We all know Rainn Wilson from The Office, whose uptight beet-farming paper pusher recently earned him his second Emmy nomination. But now, his supporting role kudos seem like just the opening act to his headlining performance in The Rocker. As a washed-up '80s drummer who gets a second chance at headbanging glory, the 42-year-old actor may have his opportunity to become a comedy film rock star. But he seems more at ease talking about all the cool hard rock bands he grew up with, and later, delving deep about spirituality and something called Soul Pancake. With Rainn Wilson, these things are all interconnected.

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A FORMER Wallasey resident now living in China was given the honour of being one of the Olympic torch bearers as it passed through her province of Hebei.

Wilma O’Sullivan, 52, was asked to carry the torch as she was one of a number of foreign workers to be acknowledged nationally for her contribution to education in China.

She was given the National Friendship award in 2006 and was invited by the government for a week’s holiday along with 49 other recipients that year.

Following that she appeared on television for a month filming her work for the city and provincial TV.

Wilma, a member of the Baha i Faith which believes in the unity of mankind, left Wirral for China in 1995 to become a teacher of English and has now been living there for thirteen years.

“It was a great and fantastic honour to carry the torch,” said Wilma, “and best of all I get to keep it.

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Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi says she's filed a lawsuit against Iran's official news agency because of an incorrect report that her daughter converted from Islam.

Ebadi said Monday she's taking IRNA to court for spreading lies and insults.

Last month, IRNA reported that Ebadi's daughter converted to the Bahai faith -- which is not recognized in Iran -- to earn Bahai support for her mother's humanitarian work.

Ebadi and her daughter, Narges Tavassolian, deny the report and say they're both Shiite Muslims, the majority faith in Iran.

Ebadi is a lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work advocating greater rights for women and children in Iran.

She's scheduled to defend seven Bahai leaders arrested in May for allegedly endangering Iran's national security.

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On Friday, 15 August 2008, the online journal Gooya News published the following analysis by the Iranian journalist, Ali Keshtgar. The original Persian text may be accessed at the Gooya News archives. It is also available at Payvand Canada

The violent scheme of Baha’i-killing, of which the Hojjatieh Society was the standard-bearer and promulgator before the [1979] revolution – a scheme whose promoters came to power with the emergence of the Islamic Republic – is at its foundation a felonious concept intended to bring about religious cleansing through the murder of all Baha’is.

During the past 30 years under the Islamic Republic, our Baha’i countrymen have persistently been the subject of dual discrimination – threat and repression. Their only offense has been that they believe in the Baha’i teachings. In their own native land, they are barred from many occupations, and they are not allowed to openly worship in accordance with their religious precepts – and indeed the government has treated these Iranian brothers and sisters as criminals.

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If you ever watched "The Office" and thought Dwight Schrute reminded you of a gawky security guard you once encountered at the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette, there may be a reason.

Rainn Wilson, whose starring role in the new movie "The Rocker" should expand his already-sizable "Office" following, used to work at the North Shore temple when he was a New Trier High Schooler preparing for New York University.

"There's nothing more intimidating than Rainn Wilson at age 18 in a polyester uniform chasing down skateboarders at the Baha'i Temple," Wilson recalled wryly on a recent visit to his one-time hometown.

So for me as a Bahai artist and actor, I knew that acting was a form of worship and a form of praise of the divine—even if I do stuff as ridiculous as showing my butt crack and drumming naked.

Revisiting old haunts, however, wasn't on the agenda of the busy 42-year-old actor. On Monday he was scheduled to sign photos and Dwight Schrute bobble-head figurines for HON furniture at the NeoCon trade show, that night he was conducting a Q&A at a "Rocker" screening, and Tuesday's agenda included pizza with yours truly and a trip to the Chicago Cultural Center to see local artist Tony Fitzpatrick's exhibition.

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A member of the Russian underground band the Leningrad breaks a canned beer

Cosmopolitan, cool and versatile: the Hungarian capital's Sziget festival has become one of the top events on the European summer music circuit, attracting visitors from around the continent for a weekend extravaganza on a small Danube island.

"I was in Denmark recently at a festival but here the atmosphere is much more easy-going. And the weather is much better," a young Dutch visitor said over a keg of local beer.

The festival, held every year on the island a couple of kilometres (miles) from Budapest's city centre, opened on Wednesday and lasts until Sunday.

And variety is the key to this mega-event with more than 600 concerts on 30 stages over five days, with styles ranging from mainstream rock, reggae and pop to hard rock, gypsy music, alternative folk, electric, jazz and Hare Chrisna metal.

Dressed in a bikini top and minimalist shorts in the August heat, an English girl, clinging to a less-than-sober Frenchman at a concert by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, said she loves the cheerful and bizarre mood and the variety at Sziget.

Catholic, Protestant and Baha'i tents also try to lead lost lambs back onto the right track...

With performers from 42 countries, the musical experience is definitely diverse.

When Leningrad -- a Russian ska band with punk and Russian folk traits, and a singer with a foul mouth and a strong liking for vodka -- performed on Wednesday, a band member bit open a can of beer after breaking it on his head, took a few gulps and sprayed it over the Russian crowd.

And the fans went crazy.

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Patricia Bravo with her chidren Graeme, Robin and Owen Lister. Chung Chow / Black Press

When Patricia Bravo looks at her three kids – bespectacled Graeme, 6, brown-eyed Robin, 3 and blond-haired Owen Lister, 1 – she hopes she can instill in them an appreciation for diversity.

Being regularly exposed to various cultures in South Surrey, Bravo signed her kids up for a free multi-faith children's program so they could learn about the different faiths and the people who practise them.

"I hope to raise knowledgeable, respectful and tolerant, reflective kids that can appreciate the similarities and differences with the people they share the world with," she said.

The program, slated to begin this fall, will consist of eight to 10 sessions, the majority of which will be spent visiting different faith communities. One session might be held at a Sikh temple and the next at a synagogue. The sessions will be aimed towards four- to six-year-olds, and last about 45 to 60 minutes.

Dalley received some funding through his Unitarian congregation and formed an organizing committee to set up the program.

Visits will be led by a member of the hosting faith, who will introduce children to the basic beliefs and practices. Sessions might include a tour of the building, songs, stories, games or crafts related to that particular religion.

Hosting communities include Baha'i, Buddhist, Islamic, Aboriginal, Jewish and Christian.

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How to observe our spiritual wave function of unity by collapsing the concentrated body particles of information & still be physically alive?

"Nature is that condition, that reality, which in appearance consists in life and death..." Some Answered Questions

Science: An electron collapses the wave function of the electron simply by observing the particle.

Surely, a thinker can also collapses the physical body with all its material memories or knowledge and pass through the forbidden valley of love and knowledge and identify the valley of unity known as Holy Grail, Alchemy, Philosopher stone, Enlightenment, etc.

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