[PennySerenade]

Ontario woman wins lottery after playing numbers that came to her in a dream



TORONTO -- An Ontario retiree has won the lottery after playing with numbers that she says came to her in a dream.

Thorold, Ont. woman Deborah Rose picked up her $1 million Lotto Max prize in Toronto this week after winning the July 28 draw, OLG said in a news release.

The 64-year-old said she has been playing the same numbers ever since they "came to her in a dream."

She told OLG she "wasn't having a very good day" when she went into a store to check her lottery ticket.

"But it surely made my day when I saw the Big Winner message appear," Rose said. "I remember saying 'What?' And then started crying!"

Rose said she told her grandkids first about the big prize because she always promised them she would win the lottery one day.

The mother-of-four, who said the big win probably won't hit her until the money is in her bank account, plans to travel and share the winnings with her children.

"I really want to visit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria," Rose said.

The OLG said Rose’s winning ticket was purchased at Avondale on Main Street in Port Colborne.

Police respond to reports of gunfire, find man sleeping in front of TV
By Ben Hooper




Police in Cologne, Germany, responded to reports of suspected gunfire in a residential neighborhood and discovered the source of the sound was a loud action movie playing on a sleeping man's TV.
File Photo by Tobias Arhelger/Shutterstock.com

Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A German police department said officers responding to a report of a possible shooting arrived at the scene to find a man had simply fallen asleep while watching a loud action movie.

North Rhine-Westphalia Police stationed in Cologne said they received several reports early Wednesday morning from Cologne residents who reported sounds of gunfire nearby.

Police identified the source of the sounds, and they brought in a locksmith to open the door to the apartment from which the sounds were coming.

Officers discovered no actual gunfire -- just a loud action movie playing while a 34-year-old resident slept in front of the TV.

Police said the man was taken to the police station, but was released once officers verified his identity.

[Fivetide]

Man Returns From Safari And Finds New Purpose Sending Thousands of Books to Rural Kenyan Schools



When Roy Austin went on his first wildlife safari back in 2018, his only goal for the leisurely vacation was to catch sight of some African wildlife in its natural habitat—but he ended up finding something much more meaningful.

Although Austin enjoyed seeing lions and tigers across several East African countries, he was most captivated by the people he met in rural Kenya—particularly at the Amboseli Primary and Secondary School in Amboseli National Park.

In addition to befriending many of the students and teachers, Austin was surprised to learn how difficult it was to get books and school supplies for the children.

“In rural Kenya, the government does not build school buildings. You either build it yourself or raise the money to have it built,” says Austin. “A teacher was asked if they had a library. [She] replied, ‘No, but we would love to have a library.’ That stuck in my mind.”

When Austin eventually returned to his home in Bluffton, South Carolina, he launched Libraries for Kids International with the goal of sending books to the Kenyan schoolchildren.

Since starting the charity, Austin has managed to ship more than 1,000 books to 11 schools across Kenya and Tanzania. He says that he has managed to keep shipping costs down by sending the books through the post office rather than FedEx.



Not only has the charity supplied the schools with books, it has also given Austin a new sense of purpose and determination since his wife passed away in March.

As they continue to collect books and donations for additional shipments, Austin tells WJCL that the nonprofit is now helping to move a shipping container of 22,000 books from Atlanta to Kenya. In the future, the philanthropist hopes to start sending donations to South America as well.

“Many people told me that it can’t be done, it’s too expensive to ship books, and they will disappear going through customs,” Austin writes on the organization’s website. “However, one of my life philosophies is ‘Focus on the Objective, Not the Obstacle.’

“Every worthwhile project will have problems and obstacles. If you focus on the problems you will never start. Conversely, if you focus on the objective and solve the problems as they arise, most anything is possible.”

[hija]

Disabled Gran Uses Lego to Make Shopping Easier



Disabled by a car accident 25 years ago, Rita Ebel had long been frustrated by the number of shops and cafés inaccessible to wheelchair users. A year ago the 62-year-old grandmother from Hanau in Germany came up with a simple solution: building ramps made of Lego.

Helped by her husband, Ebel has constructed dozens of made-to-order Lego ramps for shop entrances by sticking together hundreds of the brightly coloured, interlocking plastic bricks. “I’m trying to sensitize the world a bit to barrier-free travel,” says Ebel. “Anyone could suddenly end up in a situation that puts them in a wheelchair, like it did me.” “It’s a brilliant idea,” says Malika El Harti, who has one of Rita’s ramps installed at the entrance to her hair salon. “You can see from afar that you can get in here without any problems.” [Source: Reuters]

[peaceableone]

Teens Transform Liquor Store into Needed Food Market, Choosing The Best Way To Serve Chicago


From darkness comes light. From despair comes hope. From passion comes change. In the wake of turbulent racial protests in America’s Midwest, a group of teenagers in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood were looking for a way to uplift their marginalized West Side community—and they found it.

