Mornings with Japers

Not exactly "Tuesdays with Morrie", but since much of what I end up thinking and/or writing about is driven my daily media consumption, I thought I would share.

Armed with too much coffee (in a thermal carafe so I don't have to get up, sheesh), something tasty, faithful Shadow the Wonder Dog at my feet (looking for crumbs more than as loyal companion) I nest into the couch and fire up the TV and my laptop. Despite mounting evidence that it is probably not a good idea, I still multitask at this.

First and foremost comes "The Rachel Maddow Show". TRMS is on MSNBC and in many ways leads the liberal media charge, which is of course fraught with confirmation bias and as skewed to the left as Fox News is to the right. Granted. The difference for me is Rachel herself. She is unquestionably brilliant - academic credentials don't necessarily prove intelligence, but a Rhodes scholarship and doctorate in politics from Oxford certainly don't hurt - but also funny, genuinely curious, respectful even with those she disagrees with, insightful and, a biggie with me, undeniably passionate. Her show makes me mad, makes me laugh and most importantly, makes me think. Her show - and its blog, maintained and curated by the also great Steve Benen - are refuges of sanity and reason from the storms of madness.

As Rachel begins, in a nice little piece of juxtaposition and before starting on actual news, I check the Trumpsterfire's Twitter feed. Chalk it up to car-crash syndrome, but I take perverse satisfaction in having to look it up every day because I refuse to be a follower. My feelings about his tweeting merit a post of its own, so I'll move on. After the inevitable outrage-fueled wake-up (maybe the coffee is redundant) I head for the online New York Times as Rachel gets rolling.

You know, the oft-maligned and despised "failing NYT". If anything can be judged by its detractors, 45's feelings toward the Times serve as high praise. While I often grumble at it, I love the Times. They don't miss much, the Morning Briefing is handy when pressed for time, the Opinion section has a bunch of really good people and is wide-ranging (the comments section is illuminating to say the least) and it is still for the most part shockingly good journalism. And when anyone with a blog (ahem) can claim pretensions to journalism, that is hard to overvalue. Great thing in the times today.

Then it is on to The Week. Far more centrist, occasionally even right-leaning, than the Times this is my admittedly somewhat feeble attempt to not fall into the confirmation bias sinkhole and get some input with which I don't automatically agree. I will admit to spending more time on their "Speed Reads" than the longer pieces, but I still often find more info on things I might not have come to in the Times. I used to try harder to get to the "other side" but too much indignation and outrage isn't good for me, and, well, fuck 'em anyway. Great thing "The Week" led me to today.

Somewhere along here Rachel gives way to "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert". Not as outrageously wonderful as the "Colbert Report" was (what is?) it is still pretty good. His opening monologue is generally worth at least a couple of actual laughs (of note today was footage of Alex Jones arguing with Alexa about whether or not she is owned and directed by the CIA), he engages his guests well and seems to genuinely enjoy most of them, and some of the recurring bits are quite good. I am probably biased because I share many of his passions - LOTR, Star Wars, and musical theatre to name a few - but that seems like a pretty good reason. Oh and Jon Batiste and Stay Human rival The Roots for cool house band.

My online trek then proceeds to BoingBoing, easily my favorite place on the internet. Self described as "A Directory of Mostly Wonderful Things" it isn't anything in and of itself but just a collection of other stuff. Curated by a bunch of crazy-smart people - Cory Doctorow and Xeni Jardin are two of my favorites - the only thing I don't like about it is how dangerous it is as a time sink. It covers an outrageous amount of ground and can send you spinning down the internet rabbit hole with a vengeance. Running the gamut from highly frivolous to borderline disturbing, you can find police brutality next to Star Wars memes next to internet policy next to gaming reviews next to NASA video next to . . . you might get the idea but probably only partially. Go there, you won't be disappointed, but be cautious. Here is a random representative example from today that tickled me. (If you're not a King of the Hill fan, don't bother).

I wind up my odyssey with a stop by Doonesbury. Maintained by the Washington Post, it is free and seldom fails to get a laugh, making it an excellent place to visit after sometimes copious amounts of stuff about which to be sad/angry/worried. The "Mudline" is a hoot, "Say What" often jaw-dropping and "Today's Video" is eclectic as hell. I try to confine myself to these quickly consumable portions as the "Daily Briefing" and "Ask Duke" can be a time-sinks unto themselves, but I always at least stop by the "Flashbacks" (a pulldown item under "The Strip" to cherry pick from my favorite characters and stories available. Garry Trudeau has been producing genius hilarity for almost fifty freaking years and is a national treasure. 

How do I have time for this morass of media, you ask? I don't. I also play too much sudoku and am dangerously addicted to Sporcle. Forgive me readers, I am lazy. I will take two Bloody Marys and an Ave Maria as my penance. But at least my morning routine stimulates me and keeps me somewhat informed. Selah.