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KINGSTON, Ont. – A Kingston, Ont., youngster is holding a special garage sale this coming weekend, hoping to raise enough money to buy his father a gravestone.
Blake McGinness, 9, lost his father, Rick Lees, to a stomach aneurysm in March 2009.
His dad is buried in Wilmer Cemetery, where he was interred without a headstone.
Blake visits the grave regularly with his mother, Linda, and recently decided that he wanted his father to have a marker at his grave.
“My grandmother has a headstone and my grandfather has a headstone, and I want my dad to have a headstone, too,” the youngster said with great seriousness.
“I was originally thinking I’d have a yard sale and use the money to buy an iPod, but the more I thought about it, the more I decided that this was what I wanted to do for my dad.”
McGinness has ruthlessly winnowed his toys and games, filling a room of his house with the items he plans to sell Saturday morning.
“We’re going to fill the driveway,” he said with confidence.
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Thanks To Keith at BagOfNothing
Today we have a recent roundup of animals making the news - from the study of newly identified species to genetic modification, to racing, hunting, play, rescue and preservation. From a minuscule frog to an albino whale, fluorescent fish to a deep-sea Chimera, collected here are a handful of recent photographs of animals and our interactions with them, as companions, caretakers, observers, hunters and stewards. (57 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection. Warning: Some images are graphic.
On Saturday, September 18th, with the tapping of the first keg by Munich Mayor Christian Ude and a cry of "O'zapft is!", Oktoberfest 2010 officially started in Munich, Germany. While this year marks the 177th Oktoberfest to be held, 2010 is the 200th anniversary of the very first Oktoberfest in 1810 (some years were missed due to war or cholera outbreaks). The Oktoberfest tradition started in 1810 to celebrate the October 12th marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig to Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to join in the festivities which were held over five days on the fields in front of the city gates. This year, festivities will run until October 4, 2010. Collected here are a few images from this opening weekend. (40 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection.
With dozens of spacecraft currently orbiting, roving or otherwise and traveling through our solar system, I thought it would be interesting to get a general snapshot in time, using images from NASA and ESA spacecraft near Mercury, Earth, the Moon, Mars, Saturn and a few in-transit to further destinations. Collected here are recent images gathered from around our solar system, at scales ranging from mere centimeters to millions of kilometers. (32 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection.
This week, Mexico commemorated the 200th anniversary of the beginning of its War of Independence. In September of 1810, a Mexican priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla uttered a call to arms against the Spanish, later known as the Grito de Dolores ("Cry of Dolores"). Soon after began a series of battles with the Spanish that would build into a war that lasted over a decade, eventually resulting in independence. This bicentennial year, tens of thousands of Mexicans thronged the streets of Mexico City to celebrate. The celebrations took place under a somewhat subdued light though, amid the violence of a brutal nationwide drug war and vocal criticism of government spending on the lavish ceremonies. Collected here are photos of this week's celebration of 200 years of Mexican independence. (42 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection.
Two weeks ago, I invited you, the readers of The Big Picture, to submit your own images of Ramadan 2010. It was an experiment, I was hoping for high quality, personal images and was not disappointed. Over 250 submissions came in from around the world, and I thank every one of you for participating. On the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of this year's Ramadan, I present the following collection of reader-submitted photographs - and invite you to see Ramadan through their eyes. Captions written by the photographers. (41 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection.
Last Saturday, September 11th, people all over the United States and the world took time to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania nine years ago. Progress on the rebuilding of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan is now becoming more evident as One World Trade Center topped 36 stories recently, on its way to 1,776 feet by 2012. The building, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, is now growing at a rate of one floor per week, after years of political, security and financing issues plagued the $11 billion multi-building project. A push is underway in both New York and Pennsylvania to complete memorial projects before next year's 10th anniversary. Collected here are photos from this weekend's memorials and of the rebuilding progress so far. (42 photos total)
Click the image to see the full collection.
