Who Cut the Cheese?: A Cutting Edge Way of Surviving Change by Shifting the Blame

Who Cut the Cheese? uses a delightful little fable to encapsulate the fundamental rule of modern American management and the new economy: "Survive change by shifting blame." The fable revolves around two malevolent rats and two spiteful "Punypeople" who find themselves trapped together in a maze, fighting over a dwindling supply of constantly moving cheese.Some characters adapt readily to this treacherous, shifting environment -- blaming the weak and overpowering the helpless. Others perish in horror, praying for death. Read this book and live! Written for all ages, the story can be understood by even the youngest reader: The "maze"is a metaphor for life, and the "cheese" is a metaphor for whatever you desire in life -- be it worldly goods, spiritual well-being, or unspeakable sexual encounters too deviant even for the Internet. The more advanced reader will also understand the secondary message of the book: "Resistance is futile." As soon as change happens, we must accept it immediately or suffer the consequences. This heavy-handed lesson is designed to engender unquestioning obedience to authority, and makes the book an ideal gift for subordinates. Large companies would be well advised to give this book to each and every one of their employees, especially if they are considering a restructuring to bolster shareholder value. Extremely short, even including illustrations, the story takes less than an hour to read, but its unsettling conclusions on the nature of humanity should last a lifetime!

Mason Brown, J.D., is currently an associate editor for NationalLampoon.com, where his chief responsibility is to inform incredulous callers that the National Lampoon still really exists, at least as a Web site. He formerly freelanced for such magazines as Maxim, Details and Schwing! He co-wrote the Troma Films script "Class of Nuke 'Em High IV: Attack of the Bikini Subhumanoids." There was also a long period of unemployment when he spent the better part of each day curled up in a fetal position moaning softly, but he would prefer to gloss that over.

Mason went to an all-boys elementary school, then became a varsity wrestler in boarding school in Massachusetts. At Duke University he joined a fraternity that, according to its creed, was "born of sturdy manhood and nurtured by resolute men." While at UCLA Law School, he lived only minutes away from such West Hollywood bars as The Mother Lode and Spike. He greatly enjoyed the movie Spartacus, and confesses to having felt as giddy as a little schoolgirl before seeing Gladiator. Yet he continues to maintain to his wife and family that he is straight.