RoR: Forum

Kelly,

I'm glad other people are going to get the opportunity to find out what a kick-ass person you are. I've been fortunate to be able to call you one of my best friends for the last several years.

Aquinas

Post 21

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 10:26pm

Aquinas! Welcome! It's delightful to see you here. :)

Don't even tell me you know that Dixon character....

Post 22

Sunday, March 20, 2005 - 11:30pm

Bwahahahaha! Atlanta gang "blasting" in and taking over this thread on our way to total SOLO domination!

Kelly

Post 23

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 1:14am

Kelly, thanks for the article and welcome to SOLO!
Your words sang a song in my own heart -- one which I had only been "humming" lately (I had forgot some of the words). Thanks for reminding me of the truly sublime that is before me--on my computer screen.

I can often be dry, hyper-rational, and aloof but--properly inspired by beauty in the world--I have my "moments" of ecstatic joy in a sudden awareness of wondrous beautitude. You have sparked one of these moments in me.

I really appreciate 2 things most about SOLO: its embodied life-affirming sentiment, and its potentiality for positive change in the culture at large.

Embodied life-affirming sentiment:
As I said above, your words expressed what I had in my heart. Your words EMBODIED my sentiments. I find that this validating connection to others is quite rare in our culture, but not so at SOLO.

In this respect, another's words (especially here) can be like art: "a concretized projection of [life-affirming] values." Great art is beautiful, and what is beautiful is both true and good (goodness and truth being the 2 main, if not only, ingredients of "beauty").

Quoting Rand again, when I read your pleasantly gracious words (and your awareness of the Good), I became aware of "the life-giving fact of experiencing a moment of metaphysical joy--a moment of love for existence." In short, I had one of those "this-is-what-life-means-to-me" experiences--thanks!

Potentiality for positive change:
The other aspect of SOLO which I love is its cosmopolitan-version of similar value seeking (such an array of different folks--all realizing, for the most part, the same true good).

Using a salient point from MacIntyre, I had argued once that SOLO is the most important website in the world. I think it's an appropriate time to restate SOLO's relation to his political "solution" for the problem of the inaccurate aim of contemporary politics (from Aristotle: the aim of politics is to make us all happier--if it doesn't do this we're doing something wrong).

After lambasting contemporary politics, MacIntyre states a solution to the problem:

"What is lacking in modern political societies is any type of institutional arena in which plain persons ... are able to engage together in systematic reasoned debate ... on how to answer questions about the relationship of politics to the claims of rival and alternative ways of life, each with its own conception of the virtues and the ... good."

Upon stating this the first time to an intellectual opponent, I had challenged my opponent to find a website which "outdoes" SOLO as an "arena [where] plain persons ... engage together in systematic rational debate ... to answer questions about ... the relationship of politics to ... the virtues and the ... good." He had no answer--no forum seems to capture this "solution" as well as SOLO does. I find this still true today.

Thanks, Kelly, for causing me to remember that which deserves to be.
Ed
(Edited by Ed Thompson
on 3/21, 1:29am)

Post 24

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 3:18am

Ed, your letter is truly beautiful. I'm glad you gave us a chance to look inside you. I like what I saw.

Barbara

Post 25

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 4:06am

Bwahahahaha! Atlanta gang "blasting" in and taking over this thread on our way to total SOLO domination!

Has the Atlanta gang considered putting up a Solo Atlanta club site. I recently started Solo Illinois and it is energizing our local Meet-Up group. Luke and Joe have been a great help getting this going and are trying to add more local groups for Solo. Its a great way to find others locally who share you life-loving, happy, value-seeking spirit... and throw the first online objectivist baby shower for Jenn.

Jenn, a big congrats from me too. I'm very happy for you.

OK Kitty - Back to the kitchen. Go read the Virtue of Kittenness or something for a while.

meow. kitties can't read so you'll have to come in the kitchen with me... and read to me too. *purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr*

(Edited by katdaddy on 3/21, 6:20am)

Post 26

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 5:15am

Kelly, I'm sorry. No one is allowed to be THAT young and still make sense!

I don�t know James, for some of us it has taken years to become that young! ;)

Post 27

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 6:32am

Hong: Yes, I'm still here--barely. I have been intending to post on a variety of topics, but I don't have even 2 brain cells to rub together to do anything much, let alone fashion some sort of coherent turn of phrase. I'm sure you and the other parents (especially women) can relate! I plan to be back more regularly by this summer for sure.

Aquinas: Yay! I'm so glad to see you here, too! It seems our Atlanta-based Master Plan is coming together very nicely.....(insert world domination theme music here).

Ed: I completely agree. Well put. At SOLO, finally, HERE are the people I've been seeking since I first read The Fountainhead (gasp! 16 years ago!). I've been looking and looking for kindred spirits--and found some!

Katdaddy: I believe you're on to something about SOLO Altanta--although we seem to enjoy redirecting other seemingly innocuous threads to our own purposes. Also--I'm ALL ABOUT the virtue of silliness! Ask my husband and son!

