Our 4-Click Video Pick begins wth Boston piano  prodigy George Li, 17, who this week thrilled an audience on the stage of the Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto. Here he plays Beethoven’s 4th Piano Symphony with the Symphony ProMusica under Mark Churchill when he was 16. Wonderful. Continuing clockwise, twelve couples in Hong Kong take advantage of the good luck said to be attached to today’s date — 12, 12, 12.  Next, the really remarkably well-preserved remains of a WWII British fighter plane in the Egyptian desert. it was found this summer. The story at CNN. And finally, the flash mob success of all time from the Welland shopping mall in 2010 when local singers entranced residents with the Messiah. This video has been watched a staggering 39 million times according to YouTube.

The Ontario Auditor General’s report  for 2012 released today reads a bit like a history lesson for some. It is a long list of  items which  over the years have become a standard part of of our society. All of them are necessary in various measures. Bureaucracies which make Ontario so complex. The Auditor General ponders whether Crown Attorneys work efficiently given crime levels which are down, whether staff at the Youth Justice Services Program of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services are efficient, whether we can do better educating Aboriginal kids when it is said that only 45% of them in Grade 10 are on track to graduate. Fodder for the most sincere and civic-minded citizen but not much help in the end to making a plan  If you are  inclined, take a look at the original news release from the man himself, Jim McCarter. 

There has been a case of malicious damage done to jackets at the Sporting Life store at 2665 Yonge Street (between Blythwood Rd. and Sheldrake Blvd.)  It happened in a period of barely five minutes yesterday shortly before and after1 p.m. when a woman entered the store. The Toronto Police Service report does not specify what she did to do an estimated $45,650 damage to jackets but it must have been done surreptitiously. She apparently got away and there is no description offered by the police. In such cases it has been known for individuals to use knives or razors to cut clothes as they hang on the racks. 

If you saw Erin Langworthy go hurtling toward the Zambezi River and then watched her bungee cord break, it is safe to say you have not forgotten the sight. At New Year’s last year, the 22 year old Australian backpacker tumbled 111 meters from Victoria Falls bridge into the crocodile-infested Zambezi and lived to tell the story. Now Erin has become a very suitable face of Australia’s new campaign urging tourists to buy travel insurance. In two promotional videos for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s “Smartraveller” campaign, Erin narrates a postscript to her already well-known story — that she would have faced AU$50,000 (C$51,800) in medical bills in addition to her severe injuries had it not been for her travel insurance. Erin was accompanied by Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr at a media event kicking off the campaign, which began November 18. Her face and story will be featured on videos, postcards and social media channels. The ministry is also hosting a “Travel Tales” competition, which travelers with horror stories can enter to win AU$6,000 in travel insurance.