The National Midnight Star #286

Errors-To: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu Reply-To: rush@syrinx.umd.edu Sender: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu Precedence: bulk From: rush@syrinx.umd.edu To: rush_mailing_list Subject: 07/12/91 - The National Midnight Star #286
** ____ __ ___ ____ ___ ___ ** ** / /_/ /_ /\ / /__/ / / / / /\ / /__/ / ** ** / / / /__ / \/ / / / / /__/ / \/ / / /___ ** ** ** ** __ ___ ____ ** ** /\ /\ / / \ /\ / / / _ /__/ / ** ** / \/ \ / /___/ / \/ / /___/ / / / ** ** ** ** ____ ____ ___ ___ ** ** /__ / /__/ /__/ ** ** ____/ / / / / \ ** The National Midnight Star, Number 286 Friday, 12 July 1991 Today's Topics: Subjects to interest just about anyone (yaaawn) Re: Philosophy & Rush Queensryche says, This is a great Rush song. (no kidding) Bootlegs record label change and Waaaah Waaaah Waaaah Undeliverable Mail Starting bootleg collections (Shawn Lee, take note) Flames & Ball?! upcoming albums... rush stuff time signatures Rush fans in Greenville Where's My Thing? Part IV. Re: 07/10/91 - The National Midnight Star #284 Radio Hype Re: RUSH and philosophy new trilogy? Re: philosophical rushians ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Editor, The National Midnight Star <rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu> Subject: Administrivia There was no NMS for Thursday, 7/11/91. You can stop worrying why you didn't get it. :-) Also, there seems to be some problem with Syrinx and mail - mail daemons keep firing up independently for some unknown reason... *sigh* Hopefully it will not affect the mailing list too much... rush-mgr ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 16:31:09 CDT From: The Neck Romancer <MV012791@VM1.NoDak.EDU> Subject: Subjects to interest just about anyone (yaaawn) Good day, I forgot a few things in my article concerning similarities between Rush and Queensryche. I have remembered but one, and I will also cover a few other subjects, extending a trend of placing a subject followed by a colon at the beginning of each paragraph that introduces a new topic within one posting. RUSH and Queensryche: Most of us may know that Rush's self-titled debut was majorly influenced by Led Zeppelin. After a while, the boyz gradually turned to each other for inspiration and devoloped a style which is their own. Just as Rush sounded much like Zep, Queensryche sounded much like Iron Maiden in their first song on their self-titled debut (which was an EP). That song, entitled "Queen Of The Reich", had that Maiden drive signatured by: __________ __________ | |--| | |--| nice effects, eh? | | | | | | what do you mean "what is it"? (*) (* (* (*) (* (* Okay, so they're not the best graphics. Anyway, it's the eighth note and two sixteenth note pattern, which does produce a nice driving feel. The point is that RUSH and Queensryche both had influences (though Iron Maiden was *not* one of Queensryche's main influences by any means), and both are now doing their own thing. Check out my next posting where Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton (Ryche guitarists) discuss "Show Don't Tell" transcribed from Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine. A Show Of Hands video: Just a couple of notes--1) In "Force Ten" at one point, it sounds like Neil's on the ride cymbal, while the screen shows Him on the hihat. 2) Does anyone else have a static noise toward the end of "Tom Sawyer"? I have this noise everytime I play the video right before "Exit the warrior..." You know you're a RUSH fan when: you are writing new entries into the Mayville State University alumni book, and for some reason, while turning the page (no pun intended...really) an address in Montana of a Mr. Prestbo catches your eye. Article transcriptions for the digest: I noticed that a lucky someone getting their wisdom teeth pulled will be submitting some article/interviews from guitar magazines. Well, I've been working on one for a few days (I didn't know that it was this difficult), so please don't do the article from Guitar World in the March 1990 issue. I didn't want to have done it for nothing, and I don't want you to do it for nothing. I'll be doing a few more unless I get e-mail from you listees who may think that articles in guitar magazines are not something with which to clutter the digest. I'm not sure if non-musicians would be interested in them, so let me know, damn it. I'm sorry; I'm a little emotional today because my spatula told my sister that cows get more precipita- tion with assistance by Barnaby Fargenheimer. (you may laugh now) That's it, but you can look ahead to that posting on Chris and Michael's words on "Show Don't Tell", and coming soon.....RUSH TRIVIA! (actually, it's just one oddball question) I'll take off. Craig Rindy mv012791@ndsuvm1.bitnet "Don't feed the salmon, they might decide you don't *need* curtains." "The monkey reads my journal when dead hamsters fill my hamper." ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 17:05:00 PDT From: valid!minion!hawley@uunet.UU.NET (Todd Hawley) Subject: Re: Philosophy & Rush Wes makes some good points here: >How about those of us who (*gasp*) don't consider lyrics important? >.. I don't comb the lyrics for hidden meaning or deeper symbolism; I just en- >joy the music...In my opinion, placing music/lyrics under a magnifying >glass is an exercise in futility. Here here! As I've said before, I enjoy listening to Rush because of the superb musicianship, & great lyrics. When I listen to Tom Sawyer, New World Man, Red Barchetta, etc. my imagination allows me to actually picture a story going on around the song..I don't spend hours analyzing it (tho you're all welcome to do that if you desire :-)) -todd hawley "on Sundays I elude the eye & hop the turbine freight" ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 18:56:48 CDT From: Optional <MV012791@VM1.NoDak.EDU> Subject: Queensryche says, This is a great Rush song. (no kidding) So here it is, eh? The transcription of Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton's comments on Rush and "Show Don't Tell". Taken without permission...no, wait a minute...I *got* permission. Yeah, that's it. Actually, I don't need permission 'cause I'm the ... editor ... yeah, I'm the editor of Guitar For The Practicing Musician magazine. OKAY! I confess. I'm a pathological liar, but I just want to be loved; is that so wronG? (you're not a rabbit, are you, Harvey) ENOUGH!!! On with the article from the August 1991 issue under the column called "In The Listening Room"--Here's what the Queensryche guitarists say about "Show Don't Tell". =============================================================================== Chris DeGarmo: This is a great Rush song. Michael Wilton: This has everything. It starts with a great intro, which totally puts you in this mood. Then, all of a sudden you're somewhere else, which we like. Chris: It's got excellent dynamic changes. The texturing of the instruments is great. It's rhythmically exciting and the guitar sounds are just so dy- namic. The clear, clean sound of this is amazing. It's crystal. It sounds like a steel harp or something. From the performance standpoint this is a great performance. They sound very inspiring. Michael: They're tight. Chris: There's great cohesiveness between the band members. It's obviously a band cohesion there. We can relate to it because we are so tight together, as friends. We think things through like these guys. They obviously put a great deal of passion into their stuff. It's something you can listen to over and over. There's a lot of similarities between Rush and us. (Transcriber's note: I told you so. :-) Rush is a band that has been keen on experimentation. It's a very growth-oriented and adventuresome bunch of guys. Just look at their discography. They've gone through these amazing transitions throughout their career, *and* they have a following. The Rush fans are in it for the long haul. They grew with these guys, they changed with the band, they look forward to the new adventures. ============================End of stolen information.========================= Okay, like, I hope there's only eight weeks left of our wait for this new adventure, eh? I think Chris really captured the mind and heart of Rush fans, so I believe that he is a pretty big one himself. I know that Scott Rockenfeild and Eddie Jackson (drummer and bassist for Queensryche) are big fans themselves because I read an interview where one of the band members said that Scott and Eddie are always jamming some Rush tunes before rehearsal. Anyway, the following is some more from that same article that pertains to the boyz. < reinstate information theft mode (Some discussion was just taking place about a Bachesque Cacophony song.) Guitar ftPM magazine: Who writes the best instrumentals? Michael: Yes and Rush. Chris: "Cinema", from _90125_. Michael: Rush did "YYZ". I'm kind of tired of that classical thing. It's great playing. I would listen to that song, but I probably wouldn't be able to listen to the whole album, if it's all like that. Chris: In a situation like that we're going to commend the performance because it obviously shows some great dexterity and pretty thorough understanding of the instrument. But it's not really my idea of a song. < end information theft mode It seems that Queensryche, like some of our favorite bands, also put the song before the ego (playing fast classical chops and arpeggios). That's one of the main things that I like about Rush, that they can write good songs and put the whole picture as a higher priority than advancing their individual fame. Hell, it's one of the main things that I like about Queensryche, too, then, eh? Never once did these guys slam the songs that they heard for this interview like I've heard Dave Mustaine do many times. I respect Dave's playing, but he's got a bad attitude, and I'm glad that bands like Rush have the integrity to criticize themselves more than taking cheap shots at more famous people. I also like that Chris and Michael mentioned Yes. FYI, if you didn't already know, Cinema was the projected name for the group which formed Yes for the _90125_ release. For some reason, they kept using Yes instead. I believe the members were then Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Trevor Rabin, Tony Kaye, and Alan White. I may be wrong...I'm not sure. That's