And thanks for the warm wishes, everyone. The Big Day is March 30 (if not before then, yikes), so wish me luck. We'll keep you posted!

~Jenn

Post 28

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 8:11am

Thanks for the kind words, Ms. Branden.

With hesitation, I ask if I may call you Barbara (and, get ready for this ... ) because, you see, my dad's name is Ed and my mom's name is Barbara ... and your picture resembles my mom ... and my picture (not surprisingly) resembles my dad--go figure.

I think that's a little weird, but I have to admit that I seem to err to the side of finding TOO MANY connections in the world (rather than not enough), so I'm constantly "throwing away" interesting connections--you guys see just those which I kept (I kept that connection, however trivial; until the timing was right to share it).
-----------
Hi Jenn, and thanks for the compliment.

By the way, I "made a connection" when you said you didn't have 2 neurons to rub together, and that mothers, especially, would know what you are talking about. May I ask if you are either postpartum or breastfeeding?

I've become aware of a theory regarding postpartum brain function--one which invites nutritional correction. And I just thought that you might like to hear it--that is, if you can still understand me right now, working with only one brain cell and all!

;-)

Ed

Post 29

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 10:27am

Kat and Kelly, I have already approached the Atlanta Meetup group about forming a SOLO Georgia Local Club there and they opted not to do so, calling themselves "Georgia Objectivists" instead. You can learn more about them at

http://aynrand.meetup.com/2/

Tom Blackstone is part of that group. He was actually the person through whom I approached Georgia Objectivists about forming a SOLO Club. He just published his article about Yaron Brook here at SOLO recently.

All that said, if Kelly or another Georgia resident wants to serve as SOLO Georgia Coordinator and create a Web page here under that name, with links to Objectivist events of interest there, that would be great.

Post 30

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 5:26am

Jennifer,

Thanks for the welcome. I missed seeing you over at Objectivist Singles. Congratulations on your success in your professional and personal (relatioship) life.

As for that Jason character, yeah I know him. It seems like others are getting the chance to experience his wit and tit for tat (is that how you say that saying?). But don't worry he's all bark and no bite. Actually that is unless its Sal Grosso, then he can bite with the best of them.

I look forward to meeting more people on this site.

Aquinas

Post 31

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 6:44pm

Luke,

Could it be the Deep South SOLO, instead of just Georgia or Atlanta? Our current group spans several states. In fact, I am in TN now, but still organizing get togethers for the group. I'd love to be the coordinator. We are a different group than the Georgia Objectivists, though we are all friendly. Our group is a bit more into the social stuff. We are frisbee golfin, game playin, Mexican food eatin, goof offs. :)

Kelly

Post 32

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 6:46pm

Ed,

I am breastfeeding, and I have all of my braincells! Oh yeah . . . well, I ran out of gas today, and my car even has a readout telling how many miles to empty. Maybe my brain cells aren't working as well as I thought. :)

Kelly

Post 33

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 10:50pm

Kelly - did I inadvertently omit one third of your name when I posted your article?

Linz

Post 34

Monday, March 21, 2005 - 11:32pm

Jenn: "The Big Day is March 30 (if not before then, yikes), so wish me luck."

Of course! We'll all be thinking of you.

Barbara

Post 35

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 12:30am

Kelly, you seem to only be joking about alleged recent mental deficits. If this is true, then disregard the following ...

Kelly, nature is set up so as to support the rapid brain growth of infants. The key elements in brain growth/function are fatty acids (brains are mostly - ie. more than half - comprised of fatty acids).

If your diet is deficient in fatty acids, then your brain will sacrifice its own fatty acids and "unload" them into your breast milk. If you are on a low-meat/low-fish diet, then you are most at risk for "brain-drain" (self-depletion of brain fatty acids).

Infants who don't get enough fatty acids show visual acuity problems and hampered mental development.

References available upon request.

Ed

Post 36

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 2:25am

Ed:" I ask if I may call you Barbara."

Of course.

Barbara

Post 37

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 3:27am

Kelly, just name the states in question and we can create a page for each of them and make you the coordinator for them all. As we grow, you will likely want to find others to take the other states and so forth. What say you? Contact Joe Rowlands to set up the pages. I encourage you to use the Ayn Rand Meetup function wherever possible. Visit the SOLO Clubs page for details.

Post 38

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 6:49am

Kelly wrote:

Our current group spans several states. In fact, I am in TN now, but still organizing get togethers for the group. I'd love to be the coordinator. We are a different group than the Georgia Objectivists, though we are all friendly. Our group is a bit more into the social stuff. We are frisbee golfin, game playin, Mexican food eatin, goof offs. :)

Talk about kicking some ass!!! You go girl! Best of luck and a big group hug. I'm really digging the friendliness around here, too (if you know what I mean. *purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr* )

Post 39

Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - 2:05pm