Cool. Bought tickets to the Von Bondies today. And the Comedy Festival program is coming out tomorrow. My weekend is gonna be so fun! Making up an itinerary, etc. I'm a genius of logistics when I wanna be. If anyone else is interested in seeing shows, let me know and I'll try to figure you into my "buy early and often" ticket calculations. Damn I need more money. The Comedy Festival usually costs me about $500. Crap.

Recently, I've been reading NME a lot [a convergence of the facts of actually having to leave the house for uni, and of uni being accessed 'via' a newsagency]. Now, NME is a bit of a fickle bitch. Seems to have turned against The Darkness big time, with catty asides and fresh talk accompanying any mention of them. Now, they're "corporate bell-end slurping novelty rockers", who are "deeply unpopular...in the NME heartland". You're the ones who told me to love them! And I do at the moment. So don't say they're past it when it's only been about 5 months! It is possible to love a band forever and still have room for every other brand-new "NME-championed Brit Pack band" that comes along. Take it easy. There's enough room for everybody [and enough especially for a guy with his own name tattooed on his bicep].

Anyway, inspired by Loneliness Electric, I have decided to also attempt a diary of my cultural consumption [even though that's pretty much what this blog has always been]. Now, I'm not Claud, so the focus will be less on German contemporary feminist literature, and more on TV. So, the 'culture' diary begins.

I gave Mondo Thingo another go tonight. Much improved. I think I might keep watching it. It was kinda good.

Watched Dateline the other night. Apparently the US just orchestrated a coup against the democratically elected president of Haiti and then kidnapped his arse all the way to the Central African Republic [according to his lawyer]. Why didn't I know this?

I still totally love Letterman.

Also, still totally love The Simpsons. Saw that cool Streetcar Named Desire as musical episode recently. Still so good. Particularly love the scene when Flanders is doing the "STELLAAAAAA!" bit, and then breaking into a rockin song that goes,

"Stella.
Can't you hear me yella?
I've been goin through hella,
[something something]... fella.
Oh Stella!"

And so forth. Also loved it when Marge delivers Blanche's famous poignant line, "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers", and then the chorus immediately put on their happy hands and sings the rousing ditty "You can always depend on the kindness of strangers..." dee dee dee dee do, la la la la la.

Read an article in the Green Guide today about Friends and had to agree with the writer, who was quite perplexed at it being described as 'one of the greatest sitcoms of our times'. She found that "apparently, Friends gets high marks for merely being competent - not hilarious" which was a fair call. It is competent, but I rarely laugh. Hmmm. Maybe I should stop watching it or something? Same goes for Sex and the City. I'm really finding that show hella-annoying. Carrie's thoughts and questions as she formulates her column ideas are the most excruciating moments in television that I can find, other than when 60 Minutes does stories about the personal travails of its own reporters, with requiste close-ups of their 'human side', ie, teary episodes etc. Grrr. Anyway, back to Sex. The clothes still rule, but Carrie really needs to stop talking, and Samantha's vein of humour has been plumbed as far as it can be plumbed, and now her 'saucy' lines come across as a parody of their former selves. But I'm still watching of course. Even though I already know how it ends, with Carrie and Big and all. I really like Big. And if anyone starts telling me that the ending they went with was "a slap in the face for single women eveywhere", just don't, okay? Coz I'll slap you.

Anyway, that's my 'culture' diary for the moment. I'm going to the revamped National Gallery of Victoria tomorrow, but don't expect much of a response from me about that. I'm not very art literate. I might steal some of what Leah says about the works, and republish them here, but failing that, all I'll be able to offer you is "that's cool", and "that's, like, not cool". On the subject of art illiteracy, does anyone understand how to value poetry? I'd like to learn these things. Maybe I'll learn about art stuff at the gallery tomorrow, but exposure has never helped me before. I feel like a dick only knowing what I like. I want to know art, damnit!