The Button-Down Mind

Just the other day, I finished reading Bob Newhart's book "I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This"
When I started, I had expected/hoped it would be a straight biography. I soon found out that wasn't quite the case. It was sort of like an informal/incomplete autobiography. He mainly reflected on various aspects of his life/work and provided some insight in to how he got the ideas for his stand-up routines. It was still very interesting. I did learn how he went form being a nameless accountant to a world famous comedian. I found that section to be particularly interesting because I can totally see myself following his footsteps. He got his degree in Management. I plan to get mine in Marketing.

My dream is to be a television writer, which I plan to attain by writing in my free time and sending off my work to networks. I'm hoping my work is quality enough to be picked up, but if it isn't, then I know at least I tried to fulfill my dream and I have an advertising career to fall back on.

One thing that particuarly hit home with me was something he said at the end of the book. He stated that it is his personal belief that if you have the ability to stand up on a stage and perform comedy, then you have an obligaiton to do so. For that reason, he said he will continue doing live stand up as long as he possibly can.
According to his facebook page, even at the ripe age of 83, he is still performing his routines live.

Just between you and me, I plan to purchase tickets and watch him live. I love his routines so much and I recently acquired a copy of his chart-topping record "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart"
He said his record of holding the #1 and #2 spots on the top album charts lasted for 31 years until Guns and Roses beat him out with "Use Your Illusion" and "Use Your Illusion II" in 1991.

Another part of the book that I found funny were the stories he told about his friendship with Don Rickles. The way he puts it, "somebody has to be his friend". In case you didn't know it already, Rickles is famous for his rude, in-your-face comedy. This in turn causes people to assume he is that way off the stage too. As a result, he has few friends. Bob says he has traveled the world with Rickles and his wife and they remain the best of friends today.

Interestingly, Bob Newhart didn't receive his driver's license until he was 30 years old and happily married. He attributed it to the fact that he lived in a big city and he simply used the "L" and taxis to get around. He told a story about how when he got married, he didn't have his license yet, but his entire family, as well as his new wife's family were all watching as the newlywed couple got in to the car to leave the church for the honeymoon. He didn't know the first thing about driving, but he had written a comedy routine about a driving school. His solution was to apply everything he talked about from his routine and hope for the best. In the end, he managed to start the car and drive down the block. Then, he turned down a side street out of site from the church where he and his wife traded places at the wheel.

Also, he lived at home well in to his twenties. I believe he said he was around 29 when he finally moved out. I want to say he was around 31 when he got married.

I'd just like to note at the end here that Bob Newhart has two really well known shows on DVD and that if you are interested, I encourage you to check them out. They are "The Bob Newhart show" (6 seasons in all) and "Newhart" (8 seasons in all)

Until next time, keep reading!

I recently finished "The Firm" by John Grisham. It was an incredible read. Quick, but suspenseful throughout the entire story. For those unfamiliar with the work, it is the story about a kid fresh out of Harvard Law School who is recruited by a firm which he later learns is run by the mob. I would highly recommend it.
 I just watched the movie version yesterday, but it was a huge disappointment. The entire ending as changed, and not for the better. The new ending didn't even make sense given the main character's motivations and attitudes. The one plus about the movie however was the casting. Each character resembled EXACTLY what I had envisioned when I read the book. It was almost uncanny. The cast includes such stars as Tom Cruise,  Hal Holbrook, Wilfred Brimley, Gary Busey, and Gene Hackman.
Earlier this year, a miniseries was made about the book. I have yet to watch it, but I just hope it sticks closer to the events of the book and not the movie. The ending of the book version leaves alot of options open.

Right now, I have moved on to reading a biography of comedian Art Carney. I had first watched him in the Honeymooners and immediately became a fan. Since then, I've watched Harry and Tonto which only solidified my opinion of him as a top tier actor.

I am going to be leaving on vacation soon and will be gone for a couple of weeks. Where I am going has limited television and internet access, so I plan on engaging in a lot of reading. My goal is to finish Carney's biography and maybe even get through Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley". I am also bringing with me "Sweet Thursday", "Cannery Row", and "The Winter of our Discontent" (all by Steinbeck) just in case. More from this bibliophile on the flip side. Until then, keep reading!

UPDATE:

I am back from vacation and have since finished the Art Carney book as well as "Travels With Charley". I have to say both were very interesting reads.  I learned so much about Art that I never would've guessed. Who knew he suffered from an alcohol problem? Apparently he battled with it all his life, and he never really felt he was producing good work. I also learned that "Harry and Tonto" for which he won the Best Actor oscar, was his big break in to movies. Up until that time, he was primarily a tv and Broadway actor.

