Kat

Before I pack up the kids and scoot off to Grandma's house, I just wanted to wish everyone a merry Christmas from me, Michael, Tina and Sean. It has been quite a year of changes for me... new guy, new job, new website and I am happy to have met some really wonderful people in the Objectivist world, both online and off. Barbara has become a wonderful friend. This little site is the home to the best of the best. We got the best O-club going right here, right now. Good people make it happen. I am also overjoyed to have finally found the one single individual on this earth who is my highest value. Although we didn't get to have Christmas together this year, we will be getting together soon. And I can hardly wait. We wish everyone a wonderful holiday and very special holiday toast to the newlyweds, Jody and Lydia. Edit from Michael - I heartily agree with everything my Kitten has said. May everyone of you very special people on this site enjoy the happiness that we now enjoy, with long life, health, prosperity, happiness, reason, lots of excitement and lots of serenity. Cheers and the best of premises, Kat & Michael

Here is the link to buy George Reisman's big book on capitalism, get it on CD or download the whole thing for free in PDF format. Tim Sturm was thinking about creating an online study group for this if anyone is interested. http://www.capitalism.net/

I have created a gallery for Inky's artworks over on the Yahoo Objectivist Living Group. Let's see what she comes up with that is scannable. It seems that she draws all over herself and her clothes. She does make some pretty ornate designs on herself and it drives me crazy when she does stuff on her clothes...but I guess it's better than tattoos and piercings all over. Inky is awesome! Kat

It is that time of the year and so I will break out the pole and we can do the airing of the grievances. I've been bitchy enough lately so someone else can take the pole and start the celebration. Ready... Set.... RANT!!!

I have created some memberships. You should be getting an email verification. I created my first database there. It is an index of the recipes from the kitchen. People can put up their own photo albums to share. I am making it a private group so that it can be a place where you can post stuff like rough drafts that you don't want the world to see or something that you have saved as a nicely formatted pdf file or Word doc. Kat

Note from Administrator: The information in this thread was for the old domain and/or phpp forum software, but it is still mostly valid for the present program (Invision Power Board). Objectivist Living Yahoo Group is a new resource for us. Please do not use it as a message board. Inky was asking me about being able to upload her artwork and since there is no way for regular members to upload files here, I created the Yahoo Group. The url is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/objectivistliving/ The functions over there are: ChatCalendar Database Uploading files Uploading Photos Posting LinksBasically, it is a place to put stuff and do the chat thing. You can always messenger me for tech support on Yahoo Messenger also. My handle is pptartist at Yahoo. Kat Click to join Objectivist Living Yahoo Group

The "Kitchen" aka Romance is now in the living room. Somehow, "GIT to the living room" doesn't quite have the same charm to it... Hmmmm, maybe we should add a bedroom for... oh nevermind. Kat

Let's all go into Monty Python mode and sing about steak. (to the tune of spam!) Steak, steak, steak. steak....

I love it! Who does a good Johnny Cash impression around here?

Yes, I have had some contact with the Enrights. I've even promoted their group on Solo Illinois. They seem to have a pretty good group going and I wish them well. I live north of Chicago, so their group is not convenient for me. I am working on doing a group on the northside. Kat

yum! I love that sizzling flesh! I just received a gift certificate in the mail from my company for Omaha Steaks filet mignon dinner for four. Has anyone ever had Omaha steaks? Do they come with Ciro? Kat

Hey Ethan, glad you made it in. Ciro is mixing up some eggnog in the kitchen. Enjoy! Kat btw - great article over there

Ellen, I feel pretty much the same way about the Fountainhead. It is a good book, but the main characters were not exactly my kind of people. Their relationship was pretty twisted. Dominque married two guys before getting around to Roark, who was her true love who she publicly denounced but privately bonked. Any contradiction there? He seemed like a robot in many ways. Cold, efficient and impersonal for the most part. She seemed like a bitch and I could not relate to her at all. I'm glad I read Atlas first. Kat btw - Are we neighbors? The best drive is north up Sheridan Rd to Kenilworth.

Well here is what I posted to my Chicago Ayn Rand Meetup group... Again, if anyone has any thoughts on how to kick this thing into high gear, please let me know. Kat

ahhhhhhhhh chooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Maybe this should actually be a rant, but I'm just gonna be a Kat and drag the topic out to the middle of the living room floor so everyone can take a sniff and maybe offer suggestions. For several months now I have been trying to get together a Chicago Ayn Rand group to meet on a monthly basis. It has been extremely disappointing. It is usually only me, my co-leader and maybe one or two others who even bother to show up, yet our Meetup site lists 42 members, with 5 joining within the past month. There have been some people who attend two or three times and then proceed to drop off the face of the earth. We appeared to have a solid core group of five going for a couple of months and now... nothing. Yesterday it was only Scott and myself attending. I don't know if it was because there were other events at the time such the libertarian holiday party, or that people just are not interested. This problem is certainly not unique to my group and I don't want to give up yet. I just dumped a lot of my own money into the group by covering 6 months of Meetup dues and buying a bunch of copies of Rand's books to give away to newcomers. (Hey, if churches can give away bibles, I can give away The Fountainhead). I have beefed up the marketing too. I have placed online ads and we are now utilizing more structured meeting plans. Now Luke is passing leadership over to me, so at this point it is sink or swim. I want to make the group successful, but this is really very frustrating right now. Ideas are welcome. Kat

