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Heroes and Heroines |
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Who inspires me |
who me - stats, family, interests
music, books, films, TV,
women, artists
childhood, school, adult
using, doing, seeing, hearing,
thinking, etc
writing, music (mp3s), images
Heroes are a contradiction. On one hand they represent the individual, with the classic mythical hero usually something of a loner. But on the other, they stand for society, they represent the ultimate hopes and achievements of the community. Heroes don't exist in isolation. Their deeds are only understood and valued in the context of the community. So they are a celebration of both the individual and society. The example they set inspires us and reminds us that we're part of a community.Noam Chomsky
A noted academic, intellectual and 'dissident', Chomsky has courted controversy and derision for his searing 'leftist' political views and piercing analyses of US policy, society and the media. His views are often so startling that they would seem like conspiracy theories, if they weren't backed up by thorough, scholarly research. Too controversial for the mainstream, Chomsky nevertheless manages to cut through the crap of spoon-fed media and official policy and shine a light on the truth. Together with Ed Herman he wrote the influential book Manufacturing Consent , which argued persuasively that, rather than being about seeking 'truth' in a democratic society, most mainstream news media, either consciously or unconsciously, "serve to mobilize support for the special interests that dominate the state and private activity."
Ursula Le Guin
Of all the science fiction and fantasy I've read, nothing holds a candle to the work of my favourite author, Ursula Le Guin. Much influenced by Taoism, certain strands of Anarchism and her own background in anthropology, her stories explore, in penetrating and sometimes humorous detail, the anthropology of her created societies. Repeated themes are sexual/gender identity, power relations and the search for a spiritual, creative, harmonious existence. The woman is my seer, my guide and mentor. I've practically memorised her novel The Dispossessed (my most favourite) line by line I've read it so often. Click here for a synopsis of the book.
Marjory Greeves
Also known as 'mum'. What can I say? She was a kind, gentle soul, who never got the rewards in life she so richly deserved, and I miss her greatly.
Edward Herman
Noted intellectual and media analyst. Wrote Manufacturing Consent in conjunction with Noam Chomsky. Has contributed many enlightening articles to Z Magazine on the general themes of public relations and the media's hidden language of propaganda.
Willy Mays
I never saw him play, but the record books, word of mouth and the occasional archival film footage and pop song - oh, and the fact that he played for the Giants! - tell me all I need to know. Batting, fielding, running - 'Say, hey' Willy could do it all, and with style and revelry. 3,283 career hits, .302 career batting average, 1,903 career RBI's, 660 career home runs - including two 50-plus seasons: man, that is a career!
Lao Tzu
Possibly mythical Chinese character who wrote the Tao Te Ching, the central text of Taoism. The Tao, yin and yang, dark and light, male and female, the life force moving in and out, finding balance and harmony, ever changing. It's the only religion/rationale for existence and the universe that makes sense to me.
Carl Gustav Jung
Together with Sigmund Freud, Jung was one of the founders of modern psychology. His ideas on the workings of the unconscious mind and inner experience are profound (far more, I think, than Freud's), and his theories about the collective unconscious, archetypes and the Shadow, to name a few, have enormous application to life, art and creativity.
Irving and Mallory
Irving and Mallory set out to conquer Mt Everest in the 1920's. Both were lost near the summit, and it is only recently that the body of Mallory has been found. It's still uncertain whether they made the summit or not (30 years before Hilary and Tenzing); but anyone who has seen the image of Mallory's bleached back and bones, covered in thin layers of wool, buried in the side of the mountain where he fell, can surely feel nothing but awe for what they tried to do.
The old Taoists have a good explanation for why people climb mountains. Not 'because it's there', but because the mountain is spirit ('high spirits') and the valley is soul ('soul deep'), and when a climber reaches for that summit he or she is bringing the soul to the spirit. I'm sure Irving and Mallory understood that.
Buffy and Angel
Sorry, couldn't resist! The world needs super heroes who are ultimately good role models for the young: like a teenage vampire Slayer, and a vampire with a soul. Admittedly, Buffy can be a little whiny and uncertain at times, and Angel - or 'Dead Boy' - is a tormented soul who has occasionally reverted to his old, evil self; but it's the struggling with their own, often literal, demons that make them so real and inspiring...Oh, and Angel - Danchev says 'Hey'.
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