Revelation
Posted by harlan on 15 May 2008 at 11:37 am | Tagged as: talking to the void
I have something to reveal today.
No, it’s not that I’m not real. Because I am real. More real than most of you.
It’s that I’ve been taking Celexa for the past month. And you know what? I’m starting to feel pretty damn good. And you know what else? I look back at about 90% of the blog I’ve written so far and am pretty mortified by the fact that I ever wrote such crap.
By the way, judging from the substance of the comments this blog generates, about 95% of you ought to be looking at either starting or adjusting your medication, too.
Except Lily, who maybe might want to simply lay off the medication altogether for a while. Just to see what it’s like.
For about two weeks, I’ve been trying, when I write this blog, to continue to push the "woe is me" thing. Give the yokels what they paid for. But the truth is, I don’t feel too woeful right now. And I don’t feel like I need the cheap therapy that this blog used to provide. And above all, I don’t need the shit advice I generally get here.
Bertha, by the way, can take a flying fuck. Oh, and Jane too. Yeah, Jane. I just mentioned you on my blog. Bite me.
Yeah, I’m still alone. Probably always will be. And guess what: most people are assholes, so maybe being alone isn’t a bad thing to be.
I’m going to take a few days off to decide whether I am going to continue this blog. If I do, I’m just going to talk about my life as it is. I’m not going to pretend to be more pathetic than I am.
And if I don’t continue the blog, well then, it’s been fun. Occasionally.
Yay Harlan!! This is my most favorite post by you ever! Good for you.
Ah, yes. Just in time for the semester end.
I hope you got a good grade for this!
oh, and of course I’ll miss you. But I’d so much rather you be happy and healthy than focusing on the bad things or even trying to find bad things for Blog fodder.
Take care!
Whatever you choose.
It has more-than-occasionally been fun to read.
its been fun.
Yes, I agree it’s been a giggle!
good riddance
it’s been entertaining for sure. hope you continue updating the blog, so when i feel bad about myself, i can come on and see how much worse it can be.
Its when you give up looking that you truely find happiness. Spoken from Experience.
FK
You’re quitting your blog? Giving up the one thing in your life that you’re proud of and for which you won a major award? For which you even bought yourself an unattractive lucite trophy? That’s ridiculous. Some of us have made these comments our home (home is wherever you hang your asshat). You can’t stop blogging here. We have a relationship!
Good for you. Now go get that Fed Ex babe.
(So are you telling us you didn’t really leave rotting chicken hearts at Bertha’s door? If so, I’m relieved. That was a little too psycho for Uncle Herb’s sensibilities.)
But…. we’re not done hearing about your life yet. Even if it’s not ‘woe is me’ themed.
Project has run it’s course huh?
I read your blog every day and when you don’t post I am constantly checking for your newest post! Please don’t stop blogging! It doesnt matter if you are happy sad, single or in a relationship…your writing is insightful and honest and I hope you don’t stop sharing.
Herb, I’m smelling the stench from here.
Harlan, you really shouldn’t be mixing the amphetamines and the antidepressants and the antianxiety pills and the Lortab. Pick two and stick with them for a while…see if things even out for you. In the mean time, don’t make any major decisions. And you might want to stay home from work for a while. Oh, and for the next couple weeks, when you get a sudden really great idea…DON’T.
For example, it might suddenly dawn on you that the FedEx chick would really appreciate you hiding in her truck and then when she’s driving down the road, jumping out from the boxes with a box of chocolates. In this example, it’s not a good idea. Likewise, you should discard any ideas you have that are in anyway similar to the one I just suggested.
I wonder if Bertha will take your advice and have a flying fuck with Wednesday guy. I’m thinking trampoline and bungie cords. Industrial strength bungie cords.
I thought we all agreed that you weren’t going to make any references to she of the missing plant. I mean if that dog’s sleeping, you’d better just make hay while the sun shines.
I hope you get an A for this senior paper.
Hmm. I wonder who the 5% of the commenters might be who, according to the blog author, don’t need their medication adjusted? Moshizzle seems raving sane, but she’s sometimes critical, so I don’t think she’s in the lucky 5%. Must be only the cheerleading squad that meets with the blog author’s approval.
The 5% are the 5% of the time I post as somebody else.
Which, if my arithmetic is correct, is 95% of the cheerleading squad, eh boss?
Lol, nice one H. I hope that you, like E, will come visit me occasionally. And archive your blog. In 10 years it will be like reading through your high school diaries. You’ll be able to laugh and cringe and be proud of everything you hadn’t realized you had achieved.
