Talk show host Jon Stewart was crowned the most influential man of 2010 on Tuesday, heading a list of 49 men who all swayed public opinion and were described as rule-breakers to some degree in a time of recession.
Stewart, who will host President Barack Obama on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" this week before holding a "Rally to Restore Sanity" at the weekend, claimed the No. 1 spot in an annual survey of about 500,000 readers of AskMen (http://www.askmen.com), a men's lifestyle website.
He was followed by Microsoft's Bill Gates while Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of social networking site Facebook, came in third place. Apple co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Jobs came fourth.
"We noticed the rule-breaking trend because it spans a lot of industries," James Bassil, editor-in-chief of AskMen said. He said this extended to people like musician Kanye West who ranked fifth, and actor James Franco at seventh, who proved he was more than just a movie star by enrolling in graduate programs and writing a book.
Number 48 on the list was Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who stormed off his job with some profanities and a dramatic exit down an inflated emergency chute, winning widespread admiration.This month Slater, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal mischief and was ordered to undergo a year-long mental health program and receive alcohol and substance abuse counseling.
"In the list last year we were looking more at guys who were players in the industry or were perceived as players, like (U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman) Ben Bernanke," said Bassil. "Guys are open to the idea of rejecting the status quo in some ways. They've kind of come to more admire these dudes who took it upon themselves to break out on their own and discover success on their own terms."
Last year's list was headed by the character Don Draper from the Emmy-winning drama "Mad Men" who is played by actor Jon Hamm, followed by track star Usain Bolt. This attitude in 2010 could well be due to the recession and lagging recovery, Bassil added. "The terms that were dictated to us previously were terms such as 'work hard' and 'show up on time' and everything will be okay. That's all been kind of proven to be a failure," he said.
One notable absence this year was professional golfer Tiger Woods, whose private life unraveled after allegations of infidelity late last year set off a months-long sex scandal. He eventually confessed to infidelity and was divorced from his wife, Elin Nordgren, in August.
By contrast, talk show host David Letterman came in at 39 despite his on-air revelations about his affairs followed by an apology to his wife. "Guys obviously preferred David Letterman's response which was to be frank and sincere and 'fess up in the most public form possible rather than the route that Tiger Woods took, which was to try to hide it until it blew up in his face," Bassil said.
U.S. President Barack Obama fell to 21st place from the top five last year. Now that is just pathetic. The guy has worked so hard and made many decisions which went against public opinon but which he felt were for the good of his country. We can't blame him because the global economy isn't recovering as fast as we would like it to. Those things are always slow. Are we still blaming him for the oil spill??
My dear sweet lady,
ReplyDeleteBoy did I enjoy singing and telling jokes as you know with being italian that is right up my alley. I drove my son nuts , his secretary (Anita) loved it.
I am glad to get rid of the headaches the business has caused in the last 7 or 8 years. People has lost their values and morals because of the love for money.
All my grands are so trusting , the boys follow me everywhere, if they see their mother or father heading for the car they are gone and if in house begger don't feel like running he just bops his ass down, that child is a character.
My dear sweet Rhonda daughter has 3 children so that makes me have 7 in all. they are older than the ones here. I had the pleasure of them spending a couple of weeks here with me in July after the holiday.
My dear lady,no secret there you don't fool us for a minute, we know you give in just to make us happy and when it is all said and done you enjoyed it as must as we did, ladies just like more fore play time with us.
So please to hear your dear mother is happy and her ailment was not cancer and with your dear mother being so fraigle it was the best decision you could make for her . My dear lady your mother fiesty spirit will keep her with you for a long time to come.
Thank you for sharing infro about your dear family, I always wondered how many children you had.
5 children and 12 grandchildren that is a wonderful number they keep you busy and you and your dear husband enjoys every minute. My daughter told me your husband and I have the same problems, his heart problem is more serious than mine . His strong will to enjoy his family is what keeps him strong, mind you my dear lady stress is what hurts the most, and the less stress he has the quicker he will be able to do some of the things he love to do but in small doses. Your dad taught you a great lesson about a promise , I believe in the same motto, I remember when it was just a handshake that held the bond together.
Well now on to part 2.
G.
My dear sweet lady,
ReplyDeleteHere I am and I did read your scientist post on your other site about whether or not the scientists believed in God. You can get a bunch of people together , they can be from all walks of life,educated or not, rich or poor they will never agree about religion or politics. I believe that their is a force out there and some call him God, some called him Budda and some call him Satan, it may be a lady that is calling the shots. Now if you want a good fight start a conversation about God or politics, those are two subjects I try to stay clear of.
My sister Mae is doing real well and back in her fighting mood. Mae will be at the meeting, I am going to give her a couple snorts of vodka to keep her quiet, she is mad at everyone but her last child (Lenny Jr.)
