Light posting ahead

I’m having difficulty finding anything to write about this week. This wouldn’t be so difficult if I hadn’t decided to cut back on political commentary. No one cares what I think, and those who do already know. Yes, I admit I’m itching to mock a recent New York Times article about what the Democratic Party can do to win over white male voters (Why would they even want us? We’re the root of all evil! Unless, of course, we become a Democratic president, then we can do no wrong). But I’m tired of the negativity, and if I don’t want to read it, I shouldn’t write it, either.

But I don’t feel like regaling you with the boring details of my life, either. Who cares that I watched “Dragonheart” for the first time last night? Who with kids is at all surprised that sometimes they misbehave, some times they’re amazing, and most of the time they’re good kids. I’m not seeing much positive to say about pop culture these days, either. I didn’t watch The Academy Awards. I really don’t care which of all the movies I didn’t watch won the approval of the navel-gazers. I learned a long time ago that Hollywood and I have very different ideas about what makes a movie great.

I haven’t finished any books lately, either, so no reviews to write. Yes, there are some books I read that I haven’t reviewed yet, but I tend to want to take the Thumper approach with my reviews: If I don’t like a book, or have a hard time discussing it without bringing up a bunch of negative points I’d rather not say anything. I’m starting to move in (the far outskirts of) writers circles, and it’s not inconceivable that I’ll meet some of the people I review. I’d rather not go on the record at all than be on the record as panning their work, especially when it’s just because the genre/subject/approach just doesn’t appeal to me personally.

It’s a little too late in some cases to have made this decision, I realize. I’m a little nervous about one day running into Stephanie Meyer. I’ve not been kind to Twilight, although I have no authority to speak to it at all. Twilight was not written for me, that’s all. It was very successful at connecting with those for whom it was written. To repeatedly target it for that is…well, from a writer, likely sour grapes. I’ve got nothing against Stephanie Meyer. She got it right, and she got it right in a big, completely unpredictable way. Good for her. We can debate about the messages she sent and the influence she’s gained, certainly, but really, where does it say she had to use her talents for some narrowly-defined “good”? She is writing entertainment, and that covers a very broad territory. To debate about what she should have done is rather pointless. Someone else is already doing that, guaranteed. And others are doing exactly the opposite, and much more dangerously, guaranteed. To hold someone else to my own standard is pointless, and only invites others to hold me to theirs.

So I’ll leave Stephanie Meyer alone, and I’ll not review a book that I can’t be positive about. That doesn’t mean I won’t ever say anything negative about a book. But if I review it, it’s because I saw the positives as much more prevalent than the negatives.

But I’m still at least a week away from finishing my latest audio book (and it’s a good one, if you’re me), probably months away from finishing “The Way of Kings” at my present rate, and at least a few more days away from finishing the latest book I’m reading to my family. Nothing to review for awhile.

I’m also up to my eyeballs in to-do list. I’ve been behind on things for the better part of a month or more, so that’s not entirely conducive to blog posting, either. It’s hard to convince myself to go spend some time writing today’s latest inanities when I’ve got responsibilities staring me in the face. I still haven’t edited and sent out all the family pictures I took at Thanksgiving! At this rate half the kids won’t be recognizable by the time I get this done.

So anyway, if you get posts this week consider yourself fortunate–or unfortunate, depending on your point of view, but if you’re coming here intending to hate my stuff, well…why are you coming here? You’re a masochist, and you deserve what you don’t get. We’ll see what we can do, but I’m just not very interesting this week. Sorry about that, chief!