sbeaulieu

I saw this video, and sat stunned! I imagine it's been a couple months now since seeing it last, but Paul Potts left an impression...a good one! For someone with such a humble background, he simply nuked the crowd with his coming-out performance. The audience was rapt, me included. And I'd be willing to say that the road ahead of him will certainly nurture his talent to become one of the greats. I look forward to tracking his successes. ~ Shane

Hi, Amy! Fascinating...another member who was turned to O'ism through Terry's works! Looking forward to engaging in discussions about them as well. For most of you that have "lived" the Objectivist philosophy, Ayn Rand (I assume) is the core of your exposure. For me, it was Terry Goodkind. I can't wait for the dialogues that will likely stem from his stories. ~ Shane

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989). By far my favorite Christmas title. A Christmas Story (1983) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Elf (2003) - Because Will Farell makes me laugh. And to finish, the claymation series. *see Christmas Classics Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Hi, Ross! Nothing quite like air support, huh? My father was in Vietnam in '72. He was with the 336th (Rocketeers) out of Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. They did 90 day rotations into Da Nang from Thailand. He doesn't talk too much about it, and I can certainly understand why. You gents went through Hell. I have a great admiration for Veterans. Glad you made it back alive! Thank you for your front-line courage ;) ~ Shane

Shane, My uncle Dave was in the Air Force and the Army Air Force. He was a B-17 navigator. He was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Midway. Guadacanal. He went mano a mano with a Zero in the nose gun and got filled with shapnel from exploding 20mm cannon shells. He spent a year in the hospital. He served with B-29s in Korea. In the 1950s he was a navigator on B-36s stationed in Puerto Rico. Each carried one gigantic nuclear bomb. His target in the USSR meant he would overfly the birthplace of his father in the Ukraine a couple of hundred miles and drop the bomb. I asked him, he's still alive, if the B-36s would have gotten through? He laughed. Of course they would have! They were replaced by the B-52, still in service. In the late 50s in Tucson as a boy I watched B-36 after B-36 fly into Davis Monthan AFB never to leave. They were melted down for scrap. Appreciate the history of your service! --Brant Brant, What a full life your uncle has lived! I bet his experience as a nose-gunner was thrilling, to say the least. I'm honored by his service as a true warrior of the skies! Wow! It's always sad to hear when airframes are retired (and dismantled/scrapped!). They were a great legacy of the last century, and a testament of man and his will to survive. The air wars highlight this the best, I think. They certainly don't make them like that anymore. I'm amazed that the B-52 is still in service! What a masterpiece ;) My father retired from the Air Force in '91. He's seen some hellish things during Vietnam as a F-4 mechanic (my favorite jet...not biased ). He also worked on F-111s, the medium-range bombers that paid a visit to Mohammar Quadaffi. My job in the Air Force is not quite "in your face" where combat is concerned, however, my piece is critical to all missions - communications. Maybe someday, I'll have combat experience in that field. ~ Shane

What a great article! It's funny that he states the sixth book, Faith of the Fallen is the most controversial among his readers. It was my favorite. Offhand, I think it is due to the two-sided coin that's presented to the readers - Individualism Vs. Socialism. There are many other lessons learned in that novel, but this one stood out clearly for me, and made the most sense (as related to my personal experiences). I might expand on this topic (individualist Vs socialist society...1 against the many, so to speak) in the near future. Thanks for the link, Michael! I always enjoy articles about Terry. He's a great individual ;) ~ Shane

Thank you, Chris. I have found the military to be a great way of life, a doorway to a breadth of knowledge along many platforms. If there's anything I take away from it, it's the level of access to this knowledge that I've been given. Any other tree may not have had as many branches. But I owe Terry Goodkind my exposure to Objectivism. Trying to apply "reason" at times is like trying to move mountains in the military, which is why the vast majority of our populace may not follow the tenets of Objectivism. The more I learn the core aspects of Objectivism, the better suited I'll be to overlay it on everyday situations. Again, I look forward to that journey. This forum is certainly equipped with intellectual powerhouses (IMO, what I've read thus far), and I plan on absorbing all I can. Thanks for the welcome, and tipping the hat to our services ~ Shane

Michael, I look forward to browsing the threads and being enlightened. I hope to add in my .02 every now and again. Chris, I am proudly serving in the US Air Force. I'm going on 15 years, gunning for 20. My career field is in IT - communications troubleshooting, computer networking management, etc. I absolutely love this career field due to its ever-changing characteristic. My aspiration after retirement is being a novelist, or in some realm of telling stories (comics, screenplays, or gaming). ~ Shane

Good day all. I'm Shane. Currently, I'm stationed in Hawaii. As part of my daily wanderings, I stumbled on this site and did a bit of reading. What I've seen so far is a great mix of opions/discussions. Being new to the Objectivist mindset, I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask. My introduction to Ayn Rand came a few years back through a conversation with a favorite author of mine. Some of you might know his work, Sword of Truth series, penned by Terry Goodkind. I was fortunate enough to correspond with him for several years on his books. His main character, Richard, always had a way of getting me to think "Yeah, that makes perfect sense". When we spoke on the phone, I asked him if he had any books that were his favorite. He immediately mentioned Ayn Rand titles. Never having heard her name, I started reading up on her. Years later, I find myself here. I don't find myself to be religious. I'm sure the majority here can attest to having questioned the "reason" behind believing in that which cannot be seen. My inner struggle with "faith" has always unsettled me until recently, as the societal norm is to believe in something "more" than ourselves. Reading Terry's books indirectly led me to Objectivism through his character's dialogues. They echoed (most of the time) what I believed. It was interesting to see that a lot of this philosophy hits home. So it may seem that I have finally found it. My footsteps are fresh on the path to reason. I hope to share this path with you all.