Stay Strong

Gird your loins, People of Gheorghe. If our sources are to be trusted, today marks the beginning of what promises to be a protracted legal shitshow, as Special Counsel Robert Mueller's first indictment related to his investigation of improprieties surrounding the 2016 election is handed down.

As Marls and I discussed over beers this weekend, we live in impossibly stupid times. The refusal of erstwhile America First 'conservative' Republicans to acknowledge the obvious deficiencies with their party standard bearer in service of rich-enriching fiscal policy is but one of the too-numerous examples. And the Democrats' inability to defeat that standard bearer doesn't exactly cover them in glory. Regardless, the normal rules of political physics and basic decorum certainly don't apply at the moment.

So we'll need some help as a people in getting through the next few months. God help us if it takes more than months.

Since we're nothing more than servants of the public, here's the definitive G:TB guide to sustaining sanity in a world that no longer makes very much sense.

Be Informed

We can't, as much as we might want, go the way of the ostrich and bury our heads in the sand and ignore reality. So our first bit of advice is to find a good source of impartial information. Me, I'm a big fan of the Lawfare blog from the Brookings Institution. Lawfare writes concisely and intelligently about legal issues related to the post-9/11 expansion of the national security state. Co-founder Ben Wittes is friends with Jim Comey, and has unique insights into the investigative process. I'm professionally acquainted with Wittes and find him deeply serious and wicked smart. His piece on how to interpret reporting about the investigation is a must-read.

I also find Tom Ricks' writing to be invaluable. The long-time chronicler of the American military has deep connections and a hard-won understanding of the Defense establishment and its place in our society. As I become increasingly uneasy with the trend towards unthinking worship of The Troops, Ricks' writing provides useful context about the military's historical and current position in our civilian-led body politic. There's a G:TB post in my head about the emptiness of  'Thank You for Your Service' in a world where support of the military is used as dangerous shorthand for love of country.

Take Jim Valvano's Advice

In his famous ESPY speech, delivered just months before his death, Valvano said, "If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

So let's work on that. Netflix has a shitload of great standup comedy available to assist you in fulfilling your laughter quota. The Test Podcast is up to 100 episodes, and I know all of you haven't kept pace. 99% Invisible is a thoughtful podcast about how the things around us came to be, or as they describe it - "the unnoticed architecture and design that shape our world". Those'll help you think, at least a little. As for crying, feel free to watch video of William & Mary's offense against Maine this weekend. It's downright triggering. Your mileage may vary.

Drink Good Beer

My tastes run to the ridiculously high-octane at the moment, so I'm compelled to recommend Founders' Backwoods Bastard (a wee heavy ale which checks in at 11.2% ABV), Stone's Woot Stout collaboration (an absurd 13%), and Blue Mountain's (from Afton, VA) Dark Hollow Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout (a lightweight at 10%). A pint or two of these, and it's easy to forget the troubles of the outside world.

Move Your Body

The positive impact of exercise on mental health and stress levels isn't a secret, but we highly recommend it even in normal times. You've just gotta find something that works for you. Not all of us are wired to train for triathlons, but if that's your gig, get after it. Take a run, if that's better for you. Dave turned me on to a Crossfit routine via Sentence of Dave a few years ago, and it's a deceptively good way to get your heart rate up in a short period of time. Similarly, I found a workout on Men's Health that takes about thirty minutes, and makes a motherfucker sweat. Here it is:



Entertain Yourself

Kurt Cobain felt stupid and contagious, which is an apt description of modern America. Here we are now. Entertain us.

Watch the new Stranger Things season. Listen to the new St. Vincent record. Write more blog posts. Go to a rock show, with or without Whitney. Read some stuff (if you're into prescient techno-dystopian fiction, try Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, which I just read, even though it was first published in 1992). Peruse old G:TB posts, from when life was simpler. Go see the Black Panther movie (in February), but maybe don't read Ta-Nehisi Coates' new anthology for a while - we're trying to flee reality, not be reminded of it. Couchsurf your way around a packed sportsball calendar. Hell, lose yourself for weeks in Open Culture, which remains an amazing compendium of cool shit.

And if all else fails, I hear Canada is nice this time of history.