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B. Royce

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Everything posted by B. Royce

  1. For me, the "it" in "I know it" in Atlas Shrugged expresses a more self-controlled, unemotional knowing, the "it" underlining that which is known, as opposed to simply the fact of knowing, as in "I know".
  2. Sail Out Sail out, young adventurer, blithe of mind, The isle of Atlantis you shall find. It towers so high that none can see But those with the glance of integrity. ___________________________________ Brian Faulkner
  3. Now you're experiencing the good selfishness of Christmas---your persistence in getting at the truth has given you a gift of happiness.
  4. I think it does express an added sense of the importance of Richard Halley, because of his music, to Dagny. As always, Ayn Rand knew exactly what she was doing. The dialogue cannot be improved.
  5. When I replied (5:47pm) to your post, my words, to which your "I agree" was a response, were not included.
  6. Great. And Merry Christmas to you . The quote by konerko14 makes it seem like he agrees with Christians. Please disregard.
  7. Of course, one can look for the meaning of Christmas by asking, What one thing is necessary to Christmas as the majority of people now practise it? What good is a tree without presents beneath it? What good is Santa without a sleighful of presents? What good are stores, at Christmas, without potential presents? What good is an abundance of time, money, and affection, without the purchasing, or making, of presents? If, as these questions imply, presents are necessary to Christmas, what is the meaning of presents? I would say that a present is the physical expression of an implicit trade of the positive feelings aroused in one person by another. True, some people give things (toys to charities, for example), but that altruistic giving is relatively minor, and thus, not essential. Nor do most altruists (at least the ones I know) give to charity first; it comes only when there is something (as money) left over after the primary giving to loved ones. And Christmas is not dependent on Christ. What present would (or could) anyone want to give to an immortal, non-working, non-valuing, non-logical-reasoning bum? There are some Christians who say that there should not be gift-giving, but very few people (including most Christians) pay them any attention. So, I would say that the meaning of Christmas is ITM:D (implicit-trade-mas)---the celebration and glorification of one's happiness with one's self and one's loved ones. Ooops! That after ITM is supposed to be a laughing face. I must have accidentally cut part of it off.
  8. Konerko14, You still have to define your terms. What do you mean by "real meaning" or "true meaning"? By looking at how and why an activity (in this case, celebration) began, you are implying that ''real'' means original. Does it? Why? You also ask, How should Christmas be celebrated? Well, if "real" (or true) means ''original'', and you have got to be true to the truth, then you should go out and do what the Romans did. But, you might ask yourself, Do I have to? Why? Why can't I do what I want to do? Why can't I start my own new tradition?
  9. O Holy Night (revised) O holy night! The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of the mind's sacred birth. Long lay the flesh in wayward, aimless pining, Till thought was reared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the waiting world rejoices, For 'round us breaks a new and glorious morn. RISE from your knees! O HEAR the reasoned voices! O night divine, O night when Man was born. O holy night-----O night-----O night divine! __________________________________________ I made a few minor changes in the following from a couple of years ago. Midas Day High Midas Day is on its way, High Midas Day is near. With aim of gold, things bought and sold, For target Joy we steer. Hard faces bright, shrewd eyes a-light, We shoppers scour the mall. Jewelled gifts to make for this year's take We'll find, and rake in all. To sate desire of Man---the Buyer, Proud shops and markets stand. Who trade would win may enter in And gaze on all things grand. With wages won for work well done We step up close to find---- That Perfect Prize, that Light Of Eyes, That Mirrored Aim Of Mind! Our piles of dough, we love them so, The jingling, crinkling bliss; And goods held tight in owner's right Is like a Midas kiss. And so we say on Midas Day, "Our gift of life's not luck; We made our dough, we traded, oh! And bull's-eye Joy is struck! __________________________________ Brian Faulkner
  10. When you say "how the people acted on that day", do you mean all the people? Did all the people, or even a majority of them, get drunk (including the women---half the population---servants, sober thinkers and philosophers)? Probably much less than a majority. Besides, is the meaning of a celebration to be found in the way (the type of actions taken) it is celebrated by some, or even many, people, or in the purpose of the celebration? This is what you are not distinguishing. Someday in the future a person may read an historical account of the drunkenness of people celebrating New Year's, but , even among those who drink, the drunkards are a minority, even if a more colorful bunch to write stories about than the "boring" drinkers of coke and 7-UP. Inotherwords, what I am saying, meant as constructive criticism, not as an attack, is that your thinking is much too generalized to enable you to have a firm grasp of reality.
  11. What you are saying here---that "Christmas appears to be essentially...a time for irrational behavior" is based on the "drunken wildness" of Saturnalia. Why does the essence, or true meaning of ANY celebration have to be----the nature of the actions of long-ago practitioners? I think you should first clearly identify what you mean by "true meaning". Look at how many words we use today that have very different meanings than what they started out as hundreds of years ago. You might also look up intrincicism in OPAR and see if it applies to your thinking.
  12. I might add, there is no "true" meaning of Christmas. There is one meaning for a %100 pure Christian, another (and variations) for a variety of mixed up Christians, and another for pure secularists who love celebrating their wealth and giving gifts to their loved ones. But, if you don't like the name Christmas, you can always call it Midas Day, in cheerful honor of the man (and woman) who is proud of, and wants to celebrate his productive life, a kind of extension and climax of Thanksgiving. New Year's is like the foam that tops the whole thing off.
