I tried to come up with a really great, cynical response to my newly announced death warrant, but found today was just too lovely to gripe!

By Bre on 11.14.06 9:47 am

I think it comes down to balance - satire need not be rooted in anger but observation. Snarky is usually the sign of an angry person, though. I’ve stopped reading certain blogs that basked in snarkiness with no sense of humor attached. I felt like in reading I was participating in the spread of disease (hey, the posts brought me down.)

I guess it depends on where you draw the line, eh?

By deezee on 11.14.06 9:55 am

I have no doubt that cynicism and negativity can affect your health, so I want to thank you for publishing those cute pictures.
Signed,
Polly Anna

By Rhea on 11.14.06 10:09 am

I try to reserve cynicism for things that I perceive as being woefully inept (i.e. the American political system.) It’s a shame when that outlook is one that people take about their own lives.

Personally, I prefer to hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and anticipate something in-between.

By Lou P. on 11.14.06 10:16 am

I can’t wait for the study that comes out, on the heels of this study, claiming the red wine is good for Snarky Heart Condition. hee hee

By laurie on 11.14.06 10:18 am

Anyone who hates that happy Poo & Co. pic is certain to die young.

By peefer on 11.14.06 10:32 am

Hell I LIVE ON SATIRE!! You gotta be or else everyone would get too depressed. I don’t watch the news..its that depressing. I believe smiing and positive thoughs increases your life…and gets you more SEX!

Winnie the Pooh is a snarky bitch! I mean he once came to a party at a club and he demanded a VIP table!! (TRUE FACT: I didn’t know what SNARK was until I blogged.)

PS - I lurk here sometimes but today I COMMENT!

By mrsmogul on 11.14.06 10:34 am

Today the Washington Post reported that red meat is going to give me breast cancer. Combined with your news, Neil, it looks like my plans for tonight to go out to the steakhouse with my old roommate and complain about life are a surefire way to skip work tomorrow! Can’t work if I’m dead…

By e. on 11.14.06 10:35 am

I don’t believe it.

By MARGARET on 11.14.06 10:44 am

I believe that NaBloPoMo has finally taken its toll on you.

By fringes on 11.14.06 10:51 am

[...] As a counterpoint to the last post, I include this, also from this month’s Psychology Today: “Though cynicism may not be healthy in the long run, it can serve as an emotional coat of armor tht blunts everday indignities.  Philip Mirvis, a cynicism researcher at Boston College, says cynics’ caustic, detached outlook on life, also known as defensive pessimism, helps “protect them from what they imagine to be the slings and arrows of hustlers and higher-ups.”  If they assume from the outset that a client can’t be trusted, or that a new mother-in-law will be a witch, they’ll be well-prepared in the event these fears come true.  Casting a cynical eye on situations you can’t control reduces your emotional attachment to a particular outcome actually lowers your vulnerability to depression.” [...]

By Citizen of the Month » A Pro-Snarky Counterpoint to My Last Post on 11.14.06 11:17 am

I am not a cynic. However, I drink and smoke more than most people. I also am very healthy in a strange messed up way. But I do beleive that negativity can get you down. That would explain why I left my last job with barely my soul intact. However, they are the most healthy, unhappy cynics I’ve ever met.

By Chantel on 11.14.06 12:07 pm

Cynicism if humor is kept can keep depressed people from spiralling down, like self-medicating cigs and drinks and diet. There are other strategies, such a staring at Winnie the Pooh or cute overload I suppose, or becoming a marathon runner, or becoming a clenched smile martyr of lovingness…hard to say how much one can change the feedback loop but The Luck Factor says you can shift your outlook and go from cynical to different.

By 2nd Pearl Past the Post on 11.14.06 1:46 pm

The cynicism I usually express (or not) is just a counter balance to the sweet, loving Paperback Writer that isn’t on display.

Oh, hell.

That was a crock!

By paperback writer on 11.14.06 1:46 pm

What do we expect from cynics, the people who gave us the motto, “Life’s a bitch and then you die”?

By V-Grrrl on 11.14.06 2:39 pm

Damn, I was just thinking about posting about how boooorrrring so many blogs are. The snarky ones are the best ones!

By Edgy Mama on 11.14.06 2:44 pm

Uh-oh. This is no good. No one is more sarcastic and cynical than I am…

By Mr. Fabulous on 11.14.06 3:37 pm

and of course I am one of the biggest cynics I know. I don’t big big as in porky, I mean I’m just darned good at being a cynic because I have had much practice. Although I do have my porky days too.

Anyway, does this mean I should hide the ropes from myself as well as the kitchn knives?

By Daisy Mae on 11.14.06 3:42 pm

Live fast and die young ;).

I’d rather be snarky than add five years at a nursing home onto my life scentence.

By Hilly on 11.14.06 3:52 pm

Cynical and snarky are NOT the same thing. Snarky just means testy. Cynical is pessimistic. Two different things.

By Megan on 11.14.06 4:04 pm

i have a friend who is very bitter and cynical, some days i try to be more like him, but it’s very hard, yet he makes it look so easy.

By better safe than sorry on 11.14.06 6:12 pm

Am I still allowed to comment, inasmuch as according to this research, I’ve been dead since 1982?

By CGHill on 11.14.06 6:20 pm

Does anybody remember the name of the Suicide book from the 80’s that became a best seller? I should get one just in case…

By SFGary on 11.14.06 9:26 pm

You’re only the second person I’ve known who uses the term snarky - the first being my husband …and, he’s not even British!

By JanePoe (aka Deborah) on 11.15.06 8:30 pm

the research team behind this survey would probably agree that following this logic, just living in France can take years off your life.

between the attitudes, the smoking, and the men, I’m inclined to agree.

By maitresse on 11.24.06 12:33 pm