Mike Nelson's Mind over Matters

Rating:
Summary: no, no, no, Mike
Review: Back when Mike Nelson was doing Mystery Science Theater, he actually had wit. Bad movies was his niche, his forte (if I'm using the right words), and his heckling made for some very funny, often hilarious, observations. Sometimes he would throw in an absurd pop culture reference here and there, but it was okay, because if we didn't get it he'd simply try again with another. Like the movie Airplane!, his humor on MST3K was hit or miss, with a lot of hits.

The problem with Mind Over Matters is that Nelson takes some of those "missed" jokes and devotes whole chapters to them. True, there are also whole chapters devoted to the "hit" ones, too, such as Mike's wife-stalking and reflections on high school drama. But the good material is thrown right in with the bad, confusing bits of humor that maybe one or two people in the world would understand. Maybe if one took some effort to "get" some of his observations would pay off, but if you have to make an effort to get a joke, what's the point?

For Michael J. Nelson fans only. Others may want to try his Movie Megacheese, where he stays in his genre, so to speak.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious insight into human nature and pop culture
Review: Who is Mike Nelson? What makes this man tick? What evil lurks behind the guise of goofiness he often adopts? Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters takes us into the mind of the man I now consider to be the funniest man on the planet. After a decade of work on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Nelson has evolved into a remarkably witty, entertaining author. His first book, Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese, featured his odd yet hilarious takes on modern, mainstream films, yet this topic did not take him very far afield from his work on MST3K. Now, in Mind Over Matters, Nelson has decided to take on modern life directly, penning a series of vignettes about every-day events, popular culture, and his own childhood and family life. This book is, in my opinion, even funnier and much more impressive than its predecessor. It also gives us some insight into the man most of us MTS3K fanatics tend to view as an actual friend we just haven't met yet.

The book is organized into nine sections. In Part One, Coping With It All, Nelson describes seemingly mundane events and activities that somehow become incidents of high strangeness: shopping trips, hotel stays, trips to a health club brimming with old wrinkled men who seem to enjoy showcasing their frightening nakedness in a locker room setting. In Part Two, But Is It Art? he address topics such as movie-going and watching television; the real gem here is a fairly lengthy recounting of his own experiences in musical theatre. Part Three, This Modern World, returns to the subject of modern life and such issues as computer security, annoying morning radio shows, and weird news reports. He steps outside for a breath of fresh air in Part Four, The Great Outdoors, the pinnacle of which is his well-stated condemnation of leaf blowers. Part Five, Remembrances of Stings Past, finds Mike recounting stories and imparting lessons about how things were "in his day." Here we get some good information of Nelson's own life experiences, including his early, usually quite unsuccessful, attempts at attracting the ladies. In Part Six, Busy Bodies, he pauses to reflect on the human body and its obvious flaws; going beyond an investigation into the nature of skin moisturizers and words of wisdom on the topic of bad hair days, he gives us an awfully witty rundown on the past, current, and future state of men's fashion. After a short stop on Food and Stuff in Part Seven, Nelson wraps things up in Part Eight, Me, Myself, and I, and Part Nine, The Whole Famn Damily (not a misspelling on my part), with some very funny anecdotes about his own childhood and his current adult life as a married man with two young children. By the time you finish reading the book, you really do feel as if Mike has let you into his private world and allowed you the freedom to look around for a little while.

While there may be one or two essays that don't seem to hit the bull's-eye, his comical aim is, by and large, dead-on and eagle-eyed. I found the book consistently funny and incredibly accessible from start to finish. Nelson asks the types of questions we all ask at times, seeing that life is really just a crazy sort of game that doesn't always make a lot of sense but which never fails to amaze and entertain. There is something of a Seinfeld-like feel to this material, but the writing is vintage Mike Nelson. Some may find sections bordering a little too far on the absurd, but I say that life is absurd to begin with. I find it a little strange that some MST3K fans didn't seem to successfully connect with this book; in my mind, this is the exact same Mike Nelson we knew on the Satellite of Love rambling on about nothing in particular, asking some of life's unanswered questions, and subtly offering an uncommon insight into human nature and popular culture just below the surface of laugh-out-loud comedy. Mike is as funny as ever, but unlike Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese, this book and its collected essays have a real substance to them. Now, rather than be entertained for the sake of being entertained, we can actually learn something about life while being entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely hilarious
Review: Bottom line: if you like MST3K, you will love this book. Mike Nelson has never been funnier. His essay topics range from the hell that is shopping at Radioshack to a hilarious account of his ill-fated theater career. I would recommend this to any MST fan and everyone, in general. My wife has only watched the show a few times and she absolutely loved this book.

Kudos, Mr. Nelson.

Rating:
Summary: The Second Book Featuring Mike Nelson's Head On Its Cover
Review: Well, they did it. They finally did it. The Great Gods of the Publishing World have released another book with a picture of Mike Nelson's head on the cover, and, I must say, it's holding up fairly well. It's a little worn since the last time we saw it, and the little pieces of popcorn that used to surround it have now been replaced (possibly eaten) by remarkably formal thought-bubbles that sprout out of it. The energetic, insane grinning of MOVIE MEGACHEESE has now faded to a slightly baffled midwestern look of mild tolerance (though, upon reflection, if the phrase "My Shorts Can Talk" was popping out of my head, I'd be wearing a similar expression). The head of Mike Nelson has also rejected the more modern flavor of so-called "color" photography and is now sporting a classic "black and white" look. Same haircut though.

As for the words that are printed on the pages that lie beneath the Head of Mike Nelson, well, they're pretty funny too (especially the order that he puts some of them in). The essays collected here are a fairly random group of observations on everyday life. They're vaguely ordered into a loose grouping of nine categories, but he rarely feels the need to be bound by them. The book is a free-flowing river of comedy that runs in many different directions, sometimes at the same time.

