watched desperate housewives and the neighbours had an argument

I told Mia last night I was sick of Desperate Housewives now, but she said 'you say that every week', so I suppose maybe I should just shut up, because it still seems to be required viewing round our way. Zach looks very much like a man I used to work for on an occasional basis and so I kind of see him when I see Zach. This is not why I claim occasionally to be sick of the show, I guess I am a bit wary of the post-postmodernism of it where every trauma of the conventional soap is hedging its best because it might actually just be some kind of reflexive exploration. When in fact it's just a soap opera and not as funny as Neighbours (last night on Neighbours when Stingray's drums fell into the lake he said 'Oh... Belgium!'. This is funny and cool because O(h?) Belgium are a Melbourne band. Not many viewers of the show would have been aware of that but it spoke to me alright.) http://www.wefearconspiracy.live.com.au/

I woke around midnight as the real neighbours on our eastern side were having a huge battle. This has only happened in my experience once before, a few months ago. One of the family, I assume, anyway a young man they know, wanted to gain access to the house and was banging loudly on the door for a long time (last time this happened he broke a window). At first it sounded like shots (I always expect people to be hanging round my neighbourhood with guns, ever since I witnessed a police raid on the house across the road when living in Colliers Wood in London in the mid-80s). Eventually the police came and told them to stop, but they were still talking it through hours later. Actually I could only hear one voice but presumably it was a bona fide conversation - not a monologue.

Big Brother is the worst thing that has ever happened to Australian television, and god knows that is saying a lot. The thing that depresses me the most is that people around the country actually talk about this at work, school or wherever the next day for crying out loud. I imagine people 'oh my god'-ing just like the housemates themselves did when they came into the house for the first time on Sunday. No, I don't watch it.