I have my doubts that the historical Frederick would have chosen Bavaria, Richard Wagner’s turf since the mid-1860s, as the musical center of the world. He was not only a gifted flutist, but also a decent composer in his own right (though a few of those pieces might actually have been written by Quantz or his resident member of the Bach Clutch). His tastes, though, were for the light, simple, and elegant. Papa Bach struck him as too dark and cerebral. Mozart too complex. Beethoven was only 16 when Frederick died, but the king would have most likely hated his music, it being hard AND moody AND German.
So, I’m guessing Frederick would have been more at home with a Bizet than a Wagner, and yet, here he is, in Bavaria! Who knew?!
– Count Dolby von Luckner
http://www.ftg-comic.com/2009/04/09/index.php
So Frederick, by virtue of having inadvertently introduced royal pig fancying to England, is more or less directly responsible for Gilbert trying to blow up England. There can truly be but one sensible solution… and then there are many, many possible entirely senseless solutions that will ultimately be chosen from. See which triumphs in Episode 208: Buddy Up!
– The Count and Geoff
To be fair, the pay-by-the-hour women were, by all accounts, EXCELLENT in France in 1527, and were getting far better in England. But Peter was hanging around with Lutherans mainly for his part of the mission and, well…
While in The City (that’s San Francisco to us of a Bayological persuasion) recently the Countess and I ambled up to the sixth floor of the public library and saw their Salute To Fops exhibit (not really, but for me, effectively, that’s what it was), at which they had laid out under glass The Chap Almanac:An Esoterick Yearbook for the Decadent Gentleman, a copy of which I immediately sent for and which lies before me now. A sample:
“Fully blown consciousness is not a happy state, even when negotiated with the aid of a brocade dressing gown, a head full of poetry and the fire of Dionysus in your soul. That is why, as any gentleman knows, no period of 24 hours should ever be embarked upon without at least a moderate consumption of narcotics. The only questions that face any man about town are what to consume, when and how to consume it, and how to accomplish this with verve, dignity and style.”
The book is entertaining me immensely currently, and the periodical it comes from can be found here, so give ‘er a whirl!
In more Frederick-related stuff, it is not surprising to me that nobody wanted to return to 1527. Frederick was enchained there. Peter was taunted by fake moose-mounted Swedes. Newton was nearly killed by Italians until saved by Anabaptists, which experience being worse for him it is hard to say. So, to 1871 we go!! Victorians and Junkers ahoy!
– Count Dolby von Luckner
