Great People

[The Bard]

Urrrgh. Freud is good for uber phallic lolz.

 

Edit: Er, dear god...I need to go redo that whole paragraph. Worst sentencing ever.

Edited February 22, 2010 by The Bard

[Paj!]

That was entertaining.

 

While I don't know m/any amazing people who can think faster than the speed of light or whatever, here are some contributions of my own.

Virginia Woolf

Just such a original and uncompromising talent at the time. When she burst onto the scene critically, women weren't considered to be able to be writers of work of the thought-provoking weight of Woolf's own. (afaik)

 

Walt Disney

Surely one of the most amazing legacies of the modern age. He's here more for what he acheived coming from nothing much and managing to become ridiculously successful using a charming talent/something that he loved and then for his "vision" to continue on and only grow after his death. His company's interpretation of classic fairytales and such have now become the default version of the tales (for better or for worse) in the minds of today's children and even adults. The picture-perfect "american dream" I'd say.

[Ashley]

(that image Bard posted...I'm 99 percent sure that was used as a joke on Frasier once.)

 

Walt Disney is an interesting example of the embodiment of the American Dream...although it does appear that he re-wrote his own past along the way.

 

(and did anyone else think iPaul's post was just an ode to pipes?)

Edited February 22, 2010 by Ashley

[Pyxis]

 

That's a load of rubbish.

[chairdriver]

Harold Wilson

Along with Roy Jenkins, he oversaw the abolition of the death penalty, the legalisation of homosexuality and abortion, and the relaxing of divorce laws. Revolutionary legislation that needed to happen.

 

My favourite Jesus College alumnus.

 

We have Queer Studies Circle and LGBTQ Campaigns in the Harold Wilson Room, and we have his portrait looking down on us, and you feel moved to do great things.

[Oxigen_Waste]

I'm guessing because Oxy and co. regard the Bergkamp as just a sportsperson, and not a genius. My answer to that would be to actually watch the guy play. An unbelieveably good player. Whenever the United games against Arsenal were coming, he was always the man I was worried about. Great vision. Many decent players can spot a great pass, and many are technically able to pull off such a pass but may not have the vision to see it. He had both, he had the vision to spot a pass and the ability to carry it out with ease, long, short, crossfield, a through-ball, he could do it all. Same thing can be said for Paul Scholes, in my opinion.

 

If he was a water polo player, he wouldn't even be a blimp in your radar, is more my point. There's many like him in football and when you count in all sports, the amount is ridiculously high to the point of practically disqualifying the people as "special". The only reason he's mentioned here is because you brits (sorry for the generalization) are obsessed with football (and so are we Portuguese, even if I personally don't give a shit about it)!

Pele was great, so was Maradona, so is Tiger Woods, so is Michael Phelps, etc etc... these are truly great sportsman who truly pushed the envelope. Bergkamp was a great player who just so happened to be a nice guy. His greatness is on the level of Rod Stewart... not David Bowie.

 

Also, I don't personally believe any sportsman was ever significant towards making the world a better place, but I accept their greatness.

 

You obviously didn't read Ramar's post on the previous page. How can you say his achievements are meaningless and without purpose? I know a lot of people would think that comment to be extremely offensive!

 

Consult above.

 

Football is more than just a hobby. That's what it boils down to. To those of us who watch the sport and enjoy it, it enables players to show their creativity and expression. Bergkamp is a great expressionist with the ball. He's also matched that with a winning mentality, winning many individual and club awards in multiple countries. Not only that, but critically, he is one of the best of our time, and made the Fifa 100 list which was compiled by Pele, another great.

 

Of course, this will mean very little to you unless you are a lover of football. But, this thread was about great people, and some of us here believe that he is a great person. As Ramar correctly posted, he has changed Arsenal Football Club, changed the Premier League with his style of play and will be remembered for many, many years to come. What isn't great about that? To some, football is just a bunch of men kicking a ball around a field. In its simplest form, that is true. However, in its simplest form, poetry or a novel, or a thesis are merely words written on paper.

 

How can you express yourself with a ball??? The only thing someone can get out of it is that you're skilled in handling it... you can't watch a guy play and deduce "that guy really loves pasta!" If anything it's a form of intimist expression, and it's "expressive" greatness cannot be graded or perceived by outsiders.

 

But those words create meaning. The kicks may generate some happiness but are ultimately about as usefull/meaningfull as American Pie.

 

The truth is that the only people who actually validate sports as worthy of such praise are the fans themselves, so it's like discussing with a Tokyo Hotel fan.

 

I have gone overboard, but this is something I do feel passionate about. In his own way, Bergkamp is a genius, as are the other great pioneers of the sport that I mentioned. They're all artists. The field is their canvas.

 

Of course they're geniuses, nobody's denying that. Much like every single musician on the Chinese National Orchestra is a genius. But not a single one of them is "Great". They changed nothing and their impact is virtually zero.

 

I think footballers should be allowed if composers and artists are...

 

Wait, what? Why?

