Rodney

Well, thanks, Michael. Nothing is proved by word-play, of course--it's just something I like to do. Sometimes I'll even make fun of the names of things I like, or at least don't particularly dislike. But I sometimes have scruples. Here are some I've withheld: Slop Ass Yawn--"Say what is mean, and be mean in what you say" Ragin' Old Fearhomo (private joke, to make amends for the above) Slap Yon Ass (ditto, to even the score once again) (By the way, great review, Neil Parille.)

I think Jeff is pulling our leg. Good one, Jeff!

Hear hear. I came to the same conclusions very early in my reading of the defenses and attacks on the book. I even came to much the same conclusions when, years ago, I stumbled on a website that apparently served as a starting point of the book. The whole episode has served one very good purpose: it has polarized the "Objectivist community." And, as Ayn Rand observed, polarization is a good and necessary thing in our age. We have on one side those who are able, and on the other those who are not able, to be objective.

The latest Amazon review of Ashley's album Soundtrack to Your Life is very interesting:

"uninterrupted disturbance"

Hi!

I’m hopeful that my soon-to-be-completed essay “Understanding Imaginaries Through Hidden Numbers”—an early draft of which is currently “for sale” on Lulu.com at an impossible price—will be seen as relevant to the parts of this discussion concerning the priority of philosophy and science. (My short answer is: The special sciences, a telling formulation used by AR, and philosophy are all equally sciences; man’s task is to integrate all science. And by the way, consider what science tells you that.)

That's not true. Just look: Thanks both of you for your good wishes. (By the way, he starts in the role on my birthday, January 19!)

Later, if you wanted to be awed further, read Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun.

H. N. Y.! You know what that stands for, don't you? Happy New Year? Well, yes. But also: Hairspray--New York! (Some of you may understand.) B)

Well, thanks for that. (Now, where did I put that outline? [Was there one?])

Yes, of course. Thank you. There is another word I think might be wrong--must consult the MS if I can find it. (I used a voice recognition program to key this in last year.)

I wrote this about ten years ago. (I go through “poetic moods” now and then.) It was to be the intro to a much longer narrative poem. The lines incorporate some themes in my personal, intellectual, and artistic life (see for example my composition “Halley’s Comet” posted somewhere on the Rebirth of Reason forum). Poetic influences can be discerned, naturally. I A comet does not move the way one thinks; Although it throws off many trailing kinks, So headlong to the sun it seems to go, In truth there is no destination—no Comet’s resting place; it means to swing Around the sun, and back to space to spring. Yet every orbit brings a sense of change: Age and newness—commonplace and strange! Trailing kinks—dissolving into fire; Orbit’s wings, bending higher and higher. There could have been a firefly meteor (Of which a comet is one metaphor) On the night Bernard was in the pram —Long before he thought to say “I am”— Looking straight above as infants must Gazing with a rapt unspoken trust While he that left him there—whose name was Pano— Rhapsodized upon the new piano And hit upon one liquid melody So ordered, it engulfed what was to be A supremely ordered mind. Perhaps Supine to the world—the night, the stars, Moonlight twixt the clouds that passed in bars— And he most asked himself about the world, Answers came: a meteor was hurled. And perhaps, that instant it was flashing, Two of Pano’s semitones were clashing, Crying for some form of resolution Implying there may be short-lived confusion Then moving to the logic of an answer— (Proving it could not have been mere chance or Accident of random improvising.) That answer both demanded and surprising! Perhaps, I say—I only mean it may be What happened to someone’s precocious baby. But now let’s leave the realm of speculations (Do I detect in some a slight impatience?) And concentrate on what we know occurred— Not hesitate on any single word. II In later years, Bernard could quite recall Dim conversation from across the hall Between his parents, as he watched in bed The winking of a star behind a shed, The glooming of the moon beyond a tree— Both objects of his nightly reverie. They spoke of Bernard’s future, and were done With calling him a special kind of son, Whose talents, soon, the larger world would know, When father said, “His wanderings to and fro Are over. At the Future Exposition Tomorrow, we’ll fulfill every ambition! Many business people will be there Showing uncounted wonders, to ensnare The brightest girls and boys from Nascent High, Who, in their turn (the brave ones and the shy, The brightest ones, though innocent of age) Will dare to face the hall upon a stage And demonstrate the wonders they have learned: How one can touch a flame and not be burned; The cadence of Ulysses, sung by heart; A pas de deux; a masterpiece of art ...” But mother interrupted to remind him The boy was not the one to leave behind him Those wonders and those tortures—early youth— That earnest and uncertain search for truth Important to his nature. Could he find His only pleasure—nourishment of mind— In one, directed, businesslike career? And father said, “The future drawing near Will not permit another year’s delay: Let him forget it and enjoy that day! Did I hang my head in lonesome thought? Power, life, and love were what I sought. Did I long for hours on the beach? Landward things had so much more to teach! Ever since I was astray, near-mad, A hunger for the world was what I had.” “A hunger for the world”—and like a bell Striking in the ear, Bernard then fell Deep sleeping, and it ran into a stream With other words to interrupt his dream. * There was a meadow, and a grassy hill, All shining shadows—he can see them still— And in these shadows there were worlds of hope Though there was only sunshine on the slope, Though there was only daylight on the field, They still hid some things yet to be revealed. (And I will tell you what the secrets were In course of time. For now, I will demur And give the story.) [The verses end here.]

