Month: March 2019

Media Diary (March 2019)

Some things I’ve enjoyed lately, in no particular order, and not necessarily only recent stuff:

Us (Movie): Fantastic, still thinking about it

Ministry of Evil: The Twisted Cult of Tony Alamo (TV): I’ve been fascinated with this group for a while, especially since one of their compounds is only a short drive from our house

Shazam! (Movie): Saw an early screening of this and was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it (it’s basically DC’s answer to the Spider-Man franchise)

Leaving Neverland (TV): This was gripping, but really hard to watch from an emotional standpoint

Boy Erased (Movie): A heartbreaking look at conversion therapy (with a random amazing performance by Flea!)

Captain Marvel (Movie): Really fun, and Brie Larson was great

Generation Why (Podcast): Interesting explorations of interesting topics

First Reformed (Movie): Really sparse, really powerful

The Case Against Adnan Syed (TV): I found the case compelling on Serial, and have enjoyed revisiting it here

The Inventor: Out For Blood in Silicon Valley (Movie): I’ve been obsessed with this story for a while, and this just fanned the flames

Arrested Development (TV): One of my all-time favorite shows, but this latest half-season isn’t life-changing

In God We Trump (Movie): Sad

BTK: A Killer Among Us (Movie): Evil can live anywhere

One Week Later

So how’d everyone do on the “follow Trump on Twitter for one week” challenge? Were you surprised by anything he said, or by any claims he made? Did you see anything that wasn’t covered via your normal news diet?

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, and look at some highlights we got right from the horse’s ass mouth:

“The Fake News Media has NEVER been more Dishonest or Corrupt than it is right now. There has never been a time like this in American History. Very exciting but also, very sad! Fake News is the absolute Enemy of the People and our Country itself!”

Editor’s Note: Standard chilling stuff from a relentless liar.

“George Conway, often referred to as Mr. Kellyanne Conway by those who know him, is VERY jealous of his wife’s success & angry that I, with her help, didn’t give him the job he so desperately wanted. I barely know him but just take a look, a stone cold LOSER & husband from hell!”

Editor’s Note: Dignity, always dignity.

“It is my pleasure to announce that @StephenMoore, a very respected Economist, will be nominated to serve on the Fed Board. I have known Steve for a long time – and have no doubt he will be an outstanding choice!”

Editor’s Note (Ron Howard Narration): He was not very respected.

“No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”

Editor’s Note: Beyond us not being able to see the actual report yet (if ever), the summary alone straight-up concludes that obstruction charges cannot be dismissed.

If you found this exercise to be eye-opening in any way, and would like to consider expanding your Twitter habit, I’d love to suggest a few other accounts that are well worth a follow:

Kevin Kruse (Princeton historian and Twitter Jedi)

Jayson Bradley (a pastor struggling with Trumpism and modern evangelical culture)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (take a minute to suppress your deep, primal need to mansplain, and try actually listening to her)

George Conway (husband of Bellatrix Lestrange and recent comedy legend)

Sarah Ford (I’m slightly partial, but her feed is no joke)

Seven Days With Donald

Wow! I’m humbled by the huge response to my post this past weekend on the current state of evangelical culture. Extra kudos to those of you that shared and commented publicly!

If you found anything in the post worthy of consideration or further reflection, you might be wondering what comes next. Well, aside from some of the suggestions I outlined in the post itself (and some additional thoughts on news sources from a while back), I have one more simple, zero-cost recommendation that I invite you to try right now.

It’s something you might not expect, and it’s shamelessly stolen from my wife: follow Donald Trump on Twitter.

Say what now?

Yep. You heard that right. Despite my claims to the contrary, you may still dismiss me as a deluded liberal that’s been brainwashed by the “lamestream” media. All good, lean into that. Just take the few seconds to sign up for a free Twitter account, then follow President Trump unfiltered for one week on his platform of choice.

Treat it like a daily devotional. Take the media’s hot takes out of the equation entirely, and spend just seven days at the end of the firehose. I sincerely hope you’ll give it a try, and I’ll see you again next week!