In the old days, you might say a guy was either a Glass Half Full or a Glass Half Empty sort of dude. But this is the 00′s, and things are different.
We define ourselves by other means.
For example, a while back my wife came upon the Life is Good merchandise line. Basically, the company began with two brothers in Boston, who lived in a van hawking T-shirts for five years before they came up with this character Jake. Here’s the original concept drawing from 1994:
Jake is basically is a fun-looking stick figure who engages in various activities, be it kayaking, grilling, golfing, or lying in a hammock. Jake’s ethos, if you will, is that we should appreciate the little things in life.
A pretty good goal to have, if you ask me.
But, of course, it was a matter of time before someone had to see the darker side of life. Ergo, the Life is Good parody: Life is Crap. This product line has a similar-looking figure trying to enjoy the simple things in life but failing miserably.
So where Jake might enjoy paddling out for a few waves:
The Life is Crap guy breaks his board:
Where Jake relaxes in a hammock:
The bizarro Jake falls out of one:
You see where this is going.
I, of course, am a little torn. As a journalist, I have a skeptical, cynical side. On the other hand, I also agree with the Jake philosophy — that the key to happiness doesn’t require millions of dollars, power or prestige. Rather, the key to happiness simply entails doing stuff that makes you smile.
Which may explain why I’m still an underpaid journalist.
In the end, if I were to choose between the two for Christmas gifts, I’d have to go with Jake. Because sometimes, I think, smiling needs to win.
Besides, the Life is Good stuff is just better.
So what are you? Life is Good or Crap?
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