Hear a lot about heroes these days. A term easily applied for the simplest of circumstances. I've always had a strange collection of heroes. Seems like all of 'em had bizarre and fantastic qualities, yet were all assholes at some level. Hunter Thompson's excesses made for great press and crazy comments, but also made him dangerous and inconsiderate in much of his personal life. George Carlin was another hero. What an inciteful and socially relevant comic, yet in his last years, he often got downright mean in his routines.Ted Turner is another of my heroes, one of the great media moguls, and long time owner of my beloved Braves. A braggadacio (known as the "mouth of the south"), yet he accomplished so much. Who could have believed starting a whole new news network (CNN)? I was pissed when he sold out to Time-Warner.
Mark Cuban has inherited the role of this age's Ted Turner. I love his ideas about HD TV, his networks, hiring Dan Rather, and other accomplishments. He's also a very controversial figure, in trouble with the NBA, probably blackballed by MLB from buying the Cubs.
No true heroes who are genuine nice guys (nice guys finish last???)
Yep, my heroes have always been assholes (hey, let's throw in Bukowski!)... Probably a reflection on myself. Everytime I do something I'm proud of personally, it's not long before I show myself as the dickhead I really am.
The only hero I have who is truely a great person is my son Willis. I can't think of any really bad qualities. He's kind, considerate, polite, smart, yet cynical deep down and wise beyond his years. Definitely an improvement over me. I guess the idea of progeny is to improve the species. I can't believe Willis is the fruit of my loins... had to be his mother responsible for this kid turning out so well. Of course, he's not rich and successful in the traditional sense, but maybe that will yet come and hopefully on his own terms. http://www.willisclow.com
So, heroes... give me the crazed, the wild, the destroyers of barriers, and maybe one or two genuinely fine folks...
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Well, I mostly agree with your selections for heros. Since I'm female, I'm not quite as fond of the sports figures or even Ted Turner. And I hate what CNN has become. I hate almost all cable news outlets, and I think part of the reason is that it's turned news shows into infotainment. I hate the consolidation of media in the hands of a few crazy rich assholes who want to turn journalism into more money for them. Murdock isn't rich enough? I liked this about the old days--news programing wasn't meant to make a buck; it was supposed to bring you good reporting and good journalism.
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