Atlas Blogged: Page 250.

I'm officially a fourth of the way through Atlas Shrugged, and there have been lots of crazy happenings in Ayn Rand's screwball version of America since I last wrote anything about it.

The major event was that Dagny Taggart built a train line with this screwy metal invented by Hank Reardon. This duo are pretty much the greatest people in the book, since they were born rich yet still make it their biggest priority to make as much money as possible. I think at one point they both agree that using up the earth's natural resources is absolutely fine, since "someone will someday figure out a replacement." These are the protagonists. These are the people I'm supposed to relate to. Anyway, long story short: they build this line called the John Galt Line and it's amazing and they blow everyone away and prove them wrong. And then they fuck:

He stood looking down at her naked body, he leaned over, she heard his voice - it was more a statement of contemptuous triumph than a question: "You want it?" Her answer was more a gasp than a word, her eyes closed, her mouth open: "Yes."

Hot.

While Dagny's getting it rough from Hank (who, by the way, tells her that he doesn't love her and wanted her in the way one wanted a whore), everyone's walking around saying, "Who is John Galt?" It's more of a rhetorical question, really, a symbol for the type of question that will never have an answer. Dagny used this idea for the name of her train line, I suppose because "The Chicken or the Egg? Line" was just a little too long.

Also, there's a pirate. I swear to God, there is a PIRATE roaming on the high seas pilaging boats owned by "The People's Republic of [Insert European Country Here]." (This novel is supposed to take place "in the near future," and I'm guessing Ms. Rand expected all of Europe to be Red by 1970. Also, she didn't figure in the idea that people wouldn't ride trains anymore. Whatevs.) The pirate's name is Ragnar Danneskjold. Seriously. And guess what? He happened to go to Patrick Henry University (SYMBOLISM ALERT!) with our favorite rich Argentinian playboy, Fransisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia.

I've only read a fourth of this novel and there's already a fucking pirate.

Atlas Blogged: Page 122.

I just had this fantastic idea about creating a blog about reading Atlas Shrugged and calling it Atlas Blogged (OMG LOLZ!), but then I remembered that I have too many blogs already. So instead, I'll just update you guys on here, because I know you all care so much.

So, I'm on page 122, which is just a little more than a tenth of the way through the novel. So far this is what I've gotten out of it: the railroad industry is not as exciting as architecture, and I like The Fountainhead better. But the nice thing about this book is there are a lot more soap opera-worthy characters. There are two aristocratic families mentioned so far: the Taggarts, who own Taggart Transcontinental, and the d'Anconia, who own a bunch of copper mines. Let me pause for a moment: the family name d'Anconia. That is some Dynasty shit. And to prove it, the heir of the d'Anconia riches is named Fransisco. Fransisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia. I swear to God. You learn about this amazing name in the following line, which I want all of you to take in because it's how Rand introduces the adult version of the character into the narrative: "Fransisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian d'Anconia sat on the floor, playing marbles." SRSLY, Ayn?

Fransisco D. C. A. S. d'Anconia, or "Frisco" for short, is despised by Dagny Taggart, the sister of the incompetent owner of Taggart Transcontinental. She's a powerful lady, so of course she's the only one who knows how to do anything with the business. But hold on, feminists! Dagny likes to get raped. Yes, you know when you have a strong Rand character when she likes it real rough and forced. She's so strong, she needs to feel weak! And while "Frisco" seems like a worthless playboy, we know he's actually a good guy because he rapes Dagny a few times in the twenty-page flashback where we learn about their childhood together. Again, quoting Ms. Rand: "[Dagny] knew that fear was useless, that he would do what he wished, that the decision was his, that he left nothing possible to her except the thing she wanted most - to submit."

If you're one of the irrational people who think this kind of sexual experience is wrong, well, that's only because you think sex is evil. And you probably desire monogamy! Ha, you fools!