I haven’t watched _South Park_ in years, but when I did I tended to agree with the conclusion of “this article”:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/28/arts/television/28SOUT.html?ex=1398484800&en=9cf4a2bb20610253&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND that it’s too preachy for its own good. Still, the article’s title gives me an idea or two.

_South Park and Philosophy_ could be better than most of the “_Randomly Chosen Segment of Pop Culture and Philosophy_”:http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/04/20/1082395861338.html?from=storyrhs books that are coming out I think. Not that there isn’t still potential for life in the genre. _Baseball and Philosophy_ has been done already, so maybe it’s time for _NFL and Philosophy_, or _WWE and Philosophy_, or, one that raises genuine ethical concerns, _Joe Millionaire and Philosophy_. OK, those are jokes, but I think _Real World and Philosophy_ could be spectacular. And if someone didn’t know what it really was, you could list the book title on the CV without arousing suspicions. Brilliant! (That last sentence, by the way, will be the title of my entry in _Guinness and Philosophy_.)

I had an idea the other week for a book where every chapter was kinda like a paper for a volume like that, ranging from the somewhat serious (e.g. _24 and Philosophy_) to the complete joke (e.g. _Teletubbies and Philosophy_).

I couldn’t work out the marketing plan for the book though. One thought was that each chapter could be co-written with a different author, a la “The 6ths”:http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70404280127010048&sql=Aj77zefyk1gf4, but I didn’t really see how that would help the marketing. It would be fun to write all those chapters though, particularly if I chose the co-authors correctly.

Another was to basically make it a 101 textbook, with the underlying aim being to cover all the bases for a 101 course, and use the pop culture to draw in the masses. It might work, but it could date fairly quickly. All I need is for it to catch fire on the textbook market one year though and I’d be sorta rich. My reputation for serious philosophy would take such a hit that I’d probably never get offered another academic gig, but since I just landed a 40-year, multi-million dollar contract maybe that isn’t a concern.