KEY POINTS:
Dear, oh dear. It's hard to know what is worst about North Shore mayoral candidate Andrew Williams' mailout of campaign flyers. Is it that he thought it was a good idea to send out a keyring with his mugshot on? Or is it that he presumably believes anyone will actually attach it to his or her keys? No, surely it's got to be that he has spelled "councillor" wrongly.
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A man of 72 will become the genetic father of his own grandchild after agreeing to donate sperm to his daughter-in-law in England to allow her to conceive. The unnamed man became a donor after his son and daughter-in-law could not conceive a child through IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) because his son's sperm was not of high quality, the London Evening Standard newspaper reports. His son will become the father of his genetic half-brother, the paper points out. The sperm is being screened at the London Women's Clinic, which is treating the couple, who are in their 30s and have requested anonymity. The clinic's co-medical director, Dr Peter Bowen-Simkins, told the paper he had never seen such a case before, but said some people were now willing to consider all kinds of options with progress in fertility treatment. "Obviously the wife's mother-in-law also had to be included in all the conversations but she has no objections," he was quoted as saying.
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A contoversial American sculptor with a history of offending people has done it again - this time apparently upsetting the royal family. Daniel Edwards' Iraq War Memorial: Death of Prince Harry depicts the third-in-line to the throne as having been killed in action in Iraq. It shows the Prince in army uniform with a vulture at his feet and clutching a locket of his dead mother, Princess Diana. Previous pieces by Edwards have included a naked and crouching Britney Spears giving birth, Paris Hilton being autopsied and several severed heads.
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By yesterday afternoon there were five separate online auctions for Rugby World Cup final and semifinal tickets on Trade Me. Prices ranged from $1600 for tickets to the semifinals up to $6800 for two tickets to the final. There were no bids on any of the auctions.
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A warning to those using the new self-service supermarket checkouts. A man who went through a self-checkout at a Home Depot store in Seattle, Washington, accidentally punched the button on the computer for Spanish. He then became "frustrated that the machine was speaking Spanish" to him, according to a police report, and used the first item he was trying to buy - a crowbar - to smash the computer before walking out ... with the crowbar still in his shopping cart. The store said the man, who has not been found by police, caused $10,000 in damage. Source: thisistrue.com
Today's Video Webpick: Likely things a mother would say in 24 hour period all condensed into 3 minutes and sung to the William Tell Overture by comedian Anita Renfroe. Watch it here. These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
