People That You Admire

[mariab]

Tom,
there are “independent“ Christians out there who don't believe in life after death. They believe in a higher power or whatever. It's just that believing in “the afterlife“ doesn't quite fit with the rest of your personality, is all – when you're usually majorly astute and reality-bound, if not sceptical. And I don't mean that in a bad way.
Wait a minute, do you actually believe that after death you might find out the truth about the identity of the Ripper???
As for KISS, who said anything about Satanists? If anything, I find glam rock a bit “effeminate“, with all the make up, the decolletés, the big hair, and the high heels. I know that Gene Simmons is Jewish and a multilingual (and I'm impressed by how far he can outstretch his tongue). And I'm sure that Pearl Jam would value KISS. It's just that, musically, I find KISS not that impressive, especially as guitarists. They're kinda like The Eagles, with a bit of distortion and some glam. Whereas Pearl Jam...amazing versatility, complexity, and hints of what musicologists call “thematic-motivic structure“. With some serious distortion, to keep us honest.
Stupidly I've never heard of “Elderly woman behind a counter in a small town“, but I'll look it up. My all favorite song by Pearl Jam is “Given to fly“ (plus tons of other songs), and one of my old time favorites are Temple of the Dog's “Hunger strike“, which features Pearl Jam and Soundgarden together, at least some of their members, before Pearl Jam was created. Essentially it's a duet between Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder.
Man, these posts should be moved to one of the threads about music. So sorry, C.D. my friend. Your thread is shifting in all directions, from serial killers, to mountaineering, to grunge rock.

[Tom_Wescott]

Steadmund, there's no question that Gene is a big Slade fan, and he openly admits that. He openly admits ripping off a lot of people. They were taken to court by Alice Cooper in 1997 for ripping him off. I learned of Slade when Quiet Riot made a career from covering their stuff, and because of that, Slade enjoyed a resurgence in the 80's on MTV. I later sought them out (they're hard to find in the states) and heard them, but I still think Quiet Riot rocked more. But keep in mind I've only heard Cum on Feel the Noize and Mama We're All Crazee.

Maria,

If you're a true musicologist with an eye towards rock, you need to listen to Silverchair's two most recent albums, Across the Night and Young Modern.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[mariab]

and I say this having met the man on several occasions... (have you ever gotten the chance to Tom? being a fan I hope you would.. he is quite a nice guy, as is Paul...and so was Ace, never did meet Peter though)

I've heard Pearl Jam in a small concert in Munich in the summer of 2008, and Eddie Vedder climbed on one of the boxes and said he wanted to check us out better in the first row (not meant in a “dirty“ way), especially me jumping up and down and “imitating“ him, despite limping from a serious ankle injury. It's not just Vedder though, I love them all, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, all the drummers they've had. Vedder has surfed with people I know on Hawaii's North Shore, and Jeff Ament regulary rides Mount Hood (but I've never seen him there).
After the concert, the ENTIRE Munich subway was chock full of Pearl Jam fans, conversing in all kinds of different languages. I'd never met so many Pearl Jam fans before. It was mental. On the next day I swam the imfamous (brutal) stationary* river wave in downtown Munich. It was classic. It was a pretty eventful weekend.

(*with an “a“) ;-)

To Tom:
I'm a true musicologist (I earn my living that way) and with more than an eye to rock, but I've hated Young Modern, too jazzy, and Daniel John's new look was totally Village People-ish. I ADORE ALL their previous albums, Stompfrog, Freak Show, Neon Ballroom. Across the night I'll definitely check out, hadn't realized it was out yet.
He he Tom, I think you have much mellower tastes in music than me.

