Any minor shift in outlook -- including a little vicarious creek jumping -- can make a dismal picture less dispiriting.

CNN: What really makes people happy

That ended in a hurry on Wednesday, as a leading index of manufacturing activity fell to a 19-month low and the ADP Employment report painted a dismal picture for jobs.

FORBES: The Week Ahead: Key Levels to Watch

Something must be good, which sounds a very dismal picture there, there must be some good sides to this?

BBC: News Online

Over in print media, Janet Robinson , chief executive of The New York Times Co. (nyse: NYT - news - people ), plans to shrink the width of its flagship paper and cut 250 jobs in the face of a dismal profit picture.

FORBES: Media Muscle Women

While applications for refinancing do not paint as dismal of a picture, the figures have also been on a negative trend since November 2010.

FORBES: Mortgage Demand Wanes Despite Historically Low Interest Rates

After a rather dismal period in the 1970s and '80s, Sony moved their motion picture operations to Culver City's former MGM studios in the early '90s, leading to a recently revitalized downtown area with upscale bars and quirky but user-friendly restaurants.

BBC: Culver City, ready for its close-up