The Day I Didn't Get Dressed

[poliphilo]

I spent all of yesterday in my dressing gown- not because I was sick or anything but simply because I could. It felt mildly transgressive.  I don't think I'll do it again.

I've been reading Peter Lamont's The First Psychic- a life of Daniel Dunglas Home, the Victorian spirit medium. Home was amazing; he got heavy furniture to dance around, he materialised spirit hands, he levitated; He did all these things in front of eminent scientists and the crowned heads of Europe; and he was never caught cheating. Thackeray, Elizabeth Browning and Mark Twain admired him, Dickens, Robert Browning and Leo Tolstoy detested him, and Alexandre Dumas pere was best man at his wedding to a Russian aristocrat. Was he the greatest medium the world has ever known or the most successful charlatan? Either way it's a fascinating story. And one that raises all sorts of disturbing and unanswerable questions such as  "How far can we trust the historical record?",  "How far can we trust scientists?"  and "How much do we really know about anything?"

In the evening I watched 2001, A Space Odyssey. It holds up very well.  The special effects are as good- no, better- than those in any modern film. Everything is handmade- so you're seeing real objects not computer simulations. And I don't care what anyone says, CGI always looks fake. 

Comments

How much do we know about anything?

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

I think you might enjoy:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399877/

Just out of curiosity, why did staying in your robe all day feel mildly transgressive? Why was this not good?

Re: How much do we know about anything?

[(Anonymous)]

I think it is upbringing. I would feel the same.
Jenny (sister)

Re: How much do we know about anything?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That looks fun.

As for the mildly transgressive thing, my sister has put her finger on it. Having a more than usually lazy day makes me feel guilty. It's the Protestant Work Ethic, I suppose.

Re: How much do we know about anything?

[pop-o-pie.livejournal.com]

It takes about two days of sloth before I reach guilt about inactivity. However, these days with high-speed access, sloth has a different level of inactivity than it used to.

As far as clothing is concerned, I've known people who've worked at home who have to dress in a shirt and tie in order to function even if they aren't greeting clients. I understand that there are those who cannot sleep without their pajamas. Me? I would be more than happy to do any of these things in my birthday suit. I guess I never internalized that sense of ritual emotionally...

Re: How much do we know about anything?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm very much a creature of habit. I don't like it when my normal routines are broken up. Not changing out of my dressing gown was something I had to steel myself to do.