Hello people. Today I have exciting news! At least I think so, anyway. But before I share it, let me digress. Today is apparently a special day in history. Today is the 170th Birthday (of course he's not actually around to celebrate it - lol) of the composer Tchiakovsky.
I only know this because Google (which is my homepage) had a "Google Doodle" up in place of it's usual faceplate or whatever you would call it. It was kinda ugly though, I must say. Anyway, I hovered over it with my cursor to find out what it was about and voila, Tchiakovsky.
A final thing about the composer (I almost typed composter by mistake - lol - I don't think people composted back then - lol) is that he was apparently, according to ABCnews.com, the creator of all of the following works: Swan Lake, The Nutcraker, Sleeping Beauty and the 1812 Overture. Now you know. You're welcome.
Now on to the topic of the day. Yesterday something absolutely amazing happened. It happened on goodreads.com. A day or so previous, I had been furiously adding new titles to my to-read list (I am at about 1900 - lol) and I came across a book by an author named Wendy Burden.
Wendy Burden is not just anyone. Remember how I had briefly mentioned Cornelius Vanderbilt in passing in my post on (Some) Women And A (Little) History about two posts ago. Well coincidentally (as this happened like a day or so after that post), Wendy Burden just happens to be Cornelius Vanderbilt's great, great, great, great granddaughter.
Well, apparently Ms. Burden just wrote a book called Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir. I read several reviews on goodreads and decided to contact the author who was on goodreads herself as a "goodreads author" and see if she would like to become an on-line goodreads "friend". I am excited to say she responded (and promptly I might add - probably the good training of youth - lol).
Perhaps what made her do this was my "delightful" little blurb I put with the request describing myself as 1st generation poor as opposed to her 4th (or is it 5th) generation filthy, stinking rich. LOL. Or perhaps she likes "slumming" - that is, seeing how the "other half" lives. Regardless, I now can say I have an (on-line) "friend" who is a descendant of the 11th richest family in U.S history (source forgotten - probably Wikipedia).
According to bookslut.com (that's right bookslut - those wild & wacky readers - lol), a online book review WB at one point in her book was "plunging without apparent irony, into bigotry and stereotype" when talking, for example, about the Irish maids. I, however, was more disturbed at the mention of her boiling her brother's pet turtles and pan-frying the hamster!
Bookslut.com also notes that her not so maternal mother gave her as a 14th birthday gift - the pill. That's right, the pill. I guess that shows a certain level of motherly concern. In one of the goodreads reviews someone quoted WB as saying that her mother only really acting like a mother one time of year. On her birthday.
Well, now that you know a little more about my latest "on-line friend" I will start to bring this post to a conclusion. Before that though, a last attempt at tying Tchiakovsky in with the Vanderbilts by way of the painter Renoir. I was thinking that perhaps in an effort to tie together the two aspects of this post I would try to find a Tchiakovsky desendant to befriend. LOL.
However, it would be easier I realized to "get to know" a Renoir, as there are actually (at least there used to be) actual Renoir descendants in Edmonton. I think I found this out in the Edmonton Journal a couple (many actually) years ago. If I am not mistaken they owned a restaurant in this city. Why Edmonton? Who knows.
Anyway, if I decide to continue being a "fame whoring friend finder" (or is it called "star-fucking" - lol) then the Renoir's it will have to be. Sorry about that Tchiakovsky.
Carmen
Anderson Cooper of CNN is also a Vanderbilt, son of Gloria Vanderbilt (think jeans) great great granddaughter if ol' Cornelius. She was not a fantasic mother either but she did "what she could" according to the very hot Anderson Cooper. Gloria also had another son and I'm sure he would have been just as hot as Anderson, had he not committed suicide at 15. So, C.A.T. hows bout your new friend setting me up with her cousin eh?
ReplyDeleteMaureen - yeah I read about Anderson Cooper being a Vanderbilt on Wikipedia (probably where you found it) as that's where I encourage everyone to start looking up further information and "of course" everyone listens to everything I say. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the brother of AC/son of GV committing suicide. I did know that the writer Danielle Steele had a son Nick who I think suffered from depression or some other mental illness and ending up committing suicide. She wrote a memoir about it.
As for AC being attractive, me thinks not. LOL. I much prefer Harvey Levin (I think that's his name) - the older guy (a couple years older than us only probably) that runs the show on TMZ and used to be on The People's Court.
As for "my new friend" setting anything up - first I want an introduction to a Rockefeller or something. If I have more than one "fancy friend" then I know I will really have "arrived". LOL.
Oh, a final note, my "friend who can not be named" said when I told her the "Vanderbilt story" that I should wait and "tell me when your friends with Oprah". There is no impressing some people. LOL.