1984 Book Sales Surge

The book by George Orwell is again trending on the internet these days, and I wonder about the book itself. How good is it?


Here's a review from wikipedia:
Nineteen Eighty-Four is set in Oceania, one of three inter-continental super-states that divided the world among themselves after a global war. Most of the action takes place in London, the "chief city of Airstrip One",^[27] the Oceanic province that "had once been called England or Britain".^[28] Posters of the Party leader, Big Brother, bearing the caption "BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU", dominate the city, while the ubiquitous telescreen (transceiving television set) monitors the private and public lives of the populace. The social class system of Oceania is threefold:

• (I) the upper-class Inner Party, the elite ruling minority
• (II) the middle-class Outer Party, and
• (III) the lower-class Proles (from proletariat), who make up 85% of the population and represent the uneducated working class.

As the government, the Party controls the population with four ministries:

• the Ministry of Peace (Minipax), which deals with war,
• the Ministry of Plenty (Miniplenty), which deals with economic affairs (rationing and starvation),
• the Ministry of Love (Miniluv), which deals with law and order (torture),
• the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), which deals with propaganda (news, entertainment, education and art)

The protagonist Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party, works in the Ministry of Truth as an editor, revising historical records to make the past conform to the ever-changing party line and deleting references to unpersons, people who have been "vaporised", i.e. not only killed by the state, but denied existence even in history or memory.
The story of Winston Smith begins on 4 April 1984: "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen";^[29] yet he is uncertain of the true date, given the régime’s continual rewriting and manipulation of history. His memories and his reading of the proscribed book, The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism, by Emmanuel Goldstein, reveal that after the Second World War, the United Kingdom fell to civil war and then was absorbed into Oceania. Simultaneously, the USSR conquered mainland Europe and established the second superstate of Eurasia. The third superstate, Eastasia, comprises the regions of East Asia and Southeast Asia. The three superstates wage perpetual war for the remaining unconquered lands of the world, forming and breaking alliances as is convenient. From his childhood (1949–53), Winston remembers the Atomic Wars fought in Europe, western Russia, and North America. It is unclear to him what occurred first: the Party's victory in the civil war, the US annexation of the British Empire, or the war in which Colchester was bombed. However, his strengthening memories and the story of his family's dissolution suggest that the atomic bombings occurred first (the Smiths took refuge in a tube station), followed by civil war featuring "confused street fighting in London itself", and the societal postwar reorganisation, which the Party retrospectively calls "the Revolution".

Mother's Day Gift That Will Surprise Her

Surprise your mother with a special Mother's Day Gift this Sunday, bring her back to the fun times from her childhood with something she will feel nostalgic about! Surprise her with Fun, memorable corporate gift idea: OldTimeCandy.com Give a gift they will never forget… fresh, old fashioned candy from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

Try This 10-Day Negative Thought Fast Challenge

Would you like a simple way to really change your life? Instead of merely getting by, you'll find that your life can truly be exceptional when you focus on positive solutions rather than the constraints of your challenges.

This 10-Day Negative Thought Fast, originated by Emmett Fox, one of the most popular self-help authors and speakers of the early 20^th century, is an adventure you’ll reap many benefits from.

Here are the rules:

1. If you break any of the other rules, you must start the 10 days over from the beginning. To get the full effect, you must complete 10 consecutive days. Giving up negative thoughts is a little like giving up a drug; you've got to stop using them completely, otherwise you haven't truly quit.
   
2. You cannot focus on a negative thought or remain in a negative emotional state for more than five minutes. Ideally, the time should be much shorter. Five minutes should be plenty of time to recognize what's going on and put a stop to it. Remember, even one instance of lingering for more than five minutes means starting over.

3. You must focus on solutions. When the negative thoughts start, the idea is to immediately start contemplating possible solutions. Spend your time solving your challenges instead of focusing on them.

• If you're like most people, you've probably had the same challenges for quite a while without resolution. It's time to try something else instead of dwelling on what's wrong.

This sounds deceptively easy, but you may be surprised how difficult it is to give up negativity. We tend to think that worrying helps in some way. But you've probably been worrying about a lot of things for a long time and they haven't improved.


When you're faced with a negative thought (and there will be many!), the best response is to think to yourself, "How can I solve or improve this challenge?" The point is to immediately begin focusing on solutions. When you ask a good question, you’ll receive good answers.


Over the 10 days, you’ll begin to form a habit of immediately recognizing a negative mental state and then focusing on solutions for what you feel negatively about. If you continue the process after the 10 days are completed, you’ll develop a permanent habit that will only require a minimal amount of maintenance.


You might need several attempts to complete the full 10 days. It's common to have numerous slips on day one and then a few others later in the process. Refrain from beating yourself up over it. Remember, you're focusing on solutions.


Taking Your Focus Away From A Negative Thought


One way to help keep the negative thoughts at bay is to ask you positive questions like the following:

• What's great about today?
  
• What do I like the most about this?
  
• What am I most proud of?
  
• What am I most looking forward to?
  

If you're filling your mind with positive thoughts, there's no room for the negative stuff. And since we can only consciously think about one thing at a time, making the most out of your thoughts makes sense.


Try this 10-day challenge for yourself. You'll be so amazed at the results that you'll never want to go back to the old way of dwelling on the problems in your life. Embrace this process today for change! 

Happy New Year!!

Music Monday - I Wonder If I Take You Home

It's a song that I picked out of the blue and surely a far cry from what we usually choose for Music Monday. LisaLisa and the Cult Jam was a favorite during the 80's, and this song "I Wonder If I Take You Home" was often played on the airwaves. Personally, I just hear these on the radio when I ride on the Downtown loop jeepney after school hours :) I don't remember having those boom boxes then, oh yeah, sometimes I borrow from a relative. And, yes, I remember someone pawned his humongous stereo component with huge speakers to our family hence I got to enjoy the loud music!

 ... Anyways, this song reminds me of an 80's mixtape my cousins and I share. It was what I called 'gold tape' because of it's yellow metallic cover. This mixtape was possibly dubbed in the US and taken back home to the Philippines by my balikbayan cousins. Am still looking for the tracks there as I remember .. was it Stacey Q's- Two of Hearts? Point Of No Return? Tell It To My Heart? The Jets' Crush On You? I think there was also something about Adam and Eve yet I forgot the lyrics. To 40-somethings, help me jog my memory :))

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.   PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!