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XCowboy2 uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)
"ORIGINAL SIN"
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and vi...
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"ORIGINAL SIN"
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and video from current events. NOTE: These videos do not purport to be definitive or authoritative. Ayn Rand is not responsible for any unintentional misrepresentations created by my editing. If these videos interest you, please visit the Ayn Rand Institute (www.AynRand.com)for more.
Text by Ayn Rand
Read by Christopher Hurt
Edited for YouTube by XCowboy2
Music by John Williams
For the full novel read unabridged, visit BlackstoneAudio.com
Editor's note: Hello everyone! Here's Episode #9 of Volume Two of my John Galt series!
Okay- I'm feeling the pinch of working out of sequence when the hard drive was down- I had hoped that this episode would flow into the existing #10, but I can see that it won't and so my next job is to update #10 again- I have to get it right. I hope to get some good work done over Thanksgiving. I enjoyed working on this one a lot- the miscellaneous keyframing, the montage at the opening, the matte work- it was a lot of fun. When I got to the "Original Sin" part from the first series I realized- hey this works don't change it- so again (as I was on #8) I'm content to let a lot of the original work stand. I'm glad this is happening more and more- it means I will have to re-do less and less as I go. So hopefully episodes will come faster.
The series is shaping up into three sections of an hour each and this vid introduces Part Two: the Morality of Death. Part one is the Morality of Life- I will probably add a title card to that effect between episodes #1 and 2. Part Three is "The Choice". I expect at this point each section to be 7-8 vids long. So the whole series at the moment is looking like 22-24 vids or about 3 1/4 hours. That's pretty long! I don't know if that's too long to hold focus as one movie that's why I'm making it easily divisible into 3 chunks. Let me know if you have thoughts on this.
A re-done #10 is next and then #11 will be soon after. Thanks for your patience- hope you enjoy.
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XCowboy2 uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)
http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/A...
An unusual discovery overnight in XCowboy-land as I find out that a bit of short fiction of mine went viral...
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http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/A...
An unusual discovery overnight in XCowboy-land as I find out that a bit of short fiction of mine went viral over the summer and was spammed to millions of people without my authorship recognized. Let me know if you've seen my piece out there. NOTE I do not approve of some of the sites that have posted my story - I'm no 9/11 truther or the like- they do not have my permission or sanction. Text below.
Dinner at the White House- a Parable
by Richard Gleaves (Xcowboy2)
Once upon a time, I was invited to the White House for a private dinner with the President. I am a respected businessman, with a factory that produces memory chips for computers and portable electronics. There was some talk that my industry was being scrutinized by the administration, but I paid it no mind. I live in a free country. Theres nothing that the government can do to me if Ive broken no laws. My wealth was earned honestly, and an invitation to dinner with an American President is an honor.
I checked my coat, was greeted by the Chief of Staff, and joined the President in a yellow dining room. We sat across from each other at a table draped in white linen. The Great Seal was embossed on the china. Uniformed staff served our dinner.
The meal was served, and I was startled when my waiter suddenly reached out, plucked a dinner roll off my plate, and began nibbling it as he walked back to the kitchen.
Sorry about that, said the President. Andrew is very hungry.
I dont appreciate I began, but as I looked into the calm brown eyes across from me, I felt immediately guilty and petty. It was just a dinner roll. Of course, I concluded, and reached for my glass. Before I could, however, another waiter reached forward, took the glass away and swallowed the wine in a single gulp.
And his brother Eric is very thirsty. said the President.
I didnt say anything. The President is testing my compassion, I thought. I will play along. I dont want to seem unkind. My plate was whisked away before I had tasted a bite.
Erics children are also quite hungry. With a lurch, I crashed to the floor. My chair had been pulled out from under me. I stood, brushing myself off angrily, and watched as it was carried from the room.
And their grandmother cant stand for long.
I excused myself, smiling outwardly, but inside feeling like a fool. Obviously I had been invited to the White House to be sport for some game. I reached for my coat, to find that it had been taken. I turned back to the President.
