The Wire finished it’s series out in the states but we haven’t seen hide nor hair of it over here yet. Don’t know if or when we will. But, of course, I’ve seen the whole thing anyway. And in admitting that, I’ve just confessed to an illegal act but what can I do? For my mind The Wire is, by far and away, the best televion drama ever produced and it has greatly informed the way I think about story structure. But because of the way television stations/networks currently operate, where one station apparently refused the show out of fear of insulting it’s audience’s stupidity, I might never get the chance to see it. Or at the very least, I’d have to wait for it to show up on DVD. The Sunday Times recently discussed the success of Heroes in Britain, even though it had never actually been shown on British tv. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone told Reason magazine that they were happy that there shows were being downloaded. There’s some noise about change and alot of talk about not making the same mistakes as the music industry but how much fair warning did they need? How much time did they need to readjust to this new way? The thing is a show, like The Wire, would have been ideal for some sort of pay-per-view web delivery model. It’s niche enough to make television channels hesitate but so good it is bound to find an audience. I hope series 4 does come to television screens over here soon. I will watch it again and when, or if, they ever release a complete The Wire DVD boxset, I’ll buy that too. It’s just I don’t see why I couldn’t do that already. Anyone who gets a chance to watch it, should. No matter what it takes.

JibJab’s year in review. Not a patch on This Land, the one that really launched them, but nice all the same.

David Lynch really thinks Laura Dern should get an oscar, so he brings a cow to the Hollywood Boulevard.

It’s apparently the largest blog competition in the world. Which surprises me because I’ve never heard of it but, you know, that doesn’t really mean anything. Anyway, the nominations for the 2006 Weblog awards are up. The only reason I mention it is that there’s actually a category for Best Comic Strip, something which I’ve never seen before. Usually you get lumped with either the humour category or some sort of art based one. Still, seeing as none of you ingrates bothered to nominate us, it hardly makes a difference.

A photo essay, by Kadhir Van Lohuizen, charting the progress of a diamond from the mine to your finger. Revel, as you slip that rock on your finger, in the knowledge that the miners who pulled it from the earth worked only for food and received no other form of wages. Giggle cheerfully to yourself at the sheer delight of knowing that factory workers, both old and young, in India work 12 hour days - many of them sleeping on the factory floor. All that misery and suffering must give you a warm glow inside.