My daughter is a very caring and loyal person to the her family and friends, I for one likes her spunk. Joanna is worried about my daughter because when she started having headaches Joanna says she will say it's her sinus but she has started having visions again and she wants her to go to her quiet place and meditate. My son and I thought it was her blood pressure ,Joanna says it is a spiritual gift my daughter inherited from their mother, Joanna says when her mother left that morning she knew she wasn't coming back and told her to keep and take care of her baby, Joanna says it was a sad couple of years for my daughter and her father so they left New Orleans and moved here, but that's something I will let Joanna tell you.
My dear lady as I have travel almost around the world people are so different, this was my first trip here when my family and I was looking over the business and the people here is more different than any I met, it is like 3 or 4 ethnic groups together, my daughter says it is just like gumbo.
I was on your other site and all the posts was full, Nanette was in here getting some papers together and I asked her which post was the best to write you own, she looked told me to go to your other site there was always a lot of posts there for me to use, so here I am.
I asked my daughter how long the two of you had this site , she said it was started June 21 and showed me where the count was, that is pretty good for 4 months I think.
My dear sweet lady, as I told you before I was young and broke when I got to Vegas but I knew what I wanted and had to work at to make it happen.
Suggestions, yes, you answer your own question,you have no reporters to gather news for you, so what, your count will go up, it just takes time anything that is worth having is worth waiting for, as long as you are enjoying it that is the main thing.
Why would you want to be like other sites that write about celebrities, you need to find your own way of doing things.
I heard my daughter telling Nanette if she had more time she would take some computer courses so she could do a better job on the sites, Nanette told her she didn't have time to go to some guys place to see if he had any news because all her spare time she was on the computer trying to find out about her bears and ways to raise money for them. I did not ask my daughter anything because she looked so sad and there was nothing I could do to help her,it will all worked out in the in.
Now for my last piece of advice, I was young, broke and no high school education but I knew what I wanted and thinking about what others was doing was not going to get me there and look at me now a poor boy from the Bronx that made good and you know why, I did it my way as old Blue Eyes himself said.
So my dear sweet lady stop worrying your pretty little head, you keep writing and they will come, a word from an old man that has been there.
Well I will leave you for now and I really enjoys your letters and I will write here all the time and look for your replies here.
Your cyber pal and admirer.
G.
Dear G.
ReplyDeleteThankyou for the nice letter. I have come to look forward to them. I like your sense of humor. It's definitely more subtle than mine. Now and then you drop a little gem of wisdom for me too. How come you have to be old to be wise? If I had been a bit wiser when I was young I wouldn't have screwed up so much.
I can tell you are an old softy when it comes to those grandkids. It's hard not to indulge them and spoil them. I most definitely have that problem. They can melt me like butter. They know it too, especially those twins. They have a system.
That reminds me of something I wanted to ask you. Did you ever get someone in one of your casinos who won so consistently that you had to keep an eye on them to make sure they were 'on the up'n up'?
HA!..I guess we ladies don't have any secrets from you after all.It is certainly obvious to us when you guys want a little loving. I don't mean what you are thinking either. I just have to look in my husbands eyes.
But you do have to seduce us every time. If it was left up to you guys, it would be straight to business and straight to sleep.
Nee confirmed that she is having visions but they are not clear and she is trying to meditate. I find that fascinating. I would love to investigate that psychic realm.
I not so sure it's good for her, especially if it is giving her headaches. She was traumatized by her mom's death and I believe she didn't talk for a year or maybe two. She dealt with the grief in her own unique way. She feels Joanna is more like a mother than a sister to her. She was lucky she had Joanna and Nannette at that time. When she told me the story I felt so sad for that silent little girl.
I thank you for the good advice about the blog. And you are so right, you should always be yourself and do things in your own way. You are living proof of that.
Nee and I are very different and kind of eccentric individuals. I am kind of a shy geeky hermit who over-analyzes everything and Nee is very active and out in the world and brave. But we have some things in common: we have a connection and can often read each others minds, we care deeply for our families and for our friends and we both care for the world we live in and try in our own ways to help save it.
I don't think either one of us really wants to copy anyone but we do want to be as good or even better than they are, if we are capable,at producing a blog. But what I always remember is that the other bloggers don't do anything else but work on their blogs all day and make a career of it, while Nee and I don't have much time to spend at it. Nee has even less time than I and I don't want her to be stressed out by it or it isn't going to be fun any more.
I'm pretty good at figuring things out and I will come up with something eventually.Until then It's a learning experience for both of us.
I will chat with you soon. I have to take my twin grandsons to their karate lesson now.
Your cyber pen-pal Jeannie.