Sideswipe: Feb 03: Van Gogh lends an ear

Vincent van Gogh, agony aunt.

Vincent van Gogh often dispensed advice to friends. To promote a forthcoming exhibition, the Art Institute of Chicago has used genuine quotes from the painter's letters to answer modern day questions: "Dear Vincent, I have recently been reading Marie Kondo's book called The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up. I agree with her about many things, but one thing that I can't make sense of is her advice to give away books. My library means everything to me. Do you think one should get rid of one's books or keep them instead? Signed, Cluttered."
"Dear Cluttered: I advised you to dispose of your books, and advise it still. But at the same time be careful not to become narrow-minded, or afraid of reading what is well written, quite the contrary, such writings are a source of comfort in life. (October 14, 1875)"

Celebrity encounters

"I had beers with Murray the red Wiggle once without knowing it. I was doing the travelling consulting gig, stationed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. So this guy with a Rolling Stones T-shirt and an Aussie accent was at the bar talking about music and being in town for a show, so we chatted with him ... I now know that the Wiggles were playing Hershey Park, but at the time ... In hindsight, I also wonder if part of the reason he stuck around to talk is we didn't know to ask him about the Wiggles?" (Via Jason McDonald on quora.com )

Race to the equatorl

Jeff from Mangonui reckons the One News weather team makes it seem like New Zealand has moved north. "Stewart Island now appears to be on the same latitude as southern Tasmania and, being a resident of Mangonui in the Far North, I don't believe we need to be up there with the Gold Coast. It's warm enough here already thanks."

New Zealand on the rise?

Mystery of concrete structure solved

Tom writes: "The concrete structure between little Bucklands Beach and Half Moon Bay was my great grandparents' boat shed and pump house. It was built around the time of the war, but was used for storage of a small boat and had a pump that sucked salt water from the Tamaki up to a bathroom in the house ... All this was an era where the girls swam at little Bucklands and the boys were required to walk over the hill and swim at Eastern Beach."

Generous response to washing machine appeal

Thanks to the Sideswipe readers who offered to donate washing machines to Whaea Power for a woman just out of refuge trying to make a new, safe life for herself and her children. Another five women were also given washing machines thanks to your generous response.

Too match-matchy?

Inadvertantly matching your environment.

More here.

Good read: Hunger is psychological thing..." I decided to take a try at the great problem of our time: how to lose weight without any effort. So I did an experiment on myself. I was ripe for it, if truth be told. Here I am eight months later and 50 pounds (23kgs) lighter, so something must have worked..." Read more here.

Video: A refreshing ad for the Dutch plus size clothing store, but the voice over should've been female ...

Video:A humorous exploration of why excessive self-criticism can be detrimental, and how we can become better with a bit of self compassion...

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