had sold more than 3,000 pieces to buyers from around the world.

“It just brings a smile to [Jeff’s] face that people are buying his art, so it’s pretty cool,” Stevens added.

Stevens is now a teacher at R.S. McLaughlin CVI in Oshawa, and turned to a special needs class at the school for help packaging all of Mitsuo’s painting orders. He says the students love it, and it’s been a fun way to make the whole process one done by people with special needs.

Now, Mitsuo and Stevens are using some of the money from the art sales to give back.

“We went to Pickering high school together and what we’ve done is we created a bursary for students who have special needs at high school, at least for the next 10 years,” Stevens said. “We’ve donated to the Federation for Cerebral Palsy, this year we’re going to donate to the Niagara Junior Ice Dogs.”

For Mitsuo, painting has become a new way to express himself. While being interviewed by CTV News Toronto, he says his favourite colour is blue and that his favourite painting is a recent one of a tree and a starry night.

Stevens says he hopes ‘Paint with Jeff’ is the kind of project that will inspire others to find their passions, and their people who will support them.


“The thing that I really try to promote with these videos is making art accessible for everybody,” he said. “So regardless of a disability, or fine motor skills, finding ways or tools or techniques or whatever it might be to benefit or enjoy art, I try to have one or two ways of creating something that otherwise might not be possible.”

He adds that Mitsuo will continue painting and sharing his process with his million followers on TikTok and thousands of followers on Instagram.

“We’re just having fun and it’s just another day for us and people can watch the process, which is really cool,” said Stevens. “So for me, it’s just continuing to grow off that and find things that he enjoys.”
Jan 20th, 2021, 7:35 pm

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Jan 20th, 2021, 8:25 pm
The app that helps you shop ethically – and what I learned using it

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By tracking the carbon impact of your spending in real-time and showing you ways to reduce and offset it, CoGo aims to make ethical living easy. Daniel Fahey tries it out

Like most people living through the English lockdown, I haven’t been anywhere in weeks, except to go food shopping or complete my shifts at a cafe. Opportunities to spend money have been limited. I’ve bought a few birthday gifts – mainly from local, independent shops – and yet my carbon footprint this month remains stubbornly high; the same as cutting down 12 trees.

At least that’s according to CoGo, an app I’m using to track the impact my spending has on the environment. It reckons I’m culpable for 718kg of CO2. That’s like driving from Land’s End to John o’Groats and back with a spare 33 miles in the tank for detours or roadworks.

The results are so alarming that I’m now thinking twice about ordering my grandmother the Anton du Beke novel she wants for her birthday (not just for environmental reasons, admittedly). And I’m actively looking at ways to lower my footprint to 180kg a month, the level the app tells me is sustainable.

Described as ‘the first ethical recommendation engine’, CoGo was founded by Ben Gleisner, an environmentalist from New Zealand who wanted to help consumers switch their spending to companies that shared their values.

“Ben realised that government policy would only go so far in terms of driving change at pace and critical to creating this change is empowering consumers with better information to make informed choices to benefit people and plant,” explains Emma Kisby, CoGo’s managing director.

“We’re firm believers that everybody should be progressing to a stage where your spend is seen as a vote – a vote in your local economy, a vote for your favourite businesses, a vote for your political leanings and a vote for the world you want to see.”

As well as helping encourage more sustainable shopping, the app allows users to offset carbon by donating to projects overseen by Southpole, a social enterprise that works with governments and businesses to decarbonise the economy.

“All of Southpole’s projects adhere to internationally recognised standards for emissions reduction projects and are audited regularly by independent third-party organisations to ensure additionality and environmental integrity of projects,” says Kisby.

The CoGo app has been downloaded more than 50,000 times globally. And it has more than 20,000 UK businesses listed on it, all of which have been approved by partners including the Carbon Trust, the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Social Enterprise UK, Co-Operatives UK and the Living Wage Foundation. It’s a sizeable figure, but for CoGo to offer complete coverage of the UK, it will need many more independent shops and high street retailers to sign up.

Back on the app and I’m being praised for the positive impact I had on the environment in December. Apparently, I saved 135kg of CO2 by being on a renewable energy tariff and by being vegetarian (this was an approximation as the app can’t tell, say, whether I’m buying Peruvian or British blueberries). It also suggests ways I could further reduce my impact, including composting my food waste and renting clothes instead of buying new. Extending the lifespan of a garment by just three months can reportedly lead to a 5-10 per cent reduction in each of the carbon, water and waste footprints.

One of the companies on the app is Hurr, an online fashion rental platform with a pop-up store in Selfridges, London. “As carbon tracking heats up as an industry, it’s important that Hurr customers can easily understand how CO2 tracking works and the positives of renting rather than buying new,” explains its co-founder, Victoria Prew.

As well as measuring the carbon impact of individual users, the app employs sustainability experts and in-house fact-checkers to monitor the practices of listed businesses. They assess whether companies are reducing waste, paying a fair living wage or donating to social and environmental charities. CoGo also provides feedback to brands to help them improve sustainability.

“There’s an incredible growing urge from people to want to affect change with their purchasing power and CoGo has found a way to harness this brilliantly,” says Iona Ratcliffe, CMO at Ocean Bottle, which makes reusable drinks bottles and funds plastic waste clearance in the Philippines, Brazil, Indonesia and Haiti. “Their users are exactly the kind of users that represent our community so it’s a good synergy. Plus, it feels great to be part of the future of commerce.”

As well as helping the planet, the CoGo app identifies businesses that pay staff a Living Wage. Raised to £9.50 across the UK and £10.85 in London in November 2020, the Living Wage is a voluntary scheme to help businesses pay employees a fair salary. It differs from the government’s National Living Wage, which is £8.72.

“Being paid the real Living Wage has made a big difference to me,” says Luke Parker, a barman at the Pembury Tavern in Hackney. “It means I am no longer working constantly just to pay the bills.”

According to CoGo, I spent just 6.3 per cent in businesses that pay the Living Wage in December. This is something I can soon address: my local bookshop is a Living Wage employer – and it’s got a copy of Anton du Beke’s One Enchanted Evening
Jan 20th, 2021, 8:25 pm

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