Atheism has been coasting for a while, as that dismal bus ad ("There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life") proved, managing to be both pusillanimous and patronising in an even shorter space than the average tweet.
While that dismal record may be partly a product of the skepticism Bronx juries have of the police, it also raises questions about whether the breakdown in the borough's court system is letting dangerous criminals go free.
The United States already has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world and prison costs further strains government budgets, while the dismal job situation means many released inmates have little opportunity to become productive citizens -- another vicious circle.
Manchester City must privately have known the game had been up for a while, but this was dismal confirmation their title defence has been curtailed, buried for good in the joyous din that erupted in this corner of south London.
Appearing dismally oafish yourself while portraying a dismal oaf isn't comical; it is what's known in lit crit circles as the mimetic fallacy.
I kept wanly recalling its heyday while watching this dismal off-Broadway import: it apes the revue-form while sticking, with a hermetic blandness, to the single subject of dating, mating and sexually relating.
Murphy had scored 15 points, fought for 16 rebounds and persevered while shooting a dismal 5 of 16.
Or has it become fashionable to criticize only Israel, while ignoring a dismal record on lesbian and gay rights throughout the Islamic world?
Mr Blair said the loss of three Assembly seats in Wales was "hardly dismal", while the party is unlikely to suffer its predicted losses of between 500 and 600 seats in England.
While England's dismal record from the penalty spot and in other clutch moments on the football pitch – including their tired finish against Italy – would suggest Vialli has a point, John McEnroe has another take on pressure, one that has nothing to do with nationality and everything to do with experience.
