Hot Air For Africa

[Cyrus]

Taki is a genuine son of a bitch, in his personal life. They don't come as genuine as him anymore.

He has cheated repeatedly on friends and considers it an achievement to sleep with a friend's spouse. He is the original male chauvinist pig personified, a man with few scruples and sorry morals. Still, he will not cheat in tennis, "except if the game is for a woman", which has been many times.

But most of this is forgiven, or at least set aside, if temporarily, due to his way with words. He is born, bred and educated Greek but has mastered the use of English language. Taki's politics are a remnant from his many issues (a psychiatrist would have a field day!) with his father, an archetypal self-made Greek tycoon, who was a wild entrepreneur, an anti-communist fighter and a ferocious playboy (sometimes cheating on Taki's mother in front of Taki).

Taki's style is Waugh and Wodehouse -- olde English conservatism, seriously imperialistic, very educated, unashamedly snobbish and snobbishly anti-capitalist. Taki views Wall Street spivs with the same disdain he reserves for intruders in the Ascot race.

A few years ago, Mr Theodoracopoulos was arrested, tried and found guilty of bringing cocaine into the United Kingdom, where he subsequently spent some two years in jail for that offense. He had the stuff quite openly on him and he was cruising through Customs, following the "Hide-In-Plain-Sight" rule, when an official asked him what was that bulge in his pocket. Taki smiled and answered that it was a serious amount of cocaine, the official laughed with the joke, waved him through, Taki laughed too and turned away to walk out.

But Taki being Taki, he could not resist mumbling loud enough for the official to hear "If you only knew!". "HOLD IT!" the official yelled and that was all she wrote.

He is a man equally loved and hated, with solid reasons for both sentiments.

--Cyrus


Taki in Oxford debate about Blair being Bush's poodle

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
He is born, bred and educated Greek ...

[/ QUOTE ]

ACcording to his bio all his schooling was in the United States.

[MMMMMM]

From the website: "Taki was educated in New Jersey, at the Lawrenceville School; and at the University of Virginia; and in England at Pentonville Prison, just outside London. See his memoir, Nothing to Declare (ISBN 0-87113-484-5), for details."

The cocaine incident, leading to three months in Pentonville, took place in 1984.

http://www.takistopdrawer.us/abouttaki.html

And many thanks for the link to another enjoyable article, Cyrus! I would have missed that one if not for you, so I now must consider myself (choke, gag) indebted to you, if even in a small way.

[Cyrus]

[ QUOTE ]
From the website: "Taki was educated in New Jersey, at the Lawrenceville School;..."

[/ QUOTE ]Lawrencevill is college. Taki's formative years were spent in his native country. He finished high school in Greece and then his father sent him to "Amer'ka" for some "college education" -- which did him NOT do him a whole lot of good!

[ QUOTE ]
The cocaine incident, leading to three months in Pentonville, took place in 1984.

[/ QUOTE ] I was relating from memory but memory did not serve me well this time: Yes, Theodoracopoulos spent (only) three months in jail in 1984 for cocaine possession and not "some two years, a few years ago" as I wrote.

Incidentally, he was a black belt at the time, which presumably helps when in prison.

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
Lawrencevill is college.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Cyrus]

I may be missing something here. I know for a fact that Takis finished school in Greece.

And he is not the type to pretend otherwise.

[ChipWrecked]

The Right Woman

According to Duff, Marie-Laure had had a bad war and was laying low. By bad war he meant Marie-Laure had given her charms away to some very good-looking Wehrmacht officers and the Frogs were pissed off. Again, I beg to differ. How could it possibly be wrong to have bedded good-looking Wehrmacht officers? It sure beats bedding some slob American soldier who might even go off with the Fabergés.

Um, OK. He does sound like Mencken.

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
The Right Woman

According to Duff, Marie-Laure had had a bad war and was laying low. By bad war he meant Marie-Laure had given her charms away to some very good-looking Wehrmacht officers and the Frogs were pissed off. Again, I beg to differ. How could it possibly be wrong to have bedded good-looking Wehrmacht officers? It sure beats bedding some slob American soldier who might even go off with the Fabergés.

Um, OK. He does sound like Mencken.

[/ QUOTE ]

I didn't say he ALWAYS sounds like Mencken. You have to hunt for the places where he does--like a treasure hunt;-)

Actually, I think I wrote that if you like reading Zeno or Mencken, you'll like reading Taki--I should have qualified that as, you'll like reading *some* Taki--he covers a lot of ground, and is not a one-flavor writer. Poke around if you care to; you'll doubtless find more, both that you like and dislike.

[ChipWrecked]

Calling American soldiers slobby thieves sounded like Mencken to me. I was agreeing with you.

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
Calling American soldiers slobby thieves sounded like Mencken to me. I was agreeing with you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, I see...in that case you may want to check out this link...Taki on "Sofa Samurais"

http://www.takistopdrawer.us/2003/ma...-March-29.html