Misc. Pics - location test shoot

"BRANDEN VS. RAND"

"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand & Objectivism

For eighteen years I was a close associate of novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand whose books, notably The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, inspired a philosophical movement known as objectivism. This philosophy places its central emphasis on reason, individualism, enlightened self-interest, political freedom—and a heroic vision of life’s possibilities. Following an explosive parting of the ways with Ayn Rand in 1968, I have been asked many times about the nature of our differences. This article is my first public answer to that question. Although agreeing with many of the values of the objectivist philosophy and vision, I discuss the consequences of the absence of an adequate psychology to support this intellectual structure—focusing in particular on the destructive moralism of Rand and many of her followers, a moralism that subtly encourages repression, self-alienation, and guilt. I offer an explanation of the immense appeal of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, particularly to the young, and suggest some cautionary observations concerning its adaptation to one’s own life.

http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/rand.php#


Heroes - Nico

I-I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins-like dolphins can swim
Though nothing-nothing will keep us together
We can beat them-for ever and ever
Oh we can be heroes-just for one day
I-I will be king
And you-you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be heroes-just for one day
We can beat them-just for one day
I-I can remember
Standing-by the wall
And the guns-shot above our heads
And we kissed-as though nothing could fall
And the shame-was on the other side
Oh we can beat them-forever and ever
Then we could be heroes-just for one day
We can be heroes (3X)
Just for one day
We can be heroes
We're nothing, and nothing will help us
Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay
But we could be safer, just for one day
Oh, oh, oh, ohhh-oh, oh, oh, ohhh, just for one day
Oh, just for one day

David Bowie