2007 January » Hello World

On Happiness

Jan 222007

Often I think to myself that when I buy something–an iPod case, a new winter coat, some highlighters–that it will make me happy. But it usually doesn’t. And I finally figured out why. I’m not increasing my happiness, I’m merely lessening my unhappiness: I no longer have to be annoyed by scratches on my iPod; I don’t notice the cold so much; and I don’t have to complain about how quickly these newfangled Bics run out of neon yellow ink. But while life is, at times, easier, it’s not really any better for all that. While these material acquisitions do improve my quality of life, they don’t actually raise my level of happiness.

So what am I getting at, here? Is it possible that buying more crap actually doesn’t make me happier? No, that’s not true. Lots of crap does make me happier. Books make me happier. Music makes me happier. Electronic equipment that I’ll have to replace in two years makes me, inexplicably, happier. Good food (either in the Vichyssoise category or the Bagel Dogs category) makes me much happier.

So what’s wrong with the other stuff I’ve been buying all my life that it doesn’t make me happier? Would it be better if I had some more tax cuts? I don’t know. I think the problem is that when you buy something to fix a problem it just emphasizes the fact that life is filled with small annoyances, and these little stopgaps don’t do much to address the fundamental problem: you spend most of your time dealing with problems that you don’t want to have. So the occasional item that does more than try to fix a problem another possession created–be it a baguette, a Justin Timberlake album, or a pair of jeans that have been artfully “pre-weathered” such that they appear to have actually been worn by a steamboat coal-shoveler for twenty years–demonstrates how big and interesting the world can be.

Of course, friendship and family and the sheer exhilaration of new experiences make me happy too. But c’mon. Actual stuff is pretty great, too, sometimes. You know you love surround sound and ice cream.

In a related story, it’s Sausage Week over at Dethroner and I couldn’t be more excited.

The OC is dead; long live the OC!

Television No Responses »

Jan 032007

To no one’s surprise, The OC is dunzo. The season finale in February is also the series finale. Expect a lot of hilarious plot twists (the ones they were sitting on for the last few years), and in all likelihood a wedding AND a funeral before this thing is over. I feel much the same that I did about West Wing‘s demise last year–I have enjoyed this show despite some serious problems in the middle of its run, and I think this is the right time to blow it up. I’m pretty sure that Josh Schwartz, the show’s wunderkind creator, will never have another hit again. Oh well.

I’ll probably write about the show again before it ends, if only out of a misguided reverence for what it never really was, but in the meantime let’s all just be happy that it lasted long enough for Marissa’s death scene.

A selection of excerpts with a brief response.

Economics and Advertising, Irony No Responses »

Jan 032007

Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli suddenly stepped down today.

Analysts said Nardelli’s surprise resignation was almost certainly due to the fact that he had become a lightning rod for critics of hefty corporate executive pay. They said the Home Depot board was under great pressure to make a change.

At a disastrous Home Depot annual meeting last May, Nardelli, the only director present, refused to answer questions or respond to criticism from shareholders about the hundreds of millions in pay, benefits and stock options he had pulled down since he took over leadership of the chain in 2000. During his tenure, Nardelli earned some $240 million in salary, bonuses and stock options.

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