intellectualammo

I've just finished my first reading of the book.  I say first, because I'm reading it a second time, more closely, to really study it.  This book I take very seriously and regard it to be among the very finest and most important books one can read in Romantic Realism today.    Though I do not know who exactly Pandora is, I think the name holds some kind of important significance to the series itself, as being a reference to the Pandora in Greek mythology. I think they use it, because it suits their expression.    There are 46 chapters in the first volume in the Work of Art Series. Pandora includes the first 7 chapters to the second volume in this book, as well. I was delighted to see that, and as soon as I did, thought of it as "the encore."  Certain things in the book made me laugh, though it's no comedy. The seriousness is all-pervasive. I adore Pandora. They take ideas and writing very seriously. But... Who is Pandora? Who is the writer behind the words?  And why the use of that name? That myth can hold different meanings, depending upon one's reference, interpretation, telling, recontextualization of it.    One of the main focal points in this book, is education. A progressive education of the Academy, which is a public school (read: Government school, government education) contrasted with that of the School for Self-Esteem, which  based on the Montessori Method, but in the book it's referred to as the "Miranda method".  It also reminds me of the VanDamme Academy way, the pedagogically correct way, etc. But anyway, in the book, it shows the result that each said approach can have on each child, on individuals. There is much more to the plot, than just education, though.    The story is engaging, the style I quickly warmed up to, the plot and characterization all handled masterly, it is so well-crafted. As I said, I will be studying it further. There are many quotable parts throughout the book. Let me share a few, to give you a broad sampling of the text:   Excerpts: (the first two go together, don't know why it's separated in the middle of the quote)  
Professor Vandemeer thought that it seemed as if the workshop were not a part of a school - but that it were part of a temple. He thought that the children seemed happy, as if happiness came from work that they were doing. They were proud, as if pride came from how well they did their work.  They weren't striving to outdo their peers, but as if they were trying to outdo themselves; from a standard or a measurement that did not come from a teacher, not from the others, not from external surroundings - but that came from within.      
   
   
   
   
   
  You can read the reviews it has already received, and can try a free sample of the first chapter for yourself. I highly recommend it. I'm going to attempt to review it. It will be a 5 star review, that's for damn sure.

Here is the drawing "Portrait of Steven L. Sheppard" my reader artist Robert Tracy drew of me as the subject on my wall, for it arrived today!   I chose to have it as a matte finish canvas print, with 1.5" stretcher bars, black sides, sized at 7.625" x 10". The original is right around that size, but one can choose to have a much larger one on the Fine Art America site:   http://fineartamerica.com/featured/portrait-of-steven-l-sheppard-robert-tracy.html   I also bought a greeting card to see what it looks like. I'll post a comparison of the two next.     This artwork is beyond just me, it's universal, too.   Ayn Rand writes: "The basic purpose of art is not to teach, but to show - to hold up to man a concretized image of his nature and his place in the universe."    No other art work that I have ever seen, does just that, quite like this one. Look at my place in this drawing. A photo of me could not do what is stylized and symbolized in this artwork, and what it says about the artist who'd created this magnificent masterpiece. I cannot imagine of there being any higher tribute to me, or to Man, right now than this drawing. There is absolutely nothing like it.   "[…]the man who puts his own 'I', his standard of value, above all things, and conquers to live as he pleases, as he chooses and as he believes […]" (from the Journals of Ayn Rand)   "His normal state is to be exalted, all the time; he wants all of his life to be high, supreme, full of meaning." (from the Journals of Ayn Rand)   "a man who looked as if he could break through the steel plate of a battleship and through any barrier whatever. It stood like a challenge. It left a strange stamp on one's eyes." (Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead)   "Your life, your achievement, your happiness, your person are of paramount importance.  Live up to your highest vision of yourself no matter what the circumstances you might encounter.  An exalted view of self-esteem is man's most admirable quality."  (Ayn Rand, Night of January the 16th)   One can add text to the greeting cards, up to I think 300 characters. I have many quotes I'd put in the cards myself, those among them.   "Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be left waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth.” (Akston, from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged)   Will others recognize the greatness of this drawing, and the artist who'd created it, here and now, as I do, or will it go totally unrecognized by you?   "It takes two to make a very great career: The man who is great, and the man - almost rarer - who is great enough to see greatness and say so." (from Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead)  

Ayn Rand's Novels Ordered in Record Numbers by High School Teachers - Rand's novella Anthem set for a Historic 75th Year
IRVINE, Calif.—The Ayn Rand Institute announces that its “Books to Teachers” program has set a new record. Over 418,000 books were ordered by high school teachers in the 2012-2013 school year, edging out 2011-2012’s previous all-time high.
The ARI Books to Teachers program, now in its 11th year, has sent over 2,800,000 books to teachers throughout North America. Teachers who request Rand’s novels agree to teach them to their students, and ARI provides teacher’s guides to those who wish to use them.
All of Ayn Rand’s four novels are available to teachers, but Rand’s novella Anthem has been by far the most popular title. ARI has given away over 1,600,000 copies of Anthem since the program first began in 2002.
2013 is the 75th anniversary of the publication of Anthem, and this year sees the story’s arrival at New York City’s Baryshnikov Arts Center. An off-Broadway play of Anthem, adapted for the stage by Jeff Britting, will run for a limited, ten-week engagement. www.anthemtheplay.com
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Link to original

I just noticed a newly reblogged post on honesty:

http://forum.objectivismonline.com/index.php?showtopic=26164#entry313639

And it reminded me that no one has answered my request, earlier on this thread (in post 234, as well as earlier posts), that Marc K., or anyone else, should provided evidence or quotes from Rand which support Marc's Peikovian assertion that closed-system Objectivism holds that it is moral to lie for the mere sake of protecting one's privacy when one is not being threatened with the initiation of force.