“With a little help from their friends”, a galvanized group of young entrepreneurs transformed a gutted liquor store into Austin Harvest, a pop-up food market to provide healthy food alternatives for their underserved neighborhood.

The genesis of the project began with listening circles led by By the Hand Club for Kids. “What I heard coming out of that was that students wanted to take all those raw and powerful emotions and turn them into something good, and do something from a social justice standpoint,” the group’s executive director Donnita Travis told Book Club Chicago.

One of the issues the kids felt about most urgently was the shortage of healthy food options in the area; the result of years of systemic neglect and racism.

For areas like Austin, classified as “food deserts,” groceries and fresh produce are difficult to come by even in the best of times. The situation worsened when several area grocery stores were forced to close temporarily after being looted.

Within the half-mile radius, Austin Harvest has since sprung to life, where there were formerly a dozen liquor stores but only two food markets.
“Food is a basic necessity” Azariah Baker, a teen who’d been with Austin Harvest since its inception, told BCC, “but it’s also a basic necessity we don’t have access to.”
When the discussion turned to the idea of repurposing one of the looted properties into a much-needed community resource, “the kids took the idea and ran with it,” Travis said.

The project got enthusiastic backing from a number of professional athletes. Former Chicago Bears’ linebacker Sam Acho led the charge. “People care. It’s a time for people to show up. I think our world has changed,” Acho told BCC. “So for us to be able to come together and say we’re going to lead that change, it means something.”

Other athletes who contributed to the cause included the Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky of the Bears, White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito, Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward, and St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Together, they raised $500,000 in seed money to get the project rolling.
While By the Hand brought in architects and branding experts for guidance, the vision for Austin Harvest was shaped and implemented by its youthful participants. “We’ve been behind the scenes completely,” Baker said. “We’ve discussed how we want to show our market, where we wanted our market to be, what we sell, what we look like. This is who runs it.”
Taking a “teach someone to fish rather than give someone a fish approach,” The Hatchery Chicago also pitched in to offer hands-on lessons in real-world business skills including licensing and customer service, as well as a culinary pathways program aimed at helping interested teens work toward careers in the food industry.
“This is a real entrepreneurship opportunity for them,” Travis noted, “but also an opportunity for them to bring food justice to our neighborhood.”

Austin Harvest, officially opened on August 24, is set to run for 12 weeks. Hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.

[angellove0810]

Iconic LA landmarks join The Masked Singer this FYC season by keeping their masks on

LOS ANGELES - Only in LA can you see a dinosaur, octopus and donut wearing a face mask.

The folks at the Mask Singer are reminding Angelenos to keep their masks on and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. If these iconic Los Angeles landmarks can keep their masks on then so can you.

You can check out all three of these landmarks and their masks now through Monday, August 31.


You can spot this giant tasty donut at the iconic Randy’s Donuts in Inglewood



And whether you need to see it to believe it… this T-Rex is sporting the latest in fashion with a Masked Singer face mask. You can spot this dinosaur on top of Ripley’s Believe it or Not Museum on 6780 Hollywood Blvd.

Enjoy the iconic sights of LA while keeping your mask on and staying safe.

[FRKJ]

Man breaks hair-raising world record with 42.5-inch Mohawk



A Minnesota man broke a Guinness World Record when his hair was styled into a Mohawk that measures 42.5 inches high.

Joseph Grisamore said he initially attempted to break the Guinness record for the world's tallest Mohawk in 2007, but his hair fell short of the needed height.

Grisamore's attempt for the 2021 Guinness Book of World Records took place at Family Hair Affair in Park Rapids, where stylist Kay Jettman spent hours working on his hair with help from wife Laura and mother Kay.

The stylists said it took a half can of Got2B Glued Blasting Hair Spray to make Grisamore's hair remain vertical.

[eradicator2]

Cat Hangs Around Hospital Until They Give Him A Job In Security



This story is a testament to the power of persistence. A cat has managed to land a job in a hospital through sheer perseverance and hard work. The fact that he is also adorable and friendly only acted as a bonus. Elwood, a red and white tabby, hung around a hospital in Australia for a year until they finally gave him a job in their security team.
Elwood now works as a security guard at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond, Melbourne, Australia.

Chantel Trollip, a Pathologist here at Epworth Hospital, explained to Bored Panda that Elwood has been coming to the hospital nearly every day for around a year now. Ms Trollip said that she noticed he was wearing an ID card around his collar in June.

