Pessimism Porn

Titillatingly bleak media reports.

Hugo Lindgren mused on the illicit thrills of bad news in New York magazine:

My wife busted me again the other day. I had slipped away from her and the kids and into the fantasy world of the web. But not the kind of fantasy you’re probably thinking of. This was pessimism porn. A friend had turned me on to a futurist named Gerald Celente, who anticipated the Asian financial crisis and other calamities. Now, Celente says, the U.S. is heading for a middle-class tax revolt, food riots, and a Central Park engulfed by shantytowns.

This is cruder stuff than I usually go for. Abstruse financial analysis provides a more satisfying jolt of fright, dread, and incomprehension.

Lindgren recommended the blog Calculated Risk as “a reliable turn-on,” while Gawker and blogger Paul Kedrosky offered further sources ofpessimism porn (and an example of what Kedrosky believes constitutes “Armageddon porn”).