Sideswipe: November 7: Broadcaster agenda?

This flyer turned up in my mailbox... Sounds like this broadcaster has an agenda. Photo / Supplied

Cycling economies

The TelstraClear Cycling Challenge next month includes an elite road race, the Solo Challenge - 110km, across the Harbour Bridge, for the seasoned riders ... And there is prize money for the winners. All good. But what our reader Amy couldn't understand is why the moolah was different for the blokes and the ladies ... Men have prizes for the first seven bikes home, totalling $2600. (1st = $1000, 2nd = $500, 3rd = $350, 4th = $300, 5th = $200, 6th = $150, 7th = $100). But for the women racers the only prizes are for the first five home and cash totalling $1400. (1st = $500, 2nd = $300, 3rd = $250, 4th = $200, 5th = $150). That's almost half the men's prize, which no matter how you look at it hardly seems fair.

Art disaster

An overzealous cleaner in Germany has ruined a piece of modern art worth £690,000 ($1.39 million) after mistaking it for something that needed a good scrub. German artist Martin Kippenberger's sculpture, When It Starts Dripping From the Ceiling, was on loan to the Ostwall Museum in Dortmund. The work comprised a rubber trough under a rickety wooden tower made from slats. Inside the trough, Kippenberger had spread a layer of paint representing dried rainwater. He thought it was art: the cleaner saw it as a challenge, and set about making the trough look like new. A museum spokeswoman said the female cleaner "removed the paint from the four walls of the trough".

Pesky punctuation

"New World Albany falls victim to tragic copy writing," writes Mark. "The poor wee thing writing it must have been thinking 'If in doubt, apostrophise'."

The sign reads: "Ham's Available for your entertainment requirement's"

Not first at all

A reader writes: "I'm trying to work out whether the title of TV3's Firstline is an attempt at irony, given that most of its content was screened on Nightline the previous day, or on the BBC a couple of days ago. A recent story on flooding in Bangkok was concluded with Rachel Smalley saying, 'And that was the scene this morning in Bangkok'. The scene may have been similar that morning, but the BBC screened that story at least 36 hours ago. And surely at 7am in NZ it would be dark in Bangkok?"

Postal puzzle

"Has anyone else notice that NZ Post is taking ages to deliver mail?" asks Sharron. "You post on October 27, it is datestamped November 1 and received on November 4. And returned mail is taking two months to come back. For example, a letter sent on September 19 was datestamped September 21 and received back today. What's going on NZ Post?"