Michero

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/09/...n_for_birds.php I say if you live in NYC in a high rise -- keep your lights on all night.

Congats (bet you're missing Maggie about now though). What do you see as Davis' weak spots?

They look great! So how does Cafe Press work? Do you make a portion of the money for t-shirts sold? Because that'd be a great idea.

First, just to clarify, no child born in this country (assuming that the mother is of sound mind and body=conscious and mobile) is "unwanted". It is a choice solely on the part of the mother to bear a child to full term. Thus, is a child is born and then thrown in a dumpster for example, or neglected, this breaks laws. Parents take the responsibility to care for another human life and must give the things necessary (within their power) to keep their children alive. No epistemologically this is not correct, because you are assuming the false premise that child birth is not a choice. It is a decision that once made, one must follow through with. Nobody forces a person into having children (under normal circumstances)

I've been thinking of buying this, only because some of Branden's writing like in VOS was good. I'm not sure however about his writing while not under the watchful eye of Rand. Has anyone read this? Do you think it's worth a look?

Actually we plan on having a playbill in which local businesses can advertise --as well as putting up posters. We also want a pamphlet table where they can pay a fee and place their info. We've though of getting vendors and a sponsor. We are trying to stay away from "donations" as long as possible. All ideas are welcome-- and when it comes down to the line and we have to break down and do a bake sale or something ice-cream is a good idea I never though of. (Fixed quotation blocks -sNerd)

It is perfectly possible to have a relationship with someone who isn't an Objectivist-- only if that person is has the basic premises already integrated though perhaps not consciously-- and this is a very rare person. I agree that it is not possible to have a rational romantic relationship with a religious person (if you are an Objectivist). Religion goes against every fundamental of the philosophy and a person who believes in God does not believe in life--presumably you do. They are irrational whilst you are rational, they judge love arbitrarily where you actually judge the person you want to love and give your love deservingly to that person. I think the big problem here is that you are giving your love to a person who doesn't respect it. Call me a jerk, fine, but you should not compromise your values by giving your love as charity.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) if the girl was diagnosed by a medical professional as a schizophrenic than she did not have the state of mind to judge the proper course of treatment. Her parents should have been responsible but apparently they weren't. Can I ask how old she was in real life when this occurred?

NO! I used to really like Ribisi but he only ever plays little squirmy guys who are in one self created agony or a another. Plus he's a scientologist now. Plus I just don't think he looks right for the role. We need someone towering beautiful and masculine. For Franciso I was actually thinking maybe Orlando Bloom? I saw a picture of him with dark hair and he looks good. if not Bloom then maybe Spanish actor Leonardo Sbaraglia

Well I used to...before I got a look at his "paintings". I think he's a pretty good actor and would be good playing a swashbuckler, but not Galt. Thinking about it again, I would not want someone as famous as him-- it'd ruin it. I'd keep thinking "Oh Strider has thoughts?". I'd prefer as others have said, an unkown actor or theatre actor.

Viggo Viggo Viggo. I don't know if he could pull off Galt. Perhaps Ragnar.

We are having Robert Garmong speak at our university on liberty, and we need some ideas to help us raise the money. We've gone through all the traditional ideas of begging and bake-sales etc. but we wanted to do something related to the speech and objectivism. We plan to ask local businesses to advertise at the event and perhaps have one big sponsor. Any other ideas? We are looking to raise between $1500 and $2000 anything more would just be gravy.

I've always found something so sexy about a man in a kilt.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to handle Blackadder's Price Regent playing Hank Readen.

how about Tycho ? after Tycho Brahe. You could call him "Tyke" for short-- it'd be so cute...for a while anyway. Isaac is a classic name as well.

Personally there are certain traits that I consider to be masculine vs. feminine. For instance, aggressiveness. When I say that one man seems "manly" I usually am referring to the fact that he aggressively pursues what he wants. While women can also be aggressive I do tend to look on women who are overtly aggressive as being slightly masculine. This of course could just be a product of my society. Women to me it seems are more verbal. Therefore men who "gossip" or use indirect language --ie sweet talk or political speech tend to come off as feminine to me. In other words I interpret directness of directness of action-aggressiveness and directness of speech-bluntness as being masculine traits. On a related note, I have a gay friend who has often told me that he finds men who behave flamboyantly or "campy" to be very unattractive. Not referring to the clothes they wear but more the way they speak, what the speak about how they act. He seems to be more attracted to men who fit the traditional mold of masculinity.

