a tale of depression

Imagine what post-Katrina New Orleans is like. Imagine you're a journalist or columnist working there - a year's worth of tales of misery and despair. The local paper (The Times-Picayune) has a columnist, Chris Rose, I've checked out occasionally over the last year, and it's been really quite depressing. Not suprisingly, all this had an impact on him - he finally realised he needed help. He's written his tale of depression and seeking help down, and it's an excellent piece. If you're not sure about seeking help for depression you might have, read this. I wish I'd had something like this back in the time where I was too stubborn to see a doctor about how I was coping (or not) with the world.

Anyway, it's a good piece. Go read.

(And why o why isn't the state of New Orleans a campaign issue in the US? Here's a free slogan for the democrats: "It's The Competence, Stupid")

(no subject)

There's a big long feature in this weekend's Washington Post about Doonesbury and Garry Trudeau. It's fascinating reading.

For those who don't know, Doonesbury's been going since the early 1970s - an amazing run. And while it's had ups and downs, the last year or so has had some sensational and touching moments - Trudeau had one of his main characters lose a leg in Iraq, and has been exploring what the impact of this is. It's been extraordinary, and it becomes clear partly why from this piece:

What happened next was unusual, to say the least. Within a day or two of B.D. lying broken on that stretcher, Garry Trudeau, bane of every presidential administration since Nixon's (particularly the current one, which he has absolutely lacerated), got a call from the Pentagon. The brass was offering to help him figure out where to go next.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of Doonesbury (and of comics, generally), so I found this a really interesting article.