I have been reading William Shatner's autobiography "Up till Now". Shatner has been acting for a very long time starting in the 50ths in television in Canada and then on the US networks. The part he will be most remembered for is Captain James T. Kirk of the Star Ship Enterprise. Star trek has been shown in reruns for years and been spun off with at least four spin-offs. Shatner tells of people coming up to him in airport and reciting whole episodes of the show. Shatner spends a page and ha
I reported on Canadian Court of Appeal finding Trusocott not guilty of the murder of Lynn Harper. A former judge was given the task of recommending compensation. He has recommend that Truscott be paid $6.5 million.This is one of the largest amounts recommended in Canada
The books is "Making Your Case". While it is for lawyers I think any intelligent person can benefit from it. You don't have to agree with the Justice's opinions to enjoy it.
Today is Nick Dyke's birthday with several people suggesting a really long life. There is an episode of the Twilight Zone where Kevin McCarthy plays a man who has already lived more than a century. It was not easy for him since he had to keep reinventing himself. He keeps seeing people he loves die. The same thing was true in the movie "The Green Mile". People keep dying.
In the last couple of weeks the home of the mayor of a small Prince George's County was raided by a swat team because the home had received a delivery of marijuana. The mayor and his family were subjected to all the thing that happen in these actions including the killing of his two dogs. If you read Radley Balko's blog The Agitator he has a host of stories of this sort. The people who were raided were held for over an hour withe their dead dogs very close to them. There are investigations g
William Peterson plays Gil Grissom on CSI. He is leaving the show early next season. Grissom is all about the evidence. He seemed passionless although in the last season he had a relationship with Sara Sidell. Someone will succeed him but no one will replace him.
I didn't think it was possible but John and Elizabeth are more undignified than Bill and Hillary. I want the Senator to submit to DNA testing about the fatherhood of the child.
On Line Polls are not totally reliable except to the people who take it. Even so I am going to share one from Instapundit. Glen Reynolds asked which is the bigger problem Global Warming or People who think humanity is the blight on the planet. People who think humanity is the blight won 98 to 2.
Hector Elizando is now playing Monk's psychiatrist. My first memory of him is as the wonderful desk clerk in "Pretty Woman". He is wonderful professional and gentleman with the Julia Robert's character in that movie. He does a wonderful performance in Monk too.
August 3rd would be John Scope's 108th birthday. John Scopes was the defendant in what has come to be called the "monkey trial " that has been depicted in the play and movie "Inherit the Wind". There are several inaccuracies in the play and screenplay about the trial. The Scopes character is depicted as being held in jail before and during the trial. The Darrow character is depicted as fighting alone when he had several distinguished co-counsel. The Bryan character was not as much of buffoo
Some time ago I published a stupid entry about the TV show Monk. I looked at the show again and I was wrong. The show is well written and acted. I am going to make a habit of it in the future.
Saturday July 26th is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the FBI. I enforces hundreds of Federal laws. It has offices all over the United States and foreign countries. If you watch the Cato Forum yesterday (July 23) it has broken the law in a host of cases. It led to the death of a pregnant women at Ruby Ridge and killed a host of people in the siege of the Branch Davidian compound at Waco. As a American and lover of freedom I don't think I'll be celebrating.
I wanted to re-emphasizes my liking of Bill Kline's lectures at this years Summer Seminar. He was worth the price of admission. We didn't miss Tibor at all.
Robert Bradley spoke at the 50th Atlas event. He spoke twice at the Summer Seminar. His topics were Energy: The Master Resource and Ayn Rand, Enron and the Reconstruction of 'Business Ethics'.In Energy I learned that fossil fuels are indispensable. In the Enron talk the refusal of a host of people to look at Enron bottom line should make anyone suspicious of these institutes. I am thinking of Fortune magazine. Bradley was also asked to leave Ken Lay's funeral. Also be very suspicious of bu
Susan McCloskey is the wife of David Kelley. She taught English Lit. at Princeton before starting a firm that teachs businessmen how to write. Her lecture were about Ellsworth Tooney, James Taggart and Lillian Reardan. On Tooney she made the point that Tooney is a character who you enjoy when he is on the scene. He is interesting in a way that Taggart is not. Ms McCloskey made the point that from Taggart's first appearance he repels the reader. Tooney is fun to watch.
Phil Coats asked me to name a high point of the Summer Seminar. Bill Kline as he was last year. His three talks on Environmental Ethics were the best at the conference. Bill has a mind that skewers collectivist jargon. I hope TAS keeps bringing him back.
The Objectivist History Project is a brain child of Duncan Scott. Duncan Scott is trying to interview people who knew Ayn Rand while they are still with us. Many are already gone and all are in advanced ages. Duncan Scott has interviewed the Brandens, Robert Hessen, John Hospers and others. His latest interview was with Al Ramrus who was the producer of The Mike Wallace Interview wit h Ayn Rand. Mr. Ramrus is in his 70ths but his mind is clear. It was a fun interview.
This will be a short post.This was an excellent Summer Seminar. In less than a year TAS has had two great events. Let's hope Open Objectivism can do something.
Tonight July 8th Warren Beatty will receive his AFI Life Achievement Award. I sure he deserves it but all I could think of was a comment by Nathaniel Branden. Dr. Branden said he had been to an early Warren Beatty film titled All Fall Down. Branden said Beatty played one of the most out of focus persons he had ever seen. Branden said he wanted to write a philosophical article title Warren Beatty Son of Immanuel Kant.
I signed up for one and I am thinking of another. The one I am signed is Law & Order: A Critical Look at the police and prosecutors. I am also thinking of one on my over forty years in the Objectivist and Libertarian movement.
I hope to be able to do postings during the Summer Seminar on a daily basis. I will be leaving Sat. June 28 and coming back July 5. I will do a longer report after I get back.
She was one of the best dancers Hollywood had. She danced with Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. She is wonderful in the Broadway Melody number in Singing in the Rain. She was married to the same man for 60 years. She had wonderful life
Today is Flag Day in the US. We have something called the Flag Code which say how we are to behave with the US flag including when it becomes worn out. I don't know if any other country honors their flag this way.Tomorrow(June 15th) is Father's Day. Being a father is hard work so if you good ones wish them well. They have earned it.
