Entertainment

I can explain about the rat. It was dropped on our driveway from a great height by a hawk who had momentarily lost his attention span. As I approached it, it stretched out one forepaw towards me and squeaked.

The words 'red' and 'cake' don't really go together in my mind, so I was intrigued to see a story about some big dinner attended by political star Sarah Palin where the menu largely consisted of 'thick slices of roast pork and red velvet cake'.

There's lots of bad news out there and, conversely, lots of hopeful talk as well. You hear many 'experts' saying things will get worse, and just as many saying things will get better. Who knows which way it'll go.

My friend writer Helen Brown lost her iPhone. Quel bereavement! Because she was on holiday at Byron Bay and was just about to pack up and leave, there was no chance of it turning up under a cushion as might have happened at home.

New Zealand TV channels don't do overseas news until about 25 minutes into the news hour because they're so stuck on the idea that viewers like local news best. The only time that changes is when the world is falling apart.

Lindsey Dawson on sticky summer pleasures.

I was shocked recently to come across a website that could calculate for me in a second how many days I've been alive. For me, it's more than 23 thousand days.

The 'Trillion Dollar Bailout Ride'. I wore shoes like this when I was about 18. I remember red ones with a bow on the front, just like this sketch of mine.

This will be a short editorial because I have swine flu. Well, I probably have a cold, in fact, but I figure the self-diagnosis of swine flu will get me more sympathy.

Are we witnessing the decline and fall of our civilization? Sometimes, when I look at TV, I think so.