And what was the message? A certainly timely “Read Ayn Rand.” See how he did it, and take his advice 😉
Man Scrawls World’s Biggest Message With GPS ‘Pen’
One man drove 12,238 miles across 30 states to scrawl a message that can only be viewed using Google Earth. His big shoutout: “Read Ayn Rand.”
Nick Newcomen did a road trip over 30 days that covered stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. First, he identified on a map the route he would need to drive to spell out the message. He put a GPS device in his car to trace the route he would follow. Then, he hit the road.
“The main reason I did it is because I am an Ayn Rand fan,” he says. “In my opinion if more people would read her books and take her ideas seriously, the country and world would be a better place — freer, more prosperous and we would have a more optimistic view of the future.”
Newcomen, unlike previous GPS artists, actually traveled the lines he traced on the map. He used a GPS logger (Qstarz BT-Q1000X) to “ink” the message. Starting his trip in Marshall, Texas, he turned on the device when he wanted to write a letter and turned off the device between letters. The recorded GPS data was loaded into Google Earth to produce the image above.
Now that’s a 21st century S.O.S. scribbled in the sand!
well said Rubegonia
Love it! 🙂
Loved Ayn Rand when I was younger, in college and thought I was bonafide smarty pants. In a re-read of Rand’s works years later, I found her philosophy did not match my experience and concluded my worldview had evolved. Ex: Rand Quote:
“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.”
Now this sounds good at 21, however, years later, after many miles on my sorry soul, I found C.S. Lewis reasoned a far more accurate reflection of reality I had experienced. Ex: Lewis Quote:
“Which of the religions of the world gives to its followers the greatest happiness? While it lasts, the religion of worshiping oneself is best….”
Just saying… if your plan to delve into Rand, for God’s sake balance it out with some Lewis. Very interesting contrasts from two of the greatest 20th century philosophers. It’s also an interesting exercise to compare William F. Buckley’s vision of conservatism to Rand’s.
all during the bush years when i first came to the internet( before this resurgence of interest in rand), every annoying self absorbed troll who thought he was Unique and oh so wise beyond all the mere mortals seemed to love the ayn rand. i imagined them done up in ayn rand drag with cigarette holders pecking away at their computers in mom’s basement- malignant narcissists all a-stew. it is a’ philosophy’ custom made for the raging narcissist gone feral.
when i was young and probably equally as obnoxious, the tragic wise long suffering outsider individualist was all about the hermann hesse. or maybe that’s just my own eurotrash affliction- so unlike the projected image of america and it’s earthy, practical materialism and physical power; supermen and cowboys; the rugged individualists. not the fay aesthetes of old decadent decayed europe.
hesse is detached from politics recognizing that they are not a good vehicle for a religion or a philosophy of living. a body of laws to try to keep humans from destroying one another- that’s about as good as it will ever get. if only some people would read the damn constitution and keep their many often questionable personal philosophies away from the rest of us who wish to be in control of our own destinies, not have one inflicted upon us by savage individuals or dehumanizing collectives.
hesse is still more in concert with my concerns-more oriented within and spiritual yet predicated upon individual freedom. along with the seriously oppressive air of wuthering heights style bodice rippers- with quivering submissive females and dominant males-, rand gives me the nietzschean ‘power not truth’ vibe that’s as unappealing to me as it is dangerous and predatory. the will to power heebie jeebies that reminds one that when men make themselves gods things devolve fast and hard into brutality and evil against others. human behavior is not driven by reason but need and often greed . power is rarely guided by reason and certainly not by truth- not in human hands.
“To study history means submitting to chaos and nevertheless retaining faith in order and meaning. It is a very serious task, young man, and possibly a tragic one.” hermann hesse, the glass bead game
“It was lovely, and tempting, to exert power over men and to shine before others, but power also had its perditions and perils. History, after all, consisted of an unbroken succession of rulers, leaders, bosses, and commanders who with extremely rare exceptions had all begun well and ended badly. All of them, at least so they said, had striven for power for the sake of the good; afterward they had become obsessed and numbed by power and loved it for its own sake.”
– hermann hesse, the glass bead game.
To make it short and succinct, Ayn Rand is just the female version of William Faulkner.