enough rambling because I think I've gone off on a tangent. (Or maybe I got off on a cosine.) Craig Rindy mv012791@ndsuvm1.bitnet The Neck Romancer (it's just a pun, don't take it too seriously) "The other day I got off on a sine. It read, '36 days left', refering to the new Metallica album." ---------------------------------------------------------- From: rstark@aipna.edinburgh.ac.uk Date: Tue, 9 Jul 91 12:07:54 BST Subject: Bootlegs No flame, but... Gordon MacKinney <gordon@hpbblb.bbn.hp.com> writes: ...people should be aware that bootleg recordings take money from the artists who earn it... This is a subject that has been debated to death in other forums (e.g. rec.music.misc etc.), but it is far from clear that *anyone* loses *any moeny* from bootlegs. Creative control is indeed lost, and this is the only aspect of bootlegs I have heard Rush members complain about. But money? If someone makes a copy of an existing album and sells it, maybe so, but this is more commonly callled counterfitting (sp). The key question is: How many people buy a bootleg *instead* of an official release? I think the answer is "very few". In general, bootlegging *creates* wealth by producing additional products in a non-saturated marketplace. The fan who owns every offical release in multiple formats, plus the video, plus attends concerts whenever they appear, is in NO WAY depriving the band of any money if they chose to also purchase a bootleg recording of a concert. They may be doing the band a disservice by listening to unauthorized material (and Rush can be picky about imperfections in their live performances), and they may be supporting some dodgy characters who make the bootlegs, but neither Rush nor their record label lose anything unless the boot is purchased instead of an official release. Of course, each of us has only a finite amount of money to spend on music material, and it may be that money spent on a boot is not available to buy the latest Madonna release, but that is another artist on another label. -Randall P.S. Zappa may have a point, as he tends to release huge amount of live material (thus potentially violating the "non-saturated marketplace" criterion) but Rush can be quite stingy, esp. with live video. Many of their tracks are not available live on any offical release (e.g. Natural Science). P.P.S. I do not currently own ANY bootlegs, BTW. P.P.P.S It goes without saying that anyone who hears any solid info re: Tour Dates should post!!!! ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 9 Jul 91 15:31:06 BST From: ano@csres.cs.reading.ac.uk (Adrian N Ogden) Subject: record label change and Waaaah Waaaah Waaaah jay@masig3.ocean.fsu.edu (Jay Shriver) writes: >why, after many successful years with Mercury-Polygram records did Rush change >to Atlantic records? Where they dropped by Mercury-Polygram (not likely) or >did Atlantic just offer them a better deal? I'm suprised that M-P would let >a band that has been as successful as Rush move to another label. The Mercury-Polygram contract had expired with all obligations fulfilled, so the label had no more hold over them. So they took the oportunity to look for a better deal. They felt that Mercury hadn't really done a great deal towards promoting the last few albums because Rush weren't the "latest thing" that could be massively hyped, they were just something that was there and always had been. By looking for a new label they'd be working with people who'd see them in a fresh light and do more for them. Chris Schiller <chris@cdc.hp.com> writes: >[ stuff from Phil Kime <pyubg@cu.warwick.ac.uk> deleted ] >In my day.....we didn't have artificial meat, we didn't have meat at all, >we just had bones, and we didn't roll them, we gnawed them until our >teeth fell out. And if we wanted an interesting but limited concept we just >puked the whole mess up and ate it again, AND WE LIKED IT! "And you try telling the young people of today that... and they won't believe you!" :-) << Adrian Ogden _ . _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ . . ano@uk.ac.rdg.cs.csres >> ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 22:48:36 edt From: "Dylan Kaufman" <morgan@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu> Subject: Starting bootleg collections (Shawn Lee, take note) I was in the same position about 6 months ago of wanting to get some bootlegs and not having any to trade.... A kind soul was willing to make copies for me if I would give him tapes and would deal with picking them up (I met him at his office in Berkeley grad school). I would be more than happy to do the same. I only have three RUSH concerts at the moment, Permanent Waves 3/16/80 St. Louis, Hemispheres 3rd night Chicago, and Power Windows 1/31/86 Oakland, but I would be more than happy if you provide tapes and shipping... I suspect that there are others who will do the same as long they don't have to pay anything to do it... Am I right? -<>Dylan<>- MA EMT-M, CA EMT-1A, BEMCo 107 Dylan Kaufman Major in Computer Science morgan@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu Brandeis University, Waltham, MA ------<< Support your local Emergency Medical Services >>------- "I've got something to