Weighing Arnold

He's baaack- Picture courtesy of Simon & Schuster

by blogSpotter

This week, I'm listening to Arnold Schwarzenegger's memoir, Total Recall -- abridged version. I have to say, it's a success story like very few others. His life is fascinating and covers a lot of territory; I'll try to condense it some. I'm only about 2/3 through it, so the shenanigans with the maid aren’t covered here...

Arnold was born in a small Austrian village right after World War II. His father was a police chief and part-time band leader. He was also a former Nazi officer although there were no ties to death camps or particularly nasty Nazi-related affairs. The Schwarzeneggers lived a very humble existence in an old house that lacked flush toilets or running water. Arnold was buoyant, cocky and athletic from day one -- his poor family could hardly deter him.

Arnold became infatuated with body building from looking at a few muscle magazines and seeing Tarzan movies in nearby Gratz. He began body-building in earnest at age 14 and made his way into central European contests that were hosted in Munich. At this point, Arnold’s career took an improbable trajectory that was made possible by his incredible sunny attitude and unbelievable self-confidence.

Arnold made these promises to himself at a young adult age -- he kept every one of them:

• I will be a millionaire by age 30 
• I will win the Mr. Universe and Mr. World bodybuilding competitions 
• I will be not only a Hollywood actor, I will be a top-paid lead actor 
• I will become a naturalized American citizen and run for public office 
• I will marry a beautiful Kennedy woman 

Some of these, he trounced. He won Mr. Universe 6 times and became the face of the body building industry. His net worth is easily $200 million. Most of these achievements were under his belt (except for Kennedy in-law and governor) by the early 80’s when he starred in Conan the Barbarian. Arnold’s combination of naiveté and hubris is astounding. As an actor starting out, he was offered good roles as bouncers, hit-men and tough guys in various movies. Most starving actors would’ve jumped on any of them. Arnold said, “No -- these roles don’t fit my star-to-be stature”.

Danged if he wasn’t right. I’m reminded of the Miami real estate agent who got his houses to sell by raising the prices. Whatever works, and it definitely worked for Arnold. In one small passage, Arnold explains that most people worry, fret and over-think things. We’re all paralyzed with fear of doing and fear of failure. Arnold says that he likes (even still) to jump into activities with both feet and face down problems later. Obviously, with the family maid bearing his illegitimate son, there are some exceptions to that rule even for a fearless dare devil.

One more thing struck me -- and this may foretell that Arnold wasn’t just a dumb hunk. When he had his first successes selling weight equipment and appearing in movies like Stay Hungry, Arnold did a smart thing. He bought an 8-unit apartment complex in LA and became the landlord. Lesser humans would’ve bought a Malibu pad and a Porsche. I still am not a Republican and would diverge from some of Arnold’s ideas, but I have to say his memoir is fascinating. The man is impressive and it’s way more than muscles that impress.

© 2012 blogSpotter

Laughs On the Menu at Bob's Burgers

Serving up crazy -- pic courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter

I’m overdue for a blog entry, wrestling with the writer’s block that more frequently afflicts me in my older age.   This has been a weird weekend in several respects and I was a bit distracted.  A friend’s 21 year-old son passed away last week from complications of cerebral palsy.  I attended his uplifting memorial service yesterday and came away feeling that his family will make it through OK.   I later went to a dinner party (unrelated to the memorial) and was greeted at the door by an extremely enthusiastic Labrador mix named Rosie.   The 6 year old brown and black dog was a bundle of energy and was the perfect complement to an already fun group of friends.  We ate a huge spaghetti dinner and watched House Hunters – it was a fun evening.

The weather itself has freakishly dipped from 94 degrees last week to 54 degrees this early October week… I know we’re in Texas but that’s got to be some kind of record nonetheless.  I bravely took my new Mustang to the Mi-T-Fine car wash for its first wash… it survived OK.   I’m bracing for its first ding, dent or accident.   The car has an aggressive personality and is bound to get me into some trouble at some point.

BOB’S BURGERS

OK, enough of the daily diary.  Let’s talk about one my favorite new shows, Bob’s Burgers.    It’s actually embarking on its 3^rd season although nowadays the word “season” is sketchy – you can be talking about 24 episodes that start in September or 10 episodes that start in March.   Bob actually started in January of 2011.  It centers around Bob and Linda Belcher – a middle-aged, middle class couple raising two girls and a boy.   They manage Bob’s Burgers, a greasy spoon diner.  Tina is the gawky, shy 15ish girl.  Gene is the loony, loud pre-teen son and Louise is the diabolical, precocious youngest one who is always hatching schemes.   The show is funny enough to make me fall off the couch laughing.   A staff of 5 professional comedians provide the voices and a much larger staff of wise guys write the scripts.  

What viewers might not realize is that all the regulars are voiced by men, except Louise. Voice actor John Roberts, a gentile man, imbues Linda with a hilarious harpy (albeit loveable) Jewish yenta personality.   Comedian Jon Benjamin does the voice of Bob, a basically decent, kind-hearted man who has to bring all the crazies around him back into the orbit of sanity.   The plot lines will start with things we can all relate to – a teenage crush or a professional rivalry.  Then, it will go to places no man has gone before (with all due respects to Star Trek).   The convolutions of the plot alone make it worth a look-see.  The incredible humor is a payload that follows.  

When the show first started it met with some flak.  USA Today thought it was too deadpan, and The Parent’s TV Council likened it to the crudeness of Family Guy.  But after several shows aired, there was a change of perception.  CNN and Entertainment Weekly have both described it as one of the funniest, all-around best shows on TV right now.    Unlike Family Guy, Bob is fairly innocent – it doesn’t tap into topics where angels fear to tread like abortion, animal cruelty or domestic violence.

It’s amazing that FOX, the network that gives us such a conservative twist on the news, delivers up some of the zaniest, and yes LIBERAL animated vantage points on television.   It could be that FOX execs just see the shows as “kid’s cartoons” without realizing the delightfully, frightfully subversive influence they might have on 18-24 year old youths watching. If that is the case, let’s all keep it a secret.   And tune in to Bob’s Burgers if you can survive the bruise of falling off the couch laughing.

© 2012 blogSpotter