Sideswipe: July 20: A much cooler Stormtrooper

Paul French pictured on day 5 of his 4,000 kilometre journey. Photo / Getty Images

An Australian man has decided to walk 4000km from Perth to Sydney decked out in full stormtrooper gear to raise money for sick children. A member of the 501st Legion, a worldwide "army" of dress-up Star Wars fans, Jacob French also ran a half-marathon in October. He said "the suit was restrictive and got quite hot while I was running". With the trek under way, French has acquired a much lighter and flexible set of armour that will be trimmed for better movement. French wrote: "I am hoping that by choosing to wear stormtrooper armour I will be able to gather more attention for the cause I am running for ... and have a bit of a laugh along the way." French is raising money for Starlight Children's Foundation. (Via Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Parents get spying

A survey reveals that more than 50 per cent of parents use social media as a way of finding out what their children are doing. According to Time's Techland column, the OnePoll survey of 2000 British parents found that a further 5 per cent would be tracking their kids if they only knew how to use the technology. In fact, 11 per cent admit they created a Facebook profile purely to track their children, with 13 per cent saying that they have logged on to friends' accounts to check up on their children, some doing so after attempting to friend their offspring and being rejected.

Sad but true

1) Sales of To Kill A Mockingbird rise by 123 per cent on Amazon after David and Victoria Beckham name their daughter after Harper Lee, which according to David is her favourite author ... Huh? Er Victoria ... you might want to get another "favourite author" as this was Harper Lee's only published book.
2) At an international food products show in Washington a Welsh company offered Illanllyr brand organic water saying it has been pumped from underneath "certified organic fields which have never been tainted with chemicals". Water expert and author Charles Fishman says ... "Let's go with cosmic water - it all came from space in the first place - how about selling it that way." (Source: NPR)

Women targeted

Regarding a reader's criticism of the Countdown ad and the schoolgirl's slo-mo bikini run: "The white, middle-aged, heterosexual father in Meet the Colemans is routinely portrayed as a bumbling idiot," writes Alex Geddes. "Perhaps having offended men so often they thought they should show balance and offend women as well."