This about sums it up

Ayn Rand say selfishness is a virtue but this quote from her book really sums it up. " I love you so much, nothing else matters, not even you." What do you think about THAT!

More thoughts on Ayn Rand

Ayn said "Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life"

Really!?!?!? This is so self centered...but totally explains why Howard and Dominique are the heros of this book and totally explains why I cannot see them as such.

Ayn Rand's Philosophy

In casual conversation I asked a friend of mine if he had ever read The Fountainhead.
He said "no, but I am familiar with Ayn Rand's philosophy"
My response "errr?!" Ok, time to use the World Wide Web!
The Ayn Rand Institute is located at my Alma Mater UC Irvine. Her philosophy is Objectivism.

The following is a short description of Objectivism given by Ayn Rand in 1962.

At a sales conference at Random House, preceding the publication of Atlas Shrugged, one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essence of my philosophy while standing on one foot. I did as follows:
Metaphysics Objective Reality
Epistemology Reason
Ethics Self-interest
Politics Capitalism
If you want this translated into simple language, it would read:

1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.”
2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.”
3. “Man is an end in himself.”
4. “Give me liberty or give me death.”
If you held these concepts with total consistency, as the base of your convictions, you would have a full philosophical system to guide the course of your life. But to hold them with total consistency—to understand, to define, to prove and to apply them—requires volumes of thought. Which is why philosophy cannot be discussed while standing on one foot—nor while standing on two feet on both sides of every fence. This last is the predominant philosophical position today, particularly in the field of politics.



There is more more, click here


Frankly, I find "God is Love" much simpler. But I will give Ayn a bit more of my time.

Been Reading About New York Again!

So...the weather has been great and my deck chair was calling.  I read 3 books this last week... I KNOW! CRAZY! Oh yeah, and  BSC is over.                                                                                           A new author (to me anyway) Shanna Mahaffey has done a remarkable job with a book called "Sounds Like Crazy."  It is the story of a waitress (yay) in New York city who has 5 people living inside her head.  She ends up getting fired (again) from her waitress job and getting voice over work.  I have to adnit I was a little resistent to pick this one up because I was so traumatized at age 11 by reading "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden"  and of course who wasn't mesmerized and a little freaked out by "Cybil!"  I could not put this book down.  The characters  fascinating and I couldn't wait to find out the impetus for her DID.   Thankfully I found it more tender than horrifying and was grateful there wasn't horrendous torture, or worse, involved.  This would be AN AMAZING! book for a book club discusson...so many things to delve into! 

Adrianni, New York, and Italy..Perfecta-Trifecta

So...the weather has been great and my deck chair was calling. I read 3 books this last week... I KNOW! CRAZY! Oh yeah, and BSC is over. 

Let me tell you about the first two:
Adrianna Trigianni is one of my all time favorite authors.  I just finished "Very Valentine" and "Brava Valentine."  I LOVE when a I come late to a series so they are all there, no waiting for the author to finish the sequel.
Valentine Roncalli works in the family shoe business Angelinni Shoes, in Grennwich.  The character is so rich and believable (written in first person)  that you feel like it is autobiographical.  You learn the details of making fine shoes, you get to live in a brown stone in Greenwich, and travel to Tuscany, Naples and the island of Capri.  There is family to fight with and love, and a restraunt owner to socialize with....what more could you want!  (AND... we meet an old friend in this book, very nostalgic!)

Another Suggestion

In the vein of Red Tent... Here Burns My Candle. Set in Scotland during the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie, but reflective of the Ruth and Naiome story. Liz Curtis Higgs is always masterful so it should be great.