Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by $ Mimi 10 years, 5 months ago
    Lol. Thanks for that. :)
    My first Star Trek convention billed Patrick Stewart. Love that guy.
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    • Posted by IndianaGary 10 years, 5 months ago
      I met him on a plane one time. He was dressed so as to be as obscure as possible but I recognized him anyway. :-) He was in first class and I was flying baggage. I took out a business card, flipped it over, and wrote, "Thanks for all the great shows!" and asked a flight attendant if she would give it to him. Near the end of the flight, the attendant handed me a 3x5 card with a short signed note from him. It made my day. Now it gets weird. I go to the Budget rental office and he's right behind me! I introduced myself and thanked him for the note. He said that he was renting a car for his daughter, who had never rented a car before, and that he was pretty nervous as she hadn't been driving very long. I didn't want to impose so I thanked him again and we went out separate ways. This brush with celebrity I'll never forget.
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  • Posted by khalling 10 years, 5 months ago
    doesn't even phase me. You're in a conversation with someone who has just been blown away by Atlas Shrugged and that's the first thing you're going to mention? If I had a real copper penny for every time people mispronounced my first name....
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    • Posted by $ johnrobert2 10 years, 5 months ago
      faze.
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      • Posted by khalling 10 years, 5 months ago
        I stand corrected. anything relevant to add to the discussion, john?
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        • Posted by $ johnrobert2 10 years, 5 months ago
          Let me say this about that. After having my last name mispronounced, in so very many ways, over so many years, I am very sensitive to name pronunciation. When meeting someone for the first time, if their name is unusual or out of the ordinary, I will ask them to say their name again so that I may pronounce it correctly. Even in phone conversations with a customer service representative, I inquire to whom I am speaking and use their name frequently. When I am finished, I politely thank them, using their name.
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          • Posted by xthinker88 10 years, 5 months ago
            I agree. I've asked Ayn several times, via email, for the correct pronunciation for that very reason. She has not replied. :)
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            • Posted by NealS 10 years, 5 months ago
              I remember seeing Marg Helgenberger get some award and they announced her name as Marge, apparently thinking it was a typo. She came on stage and corrected by just saying "My name is Marg".

              I hate it when my name is spelled wrong, especially after they've seen it right there in front of them, Neal not Neil, and my last name even worse when they get that wrong. My friend just got a Marine Corp Honor Guard Award (a beautiful Ka-Bar engraved properly) and the governor of our state, at least his office, in a press release spelled his name Larsen, not Larson. I told him to call and make the governor print a correction. Some people don't seem to care that much, others do. I always try to get someone's name right, or I will ask them. I usually correct the Ann Rand's to Ayn. What was better yet, when we first started out getting IBM 8088 Computers as a nasty joke we convinced my boss that DOS was really pronounced "dose". He made a real fool out himself lots of times, and he never understood the snickering when he was giving a talk. When he asked me about it I told him I didn't see it or didn't know why the laughing. It was fun, but then again if you knew him, you'd know he earned it. It went on for years.
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              • Posted by ewv 10 years, 5 months ago
                But it turned out he was right after all. When usoft upgraded to a graphics interface they expanded the name to Windose. Do people still laugh when you call it Windos? :-)
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                • Posted by Hiraghm 10 years, 5 months ago
                  lol you just made me think...

                  there's a version of MS-DOS out there called "FreeDOS".... so he would pronounce it "Free Dose".. sounds nasty.

                  Or maybe he'd just call it "Fritos" and get sued by Frito-Lay.
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        • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 5 months ago
          No no! "phase" like in "a phaser". "Set your phasers on 'stun'."

          It was perfect!

          Jan
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          • Posted by $ johnrobert2 10 years, 5 months ago
            Two different applications. To"phase" someone means to make them more transparent or to have them disappear entirely as in 'out of phase'. The ST use of "phaser" connotes a light and/or sound emitting weapon capable of immobilization or fatal results, dependent on the desired programmed outcome. But to 'faze' someone, ah-h-h, now there's a trick.
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  • Posted by kwillia5 10 years, 5 months ago
    I named my daughter Dagny in 1987. The intention was to help her identify others who recognize the name. If the do and initial response is positive she immediately knows their basic philosophy and reading habits. The same if their reaction is negative. It has worked many times. she is a nurse as I am.
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    • Posted by khalling 10 years, 5 months ago
      that's interesting, k. We named our daughter Kira in 89, not for your reasons but just to celebrate the most important books we read. Also, we already had two cats named Dagny and Dominique. Important lesson: don't name your pets names you should be reserving for kids when you have them!
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  • Posted by DaveM49 10 years, 5 months ago
    It is a good way to tell when someone has not studied her.
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    • Posted by dbhalling 10 years, 5 months ago
      Nonsense. I mispronounced her name for years. This is the most irrelevant point I can think of. I don't call Germany, Deutschland. If you ask me the spelling is wrong if she wanted that pronunciation she should have spelled in Ien or ienn. When does an "a" or "ay" ever make a an I sound in English?

      I turned on numerous people to her works, read all the major nonfiction books and fiction books long before I realized it was Ien not Ann.
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      • Posted by DaveM49 10 years, 5 months ago
        I mispronounced her name for some time as well, c. early 80s. But I learned. And in the modern era, I would have corrected the error much faster.

        Ayn Rand did not choose her pseudonym in the hope of making it easier to pronounce. I doubt that most authors do--yes, there are exceptions (where someone has Anglicized their name or what have you). Rand chose hers to disguise her identity. She had good reasons for doing so.
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    • Posted by $ Snezzy 10 years, 5 months ago
      I've found it frequently to be deliberate. Sort of as I might say "Schickelgruber" instead of "Hitler" or might say "Hitlary" when talking about a contender for 2016. It is then a form of argumentum ad hominem (or ad bacculum): "If you cannot discuss the proposed subject rationally, then call your opponent names."

      The result (even when I do it) reflects poorly on the speaker. "Why remain silent and appear a fool, when you can open your mouth and remove all doubt?"

      <><><> more <><><>

      If it is deliberate, then it shows hostility towards Ayn Rand on the part of the speaker. In that case it is important not to argue with that person. Long ago I tried to correct an "Ann" person, only to be told, "Well, that's the way *I* pronounce it." I realized the contempt, and didn't bother saying anything else.
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      • Posted by DaveM49 10 years, 5 months ago
        It certainly doesn't make for much of an argument. Rand anticipated modern-day "debate" (especially via Internet) in "The Argument From Intimidation".

        Is it possible that one radio talk show host or another mispronounces the name? It might be a way of telling who gets their "thinking" from who.
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      • Posted by khalling 10 years, 5 months ago
        Very few Americans pronounce Einstein's name correctly. Are his theories any less valid? It's a common mistake. We all have experienced. People catch on after awhile. I might mention after some discussion, but if the discussion is worthy-why deflate the conversation with a correction? Of course if it makes sense to respond with her name -often it doesn't (I mostly say "Rand") it's self-correcting. I've never had a debate like the one you have had where they insist on their "own" pronunciation. That would be absurd and I'd be moving along ;)
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