Nevermore.

Court etiquette

Life at the court was narrowly regulated by court etiquette. Etiquette became the means of social advancement for the court.

Louis XIV’s elaborate rules of etiquette included the following:

1. People who wanted to speak to the king could not knock on his door. Instead, using the left pinkie finger, they had to gently scratch on the door, until they were granted permission to enter. As a result, many courtiers grew that fingernail longer than the others;
2. A lady never held hands or linked arms with a gentleman. Besides being in bad taste, this practice would have been impossible because a woman’s hooped skirts were so wide. Instead, she was to place her hand on top of the gentleman’s bent arm as they strolled through the gardens and chambers of Versailles. It is also mentioned that the ladies were only allowed to touch fingertips with the men.
3. When a gentleman sat down, he slid his left foot in front of the other, placed his hands on the sides of the chair and gently lowered himself into the chair. There was a very practical reason for this procedure. If a gentleman sat too fast, his tight trousers might split;
4. Women and men were not allowed to cross their legs in public;
5. When a gentleman passed an acquaintance on the street, he was to raise his hat high off his head until the other person passed;
6. A gentleman was to do no work except writing letters, giving speeches, practicing fencing, or dancing. For pleasure he engaged in hawking, archery, indoor tennis, or hunting. A gentleman would also take part in battle and would sometimes serve as a public officer, paying the soldiers;
7. Ladies’ clothing did not allow them to do much besides sit and walk. However, they passed the time sewing, knitting, writing letters, painting, making their own lace, and creating their own cosmetics and perfumes.[2]
   

   LouisXV

http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2007/02/021507.html

Funny...:P

Ok Boys and Girls!  It's Intellectual-Tongue Twister Time!!!!!!

here, i'll start:

1.) Vicious virtuosos vis-a-vas, vainly vying to vamp.

or

2.) Frivolous fin-de-siecle flippant fulmination.

More points for more verbosity. ;) enjoy!  the gauntlet is thrown

Discover Your Sins - Click Here

Ok, i've been told this is eerie,

Apparently someone found a video of a counter-tenor singing (badly).  Check out his harpsichordist.

at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP2fgmfilO4&NR

(p.s. I was going to post the video by YouTube wouldn't let me, I guess the video is copyrighted or something...anyways just go to the link, trust me...it's worth it both to see the side-show and the ...umm...interesting singing/acting)

From: "Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present, 500 Years of Western Cultural Life" by Jacques Barzun

"This is a scrap of solid Western Romanticism:  Art is not illusion, nor always vanishing.  The desire it arouses is fulfilled by it's object.  Thus, the cult of art serves as a refuge to the bystander alienated by progress."