💪All-American Apollo Creed

ISSUE #75 - July 5th, 2019

ONE

NOSTALGIA - You may have a vague memory of Hulk Hogan's "I Am A Real American" theme song but were you aware that the music video opened with actual footage of JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you..." line and then cut to baby pictures of Hogan as the chorus started?

Oh, you didn't remember that? And that's only the beginning. In between shots of Hogan playing the electric guitar and crushing wrestling rivals, we get photos of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln and MLK and the moon landing and it's all so glorious and wrapped in Old Glory you almost want to stand and salute the whole thing. Enjoy these next three minutes.

TWO

MOVIES - I don't care whether you went to your local fireworks show, a big city display on the water or just watched the New York City event on television, when you really think about it, the most entertaining display of patriotism of all time was Apollo Creed's ring entrance from Rocky IV.

If you doubt me, don't forget that ring entrance included a live, choreographed performance of Living in America with Apollo and James Brown and dancers and a stunned Drago and even a mock prop plane flying on the ceiling. We all know how this fight turned out for Apollo (though as an audience, the result did lead to Creed & Creed II, so who are we to complain) but the sheer star power of the performance holds up to this day.

THREE

FITNESS - I've been doing a lot more bodyweight exercises lately with a focus on getting better with the rings I have in my power rack. Pull-ups with chains... Dips... Burpees... that kind of stuff.

I have no interest in attempting to be a gymnast, but the rings do open up a whole new bag of tricks exercise-wise and the one I've been trying to master the last few weeks is an inverted row. It requires a lot of balance and the kind of core strength that hurts the little muscles you didn't know you had. I saw it on body weight workout guru Jerry Teixeira's twitter feed. Here it is if you want to start working on it as well.

FOUR

BOOKS - During the summer (and especially around the 4th of July) people often ask me about the best biography to read about a president or a founding father or historical figure. Most lists suggest towering works that have won Pulitzer Prizes and that sit on your nightstand like a cinderblock.

I love those kinds of books and I read them often. However, I realize that those epic, definitive bios can be a slog for a lot of people, which is why I often recommend books like Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by historian Richard Brookhiser as a sort of starter book. The book is well-written, full of great stories and facts and is every bit a compelling look at Washington's life as some of the more in depth volumes...but it's not 700 pages. It's more of an overview of the important points and moments on our first president's life and character than a year-by-year account of his life. If you're looking for a manageable, interesting read on GW, this is your book.

FIVE

A QUOTE ON AMERICA AND HAPPINESS

"The Constitution only guarantees you the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

-- Ben Franklin