And more of it

More rain, more time wasted watching television. I have been gettiing a little reading done, though. I bought Charles Baxter's new novel Saul and Patsy and have been making my way through it. Pretty well done, and I'm a sucker for books set in the middle of the country with young wives named Patsy (I'm thinking of Larry McMurtry's Moving On, a novel I read as a teenager in suburban Houston and again a few years ago, appreciating it even more).

Meanwhile, what is one supposed to make of celebrity gossip? Especially the stuff that isn't even about anything?

Kidman stays away from plush penthouse

Nicole Kidman is considering abandoning her pricey New York home because it'll attract too much attention.

The actress is currently living in the city's Chelsea district, where she moved after renting boyfriend Lenny Kravitz's SoHo apartment, while she waits for her $8 million pad in Perry Street to be completed. The two-towered condos also boast celebrity owners like Hugh Jackman, Calvin Klein and Martha Stewart.

But insiders say Kidman is now worried that the buildings are too noticeable, and would allow no privacy for Connor and Isabella, her kids with ex-husband Tom Cruise. One source says, "Nicole is saying she doesn't want to move in, because the building is too much in the public eye. She wants to live somewhere quieter, where she doesn't feel on display all the time."

Just what part of that story am I supposed to identify with, feel sorry for, or otherwise relate to? Could it be the fact that celebrities have, as sexual partners and spouses, other celebrities? The part about one of them spending millions on a home she doesn't even want? The part about naming children "Connor" and "Isabella"? I'm really having problems with this.