The Atlasphere columns are now available through an RSS/XML syndication newsfeed.
Someone requested this feature last year, and it made perfect sense — but I’ve only now had time to set it up.
The little orange RSS icon is hidden behind the password-protected “columns” section of our site, but you can copy the actual link to your clipboard using this link.
Drop me a note if you notice any problems or have questions.
I know the feed doesn’t validate strictly, but haven’t had time to look into it, and I probably won’t bother unless it’s actually, you know, causing problems.
Category: The Atlasphere
All things Atlasphere can be found here, columns, podcasts, interesting anecdotes, and more.
Atlasphere to Top 10,000 Members
Keep your eyes peeled: The Atlasphere is poised to reach 10,000 members within the next day!
We’re currently at 9995 and counting…. And typically we get an average of about 10 new members each day.
The New Individualist Seeks Managing Editor
Interested in full-time work as an editor? Talk to The New Individualist.
Robert Bidinotto, Editor in Chief of The New Individualist, has announced an opening for a Managing Editor. Check it out if you might be interested.
Update from TOC on Atlas Shrugged Movie
The Atlas Society / Objectivist Center has published its own formal write-up of the Atlas Shrugged movie presentation by Atlas Shrugged movie producers Karen and Howard Baldwin at this year’s summer seminar.
Much of this information was mentioned in Robert Bidinotto’s writeup of the same event, but this elaboration was nice to see:
The climax of Part I [i.e., the first movie of the trilogy] will be the first run of the John Galt Line, with a cliffhanger denouement that sets the stage for Part II. â??The John Galt Line is the central plotline in the first part of the novel,â? Kelley notes. â??Itâ??s a wonderful story of successful achievement, revealing the heroic stature of Hank Rearden and especially Dagny Taggart. But itâ??s crucial to have the film end on a darker note, foreshadowing the rest of the story. Randâ??s central theme, after all, is that the world is not safe for producers until they challenge the morality of altruism and the politics of parasitism.â?
See The Atlas Society’s full article for more.
At Nerve.com: Sex Advice from Objectivists
Wondering how to get an Objectivist to go home with you? How to persuade your boyfriend to partake in that threesome you’ve been dreaming about? Whether to tell your new girlfriend you’re actually a virgin?
Your wait is over.
Nerve.com has published its “Sex Advice from Objectivists,” including answers to all your most pressing questions — from a panel of undisputed pros, of course.
As owner of the Atlasphere, I was invited to participate. Yikes!
If you don’t get the answers you were hoping for, you can always consult their sex advice from tribute bands, Santas, or poker players.
Michael Crichton: Environmentalism as Religion
From a speech titled “Environmentalism as Religion” that Michael Crichton gave to the Commonwealth Club in September 2003:
I have been asked to talk about what I consider the most important challenge facing mankind, and I have a fundamental answer. The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. Perceiving the truth has always been a challenge to mankind, but in the information age (or as I think of it, the disinformation age) it takes on a special urgency and importance.
We must daily decide whether the threats we face are real, whether the solutions we are offered will do any good, whether the problems we’re told exist are in fact real problems, or non-problems. Every one of us has a sense of the world, and we all know that this sense is in part given to us by what other people and society tell us; in part generated by our emotional state, which we project outward; and in part by our genuine perceptions of reality. In short, our struggle to determine what is true is the struggle to decide which of our perceptions are genuine, and which are false because they are handed down, or sold to us, or generated by our own hopes and fears.
As an example of this challenge, I want to talk today about environmentalism. And in order not to be misunderstood, I want it perfectly clear that I believe it is incumbent on us to conduct our lives in a way that takes into account all the consequences of our actions, including the consequences to other people, and the consequences to the environment. I believe it is important to act in ways that are sympathetic to the environment, and I believe this will always be a need, carrying into the future. I believe the world has genuine problems and I believe it can and should be improved. But I also think that deciding what constitutes responsible action is immensely difficult, and the consequences of our actions are often difficult to know in advance. I think our past record of environmental action is discouraging, to put it mildly, because even our best intended efforts often go awry. But I think we do not recognize our past failures, and face them squarely. And I think I know why.
Keep reading…
I’ve recently purchased Crichton’s anti-environmentalist novel State of Fear, and am looking forward to reading it.
The Fountainhead Featured at "Economics Camp"
From an article in the Anderson Independent-Mail:
While most students go to camp to perfect their tennis swing or cheerleading skills, a group of about 30 teenagers from across the country spend last week at Clemson University learning more about economics.
Thatâ??s right — economics summer camp.
Itâ??s designed for exceptional incoming seniors with a passion for public policy and economics. Thanks to a grant from BB&T, the students attend the camp for free and even make some money for going. They are reimbursed 45 cents for each mile they have to travel up to $300.
