most of us know Ayn Rand as the author of two
classic novels that we have seen a thousand times
when browsing through bookstores; books with
eye-catching covers and provocative reviews such
as this one,

. . . it seems clear that the book is written out of
hate. . . . Perhaps most of us have moments when
we feel that it might be a good idea if the whole
human race, except for us and the few nice people
we know, were wiped out; but one wonders about
a person who sustains such a mood through the
writing of 1,168 pages and some fourteen years of
work.
- New York Times Book Review
Granville Hicks (10/13/1957)

underlying Rand’s novels is a controversial
philosophy, Objectivism; one that has been
both highly praised and harshly denounced

we can find dry and esoteric summaries of
Objectivism on the net; like this one from the
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy -

Rand’s philosophy is in the Aristotelian tradition,
with that tradition’s emphasis upon metaphysical
naturalism, empirical reason in epistemology, and
self-realization in ethics . . .

or, thanks to YouTube, we can see Rand describe
Objectivism in plain terms, herself; as she does in the
video below

here, in a 1959 television interview, Ayn Rand clearly
and unapologetically lays out her philosophy for a
young Mike Wallace, who confronts her with the
media’s criticism of her work

the Orgasmatron is a fanciful device introduced in
Woody Allen’s comedy Sleeper (1973)

it is cylindrical in shape and big enough to hold one
or two people; its function is to induce orgasm

such a device was necessary in Allen’s 22nd
century society, where almost everyone was
either frigid or impotent

in the video below a neuroscientist discusses
research into neuro-biofeedback techniques that
could someday assist women in achieving orgasm -

can it be that the introduction of a functioning
Orgasmastron is just over the horizon?

and will it replace Viagra as The Next Big Thing in
the technology of sex?

the above is an excerpt from the Discovery Channel’s
Everything You Need To Know About The Brain

the words musician and influence go together;
enter them in a BrainyQuote.com search and
you’ll get 331 results

when interviewed, musicians will often mention
the performers and experiences that had shaped
their art

sometimes these influences will surprise us;
we just wouldn’t have expected them

i think that a case in point is the mutual respect
and influence shown by Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix;
two musicians who, at first glance, seem quite
different

Hendrix very much identified with Dylan’s lyrics;
and Dylan had great respect for Hendrix’s
musicianship

Hendrix on Dylan,

Sometimes I do a Dylan song and it seems to fit me
so right that I figure maybe I wrote it. Dylan didn’t
always do it for me as a singer, not in the early days,
but then I started listening to the lyrics. That sold me.
— Jimi Hendrix, from Beat Instrumental magazine,
1969

Dylan on Hendrix, when asked how he felt when first
hearing Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower,

It overwhelmed me, really. He had such a talent, he
could find things inside a song and vigorously develop
them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think
of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the
spaces he was using. I took license with the song from
his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.
— The Bob Dylan Companion

to get a sense of the influences Dylan and Hendrix
had upon one another, check out the video below

it shows Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower from
John Wesley Hardin (1967); the Hendrix version
from Electric Ladyland (1968); and one of Dylan’s
Hendrix-influenced live performances, Braunschweig,
Germany 2001

sometimes we learn unpleasant truths about
ourselves slowly and grudgingly

we will be confronted by a boss, parent, spouse,
therapist . . . who points out something about us that
we don’t really want to hear

we will then immediately reject what they have told
us; overtly or covertly, with or without an argument

we are resisting their interpretation of our behavior,
and we may do so for quite a while

finally, thanks to that part of us that remained
open to this unpleasant truth, we will eventually
experience a flash of insight

we might think, “maybe there was something to what
that S.O.B. said about me. Maybe.”

and we’ll go on from there to grapple with,
incorporate and deal with this truth

whether in therapy or everyday life, much of
what we discover about ourselves is learned in
this way - through confrontation, resistance and
insight

this process is illustrated in an entertaining way by
American author Mary Bancroft, who tells of a
confrontation delivered to her by none other than
Psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung

the above video is an excerpt from
Matter of Heart - The Extraordinary Journey of
C.G. Jung

So how did every big galaxy in the universe end up
with a giant black hole in the middle?

this question is posed at the outset of the video
below

and for the answer, the narrator goes back some
14 billion years, to the time of the Big Bang

the above clip is a brief excerpt from NOVA’s
The Monster of the Milky Way