KEY POINTS:
A reader has leaped to the defence of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books after a British academic criticised the author for portraying fat characters, like Dudley Dursley, as bad. "That's complete rubbish," she says and points to other characters who are fat and good. In case you didn't know they are: Rubeus Hagrid (a teacher at Hogwarts, the highest-profile good adult character and a genuine hero), Pomona Sprout (the highly skilled, respected and well-liked herbology teacher at Hogwarts), Horace Slughorn (an eminent potioneer at Hogwarts) and Molly Weasley (the closest thing to a mother Harry has got). (Source: Mugglenet.com)
* * *
Marj Crawford understood that the Auckland City Council was proposing the banning of billboards, so why, she says, doesn't it practise what it preaches? "Driving up Kepa Rd I noticed several large billboards announcing the upgrade of the footpaths in the interest of public safety. They adorned consecutive lampposts in parts - there were probably 10 signs in less than 1km and these signs were authorised by - you've guessed it, the Auckland City Council."
* * *
Some years ago Jan Astill lived in Britain. "When we left, we kept our bank account active. We began to receive mail from them in New Zealand but it was sent by surface mail and took forever to arrive. We contacted the bank and were assured our account had been appropriately updated and that correspondence would arrive by the faster option. This happened but not without creating some mirth, when we noticed that the letter sent to us began with, 'Dear Mr and Mrs Airmail'."
* * *
Barney Vincelette, who says his autism renders loud noises sickening to him, has been feuding for several years with neighbours in Houston, Texas, over their rock music. At first, he invented his own sound-jammer, but a judge curtailed its use. Then he recorded super-annoying sounds of his own (including a foghorn) and had them written out as music ("Sonata for Calliope of Truck Horns About to Be Transcribed for Locomotive Horns Opus No. 1"). At this point the judge decided that permitting the neighbours to play Bon Jovi but not Vincelette's sonata amounted to selective law enforcement, and the feuders settled their differences out of court. (Source: News of the Weird)
