Download Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities

Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities

Author: Visit Amazon's Chris Kluwe Page | Language: English | ISBN: 0316236772 | Format: EPUB

Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities Description

Review

"The most interesting man in the N.F.L." -- The New York Times

"The quirky and sometimes pugnacious ex-punter for the Vikings reveals a little more about his views on social issues, and a lot more about himself, his career and how his frenetic and far-ranging mind works....Kluwe proves himself to be, indeed, a man for all season--not just football season." -- The Minneapolis Star Tribune

"In a league (and sports climate) which has become one, long, repetitive sound bite, a guy who will actually say something meaningful." -- BleacherReport.com

"Chris Kluwe is a glimmering sparklepony of candor (and not afraid to dive fearlessly into the marriage equality debate)." -- Mother Jones

"It's a strongly worded, profanity laced political and philosophical manifesto from an unlikely new pundit: pro football player Chris Kluwe ... Mr. Kluwe's particular talent as a prose stylist lies in his creative use of inventive swear words." -- The Wall Street Journal's "Speakeasy"

"Kluwe is a genuine iconoclast.... Kluwe's writing makes for an entertaining read. He's as adept at the art of the take-down... but he is capable of toning it down when he has to.... His words present compelling arguments on myriad deep and unsolvable, yet relentlessly fascinating problems." -- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Intelligent and thought-provoking, Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies is relentlessly honest; Kluwe pulls no punches, spares no language and writes a rip-roaring debut." -- Shelf Awareness

"A lively collection. In mixing the profane with the prophetic while using a variety of literary devices, the author succeeds at being both entertaining and enlightening. An intriguing assortment of work from an athlete with a lot on his mind." -- Kirkus

"Kluwe is a brainy loudmouth dyspeptic idealistic pessimistic utopian punter/gay rights activist/champion of free speech/family guy who plays guitar. He's sort of Charles Barkley meets Bill "Spaceman" Lee--but with more gravitas." -- ESPN.com

"Kluwe's combination of passion and intelligent self-deprecation has resulted in some must-read stuff....Kluwe is a talented writer with plenty to say. He just happens to kick footballs for a living." -- The Maine Edge

"Chris Kluwe writes much better than I can punt." John Scalzi, award-winning author of Old Man's War and Redshirts

About the Author

Chris Kluwe grew up in Southern California among a colony of wild chinchillas and didn't learn how to communicate outside of barking and howling until he was fourteen years old. He has played football in the NFL, once wrestled a bear for a pot of gold, and lies occasionally. He is also the eternal disappointment of his mother, who just can't understand why he hasn't cured cancer yet. Do you know why these bio things are in third person? I have no idea. Please tell me if you figure it out.

Product Details
Table of Contents
Reviews

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (June 25, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316236772
ISBN-13: 978-0316236775
Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

I am a Packers fan who decided one day to follow a Minnesota Viking on Twitter because Chris Kluwe told ESPN talking head and professional troll Skip Bayless on Twitter to “French kiss a flamethrower” when Bayless had the Montezuma’s Revenge of verbal diarrhea one day on First Take. This was well before that infamous, profane letter directed towards a Maryland state lawmaker posted on Deadspin that started all of this.

If you’re thinking that I’m betraying Packer fandom by following a player who was a division rival on Twitter, first of all, you don’t know me, and second of all, when the only item in the negative column is “he plays for the Minnesota Vikings”, it’s easy to overlook that part when the items in the positive column are numerous. Third, he is one of the few athletes on Twitter who say things other than “rise and grind” or other quasi-inspirational tropes meant to inspire the masses (but just inspires nausea and/or the urge to facepalm repeatedly in me). Plus I only had to pretend I disliked him for a total of 9 hours last season whenever my Packers played the Vikings. And now I don’t even have to do that because he’s now an Oakland Raider.

What does this have to do with a book review? Probably nothing other than it should be known for the record that Chris Kluwe has a lot of Packer fans who follow him on Twitter and a good number of them will probably read his book, like I did.

Being a Twitter follower of his stoked my interest in reading this book when I heard it was coming out. I’m familiar with Kluwe’s sense of humor, his blunt honesty, his inventive use of profanity and zero-tolerance for bull excrement. Plus he’s a nerd and I have an affinity for nerds. I’m married to a nerd.

Although I'm a big fan of pop culture and sports, I don't tend to revere celebrities. While there are certainly people whose work or abilities I enjoy or appreciate more than others, the people I admire most or even view as personal heroes are often those making a difference in our world or impacting people's lives.

Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe (now an Oakland Raider) is one of those people. While as a football fan I knew of Kluwe's prowess on the field, I didn't become aware of his activism off the field until the middle of last year, when he wrote a public letter to a Maryland state delegate who had called on the Baltimore Ravens to curb the public pro-marriage equality stance of (now former) linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo. (I wrote about this last fall.) From that point on Kluwe became a vocal opponent of those who sought to ban marriage equality, in Minnesota and elsewhere, and he even filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the marriage equality cases argued before the Supreme Court earlier this year. And he did all of this not because he is gay, not because he has gay family members, or because he's getting paid. He did (and does) this because he believes all people should be treated equally.

Beyond his support for marriage equality, Kluwe is a tremendously intelligent, well-read, and articulate person on a variety of subjects. He's a big fan of colorful--even obscene--language (not that there's anything wrong with that), and even if you don't necessarily agree with his arguments, most rational people would have to admire his passion and his ability to communicate his points of view.

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