It's bits and bobs this week, a few catch ups and titbits to tide us through.

It's hard to concentrate when you're angry and in a state of disbelief and, like most of the Bay watching this disaster unfold along our beautiful coast, I'm overwhelmed by both those feelings.

How could this happen? Why did it take so long to get to grips with it? I guess we'll find out eventually, but it's not going to help much. Couldn't someone have looked at the ship on that first Wednesday and said 'Get everything down there to help, right now”? Where are our 'leaders” when these things happen – running focus groups?

Sorry, I'll move on. But this is only going to get worse. I can't see an up side.

Firstly, I wanted to add a little bit to last week's column, where I was talking about the new film of gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson's one and only novel, The Rum Diaries. (See the Sunlive website for a recap.) It'll be out in the States sooner than you can shake a stick at it but there's no word on when it might eventually limp into New Zealand. However, there is a way for those with an insatiable curiosity to get a little more information.

Wayne Ewing, the filmmaker and neighbour of Hunter's, has so far produced four (excellent) films about the writer and is in the process of releasing a series of 3 to 5 minute 'webisodes” telling the story of how Hunter came to finish the novel and then struggled with Johnny Depp to make it into a movie. These include interviews with the good doctor and occasionally the general madness associated with him. The first three have so far been posted and can be found at www.HunterThompsonFilms.com/vodcast.

Moving right along, it has been a few months since I reviewed the debut album from Swamp Thing, the rhythm and blues duo featuring Tauranga guitarist Grant Haua and Rotorua drummer (ex-John Butler Trio) Mike Barker.

Since hearing his solo album from a few months earlier, and seeing him live on numerous occasions, I've been of the firm opinion that it only needs the right person to hear Grant and he will be launched on a path to musical fame. That seemed a step closer with the inception of Swamp Thing as Mike has the music biz contacts that are so important in this game, having the distinction of touring with Split Enz, Crowded House and, separately, both Neil and Tim Finn.

Well, at the beginning of next month Swamp Thing are supporting Tim Finn (who has a new album out) at the Metro Theatre in Sydney. They also have other Australian shows lined up, including the very prestigious Peats Ridge Arts & Music Festival in New South Wales over new year along with a slew of UK, US and, of course, Australian bands. The festival director Matt Grant made special mention of them in dispatches, saying: 'And we're also really excited about killer blues/roots two piece Swamp Thing, with Michael Barker from the John Butler Trio, I just love them.”

And, finally, from the 'It can only happen in America” files, a woman is suing the distributors of the new critically-acclaimed Ryan Gosling thriller Drive, as well as the cinema in which she saw the movie, claiming the film was publicised as a Fast and Furious style action piece but was, in fact, not.

She claims the film 'bore very little similarity to a chase, or race action film ... having very little driving in the motion picture” and hopes to turn her appeal into a class action suit, which would allow cinemagoers across the US to sue on similar grounds if they found themselves watching films on the basis of a misleading trailer.

Actually, Drive has a lot of driving, just not of the fast and furious variety, but the possible implications are fascinating. How about suing the makers of Sweeny Todd for not showing any singing in the trailer? And what about Goodfellas? They weren't good fellas, they were very nasty fellas.

I can't help thinking of the ill-fated attempt by The Simpsons' favourite attorney Lionel Hutz to sue the makers of The Neverending Story...