Well, if you decide to continue, I’m glad you won’t keep pretending to be more pathetic than you are because that in and of itself is pretty pathetic. And boring. The entries for the past couple of weeks have been positively uncaptivating. But if you decide to call it quits, best of luck to you!
Please delete my comment above - cold medicine really whacks a person out sometimes.
Does this mean you’re in therapy or have a perscription? Or is this the stuff you took from your sister? I hope it’s the former because I’d hate to see you crash when you can’t get a refill. Otherwise best of luck whatever your decision is.
I don’t think your blog has to sound pathetic to be good. I’ll keep reading even if (especially if?) things start looking up. I’m kind of a loser too, just like you*, and I like the idea that things can potentially look up.
*…well, maybe not EXACTLY like you.
THANK GOD your not that pathetic, I was wondering how a human could function like that.
I’m glad you got the help you needed
I would still like to read about your life, Harlan, so I hope you decide to continue posting here. There are a lot of lonely people in this world, but not many of them will write about how alone they feel. In a strange way reading and reacting to your thoughts and experiences, real or not, is comforting. Your blog fills a need for the walking wounded. If you give it up then so be it, but I do hope that you don’t abandon it.
Harlan - I love your writing. I hope you continue…
Hey, congratulations on your improvement!
And by “improvement,” I mean “transition from ‘depressed’ to ‘intolerant, self-obsessed anger machine’”
I say talk about your life the way it is. I’m a dedicated lurker (well, until now) and I’d hate to see you go!
I think this is the best thing you’ve ever written. I actually believe that you did get help because it takes that kind of help to realize the insanity of your commenters — yes, about 95% of them. Their comments were as entertaining as your blog when you were unwell. I know which ones you mean because you are no longer in the same state of mine and you think that state of mind was crazy. So it has to be the people that were in the same state of mind whether they were supporters or just mean-spirited trogs.
Good for you Harlan. I am on Celexa too, and it did change my life. I will miss you if you decide to stop blogging but woe, it’s you.
You’re a dick.
who else can you turn to when u are having a “woe is me day”? better to blog it out than keep it inside you. However you choose I wish you the best.
It’s been fun Harlan. Glad to see your doing better.
Take care all
_a
Please don’t stop blogging! I love reading your blog. I hope you continue…
Every freaking time I read one of your posts I think “this has to be the worst one he has ever written.” Well congrats because this one has to be the most pathetic, sad, irritating and crappy post I have ever read. Do us all a favor and give up this blog. As you can see, no one feels sorry for you anymore so what’s the point right?
The efficacy of Celexa in the treatment of depression was established in 4-6 week, controlled trials of outpatients whose diagnosis corresponded most closely to the DSM-III and DSM-III-R category of major depressive disorder
A major depressive episode (DSM-IV) implies a prominent and relatively persistent (nearly every day for at least 2 weeks) depressed or dysphoric mood that usually interferes with daily functioning, and includes at least five of the following nine symptoms: depressed mood, loss of interest in usual activities, significant change in weight and/or appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation or retardation, increased fatigue, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, slowed thinking or impaired concentration, a suicide attempt or suicidal ideation.
The antidepressant action of Celexa in hospitalized depressed patients has not been adequately studied.
The efficacy of Celexa in maintaining an antidepressant response for up to 24 weeks following 6 to 8 weeks of acute treatment was demonstrated in two placebo-controlled trials (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY). Nevertheless, the physician who elects to use Celexa for extended periods should periodically re-evaluate the long-term usefulness of the drug for the individual patient.
The Celexa has helped out Buzz but isn’t doing much for Harlan. That’s a shame because Harlan’s a much more engaging writer than Buzz.
Author…thank you for mentioning me. It’s good to know that you’re being affected by the truth. Perhaps your next character won’t be a lying, cheating, steatling, psychotic virgin. It just didn’t work for you.
I’m here from Boobs, Injuries and Dr. Pepper. What a bunch of asses you’ve collected!
I’ll be going back to read your other posts, but I’m glad you’re feeling better!
Good on you! The anonymous comments made me laugh. What fucktards!
Aw, little H is taking his ball and going home finally, after discovering the people on the net dislike his shitty personality just as much as people in the real world.
Here is a wakeup call, you can take all the feel good yay for me pills you want, if you lie, steal, and walk around with that fucking chip on your shoulder, you’ll still be an asshole. You might not feel as bad about being an asshole, but it sure as shit won’t change what you are. Tossing your fucking leftovers in front of a car because you couldn’t fit them in the fucking trash makes you an asshole, and feeling insulted when someone calls you on it just validates the level off asshole you’ve ascended to. Not only do you feel the right to act with no social regard, you feel entitled to do so, and are offended when you are called on it.
