Meeoow

It didn't come as much surprise that the old Van Cad was dumped by his girlfriend a couple of days after the watersports situation. He can wave that relationship away, along with his dignity, forever, poor kid.

In a further addition to his antics, it's possible that not only was he at this party in only his boxers, but when he bummed a ciggy from the head of the department, a middle aged, highly professional and respected woman, he may also have dropped his dacks to offer a cheek.

Funny how the accounts of what was happening with his girl differ so wildly - his talks with me gave me the impression of a the beginnings of a proper relationship and they were, ahem, going at it like toe hump camels. Mel's talks with Eloise were not the same - she saw it as a couple of pashes and no more. He got told.

Mel lives just downstairs from us and, with her flatmate Simon, are good friends with Trav and Eloise. Every time I'm down there they're playing hiphop, often Aussie, really loud and loving it. My respect for her rose tonight when Trav produced a Cat Power album borrowed from her. Granted, it's only the new album, but - respect. Sorry Van Crack.

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How much Deadwood is too much (cocksucker)

There are a couple of side effects that indicate that you may have been watching too much - a propensity to call everyone a cocksucker and a desire to drink straight whiskey all the time, including just after breakfast.

With the new series of Arrested Development in the post from the States, I was forced to seek out new televisual entertainment. With a vague recollection of recent high praises, I moved on to the two box sets of Deadwood series on the shelf. within one episode I was totally hooked, and had a big fright when the owner asked for them back when I was an episode away from finishing the first series and the DVD player stopped working.

Deadwood is a period drama, but forget the frocks and manors of all the English bodice rippers ABC screens every single Sunday night. This is top shelf film as can only be done in America. Such an enormous, successful industry as hollywood attracts and supports a spectrum of artists who can afford to be dedicated to their passion, rather than making do as we do in Aus. It's gritty and filthy, visually dense and dramatically tense, violent and sexy and absolutely compelling. Its about a gold rush town on Indian land in the 1870s and the order that develops amongst the dregs attracted there in the absence of actual laws. Very little gold mining is shown, but a lot of whoring, drinking, gun fighting, swearing and power struggles do. It's probably the truest representation of what it might have actually been like.

The interviews with the creator are fascinating; his intellect is such that every character is informed by a vast bank of knowledge and amazingly most of the characters, as well as the actual place, are based on historical truths. I don't know what this guy has done before, but he's a genius, such as might in another time be dedicated to poetry or novels. Luckily for us he's writing for television.

I remember flipping over to it a few times late at night and becoming immediately turned off by the purple prose mixed in equal measure with blue language, the twisting plots and densely dirty design. But watch it from the first episode and it's fucking cocksucker dirt worshipper top of the morning (is it the same for all those Sopranos fans? Prolly).

Whisky.