"I first noticed his ID badge on him in June. I was actually having a case of the 'sads' that day, but seeing his ID badge turned my whole mood around!" explained Ms Trollip. "When I first saw him, he wasn't wearing anything, so I assumed he was a stray. Then someone put a collar and tag on him and now most recently he's got his own ID badge, which is identical to our actual staff badges down to the call codes on the back."

[Governor3]

Mario & Luigi Turn NYC Into Real Life Mario Kart Course



I spent more time than I care to admit playing round after round of Mario Kart 8 while social distancing in the early months of the pandemic, and being able to play friends remotely was truly the most social activity I got up to during that time period. So catching a glimpse of Mario & Luigi racing around the city in real life is both something I may have hallucinated during one such feverish marathon session and also something that really did happen this month.

Pranksters Caleb Simpson and Irving Salazar dressed up as the duo in order to film their "MARIO KART PRANK" video on August 14th. Simpson, who has 3.8 million followers on TikTok and also a YouTube page filled with somewhat similar prank videos, told the Post that his ultimate goal was to “push some positivity and hopefully make the people laugh.”

You can watch the video in the link below, which includes electric go-karts that didn't go faster than 15 MPH; a memorable pizza throw; and police stopping them briefly in Times Square.

https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainmen ... art-course

[Governor3]

IN OTHER NEWS
FRIDAY AUGUST 28

A new "news cycle" has begun.
Time for our Ace Reporters to file another story

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

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
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

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

[Fatima99]

Emus banned for bad behaviour




Two emus – siblings Kevin and Carol — are now banned from a hotel in a tiny town in Australia's vast Outback. Raised by an animal rescuer, the birds are usually a friendly and wide-eyed source of entertainment. But then the emus learned to climb the stairs.

The new skill gave the birds access to the pub of the Yaraka Hotel in Queensland. Once inside, they unleashed a long-legged brand of chaos. They snatched toast and French fries away from customers. One of the birds even went behind the bar. A stern response was required.

"Emus have been banned from this establishment for bad behavior," a sign now says at the stairs leading to the hotel's pub. The message asks any human visitors to replace the "emu barrier" when they enter.

"We put the sign up, but we're not quite sure whether they're able to read or not," hotel co-owner Gerry Gimblett said in an interview with 10 News First Queensland. "So, we've had to put a bar across there, as well."

The emus have been popular with visitors – they've learned that posing for a photo often means a reward of a quick snack, said Gimblett, who owns the hotel with her husband, Chris.

"The interesting thing is when people are making toast in the annex, a head comes across, takes the toast and gobbles it up as it pops," Gimblett told the Brisbane Times.

"It is not safe to get between an emu and food; they have a sharp strong beak and their long neck can suck up food like a high powered vacuum cleaner," Chris Gimblett says in an email to NPR.

Another concern: if the emus are startled, the large birds would likely run — fast. When frightened, the animals have a tendency, Chris Gimblett says, to do "a forward sprint whilst looking behind them at the source of their fright and heaven help people and objects that happen to be in their 'blind' forward run."

[PennySerenade]

'I was scared but now I feel brave': Six-year-old pens book about the the coronavirus



TORONTO -- If you were to ask Whitby, Ont. resident Terry O’Brien, he would say that the most difficult part of the COVID-19 pandemic for him has been being away from his grandchildren.

“It’s a bit of a struggle, for sure,” he tells CTV News Toronto. “Social distancing wears a little thin after a couple of weeks. But we’re doing what we have to do and staying home and avoiding any sort of personal contact.”

While keeping connected over phone calls and video chats, O’Brien had an idea – a project his grandchildren could work on as they continued to spend time out of school.

“I asked them to think about how living in the coronavirus pandemic had affected them, and to draw me one or two pictures each day, and just describe how they were living in these times,” he explains. “Really, as an attempt to get them to focus on something positive, and get their energies moving in a positive way.”

So six-year-old year old Harper, her four-year-old brother Asher, and their five-year-old cousin Hayden got to work – drawing, colouring and painting pictures of their experience of staying home during COVID-19.

“Harper’s the oldest, she’s in Grade 1 now, so I gave her an additional task and asked her if she would write me one or two sentences each day that basically described life in the pandemic,” says O’Brien. “And I said if they did a really good job, I’d take their work and I’d make it into a book that they could keep.”

O’Brien stayed true to his word, and printed a book for the grandchildren, entitled “What I learned from the Coronavirus.”

“I drew pictures and wrote about the coronavirus,” says Harper Flanigan, from her home in Brooklin, Ont.. “My brother Asher and my cousin Hayden were doing some pictures, but I did most of them.”

In a video conversation with CTV News Toronto, Harper shared her favourite pages of the book, from drawings of people in the homes to doctors finding a cure.



“So I did a soap bottle and like a tap and like water dripping out of it and a hands. For washing our hands all the time,” she explains. “And I also liked this one where I was calling my family and friends on my phone. When I was calling Papa.”

