About that whole "Greatest American" poll

[mrmitchell]

Where the fck are Andy Warhol, Ernest Hemingway?

Why did Mark Twain only make the top 100? I mean, he's both: Popular and artist (writer). That makes him just as eligible as Elvis.

[Jaguar]

Mark Twain deserves top 5 IMO. He's the best writer we've ever had.

[KrazyHorse]

Hemingway and Steinbeck are close.

[Imran Siddiqui]

And don't forget Edgar Allen Poe.

[KrazyHorse]

Poe was ****ed in the head. 19th century version of Hunter S Thompson...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, but who said ****ed in the head was a bad thing?

[KrazyHorse]

Nobody. It's an observation, not a judgment.

[KrazyHorse]

****. They should have put Hunter S Thompson up there. I'd have voted for him.

[mrmitchell]

Edgar Allan Poe spent a couple months writing poems in Camden.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DRoseDARs
Reno's city council has no plans. There are communities (I don't know which specifically) that do, the the Big ISPs are trying to stop them. That is the point I was making. I think you were saying basically the same thing, only broader right?

Precisely.

[Mr. Harley]

How about John Phillip Sousa, one of the acknowledged masters of the march, worldwide? Or maybe Alexander Copeland? One of the first world class US classical composers. While neither should be in the top 5, in a century they will still be remembered. While Michael Jackson will be a footnote. I am talking about top 100 Americans versus the top 100 Americans in popular culture, which is really what the poll was about.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by shawnmmcc
How about John Phillip Sousa, one of the acknowledged masters of the march, worldwide? Or maybe Alexander Copeland? One of the first world class US classical composers. While neither should be in the top 5, in a century they will still be remembered. While Michael Jackson will be a footnote. I am talking about top 100 Americans versus the top 100 Americans in popular culture, which is really what the poll was about.

About Sousa and military music, the less said, the better.

Aaron (not Alexander) Copeland is truly a giant of American music but, in the end, did little more than introduce American elements into a European form.

No, no one in American music matches the towering genius and awesome influence of Louis Armstrong.

[JohnT]

Except Elvis.

[Mr. Harley]

Rufus - I'll grant you Aaron Copeland - I transposed names, I'm terrible about that - but John Philip Sousa is considered a great American from his time period, and his music has lasted. Also, reference Louis Armstrong - was it really him or is he just the popularized icon for jazz. I like jazz in a casual way (including Armstrong) but often those who become known for it are not the real greats. Sort of like the credit Einstein gets for the A-bomb, when Fermi deserves much more credit.

[DRoseDARs]

Briefly back on the subject of ISPs, the Supreme Court passed judgement that big cable companies don't have to share their cables with anyone else. Basically, smaller companies have to lay their own lines. This goes for local governments (trying to improve access where the big companies have been slow) too, I presume.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/27/technology/broadband_ruling/index.htm?cnn=yes