Ryan Cooper

This is pretty fucked up. Rationalizations aside, this really can't be read as anything but a massive invasion of privacy, wholesale stealing of (likely) copyrighted content and a truly pathological misrepresentation. I'm sharply reminded of the whole JT LeRoy fiasco a while back, especially in that whoever it is continues to make obvious lies--almost as though they wanted to be caught, or couldn't help themselves. As a fan, even though the paladin stuff had little or nothing to do with the personal stuff, I feel betrayed. I trusted her/him. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some lawsuits in the future, but "Ferarro" probably has some serious psychological problems. This is just one more reminder of how deeply creepy the internet can be. *shiver*

Nathaniel Branden was a long-time companion of Ayn Rand until their bitter separation in 1968. His essay The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand is worth reading, and not just for his criticism of her philosophy--there are also some good parts that generally get glossed over because her political conclusions are frankly ridiculous. Of course, less-recent philosophers like Aristotle are not subject to such treatment. Though I find Rand's philosophy generally awful, I have to admit there are some worthwhile bits. This brings me back to Gevlon , who is often called an innovative WoW blogger, often bringing new ideas to the game. What he really is, though, is an unrepentant Randian before the (likely inevitable) disillusionment. I have vaguely believed this, but not being especially familiar with Objectivism I hadn't really laid it down precisely. But Branden nails him to a T: [...] If you read her books, or her essays in The Objectivist, or if you listen to ...

I find the practice of reviewing a book before you're done with it rather silly, but the book in question is massive and I'd like to get this down to see if my opinion changes by the end (which might be a long time.) Infinite Jest : so far, a bit all over the place. Too much detail, too many characters, and too much covered. I suspect that's the point--but as the reader, being bludgeoned into submission isn't so far too enjoyable. By page 300 (and the pages are large with small print), there are still new characters, new styles, and new themes being introduced. I find the possibility of a satisfactory ending--in which all the threads are tied off in some sense--remote. With that said, the writing is excellent, the characters are interesting, if slightly too fucked up and intelligent. It's fun to read, which is a major plus for "literary" fiction. (I find Pynchon like reading a mashed potatoes/cement mixture.) It's also very funny. Stay tuned fo...

Check it: The Pink Pigtail Inn. Larisa has to be one of the most heartwarming bloggers I've ever seen. Even Gevlon has nothing but nice things to say to her. She says the things about Warcraft that were sort of floating around half-formed in my head, but says them better and with more feeling. Kudos.

I've been listening to this a lot for the last week or so. Not sure why, but it seems like others share my feeling.

Always remember : " Atlas Shrugged is a stupid book, Ayn Rand is a stupid woman, and John Galt’s ideas are stupid."

As a sometimes blogger, we all go through the phases of finding someone utterly wrongheaded on the internet. First you think, well, this person sounds sort of reasonable, I'll try to convince them with very careful language. When that fails, and the person probably insults your mother or something, then you get a little riled up and write an extensive reply. Enter Gevlon . Tobold had a similar experience with him awhile back. He's very good at making gold in WoW, good enough that he actually hit the gold cap which is something like 214,000 gold. He's also an diagnoser of human ills, and looks at everything from a holier-than-thou Ayn Rand sort of perspective, with a good dose of standard conservative prating about socialism thrown in for good measure. It's grating, but I foolishly tried to engage. Then today, he honestly jumped the shark . He tried to argue that all poor people--mentioning Africa specifically--have a way to financial success just like rich peop...

Been tutoring on and off. Got a job at a grocery store for the time being, which has been very interesting. I also starting playing World of Warcraft, which has been an interesting experience. More on that later.