Yesterday - June 25th, 2011 - was George Orwell's 108th birthday and, as has become an annual ORWELL TODAY ritual, I typed a page from one of Orwell's novels using my grandfather's typewriter which is identical to the typewriter Orwell used - a Remington Portable circa 1930s. See ORWELL BIRTHDAY TYPING 1984 & ORWELL BIRTHDAY TYPING ANIMAL FARM

This being the third year of the ritual I typed a page from COMING UP FOR AIR which was Orwell's third from last novel.

And, like last year, there was cake and party hats - with the addition of a HAPPY BIRTHDAY helium balloon that's still tethered to my desk as I write this.

Above is the scene in my office as I typed COMING UP FOR AIR and a close-up of the ORWELL TODAY webpage on the telescreen. I typed from a thick hardcover one-volume edition that contains all Orwell's novels. The typed pages from the previous years - NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR and ANIMAL FARM - are laid out across the top of the desk.

This, in part, is how the ORWELL TODAY homepage looked:

Greetings to you too, George Orwell. ~ Jackie Jura

ORWELL'S COMING UP FOR AIR

ORWELL DESCRIBED INTERNET

ORWELL STATUE IN MOTIHARI

VISITING ORWELL'S BIRTHPLACE

SHRINE TO ORWELL

Remington Portables: Classic Typewriter Page

ORWELL'S TYPEWRITER A REMINGTON

ORWELL'S TYPEWRITER MY GRANDFATHER'S