KEY POINTS:
"We sometimes have legitimate cause to worry about literacy levels here in New Zealand," says Zala Williams of Rotorua.
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Ian Barron of Waimauku writes: "Yesterday I visited The Warehouse Stationery in Lincoln Rd, West Auckland, to buy a box of A4 paper. There was none on the shelves but there were dozens of full boxes of paper being used to support pallets acting as temporary tables crammed with 'back to school stationery bargains'. Having driven 15km to get there I didn't want to go away empty-handed so asked a staff member if they had any paper (we were standing beside a 'table' being supported by 10 boxes of paper). He walked over to the empty shelf and said, 'Oh no, we are still waiting for new stock to come in'. When I pointed at all the boxes being employed as table supports and asked for one of them I was told they weren't available. I found a competitor who was far less protective of their stocks."
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The Scottish film industry has claimed that the local scenery cannot compete with the unspoilt beauty offered by countries such as New Zealand and Canada, so is promoting their ugliest locations in a bid to make Scotland the grim and gritty film capital of the world. Belle Doyle, Scottish Screen's location manager, says places like New Zealand and Canada are "unspoilt", whereas in Scotland there are pylons and city lights. "Some locations are so spectacularly ugly they become cinematic," she said. "Trainspotting introduced people to a different side of Edinburgh and there are still tours that go round the locations." Glasgow had been used recently for Doomsday, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, she said. (Source: The Scotsman)
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Anita Torres writes: "Self-righteous environmentalists do more harm than good when they make judgments on who is and who is not entitled to drive large vehicles. There are many people who have legitimate reasons to drive larger vehicles such as hobbies or work that require them to often transport large items. Just because a person lives in Remuera doesn't mean they can't be a soccer coach who carries kids and equipment regularly that won't fit in a Mini. This doesn't apply, however, to people who drive Hummers. They have no excuse. They are little boys who want to pretend to be soldiers. I hope they all go bankrupt filling their monstrosities with petrol."
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A contest to come up with a new slogan for the United States - to update "In God We Trust" - ran on the New York Times' Freakanomics blog. Here are the best so far: "The hot girl who ignores you", "Just like Canada, with better bacon", "Lawsuits, Mullets and All-you-can-eat Buffets: Awesome!" and "Individual results may vary".
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"I have to wonder how effective this lube is!" says receptionist Kirsty, who was asked to courier the package.
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Today's Webpick: A darkly funny Christmas skit from the cast of TVs Peep Show. Watch it here. Scroll down.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
