8 Months of Selective Media Blackout Finally Pays Off

When we moved out here we talked about getting a TV. Would we watch a TV? Yes, undoubtedly. We would turn it on while making dinner, I would turn it on after TM left in the morning to keep me company, etc. These things turned out to be the reasons for which we didn't get one -- we didn't want to be those people who flip endlessly through channels, waiting for something to catch our interest, realizing that nothing would, but unable to put the remote down and switch off the set. So we abstained. Thankfully, we can do this without missing anything we actually WANT to watch. Hail, goddess, bless the internet.
Because of this, it has actually been possible to cut ourselves off from certain media outlets that otherwise fill my brain with tidbits of information that I would really rather not absorb. Seriously, that brain space is important to me. I might need it for remembering other vital information. Like how to spin sheep into sweaters.
I speak of course of celebrity gossip. Finally, my head is in a space where I can count on only the fingers of one hand how many times Hollywood Drama has broken into my bubble. Paris, Britney, Lindsay, Anna Nicole, and Brangelina. That's it.
TM on the other hand, seems to be able to avoid all of this information. I am unclear as to whether or not this is by sheer force of will or sheer oblivion. Either way it has often made me envious. How glorious to pass through life unaware of how gobsmackingly moronic Miss Teen South Carolina is.
Today however, having finished my latest book, and possessed of nothing more interesting to read (alas!) I picked up a copy of some Hollywood Insider magazine that someone had left in the lunch room and flipped idly through. On the first page were the results of a reader poll, voting for this person, or against this, or for this breakup, or this reunion. The poll used only first names, and gave no associations i.e. no note of where the person might have appeared in TV/Film. I stared at the spread confused for a moment before it hit me: I have no idea who these people are... and then...

HOLY CRAP THAT IS SO AWESOME.

At last, I have reached that most holy state of consciousness:
The Pop (and Tart) Culture Vacuum.

Hallelujah, amen.