Steven Shiflett, a 17-year-old Belton-Honea Path High School student, said he was paid about $50.
On paper, the camp sounds boring, but the studentsâ?? eyes lit up when they got started talking about Ayn Randâ??s “The Fountainhead,” one of two books they were supposed to read before camp. After only the first two days, they were explaining how free trade affects the textile industry and BMW Manufacturing Co.â??s effects on the Upstate.
“Off the top of your head, youâ??d be like â??Economics camp? Thatâ??s whack,â?? ” said Atif Choudhury, 17, of Irmo High School in Columbia.
Mr. Choudhury plans to be a doctor, and Mr. Shiflett, who was in his small discussion group, wants to study aeronautical engineering. But they agreed the week of economics education was fun and would be useful in the future no matter what their career.
“You should always just have a background in economics,” Mr. Shiflett said. “You never know when itâ??ll be useful.”
See the full article for more.
Bidinotto Dishes up News on Atlas Shrugged Movie
Robert Bidinotto offers quite a few exciting updates on the Atlas Shrugged movie, drawn from one of the sessions at this summer’s Atlas Society seminar.
Some tasty excerpts:
- The final go-ahead “deal” was signed on June 29. The film is well-capitalized, with Lionsgate — the studio that produced the most recent Oscar-winning film, “Crash” — investing $40 million or more for initial production effort.
- The plan is for the film to be shot and shown in three parts, as a trilogy, like “Lord of the Rings.” Only that length, they said, would give sufficient scope to tell Ayn Rand’s long, complex story. (The initial $40 million would go mainly to Part I.)
- To hold down production costs, much of the filming may take place in Europe and in the American Southwest, with only “second unit” establishing shots done in iconic venues such as New York City. Filming for more than one of the three parts may occur at the same time.
- Karen Baldwin declared that the novel’s heroine, Dagny Taggart, may well be the greatest female character in all of literature. In selecting a director, they said, one of their first questions is: “When was the last time you read Atlas Shrugged?” They are committed to hiring a capable director who is completely familiar with the novel, and who understands its message, characters, and style.
- The Baldwins revealed that they have been deluged with major stars who want to play in the film. … Karen Baldwin also stressed that for [Angelina] Jolie, fidelity to the Dagny character as she is in the novel — particularly the dialogue — is a must; she wants as much of Rand’s dialogue to be used in the film as possible.
Interestingly enough, philosopher David Kelley has worked closely with screenwriter James V. Hart to ensure the screenplay’s fidelity to the novel, and will be credited on-screen as a co-producer of the film.
Bidinotto concludes: “Bottom line: It looks like this grand tale WILL be made, at long last; and more importantly, it looks as if everyone connected with the production is dedicated to DOING IT RIGHT.”
See Bidinotto’s full post on the topic for much, much more.
'A Scanner Darkly' Features the Fountainhead
Sent to us by an, er, anonymous movie enthusiast:
Last night I saw the new SF film A Scanner Darkly. I thought it was totally incomprehensible and awful and was tempted to demand a refund. In one scene, a character attempts suicide, accompanied by a bottle of wine and a copy of The Fountainhead — which latter gets an enormous amount of screen time. (Although the film is presumably set in the future, itâ??s still the pre-Centennial quality paperback cover — but that error makes as much sense as the rest of the movie.)
Please donâ??t connect this report with my name as I donâ??t want to be informed that I wasnâ??t smart enough to understand the utterly confusing screenplay!
Heh. Yeah, despite the compelling pseudo-animations, it does look like a downer, based on the trailer.
Interestingly enough, The Fountainhead gets a little screen time even in the trailer for the movie. Here’s a screen shot:
That does seem like a rather conspicuous placement of the book. More like he’s brandishing a copy than reading it.
UPDATE: Here’s another review (no Rand background to my knowledge) from someone who liked the movie more.
Atlas Shrugged Movie May Come as 3-Part Trilogy
Joe Duarte, who attended this year’s Objectivist Center summer seminar, had this to say about the session with Atlas Shrugged movie producers Karen and Howard Baldwin and financial backer John Aglialoro:
The Atlas Shrugged movie looks like it’s really going to happen. And it looks like Angelina Jolie is likely to play Dagny. Other names mentioned by the producers as people they’ve talked to or talked about: Julia Roberts and Ashley Judd. The big thing now is to sign a director. James Hart is the screenwriter.
The movie is likely to be a three-part trilogy, like Lord of the Rings. The most important thing I got out of the amazing session we had with producers Karen and Howard Baldwin, and John Aglialoro, the backer, is how committed they are to the message of the novel. Karen said that the character of Dagny is perhaps the best female character in all of literature. Bottom line: They get it.
This is encouraging.