(CNN)-- I blame Wacky Packages for making me the man I am today. At 9 years old, I became hooked on the Topps-brand sticker series of product parodies, which recast Cap'n Crunch as "Cap'n Crud ...

Wacky Packages were TOPPS collectible cards (actually, stickers—much to the chagrin of our parents) that parodied common ...

It was pre-teen time spent with Mad Magazine and Topps' Wacky Packages stickers that helped my internal humor compass find its true north. While other kids my age were suffering through violin ...