Making better decisions might just lead to you being a better person, which might just lead to REAL happiness. I’m not saying some people don’t need medication, but H my man, you just need a shitload better decision making, and many of your problems will no doubt go away. Droping a forget me not of chicken hearts on a doorknob is a dick move, and feeling ok about it doesn’t make you less of a dick, oddly it makes you MORE of one.
Quite a little cheering squad you have here Harlan.
You haters (and you definitely know who you are) really need to find some sort of way to get off other than bashing this guy, or anyone else. What a pathetic bunch of losers you all are if you have nothing better to do than to tear down someone who is trying to better himeself.
Oh please Disgusted. Have you even been reading this guy’s blog? He is NOT trying to better himself. He is a guy that wanted to see how many people would read a blog about a made up person. He is not real so you can’t feel bad for him. If you do, just read a few of his posts and then you will realize how fake it all is.
I started reading a while ago and really really loved this blog. But lately, every post had gotten worse and worse. It’s like he just completely gave up. I don’t get it.
Disgusted-
Better himself? Are you out of your fucking mind? Wanting to feel better about being a total and complete shithead is not betting ones self, it’s an ego trip. H here must be thrilled that all the sheeple are coming here and giving him mad props about wanting to feel good, but here is a fucking newsflash, everyone wants to feel that way. Most of us learned that lying, stealing, and being your everyday asshole on a daily basis is not the most likely path to this goal.
Joe
Never been here before - but scanning through I can easily see what you are talking about. Jesus wept!
Just thought I’d leave a comment about something that might be of help. I know it’s expensive - but I have seen incredible wonderful results with it. My girlfriend who is schizophrenic takes only this now and she is a different person - no pun intended. She went from a drooling idiot to a self-employed plus sitting on the town council.
So have a look - and no - I don’t work for them - I just believe in it.
www.truehope.com
Good luck and to hell with the idiots!
Well, I just came here from Boobs, Injuries and Dr. pepper and I gotta say that if you don’t want to keep it up I can’t blame you, but if you do I’ll be reading.
In my little non-judgmental quarantine where I can be free from everyone else who needs to be an idiot.
Although, I really can’t say anything about them - on some topics, I am like them too.
Joe, VERY well said.
I’m pretty sure most of the ’sheeple’ (love that!) are Author (Disgusted is a great example) and/or insecure women who spend their time writing to mass murderers on death row looking for love.
Hi Lilly,
I would wager that Disgusted and the others are people that came over from my blog.
I’ve read this blog from beginning to end and kept up with his postings and I remain horrified that people can treat others the way some of you treat him. You’re so incredibly sure that he’s fake…but, what if? What if he’s not? Can you imagine how all of this must make him feel?
I find it very telling that as soon as someone steps up to view it from the other side, you automatically assume that those people must be insecure women or the author’s other persona.
And why all the anonymity from the naysayers? Most would use the excuse that it’s because they don’t have a blog to speak of, but I would venture a guess that some of you don’t want anyone coming to your site and heaping piles of shit on you. It doesn’t feel good.
I cannot believe how cynical and rude people are. This is the first time I have come to this blog (I was directed from Boobs, Injuries, and Dr. Pepper). I just can’t understand if people don’t think you are genuine or don’t like what you have to say why they don’t just discontinue visiting your blog. There must be something drawing them to it. I say to those commenters LEAVE HIM ALONE AND GET A LIFE!!!
Harlin, if you are truly a real person, then I hope you continue to try and improve your life. Perhaps, this blog is not the best thing for you since there seems to be a lot of negativity (and yes, I have commented a couple of times and some of them were negative).
If this is all made up, well then…well done! This one post so far has over 50 comments. You obviously did something right.
TGIF- Crystal, and any other damaged souls.
Ok, try and stay with me here, ready? Good.
Freedom is the right to make one’s own choices, as in to choose to do something, or not to do it. Little H here has the freedom to make any choice he wants, he then willingly shares those choices here, hoping to have them validated. The problem is, he’s making shitty choices that will in the long run make him miserable, and every one of you who validates those choices are adding to his misery. It’s like his poor choices are a crack pipe, and you’re all feeding him a light and claiming anyone trying to take it is mean.