Harper’s Papa, O’Brien, says he was pleased with how the book came together.

“Beyond the art work itself, I was impressed that they were learning some very important messages,” he says. “About connection, about reverence, about humility, and hope. And those are particularly powerful lessons to learn at any age.”

After friends and family started showing interest in the book, O’Brien thought it could be used as a fundraising initiative.

“I suggested we could offer to send a free (PDF) copy by email to anyone who could contribute to their local charity, and we were encouraging the United Way,” he says. “Everyone started to post about it on different forms of social media and we’re very pleased with the response we’ve been getting.”



Harper, who dedicated the book to health-care workers, is also pleased that her book is being shared to raise funds.

“Because people will give money to the doctors and then the doctors find a cure,” she says.

Now that the book is finished, and stay-at-home measures are still in place, O’Brien says he’ll continue to find ways to connect with his grandchildren virtually. He encourages other families to do a project like this, as well.

“This exchange of art work and their messages and keeping up working together on this sort of joint project has been good to keep us connected,” he says. “You know, I’ve always said that I think we learn our greatest lessons during times of greatest challenge. And I believe that applies to kids, as well.

As for Harper, what she learned from the coronavirus is that she has courage.

“I was scared, and now I feel brave,” she says.

When asked if other kids might be feeling scared, too, Harper exclaims, “Yeah, but I think once they read the book they’ll be less scared!”

To get a copy of the book, e-mail the family at [email protected].

[goldie0608]

Teachers Make Social Distancing Fun – By Turning Desks Into Jeeps for Their 1st Grade Students



Do you remember your very first day at school? For most of us, it was so exciting to meet a teacher for the first time. It was great fun to have new classmates and a real desk to sit at.

For children this year, things are a little different. It’ll still feel thrilling to be in a new environment, to wear a special uniform. But it might also be a little scary to be sitting at a desk surrounded by strange plastic screens as a six-year-old.

These two Florida teachers have figured out a way to make those plastic dividers—installed on desks to protect children during the age of COVID-19—less nerve-wracking, and more totally, joyfully brilliant.

First-grade teachers Patricia Dovi and Kim Martin, of St. Barnabas Episcopal School in DeLand, Florida have turned coronavirus dividers into the windshields and windows of, yes, Jeeps.

“Anything that we can do to add some silliness and some creativity to get them excited is going to be really important in the longevity of this school year,” Dovi told Insider.

The school supplied the plexiglass; Dovi and Martin paid for the decorations out of their own pockets. Martin estimates that the desks took about a week to complete. Wasn’t all that work worth it?

Family and friends of these two inspiring teachers helped turn the desks into colorful Jeeps with personalized license plates.

Each student arrived just yesterday, to find their very own ‘car’ waiting for them.

“It’s going to be more fun to say, ‘Hey, purple Jeep, you’re getting out of your lane,’” Martin joked. “I think it will be a smart way to keep the kids engaged.” We have no doubt about that.

[FRKJ]

Australia offering paid position to 'live in paradise on a tropical island'



Conservation officials in Australia announced they are seeking someone to take a full-time job living on a tropical island surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef.

Queensland's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority announced it is seeking a caretaker for the "isolated tropical island" Low Isles, which is about 9 miles off the coast of Port Douglas, Queensland.

"The caretakers live in paradise on a tropical island surrounded by the Great Barrier Reef -- but maintaining an island is hard work," said Mark Reed, the authority's assistant director of Reef Conservation Actions.

The position requires the winning candidate to live full-time on the island and complete duties including "maintaining buildings and infrastructure including the solar power system and sewerage treatment system, liaising with tourist operators, cleaning toilets, managing weeds, grounds works and counting bird populations."

The authority is accepting applications through Sept. 25.

[angellove0810]

Google Chrome Is Updating Its Offline Dinosaur Game With A New Dino Swords Version



You might have played the cute Dino Game that appears on the Google Chrome browser when there is no internet connection. It is fun, simple, and you can play this game online as well.

Dino Swords is the new version of Dino Game. Users can play the Dino Swords game on their Chrome browser and press the space key to jump and avoid cacti. The game gets faster as it progresses just like the old version, however, there are new additions.

The new mod version gives the T-Rex an assortment of various tools to use. You will find 26 different weapons to use, which are allocated to different buttons on the keyboard. For example, users can use the ‘G’ button to use ‘Holy Water.’ You will have to grab small birds flying over to unlock new weapons in the game, and the list includes arrow, bow, gun, helicopter, tank, swords, and many more...


In case the new modded version is too much, users can still play the classic Chrome Dino Game in the Chrome browser. Visit chrome://dino to play this game.