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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 29, 2017 14:02:31 GMT -5
I had never actually read George Orwell's 1984, despite owning a copy for the past 30 years. The book came with such a reputation that it was a little daunting. More fool I; it's really a great read.
One can really see Orwell as a socialist feeling betrayed by how a social movement can be twisted and abused until it becomes the very thing it was meant to fight: a totalitarian state where free thinking is not only frowned upon, but an actual crime. When it comes to socialist dictatorships, he's far more Camus than Sartre.
He describes how erasing historical documents not only destroys said documents, but history itself... for if nobody can remember or prove a past event, how are we supposed to know it ever happened at all? That's a great concept, that pharaohs had grasped 4000 years ago already.
The concepts of Thoughtcrime, Doublethink and Newspeak are sadly still very relevant today. The USSR that seems to be the model for Oceania might be gone, but not the temptation to dictate what people have the right to think and to say.
My favourite aspect of the book is how despite its description of a horrible totalitarian world, it's not without nuance. To wit: when Winston Smith tries to get an old man to describe how much better the country must have been before the Revolution, he fails miserably... the old gent goes on and on about trivialities, but doesn't seem affected at all by the way the country is run. His main gripe is that beer is now sold in half-litres instead of pints.
Excellent book, which should be read along Jack London's The Iron Heel to see how a capitalistic Oceania might have looked like. Neither places are ones we'd like to live in, naturally.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 30, 2017 12:22:40 GMT -5
I had never actually read George Orwell's 1984, despite owning a copy for the past 30 years. The book came with such a reputation that it was a little daunting. More fool I; it's really a great read. One can really see Orwell as a socialist feeling betrayed by how a social movement can be twisted and abused until it becomes the very thing it was meant to fight: a totalitarian state where free thinking is not only frowned upon, but an actual crime. When it comes to socialist dictatorships, he's far more Camus than Sartre. He describes how erasing historical documents not only destroys said documents, but history itself... for if nobody can remember of prove a past event, how are we supposed to know it ever happened at all? That's a great concept, that pharaohs had grasped 4000 years ago already. The concepts of Thoughtcrime and Newspeak are sadly still very relevant today. The USSR that seems to be te model for Oceania might be gone, but not the temptation to dictate what people have the right to think and to say. My favourite aspect of the book is how despite its description of a horrible totalitarian world, it's not without nuance. To wit: when Winston Smith tries to get an old man to describe how much better the country must have been before the Revolution, he fails miserably... the old gent goes on and on about trivialities, but doesn't seem affected at all by the way the country is run. His main gripe is that beer is now sold in half-litres instead of pints. Excellent book, which should be read along Jack London's The Iron Heel to see how a capitalistic Oceania might have looked like. Neither places are ones we'd like to live in, naturally. Dead-on, RR. I've been reacquainting myself with Brave New World lately, which I hadn't read in nearly 50 years, and it, too, is frighteningly familiar: self-isolation via drugs, hedonism, the "feelies," and synthetic music boxes; discouragement of learning; and pre-ordained outcomes for individuals based on the circumstances of their birth are just the tip of the dystopian iceberg.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 30, 2017 12:24:17 GMT -5
