Post your random thoughts.

Zeta Reticuli. Definitely.

I don't really know what "fascist" means either. [shrugs]

"Orwellian" seemed appropriate to describe the feeling of "There is no such thread and there never was", though, which is what I was going for.

It is appropriate, even if it is kind of a loaded term (as would be "memory hole", which has the same origin).

Am I the only one here who hasn't actually read Orwell?

^^^^ How'd you get it right on the first try? Everyone else seems to guess Stavromula Beta.

^ I guess so. There are many schools where his stuff is required reading.

edited 20th Jan '11 2:48:49 PM by AlirozTheConfused

Am I the only one here who hasn't actually read Orwell?

You could read one of his essays instead of a book.

Am I the only one here who hasn't actually read Orwell?

I doubt it. He's one of those writers where pretty much everyone knows the famous references by Popcultural Osmosis even if they haven't actually read his stuff.

I do recommend reading his stuff, though. It's short, culturally significant, and quite readable, if depressing.

I have also read Orwell's stuff and echo the sentiments expressed by the gentleman above me.

edited 20th Jan '11 2:51:11 PM by Justice4243

So...which of his works would you recommend starting with?

There's always the obvious. And Animal Farm. I need to read that thing about the Spanish Civil War...

1984, obviously.

For what it's worth, I read Animal Farm first, before 1984.

1984 and Animal Farm are his two most famous books, and both are great reads. I'd advise starting with one of them.

1984 gets out the lion share of "Orwellian" concepts, Animal Farm is pretty good, but really just hits on one idea. Though in a tad more detail than 1984.

As Norn mentioned, neither is really a daunting read, so they're both looking into...as long as you don't mind depressing endings.

Animal Farm is shorter and easier, but needs more context; it's basically the Russian Revolution retold as a Funny Animal story, and you'll miss a lot of the points if you're not familiar with that part of history. Nineteen Eighty Four is more about the psychology of totalitarianism in general.

I found Animal Farm more depressing, probably because of the much smaller scale and how more personally we could experience the characters.

On another note, I still wonder what Mollie's purpose was, because she barely did anything and when she left she was never alluded to for the remainder of the novel. She was probably supposed to represent the bourgeois, though.

edited 20th Jan '11 2:58:48 PM by GiovanniBattista

Here's a collection of his essays.

I remember liking this one.

edited 20th Jan '11 3:00:58 PM by Myrmidon

Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory, though, Mollie was actually probably pretty well thought out by Orwell.

...For some reason I thought she was a pig.

how did i wind up thinking that

Why does Liechtenstein exist as an independent polity?

Because.

Because Grandfather Clause + apathy, I'm guessing.

I think the Congress of Vienna forgot it existed.

Then again, when you're focused on making sure some mad Corsican not try and take over Europe again...

So on Sunday's Family Guy I found myself agreeing with the brief, anvilicious condemnation of human interest stories.

Even if it was blatant pandering, and now I feel guilty.

Also I hate the television business sometimes, especially the news business

edited 20th Jan '11 3:17:08 PM by GiovanniBattista

I take back everything bad I've ever said about Nethack. There's nothing like protecting a sleeping kitten from a veritable army of gnomes and dwarfes using only a bunch of darts, a camera, and a wand of sleep.

And then getting killed by a boulder trap, but WHATEVER.