Atlasphere member Greg Garamoni points us to this article (“Mozart redeems my mediocrity“) from the Guardian:
We should cherish those who possess great talent rather than envying them and begrudging their success
Dylan Evans
Thursday July 21, 2005
Guardian
In ancient Greece, people expected their heroes to be different. The first readers of the Iliad didn’t imagine they could ever be as great as Achilles. They accepted that he was in a completely different category, a different order of being. And they didn’t envy him his superior talent – they admired him for it.
Nowadays, if someone is vastly more talented than us, we don’t congratulate them – we envy them and resent their success. It seems we don’t want heroes we can admire, so much as heroes we can identify with.
We want to think we could be like them, and so we make sure to select heroes that are like us. We worship David Beckham because he’s fallible. If Achilles were around today, the headlines would all be about his heel.
Continue reading “On Cherishing Talent”
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Pro-Freedom Themes in Joss Whedon's Firefly
Writing for the AFF Network, Sarah T. Hinson provides a lovely overview (“Freedom and Firefly“) of the pro-liberty themes in Joss Whedon’s Firefly (which we’ve reviewed in DVD form and eagerly anticipated on the big screen in September).
The article begins:
At its best, science fiction advocates liberty. While Star Trek lamentably supported a “Federation knows best” mentality, other works like Star Wars and Robert Heinlein’s novels have promoted the dissolution of central rule and the triumph of the individual. For the science fiction writer, space means one thing: freedom. Like the Wild West where men made their own rules and property rights were enforced at the end of a landowner’s shotgun, space has afforded the hope that one day man can move beyond the reach of any government’s oppressive hand.
No recent T.V. series understands this better than Fox’s Firefly, the tragically cancelled masterpiece spawned from the mind of Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Firefly was critically acclaimed, but sadly mismanaged and was cancelled after only eleven episodes aired in 2002. But thanks to DVD sales, Firefly has maintained a steady popularity. It currently ranks at 49 among DVDs on Amazon.com after seventeen months since its release.
The story of the series follows a smuggling ship captained by Malcolm (Mal) Reynolds. Mal and his first mate Zoe fought in the great galactic civil war as Independents resisting the unification of all the planets under the rule of the great behemoth, the Anglo-Sino Alliance. Ultimately crushed by the boot of empire, Mal buys a spaceship that can give him the freedom the Alliance threatens to steal. He tells Zoe that with the ship, “[We] never have to be under the heel of nobody ever again. No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we’ll just get a little further.” And one gets the feeling that, while Mal, Zoe, and the other independents lost the battle, they will never give up the war.
See the full article for more. Via Instapundit.
TIA Teleconference Lectures by Andrew Bernstein
The Intellectual Activist is offering a series of three live teleconference lectures by Andrew Bernstein, a frequent writer and lecturer on the novels and philosophy of Ayn Rand, and an Atlasphere member. The second lecture will take place on August 11, at 8:30pm-10:00pm EST. It is titled: “Kantianism vs. Objectivism in The Fountainhead”
From the description:
Even before writing Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand recognized, at least implicitly, what were the major philosophical principles shaping the battle for the world. Already in The Fountainhead, in the life-and-death struggle between “first-handers” and “second-handers,” she showed the philosophical essence of the phenomenon. In this talk, Dr. Bernstein shows how the plot, the theme, and every major character of Ayn Rand’s first great novel dramatize the philosophical struggle between Kantianism and Objectivism.
The third lecture is scheduled for August 25, and is titled: “The Mind vs. Collectivism in Ayn Rand’s Novels” This talk shows that the theme of every one of Rand’s novels is a variation on the principle of the mind vs. collectivism–and explains why collectivism, not religion, constitutes the philosophical essence of her antagonists.
The first lecture in this series, “Atlas Shrugged as the Culmination of the Romantic Novel” took place on July 28. In that lecture, Dr. Bernstein discussed the three greatest romantic novels: Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. He analyzed the philosohpical principles at the root of the world view behind each novel and how they relate to the success or failures of the main characters.
Each lecture includes 30 minutes of Q&A. The two upcoming lectures are recommended for those who love Rand’s novels for their integration of fiction and philosophy.