"Travels" was really fascinating. One thing that was especially cool was that early in the book he is traveling along U.S. Highway 95 and while I was reading that part, I was also traveling long U.S. 95. I paused and took a look out the window, but I am sure it looked completely different then it did fifty years earlier when he drove along it. As I soon learned, his destination was Deer Isle, which is only an hour away from Bar Harbor, where I had just been. I found that coincidence to be mind blowing. My favorite author traveling the same route I do. How cool is that? As a side note, I actually have been to Deer Isle once.
The most important thing I took away from "Travels" was realizing how manly Steinbeck is. He is a tough as nails guy who is willing to do anything. For example, in the beginning of the book, even before he sets out on his trip, amidst the eye of a hurricane (not a tropical storm, but a bonafide hurricane) he jumps into the lake by his house (fully clothed) to recuse his boat. His neighbors had improperly tied their boat up before the hurricane and when the storm hit, a gust of wind slammed their boats in to Steinbeck's. This forced his boat to become untied and drift away. He wife is not thrilled by his actions, but he is successful in rescuing his boat while only sustaining a few minor cuts and bruises.
Personally, I feel this has to do with the era in which Steinbeck grew up. He was born on a farm in Salinas, CA in 1902. In those days, people were not lazy or fearful. They did what they had to to survive. If they weren't successful growing their crops or didn't catch anything on a hunt, they didn't eat. People from his time wouldn't have been as impressed as we are today by his heroic, possibly even stupid, actions to save his boat. He lived through the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and 2 World Wars. He also spent alot of time on farms with migrant workers, telling their stories.  On top of all that, he also a boy scout, which would've further instilled in him a sense of know-how and bravery. Needless to say, I gained a lot of respect for this great man from reading this book. One final detail I'd like to add is that my copy of the book had both the original ending that Steinbeck wrote and the alternate ending his publisher made him use. It was interesting to see the contrast. I don't quite understand what was wrong with his original ending though. I don't see why the publisher wouldn't have used it.

At the present moment, I am reading "I Shouldn't Even be Doing This", the autobiography of Bob Newhart. I know I am doing a really poor job of sticking to my original reading list, but this is a book I've been wanting to read for years. I started reading it three years ago, but stopped. Then I laid the book down and forgot where it was. I just recently rediscovered it, and am determined to finish it this time.

Interesting, I have learned Bob is still touring. I am hoping to purchase tickets and see him perform his routines live this Fall.

Until next time, keep reading!

Finals Thoughts Before the Long Hot Summer

Initially, I signed up for this class to meet a requirement. I have always enjoyed reading, so I was looking forward to this class. I didn't know what to expect besides reading a variety of stories from the text book. Now that I am almost finished with the class, I have found my expectations were off. I had no idea how much fun I would have in this class. I have learned so much about authors, some of whom I didn't even know existed. I enjoyed most of the stories and now feel inspired to continue my learning. This summer I plan to read more stories by some of the authors I enjoyed the most. As of right now, my summer reading looks something like this:

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Big Sur by Jack Kerouac

The Subterraneans by Jack Kerouac

Travels with Charlie by John Steinbeck

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

I plan on continuing this blog for the summer, perhaps even beyond that. I will update my progress on the books I'm reading and share my thoughts once I'm done.

Additionally, as an interesting sidebar: There is a new movie coming out this year about Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road.

My literary journey is far from over, in fact, thanks to this class, it has taken a turn for the better.

Finally: I would just like to mention that aside from reading, I also write in my spare time. I have written a couple of short stories (all unpublished)  and I am working on a novel. I have spent 2 years on my novel and in January of this year I finished the first draft. In short, it is the story of a girl and the adventures she has during her first year of college.

I Can't Get Started

For the unpack-a-poem assignment, I have chosen to analyze "I Cant' Get Started" written by Ira Gershwin. The reason I chose this particular poem has to do with the fact that none of the poems in my textbook spoke to me. We read a few poems in class that I liked, but I wanted something I hadn't already read before. I found this poem in a book that I got from my local library. I actually checked out most of the library's 20th century poetry selection and spent a great deal of time searching. One book that I checked out which I found immensely interesting was called "Poets of WW2". It is a collection of poems written by soldiers on the battlefields during WW2. Alot of the poems inside were unlike any I had read before. They were very dark and intense, some were even quite graphic. Although I found these poems interesting, I thought they were awfully dark and I wanted to analyze a happier poem. A great deal of the poems we read in class were dark and I was tired of downers. I needed something that would bring a smile to my face.

