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!

Jolie Discusses Atlas Shrugged Film

Angelina Jolie, signed to portray Dagny in the film version of Atlas Shrugged, discusses the project in a recent interview.
“Everybody involved, the producers involved, we all sat down around a table and we all agreed that if we couldn’t do it right, if we couldn’t do it justice, if along the way any one piece didn’t come together like the right director or the right script, then we would all just fold it and not do it. So that’s where we’re at right now. We’re taking it step by step, and we’re going to make damn sure that it’s done right.”

Atlas Shrugged, World Is Flat Reviewed in URI School Paper

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged was recently touted in the student newspaper of the University of Rhode Island, The Good 5¢ Cigar.
Normally, that might not be of much interest outside the student body of URI. But the review, which also includes a discussion of Friedman’s recent The World Is Flat, is not merely complimentary. It is objective, well written, and draws some interesting parallels to and distinctions from Friedman’s book.
Kudos to Joe Markman for that.

Atlas Society Summer Seminar

The Atlas Society has announced the location and dates for the 18th Annual Summer Seminar conference. The seminar will be held in the second week of July, 2007 (July 8-15) at Towson University near Baltimore, Maryland.
Make special note of the change in this year’s schedule. The seminar will start on a Sunday, rather than on a Saturday as in past years, and continue through Saturday night, rather than Friday as in past years.
More information at The Atlas Society/Objectivist Center website.

Braveheart Scribe To Pen Atlas Shrugged Screenplay

Daily Variety reports that Braveheart screenwriter Randall Wallace has been signed by Lionsgate to write the movie version of Atlas Shrugged.
The story states that the writer-director of We Were Soldiers will “finish the adaptation before he starts production next year on Catherine the Great,” also with Jolie.
No reason for the switch from Contact adapter James Hart was given.
Daily Variety quotes Wallace as saying “I was fascinated by Rand’s book. It was original and provocative.”

Letters from Atlasphere Couples

We get e-mails semi-regularly from Atlasphere members telling us how happy they are to have fallen in love with someone they met through our site.
Lately, the frequency of these e-mails has increased noticeably. This morning I received my third happy-couple message in less than a week. After living together for about a year, they’re now engaged and have chosen a wedding date in May. Judging from their photos and profiles, they look like they’ll make a fantastic couple.
I cherish each of these letters, because they really embody the hopes we had when we launched the Atlasphere. My wife and I just celebrated our sixth anniversary together. We are insanely happy in our own relationship, and seeing other happy couples only compounds our joy.
If you’re single and still looking, don’t lose hope. I look forward to seeing a message from you in my inbox one day soon! 🙂