Friday, June 08, 2007

Che cosa stai dicendo, Willis? Part 2

First, for all of you who are joining the show late, I give you Part One of this apparently on-going saga. Please read before you go any further, in order to fully appreciate the Arnold-ness of this post.

Now, I realize that the only thing that qualifies this for my Rome-themed blog is the simple fact that I saw it in Rome. But that's OK by me. Just yesterday I saw a t-shirt for sale that said "My so-and-so went to Hawaii and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" for €4. Which goes to show: things don't always have to make perfect sense.

So, just for some random fun, look where Arnold turned up, in action mode, on Lungotevere:


Kung-Fu Arnold! And, for all you excellent mystery solvers (it's usually one of my readers who solves these great curiosities of mine): what's up with that weird pink graffiti next to Arnold? It looks strangely like the other one:

What does it all mean, folks?

Well, if you thought Arnold was a Rome-only phenomenon, you'd be wrong. I promise I don't spend my days wandering Italian cities looking for him. He just shows up. For example, when I was in Milan with Sara last weekend, poof! Walking around after breakfast, there he was:

This is a close-up of a small stencil on the side of a wall. There were also a couple others, but seeing as how one of them was additionally painted over with something that portrays Arnold in a rather compromising light, well, I'll leave that one to your imagination. As always, we try our best to be a PG-rated blog around here.

Ok, ok, I promise tomorrow I'll get back to the meat and potatoes of the blog. Or rather, the espresso slushies and the Pantheon, both of which I have waiting in the wings for you.

15 comments:

The Globetrotter Parent said...

He's trying to make a comeback and he thinks that Italy is the place to start?

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

Caroline: Hmmm, interesting theory... maybe his gig with 1-800-GET-CASH (NYC/Caribbean Ragazza told me that's what he's up to nowadays) isn't working out so well. Poor Arnold!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Maybe the artist is a big Gary Coleman fan.

At least Arnold is still alive, poverina Kimberely. Before his recent TV ads, he was working as a security guard. I thought that was weird. I mean who is going to be scared of him besides Webster?

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

NYC: You're killing me! How long has it been since I've thought about Webster? Ma'am and George!!! I can always rely on you and your witty comments to give me a laugh. ;-)

Eryn said...

hi there, i'm a new blogger and i've started reading yours.

when i lived in florence for a semester we would see gary coleman stencils all over the place......that is so strange that he has appeared in rome and milan as well.

i bet it's the same person!

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

Eryn! Welcome to the blogosphere, or rather, benvenuta! I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary.

Now I'm curious. I should do some research...(a.k.a. Google it).

erin said...

oh I love it!!! I was so excited to see your first post about this and cracked up! I can't wait to do my own Coleman-spotting when we get over there!

Anonymous said...

Oooh, please tell us you will talk about the granite de cafe at Taza de Oro, which I discovered last weekend, as I sadly walked away from the Pantheon which was "chiusa" for the holiday?? Thanks for your blog, I loved it. I used it to guide me for my 2nd trip ever to Rome last week. Continuing to enjoy your blog even now that I am back in NYC.

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

Chris & Erin: I'm so relieved to see that someone else shares my warped sense of humor on this. I was sure that everyone would be shaking their heads wondering what had come over me (like my husband did when I saw Arnold 2 when we were in the car...I later actually rode back over on my bike to take a shot, I know, I'm nuts) but I tell you, I just can't resist!

Anon: Wow! I am very impressed. You have correctly guessed the topic I was getting at. How did you find out about it? I'm sure it was a good pick-me-up after the closed Pantheon let-down. And, I am so honored that my blog helped you with your trip!!

Thistlemoon said...

I think it is someone's idea of a fun time, going around places in Italy and putting Arnolds everywhere just to get people talking, like we are here...are you sure its not you Shelley?!!? I mean, you do seem to be the common denominator here! ;)

Shelley - At Home in Rome said...

Good one Jenn! Can you see it? I don't even know how they got those things up so high, I mean, are they carrying ladders around with them, along with a bucket of glue and a brush to paste it on with? Bizarre!

And, in my defense, I must defer to Eryn who has spotted Signore Coleman in Florence as well, a place I've only been to a couple times, making it *nearly* physically impossible for me to be the culprit... ;-)

FinnyKnits said...

That's bizarre. The only place he shows up in the States is on the CashCall commercials.

Nothing is sadder than a former child actor who's funds were mismanaged so dramatically that his broke ass has to go on TV and tell other broke asses how to get "$1000 right now just by calling."

Delina said...

It makes me want to go plaster a massive Arnold up on the side of my building. I wonder what the condominio would have to say about that.

Love it.

Unknown said...

now that is too funny... I used to love that show!

And I'm all too curious, does married life give you the permit now also? Read your wedding post for more comments. :)

jessica said...

this is interesting. keep us updated of arnold's appearances.