Who do I admire list

[Nacho]

There is a famous Beatles´ LP called Sgt. Pepper´s lonely heart club bands, in which cover they put the 100 historycal characters they admire most. I want you to make something a little bit smaller. just ten characters and who they´re.

Lance Armstrong: Cancer survivor and 4th Tour wins at the moment.
Ayrton Senna: 3 F-1 Championships. Dead in 1st. may 94.
Groucho Marx: Humourist.
John Cleese: Humourist.
John Lennon: Just as a composer.
Ron Gilber: Game programmer.
Steven Spielberg: Movie director and producer.
H.P. Lovecraft: Writer.
Dick Winters: American 2nd World War soldier. Easy company commander.
Albert Einstein: E=mc2

[remixor]

Ludwig van Beethoven: To me, the most mind-blowingly amazing artist of any kind who ever lived.  He wrote his seminal groundbreaking masterpiece the 9th Symphony while he was fucking deaf.  I have more respect for him than just about anyone of all time.

The rest aren't in any particular order, I just had to put Beethoven at the top.

Stephen Hawking: This guy had to go through so much shit and still manages to be the preeminent astrophysicist around, AND his writing is accessible to mere enthusiasts like me.

Roger Waters: Bassist/primary songwriter for Pink Floyd.  A total asshole, but his musical vision was so complete and amazing that I am in complete awe of him and his work.

Kurt Vonnegut: He's got an amazing ability to make incredibly relevant observations of the world within a humorous medium that makes for some truly great literature.

William Shakespeare: For obvious reasons, but for me, it pretty much comes down to one word: Hamlet.

Johann Sebastian Bach: I can't even begin to comprehend how this guy must have perceived music; he did stuff with contrapuntal patterns and interlocking rhythm that completely boggles my mind.

Miles Davis: He managed to span (hell, even create) countless genres while maintaining artistic individuality.  He pushed everything he did to the absolute limit, and I have an immense amount of admiration for that.

Terry Gilliam: Of course he's great in Monty Python, but I feel he really deserves respect as a director.  He's got balls, and he doesn't back down in the face of big studio pressure.  Not to mention, he's got real talent as a director and a brilliant sense of visual style.

Ron Gilbert and Tim Schafer: I've just got to fit these guys in.  I've mentioned musicians, authors, directors, and I was just going to choose one game designer, but these guys both just kick so much ass.  They both produced some of the most complete and beautiful PC games of any genre, and didn't hang around longer than they felt was right just to churn out crap games.  Ron and Tim are some of the best living storytellers around, regardless of medium, and I admire them greatly.


I could certainly go on and list more, but ten is good enough for one post.  Also, I'm leaving out bands and groups and so forth who, though I have huge respect for, don't fit within a "character" parameter.  Good topic, Farl

[DGMacphee]

These are the dudes who have influenced my life.

Hawkeye Pierce - From MASH, played by Donald Sutherland (movie) and Alan Alda (TV)

Buddha - Deity

Bill Hicks - Comedian

Paul Weller - Musician

Peter Gabriel - Musician

John Birmingham - Writer

Hal Ashby - Filmmaker

Jack Nicolson - Actor

Richard Krevolin - Screenwriting teacher

Bob Ellis - Writer and filmmaker

Gandhi - Spiritual leader

Hayao Miyazaki - Filmmaker

There are many more, but these are the ones I can think off.

[GarageGothic]

Let's see now, who do I admire? Tough question. Of course I admire people like Einstein, but not in any way that has really influenced my life. So I think I'll just limit this to the people who've inspired me to do the things I do, artistically as well as otherwise.

David Lynch - Film director and painter, among other things.
Kevin Smith - Writer/director
Neil Gaiman - Author of the Sandman comics as well as several novels
Lou Reed - Singer/songwriter/composer/poet - ex Velvet Underground
Joey Ramone - Singer/songwriter
David Bowie - As a phenomenon
Andy Warhol - Artist, but also, like Bowie, a phenomenon by himself.
Warren Spector - Game designer
Edgar Allan Poe - Writer/poet
Tim Burton - Director

I'll probably regret something the minute I post this. Expect lots of edits

Edit: Heh, remixor, I actually had Roger Waters on my list too. He WAS Pink Floyd to me. I even love The Final Cut, which everyone else hates, because it's so obviously Waters' album.

