Sideswipe

A recruitment poster for the Catholic priesthood (please see first story below).

For some reason, a recruitment poster for the Catholic priesthood has been modelled after The Matrix. "Just as Keanu Reeves fought against the powers of evil, a priest comes to help people fight against sin. There is a battle out there," explained Father Jonathan Meyer, associate director of youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and creative brain behind the poster. (Source: Online Catholic News)

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An amazing story from the Orlando Sentinel - destined to become a movie: "Every family has its secrets. There are things parents never tell children. There are lies that become family legend. There are stories that were never meant to be told. Judith Hartmann's secret, when she married Bill Myers in 1959, was that she was pregnant by a black man. When the baby born to two white parents came out black, the secret became a lie. Throughout his childhood, David Myers was told that his skin colour was a disease called melanism. He was lucky, his mother said, because the skin discolouration was all over his body, instead of just splotches of brown like most people had. So despite his dark skin, Myers grew up in white, middle-class neighbourhoods in Ohio and New York believing he was white."

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Is a dolphin more valued than a seal or is Australia just tougher on mammal murder? The person who stabbed a dolphin seven times near Geelong on Monday faces a fine of more than $100,000 and if cruelty is involved, may also go to prison for up to a year. Back home, convicted seal-shooter and former All Black Andrew Hore and his farmer buddies, Mathew O'Connell and Hamish Wilson, appear to have got off lightly with a fine of $2500 each.

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In Croatia, Zagreb Zoo is offering something new to patrons - a chance to become part of the exhibit. Zoo head Mladen Anic said: "We have set two cages aside for Homo Sapiens so people can experience how an animal perceives its cage." The cages available to homo sapiens aren't just for fun, though they carry with them an important ecological message. One cage uses environment-friendly furnishings and the other demonstrates the worst of man's disregard for nature - complete with a note above a mirror reading: "The most dangerous beast on the planet".

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Yesterday, Sideswipe suggested TV3 was reluctant to screen the 57th Annual Emmy Awards because too many of the winners were from competing networks. The anticipated response from TV3 says the Emmys will screen on Sunday, September 25 (buried at 12:25am as it isn't a huge rater) and include a list of TV3 shows that won Emmys this year. All the shows, except Monk, which screens during the day, and Everybody Loves Raymond, which is in re-runs, aren't currently on the CanWest network.