Is it just me, or are stars en vogue? Soramani (Summer 2009), Bakemonogatari (ditto) and Kimitodo (Fall 2009) all feature lots of night sky shots with way more stars than are ever visible in metropolitan areas. They're even central to those scenes.
In other non-news, I watched some Gundam and found myself looking at vehicle specs. First time that happened. Wonder if I'll ever restrict my diet to pay for plastic models...