Christopher Hitchens on George Orwell (1/7)

[benthejrporter]

I miss this guy. He was brilliant! I didn't agree with everything he said, but then who did?

[GiantSandles]

Why do I get so giddy when an intellectual says a word like 'faggot'?

[DanielWarPig]

7:07

"HA-Haw!"! Faggot!

[zytigon]

Hitchens, ' God is not great' is one of my favourite books. For similar great thoughts try Dan Barker, John W. Loftus, Robert M Price, Valerie Tarico, Victor Stenger, Bart Ehrman, Ken Humphreys, Richard Carrier, Ken Pulliam, Keith Parsons, Gary Greenberg, Robert Ingersoll, Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, Earl Doherty, Israel Finkelstein, Daniel Dennett, C Dennis Mckinsey, Joseph Wheless, Bertrand Russell, Sam Harris,

[AryanKnight]

FYI: -there is nothing mystical about Geo.Orwell's book- "1984", --as it is a fact that he socialized with these criminal-elite agents of Rothschild/Rockefeller's et'al Jew-Zionists, --and unlike patriot Henry'Ford and Chas.Lindbergh, and St.Hitler, --whom tried to expose these subversives, Orwell simply wrote about the Jews sick-plans to enslave humanity via their zealous control of all Banks internationally, which is finally coming into fruition...!!!

[OrthodoxDarwinist]

@AryanKnight

This is true. There's absolutely no way he could have envisaged so perfectly what was going to happen unless he himself knew those people who were in power and what their intentions were.

It's not surprising at all since he was a King's Scholar at Eton and also went to Wellington College (you can usually only get into Eton or Wellington if you're from the creme of the ultra-'elite', and those are the clique he was socialized into.

[SockbatReplica]

I think it's interesting that Orwell writes 1984 while he's dying of TB and Hitch dying of cancer seems to have that same spirit of continuing the fight right up to the bitter end.

[TylerMcManus1]

Still against monarchy and church here in Spain..

[Ceolfrin]

My most gracious thanks for this upload.

[FreeInquisition]

Damn, thought I was going to get an early night tonight...then I found this.

[pml4010]

@FreeInquisition

happens to me all the time, lol

[PenguinProseMedia]

A little bit off topic, but if you ever want to expand your vocabulary, read a Hitchens book. Yikes. I haven't come across an author who so deftly draws from such a vast repository of the english language.

[FreeInquisition]

Try JG Ballard :) Kinda like Hitchens, except fiction.

[diceyLee]

@FreeInquisition JG's Orwellian then, right? (not being vexatious)

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@PenguinProseMedia You should read Vladimir Nabokov. He is also an outstanding linguist. When reading one of his books, you find you're actually reading two. You're reading his book, allong with a dictionary (or two, in the case of Lolita, where much of it is in French).

[lukeashmoore]

@HippieGuitarBoy i love how your talking about nabokov when hitchens dismisses him in another orwell praising video. x

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@lukeashmoore So? I'm not Hitchens' lap dog. I quite enjoy Nabokov's work. If Hitchens has an opinion to the conrary, then he has an opinion to the contrary. When it comes to a question of literary preferance, it is an argument of taste.

If you consider yourself to be a fan of Christopher, honour him by being a sceptic. If you start taking OPINIONS as the word of god, you are defeating Hitchens' entire point, by being no better than theists.

Cheers.

[lukeashmoore]

@HippieGuitarBoy woah calm down buddy boy. it just tickled me is all. dont worry i like nabokov too, however what he said in that interview was very interesting and amusing, its around 3.00 mins in in the video :

watch?v=5-rQlJie404&feature=re­lated

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@lukeashmoore Pardon me. I was quite calm when typing my response. Looking back on the wording, I suppose it was a bit agressive. Once again, I beg your pardon.

Youtube seems to bring out some very belligerent people, so my responses may tend to form accusations at first.

Thank you very much for directing me to the video.

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@lukeashmoore Actually, I think you misunderstood his point on Nabokov and Proust.

He wasn't dismissing them as authors. He simply points out that their elegance is so advanced that it discourages new writers, while Orwell encourages new writers, through a kind of modesty of intelligence.

Nabokov and Proust make it seem as though you need to be a genious to be a writer. Orwell proves that you don't, as long as you have a good, honest, logical point. He is complimenting all of them.

[lukeashmoore]

@HippieGuitarBoy dude, you need to stop taking this shit so seriously. You're writing lengthy critiques that actually turn into paragraphs over a minor comment i found to be amusing. please stop. thanks very much! :) x

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@lukeashmoore dude, calm down. You're getting upset over how someone speaks. Chill, really.

The fact is, you misunderstood him. I'm just pointing that out, so you don't continue being wrong about that, and don't continue spreading your misunderstanding.

herp

[lukeashmoore]

@HippieGuitarBoy hahhahahahahahhahahahahaahahha­hahahahahhahahahahhaha Im gonna preach the word of the lord everywhere now! thats for being so annoying that i have seen the light!

[HippieGuitarBoy]

@lukeashmoore Although I would love to see this video, out of interest, if you could direct me to it.

[JayinMovingPictures]

@PenguinProseMedia If prolixity is your thing, I suggest you seek out anything written by Give Will Self a go.

[mgm8822]

@PenguinProseMedia I read his Orwell book. While I enjoyed it, the problem I have with his writing is that his prose can be a bit pompous at times. The words get in the way of the (often valid) point he is trying to make. There is a time and place for that kind of writing, but I find that simplicity in writing is more of a virtue than using big words and grand phrases.

As Orwell himself said in the Politics and the English Language, "If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out."

[Kumrockme]

@mgm8822 I'll go a step further and say that Hitch is a loquacious thug who is not nearly as smart as he thinks he is...Reading his books sounds like a chore and a bore. This is pretty interesting because I find Orwell absolutely brilliant.

[owenline]

@PenguinProseMedia So he uses big words.

[KeithWhalen11]

@PenguinProseMedia Martin Amis, the great friend of Hitchens, is no slouch in that department either. He seems to almost go out of his way to expand your vocabulary. I should also add that his books are outrageously humorous! I am listening to this in celebration of Kim Jong-Il's demise, a spectacle that I wish Hitch had lived a few days longer to witness. Hitch wasn't afraid of death, but he feared not being able to read the next day's paper; I feel the weight of that statement now.

[PenguinProseMedia]

@KeithWhalen11 Christopher Hitchens, R.I.P. The world has lost a brilliant mind and incredible communicator.

[smooch0408]

@KeithWhalen11 I was just about to comment and suggest that person read Martin Amis, but you beat me to it :) Happy holidays.

[KeithWhalen11]

@smooch0408 Happy holidays!

[tcrb2]

"Milosz is passing round a secret book within the inner party, which is about the passing around of a secret book within the inner party"

Good times.

[rhblackburn]

Thanks for posting this.

[LordVigeous666999]

I really want to listen to this, but I'm not digging the distort

Anyone know how to fix that? Or am I the only one?

.......he..... helllo.....?

[LordVigeous666999]

yup, I'm the only one, fixed it

[Challuayacu]

Thank you for this marvelous piece!