What I'm Listening To - Coldplay's Viva La Vida

Coldplay has always been a weird band for me. I don't absolutely love them like many of my friends, but I always seem to eventually buy their albums. I recently bought this album after hearing "Lost+", the remix of "Lost!" with Jay-Z. It's a great song by itself, but it really caught my attention with the additional percussion and Jay-Z's rap at the end. Anyway, if you're one of the 7 people that didn't buy this album last year, check it out.



I actually bought Viva la Vida: Prospekt's March Edition from Amazon's MP3 store. It comes with the regular album, plus the Prospekt's March EP. Definitely the way to go if you're going the download route.

What I'm Reading - The Paradise War by Stephen Lawhead

"What I'm Reading" will be a way for me to quickly mention books I've been reading outside of whatever current Reading Project I'm working on.

The Paradise War is the first part of Lawhead's trilogy, The Song of Albion. It's about two Oxford students, one poor American and one British aristocrat, who stumble through a magic portal into Albion, the Britain from Celtic folklore. It shares traits with the Narnia books, but it is written for a more mature audience. If you're interested in the stories of the Celts, or fantasy, or swords and shields, give this book a shot.

Chapter 2: The Chain

The Reardens are a messed up family. Hank Rearden has worked his way from a teenager in a coal mine to the largest steel magnate in the US. Once he had established his steel empire, he decided to find a better material. The beginning of this chapter shows Hank watching as the very first batch of Rearden Metal is poured to make rails for Taggart Transcontinental. He then walks home from the mill, fiddling with a chain bracelet of Rearden Metal he made for his wife.

Hank is greeted at home by his mother, his wife Lillian, his brother Phillip, and his friend Paul Larkin. Momma and Phillip immediately chastise Hank for getting home so late. Lillian half-heartedly defends him, and then mocks Hanks gift. The entire conversation is about how Hank has never done anything correctly in the eyes of anyone in his family. Paul eventually pulls Hank to the side to explain the reason for his visit. Paul is a kind-of sidekick to Hank, and he's worried about the public perception of Rearden Steel. The press don't like him, because he makes too much money. Paul worries about a change in the air, and encourages Hank to spend more time and energy on public relations. These suggestions fall on deaf ears.

Hank decides he should ask about his family's day, and asks his brother what he's been up to. Phillip complains about his day of fundraising for a charity, and how hard it is to get rich people to donate money to save the planet. While Hank obviously doesn't care about the cause, he loves his brother and agrees to pay the full amount that Phillip was working towards. The chapter ends with an ungrateful Phillip asking for the money in cash, as his organization think Rearden Steel is the scum of the earth, and they wouldn't want any record tying them to Hank Rearden.

*** The Reardens are worthless. Hank has worked tirelessly his entire life, and he has made a fortune. Phillip has never worked a day in his life, and all he has is loathing for his brother and Rearden Steel. Momma thinks Phillip is perfect, while Hank can do no right. Lillian is obviously rich and bored and has too much time on her hands. No wonder Hank doesn't like to leave the mill.

FYI: The Rearden Steel Mills are in Pennsylvania, and Paul Larkin lives in New York City.

Chapter 1: The Theme

Who is John Galt?

I have no idea. Neither does the bum, but I'm wondering if Eddie Willers knows more than he lets on. Eddie is in a hurry to get back to work at the Taggart Building, home of Taggart Transcontinental. Taggart is a rail company, with the slogan "From Ocean to Ocean". Eddie grew up with the Taggart family, and now works for the corporation.

James Taggert is the president of the company, and he's not happy to see Eddie. He knows that Eddie wants to talk about one of Taggert's rail lines. It's failing and may have to be abandoned if the tracks can't be fixed. James has given the steel contract to his friend, Orren Boyle. Orren is the head of Associated Steel, and they're already 15 months late on the Taggert order.

