Two different acquaintances recently e-mailed me links to Despair, Inc. I'm sure this is because I blog about quirky items, not a suggestion that I am the target customer for the Austin-based purveyor of goods for the hardcore pessimist and/or serious slacker.
True, I would love a Pessimist's mug ("It makes everything taste bitter"), each nicely etched with This mug is now half empty. I really only need one, but it would probably get broken or stolen, so two is smarter.
Despair, Inc. started as a satiric raspberry to all those Highly Effective People and other time-management bullies, selling its line of trademarked Demotivators: books, t-shirts, custom calendars suitable for noting low-energy tasks like "Google myself."
The company is credited with the authorship of the quintessential truism on workplace meetings: None of us is as dumb as all of us.
I've cooked up a theory that Despair, Inc. stuff sells very well in the Northwest, where more people identify as SADs (Seasonal Affective Disorder sufferers) than any other religious denomination. I called the company to check this theory, and maybe someone will get back to me on that. Probably not, though.