Hi Paul, glad you could join us. Kat

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Hey I'm trying. LOLOLOLOL Kat

Well, I was outed at my new job the other day. I sneezed, someone said "Bless You," and my co-worker who knows that I am an Objectivist, blurted out, "Kathy doesn't like to be blessed." Being at a new job, I didn't really appreciate that very much, and I usually say "Bless You" myself when someone sneezes. Now the guy in the next cube is trying to think of a politically correct way to respond to an atheist when they sneeze. I have told them I don't mind at all when people say "Bless You," I just don't care for "God Bless You" as I am not a religious person. Thoughts? Kat

Rich, I know you were an Objectivist for a long time and then made the switch to UU. I still don't quite understand why anyone would buy into religion after finding Objectivism. I know how I went most of my life thinking something was actually wrong with me for not getting the spiritual thing. It was all senseless crap packaged in various ways. It made absolutely no sense at all to me and I didn't know another atheist. I kept my doubts to myself, and only my closest friends (pagens) knew I rejected all spirituality and did not believe in a soul and they accepted that. When I discovered Rand, it helped tremendously and the pieces finally fit. I finally fit. Now I am out. I know our philosophy does not have all the answers, but I would keep searching within the realm of reason rather than religion. I know you said you had a mystical experience, but on closer examination, could it not be explained away using reason? States of consciousness can altered and attributed to physical, emotional or other causes besides mystical. Kat

Here is the info on ARI's Objectivist Summer Conference 2006 in Boston, Massachusetts, June 30–July 8, 2006 A nine-day gathering offering leisure, fun and intellectual vigor, taking place at Boston's Seaport Hotel. See the website for details http://www.objectivistconferences.com

Hate to tell ya this, Ciro, but that one just doesn't sound appetizing to me. Like I said, I don't eat bugs! Michael would probably love it, but I ain't touching it. I'm sure others would love it too as most people seem to love lobster. I personally prefer chicken. Kat

Sense Of Life Objectivists in Chicago has an event tomorrow. Here are the details: What: Sense Of Life Objectivists in Illinois at Chicago December Meetup When: Saturday, December 17 at 6:00PM Where: Clarkes On Belmont 930 W. Belmont Ave Chicago IL 60657 773-348-5988 Event Description: Upon what mission did Ayn Rand embark when she chose at a young age to pursue a career in writing? How did her values choices contrast with those of other writers? This month shall ponder those questions through discussion of her essay "The Goal of My Writing" and her short story "The Simplest Thing in the World" in her book THE ROMANTIC MANIFESTO. Learn to use this information to unify the mind, body and emotions of your Authentic Self. See who's coming or update your RSVP: http://aynrand.meetup.com/70/events/ Want a text message sent to your phone a couple of hours before your Meetups? Set up your mobile reminders: http://www.meetup.com/account/sms/ Kat (btw - The Merritt Island group in Florida meets on the same day)

Well, I made this last night and it sure was yummy. I was a bit confused because there were two slightly different recipes. I don't grow my own basil, so I bought some in the produce section of the supermarket. Here is how I made pesto. 1/3 cup grated parmesean cheese 2 cloves of garlic 1/3 cup pine nuts 1 pkg fresh basil (rinsed and patted dry) 1/2 cup olive oil 1 - Zap cheese, garlic and pine nuts in food processor 2 - Add fresh basil (~1 oz) zap more, then 3 - Slowly add the olive oil and zap again. Serve over cooked pasta Thanks again, Ciro. I hope you don't mind when I reduce your recipes down to something so short and simple. It makes it easier to create recipe cards. Kat

Thanks, Kevin. I am wondering how these fully formed ideas get in our head with seemingly no external stimuli. The sensory mechanics explanation misses the mark, as what we are discussing falls outside of that range. I'm talking about those weird quinky-dink moments, the feeling someone's presence, the times you think of someone you haven't spoke to in ages and suddenly they call you on the phone. The psychic/psychological connection between people that is understood, but not expressed. There were even times it happened in Atlas Shrugged. There was some unspoken thoughts responded to. I wish I could think of the quote, it was something like, "we didn't have to take it seriously..." or something of that nature. I know this is getting out there, I am not endorsing the supernatural explanations, I am just chewing. I know there has to be some rational explanation, but what? I am only seeking simple, sensible explanations that can be used in conversation with normal everyday people, not intellectuals. Kat