And The Winner Is....

This spring, New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss designed a series of cartoons about Morning Edition on VPR. We held a contest for a signed print by Harry Bliss on our Morning Edition page. We just wanted to say a big congratulations to Jim Bunch of Bristol, who won the print. He says,

"My wife and I are big fans of both VPR's morning programming (although there isn't a time of day when I won't turn on VPR) and Harry Bliss."

Check out all of our Morning Edition is Bliss cartoons here, and thanks for making Morning Edition a part of your day!

Morning Edition Is Bliss: Log In To Your Day

I consider myself pretty lucky: exploring all the goodies at VPR.net is pretty much a part of my job. But even if it's not, we don't think your boss will mind if you learn more about a Morning Edition story at VPR.net. After all, public radio makes you smarter - which in turn makes you a more productive and creative employee. Who can argue with that?

Visit our website to see all of Harry Bliss's Morning Edition cartoons, and tell us how YOU wake up with Mitch Wertlieb.

Morning Edition Is Bliss: On The Road

In a rural state like Vermont, commuting to work is almost inevitable. Make the ride more enjoyable by listening to Morning Edition with Mitch Wertlieb. Here's New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss's take on commuting with Mitch. You'll also find it in this week's Seven Days!

And while he will give you the heads up if the roads are slippery, don't worry - he's not really a backseat driver!

Visit our website to see this week's cartoon and to connect with Morning Edition on VPR.

It Was Bliss Meeting Harry!

In addition to showing you this week's Morning Edition cartoon by Harry Bliss, I bring you this story, direct from a giddy Mitch Wertlieb:

How many people get to say they met the guy who drew him into a cartoon? Well, this past weekend I had the distinct pleasure of finally meeting Harry Bliss, the wonderful cartoonist who has been drawing a number of Morning Edition panels featuring yours truly doing things that help folks wake up each morning (whether they want to or not!) with VPR.

The back story here is twofold:

1) I am a cartoon fanatic. I grew up reading Marvel comic books (Daredevil was my favorite), and still believe political cartoons are among the greatest of America's satirical art forms. I also can't get enough of comic strips like "Doonesbury," "Zippy the Pinhead," and of course, I still read "Peanuts." If I wasn't in radio my dream job would be cartooning (which may make many cartoonists do a spit-take and yell "WHY???"), but it's true. The biggest obstacle is that I can't draw worth a lick, which sort of gets in the way of being good at cartooning.

2) Harry Bliss is actually my neighbor, but until this past weekend, we'd never met (I knew where he lived but was too shy to do the "drop-in" to introduce myself.). So even though it was great to hear Harry would be drawing cartoon images of me, I felt it was also somewhat absurd that we'd never met face to face.

But as fate would have it I was hanging out with my daughter Gretchen and my wife Erin last Sunday, enjoying the glorious early spring weather, when Harry came walking by with his girlfriend and his dog. I'd seen pictures of him and was pretty sure it was him. I whispered this information to Erin, who promptly punched me in the shoulder and said "Go say 'hi!'", which, with some nervousness, I did.

Harry could not have been more gracious and friendly. I told him I was a big fan, he said he thought the same of me (I blushed), we made introductions all around, and a pleasant time was had by all. Now I know I can drop by his house and shoot the breeze, and I can say I'm friends with a famous cartoonist!

And fortunately when I said goodbye, I resisted the urge to blurt out "See you in the funny papers!"

Learn more and connect with Morning Edition at our website!

Morning Edition Is Bliss: Part Three

Here's our latest Morning Edition cartoon by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. You'll also find it in this week's Seven Days!

Visit our website to see this week's cartoon and to connect with Morning Edition on VPR.

This one holds special meaning for me. Before I tore my PCL last fall, I would get up at 6 a.m. several times a week to run. Since my iPod had no FM tuner, I relied on music and podcasts (Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me is my favorite, as long as you don't mind snorting to yourself and people looking at you funny) to keep me company.

The problem is that doing so meant that I missed Mitch's 6:30 sports update. This was a particular problem during baseball season; I often go to bed before the game is over and rely on Mitch to let me know if our beloved Red Sox won the night before.

Anyhow, my trusty old 2005 4GB iPod Mini finally bit the dust a few weeks ago, and my replacement iPod has an FM tuner! My PCL is nearly healed and I'll be back to running soon. And this time, I'm taking Mitch with me.

Morning Edition Is Bliss: Week Two

The second in our series of Morning Edition on VPR cartoons by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss is in this week's Seven Days! For those of you with shower radios (I'll admit it, I have one!), you can probably relate!

Visit our website to see this week's cartoon and to connect with Morning Edition on VPR. How do YOU wake up with Morning Edition? Let us know and it might show up in a future cartoon!

Morning Edition Is Bliss

We're spreading the word about how awesome Morning Edition on VPR is, and New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss is helping us do it! Check out our website and this week's Seven Days newspaper for the first in a series of cartoons designed by Harry Bliss for VPR.

Each one features Morning Edition Host Mitch Wertlieb keeping you company as you start your day - letting you know the latest news, updating you on the weather and sports scores, interviewing interesting people and playing music that makes you want to get up and go.

Visit our website to see this week's cartoon and to connect with Morning Edition on VPR. And be sure to check back next week for another installment!