Happy Thanksgiving
"Thanksgiving is a typically American holiday. In spite of its religious form (giving thanks to God for a good harvest), its essential, secular meaning is a celebration of successful production. It is a producers’ holiday. The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production. Abundance is (or was and ought to be) America’s pride—just as it is the pride of American parents that their children need never know starvation." -- “Cashing in on Hunger,”
The Ayn Rand Letter, III, 23, 1 -- http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/tha...
'I give thanks for the fact that I bought all the food I have prepared at a local grocery store. I am so thankful that I have so many grocery stores to choose from -- stocked with a dazzling array of products sourced from around the world at competitive prices all created with an aim of making money." -- Jennifer Anju Grossman, CEO of the Atlas Society. "Objectivist Ode to Thanksgiving" here: https://atlassociety.org/commentary/c...
"Which brings us to what we do the day after Thanksgiving and the month that follows: We shop! We crowd the malls to buy gifts for others—and usually a little something for ourselves. Yes, some people complain about commercialized holidays, but the whole purpose of fall harvest feasts throughout human history was to celebrate production. How wonderful that we can make our lives comfortable with attractive clothes and fun toys, consumer electronics and interesting books, movies and music, fine furniture and furnishings, to say nothing of tasty treats! And we can share our regard for those significant individuals in our lives with gifts of the same.
"As to the "deeper" meaning of the holidays, that is found in the travel, family members, food, and stores full of goods. The deeper meaning is that we have the capacity to produce such wealth and that we live in a country that affords us our right to exercise the virtue of productivity and to reap its rewards."
"The Productive Meaning of Thanksgiving" by Dr. Ed Hudgins, here:
https://atlassociety.org/commentary/c...
The Ayn Rand Letter, III, 23, 1 -- http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/tha...
'I give thanks for the fact that I bought all the food I have prepared at a local grocery store. I am so thankful that I have so many grocery stores to choose from -- stocked with a dazzling array of products sourced from around the world at competitive prices all created with an aim of making money." -- Jennifer Anju Grossman, CEO of the Atlas Society. "Objectivist Ode to Thanksgiving" here: https://atlassociety.org/commentary/c...
"Which brings us to what we do the day after Thanksgiving and the month that follows: We shop! We crowd the malls to buy gifts for others—and usually a little something for ourselves. Yes, some people complain about commercialized holidays, but the whole purpose of fall harvest feasts throughout human history was to celebrate production. How wonderful that we can make our lives comfortable with attractive clothes and fun toys, consumer electronics and interesting books, movies and music, fine furniture and furnishings, to say nothing of tasty treats! And we can share our regard for those significant individuals in our lives with gifts of the same.
"As to the "deeper" meaning of the holidays, that is found in the travel, family members, food, and stores full of goods. The deeper meaning is that we have the capacity to produce such wealth and that we live in a country that affords us our right to exercise the virtue of productivity and to reap its rewards."
"The Productive Meaning of Thanksgiving" by Dr. Ed Hudgins, here:
https://atlassociety.org/commentary/c...
I am grateful for the fact that I can cook up such a lovely bird and have family gather around to enjoy the meal. My favorite holiday.
I'm grateful for being born in a nation where somebody understood the concept of liberty.
As for my thanksgiving...my food comes from My garden harvest; potatoes and all, even the turkey came from our surrounding forest...this is the first year I have been able to do this.
As for the day after...I will Not be shopping, I will Not be watching sports or just lying around.
I, like most holidays since 09, will be working at Connecticut Hospice with some valued friends and colleagues.
I also am thankful for the many friends I have made here at the Gulch.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/thank...
https://www.amazon.com/Cowboy-Dancing... ... "The vicissitudes of this world cause me to choose between depression and cynicism; I choose the more entertaining." I practiced a positive mental attitude for the day and did feel better. Think I'll do it more often.........
Supporting a tree of life allowing me to form a branch.
I am also thankful to have been born in the USA,
between wars and in fact I never had to register for the draft (turned 18 in 1975).
I am thanksgiving for my family that loves me and
Allows me to love them.
Thanks for the present.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, your booplop, and your Lobeling.
Your friendship, gar-day latinum sou-tah!
Bok megoron duk...?
Several colleagues and I are starting a project to properly automate tissue engineering, so that it becomes engineering instead of something between alchemy and science. As part of that, I am using several of the Rules, most notably:
Rule #152: Work hard so you don't have to.
Rule #173: Dream, plan, believe, act.
44: Never confuse wisdom with luck.
57. Good customers are as rare as Latinum; treasure them.
59. Free advice is seldom cheap.
78: When the going gets tough, the tough change the Rules
95: Prejudice only eliminates customers.
98: Every man has his price.
110: Playing dumb is often smart
114: The one in power defines morality. (The politician's favorite rule)
127: Stay neutral in conflict so that you can sell supplies to both sides.(The bankers' favorite rule)
135: Never trust a beneficiary.
147: In all worthwhile labor there is profit.
184: In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
198: You can't shake hands with a fist.
247: Don't negotiate with the underlings.
249: Once it's sold, stop selling.
264: Distrust interested advice.
283: An individual is smart, a group is not.
999. One can read this list and learn something valuable about the writer.
Jack is my favorite whiskey and I have usually have a shot a day - medicinal purposes only, LOL.
I confronted Armin Shimerman at a trekker con in Livonia, Michigan, in the early 21st century. He said that he had read The Fountainhead in college and was going to revisit the works of Ayn Rand in preparation for the up-coming season.
http://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/20...
http://noelgreen.com/ferengi/Rules-of...
Are there any holidays where you take time to acknowledge just how miserable life is and note when things get this bad it's bound to reach a breaking point where everything falls apart and life gets even worse than before? I could see the ancient Sumerians having something like that.
I am grateful for the fact that books by and about Ayn Rand have sold probably 50 million copies to date. (See here somewhat dated:
http://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/20...
"A recent Zogby Poll raised more questions. Touted by the ARI in a November 30, 2010 press release, the poll found “that 29 percent of the 2,100 adult respondents have read Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged.” Of those who read the book, 49 percent agreed that Atlas Shrugged changed the way they think about political or ethical issues….”
I also believe from the numbers that while only a few may buy Philosophy: Who Needs It? or Introduction to the Objectivist Epistemology these are acquired by those who are interested in the technical philosophy having been introduced to it from the novels.