He wasn't the first to think of that

H. L. Mencken, one of the patron saints of cynics, was born on this day in 1880. He wrote:

"My guess is that well over fifty percent of the human race goes through life without having a single original thought."

Cynicism about cynicism

French author and statesman Francois-Rene de Chateuabriand was born on this day in 1768. He wrote:

"One is not superior merely because one sees the world in an odious light."

The call of the wild accusation

Ambrose Bierce, author of The Devil's Dictionary and the patron saint of cynics, was born on this day in 1842.

"Bierce would bury his best friend with a sigh of relief, and express satisfaction that he was done with him." -- Jack London.

Whoever shot J. R. was sure mad

On this day in 1980, 350 million people around the world tuned in to television's popular prime-time drama "Dallas" to find out who shot J.R.

Also, this is the birthday of Voltaire (Francois-Marie Arouet), born in 1694, the French essayist, philosopher and wit who was famous throughout Europe and whose ideas influenced the leaders of the American Revolution, not to mention the French one.

The book to read by Voltaire is Candide, an attack on optimism. Voltaire was a world-class cynic. His famous statement, "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him," was written in a letter.

Voltaire never heard of television but the soap opera flourished even in his time, in the form of plays for the theater, which he also wrote. His literary aim was satire not enlightenment, as he saw that men were incapable of it. He wrote:

"Men will always be mad and those who think they can cure them are the maddest of all."

Have a rotten day

Walk into any bookstore these days, and whatta you see? About half an acre of "inspirational" works: self-help bibles, guides to life, motivational manuals -- the literature of Uplift...
Who are the "authors" of this quackery?
Doodlers with a knack and an unquenchable desire for sugar-coating, for assuring us, the fearful, the incompetent and the insecure, that this is the best of all possible worlds, that Man is the pinnacle of God's creation, and that each and every one of us is endowed with a touch of the divine, not to mention a generous helping of genius just waiting to be tapped.
What you'll find here is a rebuttal to the infuriating optimists – the Panglosses -- of the world. The Cynic's Almanac is a tribute to all those great writers and personalities who, in spite of their peccadilloes, at least had a firm foothold in reality.
I hope this site will be REALLY inspirational – I hope it makes you stop and think -- even if you can't stop thinking how rotten things are.