Talk about a fucked up sense of “helping”
Joe
Joe, and any other web psychologists,
Where, exactly, does he say he’s looking for validation for the poor choices he’s made? Are we reading the same blog? Because to me, it looks like he’s WRITING. Novel concept, writing on one’s blog. I share my stupid shit and people call me on it, but they do so in a way that’s not dripping with acid. You guys are purposely cruel to this guy and it’s juvenile.
And likening our non-judgmental approach to giving an addict a hit of crack is just silly. I mean, honestly, do you really think YOU’RE helping him? Do you think he reads all this degrading shit and is all, “Hey! I think I’ll change my life because that guy called me an asshole!”
That could TOTALLY happen.
and another thing, who the hell says he wants anyone’s help at all? I’m just saying that beating the hell out of him via his comments is uncalled for. You can still say everything you have to say and do so with a modicum of decency.
Lilly,
Terribly sorry that we can’t all be as well-adjusted as you clearly are.
Crackjob (very fitting name, by the way)…I’m sorry too.
By the way, how many inmates on death row have you written to this week?
Wow this is nice. Now we have moved from ripping Harlin apart and are starting on each other. Really nice guys.
Crystal-
Harlan is unhappy. He has stated he’s unhappy. I am guessing he wants to be happy, but I may be wrong on that point. He is obviously making poor life choices, and yes, he’s behaving like an asshole. He is putting things on his blog for some reason, and he has admitted in the past to reading comments, and even posted very angry tantrums when people have responded in a negative way to his posts.
Now, I’m no rocket scientist (however I do have a degree in Psychology, thanks for catching that, people like H are the reason I never went on to practice) but I would say that if you are unhappy when people don’t validate you, then perhaps you are looking to be validated.
The problem is, once again, if you and others validate his current choices, then he’ll keep on making them, and be miserable.
As to him changing his life as a result of me calling him an asshole, I’m quite sure Harlin knows that lying, and stealing, and hanging rotten chicken hearts on doorknobs is asshole behavior, and as a result I doubt this is much of an insult. I would also think that he’s perfectly content doing it, and whining here about it, because if he wanted to change, he’d have done it by now. I simply enjoy pointing out what I see with the boldness and directness that is my gift. Much like little H has a gift for bs, I have a gift for bluntness and directness, and I am actually totally happy and content with my life and personality, hence the reason I don’t care if you approve or not. I do however enjoy banter and discussion, so feel free to continue.
Joe
I feel bad for Bertha. That poor chick has to live with the memory of fucking this loser forever.
Lily, Joe, Annoyed, Chuck and all the other people who can see right through this bullshit, good on ya!
Yeah, if Bertha is actually a person. I seriously doubt anyone would fuck a guy like Harlan. Unless they were really, really desperate.
I truly believe if you decide to start a blog and know that many people will read it, you have to be prepared for people to make mean comments. Especially if you ask for it and do stupid things.
And I did not come here through anyone’s blog. I found this on my own.
Hi Joe,
I would agree if he were simply upset over people not validating him and his antics, but I think he has every right to be upset when the troglodytes that hang around here say such needlessly nasty stuff to him. I’d be upset, took, and it wouldn’t have anything to do with validation.
Is it not possible to get the same point across without resorting to ugliness? He’s a well written, thoughtful and intelligent person and it would be my guess that he could carry on a conversation, or a volley of banter, with someone who actually treated him like a human being.
My reply was directed at Lilly because I thought it incredibly arrogant of her to assume that anyone who doesn’t agree with HER point of view is some love deprived lunatic. Now, I just realize that her parents aren’t monitoring her computer usage.
I like you, Joe. And Harlan? I hope the post about the chicken hearts was one of your made up attempts to seem more pathetic than you are. I really hope that the meds are helping and that you make progress in your life, with or without the blog. It would be nice to hear about it, though.
I have my own blog and I know that I would be pretty devastated if people left really mean comments. I started a blog because I thought it would be helpful to write down all of my thoughts. I was not looking for anyone to validate me or anything. I just wanted to write and if people wanted to read it, cool! I wonder if that is the same thing that Harlin did. If so, I hope he can manage to ignore the really mean comments. Some of those people may be being honest but a lot of them are just trying to be hurtful and get a rise out of others.
No one here can judge anyone else. I also have a psychology degree and I know that everyone has their own way of seeking happiness. Maybe writing this stuff down is really helpful to Harlin. I know writing is like therapy for me!
I do think it’s kinda funny that every single person that wrote something mean is anonymous.
Thats the point of a blog is for others to read, provide input, and in this case, criticism and/or harassment.. lol.. but come on, Harlan’s stories are so out there that he is almost asking for it.
