Devils_Advocate
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Posts posted by Devils_Advocate
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Is it too late to sign up?
Nope. I'm sending them out right now, as a matter of fact. Sorry it was late, we ended up leaving the house early and have been out almost all day. But, it's still friday, so - everyone who signed up will be given a copy.
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I had a dream a couple of nights ago where me and my family were taken hostage inside an (empty) walmart by a mcdonalds employee (you know how sometimes they'll have a little resteraunt at the front? It was McDonalds in this one). He was attacking anyone that approached him with mace, so I had my brother go and try to chat with him (without getting maced) while I snuck off and tried to get some sunglasses so that I could confront him. But he caught me - and then the dream ended (probably a good thing, too).
Oh, and I once had a dream where Karl Marx came to our school. THAT was scary.
One of my favorite dreams has always been what I call the "James Bond dream". I'm at a really, really high class party - it's being held at a place that looks a lot like the Grand staircase on the Titanic. I'm in a tux, drinking wine, the whole chabang. Then suddenly, the glass ceiling explodes! So I jump down a laundry shoot and land in a room filled with laundry. And there's this girl there, laughing hysterically. And I've changed my clothes, too. Suddenly, I realize, this is all kind of wierd and rediculous. And I realize I must be dreaming - but, like all things, I have to prove it to myself. So I grab one of my dad's old Star Wars toys from the 70s (don't know how it got there) and - I ate it. Swallowed it whole. Realizing that that pretty much proved it, I woke up.
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I just saw a clip of a play production of Rand's "Ideal" on the website, www.aynrandasenseoflife.com. I loved it - it was so well done, so incredibly emotionally charged I thought I might cry. Does anyone know if this was recorded or if I can get it anywhere, or if I was just lucky in seeing a clip of it on that site?
If anyone has any information about it, I would love to see it - it looks like it would be awesome.
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I'm not a lawyer, but I think that if you post a bit of the story (say, the first ¶), that might suffice as proof that you wrote it.
I'll post a few paragraphs. I've got the first draft done, I'm going to clean it up a little, and then I'll send it out in the morning to the people who asked for it.
Here's just a little bit:
We grabbed the prisoners and shunted them out of the box car, deliberately being as forceful as possible. The more we hurt them, the quicker their minds would collapse. That was the logic the government had always used – and it had always worked for me. And I had been doing this job for nearly 20 years.We marched them in a long line up to the gate. On top of it, in large and imposing steel letters spelled out the words “EREBUS DETENTION CENTER FOR THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT AND SOCIALLY INDEPENDENT. Erected by the Monrian Federal Government, 2166.”
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I tore the bag off of the head of a man about halfway through the line. When I first tore it off, it startled me. Most of the faces were bloody and broken – all of them were hung in a dejected manner that showed they had pretty much had their spirit broken already. But this man – his shaved, sharp lined face was completely clean – not a cut or blemish on it. His medium length, shiny blonde hair was still nicely combed, unlike most of the prisoners. But the most amazing thing about him was his head – it was held high, looking straight ahead, as though he saw no problem with what was going on.
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Would you mind if I printed it out?
Cause its a personal preference of mine, it allows me to analyze it better. lol But I do understand if you dont want me to, and I wont if that is your wish.
later
Feel free! I'm the same way, I can only stare at a computer screen for so long.
I'm not a lawyer, but I think that if you post a bit of the story (say, the first ¶), that might suffice as proof that you wrote it. Regardless, you should definitely save/print any e-mails/pms you send with it, and ensure they are dated.Sounds good!
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Thanks, guys.
I'll have it up at least by Friday Morning (once again, computer access problems.) -
Just to make sure - don't mean to sound paranoid or distrustful, but I just want to be safe.
Can I just have a written statement, right here, that you won't claim it as your own and will attribute any material from it to me? (Thadius Main Jr.)
I trust you all, but I still would feel safer if you just wrote it down. Thanks.
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I am writing a short story, and I am going to try and get it published in a magazine soon. It's a little graphic, and isn't for people who read really happy books where everything goes right and the happy couple gets married and lives happily ever after. It's for people who recognize the serious situation the world is in and the barbaric nature of Statism. If you can't handle blood or something like that, DON'T READ. The theme is mostly about how true power can only come from holding to yourself and staying independent, whereas physical power only comes from another's submission.
