Belle de Jour

[9thdoctor]

In the early ‘90’s I was President of the FSU Objectivist club. One of our officers (Secretary/Treasurer I think) was a freshman named Brooke Magnanti. She was a nice, bright girl, we weren’t especially close and I haven’t seen her since ‘93 or ‘94. As I recall she was 16-17, she had skipped grades. A friend of mine from back then recently pointed me to this: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6917495.ece

I’ve googled her blog and don’t find any Rand references, but based on the photo and the biographical info there’s no question it’s the same person. Holy Shit! From Dr. Who (note my avatar) I’m an admirer of Billie Piper, who later did the Secret Diaries of a Call Girl program for Showtime, based on Belle de Jour’s book. Small world. Congrats on your success Brooke.

[anthony]

"Belle" she is, and no dumb blonde - how did you let this one get away, Doc IX ?

(small world).

Tony

[jeffrey smith]

"Belle" she is, and no dumb blonde - how did you let this one get away, Doc IX ?

(small world).

Tony

because FSU is full of smart blondes. Also smart brunettes, smart redheads, etc. (I'm assuming he means Florida State University and Former Soviet Union )

When I went there (law school, early '80s) there were two chief attractions for male undergrads: one of the best college football teams in the country, and plenty of pulchritude (and parties). (For law students, the advantages were more centered on the field of study--a good faculty and the connections with state government that come from a location two blocks from the state Capitol).

I have one good anecdote from my FSU days which will you'll probably find amusing:

The president of the FSU Campus Crusade for Christ (or whatever they called it) ran for president of the SGA. He claimed that "God told me to run." When he lost--by a large margin--someone suggested placing a megaphone outside his window, and, when he was seen to be praying, proclaim, "BUT I NEVER SAID YOU WOULD WIN!"

Jeffrey S.

(small world)

[9thdoctor]

"Belle" she is, and no dumb blonde - how did you let this one get away, Doc IX ?

(small world).

Tony

We didn’t date. She got involved romantically with a Christian fundamentalist, and didn’t come to Objectivist meetings regularly for very long (a few months). I remember having to track her down at a science lab to get a signature on something. She wasn’t a 10, she had acne that went from mild to pretty bad in the time I knew her. Also, she was underage. It feels funny to disclose personal details about her, but she’s put her life out there for all to see, so why not?

Yes, FSU means Florida State in Tallahassee. BTW, there’s an article out there called “My Dinner with Andy” about someone’s bad experience hosting Andrew Bernstein. I didn’t have a terrible experience with him, but there was a part of that article describing him being fussy and complaining that there wasn’t anything on the restaurant menu that he could eat. He did the exact same when we brought him for a talk, the description is spot on. http://www.jeffcomp.com/faq/dinner.html

[Alfonso Jones]

because FSU is full of smart blondes. Also smart brunettes, smart redheads, etc. (I'm assuming he means Florida State University and Former Soviet Union )

When I went there (law school, early '80s) there were two chief attractions for male undergrads: one of the best college football teams in the country, and plenty of pulchritude (and parties). (For law students, the advantages were more centered on the field of study--a good faculty and the connections with state government that come from a location two blocks from the state Capitol).

Jeffrey S.

(small world)

Yes, it's a small world. I remember being a professor at the University of Florida (that other big school a bit to the southeast), 1982 - 1985. Summers were especially pleasant, walking around campus.

Bill P (smiling)