I started my blog to keep track of my adventures which I find are pretty funny and entertaining, and it’s for people to read, otherwise why would I publish it on the internet!?!?
Um MyQuest, did you seriously write an entire blog on your daily attempts to get laid? Wow.
hi harlan. i just found your blog today. it’s a shame that i come in when you are thinking of ending it. oh well, i added you to my bloglines anyway. i read a lot today. for those people who think you are fake, and maybe you are, screw it. it isn’t about that. either you’re a lovely person, or it is a lovely story. either way, it’s lovely. i just finished reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and the author writes scarily like you. i am always sad when i finish a book because the character(s) become so real, it’s almost like i have to break up with them. but reading this is like a continuation of that book. if you haven’t checked it out, you should.
I got here today for the first time via Crystal’s blog. I haven’t yet read but this post. Wanted to let you know that I have been taking Celexa for a couple of years now. It transformed my life. The change was almost immediate. I just…lost the anger that had been driving my life. It has also set me free from the constant obsessiveness that fed the anger. So… hang in there, you are real. Well, unless I was right as a teenage hippie smoking dope when I first postulated that our universe was only someone else’s dream. :)
If you do stop the blog, I just want to wish you all the best. I just started reading you after the bloggies. You’re a very good storyteller.
Crystal, is there not a single cynic among your happy group? Well, there just might be if this blog continues. Those of us who’ve been here a while have experienced rotten chicken hearts, stolen plants, stolen pens, lies, forged job references, premature ejaculation, eruptions of various bodily fluids, ripped pants, stalking, snitching, incestful lust, gay bashing, crying, smoking, obesity and a whole lot of whining. The story is what it is, but what it hasn’t been is a lovely story written by a lovely person.
I’ll miss you too, Harlan. I have always believed you are “real”, stopped believing some time ago that everything you tell us is real, because you’ve admitted more than once that you posted a fantasy. But this blog sort of took on a life of its own, didn’t it? I went back just now to the very first posts, when there were only 2 or 3 people commenting (including me). It didn’t take long for the blog to attract trolls and flamers, did it? And the more dysfunctional shit you revealed, the worse it got. Kind of like now there was someone for others to dump on, so they could assure themselves they were doing better than you…
Not everyone. I liked finding the comments from people who figured if you could keep coping, they could too. And from thoughtful commenters who liked exploring alternatives you could have considered.
I hope the celexa helps. I hope you let go of Bertha, who doesn’t care anyway. And I hope you keep on blogging, because I’d love to see you get your shit together.
becs-
sure! why not? my trials and attempts are fun, funny, pathetic at times i’m sure, and it’s entertaining.
tell me what guy out there isn’t trying to get laid?!!?
Hey,
I came to your site across on 13.05.2008 - I googled for: courage fear alone
- so I started to read and read and read your blog. After some while I decided to go to your first blog entry to get a clue what was this about.
At the end I didn’t finish the paperwork I had to do and slept only two hours. I was a wreck at our meeting - and after two days of being busy I got back to you and have to read that you may stop this.
What a pity -
So very alone is everyone and there is no chance on Earth that it will change.
Our soul longs to belong and to be with someone - but noone can be in us in our mind or heart and feel what we feel. But I can feel compassion with you. And I guess other too.
I hope you can be without medication.
Hasta la uego (sp?).
Seriously Harlan, if this is the end, good luck. I don’t think many of your readers are going to leave if you continue along this new path though, so you might want to keep on writing.
Then with your writing experience, you can write a book titled “Not Very Alone”. Then get on the Oprah reading list… and this is starting to sound like one of your stories. I’ll stop now.
Harlan, look how many people love to read your blog. It’s because you are a good writer and you are interesting. I’m sure happiness will not change that. Keep writing please.
Congratulations on finding (or beginning to find) the real you. My younger daughter suffers from depression and anxiety. We’re finally getting her meds straightened out, and I’m getting my loving child back. Please remember that there will be ups and downs, but the downs will never be as bad as they used to be. I found your blog through BoobsInjuriesandDrPepper, I’ll check back occasionally to see how you’re doing.
Wow. Just Wow. I have almost forgotten what the original post was about. I too wandered over from Crystal’s place.
This seems to me to be a lesson to all of us that get the haters (mine don’t usually post in the comments they email me) that it is not as bad as it COULD be.
The comments here are like a train wreck, I can’t look away. But I want to.
