Free Thinker

Please only vote if you voted "Yes" or "Maybe" in other poll!

Please Vote!

NO! M.A.N. I.S. G.R.E.A.T. C.O.N.F.E.R.E.N.C.E. SHALL TAKE PLACE WHERE I COMMAND! Seriously though, I think a conference to that extent would be awesome. Let us start a poll. Can someone insert a poll into this thread, voting on whether to do it, then where to do it? Nevermind, I'll do it.

No way, I still say MN. What do you mean? Are you referring to..oh, maybe you are joking....

No way! MN is the land of Prince, of Josh Hartnet, of Jesse Ventura....hmm, maybe I should reconsider....

While browsing the internet one day, I came across this. Why don't we have a meeting similar to that; a "Objectivism Online Mania 2005 Conference", held in/and no other state:Minnesota! (Every other Objectivist Conference is held in either CA or NY, NEVER IN THE MIDWEST #@$%) Seriously though, I think that that would be a good idea. David could charge a small amount for attendence (to raise $$ for the site), and members voluntarily could sign up to prepare lectures. We could also talk about the future for the site (like how about a newsletter!!), possible publications, etc. I think it is a great idea (although the name of the Conference could possibly be different, some cool acronym like OCON - how about the M.A.N I.S. G.R.E.A.T C.O.N.F.E.R.E.N.C.E. (Minnesota Assembly in No Intervening State for the Great and Really Excellent Talks on Capitalism, Objectivism, Nature, Freedom, Epistemology, Reason and Entertainment with No Crummy Egalitarians!) We could plan to have it in the summer of 2006! What do you guys think?

I was raised a Christian, but I am not sure how JW raise their kids. Is it a lot different from "regular" Christianity?

I have always thought of Prince as being kind of wierd - both in physical appearance and in manner of singing. I haven't invested much time to listening to his music, so that is not my official opinion of him. Wasn't he born or raised in Minnesota?

I agree, with this and with what Felipe has said. Can we sum up our thoughts and make an over-lying principle?

I'm not sure. I haven't hit much of it, and not any that has stopped me from what I wanted to do, but I think it has to do with the fact that white racism is so primitive, so low an idea. I don't understand how people, both the multiculturalists (whom I think are worse - they hide under the guise of fighting racism) and the white racists still suscribe to such a backward mentality; an idea better suited to the 1600's medieval Europe, not now and here.

I am a black man. Whenever I hear the word nigger, regardless of the context it is used, I feel uncomfortable. Why? Not because I am offended by the original definition, but because all I hear when someone says "nigger" is the connotation: white racism. I had started a thread previously on the Definitions and Connotations and I didn't receive a proper answer to it. What affect (or is it effect?) does a word's connotation have on its definition? I realize that a word (in it's proper usage) is describing a facet of reality (and will/can never fundamentally change). What then, does a connotation do to a word? Why am I not able to separate the two in the word "nigger"?

Sure...I bunch of Objectivists and myself have meet a couple of times. If you are so inclined, we would love to meet with you as well!

I want to revise my initial clarion call to Objectivists in MN to Objectivists attending the University of Minnesota. Is anyone there?

How about the Peter Mac Show? ARI speakers show up on the show quite frequently.

Is that James Taylor song on the Toy Story soundtrack (You've got a Friend) ? Is so, I think he is kind of corny.

Oh. I didn't recognize her. (My fav actress is Lauren Bacall ) I'll look into it. Thanks!

I took all the "anti-capitalist" messages in their literature to be simply lip service, like you said.

Thanks. Yes, most business' do (McDonald's, Dominos, etc.) That is a strange story...

About a week ago I discovered that a Caribou Coffee was opening up a block from my house. I stopped by it and jotted down the phone number that was posted in the window - with the hopes of getting a job. A few days latter, I received a call telling me that there was going to be a job fair at another local Caribou, and that I should come in a fill out an application. When that day arrived, I went to the store, filled out an application, and was then interviewed on the spot. The interviewer (my future boss), asked me the type of questions that one would expect at an interview: Why do you want to work here? Tell me about yourself, etc. This being my tenth job application, I decided to put it all on the line. I answered his questions by explaining to him the proper relationship between employer and employee, the virtue of hard work, etc. He was so impressed by my interview that he hired on the spot, and told me if I could keep this attitude up, I could become a manager. The store by my house doesn't open for a few weeks, so my boss, is having us train at other locations. I really believe in Caribou. I think it is a fantastic company, with an impressive Mission/Values statement(s): (taken from here ) (Emphasis added) Cool, huh? Here is something even cooler. While I was at by first day of work, someone brought up the topic of Starbucks. My manager, who everyone expected to berate Starbucks, responded by by saying that Starbucks is an amazing company, who paved the way for companies like Caribou - and no one would ever hear him talk badly about them.

What are some of his songs? And by the way Michero, who is that in your avatar?

No kidding, he's a champion! I don't mean to pounce on you though...

I would also highly recommend the "Tin-Tin" comic book/cartoon series; created by a guy named "Herge". The mysteries are simple and easy to follow for kids; but the scenery is always changing and Tin-Tin is always meeting new people.

What about Encyclopedia Brown? That was an amazing series; I used to read them voraciously!

Interesting. I suppose it all depends on where Rowling takes the series.

The title of the thread says "Spoiler Thread" on it, so you should have paid attention to that!!