Let's Talk About Belgium!

[shereads]

Ogg mentioned, in another thread, the scarcity of famous Belgians. I'm sure he can't be right. It's such a pretty country, and so clean.

I'll bet there are lots and lots of famous Belgians and recent Belgian accomplishments.

This is my salute to Belgium.















Anyone else?









No?

 

[Pure]

The is an artificial problem, sorta like saying, "Who are the famous Bangladeshis of history?"

The present way national boundaries are drawn and the creation of nations out of ethnic groups obscure the picture.

If you search, say, for "Flemish painters" you find all kinds of famous folks, like van Dyck, Rubens, Hals. etc.

Flemish people were once part of Holland, so it would be unfair to cast all the Flemish as forever Dutch (i.e., say 'all Flemish painters are Dutch').

I cannot offhand name you Walloon (other part of Belgium) notables, but probably you can't name me any Catalonian greats.

This is a bit like wondering about the Welsh achievements, while classifying Dylan Thomas as of "Great Britain" only.

 

[Pure]

There is a list of famous Belgians at

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/List_of_Belgians

I see Delvaux and Magritte mentioned as famous modern artists.

 

[neonlyte]

Belgium is less of a country and more of a place to my thinking. One tends to pass through Belgium. The language division exagerates the effect dividing the country horizontally. The mountain region is very pretty but that's really Germany, isn't it? Antwerp is so easy to confuse as Dutch and wears the same ambience, whilst the south is so very boring, Bruges excepted, that France always seems more hospitable.

Even the most famous Belgian - Hercule Poirot is fictional, whilst Eddie Merx will forever be French, born in Belgium, by mistake.

I have many friends in Belgium, all divorced, spent a happy summer there years ago whilst my wife ran a workshop on Fernado Pessoa, see even the things they want to learn are fictional.

Does it exist?

 

[Guest]

Googled: Famous Belgians

Latest additions to the list:
Luc Vandevelde, Chairman of Marks and Spencer
Edward de Smedt, chemist and inventor of modern-day road asphalt
Raymond Ceulemans, 17 times world champion in billiards
Adolphe Quetelet, mathematician and inventor of the Body Mass Index
Toots Thielemans, world famous Jazz musician
Helmut Lotti, international pop singer
The Singing Nun, famous for her US No 1 hit "Dominique"

My misc. picks:
César Auguste Franck, composer and organist
Hieronymus Bosch, Flemish painter
Liz Claiborne, b. Brussels; American business executive and fashion designer.
Julio Cortázar (1914-1984), the Argentine writer, was born in Belgium. (I can only think him Argentinian though; a very fave author.)
Audrey Hepburn
Rene Magritte
Samson, famous Belgian TV-dog
May Eleanor Sarton, American poet and novelist; b. Belgium
Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987), French novelist, essayist and short story writer, b. Brussels

 

[Colleen Thomas]

In World War II Belgium, a neutral country without a large standing army held out against the Germans for 18 days, allowing the French & British to evacuate at Dunkurk.

The germans entered Paris in a little more than 30 days and France was considered a world class military power at the time.

I don't know of any famous men right of hand, but as a group, the Belgian armed forces performed superbly.

-Colly

 

[Pure]

http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Andreas_Vesalius

Andreas V. is the author of the first thorough book of Human Anatomy. OTOH, he could be classified as French, though born in what is now Belgium.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

Van Damme you shereads!

http://www.moviestar-photos.com/graphics/239/239400.jpg

I thought EVERYBODY knew!

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Born:

October 18, 1960

Sint-Agatha Berchem,

Flanders, Belgium.

 

[Guest]

 

[Guest]

Brussel Sprouts.

YUK! BLECH! WRETCH! VOMIT!

Those Belgians have got a LOT to answer for.

Lou

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Belgium didn't make it to Euro2004.

 

[oggbashan]

For me, I go to Belgium for cheap cigarettes, the beer, and chips with mayonnaise.

I bring back - the cigarettes, the beer and Belgian chocolate for my wife and daughters.

I enjoy Bruges but I also visit the WWI and II cemetaries. It is difficult to avoid them and those who died should be remembered.

