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Herald New Zealander of the Year: Dear Sir/Madam, I personally believe the most obvious choice stands out like the proverbial ... ! Hayley Westenra has done more for NZ music than anyone in our generation! No one has had such huge and REAL international success than Hayley. This is on top of her enormous success in her home country. Sincerely, Gray Bartlett MBE." (Bartlett is Westenra's agent)

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Sharp-eyed movie fans have spotted more than 40 mistakes in the final instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They have so far submitted 45 continuity blunders to website moviemistakes.com, which says more are coming in all of the time. They are mostly differences in the appearance of characters from scene to scene such as a scar which moves from Frodo's right cheek to his left cheek. Website owner Jon Sandys said: "Some people assume it's malicious, which it was never meant to be - I only started the site to point out a few things people might never have seen before, even in films they'd seen many times. I never realised there were quite so many people out there who shared my geeky hobby!" (Ananova.com)

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About 40 per cent of US elementary schools have eliminated play time over the last 20 years, so they could squeeze in more classroom time. In addition to the problem of overweight students, Florida school psychologist Marvin Silverman referred to children's "chemical need" for play time, pointing out that even psychiatric institutions give recesses to help with "mood and movement". A complicating factor is that in some schools, playground equipment has already been removed because of concerns over children's safety and fear of lawsuits.

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Life imitating art: Days after Shortland Street's cliffhanger episode went to air - the disaster de jour being a building collapsing - diners at a Paraparaumu restaurant fled for their lives after a 4-metre-high wall fell, sending tonnes of concrete on to the roof of the restaurant. Spooky.

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Never going to drink again? Volgodonsk, Russia: Alexander Nakonechny triumphed at a vodka-drinking marathon after downing three half-litre mugs in quick succession, but was unable to collect his prize of 10 bottles of the stuff when he dropped dead on the spot. The contest also left four other men fighting for their lives at the local hospital, but a woman who took part managed to stagger out of the clinic a few hours after being rushed there and having her stomach pumped.

(Source: Sydney Morning Herald)


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