A new study finds that depressed people generally choose a shade of grey to represent their mood, while healthy people mostly choose yellow. This proves that Harold Ford is healthy! Nice try, John Cook! [Science Daily. Click to enlarge]

Today is officially the Most Depressing Day of the year. Thanks a lot, MLK!

Did learning that your antidepressant is fucking useless make you toss all your Paxils out the window? Not so fast! You don't want to lose that sweet placebo effect. Because there's still a lot to be depressed about.

After experiencing Pandora's boundless pastoral and the perfect set of CGI breasts, some Avatar fans become depressed with reality—contemplating, even, suicide. Are you or a loved one suffering from Avatardation? Cautionary tales from the fan forums.

A new study shows that antidepressants like Paxil are okay for severe depression but mostly worthless for less-than-severe depression. And they think Prozac will be just as worthless. Hopefully this news depresses you enough to make your meds work. [Related]

If you're feeling a little down in the dumps, perhaps it will make you feel better to know that you aren't the only one. According to a new study published in Science, residents of New York were the most unhappy in the nation, right behind Michigan. [NYDN]

A reader asks: "Why does Melania Trump look so unhappy all the time?" Good question! We'd never really noticed it before, but Donald Trump's third wife (and the mother of his fifth child) does look pretty miserable in most photos. Maybe this is to be expected when you realize that despite the lavish lifestyle you lead and all the material possessions you've accumulated, you're still married to Donald Trump? An attempt by the Slovenian-born ex-model to look sexy? We have no clue, but some photographic evidence of Melania's misery is below. And if you have something you'd like us to look into, feel free to let us know.

According to a new study in the medical journal Addiction, abstaining from alcohol will not only make you a lot less fun to go out to a bar with, it will also leave you at a greater risk for developing depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, a study in the Archives of General Psychiatry indicates that those who stick to a "Mediterranean diet" and don't overdo it with the booze are 30 percent less likely to develop symptoms of depression. Needless to say, if you find yourself feeling a little bit down today, it's nothing a trip to Italy or Greece and a visit to a local wine bar can't fix. [Time, Guardian]

Not that it's much consolation, but a Scientific American piece going viral explains that those suffering from depression are at an "evolutionary paradox" and are more evolved thinkers than happy-go-lucky types due to their analytical nature. Viva Wellbutrin. [Scientific American]

Based on the results of a new study, psychologist Randolph Nesse has developed a hypothesis linking depression to the ability to discard unreachable goals, which, apparently, is an American specialty.

30 Million Americans (14%) 16 or older are illiterate. Which kinda makes reading Twilight okay.

David Kellerman, the chief financial officer of money-bleeding mortgage firm Freddie Mac, was found dead in his Virginia home this morning. He'd apparently committed suicide. The financial crisis would be one obvious possible motive.

Oh boy, the stimulus won't pass the Senate because it doesn't have that magic 60 votes! We're all screwed, because of imaginary filibusters!

A laid-off journalist has proposed a fancy idea that would have the twin benefits of re-employing a lot of unemployed journalists, and producing a quality historical record of our time that could reside in the halls of our nation's finest libraries forever. So needless to say it will never happen, because the public hates journalists, and is functionally illiterate. But that doesn't make it a bad idea, now that the liberal elite is in control of the public purse strings! So is it time to bring back the Federal Writers Project?

"Officials for non-profits like the pantry begin to panic even before the Thanksgiving holiday." [WCBS]

It's always fun to get slammed by a disaster and then to look back and discover that some people had been warning you about it forever. Well, The Economist has been publishing scary covers warning of DOOM for years, and they are compiled in a nifty slide show here. We've put together a tasty little sampler after the jump.

With money scarce, locals and tourists alike have stopped tossing their spare change and loose dollars to New York City's famed street performers. When every last penny has to be preserved for booze, tranqs, and anti-anxiety drugs, people are simply not splurging on curbside entertainment like they used to. Even that silver statue/robot dude from Times Square and the South Street Seaport is feeling the pinch. The performer, who calls himself Orange Mime, testifies, "The economy has definitely affected my earnings as a street performer. I am a living statue (silver/gold robot guy) and I have noticed a significant loss in recent weeks... I only hope it gets better for December because that is usually my best month."

What do you do when the world's economy is falling apart and God only knows when things will get better? Duh! You get together with your friends, pretend that you're six, and start building some sofa-and-blanket forts stat! Dig deep into your memories for the days when food and shelter was someone else's problem, and find some clips that hearken back to those warm and cozy—and lost—times. They don't have to be cartoons, but they do have to be from childhood. That's all. I'll start with my biggest childhood hero.

A tipster wonders what music Gawker readers are turning to now that our economic world has drawn to a close. So let's have it. What are your top music choices for enduring this thing? Oh, and the image at left? Just getting you primed for the only tried and true method of solving global collapse—a world fucking war, people! C'mon, it won't be that bad! Russia will fight itself. Who cares about Middle East? And China's space program is garbage, so their missiles probably won't get anywhere near us. Plus, their Air Force has nothing that can stay in the air against our F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. So we'll be fine! In the meantime, what music are you listening to? My picks after the jump.

Early this morning, Congressional leaders announced they'd come to a tentative agreement on a $700 billion bailout plan to save America. Yay? Thankfully, a kindly reporter at Reuters has gone ahead and laid out the key points of the plan, which still needs to be ratified by the full House and Senate. See the solution that will totally revolutionize Wall Street and protect us from douchebankers forever and ever after the jump. -The $700 billion in buying power would be doled out by Congress in stages. After the first $250 billion is authorized, the President could request another $100 billion. The final $350 billion could be cleared by a further act of Congress. - Washington will take a stake in companies helped through the program so that taxpayers can share in the profits if those companies get back on their feet. - A new congressional panel would have oversight power and the Treasury secretary would report regularly to lawmakers in two elements of a multi-level oversight apparatus. - Compensation limits would be set for the chiefs of participating firms to prevent excessive pay and "golden parachutes" for those who might tap government aid and then quit. - The federal government may stall foreclosure proceedings on home loans purchased under the plan. - Alongside the plan to buy securities outright, the Treasury Department will conceive an alternative insurance program that would underwrite troubled loans and would be paid for by participating companies. - If the government has taken losses five years into the program, the Treasury Department will draft a plan to tax the companies that took part to recoup taxpayer losses.