Sideswipe

Pluto's demotion may be confusing for people who remember the order of the planets in the solar system with mnemonics such as "My Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas" (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto). The problem is that an international convention of astronomers has decreed that tiny Pluto does not have the qualifications needed to be a planet, so we need a new reminder. A few possibilities:
My Very Extravagant Mother Just Sent Us Nachos.
My Very Elderly Mother Just Sits Up Nights.
Major Volcanoes Erupt, Making Jolts, Shaking, Unsteadying Nerves.
Make Very Extraordinary Meals of Jell-O, Strawberries and Unsalted Nuts.
Mary's Violet Eyes Make Jack Stare Until Noticed.

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Mike Peck reminds the friend of the fundamental vegan that it goes both ways. He writes: "As a vegetarian I am relentlessly grilled (no pun intended) about why I do not eat meat, do I eat fish, etc? It seems to me, a converted steak, egg and chips man, that anything out of the norm is always considered suspect, right up there with reds under the bed, charismatic religious adherents and so on. When I eat out I have to question whether the soup has a meat-based stock, what sort of fat is the food cooked in and so on. It takes only a little of any meat product to make me extremely ill."

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Tony Waring, of Titirangi, says the Warriors' game on Sunday was a great day out - except for the halftime entertainment. "The PR company for sponsor Gillette came up with the great idea of the Gillette 40/20 Challenge, in which four lucky punters from the crowd got two attempts to kick the ball about 50 metres into touch to win a prize. The need for a Plan B became evident when current Warriors kicker Tony Martin tried and failed, followed by goal-kicking legend Daryl Halligan, who also failed. Needless to say, the contestants all failed as well. Hopefully, a return to the bloke dressed up as a razor, giving away free samples, will be considered for next season."

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A Colorado geography teacher was placed on leave by the school principal for refusing to take down flags from several countries he had put up in his classroom. The teacher said the flags were part of a world geography lesson. The principal escorted the teacher out of school after he refused to remove the flags of China and Mexico. The school district placed him on administrative leave for insubordination, citing a Colorado law that makes it illegal to display foreign flags permanently in schools.