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Here's the ritual: The alarm is set for an hour before I need to get up. I move from the bedroom, close the door, turn on the radio, and spin out the extra hour I have floating between waking and sleep while on the futon in the living room as Morning Edition blares out the day's news.

This morning, for some reason, I was jolted awake by the news that Edie Brickell had committed suicide. The news got even more dire: Paul Simon was missing.

Two things: I'd forgotten that Edie Brickell existed, and I'd forgotten that Paul Simon married her.

Oh, and a third thing: I'd apparently dreamed that piece of news while listening to Morning Edition. All I can conclude is that Ayn Rand infected my pre-work slumber, and confused "What I Am" with "500,000 thousand dead Asians." Though how Paul Simon's missing body fit into it is beyond me.

Tags: npr, sleep, work

Greg came home last night, and had apparently heard a podcast of interviews with Ayn Rand. I was cooking a few hamburgers. I had a spatula in my hand, standing in the kitchen, slightly sweaty from the oven.

Greg said, "You aren't an Objectivist, are you?"

He said this out of the blue. He came home, plucked his ear buds out of his head, and stood in the hall outside the kitchen. A hamburger was sizzling on the stove. A few drops of grease fell from the spatula that I had in my hand, the spatula that had paused on its way to a burger-flipping when he asked the question.

"Objectivist? You mean, Ayn Rand shit?"

"Yeah. Do you believe in Objectivism?"

Here's what happened in me: surprise that Greg had just now been confronted with the philosophy, confusion over why he'd ask me if I were an Objectivist, kind of turned on that he was asking me about it, and concern that the burger patty would burn in the stunned pause.

I mean, who even thinks of Objectivism anymore? Isn't that an archaic form of Scientology or something? Does anyone take Ayn Rand seriously? Seriously?

"No," I said. "To be honest, the whole thing disgusts me. I totally get that one should be sort of selfish, but Rand failed to make the leap to admitting that the lives of others influence her own life." Except I wasn't that articulate about it. I was almost that articulate, though.

For the record, the podcast he'd been listening to had put objectivism in the basest of terms, spilled out like Legos. But even in its basic version, objectivism is dull and cerebral and ignorant of human nature--like communism without the vodka.

"You don't like Ayn Rand?" Greg asked.

I flipped the burger because it needed to be flipped. Then answered, "No, not at all."

And here's the fun part: Greg sighed dramatically, moved towards me, and gave me a long hug. It was as if he spends a lot of time trying to figure out what I think, what philosophy I roll with, and was relieved that this particular one could be tossed aside.

I actually was relieved too, because I felt the same thing about him.

A bit later, I dropped some  Wensleydale cheese onto the burger (I'd bought Wensleydale in honor of Wallace and Gromit), tossed down some steamed green beans, and slid the plate next to him as he played GTA 4.  We both have different ways of approaching life, but I don't think either of us are likely to turn Atlas Shrugged into a guidebook anytime soon.

Tags: greg

I was just listening to the news. The topic was Hillary Clinton's frequent use/misuse of the word 'elitist.' In case you don't know, Hillary Clinton spends most of her down-time accusing Barack Obama of being an elitist bastard.

Ok. So. Like. Am I the only one to see the irony here? Hillary Clinton's husband WAS, you know, President and all. You can't get much more elitist than that. She has spent nearly two decades defining 'elite' in this country. Now suddenly, a black man from Chicago is the new elite?

Oh, and she also said that the problem with our economy right now is that, for 7 years, "elite" thinkers have been making the decisions on economic policy.

Holy shit. "Elite" thinkers in the Bush administration? I laughed for ten minutes. The woman really IS clueless.

Tags: politics

Went with G to Best Buy today shopping for computer monitors. We decided we love all monitors at Best Buy because they all brag about reducing the lag time between dick and action. See:

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