say! It is better to burn out than to fade away!" - Kurgan ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 23:06:19 EDT From: Todd Fantz <fantz@athena.cs.uga.edu> Subject: Flames & Ball?! Ok, Well being an Objectivist (and a Rush fan) I just cannot sit around and let all this 'discussion' go by without comment. All of this comes from issue #284. (1) Gregg Jaeger writes that Ayn Rands metaphysics are successfully argued against yet seems to at least have some admiration for her ethics. (Nan des ka?) You should know that at least in an Objectivist system there is no dichotomy between ethics and metaphysics. Ethics are based on the nature of man otherwise they are to his detriment. You cannot have it both ways. (2) DO NOT PUT WORDS IN NEIL PEARTS MOUTH. Do not speculate on another persons political position i.e. public education, without proof to back it up. As far as public education goes I will quote Nathanial Branden to show that you cannot be for public education and be for freedom of man. "SHOULD EDUCATION BE COMPULSORY AND TAX-SUPPORTED, AS IT IS TODAY? The answer to this question becomes evident if one makes the question more concrete and specific, as follows: Should the government be permitted to remove children forcibly from their homes, with or without the parent's consent, and subject the children to educational training and procedures of which the parents may or may not approve? Should citizens have their wealth expropriated to support an educational system which they may or may not sanction, and to pay for the education of children who are not their own? To anyone who understands and is consistently commited to the principle of individual rights, the answer is clearly: NO" from: Common Fallacies About Capitalism from Capitalism the Unknown Ideal. (3) To Wes Morgan...You are of course entitled to listen to Rush and pay little attention to the lyrics, but...Neil puts a lot of time into his writing (understatement) and there are complicated and meaningful themes that to me are inseparable from the music. I guess what I am trying to say is that whether you agree with the messages or not I find it unfortunate that you choose to ignore or pass over what I consider to be half of the "music" and half of the act of "listening". Just don't bust others who think the lyrics are just as important. (4) I can testify to Pete Chestnas collection. Most of you probably heard it it you were in line at the Greenville (ALTP) concert. He also apparently,(by rumor of an old roommate) has a copy of their first single. GMAW (5) As far as the symbolism of the "three gilded balls" in The Fountainhead. It seems obvious to me that the phrase means that man at the present time will basically sell his soul to the highest bidder. In other words people are willing to compromise everything, that man's mind should have a "For Sale" sign on it. I also talked to Dr. John Ridpath, a Objectivist writer and lecturer about the subject, he says that he knows of no other significance to the three balls. Since Rush is the last thing I think of when I hear the word compromise I really must conclude that there is not connection. IMHTTO Looking back at this posting it looks like one big flame..Oh well. Flame away. fantz@athena.cs.uga.edu Todd Fantz ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: upcoming albums... rush stuff From: wilkinso@darkside.com (Sean Flanegan) Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 18:36:02 PDT Before I say what is on my mind, I would like to say that this is newsgroup is just what I have been looking for. I am not into computers that much, so this was a big surprise. Now... onto the business at hand. On earlier posts of TNMS, people were discussing the possibility of the band doing another concept song. Names like Robin Hood and Dune were brought up. I don't know about you, but I really don't think that would be a good idea. Especially Dune. If Neil was going to write a song based on anything it should be something with a little more artistic integrity. I mean REALLY!! Why not the star wars trilogy or nightmare on elm street next.... Next, about "Roll the Bones" Wheres my Thing part IV... If I remember correctly.. this would mean a series of songs in DECSENDING ordr. Does this mean that we have at least THREE more albums on the way????!!!!?? I sure hope so. Quick question..... On a previous post someone linked HYF with the Challenger disaster. I am not convinced that the three balls on the cover represent the lost astronauts... but "Mission" may be sum sort of a tribute( the band did see the first space shuttle launch ---remember---) if you have any more information on this subject please post!!! also I heard in Eric Merola's The Necromancer... that the new album would be a departure from the synthesised sound to more of a Moving Pictures sound Post if you know about these subjects " But if you keep FOLDING it " -Nigel Tufnel " Spinal Tap" is it true they are going on tour? post if you know sean ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: time signatures Date: Thu, 11 Jul 91 04:26:49 -0700 From: dougo@soda.berkeley.edu Can someone explain to musically illiterate me what the difference between 4/4 time and, say, 13/8 is? I've heard it mentioned a lot that Rush plays in all sorts of odd time signatures, but I've never actually figured out what this means. Thanks, DougO P.S. In the Geddy Lee interview, they mention "Apocalypse in 9/8" by Genesis as being on _Trick_of_the_Tail_, when in actuality it is part of "Supper's Ready", a 20-minute epic that appears on _Foxtrot_, from when Peter Gabriel was still with the band. ICYC. ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 91 10:06:25 -0400 From: abramsc@knoc.dnet.dupont.com Subject: Rush fans in Greenville Wow. I went to shoot pool last night with some friends and not one, but *two* complete strangers complemented me on my airbrushed Rush t-shirt... To listen to the student radio station here you'd think students in Greenville (NC, not SC) had never heard of Rush... I guess if you're lucky enough you can find Rush fans anywhere... Anyway, before all the commotion over bootlegs dies down, (this newsletter is starting to look like the want ads), I'll add a little something. I've had experience with bootlegs before I was a Rush fan-- I used to have four Led Zeppelin boots from the Physical Graffiti tour in L.A., and even the people pushing those boots have ethics...a guy copied them for me on my own blank tapes for no charge. I guess big-time collectors and such will pay good money for mint condition boots, but I'll just settle for cassette copies... If you're wondering (probably not but I'll tell you anyway) what happened to my Zep boots, I lost three of them in a car accident, but if anyone is interested in a copy of the fourth, you have my address. --Cam abramsc@knoc.dnet.dupont.com (this summer, next spring, and the following fall) cfabrams@eos.ncsu.edu (anytime) ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 10 Jul 91 14:19:00 EST Subject: Where's My Thing? Part IV. From: DSchmidt.311@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov! Where's My Thing? Part IV. The gangsters of boats trilogy. Now that's an odd title for a song! If indeed it is an instrumental, why Part IV? Could it be like the Fear trilogy, where the songs were released in reverse order? That would mean at least three more albums after Roll the Bones! But why is the word 'trilogy' in the title? A trilogy with four songs? (The 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy' has four books!) Maybe it's just the fourth instrumental: I) 2112 Oveture II) La Villa III) YYZ IV) Where's my thing? Who knows... Dave Schmidt ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 91 15:40 EDT From: HAG2@vms.cis.pitt.edu Subject: Re: 07/10/91 - The National Midnight Star #284 Someone asked for these... Here are the catalog numbers to order with for Rush albums through BMG. I joined around the beginning of the year, and this is all of the ones they have advertised since then: 2112 -- 133716 Chronicles -- 209829 A Show of Hands -- 200608 Presto is available, but I don't have the # here... As for cost: 2112: $8.98 ASOH: $3.98 Chrn: $15.98 Wait for the 1/2 price months, so you only pay $1.99 for ASOH, etc... If anyone wants to join and get 8 tapes/CDs for the price of one, (plus shipping and handling), contact me, so that I can get 2 free for getting others to join :) P.S. I am not in any way associated with BMG. Herschel Gelman hag2@vms.cis.pitt.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 91 15:58:28 -0500 From: Mark Shaw <shaw@aries.scs.uiuc.edu> Subject: Radio Hype I have noticed that in recent weeks, there has been a marked increase in the number of RUSH songs played on the radio (at least here in this small midwestern town). I have seen this pattern before and I have heard that it can be attributed to a record company driven hype of a band before the release of an album. Obviously, since RUSH is releasing an album shortly, this must be the cause. Does anybody out there have more information about this phenomenon? Am I correct in assuming that it is record company driven and not something taken up by the radio stations themselves? Has anyone else even noticed this? Don't get me wrong, though, I like it; but it seems to undermine the integrity of the effort. I mean, the radio stations will only play this certain band when the band has an upcoming album (and the only reason for that is to increase sales). Seems kind of cheesy, but then there is a lot of that in the music industry, I guess. Anyways, those are my thoughts for the day, eh? Mark mshaw@uiuc.edu ---------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 11 Jul 91 16:45 CDT From: <RVJ1876%TAMRIGEL.BITNET@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU> Subject: Re: RUSH and philosophy In TNMS, dtd 07/10/91, Wes Morgan <morgan@engr.uky.edu> writes : >How about those of us who (*gasp*) don't consider lyrics important? >Philosophy doesn't have anything to do with my appreciation of Rush. >My first exposure was long ago, when my brother bought Caress of Steel. I >listened to about 10 minutes and knew that I had to hear more of the *music*. >At that point, I didn't even pay attention to the lyrics; the sheer talent >behind the instruments hooked me. I've been a musician for 21 years, and >I listen to several