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Apologies, then. I was assuming that there was one of those daft arguments of UK vs USA brewing that pop up regularly.

The late, great, Christopher Lee is probably near the top of my list. Not only was he a fantastic actor, maybe the best of the last few generations, but by all accounts an intelligent, fascinating and good man as well. The same can be said of Ian Mckellan as well, a great actor but also an all-round good egg.

In the musical world, my heroes would probably be Brian May for his combination of sheer talent (no other guitarist sounds quite like BM) and his very candid, open character, Bruce Springsteen because his lyrics right from the early days have been poetic genius, he's still touring and playing 3-hour+ shows at seventy-something, and is probably just my favourite musician/lyricist full stop, and Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, a very intelligent and interesting man who also happens to front the greatest heavy metal band of all time (because unlike most, Maiden's songs actually say something. They're one of the few metal bands I can listen to when I'm not in a metal mood, because there's a poetry and artistry to them that few bands match).

On a more personal note, there are a handful of people that I've known throughout my life who have simply inspired me to be better; without them, I wouldn't be who I am today.

George Carlin.

For making me laugh like a madman when I was younger (and desperately needed it) while planting the seeds that led to my maturity as an individual.

So, may the forces of evil become confused on the way to your houses, folks!

Maddelisk. For being very talented in very different domains, (PhD in mathematics, pro Starcraft player, qualified herself for world championship in calisthenics) along with an iron will, and always keeping an incredibly positive outlook on life.

 Breotan wrote:
Ronald Reagan.

After the Viet Nam war, Nixon (enemies list & impeachment), Carter (energy crisis & misery index), and the 70s in general, he reminded everyone that America was still a great country and that being American was something to be proud of. He did the heavy lifting that caused the breakup of the Soviet Union without firing a shot and never engaged in a major war during his administration. He stood tall and acted like a man instead of some sort of whiny metro-sexual caricature on South Park and was as warm and friendly to those who opposed him as those who supported him.

You may disagree and that's your right but these are my reasons.

Agreed 100%.



I also have great admiration for his contemporary, Margaret Thatcher.


Winston Churchill also is at the top of the list for people I admire.

The only thing I disagree with regarding Reagan, is the impact of his actions regarding the USSR. I've seen a number of places today in which historians take the position that the USSR was failing, and that making fancy speeches like telling Gorbachev to "tear down that wall" had little to no real impact, as events were already heading that direction.


For the rest of it, yeah, I agree that he was great and adept at reminding America of it's greatness and restored our pride. He was pretty much the perfect guy for that particular time.

This may sound weird cause I just met her. but the coordinator for the local Boys & Girls club here. Taking a pay cut to work in non-profitvhelping kids succeed. Organizing the entire program from what used to be a chaotic mess into this. Heck I guess there is a story of her standing up to one of the local gang members who was looking for a kid who was a part of the gang.
Even going around town begging for money for the place, it is insane.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
This may sound weird cause I just met her. but the coordinator for the local Boys & Girls club here. Taking a pay cut to work in non-profitvhelping kids succeed. Organizing the entire program from what used to be a chaotic mess into this. Heck I guess there is a story of her standing up to one of the local gang members who was looking for a kid who was a part of the gang.
Even going around town begging for money for the place, it is insane.

That's really cool of her to do. Takes courage.

Ohh... During my time in the army, I really respected and admired Col. (now a general) H.R. McMaster.

He was the Colonel of the regiment I was deployed with, and well... he just has a way about him. In short, he got gak done, despite all the people who said he couldn't, wouldn't, or the situation was such that it was impossible for ANYONE to do.

He also had a photographic memory, especially when it came to his troopers. I met him when I got off the C-130 at Tall Afar (FOB Sykes), seeing I was a young buck, he asked about me, learned my parents, both their names and where they lived... basic kind of stuff really.... 5 months later, I was walking through an HQ area, heading to a down system to do my job, he comes round a corner and, as we're in the same hall, we (my buddy and I) stop and move to the side, as is military custom. He stops right in front of us, and addresses us both by name, with proper pronunciation and everything, like he'd talked to us just yesterday.... He then asked about my parents, by name and asked me how things were in my hometown, again by name...