I hope to God that you don’t actually read what these people say cause just reading these comments has risen my blood pressure and from what I can gather I have yet to read the worst of it.
Will make myself a latte and trawl your blog. Promise I will shut the door and turn out the lights on my way out.
Seriously? You guys are bashing this person because he’s “not real”?
Who cares?
If he isn’t, why are you still reading? And if he is, he’s a person putting it out there, just like every other person with a blog. Take it for what it is and move on.
And some of you call him a thief, a liar, and actually believe he’s hanging chicken hearts on doorknobs??
It’s called abstract writing, creative thinking. It’s a way to use words so they have meaning, and an impact. Some of the things he wrote weren’t meant to be taken literally, they were meant to describe how he’s feeling.
That’s my take on it anyway.
I’m sorry you had to meet so many shitheads by the way of this blog.. Most people can be cruel and heartless but the sad part is that they had probably lead a selflothing - pathetic - shitty existance and are all bent out of shape because in some way, you had it better than them.
Good job telling them to fuck off, don’t you ever take shit from anyone, sitting down. Fight for yourself because you are worthy damnit! To hell with those who don’t know what humanity is even if it bit them in the ass. There are people out there who truely care, sometimes it just takes a little work to realise who they are.
I wish you the very best, and don’t be afraid to tell those pricks to sit on something nice and sharp.
~Wolfly~
Hey Harlan,
Congrats on coming clean. You know you inspired me to come clean on my website too, about taking celexa. Thanks for the inspiration.
I hope you keep writing, but if you don’t i enjoyed reading your blog. :)
Harlan, I just discovered your blog today and have read each of your entries, right back to the start. Obviously, it’s up to you as to whether you’ll keep this blog going, but I’ve found it insightful. My ex-partner experiences many of the same feelings/thoughts as you do, and this has allowed me a brief window into what life must be like for him, yourself, and others who feel similarly. We are all different, and obviously have different experiences and emotions and reactions, however I hope you don’t mind me saying that I’ve found your blog to be helpful, insightful and interesting.
Thanks for taking the time to read my comment.
Lumiya
I also came over from Crystal’s blog. What I find interesting is that people who seem to “hate” Harlan keep coming back. Why in the world would you keep reading for the sole purpose of being cruel to said person? That, to me, indicates an insecure, vicious personality. If you don’t think he’s real, if he didn’t accept your “advice”, why keep coming back? Does it make you feel good to anonymously attack someone with such vitriol? I just don’t understand commenters who continue to spew hate - if you don’t like the blog or the blogger, get the fuck out. I’ve spent a good part of the day reading this blog from beginning to end, and I don’t know if Harlan is real or not, but some people have obviously related to him. Does it make you feel better about yourselves to be so cruel? While you keep telling the author to get help, you may want to look at yourselves. The nastiness here is beyond anything I’ve seen on other blogs.
Wow
So, society has devolved so far that someone who comes on a blog, and tells a poster that lying, and stealing are not conducive to happiness is the asshole? Furthermote, that telling someone throwing a plate of take out in front of a car, then wanting to spew hatred at a concerned person citing that one should not litter, is asshole like behavior is again evil and mean.
Well shit, call me one evil mean motherfucker then! Here all this time I thought I was simple being objective (for instance, if you saw someone doing the things our boy H has done in the street, I doubt you’d walk up and pat him on the back) “Way to go man, you tossed that shit RIGHT in the street.” Or better yet “Dude, you so stole that bitches plant at the office, you rock” or even, and this is my personal favorite “Man, you stole shit from Wal mart, got caught, and THEN got pissed at the judge cause HE was in the wrong!”
I’m all for whatever makes you happy, as long as it’s not stepping on the rights of others. As to why I read this blog, most likely it’s for the same reason I watch horror movies, even when I know the person is going to go into that room once again with the lights out, it’s entertainment. If H actually ends up happy, hopefully from becoming a better person as a result of honest introspection, rather than from his seratonin production spiking while he remains a complete ass, then I’ll applaud him, and move on. If the train wreck continues, I’ll keep reading in disbelief, and posting as that’s what a blog is about.
Oh, and the anonymous crap gets old, I have no problem stating I am Joseph Haney, from Pennsylvania, I am 36 years old, was born on December 15th, and have a happy family. I’m not sure how that helps or hurts my arguments for societal decency, but it seemed terribly important to several here, so there you have it.
I would like to see how these “haters” fair in their work environment (assuming they have one). For the people who say Harlan is fake, how much of him do you think is fake?
Would you post a fake blog on a site you were paying for?
