Sideswipe: Oct 5: A new Hollywood blockbuster?

A new Hollywood blockbuster? The Dotcom saga and what Key was and wasn't told by the GCSB.

Not a moment too soon ...

Andy was walking down a mall in West Auckland the other day when he saw a little old lady try to cross a courtesy crossing just as a guy in a ute drove past her. "She was obviously very annoyed and along with vigorous finger-waving delivered quite a tirade in the direction of the ute, including his ignorance of the fact he should have given way and how could he possibly not have seen her. As I approached the crossing, I looked at the sign, which quite clearly stated that pedestrians should give way to traffic. She then crossed the crossing and walked into the local optometrists."

Residents cry foul over 'mowing' fake grass

An Australian contract gardening crew were photographed by motorists mowing fake grass on the median strip in Townsville, Queensland. Residents claim it was proof of the council wasting taxpayers' money, but a council spokeswoman said the contractors were not mowing the grass, rather they were cleaning it to remove cigarette butts. "There has been a major problem there with people littering and throwing their cigarette butts out, and it adheres to the AstroTurf. So they're not actually mowing grass, as much as people would have laughed and pointed it out, they were using it as a vacuum to suck up the butts." (Source: Townsville Bulletin)

Cinema ID rules too strict

A reader says that most teenagers do have a photo ID, it's just not enough. "They will be at a high school and their high school would have issued them with a wallet-sized plastic printed student identity card. This card gives name, date of birth, high school, expiry date and is used on buses and trains to get student fares. I can confirm that even having a student ID card will not get a student into a Civic Theatre movie, because my son and three others aged over 17 years were not allowed to see The Shining (R16), which played at the Film Festival last July. The Civic will accept only passport, driver's licence or HANZ 18+ ID Card. The student ID card should be enough ID to see a movie because not all teenagers have a driver's licence or passport."

Men lucky enough to love their power tools

Alison offers an answer to Leo's question about why it's sexist to advertise kitchenware for women but not power tools for men: "From where I sit, most guys love their power tools but we girls can think of a million places we would rather be than in the kitchen."