Edit 2: Ok, scrap Warhol and Bowie, replace with Orson Welles and Robert Rodriguez - two guys doing things their own way.

[SSH]

Ludwig van Beethoven: To me, the most mind-blowingly amazing artist of any kind who ever lived.  He wrote his seminal groundbreaking masterpiece the 9th Symphony while he was fucking deaf.

Didn't the deaf mind?

Stephen Hawking: This guy had to go through so much shit and still manages to be the preeminent astrophysicist around, AND his writing is accessible to mere enthusiasts like me.

And he dumped his wife who cared for him through all his illness as soon as he became rich and famous. What a man! Still, everyone has their flaws, so why not choose him!


Not sure of my list, I'll come back and edit later, but in no particular order:

Vera Brittain: Peace campaigner during WWII, author.

Kurt Vonnegut: author: Slaughterhouse 5 makes you really realise that the Germans had no monopoly on being evil in WWII

Adrian Plass: Christian author and satirist

Bill Gates: I hate him too, but this is a guy who wrote a BASIC interpreter and went on to become the richest guy in the world: wouldn't you like to do that?

Jesus Christ: cheesy to list, maybe, but I think he was right in all that he said

Bill Watterson: creator of Calvin and Hobbes, I admire his stopping, but I wish he'd start up again  

Aneurin Bevan: for creating the National Health Service

Victor Hugo: for writing Les Miserables and inspiring the excellent musical

Baz Luhrrman: for reviving the movie musical, providing excellent entertainment in his highly original films.

Maria de Los Angeles Beatriz Montequin de la Vega de MacCormack: for coping with me every day

EDIT: Added AB and VH and updated SH comment
EDIT: Added BL and MdlABMdlVdM

[Helm]

In no particular order:


Aristotle, because he is the father of formulated logic.

Karl Marx, for introducing historical materialism into political/economical science.

Isaac Asimov, for being so very astute.

Robert Fripp, for his emotionless approach to guitar playing.  

Moebius, for taking traditional comics as far as they can ever go, graphically.

Ykito Kishiro, for his unique vision and ummaculate execution.

Humberto Eco: For providing the backbone of the semiotic science.

William Harrison,for stating the question.

Alan Moore, for doing the same.

Steve Albini, for sticking to his guns.

[m0ds]

Chris Jones - programming legend.

[remixor]

Edit: Heh, remixor, I actually had Roger Waters on my list too. He WAS Pink Floyd to me. I even love The Final Cut, which everyone else hates, because it's so obviously Waters' album.

Yeah, he really is brilliant.  I don't know though if I'd go so far as to say he WAS Pink Floyd, however.  In my opinion David Gilmour created so much of their atmosphere with his incredible guitarwork (listen to stuff like Echoes from Meddle--Gilmour is unbelieveable) and Wright and Mason, while not being particularly genius, definitely lent a unique sound to the band.  In the end, though, it really was Water's innovation and thematic ideas that gave the band unique spot they hold in the rock world.

Didn't the deaf mind?

And he dumped his wife who cared for him through all his illness as soon as he became rich and famous. What a man!

Seems rather hypocritical of you to call me on this and then in the same post put Bill Gates on your list... He's not exactly Mr. Moral...

Kurt Vonnegut: author: Slaughterhouse 5 makes you really realise that the Germans had no monopoly on being evil in WWII

Jesus Christ: cheesy to list, maybe, but I think he was right in all that he said

Bill Watterson: creator of Calvin and Hobbes, I admire his stopping, but I wish he'd start up again

Agreed on all those points.

