I finally finished Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. What a slow reader I am, but what a great book it is. I have now moved on to Chuck Palahniuk’s Lullaby. He sums up early on in the book what I have thought for years …
   Old George Orwell got it backwards.
Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed.
He’s making sure your imagination withers. Until it’s as useful as your appendix. He’s making sure your attention is always filled.
And this being fed, it’s worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry what’s in your mind. With everybody’s imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world.