I really hate all the attention that you get on your birthday, it seems extremely selfish, but I had such a great time this year... I think that turning 18 could happen more often.
A view from my laptop's current home.
14 December 2008
Birthday time
Got the surprise of my life this weekend when Ashley took me to see The Fray in Vail. It was a blizzard and extremely cold, but no matter; we had a great time. Getting home was scary though... Wrapped up the weekend with a family birthday party--cut short by all of the things going on in our lives--that went splendidly. : ) My parents got me a new Macbook Pro, which I am very attached to already. Thanks mom and dad. Also got a signed John Fielder book from my mom, and a movie from my sister. Very happy!
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2 comments:
Hey Kevin-ho!
Yeah, happy happy and all that. Max just turned 20, and that was a bit freaky. He was a bit shocked when Sky told him that he wasn't a teenager any more. He's just struggling to get through college. He's got straight A's but the money is a huge problem for him. Next year we'll take him to the pub for a beer!
18 is cool, being out of school is way more cool. What'll be weirder is going back for graduation and thinking, "jeesh, all these people are still talking school," when you've been out in the real world for five months. It's like time warp.
Well, I'm waiting to read some more of your comments about Rand.
Also welcome to the Mac world! We're an all Mac family, have been for over twenty years. Max went over to UNIX but loves his new laptop and the freedom it gives him from his desk in his room.
The most historical of Rand's books is We the Living, which is one of the better treatments of the Russian revolution and the take over by the reds and the civil war.
Rand spanned two worlds, that of the 19th Century and the 20th. She said that the height of human civilization was just before WWI in Europe. Many people think that. Being a child of the space race, I don't but there are many attitudes that early 20th Century writers had that you don't see any more.
I read Anthem when I was 13 and then everything. I used to argue Capitalism the Unknown Ideal with teachers in Jr and Senior High. The thing that I loved about Rand is that she was the first to give me permission to be brilliant and talented and not to feel guilty about it. I hated everyone always telling me, "god gave you that talent so you should do something with it!" What they meant was that I should not refuse to draw them little raccoons when they wanted them.
What I hated then (and still do) was the envy. I could never see that anything I did was good enough, for I wanted to be as good as the best I could see. But I hated the people who looked at my art, such as it was, or saw me getting straight A's and said, "you're so lucky, everything's easy for you! If I was talented then I could be just like you!"
No, it wasn't, but I was willing to work. I didn't mind admiration as long as it wasn't too gushy, but I hated the envy. People always felt like you needed to be cut down a notch. But not Rand. I felt this incredible burden fall off my shoulders in reading her work and felt like I was not obligated to pay everyone and anyone for the privilege of being talented and smart.
I still hate movies where smart people are portrayed as having serious problems to "compensate" them to not so smart people, somehow to bring them down to the level of the common man. I have since found that everyone is talented or smart at something and to single out another's talent is just stupid.
One of the hardest parts about being in the same world as Rand is that having integrity and courage and honesty is not always appreciated. I cannot stand to struggle and struggle just to see the stuff that's published out there that is so bad that it's not even readable. I also hate it when people I work with want me to lie or play politics.
As you can imagine, I identify heavily with Mr. Roark. Although his ilk seems like the kind of man that was more common in earlier times in this country, there is still plenty of people like him.
Well, let's here your comments!
And put up some photos!!!!
I'll let you know when I have enough of my graphic novel done to look at.
birthday hugs,
me
Whoops,
That's hear your comments!
hah!
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