Is "1984" already here?

Uh...I understand that you live in a nursing home. But you do realize that this is 2012 and that, therefore, 1984 was actually 28 years ago, don't you?

Lust, I think Bert is aware of that and it's the reason for the quotes

Andrei says, " Uh...I understand that you live in a nursing home. But you do realize that this is 2012 and that, therefore, 1984 was actually 28 years ago, don't you? "
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"1984" was a novel by George Orwell. It portrays a society in which government knows all about us, keeps us drugged up, and controls all our lives. At the time it was published, the year, 1984, was quite far in the future. Now, that year is in the past, but the society it portrayed is still chilling to me now since modern society is resembling it in ways.

Have you read the book? (clearly not), I have read it. Would you be more satisfied if it's name were "3084"? The year matters little, but the society it portrays does matter.

But, "Better a dram than a damn" (from "1984") so screw it.

Many people say "Big Brother", not "1984". Particularly when they are speaking of the "society it portrayed."

In any case, I'm quite sure MA has not only read the book (who hasn't), but was fully aware of what you "meant." His mistake was in his use of emoticon ... instead of he should have gone with .

"1984" was a novel by George Orwell published in 1949.

To educate yourself about it, read this Wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

I have read 1984 probably a half a dozen times, once, at least, in Latvian translation. I know the story of Winston Smith and Big Brother intimately. I have read Orwell's Animal Farm a couple of times and fully realize that "some are more equal than others." Don't start assuming things, bert, just because I make a joke. Did you note the emoticon at the end of my post?

We went through this in the Bush years (W). There was supposed to be some three judge panel that was supposed to be consulted anytime the NSA wanted to 'mine' (both meanings) the data of a Citizen of the USA. The Bush Administration argued that gaining such permissions could not be made timely enough to deter terrorism...... .
I forget everything after that.

Joe(i think they got me)Nation

In fact, Orwell wrote the book because he had become disillusioned with the Stalinist state, having previously been a dedicated socialist. He wrote it in 1948, so he just switched the two last digits to come up with the title. The book is almost allegorical, and much like Animal Farm, it suggests that you can't gell the humans from the pigs.

Since "1984" has no pictures (like of giraffes or dragons), some here might not have read it. I didn't read it myself until a college student where it was assigned as required reading in my "English Lit" course.

That IS interesting.
I've read it when I was 16 in German and with 17 in English classes at school (Animal farm in English when I was 14 or 15)

As you suggest, Joe, there isn't much new in that link which hilbert posted. Our right to privacy from government intrusion has been deteriorating at least ssince 1984 c.e. It will be totally eroded long before anyone dares amend anything whatever to do with the Second Amendment.

My apologies.

Is "Andrei" your first name?

I cannot imagine, however, why an English speaker would read a Latvian translation of it, unless he's checking that translation for accuracy.

Do you know Russian?

Man, you're one snide son of a bitch. If brains were gunpowder, i doubt you'd be able to blow your nose.

Apropos of nothing, my first language is (was) Latvian as that is where I was born. However, having been raised and educated in the USA since the age of 11, I don'tconsider English as a "second" language. If we ever met face-t0-face, you'd never guess I wasn't born in America from my speech. I speakno Russian. I do speak some German and barely adequate French and Spanish.

Andrei is the Germanized version of my real first name which was, originally, 'Andris' but now appears as 'Andrew' on my US Passport, my driver's licence, my honorable discharge from the US Army and other documents. My friends, however, invariably call me 'Andy' and that includes most A2Kers.

Your apology is welcome and accepted.

I know a few Latvians (besides you) - they don't speak Russian either .... and are Evangelical-Lutherans or Roman Catholics

Walter, on one of my interpreter assignments for the US State Dept. I met a Latvian physics professor visiting a US nuclear site who had a PhD from the University of Moscow. He claimed he knew no Russian and refused to speak it when addressed in that language.

(His English was quite passable.)

That's what I meant

Good this nursing home has WiFi!

Setanta says, " If brains were gunpowder, i doubt you'd be able to blow your nose".

Maybe that's why locally convex topological vector spaces vex me so.

Maybe you could clarify them for me.

Is simple, 3 dimensional, Euclidian space one of these LCTVS's ?