Atlas Shrugged

"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises; one of them is wrong." --Ayn Rand

I am a little more than halfway through the abridged, CD version of this modern classic, and I find that I am enjoying the 50s-ness of it. I understand that the narrative itself does not take place in the 50s, per se, but the overarching tone of it--philosophically, socially, and politically--places it squarely in that era. It is a subversive (at the time) response to the external idealism of the period. It's a very masculine novel, animus-driven, and I am impressed that there is but one woman smack dab in the middle of all this epic male drama. Power players of big business, industry, and intellectual reason. I would not say that I espouse Rand's Objectivist philosophies, in toto, but I understand what she was getting at. I like the pop and snap of it. The "don't fuck with me, fellas" paradigm of it. The moralizing and the trailblazing, and finally, the fact that we cannot escape who we are at the core. Maybe I'll tackle The Fountainhead next.

The news on other fronts is that it's time for me to complete my Thesis Planning Form. I've already started strategizing--now I just have to type up a rationale for my approach and some notes on the rounds of revisions I've made, etc. Fortunately, as one whose concentration is Poetry, I have the liberty of including one essay in with my collection of poems, and I wrote one about a year ago that I believe would be perfect. I am looking to sumbit this planning form within a week.

I have also written a draft article for publication consideration. More on these things as they develop.