  13. The nice thing about the phrase "Have a merry Christmas" is, that while Christmas means, literally, "mass for Christ", that meaning is happily lost when we pronounce the "Christ" with a short "i" and drop the "t". It then becomes "krismas". Also, since Christ was never merry ("Ho, ho, ho, turn the other cheek, ho, ho, ho"?), the "merry" contradicts and defeats his gloomy spirit.
  14. Yes. lulu is a great way for anyone to publish a book without using traditional publishing houses. Thanks for the compliment.
  15. I have just published a book of my poems. About 190 pages. Hardbound. $33.33. The link is http://www.lulu.com/content/508586 Great Christmas gift---to yourself or someone you love.
  16. Perhaps we should ask the opposite question: What is the purpose and meaning of clothing (specifically, when then the weather is not a threat). One, it may be (for any one person) that clothing helps to keep one's senses de-sensitized, making it easier to concentrate one's mind on difficult mental tasks. (This is true for me, since my skin is very sensitive, even to very slight currents of air). Two, clothing might prepare one for action. (As for me, I feel much more competent when I've got shoes on. I would never sit and write poetry in my bare feet.) When I am dressed I want to totally ignore my body and focus on the wide-awake things of the world that interest me... So, what has more meaning? (If that's a fair question?) Nudity or being clothed?
  17. God IS defiance of logic; that is, the believer chooses to defy logic, and calls it God.
  18. If you think about it, it would be a lot harder to explain how the universe could not always have existed. Unless you mean by "explain" arbitrary assertion and/or wishful thinking.
  19. You're Fired "Cease firing", the back-seat commander said. Up front, they fired! and fired! and fired! Till everyone was dead! The enemy, that is. Then they turned to the back-seat commander And said, "You're fired", and he got his. _________________________________________ Friend or Foe? Who is your foe? He who wants to kill you, And he who says "Go slow". Who is your friend? He who says, "You take the left, I'll take the right; We'll finish these bastards in one short night!" _______________________________________ The General's Song When the big bomb's dropped and the cities blow, There's millions less of the evil foe. No man of mine has lost his life, But comes back home to his kids and wife. To enemies no chance I give, No hope to them who hate to live. The haven alone which they all find Is no more place for a mindless mind. They've hated reason, freedom, peace; From each of these I grant release. Destruction's been their only aim, And now they've got it----righteous flame. When the big bomb's dropped and the cities blow, There's millions less of the evil foe. ________________________________________ Brian Faulkner
  20. To purple space. They are so intelligent they just blend in. You don't know if you're surrounded by goats or just space. They don't know, either, but that doesn't stop them. They thrive on the unknowable, they grow on unknowing. It won't be long before they conquer nothing!! And time marches on!
  21. What I liked most about Mickey Spillane's storys, especially his early ones, is that he gave me---the reader---a complete sense of justice. Evil was not handled with kid gloves, but very harshly, as it deserved, and Spillane always made me feel the sure rightness of the good winning and the evil losing. No other popular writer can match him for that.
  22. Anyone who wishes to send the following poem to friends or relatives in Israel (or anywhere else) has my permission to do so. Rise, Israel Rise, Israel, rise, Smite down thine evil foes! Heed not the American Christians, Who'd cotton-ball thy blows. Rise, Israel, rise, Smite down those evil beasts! Let pity not dissuade thee Till they are all deceased. "An eye foe an eye and a tooth for a tooth", The book of Justice said. And those who hate the living Earn nought but to be dead. Rise, Israel, rise, The moral right is thine; Thy strongest force, its straightest course, Will give the world a sign;--- A sign that good has power, A sign that right can win, And most, a sign that justice Is what always should have been. Rise, Israel, rise! ___________________________________ Brian Faulkner
  23. It should also be remembered that Eddie loved Dagny. When he discovered, by accident, that Reardon was sleeping with her, he experienced a feeling of emptiness. At the same time he discovered just how much he, Eddie, loved Dagny and, that she was not to be his. Thus, the highest personal value of his life he saw as impossible to him, and the second---the railroad---was all that was left. By not being fully honest earlier in his life about his feelings for Dagny and giving a realistic look at their possibilities (or not) of fulfillment, he closed off to himself the possibility of other rewarding relationships. He and Gwenn, Reardon's secratary, might have had a great relationship, and certainly both of them would be welcome in Galt's Gulch. All in all, Eddie was a very virtuous and innocent man, and not in any sense on the side of evil. There are very few men in the world today who have lived such a quietly noble and blameless life.
  24. Great post, Diana. Thanks. I note also that Aristotle demands a little thinking about who deserves pity, while altruistic pity demands no thinking at all---it is totally without self-respect.
  25. Mr. Gates A quick way to communicate Has come from Mr. Gates, And that's a fine height, to be sure. But his altruistic creed--- Achievement must serve need--- Hugs a gross lowness impure. There's no pride about his bearing, He's a humble clone of caring; He denies he has a right to his own dime. He is on the selfless track Of "give it up and give it back', As though man's making profit were a crime. For past triumphs I respect him, For his treason I reject him; I shall not shake his hand or say hello. Though he once was so amazing He's now passed below my praising, And the vote of men of honor is a----"NO". ______________________________________ Brian Faulkner
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