Sideswipe: November 11: Top-notch photobomb

Wendy "fist pump" Petrie performs a top-notch photobomb at the Auckland marathon.

Optometrist loses sight of compassion
A reader writes: "My grandmother passed away last year. Two days after her death, my grandfather remembered that she had an appointment with the optometrist booked for the following day. I offered to call the optometrist to cancel the appointment on his behalf. I called and explained to the receptionist that I needed to cancel my grandmother's appointment as she had passed away two days earlier. The receptionist advised me that she could cancel the appointment, but that we would need to pay a cancellation fee (around $50). I queried this, but was told that 'rules are rules' and a cancellation fee was their policy. An invoice was sent to my grandfather within the week. I appreciate that fees are required to dissuade last-minute cancellations, but thought that a degree of flexibility (and perhaps some empathy) was required, given the circumstances?"

Mother has scan-do attitude
Amanda Collins, 28, took "beauty pageant mom" to the next level (down) earlier this year when she entered her daughter Luna in Britain's UK Princess and Prince International - based entirely on Luna's ultrasound scan at age 20 weeks. Said Collins: "As soon as I saw her image on the screen ... I knew she was a stunner." Contest officials had accepted the scan application, and six weeks after birth, Luna was named runner-up in the Princess and Prince, and on top of that, four weeks later, runner-up in Miss Dreams UK. "All she has to do," said Collins, "is lie in my arms and smile as I stroll down the catwalk." (Source: News of the Weird)

Graffiti on the sea or just an unconventional name?

(Spotted by Chris Howden.)

Minor achievements in life
1. "At a picnic a female friend was telling me off for making a joke about girls not being able to throw. Apparently it was nonsense and there was no reason to believe that I, as a not even especially sporty man, could throw any better than anyone else. Mid-harangue, I managed to launch a marshmallow down her gullet."

2. "The other day I thought, 'I wonder how I'd do if I went blind?' I went to the kitchen, toasted a crumpet, spread peanut butter on it, went back to the living room, put on the radio, and sat on the couch and ate my crumpet, all with my eyes closed." (Source: B3ta.com)

Good read: "Keith Jesperson is notorious in the US as the Happy Face Killer, who raped and murdered eight women in the 1990s. Here his daughter, Melissa Moore, describes how she learned the truth as a teenager - and eventually found a way to live with it."

Local: Aucklander known only as MIllion Dollar Jack is looking for funding through Indiegogo and his project is simple: "I need a million dollars to have an amazing life." And his pitch reads like lazy ad copywriting: "I have loved money since the day I was finally released from my beautiful mother's womb," he croons. "Money has allowed me to eat, put a roof over my head and occasionally have some merriment. The issue is that the money keeps running out! In order to keep myself in the life I have become accustom to, I have been forced to carry out acts of labour for others in return for a monetary reward....how do I continue to lead an amazing fun filled life without having to resort to work?" Like the potato salad guy, we wish him all the best with his er, social experiment...

Picture this: The Museum of Selfies curated by Danish woman Olivia Muus, who stumbled on the idea of famous art works as selfies says it give their facial expression a whole new meaning...

Video: Saving a cat from a tree...

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