It’s Monday! I know. Many of us grumble at the sheer thought of starting another work week, but one glimmer of joy you can look forward to every Monday is a new vlog here on Beyond the Rhetoric. When you consider how much negativity populates our world these days, we should strive to acknowledge all the good things in life too. Like dad jokes. That’s why I shared my happiness list late last year and that’s why I’m highlight five reasons to be alive today in this week’s vlog.

If you’re as obsessed a viewer of YouTube as I am, then you might recognize the idea of “five reasons to be alive today” (or FRTBAT, if you prefer) as the brainchild of fellow vlogger WheezyWaiter. I’m not a “beard lover” per se, as he likes to call avid watchers of his videos, but I am a big fan of Craig Benzine’s channel and his work.

In addition to the tremendous joy of dad jokes and the quality time I spend with my daughter, one of the other reasons I highlight in the video is reading. In particular, I reference just how many options we have for reading books these days, from the “dead tree” paperbacks to Kindle e-books to audiobooks we can listen to while driving around town.

A little over a year ago, I pledged that I would read one book a month. One book in particular that I am currently enjoying, in audiobook form, is Born a Crime by The Daily Show host Trevor Noah. Growing up as a person of mixed racial heritage both during and after apartheid in South Africa, Trevor has some truly amazing stories to tell.

This is easily the goofiest vlog I’ve published to date. I sing in it, for crying out loud.