Stones for My Father wins $30K Canadian children's book prize

Trilby Kent has won the Canadian Children's Book Award for Stones for My Father. She is congratulated by TD Canada Trust president Tim Hockey. (TD)

Stones for My Father, a young adult book set during the Anglo-Boer war, has won the $30,000 TD Canadian Children's Literature Award.

The novel by Toronto-born, London-based Trilby Kent was named winner Wednesday at a gala at The Ritz-Carlton in Toronto. Five other children's book awards were presented at the event, sponsored by the Canadian Children's Book Centre.

The $30,000 prize is the richest award for children's literature in the country. Stones for My Father, published by Tundra Books, is a second novel for Kent and was selected from a short list of five young adult novels.

"The Anglo-Boer War in South Africa is certainly not a subject covered today in most Canadian classrooms," Kent said.

"But this devastating time in South Africa is historically quite significant and I wanted to write a story for young readers that would investigate the heavy subject matter through a lens my readers could identify with."

The jury praised Kent's young heroine Corlie Rioux.

"Though this young heroine struggles with the loss of parental love, a special friendship, and her home, she holds steadfast, brave, and true and emerges a survivor," the jury said in its citation.

The $20,000 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award went to Geneviève Côté of Montreal, who wrote and illustrated Without You, about a fussy rabbit and an exuberant pig who become friends. It is published by Kids Can Press.

"Minimal text speaks volumes about the give and take of friendships and the rewards of togetherness," the jury said in its citation. "Rabbit and Pig have distinct personalities that young children can easily relate to."

Other winners named Wednesday:

• Norma Fleck Award for Canadian children's non-fiction ($10,000): Loon written by Susan Vande Griek of Halifax, illustrated by Karen Reczuch of Acton, Ont., Groundwood Books.
• Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction ($5,000): The Hangman in the Mirror, written by Kate Cayley of Toronto, Annick Press.
• John Spray Mystery Award ($5,000): Charlie's Key, written by Rob Mills of Peterborough, Ont. Orca Book Publishers.
• Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction and Fantasy ($5,000): What Happened to Serenity? written by P.J. Sarah Collins of Vancouver, Red Deer Press.

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Nicholas Hoare bookstore closing its doors in Westmount

After forty years in business, the Nicholas Hoare bookstore in Westmount is closing.

The store almost closed earlier this year due to high rent and pressure from online and big box retailers.

A note on the store's blog announces it will be closing "for good."

"We close with immense regret," wrote owner Nicholas Hoare in his bookstore's blog.

Over the summer, the community rallied to keep the bookstore open.

But Hoare said it's no longer feasible to keep the store going given the state of the publishing industry. He said the store will close on New Year's Eve.

Hoare thanks his landlord and Westmount mayor Peter Trent for their help and accommodation. He also thanks staff and customers for their "unwavering support" over the years

The Toronto store branch will remain open.

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Stars from K'naan to Lightfoot ready for Grey Cup party

An all-star, all-Canadian roster of entertainers spanning the generations is set to perform over the next four days in Toronto as part of the Grey Cup Festival.

The younger generation is well-represented at the half-time show Sunday, with Stratford, Ont., teen sensation Justin Bieber and hot new artist Carly Rae Jepsen of Mission, B.C., to perform.

But Grey Cup organizers haven't forgotten the veteran fans. Somewhere during that short 20 minutes, Gordon Lightfoot will take to the stage and, for those who prefer their rock a little harder, Vancouver band Marianas Trench.

The all-Canadian lineup and its refreshing diversity is a change from past years. Organizers offended many Canadian music fans by inviting American band Black Eyed Peas to play in 2005.

Last year, in Vancouver, it was Nickelback and only Nickelback, who performed at halftime, a band with as many naysayers as admirers.

In Toronto, before the Calgary Stampeders face the Toronto Argonauts on the field, there'll be yet more Canadian faces on the field.

A pre-show will feature singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards of Ottawa, Burton Cummings of Winnipeg and Johnny Reid, the Scottish-born country singer who has lept onto the pop charts with Let's Go Higher.

The festival staged around the 100th Grey Cup also features musicians from across the country. Some of the stars slated to perform:

• Thursday: Kardinal Offishall and K'naan with Mia Martina and Kreesha Turner.
• Friday: Sam Roberts Band, Matthew Good and Treble Charger.
• Saturday: Myles Goodwyn and April Wine, Kim Mitchell and Big Sugar featuring reggae artist Willi Williams.

Streets are already closed outside the Rogers Centre as a stage is erected to host yet more artists for a series of free concerts. The Grey Cup tailgate party and street festival begins at 4 p.m. Friday.

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Lawren Harris painting fetches $1.1M in auction

Works by Group of Seven artists Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson, as well as by postwar Canadian artists such as William Kurelek and Jack Bush, sold at auction Thursday for prices sometimes well above what had been expected.

