F*** My Life

It is surely a sign of the times when a US website which celebrates losing and failure becomes popular. Especially when it's been set up by the French. Inspired by the success of VieDeMerde.fr, a website which allows users to pity themselves and their awful lives, Didier Guedj, Maxime Valette and Guillaume Passaglia started F*** My Life.

Since it went live in January 2009, the site has become beloved of losers all across the US, with most hits being registered in those twin citadels of despair, LA and New York. A million or more sad souls are said to visit the site every day to read and post their very short stories of disappointment, dejection and misery.

There are several categories to post in, including love, work and health. The site itself is visually unremarkable, F*** My Life is just a straightforward bulletin board of woe. You log on, you post, you read other posts and you weep at the bleakness of it all.

If you enjoy Curb Your Enthusiasm, the improvised Larry David comedy built around extreme irritation with the minor daily tragedies that befall us all, you may want to take a look at this site. There is a pessimistic nihilism to the whole thing, enlivened by a black and despairing humour that distinguishes many posts. Sample favourite: "Today, I overheard my daughter compliment my mother by saying "My mom is way flabbier than you, Grandma." When I told her later that she hurt my feelings, she told me to "man up." She's seven."