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“Trapnel wanted, among other things, to be a writer, a dandy, a lover, a comrade, an eccentric, a sage, a virtuoso, a good chap, a man of honour, a hard case, a spendthrift, an opportunist, a raisonneur; to be very rich, to be very poor, to possess a thousand mistresses, to win the heart of one love to whom he was ever faithful, to be on the best of terms with all men, to avenge savagely the lightest affront, to live to a hundred full of years and honour, to die young and unknown but recognized the following day as the most neglected genius of the age. Each of these ambitions had something to recommend it from one angle or another, with the possible exception of being poor - the only aim Trapnel achieved with unqualified mastery - and even being poor, as Trapnel himself asserted, gave the right to speak categorically when poverty was discussed by people like Evadne Clapham.”

ArtistPovertyAmbitionDandy
Book:Books Do Furnish a Room
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“The Dandy is the highest form of existence attainable by the human form. His life is exclusively dedicated to dressing exquisitely, parading about the fashionable boroughs of splendid cities and and holding forth at his club, where he dispenses witticism as readily as the vulgaroisie utters its banal platitudes. The only species of 'work' this singular Chap might engage in would consist of discussing buttonhole stitching with his tailor and performing his ablutions until the morning has been well aired enough for him to step into it.”

GentlemanBritainCivilityChapsDandyGentlemenHatDandiesChapPleasantryRakishTeashopAnarcho DandyistChappism
Book:The Chap Manifesto: Revolutionary Etiquette for the Modern Gentleman
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“For too long we have been the playthings of massive corporations, whose sole aim is to convert our world into a gargantuan shopping 'mall'. Pleasantry and civility are being discarded as the worthless ephemera of a bygone age; an age where men doffed their hats at ladies, and children could be counted on to mind your Jack Russell while you took a mild and bitter in the pub. The twinkly-eyed tobacconist, the ruddy-cheeked landlord and the bewhiskered teashop lady are being trampled under the mighty blandness of 'drive-thru' hamburger chains. Customers are herded in and out of such places with an alarming similarity to the way the cattle used to produce the burgers are herded to the slaughterhouse. The principal victim of this blandification is Youth, whose natural propensity to shun work, peacock around the town and aggravate the constabulary has been drummed out of them. Youth is left with a sad deficiency of joie de vivre, imagination and elegance. Instead, their lives are ruled by territorial one-upmanship based on brands of plimsoll, and Youth has become little more than a walking, barely talking advertising hoarding for global conglomerates. ... But now, a spectre is beginning to haunt the reigning vulgarioisie: the spectre of Chappism. A new breed of insurgent has begun to appear on the streets, in the taverns and in the offices of Britain: The Anarcho-Dandyist. Recognisable by his immaculate clothes, the rakish angle of his hat and his subtle rallying cry of "Good day to you sir/ madam!”

GentlemanBritainCivilityChapsDandyGentlemenHatDandiesChapPleasantryRakishTeashopAnarcho DandyistChappism
Book:The Chap Manifesto: Revolutionary Etiquette for the Modern Gentleman
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“A dandy," wrote Charles Baudelaire, "must be looking in his mirror at all times, waking and sleeping." Dali could easily have become the living proof of Baudelaire's dictum. But the literal mirror was not enough for him. Dali needed mirrors of many kinds: his pictures, his admirers, newspapers and magazines and television. And even that still left him unsatisfied. So one Christmas he took a walk in the streets of New York carrying a bell. He would ring it whenever he felt people were not paying enough attention to him. "The thought of not being recognised was unbearable." True to himself to the bitter end, he delighted in following Catalonian television's bulletins on his state of health during his last days alive (in Quiron hospital in Barcelona); he wanted to hear people talking about him, and he also wanted to know whether his health would revive or whether he would be dying soon. At the age of six he wanted to be a female cook - he specified the gender. At seven he wanted to be Napoleon. "Ever since, my ambition has been continually on the increase, as has my megalomania: now all I want to be is Salvador Dali. But the closer I get to my goal, the further Salvador Dali drifts away from me." He painted his first picture in 1910 at the age of six. At ten he discovered Impressionist art, and at fourteen the Pompiers (a 19th century group of academic genre painters, among them Meissonier, Detaille and Moreau). By 1927 he was Dali, and the poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, a friend of his youth, wrote an 'Ode to Salvador Dali.' Years later Dali claimed that Lorca had been very attracted to him and had tride to sodomize him, but had not quite managed it. Dali's thirst for scandal was unquenchable. His parents had named him Salvador "because he was the chosen one who was come to save painting from the" deadly menace of abstract art, academic Surrealism, Dadaism, and any kind of anarchic "ism" whatsoever." If he had lived during the Renaissance, his genius would have been recognized at an earlier stage and indeed considered normal. But in the twentieth century, which Dali damned as stupid, he was thought provocative, a thorn in the flesh. To this day there are many who misunderstand the provocativeness and label him insane. But Dali repeatedly declared: "... the sole difference between me and a madman is the fact that I am not mad!" Dali also said: "The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist" - which is perfectly true. And he also claimed: "I have the universal curiosity of Renaissance men, and my mental jaws are constantly at work.”

