VINDICA

So said a colleague at lunch and cleared up his own bafflement at why people follow others who proudly proclaim them dumbness.

I absolutely love disruptive reviews. My favorite is Matt Taibi's review of Thomas Friedman's "World is Flat". The review of the new Sex and the City movie linked here runs close. The fab four go to Abu Dhabi of all places and "stone sexism to death". At sexism's funeral (which takes place in a mysterious, incense-shrouded chamber of international sisterhood), the women of Abu Dhabi remove their black robes and veils to reveal—this is not a joke—the same hideous, disposable, criminally expensive shreds of cloth and feathers that hang from Carrie et al.'s emaciated goblin shoulders. Muslim women: Under those craaaaaaay-zy robes, they're just as vapid and obsessed with physical beauty and meaningless material concerns as us! Feminism! Fuck yeah! If this is what modern womanhood means, then just fucking veil me and sew up all my holes. Good night. *smile*. Good day everyone.

A fantastic (and balanced) essay about Ayn Rand and here books. Unsparing in critizing her where deserved. Like this piece about her brag about "not faking reality in any manner". Rand had periods of heavy use (of amphetamines) in the 1950s and '60s.... As anyone who has had the experience knows, a good way to get a really, really distorted sense of reality is to swallow a couple of Dexedrines. If you want to take them anyway, don't go around bragging that you never "fake reality in any manner." ... but the article also provides a credible and heartfelt explanation of why her novels are popular (and great) ...a heroic vision of a blue-collar worker doing his job... Critics often accuse Rand of portraying a few geniuses as the only people worth valuing. That's not what I took away from her. I saw her celebrating people who did their work well and condemning people who settled for less, in great endeavors or small; celebrating those who took responsibil