I would laugh if this whole blog was a psycology experiment to see the reactions of different people to different situations.
Lilly, you called Harlan a “lying, cheating, steatling [sic], psychotic virgin.” Excuse me, but I have been reading all along. I do not think that he is a virgin.
Joe, I think that a lot of these people from Crystal’s blog are responding to whatever sort of hate mail her blog was generating and haven’t necessarily thought about how Harlan’s been inviting his regular readers to watch an 8-month long train wreck. Or, maybe Crystal’s using some sort of weird mind control or they’re all Stepford Wives or something.
So, how was everybody’s weekend?
Swell, Herb. It looks like we could use a Phoenix story here, if you have one.
I’m glad you’re not a pathetic as we all thought. But then How did we get that idea?
“harlan” i miss u already…
Chuck-
I’m going to go with the Stepford Wives explanation. It’s easier to think of robots acting like robots, that the alternative.
Joe
Hey Harlan, congrats on the meds, good on you. Nothing like that feeling of FINALLY having your head/heart/hiney at least 1/2 inch above water. If this was your last post, I will be very sorry to have my camping gear questions unanswered, but such is life. Or the lack of one.
And for the crew, hope to find all your badassnesses at the next comments watering hole.
Thanks mr. h.
I have read this blog for months and commented irregularly under whatever name suits me at the moment. Newcomers to this blog call the olde guard nasty and a**holes and worse. There is no excuse for being nasty, but there may be an explanation: Remember the seven stages of grief (shock, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, hope)? Newcomers eventually will understand, if they read this blog long enough, that reading this blog has similar stages. Perhaps something like sympathy, helpfulness, denial, disbelief, outrage, derision and resignation. You newcomers are still on sympathy. I’ve been there. Keep reading this blog; you’ll get over it. That said, I hope Harlan keeps posting.
I hope Harlan keeps on posting, too. Even though some of us are consistently derisive, there’s been a lot of amusement for everybody here. Hopefully the author will still be able to write well even with his seratonin in balance.
How about every one of you bleeding hearts from Crystal’s blog kiss my ass then go back where you came from, make Smores, hold hands and sing, while basking in the glow of your campfire.
Hi Chuck and Dan,
You’re really proving my point for me. At least Joe had some thoughtful things to say - well, until the Stepford wives remark. A good deal of my readers are MEN…the kind that act like men.
It’s really fucking sad to me that you can’t accept that people can be kind without being a “bleeding heart” or a robot. What a narrowminded world you live in.
I love it when the bus takes a sharp turn and no one is expecting it! This right up there with when the good Doctor Thompson, before JD shot his ashes to the moon, informed his readers he wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas straight as an arrow.
Sincerely
Aunt Bloggie
Crystal, please. Now look at who’s being unkind and insulting. My only argument with you is when you insist that this is a lovely blog written by a lovely person. That misses the whole point of this blog.
Harlan never claimed to be a lovely person. His character is a deeply flawed, self-possessed person who goes from one absurdly humorous disaster to the next, even worse one. He “gives the yokels what they want” and makes each incident more ridiculous than the last and makes himself appear more pathetic with each post. In the beginning, readers want to sympathize with him. After a while, they start to think that nobody could possibly act like him. Then, they start to call him an idiot. This blog’s readers aren’t any more vicious than the people who read your blog or any other. They’re just reacting to the storyline that eggs them on.
I realize that you’re sensitive to criticism because you were unfairly criticized on your own blog. But this blog is entirely different than yours. Please try to stay open-minded.
Chuck, I never said he was a lovely person. My only argument was that criticism can be given without resorting to vicious attacks that are clearly only meant to cause pain. On the off chance that he is real, his stories are real, his pain and isolation and confusion are real, he is not undeserving of compassion.
Now, if he starts burning orphans, then, fuck him.
I think that there were 2 Crystals commenting here, a Memphis Crystal and a Houston Crystal. You must not be the Crystal who commented above “either you’re a lovely person, or it is a lovely story. either way, it’s lovely.” That’s just goofy talk. Your point that criticism can be made without viciousness is well taken.
I never much cared for or understood the whole discussion about whether Harlan is “real.” I also can never understand the overreaction that happens here when somebody decides that Harlan isn’t real and then pouts about it like a 6-year-old who just found out that Santa Claus is really uncle Fred. Come on, people. It’s only the internet.
Harlan is not likely to burn any orphans. He might just steal their playground equipment, however.
