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  • Absolution

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 027 – pp. 264-273

    Absolving himself. For his inabilities. . . For falling back on the excuse of doing things for the heart — the right reasons. The other reasons.

    I wonder if Rand doesn’t think “other reasons” are valid motivations for anything. There are those who beg charity to help the less fortunate. And they are virtuous. Maybe it’s my Catholic upbringing. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve never been a zillionaire industrialist. I wonder if its expectation (of shared wealth) that she rails against.

    One thing is for certain. The willingness to accept “it’s not your/my/their fault — you can’t be blamed” as an excuse is a major character flaw.

    Anyway, Jim’s in the “confessional” with Cherryl — a new character – poor, awestruck shop-girl from Buffalo — talking, essentially about how everyone who’s great today, ain’t so great. . .

    (more…)

  • Jim and Cherryl

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 026 – pp. 254-263

    Chapter IX – The Sacred and the Profane (sounds like a soap opera…)

    The deed done, now comes the awkward part.

    Hank gets up to get dressed and addresses the situation…

    (more…)

  • A good day gets better

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 025 – pp. 244-253

    OK the train is hurtling on. And as it blows past everything at 100 mph, Rand describes Dagny’s feelings of exhilaration. Her sense of triumph blends into the scenes Rand paints of land and skyscapes flashing by.

    I’d say Dagny is having a good day.

    Now combine all that adrenaline with Hank in the engine cab. . .

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  • Launching the John Galt Line

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 024 – pp. 234-243

    She invites Hank to the press conference for good measure.

    “Dagny recited the technological facts abot the John Galt Line, giving exact figures on the nature of the rail, the capacity of the bridge, the method of construction, the costs. . . . That is all,” she said

    Of course the press want some sort of “message for the public.” Some “defense of themselves” in what they’re doing. A sound bite to “justify her line.”

    “Aren’t you going to tell us your motive for building that Line?”

    (more…)

  • Blind public sentiment and clear business will

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 023 – pp. 224-233

    Hank envisions Paul Larkin as a young man of 18. . .

    “And he saw what Paul Larkin must have been at that time — a youth with an aged baby’s face, smiling ingratiatingly, joylessly, begging to be spared, pleading with the universe to give him a chance. If someone had shown that youth to the Hank Rearden of that time and told him that this was to be the goal of his steps, the collector of the energy of his aching tendons, what would he have–
    Rearden knew what the boy he had been would have felt: a desire to step on the obscene thing which was Larkin and grind every wet bit of it out of existence. . .

    (more…)

  • Divvying up the empire

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 022 – pp. 214-223

    The Equalization of Opportunity Act, as I recall, stipulated that businessmen could not own more than one business. It was designed so that others could have a chance at some success. Hank, who owns pretty much his whole line of production from the ore mines to the steel factory is facing some serious trouble.

    As usual, he’s working past midnight. And a first glimpse of human weakness.

    (more…)

  • Needing to feel wanted

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 021 – pp. 204-213

    Things turnin’ a little sexy. While Dagny’s talking about Rearden Metal and bridges and union labor Hank’s having about two pages of fantasy lust in his mind . . .

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  • The ultimatum

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 020 – pp. 194-203

    Her ultimatum?

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  • Dr. Stadler and the SSI

    (Damn! Had this post all queued up and forgot to hit the button…)
    Atlas Shrugged – Day 019 – pp. 184-193

    The State Scientific Institute, the smartest science guys in the land as proclaimed by the G, have issued a paper condemning Rearden Metal by inference. An indefensible proposition…

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  • The two non-followers

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 018 – pp. 174-183

    And what about the school teachers in New Mexico? It’s their opinion that children should not be permitted to ride on trains running on Rearden Metal.

    It seems that public outrage has hit some kind of fever pitch.

    I want to just pause here for a sec and think about a couple parallels I can see, as Rand describes the events.

    (more…)

  • Everything’s made of Rearden Metal

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 017 – pp. 164-173

    Gittin’ ‘er done…

    Let’s see, the new contractor Ben Nealy’s an oaf… (Jeez, even I’m not this cynical…)

    “I couldn’t help it Miss Taggart,… You know how fast drill heads wear out. I had them on order, but Incorporated Tools ran into a little trouble, they couldn’t help it either, Associated Steel was delayed in delivering the steel to them, so there’s nothing we can do but wait. It’s no use getting upset, Miss Taggart. I’m doing my best.”
    “I’ve hired you to do a job, not to do your best — whatever that is.”
    “That’s a funny thing to say. That’s an unpopular attitude, Miss Taggart, mighty unpopular.”