OK, it's tomorrow morning at 11:30 on Fox. Can you guess which "scoop" in the list below pertains to Ashley? From www.usfigureskating.org/S...p?id=37033 Here's a sneak peek at some of the insider celebrity scoop that will be revealed on the show: Which hottie appeared in Prince's Diamonds and Pearls video? What sexy songstress once played homely Hunchback of Notre Dame Quazi Moto? Whose baby was the first one ever born on MTV? Who buys her CD in stores every time she sees it? Whose life was changed by a bike thief? Who needs contact lenses to see the blackboard--and got all A's in school last year? What guy wears hot pink underwear? The complete lineups [...] are: Saturday, Dec. 30 at 11:30 a.m.: Marques Houston, Aly & AJ, Ashley Parker Angel, Jamie Foxx, Dakota Fanning, Dave Mirra, Bucky Lasek, Ryan Nyquist, Mila J

These two links should answer that question: Evaluating Music -- and Franz Lehar by Rodney Rawlings Franz Lehár Considered from the Objectivist Point of View by Rodney Rawlings

No, go with Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!

You handle meter and rhyme well! Your sonnet reminds me of one of my own, which I am looking for on my computer. It’s in sonnet form, except that I only use two rhymes. If I find it I’ll post it.

Yes, that was the title. My recent delve into mathematics epistemology and ontology was, I realize now, partly inspired by my readings on Feynman! (I plan to sell the essay, when completed, on Lulu.com under the title "Understanding Imaginaries Through Hidden Numbers.")

How is this different from the other book of his collected letters?

Thanks! To me this means that I will finally get to see New York City, since my wife will surely want us to be there on opening night. To go there is a long-standing dream of mine--I once wrote a song called "From Montreal North to New York City" expressing my imagined feelings of a new arrival. (Montreal North is my home town.)

My step-grandson Ashley Parker Angel is starring on Broadway next month! He posted this on his MySpace blog today: Sunday, December 24, 2006 Starring on Broadway!!! Current mood: happy What up MYSPACERS!! It’s been too long since I last wrote a blog. In response to the abundance of messages I’ve received asking for updates and any new info, I am here to tell everybody what’s been up. First of all, I am excited to announce that starting in mid-January 2007 I will be starring in Hairspray on Broadway!! I will be playing the role of Link Larkin. At a very young age I discovered my love of performing through the experience of live theatre so I am totally thrilled to be moving to New York and getting back to my roots!! This new direction has made me feel inspired in a way that I have not felt in a long time. Now that’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed having my own MTV show in 2006 as well as recording my solo album Soundtrack to Your Life, it’s just that there is still much more I feel I want to accomplish!! This last year has brought me much success and I expect 2007 to be even better. A HUGE THANKS for those of you who voted on the MySpace poll for the 2nd single! I was very disappointed to see my record label choose a song called “Where Did You Go?” that had received such few votes compared to favorites like “I’m Better” and “Crazy Beautiful.” The banner that was put up on this MySpace site congratulating the fans for choosing “Where Did You Go?” as a single was not an accurate representation of the poll results and was put up without my consent to make it appear that it was everyone’s favorite song. I do have help maintaining this site due to the large volume of friend requests and I apologize to those of you who have written me questioning this false statement. I want to let you guys know that I personally visited EVERY major radio station in the ENTIRE COUNTRY in 2006 and not one single radio programmer or radio DJ ever suggested “Where Did You Go?” as a single. To my knowledge the favorites have always been the first 5 songs on the record with “Crazy Beautiful” seeming to get the most attention. Z100 in New York, which is the biggest radio station in the country, had already spun both “I’m Better” and “Crazy Beautiful” on the air and were ready to fully get behind either one of those songs due to the success of my first single “Let U Go”!! “Let U Go” was the highest debut for a single on the Billboard HOT 100 charts and the video went to NUMBER ONE on MTV’s TRL. Things were off to a great start. You can imagine my surprise when my record label decided to not even film a video for “Where Did You Go?” which they appeared to believe in so much, even ignoring the MySpace poll results indicating the song fans wanted to hear most. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always loved the song but never thought it was a radio single and apparently neither did you guys! My management tried to persuade the record label to choose one of the more obvious radio singles on the album but to no avail. My manager also recommended that I go along with their decision rather than try to do anything about it, which at the time seemed like the right move. As an artist you want to pick and choose your battles and ultimately many decisions are out of your control. I did put 3 years of my life into the creation and release of the album and when you put that kind of time into anything it’s hard sometimes to not get emotional about key decisions being made that will affect your future in a major way. I get many questions from aspiring artists on how to break into the music biz and while I don’t profess to be an industry expert my success at a young age has allowed me to see what it takes to make it from an insider’s perspective. I’ve had two major label record deals, two MTV shows devoted to my music career and worked with many A-list professionals in the business. One of the most important strategies to getting anywhere in the entertainment industry is no secret but often times overlooked. It all comes down to who’s on your TEAM. Every artist needs one and no one can get anywhere without one. In my opinion this is why sometimes mediocre products sell huge numbers while many times incredible works of art can remain undiscovered. I’m not claiming to be either one of those two examples but regarding my album I do believe without a doubt that recently several key decisions were made that have obviously been the wrong ones. I will not go into that any further as I prefer to look towards the future and have become smarter, stronger and more determined than ever to learn from my past and use that to my advantage. I recognize that I have not been on MySpace much in the last few months as I became all consumed in trying to fix the issues I have just described and I know this site is begging to be updated. I will be posting new pictures this week (I chopped off all my hair for the role of Link) and I promise I’ll be here in the MySpace world a lot more often as I get settled into my apartment in NYC. I want to thank all of you who continue to support me and I hope to see you in the audience for my Broadway debut!!! Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas beeotches!!! —Ashley Parker Angel

That's really masterly, top-notch work. And I've only listened to two. I especially liked the one originally titled "Through Wind and Mist."

UPDATE: He was not on this week, and will apparently be on next week, on Saturday, December 30th @ 11:30 AM on Fox.

Thought I would bump this one, since the show is tomorrow and we have some new people.

I refuse to participate in this one-down-manship!