Kansas City Shuffle

Reason I'm in town...case you're wondering...is 'cause of a Kansas City Shuffle.
What's a Kansas City Shuffle?
A Kansas City Shuffle is when everybody looks right...you go left
-Bruce Willis as Mr Goodcat, Lucky Number Slevin

I'm finding that a lot of the work of managing depression is finding ways to constantly keep my brain going left...away from whatever depression thought pockets are to the right. Working at art is a reliable base, but I need something else while I'm doing artwork; something going on in the background that is interesting enough to constantly tug my mind sideways, but not so interesting that I'm torn between working a piece and attending to that thing.

TV/movie DVDs work well, but not every movie or tv show works. I'm still trial-and-erroring different DVDs, but I believe I'm discovering a pattern for the kind that will work for me. Basically, the movie and or tv show must a) not be overly dramatic and b) must be heavy on the dialogue and/or c) have a commentary track. Also, unfortunately, it must be relatively new; I can't watch the same DVD over and over because after a while I'll know it enough to tune it out. The elements that tugged my brain fade away.

For those who want to test this theory (or are looking for an alternative depression solution), a list of what's worked for me so far.

1. Lucky Number Slevin. Sharp dialogue and two commentary tracks.
2. The Usual Suspects: See above re: dialogue. Only one commentary track but bonus features with lots of talking heads.
3. The Office, Season Three: Heavy on the funny. The link is to deepdiscountdvds, but I'm not sure if it's the one that comes in the fake paper bag. You want that one; it has a bonus fifth DVD containing a roundtable discussion with all of the actors from The Office. That disc alone makes up for the lack of episode commentary.
4. Arrested Development (any season): This one is a little on the edge as its focused on a family, a trigger point for some, but the dialogue is sharp and there's lots of it. Also, funny as hell.
5. Garden State: Once again kind of borderline (see #4 above about family) but lots of talking and two commentaries both of which are kind of funny.
6. Raines: Ignore this link, get it in iTunes. Jeff Goldblum corners the market on interesting talk and this is an entire series with him as the main star. Unfortunately it only lasted one season.

Feel free to post selections not included above in the comments section; my recent picks (Raines, Bones, both Season One) are starting to get old.