The Blog of Jon Finkel

February 2nd, 2018

Finkel's Fast Five - Issue #1

You opened. You’re reading. Awesome!  Let’s get to this week’s Fast Five:  This is the best feature I read all week: Can You Say...Hero? is a sprawling profile of Mr. Rogers written by Tom Junod for Esquire that was originally published in 1998. You may have seen this week that Tom Hanks is going to star in a movie about Mr. Rogers. Perfect, right? America’s favorite neighbor played by America’s favorite actor. Well, this is the article that inspired the movie and it is, plainly put, absolutely brilliant. It’s a profile writing clinic on a fascinating subject that I can't recommend enough. From Mr. Rogers getting ready for his daily swim to his sleeping habits to his apartment in New York City, this feature zeroes in on what made Mr. Rogers a very special human. Read it.  This was my favorite thing I watched on Netflix: Born Strong is a documentary about four contenders competing to become the Strongest Man on Earth at the Arnold Classic. It stars lifting legends Zydrunas, Eddie Hall, American Brian Shaw and Hafthor, AKA, The Mountain from Game of Thrones, all 6’9”, 400 pounds of him. You don’t have to be a fitness nut or power lifter to get sucked into this doc, which features a healthy dose of Arnold Schwarzenegger geeking out about the athletes, the physiques and the feats of strength. There are a few slow spots you could probably skip, but watching how much time these goliaths spend eating (all the time) training (all the time) and thinking about winning (all the time), is incredible. Even if you just watch the main section about The Mountain in Iceland, it’s worth it.  A runner-up Netflix favorite this week is this exchange from The Office, Season 1, Episode 1, which I decided to re-watch:  Michael Scott brings the camera to Pam’s receptionist desk.  Michael Scott: Everyone, this is Pam. If you think she’s cute now you should have seen her a couple years ago. Reawrrrrrrrr….  Pam (priceless stare into the camera): What???  Perfect moment in a near-perfect pilot. Highly recommend rewatching it.  These are my two favorite things I bought this week for a grand total of $4.17: Cinder blocks. Why? Why not? Actually, I got them for my garage gym so I could remove the lowest part of my deadlift (placing the bar on top), which I’ve been reading is where the greatest chance for injury and overuse is… I’ve read literature on both sides of this and I’m going with feel on this one. I’m not exactly trying to be an inside linebacker for the Patriots anymore so if I can get 90% of the benefits of the deadlift while removing some injury risk that’s fine. SIDE NOTE: There’s no better feeling than rolling up to a register at Home Depot with a cinder block in each hand and nothing else. Pretty sure every other dude in the Depot was jealous of that move. Also, I did a little cinder research and each block weighs about 30-35 pounds, so they’re good for some unbalanced farmer carries and curls too. OK, this meathead moment is over.  I never heard of this popular bottled mineral water until this week so I tried it and I hate mineral water but it’s actually good. It's called Topo Chico. I came across this article about a guy who drinks five a day and decided I’d try it next time I saw it. As it turns out, I have no idea how I've been missing it. Topo Chico is literally everywhere, especially in Texas. It's one of those things I never noticed because I don't care about it, but now I see it's in every restaurant, supermarket and store. Not saying I'm gonna drink 5 a day, but it's refreshing and worth a shot. Had one with dinner this week and went down smooth.  Best late-night snack sandwich I made this week: Double-decker peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich on whole wheat. On nights I write late I often find myself absolutely starving at about 10pm. This is my “Code Red, I’m crazy hungry and if I don’t eat this I’m driving to McDonald’s in two minutes” sandwich and it always hits the spot with a glass of ice cold milk. The key is to not put the banana slices on the peanut butter, but to put the honey on the peanut butter and the banana slices on their own level. Enjoy!  Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!  - Jon

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