Brilliant, Tijo! And so very, sadly true.

—Melissa

But Tijo, just as mold gives us penicillin to cure various kinds of infection, cynicism acts as the anti-body for hope. Hope just complicates things; isn't life easier knowing there's nowhere to go but down?

For once I have to agree with Nana. "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose...."

You didn't tell me what to do if there was mold on my hope. I'm desperately waiting for the answer!

Love the cartoon, reminds me of someone I worked for.

@nan- My cynicism is born from the realization that while things could indeed be worse, there is just as much room (if not more) for improvement. Humans could be a lot better toward each other than they are. George Carlin said, "Scratch a cynic and you'll find a disappointed idealist."

Hope can transcend the mold that envelopes cynicism.

Gran-thanks
Nana- well I am a fan of that whole going down thing...and I agree that too much hope is dillusion
Drew- I think my mindset at the time was that P.Buchannan and his cronies were saying that talk is free and words have no meaning, hope costs nothing and has no value. I thought 'well the same is true of cynisism isn't it?' It has it's value of course but too many pundits want to pat themselves on the back for it. It might also be my overexposure to pissy queens and bitter drag queens of course.

JK- I prefer asm to ism any day.

Crabby- one part optimism, one part determination and a double dose of fuck you I can too do it. Apply to effected area liberally.

Kevin- You're absolutely right cynisism is a protective measure.

Mr. Mustard- Yes I believe that is how they make gorgonzola.

Having worked as a screenwriter, I know all about "execs" justifying their jobs by making totally arbitrary and sometimes harmful alterations. Sometimes I think their job is to make sure movies never get made.

Rated.

quote of the day, brilliant, but isnt' that cartoon a little cynical?

;^)

Do you know how prevalent that attitude is in the medical field? PRETTY DAMN PREVALENT!

"...but actually thrive because their simple structure requires so little support."

OMFG. Is there a pill for this? Steve Blevins?

John- but there is always hope. That's what they say in the movies.

Roy- I found it in an image search of cynicism. I do worry that because of it some will miss the point of the post. On the other hand it seems to be an interesting Rorchach test.

Steve- the former or the latter? (I think we know)

Spot- see my reply to Crabby for the cure.

Tijo -- I'll let you know how it turns out. But then I might have to eradicate 'cynicism' from my bio and replace it with mold! Thanks for the fun.

Shit! That's my problem. I've been triple-dosing on the "fuck you I can TOO do it" and doubling on the others. Explains a lot. Thanks Tijo!

I like to take mine before bed with a little bourbon and milk.

i adore you for this, Ti Ti. but i always adore you. if someone like me, who mostly hates like, can feel hopeful, well, it's possible. it's painful to feel hope and have it dashed. horribly so. but all great change comes about because of people who are brave enough to keep hoping. this NOTE of yours is so on target. so much of resistance to change is fear and feelings of inadequacy. love love lvoe and huge gratitude and, please god, no mold.

this supports the cynicism. cynicism is the antidote. that is true. it protects the soul. please delete my other clueless comment. i refuse to be cynical but that means i stay on a new fast. remaining uninformed isn't the answer.

http://open.salon.com/blog/c_berg/2009/08/15/carted_off_by_police_and_in_trouble_again

yes, this supports the lack of hope. but somehow i see a tiny bit of hope in the naysayers asking if Carol was okay. i know, i'm an idiot. love lvoe lveo and gratitude

An old story about a New York illustrator working for a Cruise Ship company. A ballroom scene with 75 people in it dancing and the client says, "That's wonderful. But could you just turn them all a little to the left?" What you said. Good one!

The cynic is without excuse. We have every reason to have hope in the future. Great thought Tijo.

This is incredible - even your notes to yourself are pretty damn profound . . .

Owl- Last weeks said: Brats, Mustard, Buns, beer. It made me weep. Touching on world hunger and man's unfulfillable desire in such short terse prose... life changing.

That's exactly my point. The double entendre with "brats" which hints at a Soylent Green solution to world hunger. "Buns" which could be referring to bread, or to someone's ass - is sexuality the bread of life? Don't even get me started on "mustard" and "beer," nor the conspicuous absence of "relish."

And despite the note I just decided to eat out.

How's that for dbl entendre ?

I do what they used to do back in the day--scrape the mold off and enjoy.

well said

Cynicism can also be a strength. But like too much penicillin, too much is toxic.

I'm allergic to penicillin. When I was eight it made me think my head had become disconnected from my body. I walked across the room to show my mom, spun once and blacked out.