I thought yesterday would be the battle of two powerhouses, but it turned out not to be even close.
Jonathan recommended J. K. for the entertainment value:
Inviting JK Rowling would form an excellent test of Columbia Security staff and the university’s commitment to free speech principles. Pick her, and I’ll supply the popcorn.
Free popcorn! That’s the first time our seminar competition has featured an outright bribe. Not bad at all, but Anonymous shot down the argument:
But there’s nothing to test. PrezBo’s stance on free speech is well established. The university has hosted far more controversial and noteworthy figures than Rowling over the years, and in far more visible platforms than a seminar lecture. Heck, some of those controversial figures include tenured Columbia University professors.
This is making me think we need a new future category: controversial Columbia professors! There’s Edward Said, and Dr. Oz, and the guy who uncovered the U.S. News scandal, and Peter Woit—hey, what is it with the math department, anyway?—, and . . . ummmm, that’s all I can think of. We need eight entries to make a full category. Are there any controversial Columbia professors I’ve forgotten? It’s not enough for someone to have been caught in a scandal. The prof has to be legitimately controversial.
Anyway, back to Joanne vs. Joan. Alan says:
J. K. Rowling is for kids; Joan Didion is for adults. Didion’s scope of work was vast and her commentary on modern day Los Angeles is worth a seminar and a half.
Hey, we need another category of famous Angelenos. Joan Didion, Mike Davis, Tommy Lasorda, Randy Newman, O. J. Simpson, Larry David, Dr. Dre, . . . we could go on forever. People who aren’t just from L.A. but are positively associated with the place.
I thought it would be fun if Rowling could come up with a new Harry Potter story, to which Zhou replied:
I’d rather see Joan Didion try to come up with a new Harry Potter story.
Good point. Joan it is.
The problem is, we don’t have enough kids participating in the comments section. So no magic for you.
Today’s matchup
The fourth seed in the “People known by initials” category (yeah, I know that “X” is not really his initial) is up against an unseeded Duplicate Name. White devils or the Convoy, those are your options.
If we don’t pick him, we risk Kris landing a helicopter on the lawn and insisting on giving a talk anyway.
What I learned from this post is that I have 4 years to work on arguments for Dr. Dre.
Straight outta the comments section.
For what it’s worth, I think the kids who grew up on Harry Potter are now between 25 and 35 (as a 29 year old).
Brice:
Kids continue to grow up on Harry Potter, just as they continue to grow up on Laura Ingalls Wilder, Narnia, etc.
X sort of wrote an autobiography. K sort of has one coming. https://okmagazine.com/p/kris-kristofferson-upcoming-tell-all-memoir/
K’s will be, so far as we know, written by K, while X’s was written by, or at least heavily edited by, Alex Haley. Point K.
X’s Autobiography used to be, and for all I know still is, required reading in many high school curricula. K’s will not be. Point K.
X’s Autobiography had its anti-semitism excised by Haley. Point K, unless K is a secret anti-semite.
But in the final analysis, by writing, singing and acting, Kristofferson has shown he is willing to be famous By Any Means Necessary. 5 points for X
On the rare occasions when I hear the name Kris Kristofferson, I think of the teen hip hop duo Kris Kross, best known (only known?) for the terrible song “Jump,” which I remember because it interrupted videos I would have rather been watching on ~1990 MTV. Anything that makes me think of Kris Kross should not be encouraged.
I have nothing to say about Kris Kristofferson, probably because he wasn’t widely played on early 1990s MTV.
Malcolm X would, of course, be fascinating.