[martin wilson]

Hi Mariab
It was a bit of an in joke.
Geoff was one of the worlds best batsmen ever and a much loved cricket commentator.
He is known for his calling a spade a spade, no nonsense Yorkshire common sense.
He is also never wrong.
So if England try a certain tactic and it doesnt work,he wants them to try another one.
If they happen to try that tactic and it doesnt work he wants them to try the first one again.
All this is said in a tone that brooks no argument and without any recollection of what he said previously.
Nobody can bowl either.
"He cant bowl,never, my old mum would play him with her rolling pin, he's never a test bowler, listen,I like the lad.I like the lad he's got a good attitude.he wants to learn but he cant bowl simple as that,Fred Trueman always used to say...."
I hope this gives you some idea about my silly little joke.
All the best.

[Steadmund Brand]

I've heard Pearl Jam in a small concert in Munich in the summer of 2008, and Eddie Vedder climbed on one of the boxes and said he wanted to check us out better in the first row (not meant in a “dirty“ way), especially me jumping up and down and “imitating“ him, despite limping from a serious ankle injury. It's not just Vedder though, I love them all, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, all the drummers they've had. Vedder has surfed with people I know on Hawaii's North Shore, and Jeff Ament regulary rides Mount Hood (but I've never seen him there).
After the concert, the ENTIRE Munich subway was chock full of Pearl Jam fans, conversing in all kinds of different languages. I'd never met so many Pearl Jam fans before. It was mental. On the next day I swam the imfamous (brutal) stationary* river wave in downtown Munich. It was classic. It was a pretty eventful weekend.

(*with an “a“) ;-)

To Tom:
I'm a true musicologist (I earn my living that way) and with more than an eye to rock, but I've hated Young Modern, too jazzy, and Daniel John's new look was totally Village People-ish. I ADORE ALL their previous albums, Stompfrog, Freak Show, Neon Ballroom. Across the night I'll definitely check out, hadn't realized it was out yet.
He he Tom, I think you have much mellower tastes in music than me.

that is a great story Maria... a very close friend of mine, who is professional musician (principal trumpet for a large philharmonic) had a run in with Eddie Vedder.... funny story... and it involved what he said was a quite "out of it" Vedder just lloking at him and saying over and over " wow trumpets" .. but a nice guy all the same....

And Tom... oh you really should check out some classic Slade stuff.. I myself didnt enojoy the Quiet Riot covers.. they took all the fun out of the songs... but you can find most Slade videos/singles on Youtube these days... I think you'll be impressed.. really a fun band

[Tom_Wescott]

Hi Steadmund, I've never visited youtube, but I'll def take you up on that invite someday. I've never heard anything but good things about them.

Maria,

I'm impressed you know Silverchair, but surprised you prefer Daniel's Anorexic look to his healthy look? Across the Night was the album that came out before Young Modern and I consider it their best, although I still say Young Modern was brilliant.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Tom_Wescott]

Metaphorically speaking

Women = Ant
Equality = Rubber tree plant

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Abby Normal]

I thought it might be interesting to find out who people admire and why. I am no longer so naive as to think that there is any human being who doesn't have his or her faults and so all of my choices come with feet of clay. But I can accept that because I think all of these people not only talked the talk but walked the walk when it counted. So here they are -- just a few for starters and in no particular order:

Abraham Lincoln - I have recently read a lot about Lincoln and the more I read the more I admire him. I don't think anybody could have done a better job under the circumstances.

Ulysses S. Grant - Grant had a sh*tty job to do and he did it to the best of his ability. He made mistakes but admitted them.

Robert E. Lee - Some reservations here because I think he was on the wrong side and because (as I recently found out) although he did set his slaves free he was not the best master. Still I think that he was a man of honor.

Sir Edmund Hillary - The first to climb Mount Everest along with Tenzing Norgay. Afterwards he went back to the area and built schools and hospitals. I saw him speak once. A real class act.

Ernest Shackelton (explorer) - Kept his men alive in one of the most amazing feats of survival known.

Jackie Robinson (baseball player) - First African American to play major league baseball. Endured death threats and countless acts of harrassment.

So those are just a few. There are countless heroes in war and I admire those who simply did their duty. And then there are those who struggle to do their best for their kids. So lots of heroes. Some are just better known.

c.d.