Nelson really has a gift for coming up with hilarious turns of phrase. He has a wonderful way of describing even the most mundane of everyday tasks in a wickedly amusing manner. Make no mistake; this is no simple Seinfeldian "Did you ever notice...?" type of humor, but rather stretching the commonplace until it you see it through Mike's skewed and offbeat point-of-view. Who would have thought that a simple visit to the neighborhood Radio Shack could be fraught with such unrelenting horror (well, apart from anyone who has ever visited their neighborhood Radio Shack)? After reading this, it's frighteningly easy to imagine Mike Nelson taking several months off to "research" this book, where the "research" consists of arranging an interview with his shorts, reading Schopenhauer, and voyaging through the dark side of his wife's skin care collection.

In short, this is funny stuff. While a slight handful of the essays aren't quite as funny as they should be, there is more than enough funny material to make this a highly recommended read. If Nelson hits a subject that isn't particularly amusing, you only have to wait for another page or two for him to burst out in an entirely different direction. Fans of his first book, or his MST3k work should be very happy with this. And if you're someone who has never experienced this brand of bizarre entertainment before, MIND OVER MATTERS is definitely a great place to start.

Rating:
Summary: Almost as funny as Megacheese
Review: This book is a bit more uneven than Mr. Nelson's first book, Movie Megacheese, but it was humorous and clever nonetheless. A few chapters are a wee bit slow unless the subject matter happens to be a pet topic for the reader, but overall I enjoyed the book a great deal and found it worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: interesting ideas
Review: I cant praise this book enough.

While other authors write about parenting, or airplanes, Mike Nelson has a style all his own. Authors like Dave Barry will go on and on about how tough and silly it is to raise children while Mike Nelson will wonder why his wife needs so many types of moisturizers.

The topics in this book range from the very common, (Getting help at hardware superstores) to the very uncommon (why the humming bird shouldn't be considered an animal). Mike Nelson has pet peeves, like everyone else, but his are ones that you wouldn't necesarily think about.

Some people seem to have had problems reading this book, but I cant see why. If you have lived for 80 years, or for five, you will relate to this book.

This book is a fresh spin on observational comedy, a genre that has been made completely stale by commedians like Jerry Seinfeld or Dave Barry. I hope for more of the same from Mike Nelson in the future.

Rating:
Summary: Mental As Anything
Review: What you need to know about Michael J. Nelson: The head writer and star (for 5 years) of "Mystery Science Theater 3000. From Wisconsin. Lanky. Living proof of the permanent damage being a student of musical theatre can do. Funny as all get-out. What you need to know about this book: Humorous Essay format (50 in all). Easy to handle trade-bound softcover. Again, funny as all get-out. As many have mentioned, you don't have to be a fan of "Mystery Science Theater" to enjoy the bizzare insights within. If you're a fan of Dave Barry or The Onion (also from the Midwest-hmmm...), you won't be dissapointed with the 196 pages of funny you'll find here

Rating:
Summary: A Big McLarge Huge Success!!!
Review: There are so many things I'd like to say about this book, but it all boils down to one thing -- this man is durn funny. His comic genius is astounding and his writing style is perfect for his genre. I will say that this book is not for the stupid -- Mike's a smart man and he makes references that might make some say, "What the?". On the other hand, if you do get the obscure references it's immensly rewarding and usually laugh-out-loud funny (which is why you probably shouldn't read it in a public setting). I can't tell you what my favorite part is because I'd virtually have to rewrite the book. It's that funny. From a dead-on depiction of single men and their penchant for moving couches, a thought-provoking diatribe on the usefulness of animals, to a stirring call to end the madness that is Radio Shack, this book WILL make you laugh, even if you're not a MSTie. If you don't laugh at all whilst reading this work of brilliance, I'm sorry to inform you that you're dead.

Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted and worthwhile read
Review: Mike Nelson offers everyone interested a look into the life of a Midwesterner that gained national popularity making fun of cheesy movies. As the head writer and later the star of the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 television series and movie, Mike Nelson created a fan base with his wit and utterly shameless clowning. Following his successes in TV, he went on to write the wonderful book 'Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese'. In this book he tries to get away from his movie roles and show everyone that the world around him is at times stupid, and at times weird.

This book was not written for fans of MST3K, this book was written for anyone that wanted a laugh. At times, Nelson fails to stay away from movie and TV reviews, but in the whole he does a stand up job of offering essays on life today for the average six foot two Midwesterner who happens to be famous.

Among the better essays are his experiences in hotel rooms, a hilarious treatise on mud baths, and even a look at married life. All the essays are short; Nelson is an experienced wordsmith that does not waste space. One cannot but admire Mike's vocabulary and knowledge, however it seems at times he's using big words just for their own sake. Any reader, fan of MST3K or not will love reading this book. It's not a classic, in fact it has nowhere near the literary value of his 'Megacheese,' but it still gets an A- from me.

Go ahead and read this book, it's worth the effort, and its cool blue cover color scheme helps relax the soul.

Rating:
Summary: Truly silly, inspired stuff from one of the minds of MST3K
Review: This is a collection of essays by somebody I think could be the next great American humorist -- stop your giggling, OK. Mike's mind and spirit are both just perverse enough to be interesting. I'm afraid that most of his sales are still likely to be to fans of the TV show, and that's a shame. I think his writing style actually lends itself to reading in print more than it does to being performed as/from a "script." Anyway, if you've ever been uncomfortable alone with yourself in a hotel room, if you've ever wondered how Radio Shacks stay in business, and if you've seriously contemplated whether to bother with personal opinions when loved ones are within earshot, well then PLEASE READ ON!