Talk:Arlo Guthrie
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[edit] Redirection from "Group W Bench"
Since it is not mentioned in the Article, could someone explain why "Group W Bench" redirects to this article? After some googling I now do have an idea, but I don't think it's obvious. (Perhaps I'ts just my ignorance that I didn't know anything about Arlo Guthrie or the song... but where should I turn, if not Wikipedia?...)
- I've changed the redirect to go directly to Alice's Restaurant, the Guthrie song that mentions the bench, and added a brief explanation there. Superm401 - Talk 05:09, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Categorization
I added the "Category:Berkshire County, Massachusetts" tag to this article, but Postdlf deleted it. Is there any reason why the category for a geographical area shouldn't include people closely identified with that area? The "Sierra Nevada" category includes John Muir (who was born in Scotland). JamesMLane 21:27, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)
- How "closely identified" with the county is he? The article itself doesn't really establish that. I personally find it problematic in general to classify people by a specific geographic area, even where they are born, unless they are only or primarily notable for what they have done in that area (like someone known only as a mayor of a city). What're your thoughts on this issue? Postdlf 14:40, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)
I think "only or primarily" is too narrow. There should be some significant connection. If a prominent novelist who happens to live in a particular area, but his work isn't oriented toward that area and he doesn't have all that much to do with other people there, then I'd see no reason to include him in the category. In this instance, though, Guthrie has lived in Berkshire County for years. That's where you'd find the real Alice's Restaurant, the real dump, the real Officer Obie. That's where his Guthrie Center is. That's where I attended an outdoor concert of his that was a benefit for the local volunteer fire department. OK, that last point isn't worth mentioning in the article, but it does shape my thinking. :)
One possible use of the category system is that readers who really want to know a lot about Berkshire County could create their own giant article by going to the category and reading each article in it. I used to live in an adjoining county, and I ask myself how I'd answer if someone who'd never been there were to say to me, "Tell me about Berkshire County." I'd talk about some of the towns that are now in the category. I'd mention how the Boston Pops comes to Tanglewood, and thanks to this discussion I'm now going to add that article to the category. But I'd also mention some people -- for example, that Norman Rockwell lived there a long time and based many of his paintings on his neighbors, and that the Norman Rockwell Museum is there. And, of course, I'd include Arlo Guthrie.
I agree with you about not categorizing people based on birthplace. W. E. B. Du Bois was born in Berkshire County, but I wouldn't mention that to my hypothetical inquirer.
The article on Berkshire County, Massachusetts includes a list of the cities, towns and villages. If the category were limited to the places that make up the geographical county, then there wouldn't be all that much use for the category as opposed to that simple list. (I realize you'd include notable mayors. I don't think Berkshire County has had any.) JamesMLane 17:31, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)
[edit] Alice's Restaurant
I notice that the bulk of the article is not about Guthrie himself, but about one song that he wrote. Under the circumstances, shouldn't it get an article of its own? --Paul A 07:51, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
In the absence of anyone saying "No! That's a terrible idea!"... --Paul A 06:18, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Contradiction
The article says, "is based on a true incident in which Guthrie, when called up for a draft examination, was rejected as unfit for military service, as a result of a criminal record consisting in its entirety of a single arrest, court appearance, fine and clean-up order for littering. In reality, Guthrie, though a carrier of the genetically inherited disease Huntington's chorea, was classified as fit (1A); however, his draft-lottery number did not come up."
That seems to be a self-contradiction. Does anyone know the real story (and preferably have a source)? Superm401 | Talk 07:54, 2 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Huntington's disease
I would like to point out that people cannot be carriers of a dominant allele, since anyone who carries at least one copy of the allele would have the disease, not carry it. Huntington's disease is caused by dominant allele, as the wikipedia page on Huntington's chorea correctly points out. (user= Kelly Kissane)
[edit] Citations
Citations? We don't need no stinkin' citations! This is the '60s, man. Nodoremi 07:12, 1 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Articles about albums
I have started some articles about some Arlo Guthrie albums.
Could some other people contribute to those pages and add some new ones? Dij 22:32, 14 October 2006 (UTC)
