DavidMcK

Isn't i (the square root of -1) an unextended entitiy? David

Thanks for the link, I've never heard of Monks before, I thought her paintings were fascinating. David

Ellen, thanks for correcting my spelling without saying anything..and the comments. David

Mike, Contininuing with this kind of roaming thread (which I like), Chris Sciabarra made much the same point; isn`t it interesting that Tolstoy started a new religion? I have a passion for Dostoyevsky, but I have mucho problemo getting into Tolstoy, maybe someone can persuade me that Anna Kareninina is worth the time and effort? David

Mozart Piano Concerto in C major, K467 'Elvira Madigan' No. 21 David

'The Fountainhead' pg. 661 in the paperback edition (Wynand is walking around after caving in) "He walked past the door of a saloon. There was a smell of stale beer. A woman sat slumped, breasts flattened against the table top. A juke box played Wagner's 'Song to the Evening Star,' adapted, in swing time." David P.S. It is interesting that Rachmaninoff was just the opposite about his Russian background; in order to get himself composing again here in the United States, one of his biographers tells us he had to surround himself with Russian things, music, people, etc. In Russia there was a big conflict between the Western oriented and the ones who claimed to be pure Russian (the 'Russian 5'). but really all of them were influenced by the West.

Thanks Roger, for taking the time to type a response, that was helpful. Meanwhile I've found two books that might help my grasp of the issues: 'Satanic Gases' and 'The Skeptical Enviornmentalist'. David

I'm reading a condensed version of this week's 'Time' magazine cover story (the sky is falling!) from this website: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/26/coverstory/index.html Does anybody have the technical knowledge to refute the main points of this story? David

You didn't ask me, but I'll answer anyway: http://www.chessclub.com/ is the ICC (internet chess club), you can download the free software, and play for free (just log on as 'guest'), you won't be rated or save games etc. unless you pay. I paid when I first starting playing, and decided it wasn't worth it. After downloading the software, you might want to change the board design/color, pieces etc. and get used to using your mouse to move a piece or pawn, but it is fun..don't get addicted. David

Ellen, I'm a former music student, and I'm fascinated by the Beethoven/Rand connection (which of course she would deny), and I might add a little to this topic. Beethoven's sense of life was actually far more optimistic and powerfully uplifting than Rand's, and Beethoven was a proponent of 'organic' art long before Frank Lloyd Wright, Sullivan or 'The Fountainhead' was written (see Charles Rosen's 'The Classical Style' e.g.). I've often wondered what Frank Lloyd Wright played on the piano at their meeting (described in 'The Passion of Ayn Rand'?), and that she described as escatic, if I recall the incident, and thought Wright was being phony. Since Wright was very fond of Beethoven, it was probably what he was playing (Wright used to say that he could write something as good as Beethoven if he was a composer). Anyway, it would show she didn't know Beethoven's music well enough to come up with an informed comment. The two obviously have that enormous desire to assert themselves, the cultivation of their originality, and so on: I agree with 'Julie' , that the two go together.

On visiting the gallery (online, see the earlier posts for the link), there are paintings I like much better than these three, not so 'Soviet': one of a little girl building, a little boy doing a science experiment, and a sexy looking broad looking out her window. David

It's funny how our mind makes things up: I always thought Dagny was blonde too, the last time I read Atlas, only a few weeks ago I noticed a brief indication that her hair was brown (pg. 20 in the paperback edition; when Dagny is first introduced).

Mike, those quotes were wonderful: I wonder if describing the first time I read 'The Fountainhead' would count as a good memory of Ayn Rand, even though I never met her? I worked in the library as an aide in the private school I attended in the 11th grade, and asked the librarian if she knew any good books I could read; she said that she didn't much care for one, but that I would like it: 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. I took it home with me, and was fully absorbed within one page; then I stayed up all night finishing it around 4 am. slept some, then got up and went to school. Nothing that has happened since then has been able to take back that experience for me. Hope that this doesn't sound like it is 'all about me', I just think that for a lot of her readers it was the same amazing experience as mine. David

Now there are 14 (+ - ) forms of ice; I'm not sure if the latest two float or not, the article doesn't describe the properties of the latest two: http://www.physorg.com/news12103.html David

Does anyone have any more paintings of Frank O'Connor that they could post? What seems odd about these pictures is that they don't seem like they are trying to be 'Objectivist', more like someone trying to find their own voice. The Brandens have some paintings of his, correct? Thanks! David

I like chess and I also like horse racing, both as a racehorse owner and a bettor, I find that it is like real life chess, with all 'horses' (knights), and live jockeys, and so many permutations of class, track, distance etc. etc. that it is a very difficult game to play and win. But some really smart people can do it; I was thinking of that when I was re-reading Galt's speech from AS, and saw the line about some moron watching horses go around a track, or something very close to that. The only time I feel like a moron is when I overlook something obvious. I think Rand regarded all gambling as pure luck, like the slots or roulette; playing with horses is most definitely a skill. Comments on Rand and gambling anyone? David

Thanks everyone for sharing your favorite movies, I can't imagine a wider range of movies than the ones mentioned....it seems like the movies people like the best has more to do with the generation they were born in than anything else. I've seen maybe 3/4 of the ones mentioned, but some I had never heard of. My quick count shows only two movies were listed more than once...Casablanca and Raiders of the Lost Ark. V for Vendetta just came out, a very anti-totalitarian message that some people are comparing to Atlas Shrugged (it isn't as philosophical nor as complex), but I really enjoyed it, with a strong female lead, and a masked man as the co-star; one great line: "People shouldn't be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of the people." (Hope that is word for word). The dicatator was played by John Hurt (very well), and this is a movie by the two Wachowski brothers, who made the Matrix triligy. I recommend seing this one.

Jenna, I saw the movie too, and was pretty confused about what they were really advocating, maybe just a better understanding of each other? At any rate, what interested me the most is that the more 'liberal' prince, the one that wanted to bring free market reforms, and a more limited government (or so I interrpreted it) was the one that was murdered. At any rate thanks for your review, a lot to think about here. David

I'm particularly interested in any reviews or comments on Fritz Lang, I've only seen 'Metropolis' when it was re-released some time ago. David

CNA, (or should I call you Angie?) I like Anthony Hopkins also, I remember when that move came out, but for some reason I can't remember the end.. renting the DVD might refresh my memory. Tom Hanks is amazingly versatile..who would think he could play a gangster like in 'The Road to Perdition'? David

Mike, May I request a Movie room? It would be nice to get some reviews and comments on current (or old) movies. To start it off, I saw 'The Hills Have Eyes'....what a waste of $6...all blood and guts, no plot, just some people you don't much care about being chased by mutants. There was Kathleen Quinlan in it, I like her, thank goodness she died pretty early since I was a little embarassed to see her in this (she was in Apollo 13), and the little baby the mutants kidnapped was a pretty good actor..Ha!

I recently completed reading 'They Made America" by Harold Evans, a history of great innovaters in American History. He isn't an Objectivist, in fact he seems to like FDR, but every page almost cries out "look at what these guys and gals had to fight against". Besides the people you are familiar with, there are dozens of people who you've never heard of whose story is fascinating, like an Ayn Rand novel. My favorite was Firestone; i always thought he mixed rubber and sulphur more or less by accident and stumbled upon the idea of usuable rubber products, but he was truly driven. This book I believe was a PBS series, which I missed. P.S. Farnsworth (television) looks just like my imagined image of John Galt!