To say that kind of memory made an impression is an understatement. Of course, the bad side of this memory, was when one of our warrant officers died in a helo crash, the Col. was at the memorial, and you could just see the visible pain. He took EVERY death in the regiment somewhat personally, from the lowest private up to the CSM.

Outside of my sort of personal day-to-day life. - Cause well, that's kinda weird overthinking on people I personally know.

But in the sort of outside of that sphere, I'm kinda gonna have to say, particularly in the past year or so, Felicia Day.

I'm not gonna put any bones about it, I've known of her for a few years now, between Dr Horrible, Fallout New Vegas, Dragon Age, 'The Guild' and Eureka and kinda yeah, no point denying it, it was a crush thing (or at least, a crush on her various characters). Red head, smart, geeky, funny. - What can I say, I'm a person.

Anyhow, since I've been watching less of her directly 'acting-ey' stuff and more of her sort of presenting things, such as her on twitch and really, very much more importantly, reading her book (Titled 'You're never weird on the internet, almost'), I don't really have that sorta daft 'crush' thing and it's more just a general acceptance of, "she is a rather awesome person."

Especially in her book, she talks about a lot of things about her own anxieties, her own kinda things that very much can resonate with myself as pretty much a typically/traditionally geeky guy. - For example, she recounted an incident of sheer panic and anxiety she had when she ran into Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) at a comic con and how that kind of resonates with others reactions about meeting their own heroes for the first time.

If you've never heard of her, that's no surprise really. She describes herself as, "situationally recognisable" and that situation extends as far as 3 days a year at San Diego Comic Con.

Stephen Fry, made being smart cool.

I'll omit world leaders still alive as they are too controversial, although there are a few that I really do admire.

Instead, currently living: Malala Yousafzai for her tenacity and bravery, and for her advocacy of education for women in countries like Pakistan.

And, departed: Nelson Mandela, whose deeds transformed not only his nation, but touched the world.

Now, the fun ones.

My most admired hero of history: Spartacus! Because he fought the impossible fight, did pretty decently. For a while, anyhow.

My most admired villains of history: Pope Alexander VI, aka Rodrigo Borgia, and his progeny Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. Mostly because they had one of my favorite historical TV series But if I were gonna be a villain, this would be it!

I have always admired Richard Nixon. Yes, he did some bad stuff - no question. However, he also did a lot of really, really good stuff that I think got overshadowed by that: he started - He ended Vietnam, he campaigned on ending the draft and then did, he established OSHA, the EPA, signed the Clean Air act, opened relations with China, signed SALT I with the Soviet Union, tried to do healthcare, enforced desegregation, and so forth.

I think he was a fundamentally good man who did a bad thing - and who had the dignity to resign,which you sure don't see anymore - and in Presidential terms, I think he had accomplishments matched by few.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Ohh... During my time in the army, I really respected and admired Col. (now a general) H.R. McMaster.

He was the Colonel of the regiment I was deployed with, and well... he just has a way about him. In short, he got gak done, despite all the people who said he couldn't, wouldn't, or the situation was such that it was impossible for ANYONE to do.

He also had a photographic memory, especially when it came to his troopers. I met him when I got off the C-130 at Tall Afar (FOB Sykes), seeing I was a young buck, he asked about me, learned my parents, both their names and where they lived... basic kind of stuff really.... 5 months later, I was walking through an HQ area, heading to a down system to do my job, he comes round a corner and, as we're in the same hall, we (my buddy and I) stop and move to the side, as is military custom. He stops right in front of us, and addresses us both by name, with proper pronunciation and everything, like he'd talked to us just yesterday.... He then asked about my parents, by name and asked me how things were in my hometown, again by name...

To say that kind of memory made an impression is an understatement. Of course, the bad side of this memory, was when one of our warrant officers died in a helo crash, the Col. was at the memorial, and you could just see the visible pain. He took EVERY death in the regiment somewhat personally, from the lowest private up to the CSM.

I think there must be certain types of minds like this that make it to where they ate through skill and force of character, and they're so damn impressive.
My other half's company director can do the same. In a company of 5,000 people at any given time, he will greet by name, know their job and their recent struggles, even if he's not spoken to them directly. I think that kind of memory must be a side effect of being a spectacular person, because its not forced, either.