10.07.2008
Musings and Nominations
The time has come!
I have stayed away long enough, and am now preparing to unleash another season of ICON-O-CLASH! on an unsuspecting public.
This season presents another thematic twist: all the competitors will be real-life figures, living or dead, who have achieved iconic status.
PARAMETERS:
1. All realms of notoriety will be considered. Music, Acting, Athletics, Historical/Cultural, Tabloid, pretty much anything that could be used as a category in Trivial Pursuit is valid.
2. Truly "infamous" figures will not be included. As much as Hitler or GW Bush have become iconic, not many of us would consider them "cool" in any sense. That being said, Napoleon and Genghis Khan are on my working list, (mostly because of their inclusion in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure")
3. Religious figures will also not be included. While it could be argued these folks have achieved the highest possible level of iconic status, I don't want to have to make a decision between Jesus and Buddha and upset any ideological apple carts.
4. I had included "creator" figures like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney on my working list, but I think I am going to exclude those. It would be difficult to separate the coolness of the creator from his or her creations, and many of those creations have already battled in previous seasons.
DISCUSSION POINTS:
1. I would like input on the forum of this season. Should ICON-O-CLASH! remain a blog, or migrate over to a group on that other networking forum that rhymes with "Schmakebook"
2. Cool or Ironi-cool? I would like agreement, (or at least a discussion) on the level of "ironi-cool" that we are measuring. Strictly speaking, "ironi-cool" is achieved by being so uncool that you become cool. Therefore, characters in previous versions have advanced based on their obscurity, their esoteric nature, or a "nerd-factor" that makes them recognizable for less obvious reasons.
Both the list of competitors and their chances will depend on how we address this issue. There is a big difference in why George Washington Carver is cool, as opposed to David Bowie or James Dean.
3. Length of battle. We can probably get to the standard 128 nominated icons, but is that too much of an investment in people's time? I'm all for cutting back a level and doing 64 participants, if it results in more enthusiasm and less attrition.
THE LIST SO FAR:
Here are some highlights of my working list. I would encourage everyone to discuss these, and make additional nominations.
Ralph Nader
Chuck Norris
Bill Gates
Steve Jobs
Bruce Lee
Bob Barker
Jerry Springer
Tonya Harding
Richard Hatch
Madonna
Simon Cowell
Steve McQueen
Col. Sanders
David Suzuki
Hunter S Thompson
Cher
Bono
Britney Spears
Gary Coleman
Tony Robbins
Oprah Winfrey
Joan of Arc
Rick Mercer
Laura Secord
Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein
(that should be enough to get the discussion going)
Happy 'Clashing!
I have stayed away long enough, and am now preparing to unleash another season of ICON-O-CLASH! on an unsuspecting public.
This season presents another thematic twist: all the competitors will be real-life figures, living or dead, who have achieved iconic status.
PARAMETERS:
1. All realms of notoriety will be considered. Music, Acting, Athletics, Historical/Cultural, Tabloid, pretty much anything that could be used as a category in Trivial Pursuit is valid.
2. Truly "infamous" figures will not be included. As much as Hitler or GW Bush have become iconic, not many of us would consider them "cool" in any sense. That being said, Napoleon and Genghis Khan are on my working list, (mostly because of their inclusion in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure")
3. Religious figures will also not be included. While it could be argued these folks have achieved the highest possible level of iconic status, I don't want to have to make a decision between Jesus and Buddha and upset any ideological apple carts.
4. I had included "creator" figures like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney on my working list, but I think I am going to exclude those. It would be difficult to separate the coolness of the creator from his or her creations, and many of those creations have already battled in previous seasons.
DISCUSSION POINTS:
1. I would like input on the forum of this season. Should ICON-O-CLASH! remain a blog, or migrate over to a group on that other networking forum that rhymes with "Schmakebook"
2. Cool or Ironi-cool? I would like agreement, (or at least a discussion) on the level of "ironi-cool" that we are measuring. Strictly speaking, "ironi-cool" is achieved by being so uncool that you become cool. Therefore, characters in previous versions have advanced based on their obscurity, their esoteric nature, or a "nerd-factor" that makes them recognizable for less obvious reasons.
Both the list of competitors and their chances will depend on how we address this issue. There is a big difference in why George Washington Carver is cool, as opposed to David Bowie or James Dean.
3. Length of battle. We can probably get to the standard 128 nominated icons, but is that too much of an investment in people's time? I'm all for cutting back a level and doing 64 participants, if it results in more enthusiasm and less attrition.
THE LIST SO FAR:
Here are some highlights of my working list. I would encourage everyone to discuss these, and make additional nominations.
Ralph Nader
Chuck Norris
Bill Gates
Steve Jobs
Bruce Lee
Bob Barker
Jerry Springer
Tonya Harding
Richard Hatch
Madonna
Simon Cowell
Steve McQueen
Col. Sanders
David Suzuki
Hunter S Thompson
Cher
Bono
Britney Spears
Gary Coleman
Tony Robbins
Oprah Winfrey
Joan of Arc
Rick Mercer
Laura Secord
Benjamin Franklin
Albert Einstein
(that should be enough to get the discussion going)
Happy 'Clashing!