FairTax Plan on Hannity & Colmes
The FairTax plan — almost certainly the most viable plan in our lifetime to eliminate the dreaded and immoral U.S. Internal Revenue Service — just received some invaluable press coverage on FoxNews.
In particular, The FairTax Book authors Neal Boortz and John Linder were interviewed by conservative commentator Sean Hannity (who is throwing his own weight behind the plan) on “Hannity & Colmes.”
Even better, the full, uncut video is available online. Spread the word!
Bennett Cerf on Game Show Network
From Atlasphere member Marsha Enright:
Recently, the Game Show Network has been airing a wonderful old TV show, “What’s My Line?” in which a panel of regulars uses yes and no questions to try and guess the profession of the guest.
The regulars were actress Arleen Francis, newswoman Dorothy Kilgallen and publisher Bennett Cerf. On one of the 1957 shows, Dorothy Killgalen introduces Cerf with these remarks:
“Now I’d like to introduce our regular panelist who is the publisher of one of the most exciting novels I’ve ever read which is a new book by Ayn Rand due soon, and is called Atlas Shrugged. Don’t miss it. Here’s Bennett Cerf.”
Aside from this bit about Rand, the show is well worth watching for its erudition, civility, remarkably articulate panelists and interesting guests. The women wore evening dresses and John C. Daley, who was head of the News Division of his network, was the moderator. I can’t imagine a show like this today!
Tufts Honors Klein's 'Harry Potter and Philosophy'
We’ve noted before that long-time Atlasphere member (and Ayn Rand Meta-Blog contributor) Shawn Klein co-edited a new volume of philosophical essays titled Harry Potter and Philosophy. The volume also includes essays by Atlasphere member Diana Hsieh and interviewee Mimi Riesel Gladstein.
In a related development, today Klien was prominently featured on the main page of the web site for his alma mater, Tufts University. The corresponding story is titled “Taking Harry Potter Higher,” which explores the ways in which Klein’s book “bridges the gap between pop culture and philosophical thought.”
Screen Shot
The article begins:
When Shawn Klein first started reading J.K. Rowling’s phenomenally popular “Harry Potter” series, the 1995 Tufts graduate – now a PhD student and part-time philosophy professor – did so reluctantly. “My wife started to read Harry Potter first,” he recalls. “I put off reading it, thinking, ‘Oh, it’s a kids’ story.’ Finally, she said, ‘No, Shawn, you have to read this.'”
Klein soon realized that taking his wife’s advice was the right thing to do: He was hooked just a few pages into the first installment of the best-selling series, which follows a young, orphaned wizard as he attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, making friends and enemies as he uncovers his past and confronts his destiny.
And now, with the recent publication of “Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts” – a collection of 16 Potter-themed essays – Klein has blended his appreciation for the Potter series with his love of philosophy. The book, which Klein co-edited and contributed to, is the latest in Open Court Publishing Company’s well-reviewed “Pop Culture and Philosophy” series. (Previous volumes include “Seinfeld and Philosophy” and “The Simpsons and Philosophy.”)
See the full article for more information.
Our hearty congratulations to Shawn on this well-deserved recognition!
al Qaeda Web Sites: Good Riddance
From an article (“Finger points to British intelligence as al-Qaeda websites are wiped out“) in the Times Online:
Over the past fortnight Israeli intelligence agents have noticed something distinctly odd happening on the internet. One by one, Al-Qaeda?s affiliated websites have vanished until only a handful remain, write Uzi Mahnaimi and Alex Pell.
Someone has cut the line of communication between the spiritual leaders of international terrorism and their supporters. Since 9/11 the websites have been the main links to disseminate propaganda and information.
The Israelis detect the hand of British intelligence, determined to torpedo the websites after the London attacks of July 7.
The web has become the new battleground of terrorism, permitting a freedom of communication denied to such organisations as the IRA a couple of decades ago.
One global jihad site terminated recently was an inflammatory Pakistani site, www.mojihedun.com, in which a section entitled How to Strike a European City gave full technical instructions. Tens of similar sites, some offering detailed information on how to build and use biological weapons, have also been shut down. However, Islamic sites believed to be ?moderate?, remain.
