Atlas Shrugged - Page 4

J. Allen · January 5 2013, 10:23 PM

Alidar Jarok wrote:

Actually, rail has been making a comeback (especially in cargo shipping). As much as people want to mock that, I think the terrible writing and poor message is much easier to mock.

Yes. As an avid train lover, I would love to see more (passenger) railways. The premise itself is decent enough; that a guy comes up with a new kind of steel that can handle massive amounts of heat and pressure, and other companies try to get it out from under him (which is what would really happen). How it was all executed, however, was so poorly done, it's laughable. Especially when you toss in the perpetual motion machine plot device to make it all work.

Klaus · January 5 2013, 11:16 PM

I always thought the idea that a specially-shaped antenna could extract free energy from static electicity in the atmosphere to be one of the most amusing technobabbles of all time.

Maybe she gets chutzpah points for even trying that one.

Mr. Laser Beam · January 5 2013, 11:42 PM

T'Girl wrote:

scnj wrote:

I think the funniest thing to me is that there's a movie in 2012 about how trains will save the economy. Trains.

Please come to Seattle and talk to the people who want to spend hundreds of millions on a light rail system that will carry only a few thousand people a day.

Really? Great. Give them a medal!

iguana_tonante · January 6 2013, 12:40 AM

Greg Cox wrote:

arch101 wrote:

Forget the film. But, you should read the book before it's banned.

Seriously? You really think it's going to be banned?

You can buy erotica in Wal-Mart now. I think book banning's gone out of style--except for the crazy folks who try to yank Harry Potter out of school libraries or whatever.

Five thousand quatloos that the guy won't come back to explain his idiotic (and, if you case about such things, insulting) claim.

Admiral2 wrote:

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

Admiral2 wrote:

If you're a conservative, yes, both installments so far have been very good.

If you voted for Obama and think Occupy Wall Street had a point, no, it sucked.

And if you just happen to be a lover of cinema, you'll realize that those were terrible movies.

Nobody watched or critiqued these movies as just "a lover of cinema." You're deluding yourself if you think your politics had nothing to do with your opinion.

So what is your opinion on the movies, then? Apparently, it will say everything we need to know about you. In your case, the statement might be even accurate.

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

T'Girl wrote:

Please come to Seattle and talk to the people who want to spend hundreds of millions on a light rail system that will carry only a few thousand people a day.

Really? Great. Give them a medal!

That's nonsense. You know what would solve the problem of traffic? More cars.

stj · January 6 2013, 03:55 AM

T'Girl wrote:

Please come to Seattle and talk to the people who want to spend hundreds of millions on a light rail system that will carry only a few thousand people a day.

A few thousand people on a train means a few thousand fewer cars in the business district. The costs entailed by those cars have to be taken into account to decide whether the proposed scheme is worthwhile. I imagine a single extra parking garage would by itself be, what? One to five percent of the projected costs? Other costs from those few thousand cars will be lumped with other things, like street maintenance, and hard to evaluate.

As I understand it, land acquisition in urban areas is always a substantial part of the costs for these projects. It is very possible that actual operating costs will be substantially lower with rail. On the other hand, a public amenity like rail transit might contribute substantially to increasing land values, and this might be the main reason for some people's support.

Unfortunately for the regular citizen, the information needed for a correct evaluation will probably be hidden away. Whatever information must be public record will be hidden in multiple obscure sources with peculiar jargon and fine print that takes a certain amount of expertise to ferret out and understand.

Mr. Laser Beam · January 6 2013, 03:55 AM

iguana_tonante wrote:

You know what would solve the problem of traffic? More cars.

Explain.

Admiral Buzzkill · January 6 2013, 04:01 AM

I think the ongoing appeal of the novel, year after year, is that in essence it's a bodice ripper written a generation before its time.

J. Allen · January 6 2013, 04:03 AM

Klaus wrote:

I always thought the idea that a specially-shaped antenna could extract free energy from static electicity in the atmosphere to be one of the most amusing technobabbles of all time.

Maybe she gets chutzpah points for even trying that one.

Admiral Buzzkill · January 6 2013, 04:11 AM

Well, in several respects it's a science fiction novel and the naive technological ideas presented in it weren't out of line for sf of the pulp era (the book was published in 1957).

My impression is that sf fandom of the 50s and 60s was one of the early loci of Rand's following, as well as of libertarianism. OTOH when I worked in bookstores in the late 1970s I noticed that Rand's books sold mainly to the same women who bought the month's romance paperbacks a dozen at a time.

Nerys Myk · January 6 2013, 05:56 AM

Admiral2 wrote:

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

Admiral2 wrote:

If you're a conservative, yes, both installments so far have been very good.

If you voted for Obama and think Occupy Wall Street had a point, no, it sucked.

