Lucky has landed.
It has been a long journey, not just because I am in Australia. My thinking has had some twists and double-takes, I am confident in my current direction tho' the destination is unclear. 'A long way still to go' to quote Akston. I am here with a moocher account but like Dagny let's see if I can contribute.
I am of course a great fan of AtlasShrugged and Part I of the movie. I am with Dagny and Reardon but the character I feel close to is Eddie Willers. In the movie, Eddie is cast as a black, this could have been a masterstroke, but was unfortunately not exploited. In the book Eddie is not a world changer or great thinker but he lives and works with integrity and dedication, he does not exploit or beg but he pays his way. Eddie is the hero for everyman, his is the way everyone should live. In the video he is groovy, helpful and reliable, played well by Edi Gatheti, but not quite the person Rand created. At the end of the book, Eddie's fate is left open, I think this is to be taken as a portent - if the path of current governments in the US and Australia continues, those of exception talent may survive ok, most everyone else is to be worse off, those with integrity, who put in the effort, will loose the most.
Part II: we probably will not get the movie here but I will be one of the first DVD buyers.