As soon as I read through "I Can't Get Started" I knew it was the right one. It was kind and lighthearted. Just the right type of story I was looking for. Now technically, "I Can't Get Started" is a song, but the lyrics are poetic (and it is in a book called "American Poetry") so I assumed it qualified as a poem. I find the fact that it is a song to be helpful when analyzing it, because I can listen to artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, and Billie Holiday sing the words and this will help me derive a different meaning to certain phrases and words. You get a different perspective on the poem when you get to hear it sung.

Cathedral

The short story Cathedral by Raymond Carver was a unique story with a very intriguing ending. While I was reading the story, I thought it was just another boring tale about an awkward incident in the narrator's life. However, the last few lines changed that. I was left with an interesting final thought to ponder. I like stories where the ending is ambiguous and the reading is forced to really think about it.

This story definitely made me think. Specifically, the blind man went against some of my basic assumptions of blind people. I never thought about a blind man smoking before. Not only did I not think it would be feasible, I just never considered the possibility that a man who could not see would engage in a dangerous habit. One thing that crossed my mind when I first learned of the blind man's smoking was I wondered if he had ever been burned by the cigarette, and if so, how often.

Another aspect that impressed me about the blind man was his ability to eat his food without any trouble. I assumed using utensils would be very difficult for the man, but the story makes it sound like he was having no trouble whatsoever. Thinking about it now, it does make sense that he would be able to use a fork and knife so well. He likely has been using them all his life. Although, I still wonder how he knows where the plate is and how he is able to bring the food to his mouth without spilling.

One thing not mentioned in the story which could hold all of the answers to these questions is that it is never mentioned how blind the blind man is. Perhaps he is not completely blind and in fact is able to see a few blurry spots of light.

Drugs, specifically marijuana, are present not only in this story, but in Entropy by Thomas Pynchon too. This fact surprised me a little bit because the stories were written in the 1980's, not the 1960's. Not that drugs weren't still prevalent in the '80's, its just I always associate drug use with beat writing from the '60's. Also, the use of drugs in Cathedral did not seem to fit with the story. I felt that the characters did not seem like the type who would use drugs. Whereas in Entropy, each character more or less fits the persona for drug use. I attribute this to the detail of the descriptions of the characters. The husband and wife in Cathedral are not described in perfect detail, so it is hard to truly get a reading on what type of people they really are. Entropy on the other hand describes the characters a little better (it doesn't necessarily come right out and give clear description, but based on actions and dialogue, one can imply each character's physical description and personality.) and it is believable they would be involved with drug use.

A Journey Through the Supermarket

The most interesting part of the poem “A Supermarket in California” by Allen Ginsberg, in my opinion, was when the author spotted Walt Whitman “poking along the meats in the refrigerator”. It is such a random event, that doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, yet it somehow works. It fits in and flows with the rest of the story. It makes sense that Ginsberg would've chosen a supermarket as the setting. A supermarket is a gathering place for all kinds of people, because everyone needs groceries. The author also mentions coming across Garcia Lorca, a famous Spanish poet, which, like with Whitman, is also a symbolic meeting. I like the idea of walking through the supermarket and coming across the people who inspire you. For me, it would be like running in to Clint Eastwood, J.P. Morgan, and John Steinbeck at my local Kroger.

The author talks about following Whitman and later walking with him. I take this to mean that he is engaging in a conversation with Whitman, finding out more about his life and what inspired him. I am kind of curious to know what really gave Ginsberg the idea to write this story. It is an interesting concept. One idea I have for the source of inspiration comes from the fact that people I know of in Los Angeles sometimes come across celebrities at their local grocery stores. Perhaps Ginsberg as aware of this and thought it might make for an interesting story.

Corson's Inlet

I found “Corson's Inlet” by A.R. Ammons to be a highly thought-provoking poem. It really makes the reader stop and think about their own life. The reason for this is because to a degree, the events in the poem are relatable. I think walking along a beach and thinking about life is something a lot of people are familiar with.

In the last two stanzas, Ammons analyzes the world around him as he walks along the shoreline. One theme that stands out to me is “freedom”. The author uses phrases such as “limited tightness”, “widening scope” and “all possibilities of escape open” to continually emphasize the existence of freedom. The birds that fly above him are free as well as the ocean flowing next to him is a big symbol of freedom. In a way, the author's haphazard thoughts are also an example of freedom. To me, the purpose of this story is to talk about the pleasures that come from a stress-free, driftless life