I was hoping that by now such evidence would have been provided, or the assertion withdrawn, since without evidence the assertion must be treated as arbitrary (as "a claim put forth in the absence of evidence of any sort," and "a sheer assertion with no attempt to validate it or connect it to reality").

J

I wrote a play in May 2013, one in June 2013, and will have one done this month, as well. So three, one act plays, in three months. They are me at my very best, in regards to writing. They are all based upon Greek myths. I will be publishing them soon. I selected a couple of people to read the final drafts of my first two plays, the one's that have read them, all were favorable reviews. I'll be finished with the final draft of my third play, probably as early as this weekend. Then send it out to the same readers as my other two, then decide what to do in regards to publishing them. This is an unexpected unbelievable holy-fucking-shit-I-have-something-to-show-for-all-those-years, moment in my life. It's an incredible feeling to have actually accomplished something with my writing. I am reworking the ones I mentioned in this thread earlier into a collection of plays of my own not based on Greek myths.

This is the best passage I could find so far in regards to this, it sets the context and meaning quite well:

Peikoff answers this question in a very recent podcast:

http://www.peikoff.com/2013/04/08/why-did-cherryl-brooks-commit-suicide-and-was-the-act-justified/

Happiness, did you submit it that question to him?

Mdegges wrote:
I believe that anything that prevents you from entering into real relationships, or causes you to be isolated and lonely, is not good for your health.

For me it's entirely contextual.

I am unable to enter relationships with women that do not meet rational requirements, like ones I can't admire, or where there isn't much mutual value affinity, etc. My relationships, how few I was in, were unhealthy, and almost all had some degree of toxicity even. For me, when I see a 4Woods high end sex doll, I'll take her over any real woman around me right now. To me, she's good for my health, not the selection that is around me, which would not, and has not, been. What has been most problematic in my relationships, are the very things, foundational things, they lacked, so they crumbled. If I am unable to build such a foundation with another, then naturally one is single, isolated, and lonely perhaps.
See page 34. (75th anniversary edition)

Moonspell - Wolves From The Fog

He clearly wanted to bring death and destruction to them, not life; as in, Galt could have tried to speak to the world then about his Morality of Life, of his code, his philosophy, but never did then. Not even a single word of it. For he set out to show. I'll show them. "I propose to show the world who depends on whom[…] who makes whose livelihood possible and what happens to whom when who walks out" I'll show them. I'll show them all the proof around them with the death toll, all the dead bodies of men, women, children, in the amount of destruction that results... "O my brothers, am I cruel? But I say: What is falling, we should still push."* Frisco did. He was explicit about it, "I was out to speed up the destruction." "the destruction of d' Anconia Copper, of Taggart Transcontinental, of Wyatt Oil, of Rearden Metal."

Galt had to have been thinking along this line that night at the meeting, I think: "He whom you cannot teach to fly, teach to fall faster."* I'll teach them. I'll teach them not with ink on paper, but with blood on ground. And speed up its spilling. And without having to get any of it on my own hands.

Galt was no fly swatter.** Just go where they cannot fly to. And after they die, return.

"I am a prelude to better players, o my brothers! A precedent! Follow my precedent!"*


*quote from Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Walter Kaufmann translation.
** http://forum.objectivismonline.com/index.php?showtopic=23468&hl

(Rand said, "Nietzsche […], as a poet, he projects at times (not consistently) a magnificent feeling for man’s greatness, expressed in emotional, not intellectual, terms.")

What a great idea for a thread topic.

For me my recent achievment would be that I was working on a poem and a very short play and completed both.
I also am on my way at finishing another play, too.

Wow, it's weird that Rand didn't have a Russian accent when she was younger.

J

I highly recommend it. It's a transcription of the Basic Principles of Objectivism course given at NBI from the late 50's through 1968. It used to be distributed on tape to other cities. When it was given in New York, Rand would often take part in the question periods. I agree with Ted Keer's lengthy review on Amazon, so I'll refer you to that. I think it's the single most valuable book on Objectivism not written by Rand herself.

Romney still has my vote.

He said trickle-down government doesnt work here, or anywhere.
And, that government does not create jobs.

Obama praised free enterprise system as the greatest engine of prosperity - then why Mr. President do you not let that engine run freely? Get off its controls!!! It can run itself! It has its own built-in self-regulatory devices and does not need nor should have you (or anyone else in government) at any of its controls. Hands off! LET US ALONE!

Those pronouns are stolen. Return them to their correct defintions.

He - a male, man, boy
She- a female, woman, girl

Therefore a man cannot steal that 'she' and misuse it in calling themselves a 'she' when they are a BIOLOGICAL MALE, a MAN, therefore a 'HE' not a 'she'. What grammatical corruption.



Polite? I don't care about being polite anymore in regards to them, just grammatically correct. I will still refer to a man that plays dressup and calls himself a 'woman' and refers to himself as a 'she' - a man, a 'he'. If he goes and has surgery to invert his penis or whatnot, I will still refer to him as a man.