Yep. Just not Busey, Roarke, Travolta, Norris, Mimi rogers, Brando, E.Taylor, Olivier...that vein.

I was just as arrogant and intolerant as you when I went through my Ayn Rand phase, but I eventually outgrew it. >> ^peretz:

Atlas Shrugged would make a great movie... Ayn Rand is my favorite philosophical writer. It's pretty much a hard and fast rule that if one doesn't like Ayn Rand that they just aren't smart enough to understand objectivism and they are one of the parasites discussed in Roark's speech.

Hehe... Ayn Rand cracks me up, but not as much as the people who thinks she wrote great books. Back when I was 16 I thought Ayn Rand was amazingly deep. You know what happened next? I grew up.

Ayn Rand's "philosophy" is simplistic, self-absorbed, and lacks any concept of empathy. It seems that the only people who stick with it after adolescence are those who are trying to find an excuse for the fact that they are anti-social.

But stick with me here a second... I think I may have discovered something about QM and other "conservatives." Perhaps it is the fact that they don't believe in altruism or empathy that explains why they have to be such assholes when it comes to helping others?

See the thing is, I bet you people who lashed out at my comment think you are Howard Roark... I really wonder what you've really accomplished, how much you've "gone against the grain" and what your families think of you. I'm sure you'll have all sorts of witty comebacks for me and tales of your wonderful lives... the truth still stands that every Objetivist I've ever met in person is actually a sad sad person. Disliked, angry, and blaming it all on the "fact" that they are superior to everyone else...

Beautiful, beautiful scene. One of my favs, too.

The story was ok and sometimes slow.

But that performance...oh, that performance turned in by Roarke was one of the best I've seen in years.

He was robbed at the Oscars. As much as I like Sean Penn, after seeing both this and Milk, Roarke really should have won.

Of course, it's all subjective anyway.

Point of order: Roark and Keating were characters in The Fountainhead, not Atlas Shrugged.

Also, I want to add that Atlas shrugged, despite its faults, was a delight to read. It's like a holiday from stupid.

This is my favorite summation of Atlas Shrugged:

deleted dialogue

Roarke: You put balconies on my design?

Keating: I had to, besides, the tennants wanted them.

Roarke: The tenants?? Fuck the tenants, this is about me.

*****

It's been years since I read it, and I liked it at the time (the only book of hers I've ever read), but I remember looking it over again and seeing how alarmist and ultimately selfish it really was.

I upvoted because I like thinking about philosophical arguments. One thing bugs me about this speech. Aren't the film makers parasites as described by Roark? They took Ayn Rand's creation and profited off it. "The creator thinks. The parasite copies. The creator produces. The parasite loots."

I preferred the Fountainhead over Atlas Shrugged, but then, it was my first Ayn Rand book, and you know what they say about firsts.

In particular, I'm fond of Rand's recurring themes of individuality, creativity, leadership, and above all else, integrity.

These days, it doesn't seem as if there are true heroes. Not that anyone needs a hero, but if you're shopping, You could do much, much worse than Howard Roark.

Atlas Shrugged would make a great movie... Ayn Rand is my favorite philosophical writer. It's pretty much a hard and fast rule that if one doesn't like Ayn Rand that they just aren't smart enough to understand objectivism and they are one of the parasites discussed in Roark's speech.