Sideswipe: Tweeting around the Xmas tree

Is nonpromotability even a word? If it is, then it's harsh. (Source: Awful Library Books)

The best post-Christmas tweets:

1. Relatives telling each other the same stories they tell every year, and acting like they've never heard them before.

2. The politics of who-goes-where. This year it went so deep, it pierced the Earth's molten core and threw up fiery crap.

3. Food coma descending. Ah, pav ...

4. You should never mix tomato sauce and turkey.

5. Susan bloody Boyle for the fifth time. I dreamed a dream you were silenced with a great big bat.

6. How many times can Christmas be ruined in one day? The answer currently stands at three.

7. Awake, it is Boxing Day here and ironically I have really bad "Wii arm" from the boxing game yesterday.

8. The mother-in-law is officially a lunatic. Lunacy transcends borders and language barriers.

9. Exchange counter queue at The Warehouse already has about 30 people in it!

10. This weather is like the universe saying: Look, sorry I dished out such a crap year. Here's the best weather in 10 years to make up for it.

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A dead octopus, a cat and part of a shotgun are among the items passengers have left on trains in Scotland this year. Mobile phones and jackets are among the most commonly forgotten items. But items that might seem difficult to forget included a bag containing a dead octopus (handed in at Edinburgh). It was not claimed. A cat was left on a train going from Cardonald to Glasgow, along with a bag containing its bowl and litter tray. The animal was passed on to police. One passenger also left half of a shotgun, with the licence and ammunition, on a London to Glasgow train during the summer. Staff called police, who took it away and the gun's owner was told to contact the officers when he phoned to say he had lost his gun. (Source: BBC.co.uk)

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Best newspaper errors of 2009 courtesy of Regret The Error.com:

Toronto Sun: "A headline on page 1 yesterday was both inaccurate and misleading. In fact, as the story reported, the mother of a boy involved in a high school fight in Keswick said her son "said something stupid". She did not say nor imply he was stupid. The Sun regrets the error and apologises to the boy and his family."

Denver Post: "Because of a reporter's error, Bill Husted's column on Page 3B on Sunday contained an item about a tombstone for "Elway the Drug Sniffing Dog". The tombstone was digitally fabricated for a blog and does not exist."

The Daily Telegraph: "Owing to an editing error, our report "Women who dress provocatively more likely to be raped, claim scientists" (June 23) wrongly stated that research presented at the recent BPS conference ... found that women who drink alcohol are more likely to be raped. In fact, the research found the opposite. We apologise for our error."

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