Thought of the Day

As heated as some of this stuff got on other topics and the awful names and such why would jbwb be gone ???

Edited by dogcatcher - 08/April/2011 at 10:09am

citizen wrote: yum. in honor of the new Galt movie coming to theatres near you: http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/04/15/galt-as-text/   since post-election banter is not grabbing anyone, does anyone want to start a clearly labeled thread on randgaltlibertarian-ism. cause the above is the best description i've come across...

Yum?

Still the finest dissection of Atlas Shrugged belongs to the wizard of words, Driftglass:
"Atlas Shrugged": A Thousand Pages of Bad Science Fiction About Sock-Puppets Stabbing Strawmen with Tax Cuts."

I see your motive here. You want KP to drag out his dog-eared copy; to regale us with its timeless genius. Which would force me to dismantle the shriveled crone of self-absorbed nonsense while defending wobblies everywhere.

well-played.

Enough of the people for just long enough. We're almost there. Can you see it yet?

A movie based on part of "Atlas Shrugged" is opening today.  Apparently, it is the first of three parts planned.  Michael Phillips in the Tribune panned it.  That made me very happy.  I read the damn thing years ago.  Hated it.

Apparently Ayn Rand believed her hated communism was defeated by profit motivated American citizens who banded together in defense of her beloved capitalism.

the day after: jim fallows suggests you watch this video:

Yep, citizen, that's a funny one. Almost as good as this one for Mother's Day.Mother's Day from sons

@Watcher 

Rita Hayworth is Stayin' Alive. pure fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz3CPzdCDws

FWIW, showed to my wife, former dancer/choreographer- her response: "four stars."

sent to me this morning by my former (no, really) husband. 

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Family sues grandmother after fall leaves child disabled

May 29, 2012 - 2:38PM

A woman who fell down stairs while clutching her five-month-old granddaughter has been successfully sued by her own family, who claimed her negligence left the baby girl with "traumatic" head injuries.

The Reverend Hannalore Hoffmann was carrying Molly Boland during a family holiday at a holiday cottage in Smiths Lake, near Forster, on the NSW mid north coast on January 25, 2006. She tripped and fell, leaving the little girl "severely disabled".

Molly's parents Jason Boland and Susan Hoffmann sued Hannalore Hoffmann for failing to take reasonable care.

The NSW Supreme Court heard the Reverend Hoffmann offered to take Molly downstairs about 5:30am after the baby woke and wouldn't settle. As there was only dawn light, the Reverend Hoffmann asked her daughter to keep the light on in her room to illuminate the staircase. She did not turn on the staircase lights so as not to disturb other sleeping family members.

She told the court she slowly and carefully descended the stairs but stumbled and fell to the bottom, still grasping Molly.
In a judgment handed down this morning, Justice Robert Shallcross Hulme found parents and close relatives have a legal duty to exercise reasonable care when they undertake physical actions involving their children.

"Did Reverend Hoffmann exercise such care in this case? In my view she did not. I accept that she thought she was being careful. I accept that often babies are attended to in the middle of the night and in order that other members of a household are not disturbed, without lights being turned on," Justice Hulme said.

"Nevertheless, when regard is had to the totality of circumstances including where Reverend Hoffmann walked and the absence of reasonable illumination, I am persuaded that she did not take that reasonable care."
The Reverend Hoffman launched a cross-claim against several parties involved in the design, construction and installation of the stairs during $400,000 renovations to the holiday home, which were completed in October 2005.

It was alleged that her fall was caused by, or was contributed to, by the fact there was no handrail, anti-slip finish or sensor lights, and the staircase contained winders - wedge or triangle-shaped stairs.
But Justice Hulme dismissed the cross-claims, finding the designers and builders were not guilty of a lack of reasonable care because they chose to use winders, even though they are acknowledged to be less safe than landings between flights of stairs.

He said winders were a common feature of domestic staircases and were allowed under the building code, as were the balustrade and newel posts that were used in place of a continuous handrail.

He also rejected the proposition that an architect should install sensor lights to protect someone who chooses not to turn on the lights.
Justice Hulme's judgment was only on liability and the issue of damages was not canvassed.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/family-sues-grandmother-after-fall-leaves-child-disabled-20120529-1zgeh.html#ixzz1wIg7pQYt


Edited by backman - 30/May/2012 at 4:19pm

Geez, Backman, ever google true INSPIRATIONAL stories? Thanks for sharing but those aren't my thoughts for the day.

ala' backman, but not as weird :)

from NPR:
Bibi and Poldi, giant tortoises at the Austrian Zoo who mated when they were young, are on the outs. After more than a century together, Bibi decided she'd had enough and started biting her partner's shell. Animal behaviorists have tried bonding games and aphrodisiacs to reunite the pair, but so far, no luck.

from Yahoo News:
Sometimes, 115 years of togetherness is enough. Bibi and Poldi, two giant tortoises at the Austrian Zoo, are (slowly) going their separate ways after more than a century of companionship.

[Related: Near-extinct turtle bred on Bangladesh beach]

The straw that broke the turtle's back came when Bibi (the female) began biting Poldi's shell. Whether turtle or human, gnawing on your partner's back is a sign that the relationship has hit a bumpy phase. Staff members of the Austrian zoo tried a variety of methods to re-light the flame of love, including aphrodisiacs, games, and couple's counseling. Alas, nothing worked.

[Related: Caymans free turtle to honor Queen Elizabeth]

Zoo director Helga Happ told the Austrian Times, "We get the feeling they can't stand the sight of each other anymore." Poldi has been moved to another enclosure, a rather big move. Poldi and Bibi had shared space for 36 years. Before that, they lived together in Switzerland.

[Related: The ancient turtle as big as a car]

We don't recommend biting your partner as a way to get back on the singles scene, but you have to hand it to Bibi for making a big change after 115 years. It's like she's coming out of her shell.

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/11/154738954/tortoise-couple-splits-after-115-years
http://shine.yahoo.com/love-sex/115-years-together-tortoises-separate-ways-182500381.html