h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/2208532.stm

Aleister Crowley? Eh? A 'great' Briton? A hero? The Master Magus, The Great Beast, the Most Evil man in Christendom.

How's that work then?

And since when was Paul Hewson (Bono) a Briton?

Well, Crowley I can see, to be honest. Many of the concepts about personal freedom that he espoused in the thirties are taken for granted now, but certainly weren't at the time.

Bono isn't even a great musician, never mind British...

Oh right, so its related to one little bit of their life and ignores everything else they've done? Or even if they were complete fruitcakes?

They've go to be joking. Haven't they. I mean Boy George .....Nothing against the man, but surely he's not in the running for 100 Greatest Britons of all times

Yeah, and B*ckh*m

JK Rowling? But not Blyton? Jonny Rotten? I can;t help but think these were included more to generate discussion than for any particular worth!

The problem with all such lists is that they are always skewed towards recent times. Twenty-two of the 100 are still living - and many of these are just trivial icons - eg Robbie Williams (what has he done? all - he just got votes from people who fancy him) and Boy George (if he'd been instrumental in gay rights for example, he might have been said to have made a valid contribution). If they excluded those who are still living, the list might be a tad more interesting...

What worries me about that article is the use of the word *hero*

According to Merriam-Webster *hero* is defined as:

a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b : an illustrious warrior c : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d : one that shows great courage

John Lydon?? Michael Crawford?? Julie Andrews??

I suppose it's each to their own

Well, I admire John Lydon for his achievements. This country badly needed a kick up the a**e (still does in some ways).

Why is the Princess of Wales filled under D? Shouldn't it be M or W?

Lydon almost single-handedly changed the way an entire generation of British youth looked at the world. None of the people I went to school with would begrudge him his position in that list.
I can't see that Boy george is so undeserving either-one of the first openly 'gay' stars, he did a lot to change views about homosexuality amongst the youth of the day.

These people can't win, really. If they'd picked people thaqt were all dead, they'd be a s lambasted as the film critics who have yet again dared to point out that Star wars is a functional piece of cinema but *NOT* the greatest work of art in cinema history.

Why Enid ing Blyton? The woman was a dreadful writer and quite horrible. Her achievements could be listed on a grain of rice. Rowlings, well, they might just fir on a postage stamp, though I'm inclined to think she is ovwer-rated in the extreme.

M???

OK, I may have underestimated Boy George. He was extremely controversial at the time, and that took courage.

Jack


*hope you like the new sig*

Thatcher, Tindale, Tolkien, Turing..........Titchmarsh!

Mountbatten-Winsor.

good to see King John Peel there though

Why aye! (looks a bit like Peely - er, maybe not)

Blyton, why not if Rowling? After all she basically just re-wrote loads of kiddie stories from the likes of Blyton and Nesbitt. Can't see what else she's done.

So, so far we have:-

Bono, Freddie Mercury as non-brits. Although did Freddie become a Brit Citizen? what about Tolkein? Wasn't he South African, or was he just born there?

Wasn't that Kipling?

I claim that Ernest Shackleton, Bob Geldof and James Connolly were all Irish too. Of course in Shackleton's and Connolly's case, Ireland at the time would have been considered part of Britain. And Geldof has lived in Britain for years, even if he grew up in Ireland.