Influences and personal heroes

[MaxJoker]

As in what do you think influenced you most growing up , was it specific musicians , authors ,artists ,historical figures or people generally unknown to others etc. Hell was it even your parents ?.Anyway this thread asks what has helped you become the person you are today ?.Also do you have any heroes that you admire and of whom you aspire ? ,have they helped form your personality and outlook ?.

See what i`m trying to do here is have a broad remit with this thread to hopefully help avoid any similar or spin off variations , as we've enough of them already

Alright i`ll start with one first and it might be an historical figure many are not aware of - But see that`s another thing we never stop learning from each other in life ,so if anybody else has a hero or influence that they think won`t be readily known by others here please don`t let that stop you from naming them - Mine being Toyotomi Hideyori (1593-1615) , a Samurai nobleman and rightfully designated Shogun of Japan. Much information about him was destroyed by Tokugawa Ieyasu and his heirs , but what has been pieced together shows him to be a young man of extreme bravery, loyalty and honour (Quite a rarity amongst Samurai by that time).Yet one who was sadly betrayed by those around him (His mother included) when he was at the point of victory , leading to the deaths of his entire family and his own suicide here at his stronghold in Osaka Castle.



This being a recreation of the part he died in as the whole castle was set alight from within and ultimately burnt , part of the final betrayal you see

Most annoying bloody thing about all this though is the murdering sod who beat him died a few months later of old age , and then his son took on the Shogun mantel and became an even bigger bastard than pop !

Anyway Hideyori is one of my heroes , as he stayed true to himself right till the very end and probably even beyond it


Still i`ve got more where he came from , but hey enough about me what about your`s if you have any ?

[Wendigo]

Nice one Greenskull.
One of my greatest influences was Stan Lee, the iconic figure behind many of Marvel comics greatest characters.

I started reading Marvel comics in the late 1960's and they opened up many new worlds for me, from Mythology, Geography. Science and whatever I read about in Marvel comics I looked up in Encyclopedias. Without a doubt reading comics broadened my mind and fed my imagination and Stan Lee's fun way of writing (as well as some great work by artists like Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Buscema, Gene Colan and many others) was the main reason for that.
I had always been a heavy reader and read several books a week in my early teens but there are very few of those books that I can still remember Red Planet Mars by Robert A. Heinlein is one of them, yet I can remember thousands of Marvel storylines and character backgrounds from over 40 years ago.
'Nuff said true believer.

[Bovon]

Parents.
Teachers.
Hormones.
Scottish & Newcastle Breweries - (unfortunately).

BTW GS, are you matriculating in a Sociology course somewhere?
You seem to have more polls than Warsaw. (Or Lincolnshire, apparently). Er, Homonym-pun intended.

[MaxJoker]

Originally Posted by Bovon

BTW GS, are you matriculating in a Sociology course somewhere?
You seem to have more polls than Warsaw. (Or Lincolnshire, apparently). Er, Homonym-pun intended.

No i`m too old for courses now , and i put up polls ( Just occasionally mind ,and only if their morals are as loose as their bra straps) because i find them amusing and respected members have informed me they like them also . Reasons enough i reckon

[MaxJoker]

Phil Silvers or rather TV show Sgt Bilko , still by most accounts the actor and character were one and the same



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Silvers

[Wendigo]

Originally Posted by GreenSkull

Phil Silvers or rather TV show Sgt Bilko , still by most accounts the actor and character were one and the same

For me it was Private Duane Doberman - a fine figure of a man and a babe magnet.

[MaxJoker]

Originally Posted by Wendigo

For me it was Private Duane Doberman - a fine figure of a man and a babe magnet.

Yeah and what a hot sister he had

Although for me the second best (I knew it) character has got to be Mess Sgt. Rupert "Ooh! Ooh!" Ritzik , the luckiest man in camp



Also the happiest , but then how could he not be when married to the lovely Emma

[MaxJoker]

Alright so it`s becoming blatant that not many people have personal heroes , or at least if they do they want them to remain that way .

Now me i`m different , well that`s what it said on the admission forms anyway (Hey so i like to make variations of my tired old jokes , sue me ) . See i enjoy sharing , at least my ramblings ( Because if you want that last rollo you`re gonna have to come get it and be packing some heat ! )

So here`s another hero and influence of mine , in fact it`s a character i used as a template for my then unformed personality ( Only just popped outt`a the tube you see)

Ferris Bueller



I mean to attain true class while avoiding attending class ?, now that`s something worth aspiring to




So i did and became


A friend to many



A lover of women



A tireless worker



A bafflingly good public speaker



Or to put it another way , simply myself

[retro72]

I was always passionate about music since a young kid so no big surprise that it was musicians that had a heavy influence. I was brought up surrounded by classical music and one composer and one specific piece influenced me greatly. Stravinsky's "The Rite Of Spring" was something that completely blew me away and still does today. Touted by even several rock/electronic acts as a landmark in music due to it's pounding rhythms and otherwordly feel it set the seal for music being an obsession for me....

[avidfan]

well...you know at school and there was billy no-mates, i wasnt him lol! i had lots of friends but still prefered my own company and at the same time never had any influences really-well none that i could say shaped my life. in my thoughts there are several people who influence them...im just glad they stay inside my head. its nice having a tad of anonymity...