Sideswipe: July 23: Graffiti injustice

A censored version of the graffiti.

A reader writes: "I once worked for bFM promotions and went out one Friday night with a spray can and tagged over some of the posters on hoardings. I was very careful not to spray paint on any walls or public property because I knew that was illegal. The tag I was putting up was a symbol to tie in with an event bFM was hosting, and I thought I was very clever. The police didn't. They picked me up and drove me around town for two hours pointing out every bit of graffiti they had on their books, and asking if I'd done that one too. Despite my calm and reasoned explanations they kept driving me to another 'graffiti crime' ... Then they got called away so they dropped me in Mt Roskill (my car was in Ponsonby) and told me my punishment was finding my own way back. So how is it 20 years later a big firm like Sky TV can spray-paint penises all over Auckland footpaths to promote its new comedy show? Have the council/police stopped chasing taggers, or does Sky TV get a special pass? While I'm sure there's worse graffiti on the toilet walls of some high schools, is this really what we want on our footpaths? Does it make us a more liveable city?"

Blue-rinsers fight back

A reader writes: "The residents of Dell Ave, Remuera have voted, using their car parking habits, to block people walking on the footpath. The other day I counted five cars parked over footpaths."

Would you like some more cheek with your order, officer?

A man in Kentucky, America, was arrested on a charge of shoplifting $36 worth of beer from a convenience store. When he was brought into the police station, he asked officers if he could use his cellphone to make a call. They agreed. The suspect then called a local Domino's Pizza and ordered five pizzas in the name of the officer who arrested him, Captain Coy Wilson. The police learned this when a Domino's delivery driver arrived shortly thereafter with five pizzas for "Officer Wilson". Now the suspect is facing additional charges of "theft by deception, identity theft and impersonating an officer".

Three cheers for the good guys

Glen posted this picture of three fine young New Zealanders asking ...

"If anyone knows these three great guys who found my phone in Centre Place in Hamilton Sunday afternoon and handed it in ... I would like to thank them personally. Their honesty is greatly appreciated."

(Via the awesome posters to Reddit New Zealand)

Picture this: Folk in a retirement facility put together a popular culture calendar. Can you recognise these iconic scenes? (But a group in Germany did it first...)

What the kids are into: There is a new app called "French Girls" that doesn't have anything to do with actual French Girls, but lets you know how you look in the eyes of an anonymous "artist." (it's a reference to Kate Winslet's line in Titanic, asking Leonardo DiCaprio's character to "draw me like one of your French girls.") Application users upload selfies and wait to receive a drawing of their photo from the perspective of another anonymous user. Go here and you'll soon get the idea...

Picture this: In 1997 a container ship sunk off the coast of Cornwall and among the 62 lost containers one was filled with five million LEGO bits heading for the United States. Since then LEGO pieces have been washing up on the beaches of Cornwall. And of course a Facebook group has been set up by locals to document each plastic treasure find. Read more here...

Video: During the changing of the royal guards at Buckingham Palace the soldiers surprised the crowd by playing the theme song of HBO's series "Game of Thrones"...

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