-
The man up in the tower was enjoying the show. — Planet P, “Why Me?” Chapter summary: Most of the action of this chapter takes place at Jim Taggert’s wedding reception. The highlight is a monologue by Francisco on money not being the root of all evil. There are also confrontations between Dagny and Jim’s…
-
We went to Applebee’s last night for the first time since kidlet started eating Big People food. We were rather shocked that the “children’s menu” was printed in black on white paper, with no logo or anything to indicate it was an official Applebee’s menu. Just the words “Kid’s Menu,” a list of items and…
-
Yesterday, somebody I know mused about the antonym of procrastinate. There isn’t a verb I’m aware of for doing something immediately or for doing something before it’s due. However, it’s possible to build one. Procrastinate comes from Latin. Pro- means toward or for. Cras means tomorrow, while crastinus is the possessive. -Ate is a standard plural…
-
Overview: I have a German language “Wisdom of the Dalai Lama” page-a-day calendar. Each day, I plan to translate the German into English, and discuss. Juli 2: Wir sollten lernen, gelassen im Augenblick zu leben und uns von dem, was wir mögen oder ablehnen, nicht so sehr aus der Fassung bringen zu lassen. We should…
-
Overview: I have a German language “Wisdom of the Dalai Lama” page-a-day calendar. Each day, I plan to translate the German into English, and discuss. Juli 1: Die Dinge sind, wie sie sind, und nicht, wie wir sie gerne hätten. Dies zu begreifen und zu akzeptieren ist der Schlüssel zum Glück. Things are as they…
-
It’s not Rand’s fault that the title of this chapter evokes not one but two David Bowie references, both of which come well after Atlas Shrugged and probably neither of which is related. Regardless, though, for the time being when I think of Hank Rearden, my mind sings, “You’re face… to face… with the man…
-
Do or do not, there is no try. — Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back Yoda’s absolutism aside, there’s a significant kernel of value in this perspective. I consider myself a liberal, and I was raised in the “Free to be you and me” post-hippie glow. Even so, one aspect of that mindset that I feel…
-
One reason I wanted to post (if possible) after each chapter was that I figured it would keep me motivated to keep reading if there were evidence of my progress. Another reason is that it keeps me honest, so when I finish the book, I can’t pretend I had different opinions as I progressed than…
-
I’m not sure if it’s my commitment to try to be more pleasant towards the book, or if this chapter was genuinely better than the previous one. Either way, it was a more positive experience. Chapter summary: Taking up where we left off in the last chapter, Dagny and Hank have an, um, discussion about…
-
Reflecting on the tenor of my summations of the last few chapters, it occurs to me that perhaps I have been less generous to Atlas Shrugged than I had originally intended to be. It is, after all, merely a book; perhaps Rand had meant it in the same way that Rearden had meant his metal,…