Hey girls. How goes it? Well I am pretty damn sure I will make it up for Turkey day weekend, assuming my car is finished. It was supposed to be finished yesterday, but, they think tuesday at the latest now. Yee Ha. 26 days without a car. Its like the days of SD, only I can still get around town fairly painlessly. Man without a car in SD you were stranded.

Rule! I am getting sick. Sore throat, post nasal hell, and body fatigue. Chopper suck balls. Stupid Plague.

Atlas Shrugged, a premature review: Okay I am 1025 pages into a 1075 page book. It is the longest book I have ever read (In word count). The text is so damn dense. Small ass font, smaller line spacing. The story is cool in some ways and totally preposterous in others. Basically it is about a future period (No year is ever given, although one gets the idea that it is many decades, if not hundreds of years shot off from the 1950s) that takes place in the US. For years the global community of the world had been slowly crumbling at the hands of incompetent "humanitarian' politicians and public apathy. The whole process is a self defeating cycle of education and philosophical redevelopment that leads to less and less capable citizens and more idiotic politians. In some ways I can see hints of ideas gained from 1984.
The entire book takes place through the main character Dagny Taggert, a strong willed industrialist that represents all that is 'bad' in this society (I.e. ambition, logic, lack of compassion for your fellowman, self reliance, Passion, love of ones work). The book is full of moronic characters at the helm of a country and a few ultra pragmatic calulating business people that try and save society from itself and these politicans bent on driving self interest out of people. What is really freightening is Ayn Rand actually has a cult following of people that believe in her highly individualistic views, and the total FUD that is spoon fed to them throughout the book. Claiming that those that believe in charity and helping the fellow man are ultimately self-destructive to society, that one should live only for his/herself. In many ways I agree, but not to the disconnected almost cold view they take. These ideas seem likely to be fueled by fear seeded in Ayn Rands mind born of the politics of the time. The seed of the degradation of society, in the form of the 1950's hardline conservative anti-socialism political clime. The book was completed in 1957. Ripe for the influences of the red scare and republican anti-social progam governments. As if the New Deal was some sort of Evil idea that led to a loss of quality of life. Ironic. The whole book does have a some good poinst about strong indiviualism over group concerns. That the will of individuals is the best force, the only force, to drive the strength of world politics and economies. To a certain extent I can agree with some of the ideas, but uninhibited individualism often leads to corruption and unabashed explotation such as was very prevalent in the early industrial revolution period. Something completely ignored in the book while celebrating the industrialist. It is great in theory, but no one is as pragmatic and "fair" as the individualists in this book. People have too many flaws. Worst part about the book... Character monologues. So damn long! Often a charcter will be talking with a another, then go off on a 3-5 page monologue stating the same thing over and over just in different words. If I wanted that, I would ask my Father for a lecture. One Monologue is 60 fucking pages long. What did it say? Not a damn thing more than the collection of monologues that preceeded it in the pages before it. The book probably could have lost about 180 pages in unneceassry character speaches and still conveyed its point. Also, the weakness and sillyness of the antagonists in this book are so irksome and often beyond moronic. The ultra logical and calculating indiviualist is a bit rediculous too. I guess I would have made a lot of changes in this book. Then again that is probably why Ayn Rand was likely fairly wealthy before she died, and I am not. All in all it isnt that bad, but it probably is not worth it, too aggravating at times. I just do not understand how some people get so ga-ga over this book. I could think of quite a few books I would recommend instead. Grade:C

Rudy, I am an iRC brat. One of these days we should converse via iRC for old times sake. I tried several times to see if you were on line, but, you werent.

I am going to sleep.