[wOoDz]

John Lennon- whether you like him or not, him and and the rest of the beatles did more for music than anyone else in modern times "a working class hero is something to be" RIP

Barry Sheene- anyone who can be smashed into bits after crashing at 170mph AND still crack jokes is a top guy, RIP

Billy connolly- the guys a star, he can make me laugh even in a mega crissis

Ozzy Osbourne-anyone who can consume all the drugs and  booze in south america and live has got to be god, no really his honesty and the fact he knows he can be a prat and admits it is top man for me

Sandra Bullock-no real reason, make ye own minds up never get on a bus or ship with her tho

Mel Gibson-great actor and and he's got loads of kids and still smiles

James Herbert- my fav autor

Ron Haslam-biker racer, could of bin a world champion if he had the bikes but he kept trying

Freddie Mercury-the ultimate showman,even when dying from AIDS the show went on

Marilyn Manson-dodgey ground here, anyone who can make millions pissing people of gets my vote, at the end of the day, if no one complained he'd be doing backing vocals in Moulin Rouge

woodz

[n3tgraph]

okay in random order:

Jordan Rudess (and the rest of Dream Theater) - musician

George Lucas - For the star wars in our lives

Plato - Great history of Atlantis

Johann Sebastian Bach - For his freak minded music

All Queen Band members - For their great music influences

Dan Aykroyd - Musician / Moviewriter (I love teh Blues Brothers)

The creators of the adventure games I loved (not 1 in particular)

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker - for their great music (Steely Dan)

Jesus Christ - no it's not cheesy SSH

I probably forgot some actors or some people I admire, but this comes in my mind right now

[Creed Malay]

Tough call. There's people who have done amazing things that I admire, and other people who've made movies or music that I really dug. Doesn't seem right to put, say Ghandi and Lennon on the same list somehow. But, to of my head...

Rosa Parks - The black lady who wouldn't sit at the back of the bus.

Bill Hicks - Comedian/preacher. Guy who stood up and said exactly what he thought, no compromise.

Janis Joplin - Not the greatest voice ever, but unbelievible passion. Bobby McGee has that "ice cubes down the spine" kind of effect on me every time...

Hunter S. Thompson - Gonzo Journalist. Wonderfully indestructable lunatic. Nice balance of philosophy & craziness.

Stephen Hawkings - Partly because he's incredible, partly because of the following story. Hawkings ran (?) off with another mans wife. The guy happened to be the bloke who invented his robotic voice thing.  Hawkings clearly used the voice this guy gave him to seduce his wife. Talk about gratitude....

Ghandi

Nelson Mandella

Guido Forkes - Only guy ever to enter parlement with honest intentions, as drunk blokes in pubs never tire of telling you.

Jimi Hendrix - Whoo.

Joseph Heller - For "Catch 22".

[Barcik]

In no particular order-
- Micheal Jordan. Now, I am no big basketball fan, but I can spot something extraordinary in sports when I see it. The greatest player of all time, the biggest winner of all time, returned to two years of failure knowingly, just for his love of the game.
- Johan Cruyff. The man who formed the Barcelona we cules (Barca fans) love. Attacking, flowing, and a pioneer of football.
- Winston Churchill. One of the few politicans who did not fear to show their real face. Also, one of the toughest and most daring politicians ever. When he became Prime Minister, he did not lie and promise immediate victory like so many others would. The only thing he promised was "blood, sweat and tears" (sorry if the wording is wrong).
- John Tolkien. Not just for the books, but for the inspiration he had. He crafted a whole world, filled with incredible detail.
- Quentin Tarantino. The little stuff he did, I love.
- Rudy Giuliany (sp?). Mostly for his handling of the events of the 11th of September, but also for having the balls to go out against tradition ethical rules and fight crime ruthlessly.
- Tim Schafer. For Grim Fandango.
- Binyamin Netanyahu. For being totally fucking right.

Perhaps more to be added later.

[veryweirdguy]

Um...

CJ
m0ds
2ma2
Helm
Evenwolf
AGA
Las Naranjas
cpage
MrColossal
and uh............Yahtzee?

[Rincewind]

Ow, tough one.

Terry Pratchett - Author
For making some of the funniest books ever, and for making me look at things in a different perspective.

John Lennon - You know who he is.
For the same reason as wOoDz stated.

John Cleese - Comedian/Actor
For just being so incredibly funny, and for giving us Fawlty Towers.

Ron Gilbert - Programmer
For helping to develop the point-n-click system that we all love, and for making Monkey Island 1 & 2.

Tim Schafer - Programmer
For continuing on Gilberts Maniac Mansion, and making the sequel even funnier than the original. (And for making all his other LEC-games, of course...)  

Jane Jensen - Writer/Storyteller
For being able to twine together facts and fiction and make them come alive in a way that noone else has been able to do quite like her.

