January 23: The Most Depressing Day of the Year

It's official: Today is the most depressing day of 2006, and it has nothing to do with the election. (I'm voting Green, by the way).
Clifford Arnall, a psychology professor at Cardiff University in Wales came out with a mathematical formula that determined Jan. 24 to be the most depressing day of 2005. This year, he's saying it's Jan. 23.
The formula includes such factors as the weather, debt, the time since Christmas, the period since failing to stick to a New Year's resolution, and low motivational levels. John Service, executive director of the Canadian Psychological Association, said January and February are generally regarded as the months of the blahs.
"There's less sunshine and we know that sunshine affects mood. We're in the post-Christmas letdown period and often people are tired and/or financially strained," he said. "The weather itself, being winter, reduces the amount of interpersonal interaction . . . We know that people are more sedentary."
It's true, too. I'm feeling about as plucky as a KFC chicken, and have yet to shed all those pounds I accumulated over the holidays. And then there was my Saturday night at work, which is still pretty surreal.
I usually sit at a desk with my back to a window that shows the Royal Canadian Legion across the way. Saturday night, there was a stabbing - Yes, A STABBING - at the Legion. Who would have figured those aged veterans were so violent?
Must have been one hell of a bridge game. Anyways, we're listening to the police radio chatter on the scanner while, less than 20 feet away, there are hordes of cops and ambulances whipping up and down the alley, K-9 dogs barking up a storm.
So the dude wasn't seriously hurt, and they still haven't caught the guy who decided to have his Vietnam flashback. I hear those Rascal scooters can move pretty fast... Here's a pic from the crime scene, taken by our very own Gary "Hoss" Nylander, on Saturday. Kind of boring, no blood, no guts. That's probably why it didn't make the front page. Because, as they say in our biz, if it bleeds, it leads.



And, if you need a little cheering up today, you can always read THIS It appears that fans of the Shrewsbury football (re: soccer) team have kidnapped the unofficial mascot of the Carlisle United team: an inflatable sheep, affectionately named Myfanwy.
The blowup farm animal was taken away from visiting Carlisle fans by a steward during a recent game, but not content to just hold Myfanwy for ransom, the Shrewsbury fans put her on sale on eBay — along with a lengthy list of demands for her release.
Some are pretty minor (Carlisle needs to post information about weather conditions so traveling fans don't drive three hours to a game that was already cancelled) but one stuck out to us when we read the auction: Brian Wake (who scored three goals against Shrewsbury in a recent game) is to be neutered immediately to prevent further generations of footballer heaping woe on Shrewsbury Town football Club.
To prove that they did, in fact, have possession of Myfanwy, the kidnappers also posted pictures of the sheep/mascot in front of several famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower.
That's why I love soccer.

And I'm out like Paul Martin.