I Lost Track of the Score Long Ago

Congratulations to Ms. Amanda Pierce (a.k.a. "The Lady Friend", a.a.k.a. "The Soon to Be Permanent Lady Friend") for correctly naming "California" by Phantom Planet as the Tuesday Song of the Day.

I would also be remiss if I didn't direct all of you to this website, where you can drop a note for the future Mrs. Scott and yours truly.

Part 30 (My Response)

I've told you this before, so hopefully you won't still be too mad at me, but I've never read Atlas Shrugged. I've read other Rand books, but I've never tackled Atlas or The Fountainhead. I'll just borrow your copy of Atlas when you finish in 2011.

The lady friend has said that I over-think these kinds of questions (favorite book, movie, album, TV show, etc.), so I tried to find a nice middle ground between thinking too much and too little about it by taking my gut reactions, looking them over a little bit, and then deciding if they made sense.

In high school, I loved A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I'm not sure if you hippies in Boulder were required (or even allowed) to read a book loosely based on John Knowles' experiences at a bastion of northeast elitism like Exeter, but I loved the book, not only for its vivid depiction of someone else's high school experience, but also for how accurately it portrays the volatility of high school friendships and relationships.

In college, the one book that stands out is A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. That's not to say that I didn't read a number of other books in college that I loved, but Heartbreaking Work was the first book that I remember reading and thinking, "I've never read anything like this before." It's also funny that I've recommended the book to other people and been surprised at how difficult they found the book to be.

In particular, I'm remember my Mom reading the book, and as we were discussing it she said something along the lines of "I guess you just have to be a guy in your late teens/early 20's to get that book." While I don't think that's universally true, I think there is something to the idea that sometimes we read books at these critical points in our lives, and if we had read that same book 10 years earlier or 10 years later, it would not have nearly the same affect on us. I don't think I would have connected with Eggers' description of how he tried to balance the loss of his parents, raising his 8-year old brother Toph, and at 22, trying to figure out who he was going to be, if I had read the book at 11 or at 31.

We've Been on the Run, Driving in the Sun

Congratulations to Micah for correctly naming "Psycho Killer" by the Talking Heads as the Monday Song of the Day.

Part XXIX (Luke's Response)

Yeah, there is this awareness renaissance for most collegians that is seemingly always tied to literature. My answer has got to be the most common one you'll hear: Ayn Rand. Atlas Shrugged was the first book I was able to unequivocally call my favorite.

It was my favorite not necessarily because the ideas therein resonated with my own, but because the book made me think like no other one had.

As is the case, the book was added to my life stew just after the right mix of ingredients had already been combined. Consider the following ingredients: Born in Texas to parents who attended a private, faith-based university. Raised in Boulder, CO among millionaire hippies. One side of the family prone to sign over their entire paycheck to a homeless guy; the other side of the family near-militant capitalists. Add the dynamic Bring all those ingredients to a simmer then top with a dollop of Atlas during sophomore year, and you'll have a memorable experience.

Funny you brought this up. Recently I was thinking about the book and it's affect on me. I wondered how the book would strike me now, so I started to read it again. I'll let you know what I think when I finish it in 2011.

What you got?

We May Race and We May Run, We'll Not Undo What Has Been Done

Part V (Luke's Response)

I think there is such a thing as intrinsic good. The very act of reading, for example, can be in and of itself good. That is to say, I think a man literally stuck alone on a deserted island can live a meaningful life. He can engage in behaviors that in and of themselves have value, and thereby live a meaningful life. In the real world, I probably agree with your balance idea. While a man can live a meaningful life as a hermit, the most meaningful life is probably shared with people.

Chris Seidman's talk this morning at Highland was about pride. One thing he basically said was pride was the root of satan's fall and the root of man's fall.

My question to you is related to pride. What are your thoughts on terms like 'selfishness' and 'self-esteem', etc? Keep in mind I'm reading Rand, who once wrote a book called "The Virtue of Selfishness" (which I've read), but I see pride in a different way now than I once did. Your thoughts? I'm leaving this is purposely vague.