The Heffel sale of Canadian art was expected to raise between $7 million to $10 million, the auction house said ahead of the event, but the final tally topped expectations at $11.5 million.

Hurdy Gurdy, one of the finest urban landscapes ever painted by Lawren Harris, sold for $1,082,250, a price that includes a 17 per cent buyer's premium. The pre-sale estimate suggested it could go for $400,000 to $600,000 including the premium.

Hurdy Gurdy, by Lawren Harris, oil on canvas, 1913 was expected to be one of the top lots. (Heffel)

The Group of Seven founder kept the impressionistic painting of a former Toronto district known as the Ward in his own collection before bequeathing it to his daughter. It has remained in the family ever since.

Occasionally, Harris "would come and say, 'I need to borrow this back for an exhibition,' and sometimes she wouldn't see [the paintings] again," Heffel vice-president Robert Heffel said. "Harris asked to have this painting back for a show…and she said 'No, dad. Not this one.' It was a painting that was very, very dear to her."

Another favourite was William Kurelek's King of the Mountain, a mixed-media work from 1973 of children tumbling on a snowy haymow, while three boys fight for position at the top. The Prairie scene sold for $380,250 with buyer's premium. The estimate for the piece had been $250,000 to $350,000.

Canadian prospector and Eldorado Mining founder Gilbert LaBine, who mined radium and uranium from Port Radium, N.W.T., commissioned the Group of Seven's Jackson to paint Radium Mine. The 1938 painting done on the shores of Great Bear Lake was expected to sell for $200,000 to $300,000. Factoring in the buyer's premium, it sold for more than double the high-end estimate, netting $643,500.

"This auction exceeded our expectations and it is a testament to the strength of the Canadian art market," said David K.J. Heffel, president of the auction house.

Other works on offer (all sale prices and estimates include the buyer's premium):

• Frivolous September – Up the Gorge (Blue Sky and Forest) by Emily Carr, 1944, sold for $643,500, well above estimate of $200,000-$250,000. The auction house said the seven Carr works available sold for a total of $2.18 million.
• Study for Lake O'Hara and Cathedral Mountain, by J.E.H. MacDonald, sold for $245,700. The estimate was $200,000-$250,000.
• Blue Bird, by Jack Bush, sold for $163,800, well above its estimate of $80,000-$100,000.
• Northern Lake VIII, by Lawren Harris, sold for $183,800, above the estimate of $90,000-$120,000.
• West Coast 2/06: Dawn, Pacific Ocean, at Brooks Peninsula by Takao Tanabe sold for $76,050, well above the estimated value of $20,000-$30,000)
• Guardian Spirit of Owl by Jack Shadbolt sold for $163,800, above the estimate of $40.000-$60,000.

Heffel said auction records were set for eight Canadian artists, including Shadbolt, Tanabe, Carr and Kurelek.

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Montreal museum returns Maori head to New Zealand

The mummified head of a Maori warrior, the last one believed to be in the possession of a Canadian museum, is headed home.

The remains of the male warrior with tattooed skin were handed over to authorities of a New Zealand museum in a traditional ceremony today at Montreal's Museum of Fine Arts.

Maori officials say they've spent a quarter-century trying to have remains removed from display around the world and returned home for a proper burial.

They say some 320 remains from the 500 known sets around the world, located in 14 different countries.

They say their mission in Canada is complete. Today's ceremony marked the fifth and last Canadian head to be returned from a museum in this country.

The Toi Moko, the name given to remains of Maori origin, dates back to the 19th century and was briefly on display at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts between 1982 and 1984.

Since then, the head has been in storage and, last year, the Montreal institution's board voted unanimously to return the remains.

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Wu-Tang Clan member to help teach science with hip-hop

Rap icon GZA is teaming up with Columbia University professor Christopher Emdin to launch a pilot project they hope could boost interest in the sciences among urban youth. (Fergus McDonald/Getty Images)Science classrooms in New York City's public schools are failing to engage many students according to the New York Times, particularly those of African-American and Latino descent, who together make up 70 per cent of the city's student body.

Enter the Wu-Tang.

GZA, born Gary Grice, is a founding member of the revolutionary Staten Island rap crew the Wu-Tang Clan. He's also in the process of writing a solo album inspired by the quantum world with the help of physicists at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Earlier this year, GZA met Columbia University professor Christopher Emdin during a radio show at the Hayden Planetarium in New York. Emdin is an award winning educator, longtime hip-hop fan and author of a book called "Urban Science Education for the Hip-Hop Generation."

The two began discussing similarities between the skills required for success in rap and in science, such as curiosity, the ability to draw connections and keen observational abilities.

A idea was born, and eventually brought to fruition.

