On February 23-24th, critically acclaimed author and speaker Bob Burg, who is also an Atlasphere columnist, will be co-hosting a two-day business seminar in Orlando called “Extreme Business Makeovers.”
Burg is the author of The Success Formula, Winning Without Intimidation
His business columns at the Atlasphere include the “Success Formula” series (parts one, two, and three), his “Winning Without Intimidation” series (covering Belief Concepts, The Three P’s, How You Say It, The Power Play, Allowing Yourself to Win, and The Power of Questions), and many others.
He has also authored several political columns for the Atlasphere, including “A Nation of Laws (Not Lawmakers,” “Re-Framing the Immigration Debate,” and, most recently, “Default Settings to Big Government.”
For information about attending Burg’s two-day seminar, visit the Extreme Business Makeover web site, which describes the event, the bevy of business authorities who will be presenting there, and how to register.
UPDATE: Burg has written more about this upcoming seminar, and the topics that will be covered, in his February 5th Atlasphere column “Bringing Your Business to the Next Level.”
Author: s1e2t3u4p5
Travels and Travails of the "We the Living" Band
In November I finally bought a copy of the album Far from You and Your Everyday Noise by a new Wisconsin band called “The Profits” — since re-christened “We the Living” and scheduled to release their first national album under the We the Living name in March or so.
Their original album reveals an incredible musicality in their performances — mostly acoustic stuff in the vein of John Mayer or some U2 songs — and they happen to be Ayn Rand fans, too. In fact, lead singer and songwriter John Paul Roney is Sarah Saturday‘s younger brother.
Since buying their Far from You album, I’ve rarely taken it out of my CD player except to make copies for the kitchen and the car. It’s a delightful collection of songs, with catchy melodies, alternately witty and thought-provoking lyrics, and good production value for a first album.
Today I visited their blog and noticed this hilarious post from a few days ago, about their recent trip to the musical mecca of Los Angeles.
I plan to review their (old and new) albums soon for the Atlasphere. Meantime, give these guys a look. Their MySpace page has some good songs on it.
Better still, buy their album now and count yourself lucky to experience a truly talented and promising band while most of the world is still oblivious.
NY Times on Atlas Movie
An update and history of the Atlas Shrugged movie project was published in Sunday’s New York Times. The article discusses the current Baldwin Entertainment Group/Lions Gate project, and is framed by a recounting of past failed projects to bring Rand’s novel to the big screen.
The article ends with the following quote from writer/director Randall Wallaceâ??current screenwriter for the Atlas movie:
â??I can pretty much guarantee you that there wonâ??t be a 30-page speech at the end of the movie,â? he said. â??I have two hours to try to express what Rand believed to an audience, and my responsibility is not only to Ayn Rand, but to the audience, that this be a compelling movie. More people will see the movie than will read â??Atlas Shrugged.â?? And the movie has to work.â?
Read the full article…(free registration required)
Exxon Warming Up to Global Warming?
MSNBC reports that Exxon-Mobil has “stopped funding groups skeptical of global warming claims.”
Whether because of Congressional pressure, or that from stockholders nervous about bad publicity, the change can be expected to harbinger bad news for some. (Exxon actually stopped funding CEI, a major critic of global warming claims, prior to receiving the infamous Snowe-Rockefeller letter.)
Larger companies like Exxon may see little effect – they have highly paid lobbyists to soften any effect of expected increased legislative control. Smaller companies may simply disappear, unable to compete as the price of generating energy is increased.
Those who advocate a free market in energy, supported by sound environmental science, should be concerned.
Tracinski On Fox News – Rescheduled for Jan 8
Robert Tracinksi, owner and publisher of TIA Daily, is scheduled to appear on “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” a Fox News Channel program on Jan 8, time to be determined.
In a recent TIA Daily he outlined the three current strategies for Iraq under discussion by the Administration: “Going Big, Going Long, and Going Home.” He presents an alternative he calls “Going Wide.” This involves essentially looking beyond Iraq’s borders to the wider source of the problem, namely Iran and Syria.
Nuremburg vs. Saddam's Sloppy Trial
From Ed Hudgins at The Objectivist Center:
Saddam Hussein’s Execution
by Edward Hudgins
Saddam Hussein is deservedly dead, hanged as the heinous criminal he was. But the process by which justice was administered was disappointing and highlights the wide gap in values between Iraqâ??s culture and that of any civilized country.