SurrealistDandyMegalomaniaSalvador DaliDaliCharles Baudelaire
Book:Salvador Dalí: 1904-1989
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“Whether you are attending someone else's or holding your own dinner party, your main objective should be to lead guests away from the usual road of predictable behaviour and tedious conversation, and towards a shared voyage of epicurean delight. In much the same way as caged animals in zoos are kept mentally healthy by being set mealtime tasks by their keepers, dinner guests will find their repast far more satisfying if it is presented as a challenge and an opportunity for self-expression. For example, instead of the dry old formula of a plate flanked by serried ranks of knives, forks and spoons, today's modern host should show a little more ingenuity when selecting eating utensils. The novelty of using a Black & Decker two-speed drill to sheer flakes of the roast beef or a 15-inch spanner to negotiate the foie gras, will firmly place your party in the minds of your guests as a night to remember.”

EatingToolsDinnerDandyDrillChapFopSpanner
Book:The Chap Manifesto: Revolutionary Etiquette for the Modern Gentleman
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“For, what is order without common sense, but Bedlam's front parlor? What is imagination without common sense, but the aspiration to out-dandy Beau Brummell with nothing but a bit of faded muslin and a limp cravat? What is Creation without common sense, but a scandalous thing without form or function, like a matron with half a dozen unattached daughters? And God looked upon the Creation in all its delightful multiplicity, and saw that, all in all, it was quite Amiable.”

FormOrderBitsImaginationCommonHalfSawsFrontsCreationDaughterFunctionCommon SenseAspirationDozenDelightfulFadedMultiplicityAmiableParlorScandalousDandy
Author:Vera Nazarian
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“The fellows who amuze me are the Albanians. An Albanian on the mash is almost exactly like the medieval swells of the Italian frescoes & the first ones we met quite startled us. They wear the tight-fitting trunk hose made of woolen stuff hooked up the back of the leg. It is white with long black stripes of embroidery down the leg & at the top in front the shirt is pulled through slashes. They are long slim chaps with dandy little moustaches & are most theatrical in effect.”

FirstsLittlesLongMadeStuffBlackWhiteEffectsFrontsMetsFellowsLegsShirtsItalianMedievalFittingTheatricalHookedTrunksStripesSlimChapsMoustacheDandyEmbroideryAlbanian
Author:Edith Durham
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“A dandy is a clothes-wearing man--a man whose trade, office, and existence consist in the wearing of clothes. Every faculty of his soul, spirit, person and purse is heroically consecrated to this one object--the wearing of clothes, wisely and well; so that, as others dress to live, he lives to dress.”

MenWellsPersonsSoulSpiritExistenceObjectsOfficeClothesDressesTradeFacultyPursesDandy
Book:The Collected Works of Thomas Carlyle
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“Would movie moguls release a film portraying Adolph Hitler as a great benefactor of the Jews? Hardly. Would they release a movie if the black community found it to be highly disparaging? No way. You better believe these executives would also think long and hard before they released a movie offensive to American Indians, Muslims homosexuals or virtually any affinity group. Yet, to most movie industries a film which offends millions of Christians is fine and dandy.”

IfsThinkingWayBelieveLongHardChristianFilmFoundBlackCommunityReligiousMillionsGroupsFineIndustryJewReleaseExecutivesOffensiveHomosexualAmerican IndianAffinityPortrayingBlack CommunityBenefactorsDandyMovie IndustryMogulsDisparagingAdolph Hitler
Author:Donald Wildmon
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“Boni de Castellane drawing his chins onto his chest; shiny boots, embroidered morning coat, white gloves with black piping, big tie, light vest, the overwashed, bleached impression - 'blanched' as cooks say of boiled vegetables. That was the opposite of a dandy whose stylishness would remain imperceptible to Americans. Boni's style was highly visible.”

BigsLightBlackWhiteMorningStyleOppositesDrawingImpressionCooksTiesVisibleChestsVegetablesBootsCoatsGlovesChinsVestsDandy
Author:Paul Morand
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“It's silly to have as one's sole object in life just making money, accumulating wealth. I work because I enjoy what I'm doing, and the fact that I make money at it - big money - is a fine-and-dandy side fact. Money gives me just one big thing that's really important, and that's the freedom of not having to worry about money. I'm concerned about values - moral, ethical, human values - my own, other people's, the country's, the world's values. Having money now gives me the freedom to worry about the things that really matter.”