The Original Black Sabbath - Musicians
I know this isn't one single person, but I'll just say that the original Black Sabbath has shaped my vision of music, and I'll be forever grateful for it.

[Hobbes]

Harrie Jekkers - Songwriter, comedian
Dutch man. Fabulously simple philosophies on life and killer songs.

Guy Gavriel Kay - Writer
For writing stories so gutwrenchingly good it makes your gut... well, wrench.

Ian McKellen - Actor
To me he just radiates kindness and honesty. Also, hell of an actor.

Bill Watterson - Comics writer
For reasons mentioned above. Cool imagination, great art, etc.

Terry Pratchett - Writer
For having the most warped view on the world (it's flat, for one) but at the same time getting it more "right" than most people do.

Tori Amos - Singer/Songwriter
I just admire her personality, ability to live the piano and be such a personality. People who know Gaiman's Sandman probably know "Desire", that certain red-headed character? Well, this is her sister.

Thé Lau - Dutch songwriter/Singer
Fabulous play on words, great performer.

I'm probably forgetting a few, can't remember right now.

[Privateer Puddin']

for those who were wondering, my names Tom Simpson

[Nacho]

I am now realising on the complexity of the subject... As most as I see the posts, most I realise that I agree with many of you and I try to fit them in my list in some way (Anyway, my list is closed  ) But now I think I could add Beethoven and Mozart. I also like Hawking from Remixor list, in spite of abandoning her wife.

Beethoven maybe was a raged man. But sometimes the admiration comes from the work you do, not just for the personality. I don´t admire John Lennon´s attitude during the 70ies, totally hanged to Yoko and drugs, but the music is still there.

I really love the 9th symphony as the symbol of Ludwig Van Beethoven´s music. But, the most I like of it is that he wrote it after the 7th year of deaf. Seems impossible to me to orchest all that of MEMORY!

And what about Wolfgang? It is said that he heard an opera once and he put it into a paper with no errors. He was the most talented musician in history (in my oppinion) while Ludwing was more hard-working. You just have to see the papers... Amadeus wrote them in a strike, while Beethoven worked on them till reaching perfection.

To mix that talent and hard-working could be a dream... Well, it happened, Ayrton Senna was the man, but he died. Rest in Peace.

[Jimi]

Jimi Hendrix - wonder why?  

RickJ

[remixor]

I really love the 9th symphony as the symbol of Ludwig Van Beethoven´s music. But, the most I like of it is that he wrote it after the 7th year of deaf. Seems impossible to me to orchest all that of MEMORY!

And what about Wolfgang? It is said that he heard an opera once and he put it into a paper with no errors. He was the most talented musician in history (in my oppinion) while Ludwing was more hard-working. You just have to see the papers... Amadeus wrote them in a strike, while Beethoven worked on them till reaching perfection.

I agree, but that's why I put Beethoven on the list above Mozart  Mozart had immense amount of innate musical talent, and I love his music, but I feel like he sort of got it for free, whereas Beethoven basically led an existance dominated by the drive to write better and better, while knowing fully that he could never fully reach the excellence he strove for.  It's not like I wish I was him, because he was sort of unstable (and deaf), but I wish I had that kind of musical drive and vision.  It sort of renders me speechless when I think about it too much.  And writing the 9th Symphony while deaf is honestly something of a miracle to me, if miracles existed.  I saw it performed on Saturday by over 300 musicians/singers (I had been anticipating this for months) and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

Bill Watterson - Comics writer
For reasons mentioned above. Cool imagination, great art, etc.

Should have mentioned Watterson.  I respect him as both an artist and a PERSON a great deal.

Freddie Mercury-the ultimate showman,even when dying from AIDS the show went on

Damnit, that's a good one.  I really do respect that entire band as musicians (also, Brian May is one of my favorite guitarists of all time), as N3TGraph mentioned, but Freddy Mercury in particular I think deserves admiration.  "The show must go on" -- fuckin' right.

[Matt Brown]

okay, here is mine. in order as I think of them

Jesus.-duh.
Glenn Miller-made some great music, great guy, and served his country.
FDR-possibly our greatest president
Lincon-okay. maybe HE was the best president.
Churchill- one of my other favorite leaders. he had balls, did what he thought was right, and was funny. Good leader.
Ronaldo--he is the footy master.