I wrote three years ago (“A Trial for Saddam Hussein,” December 17, 2003) that a trial of Hussein offered an opportunity for Iraqis to affirm universal principles of justice the way the Nuremberg trials did after World War II. Nazi war criminals faced charges of committing aggression, crimes committed during war and crimes against humanity. The judges were representatives of the victors, but this was not victors’ justice. True, the Soviet government, whose leaders deserved the same treatment as the Nazis, had a representative on the panel of judges that included members from the United States, Britain and France. But the process allowed the Nazis to defend themselves and several were even acquitted.
But most important, the crimes of the Nazi regime were documented for all to see. Principles of justice plus a detailed look at how they were undermined offered an object lesson to all countries seeking to keep the commitment of “never again.”
In Iraq, Saddam was convicted and executed for the 1982 murders of 148 people in the town of Dujail in the wake of an assassination attempt against him. He deserved his fate but that trial did not lay out the broader principles of justice that should govern any legitimate regime. Nor did it review the full scope of his regime’s crimes that led to the torture and deaths of hundreds of thousands.
Continue reading “Nuremburg vs. Saddam's Sloppy Trial”
Ayn Rand In Hollywood Exhibit
An exhibit of Ayn Rand images and documents is on display at the Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Library through February 28, 2007.
“Utilizing images and documents from The Ayn Rand Archives, this exhibit documents Ayn Rand’s personal and professional activities in Hollywood, 1926â??51.”
In addition to rare photos and video, there are scheduled screenings of several films with screenplays by Ayn Rand. Also, the biographical documentary, Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life will be shown January 13, 2007.
The library is located at 1623 N. Ivar Avenue, Hollywood, CA. Hours: Mon. 10-8, Tue. 10-8, Wed. 10-8, Thu. 10-8, Fri. 10-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 1-5
Peikoff's DIM Course Free from ARI
The Ayn Rand Institute is offering, for a limited time, free online access to Leonard Peikoff’s “The DIM Hypothesis” course. The 15-lecture series discusses Dr. Peikoff’s theory of “the epistemological mechanics of society” and how it evolves.
The course covers the hypothesis’ impact on Metaphysics, Law, Science, Art, Politics, and much more.
Details are available at the Ayn Rand Institute website. (Registration required, but free.)
Monckton Reply to Snowe & Rockefeller: Let Exxon Speak
U.S. Senators Snowe and Rockefeller recently wrote a letter to Exxon-Mobil’s CEO urging the company to cease funding ‘climate skeptics’.
The Center for Science and Public Policy recently posted a pdf with a reply by Lord Monckton of the UK.
Websites around the Internet are afire with discussions about the free speech implications, on top of an already heated debate about climate change. Is it just a publicity-seeking move by some politicians? Is it an ominous portend? Read and decide for yourself.
Are You a Wine Lover?
Happy holidays!
One reason why my own Ayn Rand meta-blogging has been sparse in recent months is that I’ve been working hard, together with Atlasphere programmer Marshall Sontag, to launch a new business in the wine industry.
Our new company, which we’ve named WineQ, is a “meta” wine club ($4.95/mo) that lets you queue up wines like movies, read plenty of reviews from other consumers while choosing your wines, and receive FREE shipping on orders of $35 or more.
Essentially, we allow people to create their own wine club: Instead of someone else choosing the wines you’re sent, you get to choose. Instead of someone else deciding how often your wines are sent, you get to choose. And instead of paying through the nose for shipping, you get shipping for free.
Shipping wine is costly, often amounting to a 30% markup on the wine you buy over the internet. Other e-tailers generally require you to order a bare minimum of $120 in wine to receive free shipping — so a lot of people are excited about our innovative business model.
See the write-ups we received, for example, at Winecast (WineQ: Wine Club 2.0?) and GoodGrape (The “Netflix Effect” and the World of Wine).
Currently we offer wines from a growing list of small California wineries, all of which are sent direct from the winery to the consumer (although, due to our unique business model, you can combine wines from different wineries into the same order).
Right now our selection is somewhat limited for East Coast customers, since not all of our wineries can ship to those states (e.g., New York). But wine lovers in most western and midwestern states will find plenty to enjoy, and in general our selection of participating wineries will be growing steadily over the coming months.
Our web site is at WineQ.com. Check it out if you’re a wine lover or know friends or family who might be interested!
You can enter the coupon code ATLASPHERE during registration or checkout to receive $10 off your first order, giving you a first month’s membership for free.
We also offer unusually good discounts on expedited shipping — $5 for 2-day and $10 for overnight — if you want some exceptional premium wines to round out your holiday dinner plans.
Personally, my favorite wines on our site so far are the Ceja 2003 Vino de Casa Red and Deerfield 2003 RedRex. If you’re more of a white wine person, I can’t say enough about the Ceja 2005 Vino de Casa White. (None of these wines are over $20.)
And you can find many other highly-rated selections on our recommendations page.
Enjoy!