Og

 

[dr_mabeuse]

That's where The Hague is, right?

I've always thought that was cool, having a city whose name includes the definite article. Like "The Dubuque", "The East Moline".

---dr.M.

P.S. Hercule Poirrot was Belgian, as was Inspecter Clousseau.

Monty Python did a bit about coming up with a suitable ethnic slur for Belgians. IThe winner was, I think, "Dirty stinking fat Belgian bastards."

 

[shereads]

I've always thought that was cool, having a city whose name includes the definite article. Like "The Dubuque", "The East Moline".

"Las Vegas."

Monty Python did a bit about coming up with a suitable ethnic slur for Belgians. IThe winner was, I think, "Dirty stinking fat Belgian bastards."

Close. It was "You miserable fat Belgian bastards."

I know this because I once had it as the alarm sound for my computer. There is a worthwhile CD-Rom called "Monty Python's Complete Waste of Time" which gives you the ability to make your keyboard sound like a manual typewriter (there's a "ding!" when you hit the return key.)

I let my ex-husband borrow my copy, and he kept it, and now they've stopped making it for the Mac, only PCs.

That's all I have to say about Belgium.

 

[Guest]

That's all I have to say about Belgium.

Yeah, right.

 

[shereads]

The Singing Nun, famous for her US No 1 hit "Dominique"

Hieronymus Bosch, Flemish painter

This is alarming.

 

[Guest]

This is alarming.

What about "Samson" the famous Belgian TV-dog? Perhaps he's really Triumph the insult dog. P.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

Shocked, simply shocked at the language

I am so offended at the language on this thread. I have seen cunt, fuck, ass, and all the other minor words of Earth, but I can't believe that we'd stoop to using the dreaded b-word here. Clean your mouths everyone, you're offending the universe.

 

[Liar]

If I started dropping names I'll bet I'd get a collective blank stare back, but Belgium is home to a bunch of really great acts in the popular music venue.


Oh yeah, and Van Damme.

And Anouck Lepere, purdy.

#L

 

[oggbashan]

I still have a 10" 78rpm record of Dominique the singing nun.

Her success went to her head. She even issued an LP and stopped being a nun.

Og

Her record is good for ending parties. Not quite as good as Lola Flores singing authentic flamenco, or Florence Foster-Jenkins, nor the singing dogs, but still effective. The other three are auditory torture.

Edited for: Florence Foster-Jenkins can be found on this site:
Miserable Melodies

 

[Guest]

Oh yeah, and Van Damme.

#L

I mentioned him earlier...

Brussel Sprout(s).

YUK! BLECH! WRETCH! VOMIT!

Lou

 

[Black Tulip]

That's where The Hague is, right?

I've always thought that was cool, having a city whose name includes the definite article. Like "The Dubuque", "The East Moline".

---dr.M.

OUCH!!!

The Hague is a translation of 's-Gravenhage and that is the political capital of the Netherlands.

Famous Belgians. *snickering*

Belgium came into existence after the 10-day Campaign in 1830. LOL Before that it was part of the Netherlands. We still share the language with the Flemish part. Most linguistic institutions are 'joint ventures'.

Famous things: chocolate, lace from Brussels, J.C. van Damme (yes, I listed him as a thing).

I'll behave.
A lot of famous writers in Dutch are actually Flemish.
I seem to recall that the leper colony on Haiti was founded by a Belgian priest.

 

[Guest]

I seem to recall that the leper colony on Haiti was founded by a Belgian priest.

Yes, Fr. Damien. This is my chance to plug one of my favourite film directors, Paul Cox, an Australian. His "art" films are wonderful, but he also makes biographical films. He made one called "Damien", excellent. Also films on Van Gogh and Nijinsky. Among fictional films I highly recommend "Man of Flowers" and "Cactus". An aspect of Cox that I love is his use of music in his films. "Man of Flowers" features an aria from 'Lucia de Lamermoor' (often with a girl stripping to it).

Perdita

 

[Liar]

waaait...

Jaques Brel, dammit. I knew I'd missed someone.

#L

 

[Guest]

Jaques Brel

I left him out on purpose. P.