A public letter to Chris

Dear Chris -

Go out and read Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman now now. (South Africans have this hilarious way of differentiating between doing something Just Now - which could be at any point in the future, and not necessarily soon - and Now Now - which means immediately. Acually, I think should put up a post about South African slang Just Now.)

In the first three pages of the book, Chuck blames his inability to have a fulfilling relationship on John Cusak (as Lloyd Dobler). And things only get better from there. I'll post an excerpt from page 2 below, but I think you'd like his deconstruction of Pop Culture as much as I do. I hadn't really read his stuff before, but one of my old coworkers at New York Cares told me he was awesome - I actually think that those words constituted the entirety of the e-mail she sent me about it - and I'm just getting around to reading it now.

Also, I'm feeling the blog. I mean, it's not as cool as mine (or your current roommate, Matt's), but it seems like you're getting the hang of it. Maybe you could spice things up with a section devoted to your obsession with Sad Bastard Music? Or maybe something about your penchant for Exorbitantly Expensive Denim? Those are just some thoughts.

Hope the 'Slope is treating you well, and I'll talk to you soon.

Hugs and Kisses (but don't tell Ariel),
Benny


From Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, page 2:
But whenever I meet dynamic, nonretarded Americans, I notice that they all seem to share a single unifying characteristic: the inability to experience the kind of mind-blowing, transcendent romantic relationship they receive to be a normal part of living. And someone needs to take the fall for this. So instead to blaming no one for this (which is kind of cowardly) or blaming everyone (which is kind of meaningless), I’m going to blame John Cusak.