George Washington
Jesus
Albert Einstein
Cheryl Crow
MLK
Alexander the Great
Jim Morrison
Rimbaud
FDR
Churchill
Shaun White
Cincinatus
Lincoln
Stephen Hawking
Newton
Sitting Bull
Pocohantus
St Paul
Shakespeare
Jimi Hendrix
Joyce Gracie
Warren Buffet
JRR Tolkien
Christopher Columbus
Martin Luther
Copernicus
Edgar Allen Poe
The chinese guy who stood in front of the tank

[mariab]

Women: the French philosopher was mentioned and quite rightly too. Perhaps the French philosopher was right - women aspire to 'equality', which means they're not pioneers. I think Thatcher deserves a mention. Now I didn't agree with nigh on 70% of her policies but she had the vision to change a nation and the discipline to see it through. That's got to count for something.

Even though I too disagree with 70% of her politics, I loved how Thatcher emanated natural authority and took it out to make her concepts into reality. Pity that her politics (predictably, and along with her pal's Reaganomics) led to a financial disaster and global crisis.
Ex-Green Party German minister of foreign affairs Joshka Fisher frequently tells a story that when Thatcher wanted to intimidate colleagues, she used to take out a granny-like pocketbook and started playing with it menacingly, making people pis* in their pants. (From a pocketbook?)
Why women in the early ages allowed men to subjugate them beats me. I can't help but feel a certain contempt for my ancestors.
The claim that women and men be “different“ is a social construction (apart from the sexual mechanics part, which obviously will always generate a bit of difference in social behaviour). The part about men being physically stronger is also receding slowly, nowadays that women are allowed to go outdoors and build muscle and skills. In boardsports, the reason why men generally still perform a bit better and in greater numbers than women is mental, not physical: Women still often lack drive, toughness, and longer experience. Women simply need to stop being hesitant and keep holding themselves back. In the younger generation of Pro surfers (14-15), there's reportedly nil difference in the level between girls/boys (though still a bit of lacking in the ratio).
The only real issue and physical difference is body fat. Women will always have more body fat than men, which will keep them better insulated, but a bit slower. Still, not too many sports entirely depend on this. I can only think of the 100m sprint race, a quarterback's home run, and the triple Axel jump in figure skating, which incidentally is the only skate jump generating from the hips and chest. No big surprise that women have a bit of difficulty with the Axel, with their exra body fat on hips and chest “holding them down“. Despite this, today the triple Axel is becoming a requirement for female ice skaters to get the gold medal. And no wonder that the Japanese female skaters (with their slender hips and chest) completely dominate ladies' singles skating today.
With apologies for (another) long post.

[Abby Normal]

It's interesting that in spite of the large number of women contributing to the thread, very few women were named as those we admire. I'm quite surprised that Mary Magdelene wasn't named, or if she was, I missed it.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

Good Call- i agree. I missed her on my list. But she is up there!!
I am partial to Thekla also.

[mariab]

I'm impressed you know Silverchair, but surprised you prefer Daniel's Anorexic look to his healthy look? Across the Night was the album that came out before Young Modern and I consider it their best, although I still say Young Modern was brilliant.

Tom, you already knew I love Silverchair. For some reason the Across the night album completely escaped my attention. I'll look it up. What I'm referring to is the prominent, caricature gay-like look Daniel Johns spotted on some pictures for the new album Young Modern. If Daniel Johns's come out as gay, more power to him, but does he really have to dress like the helmet blond guy from Village People? And he still looked pretty anorexic to me (which is his own prerogative). And the album has a saxophone solo, for God's sake! (If I remember it right.)

