Althouse: Grapes.

September 28, 2020

Grapes.

lol i drew this in high school pic.twitter.com/y4Vwmwptp4
— take the lane (@fex_urbis) September 27, 2020

37 comments:

TML said...: What was the famous Arnold comment? "He looks like a condom stuffed with walnuts"?; 9/28/20, 11:50 AM
unknown said...: Synthol.; 9/28/20, 11:57 AM
Michael K said...: Isn't there an expression, "Dumb as a rock?"; 9/28/20, 11:59 AM
Achilles said...: Why do people mock what they seem to fetishize? It seems that they must feel bad about wanting a masculine man but they really want it...

Democrats keep whining about the handmaids tale in the US. Then you look at how many democrat rapists there are and how many leftist women adore them and seek to be victimized by them.

Look at how women who speak out against democrat rapists are treated.

The Democrat party is the daddy issues party.; 9/28/20, 12:06 PM
Francisco D said...: I can certainly smell what the Rock is cooking.

It smells like rotting bullshit.; 9/28/20, 12:10 PM
Yancey Ward said...: He looks like a guy who has taken steroids his entire adult life.; 9/28/20, 12:18 PM
Carol said...: I love a good male bod as much as anyone, but this look is way overdone.

I like the lean, naturally muscled look that young guys get in their prime.

And, take PEDs much?; 9/28/20, 12:19 PM
Earnest Prole said...: The Rock’s got bodacious ta-tas.; 9/28/20, 12:41 PM
Stv30 said...: I see melons; 9/28/20, 12:53 PM
stevew said...: Serious question: can someone work out enough and in the right way to develop a physique like that, without taking enhancing substances? I don't care if he did - doesn't affect me - so am just curious.

Grapes isn't bad. Would be worse if it was a shot of him "smuggling plums".; 9/28/20, 12:58 PM
gerry said...: He looks great.; 9/28/20, 1:38 PM
William said...: I like The Rock, but here's my problem with celebrity endorsements. Actors play heroic characters who unfailingly do the brave and right thing. When they announce their political preferences, their fans think this is the brave and right thing to do. I think The Rock's endorsement might actually move a few voters in Biden's direction. I'm sure The Rock is a nice guy, but you can only be unfailingly brave and right if you're performing in front of a green screen in a plot crafted by screenwriters. Life tends to be more complicated, and you don't always make the right decision and follow through with firm resolve, but I'm not sure that all of Rock's fans make these fine distinctions.; 9/28/20, 1:49 PM
William said...: In my pathetic attempts to escape from political correctness, I recently watched the two BBC versions of Dickens' Bleak House. In the 1985 version, Diana Riggs played Lady Dedlock. The character of Lady Dedlock is repressed, humorless, and haughty. This didn't play into Diana Riggs wheelhouse. I kept hoping Emma Peel would break out and drop kick some of the villains, but it never happened. Lady Dedlock died of shame when news came out that she had had a child out of wedlock. Gillian Anderson did a much better job with the role in the 2005 version.....It's very easy to confuse actors with the roles they play.; 9/28/20, 1:57 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "Serious question: can someone work out enough and in the right way to develop a physique like that, without taking enhancing substances?"

I wonder the same thing. I am married to someone who is not exercise-obsessed and has never taken anything but can bench equivalent to an NFL linebacker. Clearly some people pack on muscle much more easily than others. But do such people look like The Rock without using enhancements? I haven't seen such a person.

But then, looking like that (And it really is impressive.) is The Rock's job, and he's not competing in athletic events, so it would make sense that he would be enhancing. Even using enhancements, that's an insane amount of work md self-discipline.; 9/28/20, 2:13 PM
Nyamujal said...: "Serious question: can someone work out enough and in the right way to develop a physique like that, without taking enhancing substances?"

Yeah, it is possible. There are plenty of natty bodybuilders around. Getting "shoot-ready" with well-defined abs is harder but can be done and requires some pre-shoot prep that involves cutting your water intake and maybe using diuretics. The Rock has always been genetically gifted and while that tee isn't very flattering, he's quite ripped and strong too. He was a college football player and was a wrestler after all.
Developing a physique like that is requires years of dedicated training and discipline (and extra attention to nutrition with several bulking and cutting cycles). People who argue that bodybuilding isn't a sport or isn't "functional" don't know what they're talking about, or are just some butthurt failed athletes who now obsess over their Crossfit WOD times.; 9/28/20, 2:27 PM
Joe Smith said...: I wish he would have kept his mouth shut like Michael Jordan...