    Need drill heads?

    “She had telephoned Rearden. He had found an abandoned tool plant, long since out of business. Within an hour, he had purchased it from the relatives of its last owner. Within a day, the plant had been reopened. Withing a week, drill heads of Rearden Metal had been delivered to the bridge in Colorado.”

    Oh, come on!!!

    (more…)

  • Three strikes for Dagny

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 016 – pp. 154-163

    Dagny questions the story… Can’t imagine why.   However Francisco walks up and says he believes the story.  The storyteller walks away in a huff — Nobody likes Francisco anymore…

    He chuckled at her bursque departure. Dagny asked coldly, “What’s the joke?” (more…)

  • Hank, Ragnar and John…

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 015 – pp. 144-153

    Of course all that is lost on Jim who is a capitalist when it suits him and a “progressive” the rest.

    Now Rand shifts gears once again to Dagny who is in some bit of awe of Henry Rearden. Perhaps since the d’Anconia thing didn’t work out…

    But who’s this approaching Hank now? (more…)

  • An explanation of the Mexican fiasco…

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 014 – pp. 134-143

    The exposition of modern thought continues for a couple pages. They seem to be able to apply their planned economic ideas to almost anything…

    “There should be a law limiting the sale of any book to ten thousand copies. This woudl throw the literary market open to new talent, fresh ideas and non-comercial writing. If people were forgidden to buy a millioin copies of the same piece of trash, they would be forced to bu better books.”

    There’s a brief introduction of Bertram Scudder, editor of a magazine called The Future. He had penned an article once on Hank Rearden titled “the Octopus.” (more…)

  • Equalization of Opportunity

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 013 – pp. 124-133

    “Whether I did it on purpose,” he said, ‘or though neglect, or through stupidity, don’t you understand that that doesn’t make any difference? The same element was missing.”

    Same element? Hmmmmm.

    (more…)

  • The d’Anconia Mystery…

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 012 – pp. 114-123

    “It was long past midnight when she awakened in bed by his side.”

    What the hell?..

    (more…)

  • Becoming a d’Anconia (for real)

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 011 – pp. 104-113

    On the ride home, Dagny asked her mother,

    “Mother, do they think it’s exactly in reverse?”
    “What” Mrs Taggart asked bewildered
    “The things you were talking about. The lights and the flowers. Do they expect those things to make them romantic, not the other way around?”
    “Darling, what do you mean?”
    “There wasn’t a person there who enjoyed it.” she said, her voice lifeless, “or who thought or felt anything at all. They moved about, and they said the same dull things they seay anywhere. I suppose they thought the lights would make it brilliant.”
    “Darling, you take everything too seriously. One is not supposed to be intellectual at a ball. One is siplysupposed to be gay.”
    “How? By being stupid?”
    “I mean, for instance, didn’t you enjoy meeting the young men?”
    “What men? There wasn’t a man there I couldn’t squash ten of.”

    (more…)

  • Becoming a d’Anconia – pt 2

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 010 – pp. 94-103

    Francisco is a very directed young man. He deplores standing still. Worse yet, he despises moving aimlessly — without purpose.

    Francisco was clearly the alpha dog of their little three pup pack (Dagny, Francisco and Eddie.)

    He considers learning about life as or more important that spending time in libraries.

    And apparently for most of his life, he has been preparing to run d’Anconia Copper.

    He had an interesting take on life and wealth even as a young man…

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  • Becoming a d’Anconia

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 009 – pp. 84-93

    It’s become do or die for the Taggarts. “I was counting on Colorado to save the Taggart system, Now it’s up to me to save Colorado.”

    But Hank thinks Colorado is booming…

    (more…)

  • “Dog Dog… Dog eat dog…” (T. Nugent)

    Atlas Shrugged – Day 008 – pp. 74-83

    “The proposal which they passed was known as the “Anti-dog-eat-dog” Rule”

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