Featured Atlas Summit Speaker: Vinay Kolhatkar (Vinay)
Our 2nd Atlas Summit speaker interview is with Galt’s Gulch Fellow, Vinay Kolhatkar (Vinay). Vinay is the founder, publisher, and chief editor of The Savvy Street blog which is dedicated to spreading the principles of reason and individualism. In addition, he is a speaker, author, columnist, screenwriter, and businessman.
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ATLAS SUMMIT
Q: What do you like best about the Atlas Summit?
A: Meeting like-minded people, who are applying philosophy to recent events and to their lives.
Q: What will you be talking about at the Atlas Summit this year?
A: I have 3 sessions. One is a workshop on story plotting. In another I am part of a panel of writers answering questions. In the third, I am discussing whether we really are in a Golden Age of Television.
Q: Can you give us a sneak peek of your talk?
A: In a move that was unthinkable in the 20th Century, the best writers and Oscar-winning film actors are going across to TV—the depth of story facilitates the depth of character. Welcome to the era of Mad Men, House of Cards, and Homeland: the 50-hour epic, spun over five seasons of 12 episodes each. Is this the new Golden Age of Television? Is it Romanticist?
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QUICK FACTS
Q: What is your favorite Ayn Rand book?
A: The Romantic Manifesto.
Q: Who is your favorite Ayn Rand character?
A: Gail Wynand. He is amazingly well-crafted; there is no better illustration to clarify the meaning of “a character to serve the plot.” That crafting—the absolute equal of Roark in ability and spirit, but undone solely by a malevolent view of the universe, is, I think, unique in Randian fiction. It crystallizes the meaning and depth of Roark’s journey, by concretizing “the path not taken” (by Roark).
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Q & A
Q: When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
A: At age 14, I read Atlas Shrugged cover to cover, soaking in every word.
Q: How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
A: I have learnt about life from many thinkers, but Rand was one of the earliest, and by far the clearest, and the most comprehensive. She made me unapologetically ideological—in today’s world, that has its pitfalls, so you need a lot of resilience.
Q: What passion projects are you working on right now?
A: I am writing my second novel. Like the first [The Frankenstein Candidate], it contains a transformative inner journey of one person, but this time it is a man, not a woman. I am also always busy on Savvy Street (http://www.thesavvystreet.com), an online magazine of which I am the publisher and editor of, and one of a dozen columnists.
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A LITTLE FUN
Q: What do you enjoy reading, watching, or listening to other than Ayn Rand?
A: Listening to—80s music. Watching—Long arc non-episodic TV drama. Reading—If non-fiction, then new insights in any field; if fiction, plots with a lot of twists and turns, and depth of character.
Q: If you could be the tycoon of any industry, which would you pick and why?
A: No brainer. Media. See 5 above—Gail Wynand. Why?—Because contemporary media is dominated by the New Left, with a few streaks of Conservatism. Populist media fails its fourth estate (watchdog) function—“to keep the bastards honest.” I often say—“The media is not a Government watchdog anymore, it is the Government lapdog.” It is also unable to convey insightful and investigative truths about the human condition—from Education to Science, from Psychology to Art, everything is framed in the New Left paradigms.
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Vinay’s Gulch profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/Vinay
Vinay’s Atlas Summit speaker profile: http://atlassummit2015tas25thanniversar....
The Savvy Street: http://www.thesavvystreet.com
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Other 2015 Atlas Summit speaker interviews:
Dale Halling (dbhalling) - http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2d...
More Atlas Summit speaker interviews coming soon!
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Register for the Atlas Summit now: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/atlas-summit...
Remember, Galt’s Gulch members save 20%: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2b...
Early bird rates end May 18th!
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- - - - -
ATLAS SUMMIT
Q: What do you like best about the Atlas Summit?
A: Meeting like-minded people, who are applying philosophy to recent events and to their lives.
Q: What will you be talking about at the Atlas Summit this year?
A: I have 3 sessions. One is a workshop on story plotting. In another I am part of a panel of writers answering questions. In the third, I am discussing whether we really are in a Golden Age of Television.
Q: Can you give us a sneak peek of your talk?
A: In a move that was unthinkable in the 20th Century, the best writers and Oscar-winning film actors are going across to TV—the depth of story facilitates the depth of character. Welcome to the era of Mad Men, House of Cards, and Homeland: the 50-hour epic, spun over five seasons of 12 episodes each. Is this the new Golden Age of Television? Is it Romanticist?
- - - - -
QUICK FACTS
Q: What is your favorite Ayn Rand book?
A: The Romantic Manifesto.
Q: Who is your favorite Ayn Rand character?
A: Gail Wynand. He is amazingly well-crafted; there is no better illustration to clarify the meaning of “a character to serve the plot.” That crafting—the absolute equal of Roark in ability and spirit, but undone solely by a malevolent view of the universe, is, I think, unique in Randian fiction. It crystallizes the meaning and depth of Roark’s journey, by concretizing “the path not taken” (by Roark).
- - - - -
Q & A
Q: When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
A: At age 14, I read Atlas Shrugged cover to cover, soaking in every word.
Q: How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
A: I have learnt about life from many thinkers, but Rand was one of the earliest, and by far the clearest, and the most comprehensive. She made me unapologetically ideological—in today’s world, that has its pitfalls, so you need a lot of resilience.
Q: What passion projects are you working on right now?
A: I am writing my second novel. Like the first [The Frankenstein Candidate], it contains a transformative inner journey of one person, but this time it is a man, not a woman. I am also always busy on Savvy Street (http://www.thesavvystreet.com), an online magazine of which I am the publisher and editor of, and one of a dozen columnists.
- - - - -
A LITTLE FUN
Q: What do you enjoy reading, watching, or listening to other than Ayn Rand?
A: Listening to—80s music. Watching—Long arc non-episodic TV drama. Reading—If non-fiction, then new insights in any field; if fiction, plots with a lot of twists and turns, and depth of character.
Q: If you could be the tycoon of any industry, which would you pick and why?
A: No brainer. Media. See 5 above—Gail Wynand. Why?—Because contemporary media is dominated by the New Left, with a few streaks of Conservatism. Populist media fails its fourth estate (watchdog) function—“to keep the bastards honest.” I often say—“The media is not a Government watchdog anymore, it is the Government lapdog.” It is also unable to convey insightful and investigative truths about the human condition—from Education to Science, from Psychology to Art, everything is framed in the New Left paradigms.
- - - - -
Vinay’s Gulch profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/Vinay
Vinay’s Atlas Summit speaker profile: http://atlassummit2015tas25thanniversar....
The Savvy Street: http://www.thesavvystreet.com
- - - - -
Other 2015 Atlas Summit speaker interviews:
Dale Halling (dbhalling) - http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2d...
More Atlas Summit speaker interviews coming soon!
- - - - -
Register for the Atlas Summit now: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/atlas-summit...
Remember, Galt’s Gulch members save 20%: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/2b...
Early bird rates end May 18th!
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I, too, found The Romantic Manifesto to be extraordinary. It solidified for me that I was on the path that I was meant to walk upon. It is not an easy one, but it is mine to enjoy and improve upon.
I look forward with great anticipation to your next novel, as I thoroughly enjoyed The Frankenstein Candidate.
Kind regards,
NMA
Another fan?
It surprised me how much my wife enjoys the show given the violence. She does not normally like violence on that level.