Oddly enough, the cover to HOW TO BE INAPPROPRIATE is inappropriate. It makes Daniel Nester’s book look like some crude title full of practical jokes for infantile frat boys and grade schoolers alike to play. In reality, it’s a collection of the humorist’s essays, most of which are astute and sharp.
Now that we’ve scared off the segment of the population who wear their baseball caps backward, may I point you to the finest piece among the book’s couple dozen: “Are You Hot Enough to Play with Journey? Todd Rogers Is,” a profile of an expert video game player who’s way cockier than he should be, even if he did lose his virginity while playing WIZARD OF WOR.
As a huge fan of the documentary THE KING OF KONG, in which Rogers briefly appears, I held great interest in this article, and it did not disappoint. How could it, keying off of the man’s marathon with Atari’s JOURNEY ESCAPE cartridge? He played for 85 hours and 46 minutes straight, before passing out.
Elsewhere, Nester buys a bunch of the penile enhancement pill ExtenZe and has his buddies test it out. It doesn’t really work, although one subject gets an erection while on the treadmill. (Disturbingly, another cops to having his mom measure his member once before.)
Many pieces are more conceptual in nature, with varying success. On the plus side, “Queries” is page after page of questions and comments Nester marked on students’ papers during his time as a professor. Stripped entirely of context, their absurdity is heightened: “Why is it so important he picks the stakes casually?,” “Does the protagonist eat the entire thorax of the little girl?” and “Would a person named Gunter with a German accent really say, ‘You sho nuff weezing an’ hollerin’ now, ain’t ya, mama?’”
On the flip side, Nester takes the transcript of the heated encounter between KISS front man Gene Simmons and NPR personality Terry Gross, and replaces all of Simmons’ dialogue with an imagined robot. Does not compute.
Luckily for Nester — and you, dear reader — missteps are few. This guy is intelligent and funny, and so is his book. —Rod Lott
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