OUT OF PRACTICE OR THE END OF THE WORLD

When I required myself to blog everyday, I blogged everyday. Somedays I liked my blog, other days I did not like my blog. But, each day I forced myself to think beyond my daily slog and think about the issues that affected myself and my family. Now that I have allowed myself to blog less often, I am falling into the nothingness of nothing. I am wasting my time traveling around the internet, reading reviews for "Catching Fire" which, I truly would like to see, but know it will be years until I get to see it. I have to satisfy myself with clips, reviews and rotten tomatoes. No one else in my family wants to see it.

I devoured each book starring Katniss Everdeen, loving the mix of dystopian storytelling and pre-teen love and adventure. It brought together so much that is missing in the more respected (and male dominated) science fiction reading, and dystopian storytelling that are exemplified in books like the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. A truly great read, but often emotionally empty, and solidly, yet nerdily macho, as is true of much male written science fiction. Nerdy Macho, or Nachos. I need me a bowl of Nachos!

Why are dystopian stories so engaging? Never, or rarely happy in their endings, so many women writers have brought these cataclysmic stories into my life. I have read Ursula LeGuin, Margaret Atwood, and Suzanne Collins. I just can't get enough of the end of the world. Could I turn my own life into a dystopian novel? Maybe, it is like the Matrix, and I am already in one. Reading a dystopian novel is a lot like trying to raise children. Lots of scary bureaucrats that need to keep the status quo. In my book, I will call them "teachers." Then there is the hero or heroine which in my book is "me." I may need a bit of a makeover, but, hey, it is my book and I don't have to be 5'2" in my book!  Then there is the bleak landscape, empty storefronts, box stores and dazed people that are always in a hurry. I will call that the "suburbs." Then there is the fear that comes from the trying to raise children. I will call that "fear." The fear of being a bad parent, the regret felt after yelling at your children and the never ending drudgery of living in a world where the cooking and laundry never ends. Not to mention the lack of currency. All respectable dystopian novels mess with currency, and we are in a current, currency mess.  Remember, it's not a dream. Good night!