Their grandfather doesnt like the cold.
I wanted to shout that was my coat! But again, I looked at the placid smiling face of my host and decided I was being a poor sport. I spread my hands helplessly and chuckled. Then I felt my hip pocket and realized my wallet was gone. I excused myself and walked to a phone on an elegant side table. I learned shortly that my credit cards had been maxed out, my bank accounts emptied, my retirement and equity portfolios had vanished, and my wife had been thrown out of our home. Apparently, the waiters and their families were moving in. The President hadnt moved or spoken as I learned all this, but finally I lowered the phone into its cradle and turned to face him.
Andrews whole family has made bad financial decisions. They havent planned for retirement, and they need a house. They recently defaulted on a sub-prime mortgage. I told them they could have your home. They need it more than you do.
My hands were shaking. I felt faint. I stumbled back to the table and knelt on the floor. The President cheerfully cut his meat, ate his steak and drank his wine. I lowered my eyes and stared at the small grey circles on the tablecloth that were water drops.
By the way, He added, I have just signed an Executive Order nationalizing your factories. Im firing you as head of your business. Ill be operating the firm now for the benefit of all mankind. Theres a whole bunch of Erics and Andrews out there and they cant come to you for jobs groveling like beggars.
I looked up. The President dropped his spoon into the empty ramekin which had been his Creme Brulee. He drained the last drops of his wine. As the table was cleared, he lit a cigarette and leaned back in his chair. He stared at me. I clung to the edge of the table as if were a ledge and I were a man hanging over an abyss. I thought of the years behind me, of the life I had lived. The life I had earned with a lifetime of work, risk and struggle. Why was I punished? How had I allowed it to be taken? What game had I played and lost? I looked across the table and noticed with some surprise that there was no game board between us.
What had I done wrong?
As if answering the unspoken thought, the President suddenly cocked his head, locked his empty eyes to mine, and bared a million teeth, chuckling wryly as he folded his hands.
You should have stopped me at the dinner roll, he said.
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XCowboy2 uploaded a new video
(2 months ago)
"FORCE"
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and video fro...
more
"FORCE"
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and video from current events. NOTE: These videos do not purport to be definitive or authoritative. Ayn Rand is not responsible for any unintentional misrepresentations created by my editing. If these videos interest you, please visit the Ayn Rand Institute (www.AynRand.com)for more.
Text by Ayn Rand
Read by Christopher Hurt
Edited for YouTube by XCowboy2
Music by John Williams
For the full novel read unabridged, visit BlackstoneAudio.com
Editor's note: Hello everyone! I uploaded # 8 yesterday and a lot of negative comments were made. I don't work by committee, but some of the comments changed my own opinion on some things and I thought i would make a stab at changing them around. Here's an edition that combines the best of the new and old versions. The Schindler's list music is back in, the still at the end is removed, and I return to some of the original vintage footage. I kind of like it- it's shorter and covers less text, but that may be a good thing. I can't include every word of the speech in my final version. This episode gets the basics across. The debt clock footage etc that I cut can always find a home in a later episode.
I'm putting this up as an alternate vision. Let's see what everybody thinks and I'll decide which to put in the playlist.
Thanks for your passion and enthusiasm.
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XCowboy2 uploaded a new video
(2 months ago)
"FORCE" (second draft) final version here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKWWrD...
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visuali...
more
"FORCE" (second draft) final version here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKWWrD...
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and video from current events. NOTE: These videos do not purport to be definitive or authoritative. Ayn Rand is not responsible for any unintentional misrepresentations created by my editing. If these videos interest you, please visit the Ayn Rand Institute (www.AynRand.com)for more.
