Influences and personal heroes - Page 3

**brianwp** · July 10th, 2009, 07:50 AM

The first hero I had was Thomas Edison.

I loved science as a kid, and had a chemistry lab in my basement. I visited Edison's lab, and just loved the feel of the place, all the old glass stoppered bottles and equipment...

Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com

Though I studied it for years, I never did become a chemist. But I did interest my young nephew Steve in chemistry, by doing little experiments and displays for him. As it turned out, he ended up becoming a professor of organic chemistry at a North Carolina college, where he is currently engaged in genetic engineering.

So, I guess it wasn't all a complete waste.

Other than that, my father became my hero, as I realised his genius over the years. He was an embroidery machinist, born in Switzerland, used to build these things, with me for a while...

Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com

Quite a machine, actually a forerunner to the computer! He went all over the world, really the best. He spoke English, Swiss dialect, German, Italian, and Spanish. He could do calculations and square roots in his mind, it was actually scary. Born in 1906, he told people in the 30's about orbit, they thought he was crazy. He worked for the US during WWII, and built the first machines that made radar tubes, as well as designing a kit for retrofitting American tanks in the field in Africa so they could swing full turret against Rommel's tanks. I could go on, but you get the idea. My papa was my hero, too.

doyle · September 16th, 2009, 04:04 AM

Thanks for this, brianwp. I always wanted to see the Edison museum in New Jersey (Orange? Menlo Park?), though I've read disquieting things about theft.
Apparently they don't have very tight security, people have been pilfering things from the displays for years.
Not that this is unique - Pompei and Forrest Ackerman had the same problem.

MaxJoker · October 2nd, 2009, 03:11 PM

A decidedly intrepid member cunningly broke my virtually indecipherable MSN address all to ask me how Toyotomi Hideyori (The person i briefly mention on page one) could possible have any sort of positive influence on anybody. Given that he listened to those around him to such an extent that it eventually brought about his death and the massacre of his entire line.

Well

That`s my point , he show`s by miserable example how you should never be dissuaded from something you feel to be right just because your viewpoint is outnumbered. I mean even his own mother stabbed him in the back by relaying to an enemy spy not only his whereabouts (Leading to a redirecting of artillery fire ) in Osaka castle , but also the pressure he was under from all his supposed loyal retainers .

Hah loyalty , specifically samurai loyalty . Now that`s got to be one of the biggest jokes in history . As you won`t find many as disloyal as the Samurai back in those days, well the Daimyo lords were anyway which given their soldiers followed them unquestioningly amounts to the same thing. Wasn`t even unheard of for some Daimyo to switch sides twice during the same battle , how`s that for hedging your bets !

**karloschaos** · October 3rd, 2009, 06:28 AM

Dave Brock from Hawkwind. Captain of the ship for 40 years. Never given in to media pressure in order to earn a living. A totally nice bloke all round really. Influenced loads of people in the music biz & yet he just gets on with life without seeking the attention most preening wasters in the game need to survive. When he finally pops his clogs I will be mourning his demise as much as I would a member of my family.

MaxJoker · November 22nd, 2009, 02:26 AM

Watched that film first when i was nearly ten years old and the title character had a profound effect on me , for a few weeks afterwards i even felt religious for gods sake !. Still my family soon beat those thoughts out of me . Until i was left with the laugh out loud, hard drinking, fast-talking , women charming , chancer`s chancer and ultimate loner that is Gantry.

Fact i like the character and film so much i almost had it as my username

Plus have seen the film and certain scenes like this in particular so many times that i can recite the entire script in my sleep .

**blondifan** · November 22nd, 2009, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karloschaos

Dave Brock from Hawkwind. Captain of the ship for 40 years... a totally nice bloke all round really...

I'm not disagreeing with you by any means, but thought it was a shame that he didn't "patch" his differences with Nik Turner, particularly for the documentary "Do Not Panic", and ever since.

Although Nik doesn't come off all that well in the film, Lemmy is certainly an interesting character who I also respect. "Admire" is perhaps an uncomfortable word for me in Lemmy's case,

Although I love his playing. Particularly with Hawkwind and how could you not admire Dave Brock if you like a good groove with unrelenting taste?

