Sideswipe

Bending the rules: Is this an attempt to reduce congestion north of Auckland - pushing traffic through 35km/h bends at 100km/h?

Not too many of us would confess to watching the late-night High School Reunion, the premise of which is throwing a bunch of American high school kids together a decade after they forgot about each other and watching them revert to adolescence, form crushes and conveniently forget about their partners back home. Americans, eh? Even our Julie Christie hasn't stooped that low. But is that really New Zealand's own Greg Johnson supplying the melancholy yet hopeful tunes that form the backdrop for such scenes as the long-haired nerd getting a makeover while muttering to himself, "I can't believe that my hair is hot", and asking out a girl who wouldn't have looked twice at him in the locker hall? Somehow, she said yes. Good on ya, Greg.

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A British man's emergency call to police when he became stuck in a window proved costly after he was arrested for burglary. Christopher Kelman, 34, admitted in Swindon Magistrates Court that he robbed a snack bar at the railway station in Didcot in January. Having consumed three bottles and three cans of beer, Kelman tried to escape through a window that proved too small, prosecutor Nadeem Aullybocus said. After becoming stuck, Kelman phoned police for help. Police also summoned the snack bar manager, who reported the missing alcohol. Kelman was fined 485 ($1298), including compensation and court costs.

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United States authorities have jailed two men who allegedly held down a teenager and tattooed an obscene phrase on his forehead. Police in Norwich, New York, about 97km south of Syracuse, wouldn't identify the phrase, saying only that it was vulgar and offensive. "It's just ludicrous that someone would do something like this to another person," said officer Craig Berry. Kenneth Peer, 23, of South New Berlin, and a 17-year-old from Earlville were being held in lieu of US$25,000 ($35,670) bail on charges of felony assault and unlawful imprisonment. Police said the pair used a homemade tattoo gun to write the obscenity in black ink in the skin of the 17-year-old victim's forehead. The pair held the teen down at a Norwich home while they tattooed him. Police do not believe the attack was a hate crime. The mortified teen walked into a police station to report the crime. Police said he knew his assailants. The teenager will need plastic surgery or laser treatment to remove the tattoo.

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Jay of Devonport writes: "Could you possibly help me to find a very large envelope as I thought I might like to enter the Meadow Fresh Breakfast with the Stars competition. To enter I must enclose three bottle-caps in the envelope, including my name, address, phone number, age, school and 'Super 12 rugby team', and am wondering where I might possibly be able to purchase a large-enough envelope. By the way, would NZ Post be able to accept this envelope as ordinary mail or should it go by air mail - perhaps container freight might be the best alternative?"