Netflix Pick: Ayn Rand Sense of Life

Like most kids in high school, I made my way through Anthem. As an adult, I tried to get through The Fountainhead and failed. I never even attempted Atlas Shrugged.

But I've still always been fascinated by Ayn Rand. Her name and philosophy of Objectivism seem to come up every now and then......especially around the time of political campaigns. Hmmmm.......ever wonder why that is?

(Seriously, why? I'm asking! Really!)

This documentary was extremely thorough and charted Rand's birth in Russia as an eye witness to the Russian Revolution to a young woman who wanted nothing more than to be American. She made it to America, worked in the film industry during its early silent years, became a novelist, a screenwriter and later a modern-day philosopher espousing a view of why it's good to be selfish.

Since freshmen year philosophy was as far as I ever got, I have a hard time wrapping my head around all of this.......it's extremely heady and thinky (I is smurt). But I do like the idea of folks considering our place in this world, our thoughts, our dreams, our aspirations, etc. And I also can't help but wonder if she could have turned out any differently given her harsh early circumstances than to be an atheist, anti-communist, individualist?

My favorite part of the doc though, I guess I have to give in to some shallowness here, was her interactions with early films stars like Joan Crawford, Gary Cooper, Betty Davis and the like. I just love that time period in cinema's Golden Age!

So I guess I'll enjoy TMC and leave the philosophy to Ms. Rand........

Reclaiming Your Childhood: Priceless

This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...

My Week with Rumor

My dog Rumor was an experiment. A trial offer. And all parties knew that going in. Except for maybe Rumor. Rumor was an outdoor country dog. His given name was Ruger (named after a firearm if you don't know, I didn't) which made sense for a dog raised in hunting country. He was a stray that came to live with a loving family at about the age of 1. He lived outdoors, slept in a garage crate at night, frolicked with an older dog pack and had a lovely life. We think he was about 4 years old. He had been neutered, had vet care and was by no means a "rescue". His dad offered Ruger to me on a give-it-a-try basis. He knew I wanted a dog. He told me Ruger would be sweet to me and also be my protector. He was right on both counts. He told me if it didn't work out, I could bring Ruger back to him and his wife. I could tell they were a little sad when they dropped him off. It made me glad to see that Ruger came from such ...

NYE for $200, Alex

Can we all just agree that New Year's Eve is the worst of the string of winter holidays? I would even go so far as saying it's THE WORST of all the holidays. I loved when Stanford Blatch defined a party as feeling very "forced festive". To me, most NYE parties feel that way. The idea that this is a big year-end blow-out and we'd all damn well better make it awesome! The reason I hate NYE is because it combines two of things I most hate about celebrations: cold weather and crowds. Plus it's during a time of year when everyone has already spent all their money. AND you usually have to the leave the house. ADDITIONALLY, you have to stay up late. It's a big F.U. from me on all this. I would dare say that some of my happiest New Year's memories have been spent at home in my pajamas with either my child, an S.O. or happily alone. I remember one unforgettable year of moving into a 3rd floor apartment on NYE. I rememb...

Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

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