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For those who missed TV One's Close Up on Tuesday night, here is a brief account of the item, arguably the second most important event that happened in New Zealand in the previous 48 hours, from John Christiansen of Mt Albert: "Nicky Watson lost her chihuahua. Well, after numerous clips of Nicky nearly falling out of various dresses followed by clips of Nicky wandering around day and night with torch in hand calling out for her little lost pet, the interviewer finally sat down for a little heart-to-heart with Ms Watson. Recounting her tale of woe Nicky, voice strained with overuse and emotion, says, 'I must have called his name a million times', to which the interviewer kindly responds, trying to empathise: 'You're hoarse.' 'No', replies Nicky sadly, 'my dog'."
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Ange writes: "With all the recent publicity about underhand real estate tactics, why was I surprised to find a flyer in my mail box featuring tips for selling your home? Tip number three suggests that I should place rugs on my carpet to hide wear and tear. Shame on you, LJ Hooker. If these are the sorts of practices you recommend, how could I trust you with the important stuff?" Yes, but what about the tips that are not fit to publish? Anyone know of any more real estate tricks used to sell houses?
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The debate on whether to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays has been resurrected once again in the United States, with a poll asking adults which phrase they prefer to see in retailers' seasonal advertising. Merry Christmas won hands down, with 67 per cent of the vote, and only 26 per cent endorsing the generic Happy Holidays sentiment. Unsurprisingly, 88 per cent of Republicans favoured Merry Christmas, versus 57 per cent of Democrats. (source: Adfreak.com)
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Being born a Capricorn is the secret ingredient if you want to be a top chef, a survey shows. Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Keith Floyd, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Elizabeth David are some of the culinary masters who share the star sign. Online retailer Tesco.com looked at the birth dates of 100 famous cooks and found that 18 - nearly one-fifth - were born under the sign of Capricorn. Their closest rivals were Cancer, with 11 well-known chefs apiece. The worst cooks are Leos, closely followed by Librans. Middling signs include Scorpio (Gordon Ramsay, Raymond Blanc), Gemini (Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith) and Taurus. Mandy Minichiello, of Tesco.com, said: "We were amazed to see just how unevenly weighted the star signs of celebrity chefs were in favour of Capricorns. If that's your star sign, it could be that you have a glittering culinary future. Novice Leos, meanwhile, can visit the recipes on our website - and maybe have a Capricorn on standby should they need a helping hand."
Today's Webpick: Reuben are a UK alternative rock and heavy metal band who are trying to oust the commercial cheese from the number one spot in the Christmas charts with this brilliant single. Watch it here. Scroll down.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
