Wow, some big changes in my media diet this past year...

Longtime readers of this blog are familiar with my laments that I don't actually go out and see movies in theaters anymore but maybe once or twice a year. I don't know, though, if I'm actually lamenting that anymore. I used to kind of miss going as often as I did, before becoming a father and other lifestyle changes kept me away from the multiplexes. But the other day, I drove by the local theater, and it hit me that not only was I not gonna see anything there in the near future, I didn't plan to, and I didn't even really care that much.

I'm not gonna blame this on "stupid Hollywood product," either, as I spent plenty of good money on bad movies back in the day. No, I think 2010 was just the year I lost contact...with the moviegoing experience. It's not that I won't go or wouldn't like to go more given the opportunities, but I've become content with seeing them on DVD. I don't feel pangs of regret about "missing out," even if something really good hits the big screen. Not that many movies this year have sounded really good, but, hey, I said I wasn't gonna blame this on stupid Hollywood product.

Maybe when my leisure time goes up and my family obligations go down, I'll rediscover the joy of paying too much money for too little entertainment, but for now...I'm kind of OK with staying at home.

Another thing that hit me this week is my declining interest in recorded music. There are many factors involved in this: the dropoff in the CD as a viable medium, my discovery of podcasts for my listening pleasure, the shabby state of the music industry, lack of accessible product at reasonable prices, the pathetic state of terrestrial radio, my lack of interest in buying and consuming digital music...These have all been relevant for years now. But I never expected to listen to music as seldom as I do these days.

I still love music when I do hear it, and there are regular times that I do that. But this makes the first Christmas that I can remember that I didn't get one single CD (or cassette tape, if you want to go back a ways), and it feels weird. I mean, I had some music on my Wishlist, but there was nothing I felt I really needed to have, and though I plan to do some gift-card-shopping action after the holidays, I don't know if I'll be buying any music.

The fact that I hadn't even really noticed until now is itself proof of how weird this is. Maybe I need to dive back into it, but I am just not much of a music buyer anymore, and that feels odd.