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| P R O P A G A N D A   Desktop Enhancements For Linux   by Bowie J.Poag |
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  Hello! Thanks for downloading this archive..I hope you get out of it as
much as I put into it. :) Propaganda is a pet project of mine--my way of
helping the Linux community by drawing attention to the platform, and
providing current Linux users (and prospective ones!) with the raw
materials they need to customize the appearance of their systems.

  Propaganda, at its core, is basically a collection of "seamless tiles"..
Graphics which are drawn in such a way that they do not appear to repeat
at the edges. All the graphics for Propaganda are drawn with GIMP, an
excellent paint program also made available under the GNU GPL. Propaganda
tiles are painted in a wide variety of styles, textures and sizes, making
them ideal for use in 3D applications, or simply as desktop wallpaper.

  Due to the fact that wallpaper is kinda difficult to sell people on,
Propaganda's visitors are also kept entertained by an often bizzare,
constantly evolving story-line involving former President John F. Kennedy. :)
"Jack" , as frequent visitors to Propaganda's web site know, faked his
own assassination in 1963, and placed himself into cryogenic suspension so
that his leadership abilities could be put to better use in the future --
To lead the charge for Linux, and to promote the virtues of Linux over its
competitors.  Jack serves as a figurehead for the whole movement, spouting
pro-Linux rhetoric and devoting his life to destroying anything that
stands in the way of the future success of Linux.

  Jack's goal is to see the eventual overthrow of an imaginary body of
evil referred to as "The Enemy" -- by systematically revealing "truth"
about events in American popular culture, and providing the Linux
commuinity with the graphics needed to outshine the competition. At the
risk of explaining a good joke, i'll stop here and simply ask that you
read the whole story for yourself. :)  To read the whole plot behind
Jack's mission, and the origin of the project, be sure to pay a visit to
http://propaganda.themes.org, and view the Official Project Timeline. :)

  If the seamless tiles wont keep you coming back on a regular basis, the
increasingly weird story of Project Propaganda will! :) 

  Propaganda tiles can be used freely, provided they are not bundled with
a product which violates the GPL. You can download them, use them wherever
you like, even give some to a friend. Thats fine -- But personally, my
thoughts are with the advancement of Linux as a platform. Propaganda is a
way to show the rest of the industry that Linux can be made _as good_ , if
not better than a certain unnamed Redmond,WA-based software giant's
"operating system". :) Its hoped that Propaganda will attract users to
Linux, and help current users at the same time.

  As for me, yes, my name actually is Bowie..And no, I wasn't named after
David Bowie, or named after a pocket knife. I'm (currently) a 24 year old
Computer Science major at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I'm also
work at the University, as a UNIX Systems Manager for the Department of
Chemistry's Computer Graphics Facility.

I moved to Tucson in mid 1996 to pursue my degree at the University,
after spending the first 20 years of my life living in a suburb near
Chicago.  I first got into Linux shortly after I moved.

I've also been doing computer art as a side hobby for about 10 years.
Some of you might remember the series of backdrop graphics I released
for the Amiga way back when I was a teenager. :)  In addition to my
artistic endeavors, I've also managed to have a few software ideas
authored/published in recent years. Anyone wanna buy a scrollball? ;)

As of January 1999, I've been asked to become a staff member at
Themes.Org, the Linux community's one-stop-shopping resource for all
things graphical. 

If you'de like to drop me a line, or if you have a question regarding
something i'm involved with, feel free to do so by emailing me at
poag@u.arizona.edu, or jfk@themes.org.

Until then, good luck, and happy hunting. :) And again, thanks for
downloading Propaganda.. Its popularity and success come from folks like
you.

Bowie J. Poag
2/25/99