Topic: "Paging Winston Smith..."

[Pilsner Panther]

I'm only going to post the link to this article, because it's too long to cut and paste:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/politics/21reclassify.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Right down the Memory Hole, courtesy of the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue). George Orwell was 100% right, he was only off on the date—

"WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH."





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[Bangsmith]

Winston Smith did the album artwork for Dead Kennedys, and for Jello Biafra spoken word releases. How low can a Punk get?!?!?!?!?!?!

[Pilsner Panther]

Winston Smith did the album artwork for Dead Kennedys, and for Jello Biafra spoken word releases. How low can a Punk get?!?!?!?!?!?!

That's not the Winston Smith I was referring to; the original Winston Smith is the main character in George Orwell's novel 1984. You can read a summary and the whole book here: http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/

Back when I was in high school, this book was required reading, but that was probably because the Cold War was still going on... maybe it's not on the reading lists any more. The bleak living conditions in the imaginary "Oceania" (ruled by Big Brother), are modeled on those in the Iron Curtain countries of the time (1948-49).

[Dunrobin]

That's not the Winston Smith I was referring to; the original Winston Smith is the main character in George Orwell's novel 1984. You can read a summary and the whole book here: http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/

Back when I was in high school, this book was required reading, but that was probably because the Cold War was still going on... maybe it's not on the reading lists any more. The bleak living conditions in the imaginary "Oceania" (ruled by Big Brother), are modeled on those in the Iron Curtain countries of the time (1948-49).

Excellent book.  Unfortunately, the Bushite neo-cons obviously view it more as a training manual than as literature.   

[Waldo Twitchell]

It was required reading when I was in high school in the late 80s. We read it back-to-back with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

Both are excellent by the way, as are the montages of punk/collage artist Winston Smith. Of course, he took that pseudonym from Orwell's book.