Christopher Emdin is an award winning educator and longtime hip-hop fan who believes that culturally relevant teaching methods will help students learn and become interested in science. (YouTube / Chris Emdin)

In January 2013, 10 schools will be participating in a pilot project supported by Dr. Emdin and his graduate students in collaboration with GZA and the popular hip-hop lyrics website RapGenius.com.

Classrooms will be experimenting with hip-hop cyphers to teach students basic science concepts. Instead of traditional papers, students will write rap verses about science.

The best rhymes, as judged by GZA, will be published on Rap Genius - a feather in the cap of any aspiring MC. The artist will also appear in a video promoting the project and may visit some classrooms.

Emdin told the Times that through this project, he hopes to change the way city teachers relate to minority students, drawing on hip-hop music's structure, as well as the culture's social practices and values.

"The thing about science in particular is that historically, it's been known as a discipline that's very Eurocentric," he said in a video posted to his YouTube channel.

"Any group that doesn't see themselves as part of the history of science becomes removed from it, and if we don't embrace the culture of the youth in front of it, we're saying that we don't want them to be successful academically. A culturally responsive pedagogy in the new millennium embraces hip-hop culture."

Do you know an innovative teacher or school? Share the most novel teaching method you've heard about in the comments below.

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Former Price is Right model awarded $7.7M in damages

The producers of The Price is Right owe a former model on the television game show more than $7.7 million US in punitive damages for discriminating against her after a pregnancy, a jury has decided.

The judgment released Wednesday came one day after the panel found the show's producers discriminated against Brandi Cochran. They also awarded her nearly $777,000 in actual damages.

Cochran, 41, is a former Miss U.S.A. from Idaho.

She said she was rejected when she tried to return to The Price is Right in early 2010 after taking maternity leave. The jury agreed and determined that FremantleMedia North America and The Price is Right Productions owed her more than $8.5 million in all.

"I'm humbled. I'm shocked," Cochran said after the jury announced its verdict. "I'm happy that justice was served today not only for women in the entertainment industry, but women in the workplace."

FremantleMedia said it was standing by its previous statement, which said it expected to be "fully vindicated" after an appeal.

"We believe the verdict in this case was the result of a flawed process in which the court, among other things, refused to allow the jury to hear and consider that 40 per cent of our models have been pregnant," and further "important" evidence, FremantleMedia said.

In their defence, producers said they were satisfied with the five models working on the show at the time Cochran sought to return.

Several other former models have sued the series and its longtime host, Bob Barker, who retired in 2007.

Most of the cases involving Barker's Beauties — the nickname given the gown-wearing women who presented prizes to contestants — ended with out-of-court settlements.

Comedian-actor Drew Carey followed Barker as the show's host.

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Heroes of Science action figures get brainiacs buzzing

[View the story "Heroes of Science action figures get brainiacs buzzing" on Storify]

Storified by CBC News Community · Wed, Nov 21 2012 13:51:40

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They can't morph into machines, crush rocks withtheir fists or travel through time (yet), but many would consider the 20th century'sgreatest scientists heroes in every sense of the word.

Digital artist Russell Gawthorpe certainly thinks so, which is whyhe designed a "Heroes of Science Action Figures" set to honour the likes of Niels Bohr, Alan Turing, Nikola Tesla and 27 others.

Staticflickr

"I've noticed that you can buy Albert Einstein figures, Nikola Tesla bobble-heads and The Simpsons even brought out a Stephen Hawking figure based on his appearance in an episode," wrote the artist on his DeviantART profile. "However, I thought it'd be really cool if there was an entire series of them, based on all of the people who've contributed to our understanding of the world and the universe it sits in."

Ufunk

The concept dolls were created using digital paint and manipulation techniques. Their bodies are based on Star Trek: TNG and Star Trek: DS9 action figures and the entire set took about 50 hours of work to complete, said the artist.

As of Gawthorpe's last update, he has no plans of taking the set into production, but reaction to his work may change his mind. Twitter shows that there's certainly a market for the Heroes of Science.

All I want for Xmas is --> Heroes of Science action figures http://flpbd.it/GiWkB via @vergeMichael Owen Hill

RT @Matt_Muir: Why aren't these real / available to buy? Heroes of Science - the action figures: http://datazoid.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Science-Action-Figures-337514889Andrew Robinson

Why can't this be a thing? Please Internet... make this a thing. Just this once Internet: http://datazoid.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Science-Action-Figures-337514889John Mikael Gunderse

Will the gods of science and engineering please please make these Heroes of Science action figures a real thing. http://www.geekologie.com/2012/11/not-a-bad-idea-heroes-of-science-action.phpMichael Cosentino

#science Now, where's the Kickstarter project to mass-produce these totally awesome (conceptual) action figures?! http://datazoid.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Science-Action-Figures-337514889J. Martin

Why can't these amazing Heroes of Science action figures be real?! I want to own them all. http://bit.ly/WqFw3EJoe Hanson

Gawthorpe explained in his FAQ section that while millions of scientists have existed throughout history, he only had time to make 30.

