Between the 2014 Sochi Olympics and Ellen Page coming out, more than a few Canadian stories have slipped through the crack, er, cracks. And speaking of crack, here's out first story …
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If you found out there was a vending machine that sold crack pipes in Canada, the gold, silver, and bronze choices would be Vancouver, Vancouver, and Vancouver.
If you guessed Toronto, well, we can understand that guess. Rob Ford can afford his own.
Vancouver has two locations in the Downtown Eastside area, the location where drug use is somewhat rampant.
The crack pipes sell for 25c, a fraction of the $5 street price. The Pyrex pipes are safer than glass pipes.
The premise is reducing the impact of diseases, similar to clean needles, and lowering the cost of what people will do to smoke crack.
There are plenty of jokes one can make over having a crack pipe vending machine. But the health advantages can withstand a few smirks.
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You could instead spend that $5 on a drink at Dumb Starbucks.
Dumb Starbucks lasted until the fourth day until being shut down due to the lack of a valid permit.
The parody concept was the brainchild of Nathan Fielder, who is Canadian. Americans might know Fielder from "Nathan For You" and "Jon Benjamin Has a Van" on Comedy Central. Canadians would recognize Fielder from his work on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes."
Fielder is a Vancouver native and attended the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria.
The premise of Dumb Starbucks was that the word "Dumb" was placed in front of popular products from drinks to Norah Jones CDs.
If you missed the stunt, Fielder plans to incorporate the footage in a future episode of "Nathan For You" on Comedy Central.
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As much as we love Ellen Page, we still hold Molly Parker close to our heart. So we were thrilled to see that Parker is now on "House of Cards." Parker plays Congresswoman Jacqueline Sharp in the U.S. Congressional drama.
Rep. Sharp (D-CA) is a third-term congresswoman and a veteran of the Iraq war.
“I don’t think that this character is a sociopath, I think that she has a conscience,” Parker said in an interview.
Parker reportedly studied up on U.S. politics for the role. Parker has spent plenty of time in the States in her acting career.
You might remember that Parker starred in "The Firm," a recent U.S./Canada TV series set in the D.C. area, though that show was primarily shot in Toronto.
While I certainly know of the show, I haven't watched an episode. And if I did, I don't want to spoil any potential plot twists. For those who don't know of the series, all the episodes for Season 2 have been released on Netflix.
I definitely will start paying attention to this program. We already know there will be a Season 3; we'll have to wait and see if Parker makes it that far.
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Canada's winningest active MLB pitcher is taking 2014 off.
Ryan Dempster will sit out the entire 2014 season from the Boston Red Sox for “physical reasons and his desire to spend more time with his kids.” The Red Sox have placed Dempster on the restricted list and Dempster will forego his $13.25 million salary.
“I don’t feel like I am capable of performing to the ability and standard that I am accustomed to,” Dempster told Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal. “I feel it’s in the best interest of both the club but most importantly myself to step away from playing baseball at this time. The time is right. I’m not saying retirement but I definitely won’t be playing this season.”
Dempster also cited family as a reason to sit out for 2014. Dempster's daughter, Riley, was born in 2009 with DiGeorge Syndrome,
Dempster's 132 wins are second to Ferguson Jenkins in the all-time MLB stats for Canadian-born pitchers. He also has 133 losses and 2,075 strikeouts in his career.
The only beef we have ever had with Dempster is that he never participated in the World Baseball Classic.
But he has been a stand-up guy. And in an era of guaranteed contracts, Dempster could have easily collected the money and sat out injured, but he didn't.
We would love to see Dempster back in the Major Leagues in 2015. Toronto can always use another starting pitcher.
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photo credit: Nick Ut/AP.
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