when i first started my little online endeavor, i got some good advice from several different sources. don’t get political/religious, ie, keep it impersonal. i suppose that’s a little impossible, after all, seeing as how personal art is. and the climate these days has been more and more trying, in that regard. but an artist i really like, anthony jones, reshared something on his facebook page, from a friend of his, who suffered somewhat over some new law. some people were supportive, but what irked me are the people who lost it, cursing at him, telling them that they only come for the art, not his opinion. (i cleaned up the language). but i remain steadfast. no political talk. i respect you guys, and your opinions, and we can all keep them to ourselves, and enjoy my little story.

that being said, i was thinking about a book a lot lately, as it seems more relevant these days, for some reason. and others must agree, because the publisher has ordered a reprinting of this 70 year old book, to meet the demands. it’s…

1984 (1984, actually)

having read the book when i was younger, it inspired me to think of the world a little differently. i came to realize not only that society was a lot more fragile than a young man of my age might have assumed, but that there was also a depth of ‘screwed up’ that people could believably attain and sustain.

and that’s the magic of world building. creating a dystopian hellscape  is one thing, but making readers believe it’s a logical result of something else, you start thinking the world you live in isn’t so stable. maybe that was the beginning of my interest in noir. at it’s core, it’s about something that was better, at a time, but rotten now. it’s a great backdrop for real grit.

winston smith is a member of ‘the party’, a highly scrutinized group of individuals responsible for editing information as it is disseminated to the rest of the population. he gets a glimpse of what a regular life might have been before the oppressive government, pictured as a stern omni present face, known as big brother.

john hurt, who plays winston in the movie adaptation died recently too. no spring chicken, hurt’s imdb page is as long as my arm (i have long arms), but what sticks out most in my mind is this movie. i would highly suggest you take it in, or read the book if you never have.

OH! and i’m trying to drive more traffic to my patreon page, which has more and more content. shout out to those who’ve already chipped in. you guys are the shizznit, and also to my instagram. there’s a recent pic of me hard at work, if you want to see the mug who’s been drawing your ‘twice a week distraction’ hit it up here!