Women = Ant
Equality = Rubber tree plant

Tom, you're sweet. I can take you on in any physical fight (not that I'd want to really hurt you), I could save your butt in the ocean, I can outjump you. I'm Faith to your Xander,Buffy to your Spike.
I can even try to take you on in Ripperology. Not your untapped knowledge/decades-long experience, but I've already have about a dozen pages for an article on Berner Street (which started as keeping notes, then wrote itself like butter), and it's only the missing research (actually tons of research) which prevents me from completing it. We'll see what you think of it when the time is ripe, and especially, what Don Souden would think of it.
Now, if only I could acquire the motivation to complete my real article (for my job), which is due for publication, and the editor's waiting. But not tonight, though. Tomorrow(-ish).

[Tom_Wescott]

Tom, you already knew I love Silverchair.

No I didn't. You're the Casebook biographer, not me.

I'm Faith to your Xander,Buffy to your Spike.

Both of these pairs enjoyed violent, casual sex. I believe it is to your credit that you are so horny for me.

I can even try to take you on in Ripperology.

Guess what the key word in that sentence is.

I've already have about a dozen pages for an article on Berner Street

Oh goodness, you'd be safer fighting the sharks in the ocean.

We'll see what you think of it when the time is ripe, and especially, what Don Souden would think of it.

As in all things, Don would defer to me. Can't wait to read it.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Tom_Wescott]

The part about men being physically stronger is also receding slowly, nowadays that women are allowed to go outdoors and build muscle and skills.

Oh lord. You're suggesting more women work outdoors now than in centuries past? It's a good thing for the feminists that you're not one. LOL. But we love you. Of course men and women are different on many if not all levels. But different does not denote one is superior to the other. Women need to chill and stop thinking equality means being like us. Actually, they need to just stop with the equality nonsense all together. It ain't the 60's any more.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Archaic]

Hi everyone. Interesting idea for a thread, C.D.!

Here's my list:

William Shakespeare
John Donne (English poet)
Wilfred Owen (WWI English poet)
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mother Teresa
Mary Magdalene
Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln & Robert E. Lee (U.S. Civil War)
Leo Tolstoy
Jackie Robinson
Crazy Horse (Lakota warrior)
Cochise (Apache warrior)
The Beatles (esp. John Lennon)
Bono (U2)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (musician)

I was out last night and had only 2 hours of sleep, so I know that as soon as I hit 'Send' I'll think of another... oh, well.

Best regards,
Archaic

[mariab]

No I didn't. You're the Casebook biographer, not me.

Only for the people I look up to. Besides, acquired information is power and can be used in many fashions, legally or not. ;-) We've already talked a couple times about Silverchair, that's why I assumed you knew I dig them. No big deal.

I believe it is to your credit that you are so horny for me.

You're extremely self-deprecating and modest in your assumptions. Still, remember what happened to Xander when he visited Faith for the second time. And I'm sure that Don defers to you so much, that he's asking you what to have for breakfast every morning, before calling you again and asking what to wear.

Originally Posted by mariab
I can even try to take you on in Ripperology.

Guess what the key word in that sentence is.

Key word's “try“, but I've always been up for a challenge. The same about the “shark infested waters“ you've mentioned (which I've even done literally, in South Africa this July).

Oh lord. You're suggesting more women work outdoors now than in centuries past? It's a good thing for the feminists that you're not one. LOL. But we love you. Of course men and women are different on many if not all levels. But different does not denote one is superior to the other. Women need to chill and stop thinking equality means being like us. Actually, they need to just stop with the equality nonsense all together. It ain't the 60's any more.

Not work outdoors, play outdoors. (And only if one's inclined to. But I highly recommend it, for kicks.) “Feminist“ is more of a historical term. I'm not sure I should be called this. (How about...Amazonian?) Actually, I don't even like “equality“ as a term. The only one I'm personally interested in is “physical parity“ (esp. in the sports I'm engaging in), as it's really worth it for any athlete worth their salt to get as better as possible.
Yes, thank God it's not the '60s, and I'm completely chilled, it's you who started the gender issues discussion, about the quote of women being admired on this thread. The only one thing that's giving me the willies is when I keep hearing the Women are from Venus, men are from Mars mantra nonsense. Men and women are really not different emotionally, the rest is all about selling psychobabble books and stupid TV shows.