James would rather wait for Orren to get him the rails for the Rio Norte Line, and complain about his competition, the Phoenix-Durango. Both lines feed into Colorado, and Colorado is vital because of the oil fields of Ellis Wyatt. The very mention of Wyatt sends James Taggert into a fit. James is a whining, petulant man-child, and he can't face facts. Ellis Wyatt is the future of oil, and Orren Boyle is the past of steel. Eddie realized he's in a no-win situation, so he leaves. On his way out, a discussion with one of James' clerks elicits a repeat of the question, "Who is John Galt?"

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Richard Halley is a modern-day Beethoven, and the lady on the train knows all of his work. When she hears a brakeman whistling, she knows the tune should be a Halley piece, but she doesn't know it. The boy says it's Halley's Fifth Concerto, but she knows he only wrote four. She dozes off before she has a chance to question him further...and awakes to the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. The train is the Taggert Comet, and it is the only train in America that's never been late. A faulty stop light has caused the unexpected stop, and the lady on the train asks what it will take to get the train moving again. The engineer asks "Who is John Galt?", and we learn that this question has become a colloquialism for "why ask unanswerable questions?" The lady on the train reveals herself to be Dagny Taggert, Vice-President in Charge of Operations for Taggert Transcontinental. This is enough to get the train rolling again, and the Comet makes it to New York on time.

Dagny is James Taggert's sister, and his opposite in every way. She is a businesswoman whose only motivations are what works and what makes money. She has cancelled the rail contract with Orren Boyle, and given it to Henry Rearden of Rearden Steel. She has decided to switch the material from steel to Rearden's new proprietary substance, Rearden Metal. And she has done all this without any input from her brother or the Board. James thinks it's not fair to give all their rail business to Rearden, and he thinks it's scary to be the first to try out his new Metal. It quickly becomes obvious he's most afraid of taking any kind of responsibility, and quiets down as soon as Dagny assumes it. After the meeting with her brother, Dagny puts in a call to Ayers Music Publishing Company. Mr. Ayers assures her that there is no Fifth Concerto, and that Halley has stopped publishing music and withdrawn from public life.

Dagny has not forgotten the delayed Comet, and calls Owen Kellogg to her office to replace the man in charge of the offending Ohio Division. Owen informs Dagny that he has decided to leave Taggert. He is not taking a job at another rail company. In fact, he doesn't know what he'll do next. He has no complaint against the company, and there is nothing she can offer him to entice him to stay. When she finally, in exasperation, asks him why he's leaving, he answers "Who is John Galt?"

P.S. - We find out that Eddie is Dagny's assistant in this chapter, and I get the feeling he still has a crush on her from childhood.

Why use Atlas Telamon as a title?

The primary purpose of this blog is to record my reactions as I read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged for the first time. It's one of those books that I've always wanted to read, but I just never got around to it. I'm hoping this blog will encourage me to actually finish the book in a timely manner, and encourage me to continue blogging. I've started a handful of blogs over the years, but I don't think I've ever made it past a dozen posts. If following a single book helps my discipline, I'll probably continue the blog past the end of Atlas Shrugged. But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

One last note. Yes, Atlas Telamon does sound cool, but it has a little more meaning than that. I want to read Atlas Shrugged because it seems like it's timeless. It Endures. I hope that this blog will eventually allow me to read other pieces of enduring literature. The type of book most people don't pick up to read on an airplane, but they wish they could just plow through someday. We'll see if this blog endures...

What is Atlas Telamon?

Atlas Telamon means "enduring Atlas", and refers to the Titan Atlas as he holds the Sky above the Earth in Greek mythology. A quick primer for those unfamiliar with the story:

Atlas was a Titan, and the Titans created the world and ruled over it as the first gods. Eventually, a new group of beings came on the scene, the Olympians. Zeus was their leader, and they decided that it was their turn to run the show. Thus began the Titanomachy, a war between the Titans and the Olympians. The Olympians won, and most of the Titans were banished to Tartarus. Atlas was one of the exceptions. He was forced to keep Ouranos, the Sky, away from Gaia, the Earth, for the rest of eternity. This would keep Atlas busy, and keep Ouranos and Gaia from making anymore baby Titans.