I’ve been on Celexa for almost a year now. I’m amazed to go through a day in the same way that normal people do. It’s a bit uncomfortable sometimes because I feel like I’m not myself. But I just have to learn who this new person is and embrace it. because it’s so much better than before.
I completely avoided reading the other 100 comments… so I could’ve missed something. that’s just too much to go through.
Harlan is a guiltless, self-proclaimed stalking, cheating, lying, thief who never accepts responsibility for his outrageous behavior unless he’s drunk and ranting about how sorry he is that he’s alive. He will post anything for attention and relishes in the fact that there are idiots who support him. This guy sits back and high=fives himself while laughing his ass off at the Kumbia lovers who support him.
He isn’t going anywhere. His plan is to sit back and watch people beg for him to write more.
I hope you don’t decide to stop posting. I just read your entire blog yesterday and finished today. Keep posting, don’t let the negative people influence you.
~ FC
“He isn’t going anywhere. His plan is to sit back and watch people beg for him to write more.”
Well said Bill. However, I still look forward to the Return of ‘Harlan’ Perhaps in the meantime I will spend a day and find out who he real ‘Harlan’ is. Not to hard if you have friends in um ‘high places’ or people that work for certain Hosting Companies.
Talk to you all soon…
Oh yeah soveryalone.com was down -26.2% of it’s vistors in April… way to go Harlan.
Dade the decrease is the reason for the threat/drama that he’d no longer be posting. It’s always easier to cry and whine than it is to improve one’s writing.
I am proud to be a member of the ‘negative’ crowd when the scum that you catatonic peace lovers are supporting is nothing more than a lying, stealing, cheating, thief who stalks women and has no conscience.
Bill, that’s as spot on a post as I have EVER seen.
Our daughter, who is 9, finds herself in the same stage of life as Harlan, she will often say “well they made me do it” or “They made me mad, so I had to” I tell her the same thing I’m telling our boy H here, no-one makes you do anything in life. There is always a choice. My motto for life is simple, life is a system of choices, and we are judged by the choices we make. Plain and simple, if you choose to take something that isn’t yours, you must at the same time you make that choice, accept all possible consequenses that come with it, including the ridicule that should come with it from your societal peers. I understand we have devolved to where it’s no longer ok to call someone on some behaviors, and my personal opinion is as long as that behavior isn’t effecting the rest of society, I have no problem with it. If Harlan wants to sniff bleach every night, or jerk off and paint his ceiling, or fill a cup with milk and soak his foot in it for 2 hours I could give a flying fuck.
It’s when H comes here, and bemoans his horrible existence, and then goes on to talk of all those in the world who have wronged him, taking zero accountability in the entire deluge, that’s when I have zero sympathy and respect for him.
You want sympathy? Go check out another bloggie winner, FatCyclist, who just happens to be losing his wife, and mother of 4 to terminal brain cancer. She’s gone though radiation, and for now is doing ok, but she will die, and she will die soon. Oddly enough, he still has a common decency and regard for others that Harlan here seems to lack.
Joe
At first I felt sorry for this smuck. Now - not so much. I used to (and I know this pisses him off) feel that our dear friend Harlan was in fact real. Now I’m 100% sure that Harlan is a fake. He had me up to the point where Jane found the site.
Like Holden Caulfield at the end of “Catcher in the Rye” I find myself missing Harlan even though I know he was a little shit. We miss anything that we get ourselves used to . Even if it is destructive. Some really interesting comments out there.
Looks like someone picked up their smile from the floor.
Harlan:
1)I am serious when I say you need to think about writing a dramady for TV. You are very talented even though you may not try to be which is even better.
2)Email me if you want to write together. No, I do not have a crush
3) Clearly every one is passionate about your blog
4) Good for the celexa. Or however you spell it.
5) You can be happy and still write great shit.
6) Although I wouldn’t know.
7) Write when the mood strikes. It doesn’t have to be depressing to be good. Try a glass or 10 of wine. It helps…but maybe not with Celexa.
8) Trust me, there will be much to complain about even with Celexa.
Cheers,
Lara
Joe & Bill you are absolutely correct. And Joe, again I agree about Fat Cyclist, who is the reason for most people finding this blog. FC is a man with integrity, something that ‘Harlan’ will never know. FC also is an amazing writer, something that Author will never know.
Chuck,
Since you are so open minded, you will understand that the word “lovely” is subjective and can be taken to mean beautiful even in the most ragged ways. An author writes, and we take what we want from it…much like art. Just because you think something is pathetic doesn’t take away what it might mean for someone else.
I don’t know why everyone has to argue over this. Kinda pointless.