However, I do want to sell it before I put it up on the internet for all to read. But I trust most of the people here, and I need some criticism. So, the first five people who express interest in reviewing the story shall receive a copy via Private Message as soon as I've finished this draft (might be a few days, I don't have much computer access).
So, hit that reply button if you're interested!
PS: I know, by the first paragraph, it might sound like a malevolent universe premise story. But if you read it, you can tell it's not.
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Hello all,
In the course of studying Objectivism I have learned of man’s morals which enable him to live. Knowledge of these morals is burdensome to me. While I try to focus on the things that make my life wonderful, I am overwhelmed by a feeling of powerlessness when I realize that certain people are working (with increasing degrees of success) to enslave us under the yoke of collectivism. Does anyone else find being an Objectivist wearying at times, especially when faced with loved ones who champion immoral causes? How do the people on this forum put this aside and happily pursue their values, rather than living with constant angst?
I know what you mane. It's like you have been looking at the world through a clouded glass, and suddenly, Ayn Rand pulls it off and shows you a humanity nearing extinction. It's horrifying, and you feel like your in the movie "The Matrix" and you've just been shown what's going on in the real world.
But after a little while (a few months), the horror wears off. The key is to find something to get your mind off it - for me, it's aesthetics. The right paintings, music, books, etc., always makes me feel better Plus, I'm a writer, so my own work keeps me happy.
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10 million dollars for a few wolf bites? I would shop for a better deal.
You're in Zimbabwe.
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In response to the original scenario-
That isn't how you want to phrase it. Leaves open too many loopholes, and doesn't express the point well. What you should have said, to get the point across better, was:
A man has been mangled by a wolf and is in a hospital. It will cost 10 million dollars to save him - money which he obviously doesn't have. The hospital has asked you, specifically, to donate 10 Million dollars to save him. You don't know the man, and he will say nothing about himself. No one has identified him. Should you donate the money?
That depends: How much money do I have? If I have hundreds of millions of $$ or more, yeah, why not? It's only ten mil. No biggie. If that ten million is all I have, and I'd lose everything if I gave it away, then probably not.
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I am having my own philisophical crisis right now. I have no problems with my friends, most of them don't think about ethic, politics, etc. My family however, is adamentally christian and socialist. The problem is, I am not educated enough to really combat their attacks so I tend to lose arguements. I have only read Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, and The Fountainhead. Once I began reading the nonfiction, I'm sure my understanding will grow and I'll finally be able to defend my ideas well.
Judging from my own experience in this issue, do NOT EVER tell them ANYTHING about Ayn Rand the person - they reject the ideas based solely on the actions of her. It's sad, but true. Also, read some of the classic Capitalist books, like "Wealth of Nations." Brilliant, not perfect, but still a lot of help, especially when talking about the economics of monopolies. And read Thomas Sowell - once again, not perfect, but still brilliant. That really helps. And have them watch the Fountainhead movie if they refuse to read the book. This is usually a make or break point.*
And, of course, read the non-fiction Ayn Rand books. They're what turned me from a person who just respects the ideas in the novels to a person who practices them.
*It didn't go well when I showed it to mom, so be careful when deciding weather or not to show it.
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Old style socialism had some adherents who wanted to "better the world"; the "Communist Internationale" is an anthem that talks of uniting the human race. With the old socialism given up as impractical, it is being replaced by nationalism. Russia is probably one of the worse cases, but nationalist sentiment is strong in other countries too, including India and China. In the last few years, the anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. tells me that nationalists are trying to reassert themselves here too.
Isn't this kind of nationalism basically fascism? I've always regarded the most basic difference between Communism and Fascism as being weather you are supposed to sacrifice in the name of the class or sacrifice in the name of the Government/Leader/Race/Nation (in fascist terminology, it's all basically the same). So this kind of nutcase nationalism would just be reorganizing the Soviet Union into a Russian Fascist Country.
And yeah, I definitely see the trend in most parts of the world - Africa and Europe pretty much being the only exceptions.
The 'people over the age of 20' were brainwashed into believing in collectivism. Rand's family decided to stay in USSR after visiting New York. I've heard a lot of accounts of this, actually."The force can have a strong influence on the weak minded" - Ben Kenobi
Sorry, just thought that was kind of funny in relation to this.
