I can report that there **is**, in fact, a thing “more depressing than

sitting in a dank bachelor-pad trying to write a book but getting nothing

done because it’s nearly impossible to keep the TV off.” Try sitting in a

suburban homestead, around which all the snow has melted, exposing the

appalling state of roof, garden, gutters, driveway, etc., while TRYING TO DO

YOUR TAXES, but getting nothing done because it’s nearly impossible to keep

the TV off.