 

But there are and have been plenty of players vastly greater than Pele. But he's remembered for how good he was at the time.

 

He's remembered because he actually changed the way the sport was played!

 

You forgot, "in my opinion".:wink:

 

Football is actually irrelevant in this context.

 

What if I said that art was "the most fucking irrelevant thing in the grand scheme of humanity and history."

 

You'd be wrong because we evolved and defined ourselves through art. And all football ever did was entertain. I ain't dissin football, but you're giving it too much importance!

[chairdriver]

It's so obvious who the trion are on this forum.

[Oxigen_Waste]

I appreciate the following aren't in the same league as Darwin or the other great thinkers, but still:

 

Tony Benn

For being pretty much the definition of integrity and never holding back. More politicians should be like this, instead of the spineless rats in the cabinet.

 

Clement Attlee

For creating the welfare state and overseeing the introduction of the NHS. Obviously this wasn't all down to him, but he was PM at the time and played a good part of stabilising the Labour party through the 1930s. Obtained a landslide for Labour in 1945 and pushed the policies through.

 

Harold Wilson

Along with Roy Jenkins, he oversaw the abolition of the death penalty, the legalisation of homosexuality and abortion, and the relaxing of divorce laws. Revolutionary legislation that needed to happen.

 

 

Pipes are awesome.

 

Pipes are indeed awesome.

[Retro_Link]

It's so obvious who the trion are on this forum.

Yeah tell me about it!! *tut*

 

Bunch of trions!

 

*googles it, still nonethewiser!*

Edited February 22, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

Wow, this has to be one of the most interesting debates I've seen on N-Europe in a long time!

[Daft]

What the fuck is a "trion"?

[MoogleViper]

You'd be wrong because we evolved and defined ourselves through art. And all football ever did was entertain. I ain't dissin football, but you're giving it too much importance!

 

Actually I'm not. I definitely wouldn't put Bergkamp in this thread (nor Pele for that matter) and would argue that they definitely don't deserve to be in here. I've never said that they do. (See the video I posted a page or so back to see what I think should be in here). I was just annoyed by chair's arrogance and the way some people reacted.

 

What the fuck is a "trion"?

 

It's when three ions come together.

[Daft]

It's when three ions come together.

 

........Right.

[Retro_Link]

Actually it's a make of Air Purification Systems...

 

...is that... not they were refering to!

[Goafer]

Pipes are indeed awesome.

 

[chairdriver]

What the fuck is a "trion"?

 

Well, the most prolific trion is that of Bjork, PJ Harvey and Tori Amos.

 

 

Take that as you will.

 

Don't worry, you're a Lieutenant.

[Supergrunch]

I'm fairly lost now.

[Paj!]

The trion is just a term I made up ages ago to call a group of 3 of the same person in Heroclix. I know I got it from somewhere (concerning the same thing). It was then applied by Chair and I to PJ Harvey, Bjork and Tori Amos.

Chair was saying how there's an obvious "trion" on N-E. I Fbook chatted him, making sure it was the same people I thought it was. It was.

It's just another one of the chajmeenlanguage things no-one else will get.

[Retro_Link]

Well, the most prolific trion is that of Bjork, PJ Harvey and Tori Amos.

 

 

 

Actually chair' I'm surprised you didn't post Shatner!

Edited February 22, 2010 by Retro_Link

[MoogleViper]

The trion is just a term I made up ages ago to call a group of 3 of the same person in Heroclix. I know I got it from somewhere (concerning the same thing). It was then applied by Chair and I to PJ Harvey, Bjork and Tori Amos.

Chair was saying how there's an obvious "trion" on N-E. I Fbook chatted him, making sure it was the same people I thought it was. It was.

It's just another one of the chajmeenlanguage things no-one else will get.

 

So you've posted yet another "in-joke" that only you and chair will understand? Why bother posting it then? Why don't you just tell each other on fb chat and then you two can giggle about it together?

[ipaul]

So you've posted yet another "in-joke" that only you and chair will understand? Why bother posting it then? Why don't you just tell each other on fb chat and then you two can giggle about it together?

 

*waits for obscure picture to be posted.

[Paj!]

So you've posted yet another "in-joke" that only you and chair will understand? Why bother posting it then? Why don't you just tell each other on fb chat and then you two can giggle about it together?

 

Why do you give a fuck?

 

 

 

 

 

 

(and it was Chair who posted it. I just tried to explain it. Notice how I DID take it to Facebook.)

[chairdriver]

So you've posted yet another "in-joke" that only you and chair will understand? Why bother posting it then? Why don't you just tell each other on fb chat and then you two can giggle about it together?

 

Basically the sentiment was:

 

There's three people on this forum who stun consistently, and it's really obvious who they are.

 

I daren't speak their names, but when the crow knows, it knows.

[Mundi]

You got a little something brown on your nose.

[Molly]

Mendeleev springs to mind. Although there were several chemists making leaps and bounds studying the properties of the elements, he gave us the periodic table, a true wonder to behold. It still leaves me awed when I think about it.