@chelseadaggers: Terms such as bi-racial and mixed race always grate with me too. Just because a person appears to be of white heritage does not mean that they are not mixed race as has been conclusively proved thanks to DNA testing. A Channel4 documentary was able to show that a number of white people, who banged on about their supposed racial purity, actually had relatively recent non-white ancestors. One woman threatened to sue when it turned out she had recent Romany blood running through her veins.
@chelseadaggers: Look, Gisele and Adirana Lima still promote a very specific, very dominant cultured, very white, beauty look. Pointing out that the models who are being paid the big bucks are still in a very narrow spectrum of colour and features is pretty reasonable.
I have read atlas shrugged twice. The first time I read it through and it was torturous, the way a Tarantino movie is- I just hate it when the creator of a work of fiction makes me sit and listen to them talk to themselves.
The second time I skipped every single piece of dialogue. If it had quotes around it and was longer than two sentences, I didn't read it.
I fully enjoyed the book the second time around. The same way I loved Deathproof and Dusk til Dawn when I used the fast forward button every time someone started talking.
Check out Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel, "We." It delivers a far more intelligent and poetic defense of individualism than anything Rand wrote, plus "Anthem" ripped off many ideas from the story. Zamyatin was also truly oppressed by the Soviet government at an age when Rand was just hanging out in Hollywood.
I really wish that all these people who are threatening to "go Galt" will realize that they are not that special. Yes, I'm sure they have some talent, but guess what? A lot other people are as well, but never had the same resources, or the luck, or were never in the right time in the right place. And I hate that they keep saying that they deserve their success because they work hard. Well, you know what? I work hard, too. If I had not decided to go into a creative (read not well paid) field, I probably could have been a great Wall Street CEO and run the economy into the ground, too.
Seriously, go Galt already. We'll manage to survive without you.
@Sputnik_Sweetheart: Hah. I read a blog post from a guy talking about, "I am John Galt, I am taking a stand," etc etc. Halfway through, he said something like, "Maybe I can't stop the motor of the world, but I can stand up for what I believe in."
And I thought to myself: Idiot. You've missed the point. In the world of Atlas Shrugged, if you can't stop the motor of the world, then you don't fucking matter. Who are you? You're just some guy with a website? You're a software engineer? You work in sales? Guess what--the world doesn't give a shit about you. Go off to your island somewhere, shoot yourself into space, no one cares; shrugging only matters if you're Atlas.
@braak: Very well stated. I hate that the news stations (and I use that term loosely) have picked this term up. I am sure that the vast majority of them and their viewers haven't read anything by Ayn Rand, but besides that, it's just going to be one of these irritating ubiquitous terms that won't go away, like "staycation". I can't stand it.
Once I actually sent off one of those irritating postcards that comes in the middle of Atlas Shrugged, to learn more about objectivism, and they sent me all this information about this objectivist conference, where you could take classes about the fundamentals of capitalism, but also other things, like ballet appreciation. There was a choice to be assigned a room with another budding objectivist, too, which sounded like a serious nightmare - I'd end up with someone like Robbie from Dirty Dancing.
I read it for the first time this year and it was just so OBVIOUS. Every single "moral" person also happened to be beautiful. Quelle suprise! All the "liberals" were chubby whiners who had bad sex. It was so repetitive that by the time I got to John Galt's epic speech I knew every damn thing he was going to say. Color me unimpressed.
@pear.shaped.Sara is gunning for a star: For serious. The book could have been edited down to a single paragraph and it would have made its point just as well.
Does anyone else find it odd that a group of people who believe in individualism above all else, get upset when a member of that group offers up a bit of a different viewpoint?
Oh for the fuck of shit. Objectivism, like any other -ism, is best taken in small, rational portions. Unfortunately Egotistical Dipshits take on the cloak of Objectivism to rationalize their douchebaggery as 'no one can understand my brilliance.' Some of her points are absolutely true, what would humanity do without the great thinkers who currently get paid less than the CEOs who just bankrupted our country? We'd be fucked, that's what. The moral of Rand books should be appreciate intelligent people because that's what keeps this country going. Not going all John Galt because humanity hasn't built you a gold statue and given you a pony.
I have read both Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged around 5-10 time each. I do this to remind myself what switched me from being a sad girl living in a fundamentalist christian home to being someone who felt educated and like there was something else in the world aside from god. I discovered rand around age 14 and that just shifted a lot of things for me.
That being said, I can't stand objectivists or any of her rabid followers and I'm not down with her philosophy either.
But the movie "The Passion of Ayn Rand" features a VERY sexy Eric Stolz...and i'm a lover of red heads.
@tomatoheart: The book served the same purpose for me, except replace fundamentalist Christian with Mormon. The emphasis on logic-based thinking as opposed to faith-based and magical thinking really appealed to me.
I think I'm the only commenter here that--even though I disagree with the economic policy in it--really enjoyed Atlas Shrugged. For that matter, The Fountainhead is one of my favorite books.
@elitza bleeds Cubbie blue: You and me, babe. Not that I agree with everything in it, God no. Also, I flipped past Galt's 30 page speech at the end of Atlas Shrugged. But I really enjoyed reading both of them.
Sooooooo... were you always picked last for softball too?
@elitza bleeds Cubbie blue: No, I enjoyed it too. Not everything in it is accurate or fair, but I found it a compelling read. Although it's controversial, it does stir something within us all, and isn't that the point of reading?
@elitza bleeds Cubbie blue: It is one of my favorite books as well. I also enjoyed reading the Da Vinci Code, but I don't think that Jesus and Mary Mag. gave birth to some sort of holy royal line.
There are few who agree with me, but with the exception of the Galt monologue (I've never made it through either) its a well written book.
@elitza bleeds Cubbie blue: @Uncommon Whore: youuuu are not alooooone. I am heaaarrr with youuuuu (ok - those are the only lines I remember from that creepy MJ song - but point taken?)
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Can't we get past even thinking in race. Adirana Lima and Gisele are Brazilian, what race is a Brazilian?
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The second time I skipped every single piece of dialogue. If it had quotes around it and was longer than two sentences, I didn't read it.
I fully enjoyed the book the second time around. The same way I loved Deathproof and Dusk til Dawn when I used the fast forward button every time someone started talking.
04/07/09
Brains are worthless without hands or tools.
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Seriously, go Galt already. We'll manage to survive without you.
04/06/09
And I thought to myself: Idiot. You've missed the point. In the world of Atlas Shrugged, if you can't stop the motor of the world, then you don't fucking matter. Who are you? You're just some guy with a website? You're a software engineer? You work in sales? Guess what--the world doesn't give a shit about you. Go off to your island somewhere, shoot yourself into space, no one cares; shrugging only matters if you're Atlas.
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That being said, I can't stand objectivists or any of her rabid followers and I'm not down with her philosophy either.
But the movie "The Passion of Ayn Rand" features a VERY sexy Eric Stolz...and i'm a lover of red heads.
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I've since moved way beyond it, though.
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*ducks*
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Sooooooo... were you always picked last for softball too?
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@Uncommon Whore: Me too. I've read the book easily 15 times and never have gotten through the whole speech.
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There are few who agree with me, but with the exception of the Galt monologue (I've never made it through either) its a well written book.
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I think they did- but that's because I read the Valis trilogy. PK Dick beats Tom Hanks any day.