October 29

Hey this is exciting. Six days to go and the election is absolutely everywhere - even in Tennessee, a state so foregone in its redness that any result other than a crushing victory for McCain-Palin would be shocking. The great thing is that in America the election bewitches the whole media. This general election hath possessed them. In the UK politics has to fight for relevance among indifferent TV schedules, advertising hoardings and magazine articles. This year in America politics is bleeding through every pore on society's greasy face. Every chat show monologue, every ad break, every conversation overheard at a diner, they're all gearing up for November 4's political Armageddon.

A guy called Donny told me that Memphis was the centre for racism in America. I kind of see what he means. Things are still a little segregated. Black people and white people live side by side but they don't seem to be on the same page.

As a final note I'd like to announce that I had my Greatest Ever Toilet Experience today. I went to take a slash at the King's Palace bar on Beale Street and in the corner of the toilet - quite a small, dingy toilet - there was an old man in sunglasses, facing the wall, smoking and playing trumpet. If every toilet had one of these I'm sure there would be no disease, war or poverty in the world.