Posts Tagged ‘depression’
3 items.
After suffering through winter, days without sunlight and overcast skies, now I finally have a single day to pour my frustrations into.
The story about January 24 being the most depressing day of the year is actually a real thing. I guess this is what happens when psychologists have too much time on their hands. They figure out ways to determine which days suck most by contrasting different variables such as weather, debt and motivation levels. "Time since Christmas" is actually another one of these variables, which I think says all that needs to be said about the validity of this research. Wouldn’t this variable automatically exclude 2/3rds of the world’s pouplation? How about "Time since Rosh Hashanah?" Seems only fair if you want to be thorough.
Personally, this time of year is depressing for me because theaters become a dumping ground for the movies that couldn’t make a big enough impression to compete with all the Oscar hopefully that flood theaters at the end of the year. Seeing a remake of When A Stranger Calls or Big Momma’s House 2 cluttering up screens doesn’t surprise me. But what has really bummed me out is that the remake of The Pink Panther is being dumped in February as well.
I know in my heart of hearts that there is NO WAY this remake is going to be any good. For one, you just aren’t going to top Peter Sellers. I’m sorry, you can’t. Not even if you’re Steve Martin. And I LOVE Steve Martin. Second, Beyonce Knowles is a co-star. Not a good sign. I like the fact that Kevin Kline is playing Inspector Dreyfus. Jean Reno is a good casting choice as well. But if I had a Magic Eight Ball and asked it if The Pink Panther was going to be any good, I have a strong feeling that it would respond with "All Signs Point To ‘No’."
It probably doesn’t help that the movie has been pushed back TWICE away from it’s original Summer 2005 launch date, either.
Not much else to say. I was about to mention the sale going on in the store again, but you guys already know that there’s only a week left to take advantage of the reduced prices, don’t you? February 6 is the cutoff date.
Let’s talk about something else for a minute. Like perhaps my MySpace profile!
I know for a fact that MySpace is kind of pointless, so don’t send me e-mails trying to make me aware of that fact. But I’ve run into a lot of really cool people through the service. People that are perhaps more casual (though no less enthusiastic fans) that I might not otherwise cross paths with. Maybe they’re too busy to join the THorum or too intimidated to send an e-mail. If that’s the case, go to your MySpace account and ask to be added to my friends list. You know I’ll say yes!
By the way, I hope this doesn’t offend the Google Gods, but I need a little help understand AdSense. I think I’m doing it wrong and Google FAQs aren’t helping me out very much. If you have any expertise, will you please send me an e-mail?
Also, I’m trying to feel my way around Search Engine Optimization for the site. I kind of feel like I’ve reached the point where advertising and link exchanges are only going to do so much for traffic, so I’m trying to grow in different ways. Again, if you have any suggestions, please send me an e-mail. Thanks!
Remember that fun Frappr map thing from a while ago? Well, it’s sort of like that. Totally informal. I just want to see who’s alive and kickin’ out there!
Sorry for the delay with today’s blog. I was having computer troubles for most of the morning and early afternoon. I’ll catch up with you soon.
[ No Comments ]
Oct20
In today’s comic I’m using Jared as the conduit to express some of my own self-esteem issues. But before I get to that, let me backtrack a little.
A few weeks ago, I went to see Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Cami opted out citing that the movie would make her feel “old.” I thought the objection was kind of silly at the time. I enjoyed the film, but it left me with a certain melancholy. The movie does a really good job of transporting you back to a period in your life where all things seemed possible, but you had to dig deep to find the courage to make them happen. I also think it’s one of the handful of movies that understands the first few moments of infatuation turning into romance and treats it right.
Anyway, I walked out of the movie satisfied, but also a little sad that I’ve moved beyond that time in my life where spontaneity wasn’t something you planned for.
Watching Sex Drive this weekend has exacerbated things somewhat and made me realize for the first time in a long time that I’m just plain… old.
Now before anyone starts jumping to conclusions, I want to make it understood that I am very happy with the life I lead now. I’m really into my family, I’m enjoying my son and things are great. This isn’t a confession about me wishing I was 20 again, wanting to run around and party all night. I had that opportunity once and, frankly, it didn’t much interest me. Specifically, the whole horndog aspect of Sex Drive was never something I aspired to, either.
In concert with this, I am very much aware that these films promote a kind of hyper-actualized reality. So it’s not like I look at them and wish “Gee, I wish my life were more like that.”