# posted on Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Comments:
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Should ICON-O-CLASH! remain a blog, or migrate over to a group on that other networking forum that rhymes with "Schmakebook"
Would that be cakebook? wakebook? rakebook? I'm stumped :)
Would that be cakebook? wakebook? rakebook? I'm stumped :)
For the record - i like arguing the ironi-cool better than the plain old cool cuz they're cool list.
If you can tell us which list you're going to go with, then it would be easier to come up with suggestions.
If you can tell us which list you're going to go with, then it would be easier to come up with suggestions.
Not sure where we nominate. Chuck (or Charlie, not sure how you know him by) suggested I participate.
There are only two that instantly jump to mind at the moment:
O.J. Simpson
Regis Philban
There are only two that instantly jump to mind at the moment:
O.J. Simpson
Regis Philban
I agree with Vic that we should stick with the ironi-cool rather than the actual coolest. I was happy to see Tonya Harding on the list as we discussed her yesterday during lunch. Others include;
David Hasselhoff
William Shatner
Bob Hope
Bill Cosby
Marylin Monroe
Paris Hilton
Arnold Schwartenegger
Bob Saket
Alex Trebek
I have no doubt that we can get to 128 and am quite willing to invest the time and effort to narrow it down to the ultimate real world ironic icon.
I also can't remember my password.
ahhhh_crap
David Hasselhoff
William Shatner
Bob Hope
Bill Cosby
Marylin Monroe
Paris Hilton
Arnold Schwartenegger
Bob Saket
Alex Trebek
I have no doubt that we can get to 128 and am quite willing to invest the time and effort to narrow it down to the ultimate real world ironic icon.
I also can't remember my password.
ahhhh_crap
I was thinking about "The Hoff" myself today
New ones I just thought of were:
Ken Jennings (the Jeopardy champ)
Gary Coleman (his link to the Hoff alone)
Donald Trump
Elvis may actually get included on an ironic level, if we're talking Fat Vegas Elvis
Pamela Anderson
We could always run 8 matches per week to get it running faster.
New ones I just thought of were:
Ken Jennings (the Jeopardy champ)
Gary Coleman (his link to the Hoff alone)
Donald Trump
Elvis may actually get included on an ironic level, if we're talking Fat Vegas Elvis
Pamela Anderson
We could always run 8 matches per week to get it running faster.
Doing the 8 matchups per week would cut it down for sure. Good idea.
More possibilities
Paul Reuben (I think that's the name of PeeWee Herman)
Don Knotts
Buddy Hackett
Leslie Neilson
Howard Cosell
Tom Jones
Ed McMann
This is shaping up to be a real blood-bath!!!
More possibilities
Paul Reuben (I think that's the name of PeeWee Herman)
Don Knotts
Buddy Hackett
Leslie Neilson
Howard Cosell
Tom Jones
Ed McMann
This is shaping up to be a real blood-bath!!!
I'd add Richard Brautigan, Kurt Vonnegut, J. D. Salinger, Philip K. Dick, A. E. Van Vogt (maybe not AE...yeah, maybe not him).
Also, I think Gary Coleman is only there so some folks can have fun at my expense...if so, BBBBBBRING IT!
Also, I think Gary Coleman is only there so some folks can have fun at my expense...if so, BBBBBBRING IT!
But...after reading the notes and appreciating this better...maybe JD Salinger and Kurt Vonnegut have already made it to the COOL list...in which case they must come off. I might suggest leaving Philip K. Dick on there as he was a bit crazy (well, maybe more than a bit) but his stories seem to get made into crappy movies every year so maybe he's really on the cool list although for the wrong reason (because he really believed there was a satellite in space and beaming him the connection to a Gnostic in the Roman era). Apologies if I have misrepresented him here but it does feel Ironic that he's considered cool considering his novels were almost his attempts to understand his disease.
But Richard Brautigan is the unsung hero of the 60s -- the Jack Kerouac of the 50s equivalent that has faded into obscurity. He sadly shot himself in 1984...a heavy blow to myself at the time as he was my hero. So he's there because he should be cool but remains largely unknown. Is it Ironic? Probably not but he once shot up his kitchen and circled the bullet holes and wrote "Shoot out at OK kitchen" and one of his poems was this short:
He'd sell a rat's asshole to a blind man as a wedding ring.
Ahhhh, Richard, you still make me smile.
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But Richard Brautigan is the unsung hero of the 60s -- the Jack Kerouac of the 50s equivalent that has faded into obscurity. He sadly shot himself in 1984...a heavy blow to myself at the time as he was my hero. So he's there because he should be cool but remains largely unknown. Is it Ironic? Probably not but he once shot up his kitchen and circled the bullet holes and wrote "Shoot out at OK kitchen" and one of his poems was this short:
He'd sell a rat's asshole to a blind man as a wedding ring.
Ahhhh, Richard, you still make me smile.
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