See the full article for more background. Via Drudge.
'The Abolition of Antitrust' on C-Span2 on Sunday
Gary Hull, editor of the recently published The Abolition of Antitrust, will discuss the book on C-Span2 Book TV this Sunday at 5:30am EST. According to the program’s announcement, Mr. Hull will be joined by Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand Institute to examine several antitrust cases, including General Electric, Visa/Mastercard, and Kellogg/General Mills.
Here is the publisher’s description for The Abolition of Antitrust:
The Abolition of Antitrust asserts that antitrust laws- on economic, legal, and moral grounds- are bad, and provides convincing evidence supporting argument for their total abolition. Every year, new antitrust prosecutions arise in the U.S. courts, as in the cases against 3M and Visa/MasterCard, as well as a number of ongoing antitrust cases, such as those involving Microsoft and college football’s use of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Gary Hull and the contributing authors show that these cases- as well as the Sherman Antitrust Act itself- are based on an erroneous interpretation of the history of American business, premised on bad economics. They equivocate between economic and political power- the power to produce versus the power to use physical force. For Hull, antitrust prosecutions are based on a horrible moral inversion: that it is acceptable to sacrifice America’s best producers.
Fritz Attaway and Atlas Shrugged on NPR
From a story on National Public Radio:
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that movie studios and record labels can sue software companies that allow customers to pirate music and movies online. Fritz Attaway testified on behalf of Hollywood and the music industry. He’s executive vice president for government relations and Washington general counsel for the Motion Picture Association of America.
He’s splitting this summer between the nation’s capital and Jamestown, R.I., with different books for each locale.
And among his preferred books are…
Atlas Shrugged and Anthem, both by Ayn Rand. “The symbolism is about individualism, which is Rand’s theme in all of her books.”
Thanks to Atlasphere member Brian Schwartz for this tip.
FairTax Book is #2 at Amazon (#1 is Harry Potter)
Neil Boortz’s The FairTax Book (due out August 2nd) has reached the #1 nonfiction slot on Amazon.com — and its overall sales is second only to the new Harry Potter book.
Here’s the description of the book at Amazon, presumably from the back cover:
Wouldn’t you love to abolish the IRS … Keep all the money in your paycheck … Pay taxes on what you spend, not what you earn … And eliminate all the fraud, hassle, and waste of our current system?
Then the FairTax is for you. In the face of the outlandish American tax burden, talk-radio firebrand Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder are leading the charge to phase out our current, unfair system and enact the FairTax Plan — replacing the federal income tax and withholding system with a simple 23 percent retail sales tax. This dramatic revision of the current system, which would eliminate the reviled IRS, has already caught fire in the American heartland, with more than 600,000 taxpayers signing on in support of the plan.
As Boortz and Linder reveal in this first book on the FairTax, this radical but eminently sensible plan would end the annual national nightmare of filing income tax returns, while at the same time enlarging the federal tax base by collecting sales tax from every retail consumer in the country. The FairTax, they argue, would transform the fearsome bureaucracy of the IRS into a more transparent, accountable — and equitable — tax collection system. Endorsed by scores of leading economists — and supported by a huge and growing grassroots movement — the Fair Tax Plan could revolutionize the way America pays for itself.
And here’s an related update from the folks at FairTax.org:
Today and through midnight July 31st, any contribution to FairTax.org for $50.00 or more will include Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder’s new “The FairTax Book.” I ask you to support the FairTax fight by making a donation of $50.00 right now and locking in your copy.
Today, “The FairTax Book,” by Congressman John Linder and talk show host Neal Boortz, has hit #1 on Amazon.com for nonfiction books and #2 in overall book sales. Famous Fox media personality Sean Hannity has even said he thinks the book could go to #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
You and I can’t let this opportunity to spread the FairTax message pass without taking full advantage of it. To have “The FairTax Book” on the New York Times Best Sellers list would be equivalent to millions of dollars in advertising for FairTax. This is money we won’t have to spend if we can get people to buy the book.
If you agree this is a worthwhile cause, please stop by and make a contribution so you can receive a free copy.