Tag: SpongeBob Squarepants

Bizarre Example of the Price of Fame

A couple weeks ago the New York Times ran an excellent profile of Tom Kenny, the voice behind SpongeBob SquarePants. As the show became popular, people started to spot Kenny when he goes out and began acting completely inappropriately due to his new-found fame as this bizarre anecdote makes clear,

It’s good that Mr. Kenny understands idiocy, because fame has a way of turning people around him into dolts.

Last July 4, Mr. Kenny’s father died unexpectedly. He returned to Syracuse for the wake and was overwhelmed, he said, when dozens of people lined up to share their memories. Mr. Kenny will never forget that day, which he compares to a scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

But unfortunately, he will also never forget one woman who approached him, offered condolences, and then reached into her handbag and pulled out a “SpongeBob” CD.

“She said, ‘I hope this isn’t inappropriate, but could you sign this?’ ” Mr. Kenny recalled, shaking his head. “I mean, the only thing that would have been more inappropriate is if I leaned over and used my father’s forehead to steady myself as I signed.”

Unbelievable.

Source:

Father and Son, Soaking Up Affection. Amy Wallace, New York Times, June 15, 2003.

SpongeBob and the Godfather

There are simply two things on television that I cannot resist — SpongeBob and The Godfather. I easily spend 4-5 hours a week watching SpongeBob, though I’ve never really obssessed over whether or not SpongeBob is gay. He’s just nerdy and funny (not that there’s anything wrong with that). My wife can’t stand the show (then again, she’s the only human being I know who doesn’t laugh at episodes of The Simpsons), but my daughter and I are devoted followers — especially the Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy episodes which are simply TV nirvana.

My other obssession I can’t share with my daughter yet — I simply can’t resist watching The Godfather and The Godfather II. I’ve easily seen each of those films 200+ times and even in the edited versions on cable, those are the best two films ever made as far as I’m concerned.

And, of course, a lot of Left wing film criticism pegs the Godfather films as having a homosexual undercurrent. Which of course just begs the question that it’s possible with enough mental gymnastics to claim that everything from the Beverly Hillbillies to Knight Rider is really about homosexuality. (But it does keep English professors employed).