Text by Ayn Rand
Read by Christopher Hurt
Edited for YouTube by XCowboy2
Music by John Williams
For the full novel read unabridged, visit BlackstoneAudio.com
Editor's note: Hello everyone! I got my hard drive situation remedied finally. Thanks for all your support ! Here's #8. I had to recreate it from my source materials- the original Final Cut file was corrupted. I think it turned out pretty good. It incorporates sections from two first version vids- putting them back in Ayn Rand's original order. I was able to keep more then I thought I would. I think as I go forward, more and more of the first series material will be reused. Not because I'm lazy, but because as I worked on Version 1.0 my skills were getting better and better. Aside from technical issues I'll want to fix, much of episodes 10-17 I think I'll keep.
I think this vid is an improvement over the originals for several reasons. It keeps the pace swift and brisk and the images intercutting more swiftly. I think it's got more power than the original, particularly in the clip from "Sophie's Chice". I decided that the original music from Schindler's list was too on-the-nose and was an obvious choice- and that the music was actually making the original more syrupy than harrowing. The new music is from Williams' score to "Nixon" and I like it much better.
No lack of dark images again. I'm fond of setting up stark contrasts. I went back and forth about including the two clips from the end of episode #7 but I felt the need to tie the two little girls together, however tragically.
NOTE: I've changed the last video from #9 to #10. I will be working on a new #9 this week and will upload soon. It is essentially the old episode on "Original Sin" with some updates and improvements. SO- the final order is #8 "Force", #9 "Original Sin", & #10 "Sacrifice". Looks like I will be toiling in dark vineyards for the immediate future.
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XCowboy2 uploaded a new video
(2 months ago)
"SACRIFICE"
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and video...
more
"SACRIFICE"
Second edition (v 2.0) of an ongoing project to visualize Galt's Speech from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand using images and video from current events. NOTE: These videos do not purport to be definitive or authoritative. Ayn Rand is not responsible for any unintentional misrepresentations created by my editing. If these videos interest you, please visit the Ayn Rand Institute (www.AynRand.com)for more.
Text by Ayn Rand
Read by Christopher Hurt
Edited for YouTube by XCowboy2
Music by John Williams
For the full novel read unabridged, visit BlackstoneAudio.com
Editor's note: Hello everyone! This is a pretty dark and bloody episode- maybe I'm in a foul mood since I still don't have my hard drive fixed! My files for episode #8 are still in disk recovery, so I went ahead and made #9 in the meantime- in all honesty, this might end up being episode #10 or #11. I'm used to working in order and not jumping around. I feel like I've mixed some materials together in this one and may be messing up the speech order. Ah well- who knows? Who can say? Who is John Galt? :-P
As far as the episode goes, I really like this one and I think it's got some power. Very happy with the musical build. I especially like the animations on the Ditko comic- they were tough to pull off. I had actually been working on those for a while for a future episode on "need" but with the health care debate raging I figured get it out in the world now. So here it is.
Should have #8 done pretty quickly once my hard drive is back- a lot of it was already done (unless it turns out to not be recoverable). Enjoy an out-of-order #9 (or #10) in the meantime!
The comic is here - you can see the original and how much editing/animation I did. (Remove the spaces)
bighollywood. breitbart .com /blash/ 2009/08/27/steve-ditkos-in-principle-the-unchecked-premise/
It's one of Steve Ditko's (creator of Spiderman) Objectivist-themed comics.
The music playing during the strip is "Spitting Cherries" from John Williams' "Witches of Eastwick" soundtrack. The music during the torture is "Dogs, Ponies & Old Ruins" track #3 from Williams' 1972 score "Images". Glad to send if you want MP3s
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HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYBODY - off to Texas in the morning for Christmas. Will be able to edit when I get back. Let's get this done in 2010!
just curious
i disagree with 3 & a quarter hours being too long...that should never be a hindrance & should be irrelevant in this context. the idea of 3... ... 'volumes' (i couldn't find a more appropriate word), in this final series, is a great idea. it reflects the 3 volumes of the book itself, although the themes might be different, but the concept is the same.
perhaps this could be a cool idea for the DVD which will never be 'officially' released???
great work on Original Sin v2 though. & yeh, the re-hash from the first series was perfect & didn't really need further editing...