Good Day Goodies!
October 15, 2014

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Darth Vader Running For Ukrainian Parliament
October 15, 2014

The Ukrainian Internet Party is backing a dark horse candidate for parliament in the October elections. It's a guy dressed like Darth Vader.

In a series of campaign ads, the Sith lord strums the Imperial March on a traditional Ukrianian instrument, sticks his light saber in the dirt, and makes vaguely nationalistic statements in a breathy baritone.

It would seem that the recent public relations blitz is intended as a panacea for Darth Vader's past transgressions. Let the voters not forget that this candidate is nothing more than a sociopathic minion of an evil empire -- and that he hunted and nearly killed his own children.

On the other hand, maybe this a solution to that whole Crimea thing, provided the Super Star Destroyers are available.

Ukraine's Parliamentary elections are on Oct. 26.

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Illinois cow dubbed world's tallest
October 15, 2014

An Illinois cow standing at 6 feet, 4 inches has been dubbed the world's tallest by Guinness World Records, her owner said.

Patty Hanson of Orangeville said she received word from Guinness that her cow, Blosom, has been dubbed the world's tallest cow and will be featured in the 2016 Book of World Records.

Hanson said Blosom has a special job on her farm.

"She's here and even though she couldn't have a calf like with most cows, she does have a purpose. She's the official greeter to the farm," Hanson said.

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Dream beach house built on wrong lot
October 15, 2014

A dream beach house in Florida has turned into a nightmare for a Missouri couple.

Six months after the custom house was built along the Atlantic Ocean near Palm Coast,
Mark and Brenda Voss learned it's on the wrong lot in the gated Ocean Hammock community.

Mark Voss tells the Daytona Beach News Journal they're in "total disbelief." The couple own 18 other residential lots in the community. They bought the lot in question in 2012 and hired Keystone Homes to build a three-story, 5,000-square-foot vacation rental. But it was instead built on the lot next door, which is owned by a North Carolina couple.

The Vosses hired a lawyer, and Keystone vice president Robbie Richmond says the company is trying to negotiate a settlement between the lot owners and other parties.

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1000-year old Viking treasure hoard found in Scotland
October 15, 2014

A hoard of Viking gold and silver artifacts dating back over 1,000 years has been discovered by a treasure hunter with a metal detector in Scotland, in a find hailed by experts as one of the country's most significant.

Derek McLennan, a retired businessman, uncovered the 100 items in a field in Dumfriesshire, southwest Scotland, in September.

Amongst the objects is a solid silver cross thought to date from the 9th or 10th century, a silver pot of west European origin, which is likely to have already been 100 years old when it was buried and several gold objects.

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From Warren Eckstein - Pets Really Are Like People's Children, Brain Scans Suggest
October 14, 2014

Brain scans are helping scientists better understand the bond between people and their beloved pets.

The study included 14 women who had at least one child between the ages of 2 and 10 and one dog that had been in the household for two or more years. Imaging technology called functional MRI was used to monitor the women's brain activity as they looked at photos of their children and their dogs.

Brain areas associated with emotion, reward, relationships and social interaction showed increased activity when the women saw the pictures of their children and their pets. A brain area involved in facial recognition and other visual processing functions showed greater response to their dogs than to their children.

However, a brain region involved in forming bonds with others became active only when the women saw photos of their children, according to the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study published Oct. 3 in the journal PLoS One.

"Pets hold a special place in many people's hearts and lives, and there is compelling evidence from clinical and laboratory studies that interacting with pets can be beneficial to the physical, social and emotional well-being of humans," study co-lead author Dr. Lori Palley, of the MGH Center for Comparative Medicine, said in a hospital news release.

Previous studies have found that levels of hormones such as oxytocin - which is involved in pair-bonding and maternal attachment - rise after interaction with pets, she said. "And new brain imaging technologies are helping us begin to understand the neurobiological basis of the relationship, which is exciting," she added.

Study co-lead author Luke Stoeckel acknowledged this is a small study that might not apply to a larger group of people. Still, "the results suggest there is a common brain network important for pair-bond formation and maintenance that is activated when mothers viewed images of either their child or their dog," Stoeckel said in the news release.

The researchers said the similarities and differences in brain activity revealed by functional neuroimaging could eventually help explain the complexities underlying human-animal relationships.

Additional, larger studies are needed to replicate these findings and to see if they also occur in other groups of people, such as fathers, women without children, and parents of adopted children, and with other types of pets, they added.

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Doug Stephan Coffee
October 14, 2014

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Robert Downey Jr. to Join 'Captain America 3′
October 14, 2014

Robert Downey Jr. is on the verge of signing on to "Captain America 3," a move that would bring the Civil War storyline from Marvel's comicbooks to the bigscreen and trigger the start of a new phase of movies from Marvel Studios.

The actor is in final negotiations to play billionaire Tony Stark in the third installment, which is slated to begin production in the Spring for a May 6, 2016 release. Downey is already set to suit up as Iron Man for next year's "The Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "The Avengers 3."

The deal is significant for the Marvel cinematic universe considering the plot will pit Stark against Captain America's alter-ego Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, as they feud over the Superhero Registration Act, which forces anyone with superhuman abilities to reveal their identities to the U.S. government and agree to act as a police force for the authorities.

Stark supports the program, but Rogers does not, saying it threatens civil liberties, causing sides to be taken and Rogers, among others, to go on the run to avoid arrest. The moral question and battle with his Avengers teammate essentially makes Stark a villain of sorts in "Captain America 3," providing Downey with a meaty role he could play out into future Marvel films, including a fourth "Avengers."

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NBC's Snyderman Apologizes for Ebola Quarantine Violation
October 14, 2014

NBC medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman issued a statement tonight apologizing for reported violations of the quarantine she and her NBC News team were placed in after freelancer photographer Ashoka Mukpo, who was working with the NBC team in Liberia, was diagnosed with Ebola.

After reports of the quarantine violation, NBC News ordered Snyderman and her team to be placed in isolation. Reports from Planet Princeton and TMZ alleged that Snyderman was spotted in public, in violation of the quarantine, to pick up soup from a New Jersey restaurant.

Brian Williams read Snyderman's statement on the air tonight on NBC Nightly News. Here it is in full:

"While under voluntary quarantine guidelines, which called for our team to avoid public contact for 21 days, members of our group violated those guidelines and understand that our quarantine is now mandatory until 21 days have passed. We remain healthy and our temperatures are normal.

"As a health professional I know that we have no symptoms and pose no risk to the public, but I am deeply sorry for the concerns this episode caused. We are thrilled that Ashoka is getting better and our thoughts continue to be with the thousands affected by Ebola whose stories we all went to cover."

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Simon Cowell Says 'The X Factor' Could Return to America
October 14, 2014

2014 marks the first time in a dozen years that Simon Cowell hasn't had a weekly presence on American television. Fox announced back in February that it would not renew The X Factor for a fourth season, but Cowell already believes it's time for the show to return stateside. "I think it will come back again," Cowell told FT Weekend (via The Hollywood Reporter).

While it's been a long time since a contestant on any of the U.S. singing competition shows have reached the level of Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson, Cowell is assured by the success of U.K. X Factor winners One Direction that the format is still capable of discovering stars.

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