PeopleWorldGivingHumansImportantCountryMatterFactsBigsValuesEnjoySidesWealthMy OwnMoralWorryObjectsFineConcernedGive MeSillyMaking MoneyJust OneEthicalSoleBig ThingsHuman ValuesDandyAccumulating Wealth
Author:Johnny Carson
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“I grew up loving fantasy, adventure, and children's book series. At the time, I was in a place in LA where I wasn't working and I kind of thought to myself, "What do I really want to do? Like, what kind of role would be really exciting for me?" And I sort of thought about being in an adventurous, magical, fantastical world and a character that was powerful and sophisticated and perhaps even a dandy, that might have even passed in my head, and then I got an audition for the show ["The Magicians"] shortly after.”

WorldWantKindChildrenBookCharacterShowsMightWould BePowerfulRolesFantasyAdventureGrewGrew UpExcitingSeriesSophisticatedAuditionsMagicianAdventurousChildren's BooksDandy
Author:Hale Appleman
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“No company can say our country is great because of our diversity. They can say it but has nothing to do with it, literally nothing to do with it, how diverse you are. "Well, it just means that we don't discriminate. It means that we value all people." Fine and dandy. But unless your company makes something or has a service and you have an atmosphere where people working for you can become the best they can be, it doesn't matter what your workforce looks like, dummkopf.”

PeopleWellsLooksMeanCountryMatterValuesCompanyFineDiversityOur CountryAtmosphereDiverseWorkforceDandy
Author:Rush Limbaugh
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“If I had the good fortune of having the ability to influence people all over the world every time I spoke, I would do my best to make sure people understood why the United States of America is special, and then I would suggest that everybody who wants to come here, "I don't blame you, fine and dandy, there's a legal mechanism for this. We're not denying people the right to come to our country. There's a legal way to do it." That's another thing people forget.”

PeopleIfsWorldWayWantCountryStatesAmericaAbilityForgetUnitedUnited StatesInfluenceSpecialFineUnderstoodBlameFortuneOur CountrySpokesMechanismUnited States Of AmericaGood FortuneInfluencing PeopleDandy
Author:Rush Limbaugh
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“Today While the blossoms still cling to the vine I'll taste your strawberries I'll drink your sweet wine A million tomorrows shall all pass away Here I forget all the joy that is mine. Today I'll be a dandy and I'll be a rover You know who I am by the songs that I sing I'll feast at your table I'll sleep in your clover Who cares what tomorrow shall bring I can't be contented with yesterday's glory I can't live on promises winter to spring Today is my moment and now is my story I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing”

KnowsStillsI CanMomentsStoriesCareTodayJoySongSleepForgetMillionsLaughingCryMinesSweetTomorrowDrinkPromiseTasteSpringGloryTablesWineWinterYesterdayWho I AmWho CaresPassing AwayVinesStrawberriesCloversDandyWinter To SpringSweet Wine
Author:John Denver
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“These beings have no other status, but that of cultivating the idea of beauty in their own persons, of satisfying their passions, of feeling and thinking.... Contrary to what many thoughtless people seem to believe, dandyism is not even an excessive delight in clothes and material elegance. For the perfect dandy, these things are no more than the symbol of the aristocratic superiority of his mind.”

PeopleThinkingMindBelievePersonsIdeasFeelingsSeemsPassionPerfectMaterialsClothesDelightContrarySymbolsSatisfyingSuperiorityEleganceCultivatingAristocraticDandyDandyism
Author:Charles Baudelaire
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“In Tereza’s eyes, books were the emblems of a secret brotherhood. For she had but a single weapon against the world of crudity surrounding her: the novels. She had read any number of them, from Fielding to Thomas Mann. They not only offered the possibility of an imaginary escape from a life she found unsatisfying; they also had a meaning for her as physical objects: she loved to walk down the street with a book under her arm. It had the same significance for her as an elegant cane from the dandy a century ago. It differentiated her from others.”

WorldBookEyeFoundWalksNumbersSecretNovelStreetsCenturyPossibilityObjectsArmsWeaponsSignificanceBrotherhoodImaginaryElegantEmblemsDandy
Author:Milan Kundera
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“Almost all systems of economic thought are premised on the idea of continued economic growth, which would be fine and dandy if we lived on an infinite planet, but there's this small, niggling, inconvenient fact that the planet is, in fact, finite, and that, unlike economic theory, it is governed by physical and biological reality”

IfsIdeasFactsRealityWould BeGrowthBusinessEconomicPlanetsTheoryFineEconomicsInfiniteManagementFiniteEconomic GrowthInconvenientEconomic TheoryDandy
Author:George Monbiot
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