I had never actually read George Orwell's 1984, despite owning a copy for the past 30 years. The book came with such a reputation that it was a little daunting. More fool I; it's really a great read. One can really see Orwell as a socialist feeling betrayed by how a social movement can be twisted and abused until it becomes the very thing it was meant to fight: a totalitarian state where free thinking is not only frowned upon, but an actual crime. When it comes to socialist dictatorships, he's far more Camus than Sartre. He describes how erasing historical documents not only destroys said documents, but history itself... for if nobody can remember of prove a past event, how are we supposed to know it ever happened at all? That's a great concept, that pharaohs had grasped 4000 years ago already. The concepts of Thoughtcrime and Newspeak are sadly still very relevant today. The USSR that seems to be te model for Oceania might be gone, but not the temptation to dictate what people have the right to think and to say. My favourite aspect of the book is how despite its description of a horrible totalitarian world, it's not without nuance. To wit: when Winston Smith tries to get an old man to describe how much better the country must have been before the Revolution, he fails miserably... the old gent goes on and on about trivialities, but doesn't seem affected at all by the way the country is run. His main gripe is that beer is now sold in half-litres instead of pints. Excellent book, which should be read along Jack London's The Iron Heel to see how a capitalistic Oceania might have looked like. Neither places are ones we'd like to live in, naturally. Dead-on, RR. I've been reacquainting myself with Brave New World lately, which I hadn't read in nearly 50 years, and it, too, is frighteningly familiar: self-isolation via drugs, hedonism, the "feelies," and synthetic music boxes; discouragement of learning; and pre-ordained outcomes for individuals based on the circumstances of their birth are just the tip of the dystopian iceberg. How is it that despite all these warnings, we keep walking that road? And I fear it's a one-way road, too.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 30, 2017 12:57:12 GMT -5
Marihuana by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) Wow! Were to begin? Well if you've seen the movie Reefer Madness you have an idea what you're in for in this novella written by Cornell Woolrich under the pseudonym of William Irish. King Turner, down about his divorce, is drug to a reefer house by not well-meaning non-friends. A marihuana cigarette turns him into a paranoid, delusional killing-machine. It all ends oh so tragically. I have to wonder if Woolrich was put up to writing this or if he really fell for the bullshit that was being flung about by Harry Anslinger and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics at the time. Whichever this is an unintentionally hilarious look at what marijuana absolutely did not do. Luckily this is a short novella. So it doesn't get too tedious in its silliness.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 30, 2017 13:20:29 GMT -5
Marihuana by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) Wow! Were to begin? Well if you've seen the movie Reefer Madness you have an idea what you're in for in this novella written by Cornell Woolrich under the pseudonym of William Irish. King Turner, down about his divorce, is drug to a reefer house by not well-meaning non-friends. A marihuana cigarette turns him into a paranoid, delusional killing-machine. It all ends oh so tragically. A cautionary tale, indeed! I'm sure King Turner was also reading comic-books and listening to rock & roll. Pay heed, kids! Don't let this dreary fate be yours!
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 30, 2017 13:22:34 GMT -5
Marihuana by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich) Wow! Were to begin? Well if you've seen the movie Reefer Madness you have an idea what you're in for in this novella written by Cornell Woolrich under the pseudonym of William Irish. King Turner, down about his divorce, is drug to a reefer house by not well-meaning non-friends. A marihuana cigarette turns him into a paranoid, delusional killing-machine. It all ends oh so tragically. A cautionary tale, indeed! I'm sure King Turner was also reading comic-books and listening to rock & roll. Pay heed, kids! Don't let this dreary fate be yours! All this from one hit of...The Stuff!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 30, 2017 13:27:17 GMT -5
A cautionary tale, indeed! I'm sure King Turner was also reading comic-books and listening to rock & roll. Pay heed, kids! Don't let this dreary fate be yours! All this from one hit of...The Stuff! Yeah! See what happens to a stuffed bear!