His criteria was limited to scientists 'alive at some point in the 20th century' in an attempt to make the job of choosing more manageable. Also, "no scientists famous for major medical breakthroughs. Primarily because medical heroes is a category all of its own, and there are hundreds to choose from."

Of course, as with any list of famous figures, there's been some debate over who was included in the set -- and who was left out.

This is BS -- there's no @ninatandon action figure: Heroes of Science action figures - Holy Kaw! http://holykaw.alltop.com/science-to-the-rescue-heroes-of-science-actioe1evation

No Galileo and only one lady, but these Heroes of Science Action Figures are still righteous. http://bit.ly/XgV2AjJason M Harrison

This'd be great if it were real, but no @TheScienceGuy @steltzner @tweetsoutloud or any other folks from JPL or NASA?? http://bit.ly/X4yfYkJennifer Ray

A few users took up issue with the lack of women represented in the collection; a subject Gawthorpe also addresses in the FAQ section of his post on DeviantART:

"Statistically, they're in the minority. I'm not suggesting by any degree that their work is lesser, or that they shouldn't be recognised for their accomplishments, but when you punch up a list of "most recognisable scientists"... there just aren't many women," he wrote.

"Just to point out: I only have one African-American scientist, one Indian scientist, one Hungarian mathematician... Unfortunately for this collection, there are only so many hours I can spend drawing little people." 

Really cool, but token Marie Curie? Binders full of women scientists? "@brainpicker: Heroes of science action figures! http://j.mp/UTgxQy"terfle

Only one female Hero of Science? RT @jtotheizzoe Why can't these amazing Heroes of Science action figures be real?! http://bit.ly/WqFw3EPeter MacArthur

First thought on seeing this lot - http://datazoid.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Science-Action-Figures-337514889 - why only one woman? Where's Grace Hopper? Where's Ada Lovelace? (I'm a programmer)Chris

Heroes of science action figures. Where are the women? http://th06.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2012/317/1/b/1b51c514153da2a54d01ad9484f13592-d5ky45l.jpgAlexis Rudd

http://datazoid.deviantart.com/art/Heroes-of-Science-Action-Figures-337514889 - I would totally buy this, but why does the only woman (Marie Curie) look like she'd come alive at night to murder me?Elizabeth Pearson

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All-about-psychology

Who would you like to see immortalized as an action figure?

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Jackie Chan to bow out of action films

Kung Fu superstar Jackie Chan says his upcoming Chinese Zodiac 2012 will be his last major action movie.

Chan, 58, says at his age he can no longer continue doing the stunts that have made his movies famous. The star, who is known for his innovative moves, said he doesn't want to end his life in a wheelchair.

He wrote, directed and produced Chinese Zodiac 2012, about a man who hunts the world for the 12 bronze heads of the animals from the Chinese zodiac.

Chan himself plays the treasure hunter Asian Hawk – a character he originally created in the 1991 film Armour of God II: Operation Condor — who is seeking to repatriate the 12 bronzes looted from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing in the Second Opium War.

"This really, really is my baby. You know, I've been writing the script for seven years," said Chan, calling it the best role he's played in the last 10 years.

Chan said he's not retiring from acting, but will turn to special effects technology and stunt doubles in any future roles. He also plans to devote more time to philanthropy.

The film was shot in China, but also France, Taiwan, Vanuatu and Latvia. It is set for release Dec. 12 in China.

On Oct. 30, Chan donated replicas of the 12 bronze Zodiac heads to China to replace those that were lost from the Summer Palace in Beijing.

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Elmo actor resigns from Sesame Street in wake of sex scandal

Sesame Workshop says Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash has resigned from Sesame Street in the wake of allegations that he had sex with an under-aged youth.

Last week a man accused Clash of having sex with him when he was a teenage boy, a charge Clash denied. A day later, the man recanted his charge.

A lawsuit by a second accuser, Cecil Singleton, was filed today in New York.

The 24-year-old college student has accused longtime Elmo puppeteer Kevin Clash of sexually abusing him over a two-week period when he was 15. Singleton said they met on a gay chat line. At a news conference, Singleton said he had no idea at the time what Clash did for a living.

Singleton's lawyer, Jeff Herman, said he had been contacted by two other potential victims and expected additional legal action

Sesame Workshop called the controversy surrounding Clash's personal life "a distraction that none of us want" and says it led to his decision to leave the show.

Clash created the voice and persona for Elmo, who has become one of Sesame Street's most popular characters. Other puppeteers are carrying on the Elmo character.

Clash issued a statement saying he was "resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart."

"I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization," the statement said. "Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."

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