Are you talking about the film by Akira Kurosawa? Made in like, the 1950's? I personally go to a "conservative university" that's at least what everyone says. I am a writing major and I have yet to find one teacher in the creative writing dept. who is not a liberal or complete irrational. There may be one teacher who is rational and/or conservative (I've spotted him at several symphonies--he's a big fan of Rachmaninoff and is from texas) but he mostly teaches poetry and hard core english lit classes which I don't take.

You haven't heard? The newest season with Christopher Eccleston as the Doc just finished airing on the BBC like a month ago. The writing on most episodes was great. Chris was a hilarious dr. but sadly he will not be around for the next series which is filming already--david tennant is replacing him. Billie Piper played his companion and to my surprise did an amazing job. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/characters/

This is true. My father smoked ( i guess about a pack a day) from age 13 to 25. Then one day (when he was going to have kids) he decided to quit. No gum no patch no problem. If you want to quit, for real it isn't that hard.

Blackadder is perhaps one of the funniest shows ever produced. Coupling is great. I also love those Brit crime dramas and I'm sure I've mention Spooks before. Also Top Gear, a car show is pretty damn cool. If you get a chance to check out the new Doctor Who I recommend that. I think despite the fact that the BBC is gov funded and controls tv in the UK they have had some gems over there (I wonder how that happened). Someone on this board brought up (as a hypothetical) jamming BBC's feed-- I was like, well hell I kind of like their broadcasting. Do you think once they get cable the public TV will get worse? Is there already some private television broadcasting in Britain?

wasn't AS divided into three books in the novel?

How are you assuming that everyone who continues to smoke hasn't done research or considered scientific findings? I smoked about a pack a week for a year consistently before giving it up over two months ago. When I started smoking I wasn't disregarding popular belief or current scientific wisdom. I tried a cig when I was a teen and liked it but avoided it until college because of all the health warnings (same with drinking). I did a lot of research into the health risks (same with drinking) and came to the conclusion that occasional indulgence in these risky activities held a miniscule health risk. An important variable you are failing to acknowledge is the amount of cigarettes people smoke. During my research (before I was smoking) I found something called a pack-year history which estimates your risk of health problems from the amount of 'packs' per day multiplied by year. (for example someone with a 30 pack-year history would be risking lung cancer) I kept my pack per day lower than .2 I enjoyed smoking after class or a test or while I was writing, but I eventually noticed a decline in my stamina. I wanted to increase my running mileage and pace as well as my overall health--smoking was obviously not helping me with those goals, so I quit. My priorities shifted--my health and performance were more important to me than the pleasure I gained from smoking. Don't assume that everyone who smokes is a chain smoking evader of reality with a disregard for life. Maybe smokers understand (probably better than you do) the risks involved in their activities. I look at people who suntan and I don't think they're stupid. They just like tanning enough to risk skin damage and skin cancer (but i'm sure they know better than I do how much tanning it takes to up ones risk). Now that I've quit for good and actively avoid smoke, I still don't think it's right for the government to ban smoking in any private establishment, nor to I believe that smokers have some kind of death wish. Sure, chain smokers have a disregard for their health, but people who occasionally smoke are taking a calculated risk.

"To Hell in a Handcart" by Richard Littlejohn is supposed to be somewhat in line I think with Objectivism. That's at least what I've heard, I haven't read the book yet. I have heard Littlejohn a few times though and have liked what he said. The first time I saw him he was going up against Michael Moore during a panel discussion about the 2004 election. I was floored that this British guy was vehemently supporting America while Moore the American was (not surprisingly) bashing America. If anyone has read it I'd love some feedback.

I think Joss Whedon writes some of today's best dialogue. Oh side note, I found the answer to "who is john galt?" apparently he is the guy who wrote the script for that new Ashlee Simpson movie. http://imdb.com/title/tt0434424/

Wow I can see someone who was forced in HS to read fountainhead or something eventually saying later in life (having never re-read it) "it wasn't that good" or I didn't enjoy it. But AS isn't something that's assigned I don't believe in HS or college. You have to want to read that, usually as an adult. To call it out as not just bad, but the worst...I can't even imagine what lead to the decision to think that , or say it. It doesn't make sense...not if they actually read it. My mind is a blank right now I don't understand.