Denis Leary - the Asshole song and his Sucky book

Do you know who Denis Leary is?

He has appeared in tons of good movies. And then there’s that fireman series called Rescue Me.

But in this part of the world, you don’t know shit about him. Don’t blame us for this if you’re reading this (in some absurd moment), Mr. Leary. Here in the Philippines, we only watch art films like Yogi Bear, Hop, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and whatever live-action Disney movie is out in the market right now.

In some ways, I think you have encountered him.

He was the voice of the sabretooth tiger on The Ice Age.

He was also the rebel who lives in the sewers eating rat burgers on Demolition Man.

Yeah.

He was recently in the news because he was dissing autism. I should know better to not say “yippee” to the taunt or the people’s reaction on his taunt because I respect those people.

Anyway, I marked out when I saw a not-so-ravaged copy of his first book Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy, and Stupid at National Bookstore. It was in the bargain bin. What was once a hefty fine is now 50 pesos of glee! I haven’t finished the book but for the first time in life, I enjoyed reading the acknowledgement page. 

But if you think about it - 50 pesos for the book? 

Hmmm... 

Did the book bombed? 

I was giddier at the prologue. I thought it was brilliant, profound, and in some ways, mind-numbing. While it tackles a slew of dangerous issues, you can’t help applauding Leary.

The book may be raunchy, harsh, cynical, and preachy but he speaks the truth. Sure his book tackles on a bunch of fragile and taboo issues and laughs at it – like the Death of Anna Nicole Smith, Scientology, omnipotence of Oprah, and racism – but he does give an interesting argument as to why he said such things. But I guess you need to tune out your morality level to enjoy this. Fact is, this book will definitely press your buttons. Sometimes it will be funny but just be wary of telling this to your goody-two-shoe buddies.

Much less older people...  

You can even hit a random page, start with that page, and not miss out on anything. If you have a fast internet connection and have dibs on some downloading site, I suggest you download this.

Game over.