Jingles

Tenure, you don't need to worry about becoming an Olympian bodybuilder by weight lifting because having huge muscles takes a long time, a huge diet and a meticulous training regime. If you adopted a better diet and did a standard weight lifting program then I believe you would see some very satisfactory results (I'm assuming you've never trained with weights before) without being too muscular. You don't have to spend hours in the gym either, it only takes roughly 3 hours a week because training is only the stimulus for growth- make sure you get plenty of rest and have a decent diet though. Failing that you could try taking up a martial art which will offer you a better body, a means of self-defense (there's no right to bear arms in the UK after all!) as well as greater concentration and focus and many other benefits!

The battles are much improved to the previous Total War games but I prefer Medieval: Total War for the strategy. Does anyone have M:TW2? I'm planning on buying it as soon as I get a new graphics card.

You are obviously able to interact well with these people so perhaps you only need to find a girl who shares your interests? I think you should do as Jennifer suggests and find an objective opinion from a mature person you trust. Also, if you do have bad social habits it's probably only because you are over-analyzing and worrying about it too much.

And yet this man somehow manages to maintain a romantic relationship with a girl... Of course, I've yet to see any hard evidence of this girl who evidently loves verbose innuendos.

John is indeed right, this blatantly pro-liver propaganda is against true superdupernaturalism, it is proof that we make God and ultramega-God in our own image. This heresy cannot be permitted, I call on the faithful to split from this false liver-worship and spleen-idolatry and embrace neo-superdupernaturalism which holds that the true source of all goodness, the fountain of all knowledge and the father of Santa Claus is... the adenoids.

Well done Tenure! It looks like we have an Oist intellectual in the making!

I have personal experience of welfare in action. A few years ago a friend of mine left home and didn't have anywhere to go so he was put in a state-run accomodation. At the time he had just left school so did not have a job yet and was told that because of this he would have his rent and his bills paid for him, however when he got a job he was told that he would have to pay for all this himself because he was no longer in need. However the job didn't pay well and as a result he only earned about £1 a week! So naturally he quit his job and took the welfare support. Don't even get me started on universal healthcare, on the NHS I would have had to wait 2 years for an operation I needed, instead I worked for six months and paid for it privately.

I agree that the more damaging your previous philosophy was the harder you will find Objectivism to follow. This is a very big problem for me at the moment because I still have a rather apathetic mindset and problems with motivation and discipline as my upbringing actively caused me to form a philosophy totally contrary to Objectivism. As well as reading books on Objectivist philosophy and cognitive psychology I'm considering joining one of the armed forces in the hope that it will instill a sense of discipline in my admittedly sloppy mind!

Is there a difference between visiting a sleazy lapdancing club and visiting a place where they have skilled erotic dancers? Lots of forms of dancing evoke emotions, and I don't see anything wrong with a beautiful woman showing her body. It seems very Victorian to say that looking at another persons naked body is wrong when all parties are willing. EDIT: Didn't see your post before I added my own Russ

I think I'll try increasing military spending as it might lower my crime rates, I've already had to do this once as my country was in a state of anarchy.

Yes, I'm your new neighbour. I've joined the UN because it makes the game a bit more interesting and their resolutions have been ethical so far.

I just joined, I'm located in the South Pacific at the moment.

Hey and welcome! Same here, working through all the problems my earlier bad philosophy gave me it's only now that I feel that I'm starting to integrate Objectivism. I can relate to your position because I'm in a similar one. I left college about two years ago but I'll be returning in september to resume my education, I'm not really looking forward to facing the tutors I feel I left down but I am looking forward to doing something constructive again. Anyway, happy posting and play safe.

I think all communist states had a similar effect to horrible parenting- life in the USSR at the best of times was like being at school, but the only country I can think of which may be despicable enough to have the same effect is totalitarian North Korea.

I came across this article today which I think is relevant to this subject. I don't have time to critique the author's conclusions, I'll just say that what he labels neo-objectivism can exist within the framework of Objectivism. http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/000574.html