American television...

...is patently awful. Most of the time, judge shows will be taking up at least some of the airwaves - programmes that take the already suspect process of justice and turn it in to a Weakest Link-style game. Even though I feel my intelligence draining away every time I'm in front of the television, they do have a sort of therapeutic effect, similar to reading the Sun - the feeling that I'm immeasurably superior to anyone involved with it.

There are a few worthwhile things on, though - a couple of nights ago I had the opportunity to watch Iron Chef for the first time. I had heard about it before, but I didn't expect it to be quite so much of a bizarre hybrid of Ready Steady Cook and Mortal Kombat. After the host ceremoniously and inexplicably bites in to a yellow pepper, a challenger chef selects from three grandly-clothed Iron Chefs to battle, and the cooking takes place in a circular arena surrounded by columns and stained-glass windows.

It would be a fairly normal if frantic cookery programme if it wasn't for the Gladiators stylings, but it was very entertaining to watch, especially as the challenger I saw seemed to feel it necessary to dip his hand in to the 500 degree boiling oil every few minutes to test its temperature, with no ill effects apparent whatsoever.

To avoid most of the television, though, we've been watching Miyazaki films. His work is immensely popular here despite being relatively unknown in Britain (with Spirited Away being by far the most recognisable of his films so far there). We were going to try and see the new one, Howl's Moving Castle, but no cinema in Berkeley seems to have it at the moment - so much for being popular. In the meantime we've been renting his older films from the video store down the road. Last night we watched Kiki's Delivery Service. This film features Jiji, who as shown in kytheraen's user icon, is a strong contender for the sweetest thing ever.