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Looks confusing.... and fun. You know, Asian cities always look interesting... like towns here bore the hell out of me. You have to drive everywhere and everything looks the same. The Asian cities have all these signs, and pedestrian friendly streets and all of this stuff going on. That's how cities should be.
I have lots and lots of dreams, stretching from earning my first hundred dollars at the end of next week to becoming one of the first Objectivist Politicians ever, but having a penthouse in Hong Kong has always been at the top.
To each their own, I would say Hong Kong is infinitely more beautiful than NY. NY is just a crowded, dirty island. Hong Kong is a living, thriving example of capitalism in real-time. In New York, only the corpse of the city remains as evidence of what it once was.I think Hong Kong, and most Asian cities, tend to be more beautiful, but I still like New York. New York has some impressive skyscrapers, and Times Square at night is beautiful. The moment I'm done with college, I'm moving there.
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http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnew..._the_agenda.php
Damn it.
Damn it.
Can't say it was unexpected, but I can say god DAMN it!
Vladimir Putin's short, sharp lesson to a challenging former Soviet state has unleashed patriotic pride in Russia and nostalgia for the glory days of the Soviet Union.Wow. Are there any history books in Russia? Or anyone over the age of 20? Because, call me crazy, but massive starvation, mass murder, perpetual war threats, etc., just doesn't scream "Glory days" to me.
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Heinlein died in 1988, and this thread is for authors active in the last 20 years. I'm pretty sure Herbert is out for the same reason.
They're good enough, I don't mind. Love Dune, but after the first book, it got a little to theo-centric for me.
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Who are your favorite authors that have written in the last 20 or so years?
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It's a brilliant treatise on money - absolutely spectacular.
A trailer for Atlas Shrugged using the audio speech from Galt and a computer program known as "The Movies". THIS VIDEO IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
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If you had to name one song to be your personal anthem, what would it be? Any song will do fine.
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It's nice to see that I'm not the only person that loves Lawrence of Arabia. That was, in my opinion, the pinnacle of film making.
I also liked the Movie Michael Collins, except for the end.
And, the Fountainhead, of course.
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It was a huge deal! If 18 tanks were rolling down your street about to kill your friends and neighbors, wouldn't you try to stop them? The guy didn't have anything to combat a tank with; all he had was his refusal, and it held up a column of 18 tanks for half an hour; that's pretty impressive. God knows how many lives he saved and the of the city he saved. He was a soldier - in war, some units will stall the enemy while the other units get out and take better positions. That's what he was doing, he was fighting a war. He was holding up a column of tanks to keep them from destroying him and his city for as long as he could with whatever weapon he had.
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Thanks a lot, I've been looking for that forever.
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Does anyone know where the scene where Rearden is remembering first having seen Dagny is?
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This is, in my opinon, possibly one of the best line in the whole history of literature:
JG: Tell that bastard to look at my face, then look in the mirror, and then ask himself if my moral stature was ever at the mercy of his actions.
I also love this one (the first line is just to clarify what the second means):
Mr. Thompson: Don't you see? What I've got to offer you is your life!
JG: It's not yours to give, Mr. Thompson.
The whole Galt @ the Wayne Falkland is brilliant.
High School
in School, College and Child development
Posted
Ceaser's dead and doesn't own my money, and what the hell does God even have to do with this? might have passed of all right. It's too bad the only time we can ever think of good replies is hours later or miles and miles away. Your teacher sounds like the Christian Version of my "society-is-god" and "altruism=ethics" history/psychology/government/philosophy teacher (I can't believe they've got him in all of those departments. I remember when he tried to convince my freshman class that free will doesn't exist. I wonder if any of his students who weren't prepared against him already will managed to live decent lives.)
I deeply regret that I used to think that way. Is she intelligent? Curious? Conservative? Try winning her over; it worked on me!
Holy Mother F****** S***, this is your MATH teacher?!? What the hell kind of school do you go to?
Sorry, no offense meant. But still... Well, at least you are armed. Good luck keeping to Objectivism, it looks like it'll be difficult if you have 2-3 more years of this...this insanity to go through.
Damn, that's one thick math teacher. Does she know how to add, by any chance, or does she claim that it's an arbitrarily process, and that one of her arbitrary statements can make 2+2=5?