Ayn Rand's Objectivism

I have to admit that for the longest time I dismissed Ayn Rand's philosophy as described by people I've known. It simply seemed too self serving and stark for my tastes.
Recently, I read a blog post of one of my favorite writers on Trading and Psychology, Brett Steenbarger. That changed everything! One paragraph helped me understand the power and pervasiveness of that philosophy (or that philosophy as Brett describes it.):

" The novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand considered the willingness to face and deal with reality to be among the cardinal human virtues. While other animals can survive through their ability to forage or hunt prey, the human animal can survive only through reason and the use of the mind. To blank out reality--or fake it--is to betray what makes us unique; it is a moral failing and not just a psychological one. "


Facing reality, not faking it, is very hard to maintain and rare amongst people.

Here's the article:
http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2008/01/cardinal-virtue-of-trading.html

Why I've always chosen to be entrepreneurial.

Very well summed up logically by Paul Graham:  Pizza is like a job at a big company, natural foods are like working for a small group or yourself; it's the natural thing to do.  And it's the reason I love my current gig.

"If people have to choose between something that's cheap, heavily marketed, and appealing in the short term, and something that's expensive, obscure, and appealing in the long term, which do you think most will choose?"

http://www.paulgraham.com/boss.html

Best. Movie. Ever.

As a movie overall, "There Will Be Blood" was a really good movie.   Was it as good as the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB suggest?  I don't think so.
The last 20 minutes, though, that last scene... is simply devine.  A work of God.  A masterpiece. 

That scene makes the rest of the movie more than worthwhile.  It builds to that scene's glory.


"No Country For Old Men" missed that.  The build up, and rest of that movie was magnificent.  The intrigue, the novelty, the winding route...  But that ending just left me unsatisfied. 

Now, if THAT build up were paired with Blood's ending, THAT would be one of the best movies of all time!