Earnest

The pipe smoking fellow above is one Oscar Wilde born this day 1854, in Dublin, Ireland. (A little trivia the picture above is referred to by Dubliners as the "fag on the crag"). He is probably best known for his "Picture of Dorian Grey", or his "Importance of being Earnest." Both of which even I managed to read/attend, both great works of an extremely talented mind. His gift was recognized fairly early on, and he attended Oxford from 1874 till 1878. It was at Oxford that he became enamoured of the aesthetics movement, from which he would derive a lot of his later works, and were he came up with the "slogan" of "art for art's sake." He married in 1884, and even managed to father two children. Even men of his particular "tastes" can father children. Wilde was well known to like boys, pretty boys were liked even more. His most famous boy toy was Lord Alfred Douglas, and was the one that caused him the most trouble. Why is that all the pretty ones have to be so dumb? Lord Douglas' father was none other than the Marquis of Queensberry, and for any who knows anything about boxing they know the Marquis. He was not the sort of man who would let anyone "corrupt" his son. Nasty words and notes were exchanged (one accusing Wilde of being a posing sodomite), and the trial of the century concerning Mr. Wilde's sexuality was set in motion. The trial was ostensibly about the Marquis' libel against Wilde, but that whole truth is a defense thing came into place, and Wilde was forced to drop his case when the defence threatened to bring boy prostitutes to the stand to testify against Wilde. Eventually, Wilde himself was served a warrant charging him with gross indecency, and eventually convicted and sentenced to two years hard labour. The trial, and the sentence broke him, after his release he left England for the continent where he remained, fighting a battle against his wallpaper, until his death. But, regardless of his taste for pretty boys, and all the peacock feathered clothing he preferred, and more so for his wit, and taste, and pure writing talent, Oscar Wilde (October 16th, 1854- November 30th, 1900, at the age of 46), you are my hero of the day.