Objectivist Round Up #161

Welcome to the August 12, 2010 edition of the Objectivist Round Up.

Today's Ayn Rand quote comes from the article, "Bootleg Romanticism" in The Romantic Manifesto.  I just finished reading a great mystery/adventure book so these sentiments are uppermost in my mind. 

“Thrillers” are detective, spy or adventure stories. Their basic characteristic is conflict, which means: a clash of goals, which means: purposeful action in pursuit of values. Thrillers are the product, the popular offshoot, of the Romantic school of art that sees man, not as a helpless pawn of fate, but as a being who possesses volition, whose life is directed by his own value-choices. Romanticism is a value-oriented, morality-centered movement: its material is not journalistic minutiae, but the abstract, the essential, the universal principles of man’s nature—and its basic literary commandment is to portray man “as he might be and ought to be.”

Thrillers are a simplified, elementary version of Romantic literature. They are not concerned with a delineation of values, but, taking certain fundamental values for granted, they are concerned with only one aspect of a moral being’s existence: the battle of good against evil in terms of purposeful action—a dramatized abstraction of the basic pattern of: choice, goal, conflict, danger, struggle, victory.

I hope you've found some good reading lately.  Speaking of good reading, let's move on to the Round Up:

Burgess Laughlin presents A mystic in reason's camp? posted at The Main Event, saying, "This post briefly describes one pro-reason advocate's encounter with an unusual type of mystic -- at a conference for pro-reason advocates. The post also begins discussion of how best to classify this particular form of mysticism."

Rachel Miner presents Teaching by Essentials posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "It's so easy to overwhelm when teaching new information. I noted this frequently as a nurse when teaching new moms and I see it all the time in parenting! This post is about being most effective when communicating new information and it's a plug for Scott Powell's History at Our House too because he does this so well!"

Jane Eisenhart presents I Hope Lady Gaga is Disappointed posted at Hometown Grotesque, saying, "In this blog, I examine the cultural institution that is Lady Gaga using prototypes from The Fountainhead."

Jim Woods presents Mexico’s Drug-induced Anarchy posted at Words by Woods, saying, "Mexican President Calderón reports to his country that the violent drug gangs and mafia plaguing Mexico seek to replace the state."

John McVey presents Work on value in my economics 'grimoire' posted at John J McVey, saying, "I've finally done what I said I'd do regarding criticism of my rejection of the existence of subjective values."

Roderick Fitts presents A second proof that "Reason is Man's Means of Survival" posted at Inductive Quest, saying, "A second inductive proof, gained from six weeks of observation and the tutelage of Dr. Peikoff's OTI course. I'm beginning to understand Objectivism inductively now!"

Ari Armstrong presents Harry Potter's Lessons for Journalists posted at Free Colorado, saying, "This is an op-ed length treatment of journalism as presented in Harry Potter."

Sean Saulsbury presents The False Hope of Failure posted at SeanCast.com, saying, ""Failure" is a buzz word in today's startup and business world. Many are focusing on it, saying not to be intimidated by it. While the intention is good, the growing focus on failure is a false hope that cannot bring success by itself..."

Jared Rhoads presents "How an Economy Grows" by Peter Schiff posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "Here are some notes, thoughts, and reactions related to Peter Schiff's new book, which explains economic growth through a parable."

Stella presents Government food ratings get an F posted at ReasonPharm, saying, "Unfortunately, New York City has decided to follow many other municipalities in giving letter grades to restaurants. Here's why New Yorkers should stick to their own judgment rather than relying on a bureaucrat's grade."

Martin Lindeskog presents SENATE HALTS EFFORTS TO DESTROY AMERICA | EGO posted at EGO, saying, "Guest blog post by Roland Horvath."

C. August presents The Great Depression Reenactor posted at Titanic Deck Chairs, saying, "Christina Romer has spent most of her academic career studying the Great Depression. As Obama's chief economic adviser for the past 18 months, her experience was supposed to help. Instead, she just helped the country reenact her favorite historical period."

Andrew Dalton presents The mosque is just a symptom posted at Witch Doctor Repellent, saying, "If the United States still had a culture of achievement and resilience, rather than our present morass of harm-avoidance and self-doubt, the New York mosque might not have been an issue."

Amy Mossoff presents Tumbling posted at The Little Things, saying, "We found a way to help our daughter learn to take some risks. Cute video alert!"

Rational Jenn presents The Story of MiniCon posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Kelly and I finally got around to writing up a few notes about what we did to get MiniCon 2010 up and running!"

Kelly Elmore presents Poetry Recommendations posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "This is the first post in a series that shares most of the content of my Mini-Con course on poetry appreciationg. This is my handout for the class. Check back for videos and comments on enjoying poetry more."

Diana Hsieh presents Colorado Senate Candidate Ken Buck on Abortion posted at NoodleFood, saying, "Ken Buck is now the GOP's nominee for Colorado Senator in 2011. Could his views on abortion be any worse? I think not."

Zip presents In Other News... posted at UNCOMMON SENSE, saying, "In Other News... Rain falls, Dogs bark, alcohol is addictive and bad for your liver."

Nate Phillipps presents The Rule Of Gold posted at Faith Through Fear.

Peter Cresswell presents The “safety net” is actually a hammock posted at Not PC, saying, "A report into the sacred cow of New Zealand's welfare state gave me the opportunity to tell two-thousand readers about the moral cannibalism of state welfare--with a little help from the Ayn Rand Lexicon."

Edward Cline presents Cordoba House: A 'Man-Caused' Disaster posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "I detest Islam because it is one of the most degrading, anti-mind, anti-individual, collectivist creeds in existence. I detest it for all the crimes it has committed throughout history, perhaps more than I do the crimes committed by the Catholic Church in its heyday, perhaps more than the atrocities committed by any religious creed. I understand the sensitivities and emotions of all their victims. So, if that is bigotry, I will make the most of it."

Jeff Montgomery presents Boulder Three Peak Run posted at Fun With Gravity, saying, "A post about a run/hike in the peaks west of Boulder, CO, with photos."

Jeff Montgomery presents North Table Mountain Run posted at Fun With Gravity, saying, "I submitted this post mainly for the cool closeup of a grasshopper. What amazing natural engineering."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Objectivist Round Up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.