Quid Novum Infernum

Annie Thériault  has it exactly right in  this thread : Depression is equal parts deeply boring and deeply embarrassing. Everyone’s always like, “reach out!” and “you can talk to me any time!” but let me tell you from my wealth of experience that 96% of people don’t want to hear you rehash your unstable self-image for the 371st time   People love hearing the dramatic bits; stories about hospitalizations are surefire, as long as you can maintain the balance of seeming like a credible narrator (not an easy thing to do when the story starts out with you doing something ill-advised, as most hospital stories do) But 99.9999999999999999% of conversations about me being depressed are like “hi, yeah, I hate myself, same as yesterday. I feel that I am very incompetent at everything! I’ve added a few fresh details to the catechism of Why I Am A Monster, but functionally it’s the same.” Then there are just further layers of like, Is Talking About This A Brave Disclosure Or A...

The Deluded One -- TDO -- is how I refer to the husband here. I'm not really a "darling husband" sort of person, and the actual nicknames I use are either too sticky for public consumption, too vile for public display, or too unique to stay private (assuming anyone ever reads this). I picked "The Deluded One" because he insists on believing I'm cleverer than he is (demonstrably untrue), brilliant in debate (okay, maybe in occasional flashes), and awesomely talented (nope, not going there).  He thinks I'm cute (oh, no no not, not in any mainstream sense, certainly). He thinks I have good taste (although that one actually reflects well on him, so....). He thinks I'm funny. Well, okay, so do I. Let's hope we're both right about that one. None of which means I am without flaw in his eyes. Ask him, and ye shall be told, occasionally at length, of my numerous and frustrating defects.  And why refer to him at all -- why drag the poor man ...

Famous people, mostly age-inappropriate, but I can be happy for the younger set, yes? Mike Birbiglia Chow Yun-Fat Michael Emerson George Ezra Joseph Gordon-Levitt Chris Hemsworth Tom Hiddleston Stewart Lee Ken Leung Daniel Levy James McAvoy John Oliver Michael Palin Keanu Reeves John Scalzi Michael Sheen James Spader Jimmi Simpson Taika Waititi Kelvin Yu Good heavens, I am so het. Is there any other common thread here? Can I claim to be attracted to excellence, and feel less shallow? Truly: they all seem kind, funny and clever. My trinity. I like that they (the "they" I think I know, somehow) exist in the world, and it's good to think of something ... cheering , occasionally. Breaks up the brooding.