Shame Lemmy and Dave didn't do more together, really.

Soft Pillow · November 22nd, 2009, 04:38 AM

What an excellent idea GreenSkull! My cultural influences were primarily artists, comedians, filmmakers, musicians & writers. I don't really believe in heroes as we all have our personal defects but I think it's important that we all have those special types that we deeply admired for their contributions. I could cite countless people but I will only drop a few pertinent names!

Salvador Dalí, Jonathan Winters, Orson Welles, Tangerine Dream & Aldous Huxley.

Rosebud...

Sandy Claws · November 22nd, 2009, 05:20 AM

john nash, the mathematician that the film 'a beautiful mind' is based upon, has been an interesting person to me. i have read a biography about him and seen a couple of documentaries.

**spitalhouse** · November 22nd, 2009, 05:02 PM

I regard myself as a morally courageous person, but a coward physically. That is why I have always admired those willing to risk personal injury or death in order to further a cause or uphold a principle. Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was just such a man. A very ordinary man in so many respects, yet one who did an extraordinary thing. And he did it without the benefit of past experience or hindsight or the wisdom of those who had gone before to guide him, because he was the very first. This is why he is my avatar.

Regards.

MaxJoker · December 10th, 2009, 07:46 AM

Richard Nixon

View Poll Results: What influenced you most growing up ?
Musicians	59	11.90%
Teachers	15	3.02%
Parents	65	13.10%
Friends , though not the TV show	77	15.52%
School bully, as in i fought back	16	3.23%
Moving images on screens	9	1.81%
Drugs , taught me the value of money	40	8.06%
Don`t remember i`ve been drunk since i was five	97	19.56%
Other , but i`m too scared to tell you	118	23.79%
Voters: 496. You may not vote on this poll

October 2nd, 2009, 03:11 PM	#23
MaxJoker Beloved Brother Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cemetery Gardens_Arterial Blood Lane_Rampton Secure Unit_Extra Violent F Wing_Cell 19 Posts: 69,106 Thanks: 372,713 Thanked 987,911 Times in 69,067 Posts	A decidedly intrepid member cunningly broke my virtually indecipherable MSN address all to ask me how Toyotomi Hideyori (The person i briefly mention on page one) could possible have any sort of positive influence on anybody. Given that he listened to those around him to such an extent that it eventually brought about his death and the massacre of his entire line. Well That`s my point , he show`s by miserable example how you should never be dissuaded from something you feel to be right just because your viewpoint is outnumbered. I mean even his own mother stabbed him in the back by relaying to an enemy spy not only his whereabouts (Leading to a redirecting of artillery fire ) in Osaka castle , but also the pressure he was under from all his supposed loyal retainers . Hah loyalty , specifically samurai loyalty . Now that`s got to be one of the biggest jokes in history . As you won`t find many as disloyal as the Samurai back in those days, well the Daimyo lords were anyway which given their soldiers followed them unquestioningly amounts to the same thing. Wasn`t even unheard of for some Daimyo to switch sides twice during the same battle , how`s that for hedging your bets ! __________________ My hypocrisy only goes so To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

November 22nd, 2009, 02:26 AM	#25
MaxJoker Beloved Brother Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cemetery Gardens_Arterial Blood Lane_Rampton Secure Unit_Extra Violent F Wing_Cell 19 Posts: 69,106 Thanks: 372,713 Thanked 987,911 Times in 69,067 Posts	Watched that film first when i was nearly ten years old and the title character had a profound effect on me , for a few weeks afterwards i even felt religious for gods sake !. Still my family soon beat those thoughts out of me . Until i was left with the laugh out loud, hard drinking, fast-talking , women charming , chancer`s chancer and ultimate loner that is Gantry. Fact i like the character and film so much i almost had it as my username Plus have seen the film and certain scenes like this in particular so many times that i can recite the entire script in my sleep . __________________ My hypocrisy only goes so To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

November 22nd, 2009, 05:20 AM	#28
Sandy Claws Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 149 Thanks: 1,535 Thanked 2,211 Times in 282 Posts	john nash, the mathematician that the film 'a beautiful mind' is based upon, has been an interesting person to me. i have read a biography about him and seen a couple of documentaries. Last edited by Sandy Claws; November 28th, 2009 at 08:36 AM..

