Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

This book rules. I love Chuck's style of writing, perspective, and analysis. This is the third book I've read from Chuck thus far and you definitely get a lot of his personality, charm, and hilarity through this one. Tons of great stories and insights and it's pretty interesting to see how much he has/hasn't changed by reading his takes from ‘03.

As the essays went on I attempted to record thoughts, things I liked, or topics so that I could better recall the content:Really liked what he said about people not being able to describe themselves, especially the part about how cynics would almost never describe themselves as cynical rather they'll assert that they're pragmatic—personally I'm used to hearing ‘realist'. Always some road construction – as someone who lives in the Bay Area I feel thisDave Eggers tried to get on Real World!! Wha..?!Lots on the SIMsBilly Joel great but not coolComparing Marlyn Monroe and Pamela AndersonGuns & Roses tribute bandsDoesn't like soccer, coached little league – I was super confused about the phrase “Midget baseball” but it's also known as intermediate or junior leagues. I think he has a point about soccer, however I think that soccer is more of a sport than baseball. An athletic friend said that he considered baseball to be the least of sports because the most one ever does is run 90 feet.Celtics v Lakers, related it to region and raceCereal, the Kellogg brothers, sex and coolness20 (some odd) Questions—was awesome, laughed about some of them with my dad(https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/hb9u8/chuck_klostermans_23_questions/)Saved By the Bell, Tori Paradox which when he talked about it made sense to meStar Wars. It's odd to me because I don't love Star Wars, but I liked it a little more as an adult, although that's probably because my sweetheart and I are watching it in order. As a kid I thought it was really confusing and especially got confused about the relations, but also my cousins and I often fell asleep to these during late night get togethers. I also hated (and still hate although a little less so) Jarjar Binks and C3PO, for my dad it was the Ewoks. I think that what he had to say about Han Solo and Skywalker were on point. “What does it mean to know a serial killer?”Zodiac serial killer, cowboy Michael Bray; prostitutes as victims, hitchhiking, Jeffery Dahlmer, John Wayne Gacy who I've learned he sent out mail questionnaire of 52 questions. Celebrity status of killers. OJ Simpson, Timothy McVeigh Goodreads has recommended [b:My Friend Dahmer 12959045 My Friend Dahmer Derf Backderf https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1325285515l/12959045.SY75.jpg 18116420] to me, I'm not sure if I'll read it.Feeling lost, religion, Left Behind book seriesPro Sports especially NFL being religious Left Behind series, Born agains are cool because of their verveAs I was listening to this book I attempted to keep a running list of cultural references, obviously I did not catch them all.Music: Sid & Nancy, Jack White & Meg White, Judas Priest, Ted Nugent, Billy Joel, Jane's Addiction, T-rex (band), The Eagles, James Taylor, Carol King, Bruce Springsteen, Morrissey, REM, Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Coldplay, Radiohead, Whiskeytown, Creed, Japanese band (Pintacanto 5), Lou reed, David Bowie, Jeff Buckley, Trent Reznor, Guns & Roses, Elton John, Foreigner, Cheap Trick, Journey, The Police, Molly Hatchet, Tenacious-D, Meatloaf, Van Halen, Elvis Costello, Randy Newman, Steely Dan, Sex Pistol, The Clash, The Knack, The Moody Blues, Les Zeppelin, Don McLane, Dexys Midnight Runners, Miles Davis, Iggy Pop, Rufus Wainwright, Sloan (Canadian band), Elvis Presley, KISS, Thin Lizzie, Dave Mathews band, Oasis, Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen, white Lion, Jewel, RUSH, Alabama, Brittney Spears, Madonna, Celine Dion, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, FISH, Dean Martin, Mariah Carey, Tommy Lee, David Lee Roth, Kid Rock, Quiet Riot, OutKast, Rod Stewart, Stevie Nicks, They Might Be Giants, Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, Ice Cube, Eminem, Nickleback, Alice In Chains, Creedence Clearwater revival, AC/DC, Björk, Devo, Heart (70's band), Prince, Dio, Linda Ronstadt, Kim Deal, Ike & Tina Turner, Molly Hatchette, Dixie Chicks, Mötley CrüePlaces: The Waldorf Astoria, Sunset Strip, ApplebeesNetworks: HBO, NBC, FOX network, E! Network, Disney Channel, USA Network, MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Lifetime, 700 club, NPRReality TV: MTV real world, Survivor, The Mole, Big Brother, Temptation Island, OprahTV shows: 90210, Seinfeld, Friends, Fonzie, The Man Show, Barney Rubble & Fred Flintstone, John Ritter, Save By the Bell, X-files, Life Goes On, Days of Our lives, Quantum leap, 15 (Canadian drama), Star Trek (says Trekies) & Spock, MASH, NYPD Blue, The Bold and The Beautiful, Dukes of Hazard, My So Called Life, VH1 Behind the Music, Price is Right, Growing PainsMovies & actors: John Cusack, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, ‘When Harry Met Sally', Woody Allen, Tyler Durton (Fightclub), The breakfast Club, St. Elmo's fire, Bob & Silent J Strike Back, Roger Ebert, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts, Pamela Andersen, Marlyn Monroe (Norma Jean), James Dean, Tim Allen, Apocalypse Now, Elizabeth Taylor, Cat hot tin roof, Jenny Mcarthy, Heather Lockleer, Mae West, LeVar Burton (referred to as Black guy from Reading Rainbow), Leonard Nimoy (in search of), Spike Lee, Crouching Tiger hidden Dragon, Ferris Bueller, James Spader, Shannon Dorety, Showgirls, Star Wars, George Lucas, Coppola, Scorsese, Depalma (Director), Mark Hamill, Rocky, Ben Stiller, Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Reality Bites, Singles (Cameron Crow), Bob Newhart, Footloose, Patriot Games, Kevin Bacon, Micheal J Fox, Cameron Diaz, Robert Redford, Jim Hensons the dark crystal, The Rapture, Joe Pesci, The Omega Code, Armageddon, Freddie prince jr, Ellen Barken, Kate Moss (model)Historical events/figures: Rodney King riots, Korean Conflict, Challenger explosion, JFK's assassination, 9/11, JFK, LBJ, Osama bin Laden (in reference to Vader), Hitler, Stalin, Ross Perot, Jimmy Carter, the historical Celts (invading Iberia)Authors & books: Dave Eggers, Catch-22, Nick Hornby, Arthur Miller, George Orwell, Ayn Rand, Newsome parental advisory: music censorship, my friends dalhmer, Left Behind (11 books), Norman Miller, Anna KareninaVideo games and associations: SIMs, EA (electronic arts), Metal Gear, Elevator action, legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Atari, Nintendo, plasma TVClothing: Hot Topic, GAP, Esprit, Brute CologneAthletes & sports: Kurt Warner, Ted Williams (baseball), Micheal Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Derrick Jeeter, Barry Bonds, Bruce Jenner, Micheal Kwan, Evel Knievel, Joe DiMaggio, Buck Williams, Tom Landry, Marc Cuban, Oakland raiders (wonder how he feels about them moving to Vegas), Celtics, Lakers – and so many moreMore lofty references: Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, Oedipus Rex, postmodernism, social contract, patriotism, Sisyphus, zeitgeist, archetypes

Highly entertaining collection of essays regarding pop-culture and the like. A good book to read when you can only read for 10 minutes at a time.