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Post by Rob Allen on Aug 30, 2017 17:16:15 GMT -5
That's why I smoke it in a pipe instead of a cigarette. 40+ years and I hardly ever become a paranoid, delusional killing-machine.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 30, 2017 17:21:14 GMT -5
That's why I smoke it in a pipe instead of a cigarette. 40+ years and I hardly ever become a paranoid, delusional killing-machine. And here I thought we'd solved the Portland serial killings.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 2, 2017 13:50:33 GMT -5
Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon Holy Mackerel! what a great book. Robert Gordon gives us the history of Stax Records from its founding Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton through the bankruptcy, with a follow-up to see where the players ended up. This is the unexpurgated story. The payola, the extreme measures used to get records played, the great records produced and the incredibly poor business decisions that sunk a mult-million dollar company. Gordon also weaves in the story of Memphis during the 60s and 70s, a city that was at the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. If you're a music fan, this is highly recommended. If you're a fan of old-school soul and r&b then this is absolutely essential. And be sure you have Spotify handy when you're reading so you can listen to the soundtrack of the story. Otis, Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MG's, Rufus and Carla Thomas. Truly an amazing read.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2017 14:05:03 GMT -5
Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon Holy Mackerel! what a great book. Robert Gordon gives us the history of Stax Records from its founding Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton through the bankruptcy, with a follow-up to see where the players ended up. This is the unexpurgated story. The payola, the extreme measures used to get records played, the great records produced and the incredibly poor business decisions that sunk a mult-million dollar company. Gordon also weaves in the story of Memphis during the 60s and 70s, a city that was at the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. If you're a music fan, this is highly recommended. If you're a fan of old-school soul and r&b then this is absolutely essential. And be sure you have Spotify handy when you're reading so you can listen to the soundtrack of the story. Otis, Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MG's, Rufus and Carla Thomas. Truly an amazing read. Just placed a request for this at my local library after see this. Thanks for the recommendation Slam_Bradley-M
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 2, 2017 14:10:27 GMT -5
Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon Holy Mackerel! what a great book. Robert Gordon gives us the history of Stax Records from its founding Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton through the bankruptcy, with a follow-up to see where the players ended up. This is the unexpurgated story. The payola, the extreme measures used to get records played, the great records produced and the incredibly poor business decisions that sunk a mult-million dollar company. Gordon also weaves in the story of Memphis during the 60s and 70s, a city that was at the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. If you're a music fan, this is highly recommended. If you're a fan of old-school soul and r&b then this is absolutely essential. And be sure you have Spotify handy when you're reading so you can listen to the soundtrack of the story. Otis, Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MG's, Rufus and Carla Thomas. Truly an amazing read. Just placed a request for this at my local library after see this. Thanks for the recommendation Slam_Bradley -M Here's hoping you like it. I really do recommend having Spotify handy while you're reading. Having the singles available to listen too makes it an even better experience. And they have both of the Stax-Volt boxed sets on site. Just incredible music and a great story.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2017 14:12:43 GMT -5
Just placed a request for this at my local library after see this. Thanks for the recommendation Slam_Bradley -M Here's hoping you like it. I really do recommend having Spotify handy while you're reading. Having the singles available to listen too makes it an even better experience. And they have both of the Stax-Volt boxed sets on site. Just incredible music and a great story. I don't think I've ever used Spotify actually. We have access to Amazon Music through our Prime Membership and that's what I usually stream when listening to music on the computer. I'll have to see how good their availability of the Stax stuff is when I get the book, if not, I'll give Spotify a try. -M
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 2, 2017 14:20:29 GMT -5
Here's hoping you like it. I really do recommend having Spotify handy while you're reading. Having the singles available to listen too makes it an even better experience. And they have both of the Stax-Volt boxed sets on site. Just incredible music and a great story. I don't think I've ever used Spotify actually. We have access to Amazon Music through our Prime Membership and that's what I usually stream when listening to music on the computer. I'll have to see how good their availability of the Stax stuff is when I get the book, if not, I'll give Spotify a try. -M If it's available on Amazon Music it's all good. I mentioned Spotify because it has those boxed sets. Whatever format is coolio.
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Post by berkley on Sept 2, 2017 18:10:36 GMT -5
Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion by Robert Gordon Holy Mackerel! what a great book. Robert Gordon gives us the history of Stax Records from its founding Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton through the bankruptcy, with a follow-up to see where the players ended up. This is the unexpurgated story. The payola, the extreme measures used to get records played, the great records produced and the incredibly poor business decisions that sunk a mult-million dollar company. Gordon also weaves in the story of Memphis during the 60s and 70s, a city that was at the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. If you're a music fan, this is highly recommended. If you're a fan of old-school soul and r&b then this is absolutely essential. And be sure you have Spotify handy when you're reading so you can listen to the soundtrack of the story. Otis, Sam & Dave, Booker T & the MG's, Rufus and Carla Thomas. Truly an amazing read. On the list it goes. Funny, I thought this must be the same Robert Gordon who was a performer himself in some NYC punk and retro-rockabilly type bands in the 70s and 80s but his wiki article doesn't mention the book at all, that I can see. edit: I saw a picture of the author on amazon and doesn't look like it's the same guy. I suppse "Robert Gordon" would be a fairly common name, now I think of it, so no reason for me to have jumped to that conclusion.
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