Rather, what bums me out about these movies is that they remind me of being a certain age where I was able to operate in a vaguely consequence-free environment. I’m not talking about the lack of culpability. Just the room to test the waters, make some mistakes, learn from them and still recover.
The older you get, the more and more you feel is at stake. Your reputation, your livelihood, your relationships. Its like a game of Jenga. When you’re younger, you can pull out the wrong piece and the tower can come crumbling down. No big deal. Plenty of time to rebuild and start again. When you’re older, you become much more careful about the pieces you chose lest all of it come tumbling down.
A lot of this feeling racked into focus after Henry was born. That was certainly a clear signal that you can’t goof around anymore because your actions have consequences and you certainly don’t want to set a bad example for someone else. Have fun, sure. Keep it light, enjoy life. Just… don’t screw up – because it’s more than just you that you have to be worried about now.
I dunno. I feel like I’m only articulating this half as well as I should be. Some of this goes without say. Although, when you’re younger, it’s certain not advice that you want to hear. It just stings a little bit when you realize that every time you heard “Youth is wasted on the young” and you rolled your eyes, you were really short-changing that wisdom.
I’ll probably have more to say about Sex Drive tonight on The Triple Feature. So if you want to listen to me stick my foot into my mouth further, you can check it out as we record live at 9:00 PM CST.
Incidentally, I also saw W. this weekend and thought it was pretty good. Although I think Oliver Stone got sloppy in the second act and basically makes the audience sit through re-enactments of “Dubya’s Greatest Hits.” Josh Brolin knocks it out of the park, though. His version of George W. Bush is very subtle. He does the mannerisms without descending into total caricature. Excellent work from the former Goonie.
That’s it for now. Take care, everyone and I’ll see you here on Wednesday.
[ No Comments ]
Dec12
I try to keep the comic timely, but usually as it pertains to movies. I think this might be one of a handful of times that I’ve made reference to any other surrounding circumstance.
I know this comic is a bit odd, but it’s truthful. Things have been stressful lately and both Cami and I are worn down. We work for the same company and we experienced several hundred layoffs this week. Fortunately, we both still have our jobs, but it weighs on our minds. Morale at work is low and we keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I’ve been let go from jobs before and it’s never a good feeling – especially right before the holidays. But since we had Henry, there is so much more at stake. It really stops to give you pause. What would you do if you were in that situation.
This is a particularly… adult concern and I know you guys aren’t coming to this site to be reminded of how ugly things are out there. For that, I apologize. But at the same time, I gotta be truthful and if there’s a joke I can attempt to mine from the situation, I’m going to take that opportunity.
Incidentally, the conversation played out in this strip pretty much happened verbatim in our house the day after our company announced layoffs. Everything right down to Snugglebug II: The Snuggling. It got a big laugh out of Cami, so I thought it would probably work in the strip. That’s the long and short of it. I hope you enjoyed it.
Not to be a Debbie Downer, but nothing looks good to me in the theater this weekend. Advertisements keep trying to shove the remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still down our throats – even going so far as to remind us it will be the ONLY place to see the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer (until the internet gets a hold of it about 15 minutes later) – and I just can’t muster the enthusiasm to see it.
I’m curious to see Gort. That’s about it. Keanu Reeves looks like he’s acting more wooden than ever – which I suppose is in-character for an alien emmissary. But as Owen Gleiberman pointed out in his review over at Entertainment Weekly, “Reeves seems to be trying to wriggle out of the charge that he’s a flat actor by acting flat on purpose.”
Cami’s reasons for not wanting to see the film are much more sussinct. “It has Jennifer Connoelly in it.”
I’m kind of with Cami on that one. Don’t get me wrong, Jennifer Connoelly is fine to look at. But every time she shows up in a movie, my shoulders drop. She acts like the kind of person who NEVER smiles. She seems so serious all the time. She seems like someone who would be a real drag to be around.
I think this weekend Cami and I are going to take Henry to see Santa at the mall – a bizzarre ritual if there ever was one. We took him last year, but obviously he was too young to understand the significance. This year, he totally knows who Santa is by sight (even if he doesn’t totally understand what Santa does). It should be a good time.
That’s it for me. Have a great weekend, everyone and I’ll see you here on Monday!
[ No Comments ]
