...brought to you by the numbers 60, 5 and the colour Blood Red.

So, things... currently doing dull and dusty work helping to do up a house my parents bought purely to sell on. Ah well, at least I'm being paid for it, and should get me a bit fitter.

I've re-enrolled at LSU for January 2007, so I've got a couple of months to go until then. So now I just have to sort out... oh, everything. Visa, funding, apartment, car (hopefully), and I'm sure lots of other little bits I'll forget until I get there. At least it'll be good to get back 'home' again.

I've been downloading a lot of new American shows lately, checking out ones that have piqued my interest. Here are my favourites:

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip I'm enjoying immensely. The West Wing vibe is incredibly apparent due to Sorkin's patented Walk and Talk (andtalkfasterthananyoneelseontelevision), but it's in danger of becoming a bit pat. Mini-crises happen to fill the episodes and it's all wrapped up neatly in 45 minutes and you wonder exactly what just filled the last 3/4s of an hour of your life. Declining audiences make me sad because it has the potential to run and run.

Heroes is up to 3 episodes now, and is getting better and better. The first episode was a bit hard going, as was the first half of the 2nd, then something clicked and it suddenly got exciting and interesting, although I couldn't actually put my finger on it. It still suffers from being a bit po-faced and taking itself too seriously, especially considering its subject matter. It could do with taking a leaf out of Studio 60's book and having the characters react to things with a sense of humour, as opposed to having one character designated 'Comic Relief' (Hiro, for those who have watched). Some nice eye candy in it, though.

Eureka which has just ended its first season. Incredibly light and fluffy, it still manages to pack an emotional punch from time to time as you suddenly realise you care about these characters. And with the setting up of a conspiracy, its Buffy season 1 'monster/science gone wrong of the week' eps should be behind it now. Roll on season 2.

Dexter if you live in the US and here if you don't. Showtime's series about Dexter Morgan, a forensic investigator who also happens to be a serial killer. Outstandingly produced, directed, written and acted. Six Feet Under's Michael C. Hall is wonderfully cast in this incredibly black and clever series, walking a fine line with humour, pathos, drama and a little touch of horror in tow. The flashbacks to his teenage years are very revealing about how his character came to be so... different. I've watched 3 eps so far and cannot wait for the next one. Which possibly says something uncomfortable about me.

Let's end here.