And if you just happen to be a lover of cinema, you'll realize that those were terrible movies.

Nobody watched or critiqued these movies as just "a lover of cinema." You're deluding yourself if you think your politics had nothing to do with your opinion.

I find I can watch films featuring political ideas I don't support and characters who do things I'd never do and enjoy them because they're well made. OTOH, movies about political ideas that I support, yet are poorly made, I'm more that happy to declare "terrible".

scotpens · January 6 2013, 06:58 AM

scnj wrote:

I think the funniest thing to me is that there's a movie in 2012 about how trains will save the economy. Trains.

When Atlas Shrugged was originally published in 1957, passenger trains were a huge business. You couldn't change that element of the novel or it would be a completely different story.

Besides, it could still happen.

J. Allen wrote:

. . . The premise itself is decent enough; that a guy comes up with a new kind of steel that can handle massive amounts of heat and pressure, and other companies try to get it out from under him (which is what would really happen). How it was all executed, however, was so poorly done, it's laughable. Especially when you toss in the perpetual motion machine plot device to make it all work.

Yes, I think Ayn Rand was out of her depth when she tried using science fiction concepts (the "free energy" engine, the invisibility screen). Of course, a lot of folks here would say she was out of her depth just writing novels.

Klaus · January 6 2013, 07:52 AM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

iguana_tonante wrote:

You know what would solve the problem of traffic? More cars.

Explain.

sarcasm

The Mirrorball Man · January 6 2013, 11:11 AM

stj wrote:

Christians firmly believe that they are being persecuted, that even Christmas is under attack. And that's just a specific subset of the conservative mentality.

I'm a Christian and I'm not conservative and do not believe that I'm being persecuted. And I don't really care about Christmas, to be honest.

Admiral2 wrote:

Nobody watched or critiqued these movies as just "a lover of cinema." You're deluding yourself if you think your politics had nothing to do with your opinion.

Honestly, around here, Ayn Rand is a complete nonentity. No one has heard of her, no one reads her books and her ideas have no political influence whatsoever.

And yes, I'm perfectly able to tell the difference between my politics and my taste for cinema. There are movies that I quite enjoy, even though I don't agree with their message or point of view.

Mr. Laser Beam · January 6 2013, 05:31 PM

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

stj wrote:

Christians firmly believe that they are being persecuted, that even Christmas is under attack. And that's just a specific subset of the conservative mentality.

I'm a Christian and I'm not conservative and do not believe that I'm being persecuted. And I don't really care about Christmas, to be honest.

I am a Christian conservative and have never been persecuted either, nor do I think I am, and also I do not think that Christmas (which I love) is under attack. Except by fruitcake.

FWIW.

Gov Kodos · January 6 2013, 05:36 PM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

The Mirrorball Man wrote:

stj wrote:

Christians firmly believe that they are being persecuted, that even Christmas is under attack. And that's just a specific subset of the conservative mentality.

I'm a Christian and I'm not conservative and do not believe that I'm being persecuted. And I don't really care about Christmas, to be honest.

I am a Christian conservative and have never been persecuted either, nor do I think I am, and also I do not think that Christmas (which I love) is under attack. Except by fruitcake.

FWIW.

'Christians believe...' that phrase was a laughable concept even before the Council of Nicaea.

January 5 2013, 11:16 PM	#47
Klaus Rear Admiral Location: Klaus - Beach condo, Bay of Eldamar	Re: Atlas Shrugged I always thought the idea that a specially-shaped antenna could extract free energy from static electicity in the atmosphere to be one of the most amusing technobabbles of all time. Maybe she gets chutzpah points for even trying that one. __________________ "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain http://tlbklaus.deviantart.com

January 6 2013, 04:01 AM	#52
Admiral Buzzkill The Man Location: Defying Gravity	Re: Atlas Shrugged I think the ongoing appeal of the novel, year after year, is that in essence it's a bodice ripper written a generation before its time. __________________ I had steak and a loaded baked potato for dinner on Sunday. As a steak I enjoyed it a lot, but as macaroni and cheese I thought it was disappointing.

January 6 2013, 04:11 AM	#54
Admiral Buzzkill The Man Location: Defying Gravity	Re: Atlas Shrugged Well, in several respects it's a science fiction novel and the naive technological ideas presented in it weren't out of line for sf of the pulp era (the book was published in 1957). My impression is that sf fandom of the 50s and 60s was one of the early loci of Rand's following, as well as of libertarianism. OTOH when I worked in bookstores in the late 1970s I noticed that Rand's books sold mainly to the same women who bought the month's romance paperbacks a dozen at a time. __________________ I had steak and a loaded baked potato for dinner on Sunday. As a steak I enjoyed it a lot, but as macaroni and cheese I thought it was disappointing.

STAR TREK

CSI

ABOUT US