"One of our young grandsons is keen to get as many selfies as possible with anyone purporting to be famous, either with himself or his parents," writes Billie McGlynn. "However, it has come to the point now of being a little competitive between his parents -who both have travelled to Australia recently for their respective jobs. Our daughter had a selfie taken with Quade Cooper at Sydney airport, and said he was a really lovely guy and she felt like saying to him that not all Kiwis were like those who attended rugby matches. Not to be outdone, or so he thought, our son-in-law on the Gold Coast recently saw Taika Waititi in a restaurant and went over, ignoring his dining companions, to have a selfie taken with the Kiwi director, not realising at the time, that the two guys were Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth. We are all still chuckling about it."
Periodic cure for grumpy old men
A Swiss chocolatier from Lucerne is claiming to have invented a chocolate that eases period pain. Named "Frauenmond", which translates to "Women's Moon", the chocolate contains 60 per cent cocoa solids and 17 Swiss mountain herbs. Women's Moon is based on a herbal tea that is thought to have the same characteristics and claims to help lift the body's serotonin, which improves mood. Apparently the chocolate has a calming effect - which could be usefully dispensed to curmudgeonly middle-aged men as well.
"Jacqui Geux will be pleased to know that the outdated icons she so enjoys have their own special name," writes Bruce Allen. "They are called skeuomorphs and as well as the visual icons she mentions, they are much used in computers and web design - like the rubbish can icon on the desktop and the shutter click sound made by many cellphone cameras."
Not in West Auckland, but Remuera, corner of Stoneyroyd Gardens and Remuera Road. Maybe it's an industrial sculpture.
Don't rubbish our policy
Ben Maw, Catering Services Manager writes: "When it comes to rubbish and recycling, Auckland Council encourages staff to practise what we preach. What the picture published in Friday's Sideswipe doesn't show is the organic and food waste collection bin to the left of the rubbish bin and the recycling bin to the right. In order to reach our ambitious goal of Zero Waste by 2040, collection points for all types of waste can be found in the majority of our kitchens and cafeterias across the region, including Henderson."
PIC OF COOPER: "Anderson Cooper's unprecedented interview with one man and that man's future self," Tweets Brian Thompson @BrianThompy.
Good idea: Egyptian bookstore's 'Scream Room' lets customers yell to de-stress (helpfully the room includes a drum kit too).
Good read: David Slack's thoughtful piece about ageing is a tonic.
Video: A compilation of deeply unsatisfying moments....