He was one of the few in Hollywood that I could watch and be entertained instead of thinking about his politics...oh well.

It might just be me, but even since last year he looks like he's gotten much larger.

There is no way on earth that is natural..I don't care how many weights you lift.

Compare to Charles Atlas, once considered having an ideal body. The Rock makes him look like a fourteen-year-old girl...; 9/28/20, 2:31 PM
Gk1 said...: "Nice Rack" has so far been my favorite response on twitter. ;-P; 9/28/20, 2:35 PM
Birkel said...: The rock has a nutritionist, a trainer, and probably a chef.
He claims each of those as a business expense.
He probably reduces his tax burden by claiming those costs against his income.

I believe that means he is subject to the death penalty, as per recent NYT reports.; 9/28/20, 2:38 PM
Nyamujal said...: "Isn't there an expression, "Dumb as a rock?"

He went from college football to being a successful WWE wrestler and is now one of the highest-paid actors on the planet. I think he's far from dumb and has achieved a level of success and fame most people dream of...; 9/28/20, 2:40 PM
chuck said...: but can bench equivalent to an NFL linebacker

I recall a rather small kid at my high school who benched 300 lbs. There is a lot of variation out there.; 9/28/20, 2:48 PM
Joe Smith said...: Re: Mr. Rock being dumb.

I don't know if he is academically credentialed, but I get the impression that he is a very bright guy, at least when it comes the entertainment/marketing world.; 9/28/20, 2:52 PM
Nyamujal said...: FWIW when the Rock was in the greater Boston area working on a project with Kevin Hart, I ran into him at the gym I frequent. A lot of celebs are assholes IRL, but the Rock is sweet and really nice. I think a lot of people who've worked with him agree that he's incredibly humble and kind.
I saw him work his legs that day and I can assure you that he definitely doesn't have chicken legs...:-); 9/28/20, 2:59 PM
Howard said...: Botryoidal; 9/28/20, 3:12 PM
Jaq said...: "has achieved a level of success and fame most people dream of...”

Granted, but have you *seen* Jumanji?; 9/28/20, 3:13 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Moobs the size of watermelons and steroid-shriveled testicles the size of raisins: The Rock is a girly-man.; 9/28/20, 3:22 PM
Wince said...: Sour grapes?; 9/28/20, 3:25 PM
Yancey Ward said...: "Serious question: can someone work out enough and in the right way to develop a physique like that, without taking enhancing substances?"

Not really. You can definitely get a ripped muscular physique with training and the right diet, but not the sheer mass of muscle like Johnson's. You can compare, as someone above suggested, the "natural" body builders with the unnatural ones- a big difference in size and weight.; 9/28/20, 4:52 PM
IamDevo said...: I'm torn between, "Gynocomastia much?" and the simple observation that his tits are bigger than his head. So, here's both.; 9/28/20, 5:06 PM
Lars Porsena said...: Could Doctor Jill treat his gynocomastia.; 9/28/20, 6:24 PM
Narayanan said...: Could this be daddy Rock being cool with his kids?; 9/28/20, 7:05 PM
Narayanan said...: Can A Daddy be cool with own kids by supporting Trump?

even R balk/suck at it in my opinion.; 9/28/20, 7:07 PM
Michael K said...: I had a 24 year old body builder with male breast cancer and 23 positive nodes.

Denied anabolic steroids but I wondered. I hope the Rock gets mammograms.; 9/28/20, 7:09 PM
Megaera said...: Did he always sport that Conehead look, or is that something he's been striving for recently?; 9/28/20, 8:03 PM
Jaq said...: If it takes using steroids, it’s not a ‘sport,’ it’s a fetish. I don’t know anything about how 'The Rock’ gets that shape.; 9/29/20, 7:56 AM
Bilwick said...: If the Rock is a fan of Biden and Harris, he should be spending more time wrestling with basic economics.; 9/29/20, 11:45 AM
Gator said...: He's 48 years old, the only way to look like that is with some chemical help.; 9/29/20, 3:10 PM
Gator said...: He's 48 years old, he's had chemical help; 9/29/20, 3:11 PM