groups whose "philosophy" differs radically from mine. >Of course, I have paid more attention to Rush lyrics since that time. I >don't comb the lyrics for hidden meaning or deeper symbolism; I just en- >joy the music. To me, "Red Barchetta" was nothing more than an entertaining >story of youth. In my opinion, placing music/lyrics under a magnifying >glass is an exercise in futility. Music is *meant* to mean different >things to different people; each of us view a piece of music in a distinct >light, colored by our individual experiences and perspective. Right on, Wes ! I am a reletively new reader of TNMS, and was fairly surprised to find lyrics and symbolism discussed to a greater extent than the music. The thing that got me "hooked" onto RUSH, and keeps me wanting to listen to them repeatedly is their highly structured and precise music. Each of them is very obviously an accomplished musician in his own right, and they seem to have a common musical philosophy binding them together so well that their music is consistently elegant, almost exemplary in style and technique. That is not to undermine their lyrics, though. The few songs whose lyrics I have chanced to analyze do put forth exciting viewpoints : The Trees, Freewill, Red Barchetta, New world man etc. The point is, the effort involved in following the complexity of their melodic and rhythmic patterns is enough to draw my attention away from the words ! Ranjit Jakkli ---------------------------------------------------------- Subject: new trilogy? From: wilkinso@darkside.com (Sean Flanegan) Date: Thu, 11 Jul 91 22:47:27 PDT Just a quick observation about the new album. On the song "Where's My Thing" part IV... it was said earlier that this was part of a trilogy. How can a trilogy have a ............PART 4............. just a thought... I am also very interested in getting Neil's Sound Supplement drum solo does any one have it? I believe that it was called " Pieces of Eight " I have THIRD ROW SEATS FOR Y E S AT SHORLINE. just thought that I would make you guys jealous. sean ---------------------------------------------------------- From: Francesco Marcolla <ele9102@cdc835.cdc.polimi.it> Subject: Re: philosophical rushians Date: Fri, 12 Jul 91 9:41:17 METDST Gregg Jaeger wrote: > [deleted stuff] The truth be known, not very many professional > philosophers think Ayn Rand to be of much consequence -- mainly > because her metaphysics, the `rough going' for any philosophy, can > be argued against quite succesfully and is not of a nature which > provides insight by being wrong in an _interesting_ way (it is often > said that it is better to be dead wrong in an enlightening way than > to have views with plausibility but little subtlety). Her ethics are > oft-discussed in introductory courses but usually as a `straw man,' [etc.] I must admit that I am confused here. If AR's metaphysics (and consequently her epistemology) is weak, then it would mean that her ethical/political phylosophical system has no validity whatsoever, since you cannot build a skyscraper upon rotten foundations (and I just cannot accept the idea that AR elaborated Objectivist ethics BEFORE methaphysics). That sounds strange, since I consider her ph. to be one of the soundest and most fascinating accomplishments of human thought in our century (in the humanities, at least). So, how can it be that she reached such a result starting from wrong bases? Perhaps by means of that 'divine intuition' she spent her whole life arguing against? Hmmm.... BTW, I can't help wondering who those 'professional philosophers' are and what precisely their profession is, apart from wasting their time trying to destroy someone else's work. Philosophy's main task is to look for the truth, not to demonstrate that no way to reach the truth is available to man. And I do NOT that the truth is 'a moving target' at all. Francesco Marcolla ele9102@cdc835.cdc.polimi.it ----------------------------------------------------------
To submit material to The National Midnight Star, send mail to: rush@syrinx.umd.edu For administrative matters (additions, deletions, changes, and questions), send mail to: rush-request@syrinx.umd.edu or rush-mgr@syrinx.umd.edu There is now anonymous ftp access available on Syrinx. The network address to ftp to is: syrinx.umd.edu or 128.8.2.114 When you've connected, userid is "anonymous", password is <your userid>. Once you've successfully logged on, change directory (cd) to 'rush'. There is also a mail server available (for those unable or unwilling to ftp). For more info, send email with the subject line of HELP to: server@ingr.com These requests are processed nightly. Use a subject line of MESSAGE to send a note to the server keeper or to deposit a file into the archive. The contents of The National Midnight Star are solely the opinions and comments of the individual authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors' management, or the mailing list management. Copyright The Rush Fans Mailing List, 1991. Editor, The National Midnight Star (Rush Fans Mailing List) ******************************************** End of The National Midnight Star Number 286 ********************************************