"To love is to value. Only a rationally selfish man, a man of self-esteem, is capable of love—because he is the only man capable of holding firm, consistent, uncompromising, unbetrayed values. The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone." | “The Objectivist Ethics,” The Virtue of Selfishness, 32

~~~?~~~

mmmmm.... yes...

http://www.jango.com/stations/263195038/tunein?proxy_id=9338357&song_id=47297

yes, indeed.

I am writing a book. Here's one of many main ideas:

You are the creator of your own world of experience. Consciously or unconsciously, you are molding your world of experience and determining your own destiny. In ignorance or in wisdom, for good or for evil, you are creating, building, constructing the scenery of that world of which you live, and move, and have your being. For weal or for woe, you are thus building. For better or for worse, you are thus constructing. Your personal world of experience is largely what you, yourself, have made it. Your ideals ever tend to become Real. You are always realizing your Ideals. What you have been doing unconsciously, you may now proceed to do consciously. By creating and controlling your Ideals, you create and control your world of experience. You may become an active master of Creation, instead of a passive slave...

The beginning of a new chapter:

I have fathomed many goals for Living that I have for many years intended on fully participating and being an active member in accomplishing, all of which I have come to find require an accomplice for the cause. I have found that in everything I desire the worth is nothing to have, to attain, to achieve without being able to share in those rewards that those desires produce with someone I love. I have come to learn that the reason for being self is the reason for living, and the reason for living is the reason of Love. There is no other reason for Joy and Happiness, and Love is the only way to find that Happiness.

??Okay, I am an avid cyclist. With the current (and past/future) economic situation in the US with oil prices I've been doing my part to make due and keep the demand down for fuel. I wrote a little on the subject. Follow the link:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150113080868753&id=55012525

"Justice is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake the character of men as you cannot fake the character of nature, that you must judge all men as conscientiously as you judge inanimate objects, with the same respect for truth, with the same incorruptible vision, by as pure and as rational a process of identification..." | Galt’s Speech, For the New Intellectual, 129

"Happiness is a state of non-contradictory joy—a joy without penalty or guilt, a joy that does not clash with any of your values and does not work for your own destruction, not the joy of escaping from your mind, but of using your mind’s fullest power, not the joy of faking reality, but of achieving values that are real, not the joy of a drunkard, but of a producer." | Galt’s Speech, For the New Intellectual, 132

"Lend your ears to music, open your eyes to painting, and... stop thinking! Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to "walk about" into a hitherto unknown world. If the answer is yes, what more do you want?"

~Kandinsky, 1910

"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? How else can we put ourselves in harmonious relation with the great verities and consolations of the infinite and the eternal? And I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days. Humanity will not be cast down. We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun."

- Sir Winston Churchill, Dundee, Scotland, 10 October 1908

"God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen."

--Reinhold Niebuhr

My first thought when I wake up: The Education of Will is the object of my existence.

My most over-used phrase: The majority of failures in life are simply the victims of their mental defeats. Their conviction that they cannot succeed as others do robs them of that vigor and determination which self confidence imparts and they don't even half try to succeed.

I'm most afraid of: nothing

My favorite memory: When I realized my full potential.

The perfect pizza: Olive oil base with garlic seasoning, topped with Artichoke Hearts, Spinach, Chicken, Lamb, Feta, black olives, Roma tomatoes, and mozzerella cheese, then baked in a brick oven.

I believe I can do anything: If it were not in me to do, or be, or have; then it would not be in me to desire, to imagine, to know...

I think pets are:

phenominal exhibits of how we as humans are not to live.

I like to play chess, golf, tennis, cycle. I was training for a marathon when My little Girl changed that. I will get back to it once she is born. I love to study philosophy, psychology, nutrition, and cognitive neuroscience. I love a good book. I actually collect very old books. I also have a small wine collection going. I like to pamper myself. I do whatever i want to do! When I am inspired to do something I do it! I enjoy my life! When a situation turns sour, I do what I am able to do to make it great.

We strive through suffering so that we may enjoy Life.

I rarely watch the tube, but when I do I have some shows that I prefer above others...

House, Chuck, NCIS, Man Vs Wild, and I am sure that there are a few others. I love to watch the Tour de France, although, I would prefer to be there in person! I also love to watch 20/20, not the News either. I have found a distinct fascination with Cricket.

True/False Film Festival & Rag Tag Cinemas

Going to see Black Swan this coming weekend.

I am writing my own book...

"We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that door shut. But the writer's job is to see what's behind it, to see the bleak, unspeakable stuff, and turn the unspeakable into words." Anne Lamott

but here are a few good ones I have read:

Katherine *my all time favorite*,

Anna Karenina,

War And Peace (currently reading; very good read),

HGG,

Good Omens,

The Secret of the Ages,

Sophie's World,

Exchange of Hearts,

Jane Eyre,

Little Women,

The BIble (not just for religious reading, but for philosophical purposes) It becomes a whole new read then...

Ayn Rand's "For the New Intellectual",

The Fountainhead,

Atlas Shrugged,

.. and many, many more...