FGD135
March 30, 2025, 9:13am
169
George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an important figure in Regency England, and for many years he was the arbiter of British men's fashion. At one time, he was a close friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV, but after the two quarrelled and Brummell got into debt, he had to take refuge in France. Eventually, he died from complications of neurosyphilis in Caen.
Brummell was remembered afterwards as the preeminent example of the dandy, and a whole lite...
Say what you may, but there aren’t a lot of people who have had a hybridised rhododendron named after them.
5 Likes
Edith Piaf, Barbara Bush, and Beau Brummell….there’s a line-up for you!
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Mr Beau and I share a birthday, separated by 188 years.
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MarjaE
May 21, 2025, 1:48am
173
I don’t know the original artist, but wow.
13 Likes
Not to be smarmy, but it makes me feel good to see these “forgotten historical figure” titles, as I seem to know most of them myself. (thoughtful pause) Does that make me esoteric?
4 Likes
Lorena Leonor Bobbitt became a national folk heroine when, after her husband allegedly raped her, she cut off his penis with an eight-inch carving knife and tossed it out her car window as she drove away. The story, with all its gory symbolism,...
I think she belongs here.
Addendum: The fact that John got involved with Ron Jeremy post-reattachment surgery says volumes about both men.
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Another one from the VF archives.
Members of the ultra-exclusive Bohemian Club—2,500 of America’s richest, most conservative men, including Henry Kissinger, George H. W. Bush, and a passel of Bechtels, Basses, and Rockefellers—are known to urinate freely against the ancient redwoods...
5 Likes
RAvery
June 5, 2025, 1:48am
179
Enjoy words and music from the 12th century.
The full title is “A chantar m’er de so qu’ieu non volria.” Or, in English “I must sing a song I would rather not.”
The Comtessa de Dia (Countess of Die), possibly named Beatritz or Isoarda (fl. c. 1175 or c. 1212), was a trobairitz (female troubadour).
She is only known as the comtessa de Dia in contemporary documents, but was most likely the daughter of Count Isoard II of Diá (a town northeast of Montelimar now known as Die in southern France). According to her vida, she was married to William of Poitiers, but was in love with and sang about Raimbaut of Orange (1146-1173). Bruckner, Shepard, and White cite...
6 Likes
RAvery
June 13, 2025, 1:30pm
184
A character based on her, named Villard, is integral to “The Train.”
ETA — Apparently the movie was inspired by the book Valland wrote, Le front de l’art .
2 Likes