User talk:HJensen/Archives/2008/December

Frank Zappa as Today's featured article?

Hi there, don't you think the Frank Zappa article would be a prime candidate for today's featured article on december 4th, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of his passing away? I am unsure about the proceedure for nominating articles though. Dr bab (talk) 10:09, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Good idea! Thanks. I'll look into the procedures to see if this can be feasible at all. Regards, --HJensen, talk 12:59, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Support given. Thanks for taking care of this, now let's hope it comes through. Dr bab (talk) 16:46, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

It's on the list. A succesful nomination! Dr bab (talk) 07:13, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Great news! Thanks for suggesting and supporting it!--HJensen, talk 07:14, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

List? Support? Where does that happen?Lame Name (talk) 15:35, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

It happens here. In this case, it already happened, as can be seen here on the December schedule for main page articles. It was nice that Zappa got in. There is a points system, and since another rock-related article ran recently, it deducted from its points. But not enough to "kill" it. So on the day it was 15 years ago Zappa passed away, a lot of people all over the world will read and hear about him. Probabaly the biggest advertisement for his music in a long time. :-) --HJensen, talk 16:56, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Frank Zappa

Can you please clarify why you undid this edit ? (I'll waqtch your page for the reply, since I am currently using a shared IP). Cheers. 66.253.230.56 (talk) 17:30, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

I think "iconoclastic" is a bit too WP:POV. But mainly, the word skeptical is used in the "blurp" on the main page, so no need to change it. Maybe after today we can reconsider.--HJensen, talk 20:08, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the reply. Here are a few sources/reasons that show why the term iconoclastic is particularly apt with respect to Zappa:

• See his NYT obituary headline and first sentence.
• The title of this interview program on Zappa on NPR,...
• ... which contains this (paraphrased) quote from his biographer, Barry Miles (who's book is the most cited source for the wikipedia article):

Of all the labels that fans want to apply to him, says Miles, the hugely troubled, hugely talented Frank Zappa was, above all, an American iconoclast.

• Or this first sentence of the blurb of Michael Gray's, Mother! is the Story of Frank Zappa (ISBN: 0859653331)

When Frank Zappa died on December 4th 1993, he was mourned not only by the music world but also by the international press, as one of the most popular and iconoclastic figures in the history of rock music

I believe that iconoclastic (along with innovative) is a defining adjectives for Zappa, as seen from the above sources. If you find this convincing please go ahead and make the change in the article lead yourself. Cheers. 66.253.230.56 (talk) 23:58, 4 December 2008 (UTC)

Very convincing! Done! Cheers. --HJensen, talk 06:38, 5 December 2008 (UTC)