I must admit that I’m feeling pretty Objectivism’ed out after this weekend. Since that doesn’t happen often, let me explain.

On Saturday evening, 1FROG met to discuss four chapters of Ayn Rand’s excellent The Art of Nonfiction, namely those on outlines, drafts, editing, and style. 1FROG is the original, longstanding Objectivism discussion group of the Denver area.

Then on Sunday afternoon, 2FROG met to discuss the selections from The Fountainhead in the first part of The Ayn Rand Reader. 2FROG was started just this winter because 1FROG was in danger of growing too large for our living rooms and for productive discussion. Basically just three of us from 1FROG also attend 2FROG, as it’s already a good-sized group — amazingly enough.

Immediately after the 2FROG meeting, we had our FROLIC Sunday Dinner. FROLIC is a social group open to all people interested in Ayn Rand’s philosophy which meets at least once per month for dinner. It’s a particularly nice way for 1FROG and 2FROG members to socialize, since they would otherwise not meet particularly often.

2FROG and FROLIC are deliberately scheduled to be on the same day, i.e. the third Sunday of the month, but it just so happened that 1FROG (which roams amongst the Saturdays of the month) was also scheduled for the same third weekend. As one of three people who attended all three events, I’m feeling pretty darned Objectivism’ed out — even though I very much enjoyed both discussion groups and the dinner. Really though, that’s a good sign, as it means that Front Range Objectivism is flourishing!

I’ll have to be fully recovered by the end of the week, as Objectivist historian Dr. Lewis is coming to town to speak on homeland defense at CU Boulder on Friday and classical art in Denver on Saturday. Below is the full announcement. Note that reservations for the Saturday FROST talk must be made with Lin Zinser by tomorrow (Tuesday the 18th).

Front Range Objectivist Supper Talks is pleased to announce upcoming events:

Lecture on “The Failure of the Homeland Defense: Lessons from History” by Dr. Lewis on Jan 21, 2005 at the University of Colorado, Boulder

With the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Defense, America has accepted a permanent, institutionalized state of siege on its own soil. But is this the correct strategy? This lecture examines several cases from history in Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the American Civil War, and the decades between World Wars I and II*asking what has happened when great nations, facing attack, have turned to defense rather than offense. The results are unequivocal: the only defense is a good offense. If history is any guide, America should project her military beyond her borders and into the foreign homeland of her enemies. She should leave her cities free and open: as demonstrations of the power and success of freedom. Ultimately the lessons of history illustrate the deep connection between intellectual clarity, moral certainty, and the offensive strategy needed to defeat a ruthless enemy. Only Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism provides the foundations needed for a successful military response to the threats we face today.

More Details

This talk will be held at 7:00 pm at University of Colorado at Boulder, Hale 270. The lecture is open to the public. No RSVP is required. Admission is free.

This event is co-sponsored by the Boulder Objectivist Club. It is an encore presentation: it was the first FROST talk in January 2004.

Lecture on “The Architects of Reason: The Ancient Greek Cities of Sicily” by Dr. John Lewis on Jan 22, 2005 in Denver, Colorado

The birth of Western Civilization is the rise of reason into cultural dominance. It is in the ancient Greek city-states where, for the first time, cities, buildings, and political institutions were designed as reason dictated. Human action, not chance, was now the motor of human affairs. This lecture will celebrate, in words and photos, the spread of Greek civilization into the west, through the Greek colonies of southern Italy and Sicily, as revealed in their architecture and its town planning. The great theatres at Syracuse and Taormina, the awesome temples of Agrigento, Paestum and Selinus, the forum at Paestum, even the broken pottery scratched with the earliest written Greek verse, show us that the Greeks were the cultural pioneers of the western Mediterranean. Dr. Lewis will discuss the visible remains of the wonderful culture that would one day spread through Rome, the Renaissance, and into the present day.

More Details

The talk will be held at a new location: the Lake Arbor Golf Club at 8600 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada, Colorado (a suburb of Denver). The Golf Club is directly behind the shopping center located on the southeast corner of 88th and Wadsworth and can be accessed off of 86th and Wadsworth. It will cost $45 per person. (The price is $35 for students.) There will be a social hour (with cash bar) beginning at 6:00 pm, followed by buffet dinner at 7:00 and Dr. Lewis’ talk at 8:00.

Reservations are required by January 18th; advance payment is helpful.

Anyone is welcome, including interested non-Objectivists. Please contact Lin Zinser for details at lin(at)zinser.com or snail-mail your reservation and check to 8700 Dover Court, Arvada, CO 80005. You may also call her at 303.431.2525. If you have special meal requirements, please contact her.

About FROST

FROST is a new organization with the purpose of bringing national and internationally known speakers affiliated with the Ayn Rand Institute to the Denver metro area to speak on a variety of subjects. For further information about FROST, please view the FROST Page or contact Lin Zinser at lin(at)zinser.com.

Dr. Lewis an excellent lecturer both in content and style, so I’m happy to recommend his lectures highly.