I admire weird people. I like people who do their own thing, who find their own way of getting the job done. I admire cultural, political, and religious rebels. I admire people who aren’t afraid to upset the applecart. Most of the people I admire are dead…. Several of them were murdered. They fall into two categories, creators and leaders.
Creators I admire… Isaac Asimov, Edgar Allen Poe, HP Lovecraft, Mary Shelley, Mercedes Lackey, Charles de Lint, Tolkien, Guillermo del Toro
Leaders I admire… Gandhi, Aleister Crowley, Vlad Tepes, Alexander the Great, Joan of Arc
It’s varied list. The first group, I think, is self explanatory. All artists in their field, which is writing. Any writer who can’t come up with a list of writers they admire shouldn’t be writing IMO. No one develops in a vacuum, so no writer can possibly write without reading and emulating other writers. I can’t imagine anyone who wants to write not falling in love with the written word first. You get bit by the bug of writing. You start out a reader.
The second list requires more explanation. I mean, I have Gandhi and Vlad Tepes together? Am I nuts?
Well, the answer is yes, of course. 
lol But not because of my choice of heroes. The leaders I admire, like the writers I admire, are people of vision. Despite incredible odds against them, they all followed the beat of their inner drummer. Gandhi chose the road of peaceful protest. Crowley shook up the applecart. Dracula was just trying to protect his people through the only means available to him, intimidation. And Alexander the Great wanted to unify the world, albeit under his own banner. Joan of Arc was so determined to save her country, she pretended to be a man.
These are the people I admire, people who see things others don’t. People who are willing to work towards their goals and won’t give up, no matter what. Some might say that their goals were unrealistic, but they are still remembered today for the contributions they made to history.
Some day, I’d like to be on someone’s list.
June 23rd
St. John’s Eve was a traditional time for meditation while waiting for sunrise. Whatever their origin, the Midsummer fires were held from Ireland to Russia, and from Norway and Sweden to Spain and Greece. According to a medieval writer, the three great features of the Midsummer celebration were the bonfires, the procession with torches round the fields, and the custom of rolling a wheel (representing the sun). In Portugal, the spirits of the dead roam free on Saint John’s Eve.
At one time, two hills near Lough Gur were the focus of sacred rites in honor of the Fairy Goddesses, Aine and Fennel (or Finnen). One, about three miles southwest of the lake, is called Knock Aine, Aine or Ane. Aine is an ancient Irish goddess and member of the Sidhe, whose name is derived from An, meaning bright. Every St. John’s Night, the peasantry would gather to watch the moon. In this way, Aine seems to have been a moon goddess like Diana. With torches of straw or hay tied on poles, they would march from the hill and then run through cultivated fields and among the cattle. This was to expel all evil spirits from the land so that there would be good harvests.
Ishtar and Tammuz were honored today, as were Astarte, Aphrodite, Venus and Adonis.
Comments (8)
You’re on my list.
I did think you were pretty crazy when you mentioned Vlad Tepes, though. Who’s next, Elizabeth Bathory? 
Getting things done no matter what is definitely not on my list of things to admire about people. Hitler got stuff done no matter; Stalin got what he wanted to get done no matter what. I’d much rather have leaders who got things done while sticking to their moral centers, even when it would have been easier to work by force or intimidation.
I guess the historical figures I really admire, like Alexander Hamilton or Casanova, are people who didn’t accomplish great things but followed their hearts and had a wide variety of experiences and adventures.
@heidenkind - Actually, concerning Vlad Tepes, most of what people think they know about him is wrong. Many stories about him were propaganda spread by him and by his enemies, on his part to intimidate and on their part to turn people against him. Stoker’s Dracula was based more on Bathory’s habits than on Tepes, and many of the stories told about Tepes were also attributed to Ivan the Terrible. Things that are known about Tepes reign… crime was at its lowest point ever in the history of his country and the Turks never managed to gain a foot hold in the Slavic nations until after his death, mainly through his efforts.
I’m not saying I’d have lunch with the man, but I do think he was honorable and doing the best he could under the circumstances. I mean, it can’t have been easy dealing with backbiting nobles who’d just as soon sell him out to the Turks as sit down to tea or with the Church (that’s a whole different can of worms). I just empathize with him. I don’t think I could do what he did, but then, his father gave him and his brother over to the Turks as hostages against his good behavior knowing they were a bunch of pedophiles. So I can understand why he might hate the Turks and line his roads with their dead and dying.
@harmony0stars - Crime was at its lowest point in Germany while Hitler was in power, too. I’m not saying I don’t sympathize with Tepes or that I don’t understand why he did what he did; but I also wouldn’t say I admire him for it.
@heidenkind - I guess the big difference is that most of what people “know” about Tepes can’t be substantiated. Nearly everything “historical” about him is also mythological. It’s impossible to separate the man from the propaganda. Hitler, on the other hand, has a paper trail.
So you think most of the stuff that’s attributed to Tepes was done by other people, then?
@heidenkind - Some of it at least. For instance, there was a story of him nailing the cap on a visiting dignitary who refused to remove it when he visited. The same is said of Ivan the Terrible. Various other stories are told of both men. There was also no love lost between Tepes and the Church, even though he was the only thing standing between them and the invasion of the Turks. He blamed them for the death of his father and for not supporting him in his struggles. I forget what their issues with him were, didn’t tithe enough probably.
Many of the stories told about Tepes came from propaganda “leaflets” which were distributed by his detractors. They can’t really be proven, though you won’t hear that in any of the “real Dracula” movies/specials. There’s a book called Dracula by Florescu (one of his descendants) that’s really good and dispels some of the myths.
You’re on my life. It’s the you’re-awesome-and-need-to-get-out-of-THERE list
You’re on my list too. You stay true to you. If everyone did that we’d be in much better shape right now. Of course, some do but the true them isn’t much to be proud about. You’re special.