Ric's picking up the keys tonight. We're homeowners. Groovy!

To me it just feels like we're moving into a place pretty much like our old apartment, but a little more updated, and with a smaller kitchen (oh help!). But it's a stable monthly living fee, no landlords, close to both our families, and we'll get tax benefits from it next year! The one thing I'm nervous about is finding out what the neighbors are like and whether or not my piano will be too loud. I don't generally get to know neighbors, but when you move someplace new, you always take a gamble because you don't really know what it's like until you're actually settled in. Here's hoping it will be a bright future at our new home! And thank God for it, too, because we weren't sure what He was up to when we ended up renting a place that went up for sale a month after we moved there, but now we can see that the timing has been perfect.

I've got work to do, so reviews will resume next week. Up this weekend: the university opera, "The Merry Wives of Windsor", and pulling together moving details. Have a great weekend!

Björk - An Echo, A Stain
David Holmes - No Man's Land
The Good, the Bad & the Queen - History Song
The Seatbelts - Fantasie Sign
Indigo Girls - Joking
The White Stripes - 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues
Pink Floyd - Any Colour You Like
Gorillaz - New Genious (Brother)
Janis Joplin - Move Over
Bob Dylan - It Ain't Me Babe

It's February and I'm ending my media fast. Did I miss anything?

According to Google Reader I have 3,836 unread items. I know most of that is stuff that doesn't matter one bit. I think I'll just go back and read all the items by people I know personally and skip the rest. I really doubt there's anything meaningful or important in it all. There's something therapeutic about selecting a folder of over 400 news items and clicking "Mark All As Read."

I also resubscribed to all my podcasts. I have no idea how many of those I missed because I mostly chose not to download past episodes (I picked up a few of my favorites, but that's it).

So what have I learned from all this? For one thing, it seems the world will keep turning even if I don't update myself on every news item of every day. Also, it seems that most of what I read is of absolutely no consequence and I'd be better not to burden myself with it.

I'm hoping to change the way I keep up with news from now on. I want to do better at filtering out the stuff I don't need. I think I'll unsubscribe to a lot of blogs and only download podcast episodes that I think I really want to hear. It's been nice this month to feel no obligation to read or listen to anything, and I want to maintain that attitude while still staying plugged in to the news.

So be honest: is there anything of vital importance that I missed this month? (News items I heard about from other people include: Heath Ledger dying, Matt Blunt not running for re-election, and Dennis Kucinich dropping out of the Democratic Primary).