November 22nd, 2009, 05:02 PM	#29
spitalhouse Vintage Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Past caring Posts: 768 Thanks: 2,080 Thanked 12,557 Times in 747 Posts	I regard myself as a morally courageous person, but a coward physically. That is why I have always admired those willing to risk personal injury or death in order to further a cause or uphold a principle. Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was just such a man. A very ordinary man in so many respects, yet one who did an extraordinary thing. And he did it without the benefit of past experience or hindsight or the wisdom of those who had gone before to guide him, because he was the very first. This is why he is my avatar. Regards. __________________ Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity. (Einstein)

July 10th, 2009, 07:50 AM	#21
brianwp Vintage Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: United States Posts: 1,464 Thanks: 4,856 Thanked 25,708 Times in 1,431 Posts	The first hero I had was Thomas Edison. I loved science as a kid, and had a chemistry lab in my basement. I visited Edison's lab, and just loved the feel of the place, all the old glass stoppered bottles and equipment... Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com Though I studied it for years, I never did become a chemist. But I did interest my young nephew Steve in chemistry, by doing little experiments and displays for him. As it turned out, he ended up becoming a professor of organic chemistry at a North Carolina college, where he is currently engaged in genetic engineering. So, I guess it wasn't all a complete waste. Other than that, my father became my hero, as I realised his genius over the years. He was an embroidery machinist, born in Switzerland, used to build these things, with me for a while... Free Image Hosting by ImageBam.com Quite a machine, actually a forerunner to the computer! He went all over the world, really the best. He spoke English, Swiss dialect, German, Italian, and Spanish. He could do calculations and square roots in his mind, it was actually scary. Born in 1906, he told people in the 30's about orbit, they thought he was crazy. He worked for the US during WWII, and built the first machines that made radar tubes, as well as designing a kit for retrofitting American tanks in the field in Africa so they could swing full turret against Rommel's tanks. I could go on, but you get the idea. My papa was my hero, too.

September 16th, 2009, 04:04 AM	#22
doyle Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Coast of US Posts: 435 Thanks: 5,820 Thanked 2,755 Times in 383 Posts	Thanks for this, brianwp. I always wanted to see the Edison museum in New Jersey (Orange? Menlo Park?), though I've read disquieting things about theft. Apparently they don't have very tight security, people have been pilfering things from the displays for years. Not that this is unique - Pompei and Forrest Ackerman had the same problem.

October 3rd, 2009, 06:28 AM	#24
karloschaos Vintage Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: East Yorkshire Posts: 748 Thanks: 8,006 Thanked 8,836 Times in 687 Posts	Dave Brock from Hawkwind. Captain of the ship for 40 years. Never given in to media pressure in order to earn a living. A totally nice bloke all round really. Influenced loads of people in the music biz & yet he just gets on with life without seeking the attention most preening wasters in the game need to survive. When he finally pops his clogs I will be mourning his demise as much as I would a member of my family.

November 22nd, 2009, 04:38 AM	#27
Soft Pillow Blocked! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Canada Posts: 124 Thanks: 279 Thanked 460 Times in 119 Posts	What an excellent idea GreenSkull! My cultural influences were primarily artists, comedians, filmmakers, musicians & writers. I don't really believe in heroes as we all have our personal defects but I think it's important that we all have those special types that we deeply admired for their contributions. I could cite countless people but I will only drop a few pertinent names! *Salvador Dalí, Jonathan Winters, Orson Welles, Tangerine Dream & Aldous Huxley.* *Rosebud...*

December 10th, 2009, 07:46 AM	#30
MaxJoker Beloved Brother Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Cemetery Gardens_Arterial Blood Lane_Rampton Secure Unit_Extra Violent F Wing_Cell 19 Posts: 69,106 Thanks: 372,713 Thanked 987,911 Times in 69,067 Posts	Richard Nixon __________________ My hypocrisy only goes so To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.