What we read
People often ask, “Phil, how do you keep such youthful looking skin? You’ve got to tell me your secret!” Botox? Oil of Olay twice a day? Maybe it’s Mabelline.
Beneath my coy grin lies a dark secret, long hidden. Somewhere, upstairs in a dusty attic, lies a portrait of Keith Richard that ages every time I smoke opium. Which, for reasons unknown, keeps me eternally young, but causes Keith to age grotesquely like a salty slug. Sorry Keefy!
What better book to read then than Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”! Which incidentally is about a man who stays eternally young while his portrait ages grotesquely like a salty Keith Richards.
It’s also totally gay. Like book clubs.
What we did
Before arriving, invitees were asked to submit their *own* aged portraits using in20years.com, which I’ve posted below. All of them have been aged and/or rendered drug-addicted, so the photos don’t look much like the real book club members, except for Kurt, who was confused and just sent me a regular photo of himself which I’ve included with the rest.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skipthefiller/tags/in20years/
Several members came dressed in the fashion of a late-Victorian dandy, including Godfrey, who was unaware we were doing costumes and was wearing his usual attire. In tribute to my Anglo heritage, members were served a traditional Sunday Roast with carrots and potatoes. It was actually Friday, but I managed to keep that part a secret.
In the story, Dorian Gray’s picture stands as a metaphor for Dorian’s own soul. His portrait becomes more and more grotesque as Dorian falls deeper and deeper into wanton debauchery. In like manner, members were asked to draw pictures of themselves, as tainted by years of unbridled depravity. Pictures were scored according to visual aesthetic and the corresponding explanation. Notable mentions were John’s “ego mumu”, Michelle’s “competitive streak”, and Alison’s “abundance of cats”.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skipthefiller/tags/selfportraits/
In reality, Theo’s self-portrait garnered the most votes, but to keep things entertaining, I pretended it was a tie with Kurt, thus prompting a need for a second contest of my choosing. The trophy was conclusively awarded to Theo when she accepted the challenge to speed-perform the entire arc of the novel, including all characters and sequences, all in exactly 60 seconds. It was an Oscar-winning performance. Oscar Wilde!
What we thought
I already said I thought it was gay. But I’m only saying that because the characters say things like: “It is quite true that I have worshipped you with far more romance of feeling than a man usually gives to a friend. Somehow, I had never loved a woman.” That, and the fact that Oscar Wilde was a limp-wristed nancy who had a penchant for young men. They even convicted him for it, but really I think the Victorians were just jealous because he such boundary-busting fashion pimp. I mean, look at that get-up!
http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/13851-oscar_wilde.jpg
We talked about a lot of stuff, most of which I can’t remember right now, because opium impairs memory.
– As told by Phil Skipper