Sideswipe: November 30: Promise falls short

TV ad for the Dodge Journey SXT 3.6 automatic.

Dodge accommodates kayak - in the advert anyway

Chris Thompson of Rothesay Bay says the TV ad for the Dodge Journey SXT 3.6 automatic shows a happy couple unloading their double kayak from the back of the vehicle. "The Dodge website says this vehicle is 16 feet long [4.9m], bumper to bumper," he explains. "The smallest double kayak I can find is 4.5m. So does a) the kayak sit behind the front seats and hang out the back by about 3m, or b) the car has no windscreen and the kayak goes the full length and only hangs out the back by 40cm?"

Chuckle, and a prize, for worst Bad Sex description

Since 1993, the Literary Review has presented the Bad Sex in Fiction Award to a published author who has produced a really cringe-worthy scene of sexual description, in an otherwise good novel. The winner will be announced tomorrow, but this from Ethan Canin's A Doubter's Almanac is Sideswipe's pick to win. "The act itself was fervent. Like a brisk tennis game or a summer track meet, something performed in daylight between competitors. The cheap mattress bounced. She liked to do it more than once, and he was usually able to comply. Bourbon was his gasoline. Between sessions, he poured it at the counter while she lay panting on the sheets. Sweat burnished her body. The lean neck. The surprisingly full breasts. He would down another glass and return."

Piha people think they have a problem

A reader writes: "We live at Piha and to get to the beach we have to walk down a narrow footpath, which is basically metal scoria. About five weeks ago torrential rain washed away nearly all the scoria, forcing people to walk on the road ... this is a health and safety issue - young mums, the elderly and tourists have to now walk on the road."

Excelling beyond expectations

Vicky Williamson of Bucklands Beach found this in her mother's belongings after she died. "She was Marjorie Rayne and graduated with a science degree from Otago University circa 1936. I thought your Sideswipe readers would enjoy the remark about her competency in the chemistry laboratory!"

Picture this: Tabloid Art History is a Twitter account that puts famous works of art alongside their tabloid lookalikes.

Good read: Twisted facts about the Far Side cartoons..."I've always thought the word cow was funny," Larson said. "And cows are sort of tragic figures. Cows blur the line between tragedy and humor."

Video: A Christmas ad by Wes Anderson with Adrian Brody...What's not to like?

Got a Sideswipe? Send your pictures, links and anecdotes to Ana at ana.samways@nzherald.co.nz