Hiking - Part 70

Bluff Knoll, Western Australia

Bluff Knoll is the highest mountain in the Stirling Range in Western Australia at 3593 feet.  There's a 3.9 mile long trail to the top that climbs 2093 feet.  The hike takes an estimated 3-4 hours round trip.

There's a nice view from the top, but Bluff Knoll has become known for something else – hikers stripping naked at the top, taking a photo of themselves, and posting it on social media.  The photo above is from 2016.

This practice became so widespread that it became known as "buff on the bluff."

Hikers got buff on the bluff in the spring, summer, fall ...

and winter.

In 2017, an indigenous Australian in the area protested that the practice was disrespectful to Native Australian culture.  However, he was against people climbing the mountain at all, while other local indigenous people had never considered that to be a problem.

Meanwhile, hikers continued to take "buff on the bluff" photos, like this one of Jason Byrne.  Click on it for a larger image.

All of the "buff on the bluff" photos that I could find were rear views, except this guy, who preserved his modesty behind a box of Coolabah white wine.

But there are unashamed males in Australia.  Here is Nudist Jeff (at right) and his boyfriend Jason atop Bluff Knoll on March 8, 2024.  Wait a minute.  Did Jeff, the Australian guy who has published hundreds of naked photos of himself, not get buff on the bluff?  Apparently not.

But not to worry.  Here's Jeff atop Mt. Toolbrunup, the second highest peak in the Sterling Range.

Not the Same Old Song - Part 62

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off was written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance.  The song is famous for the line "You like tomato and I like to-mah-to."  This version is from a 1957 recording by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

Weighing In - Part 71

Nick Heynen

Nick Heynen, nicknamed "The Hangman", is a Canadian MMA fighter born in 1983.  Above, he weighs in at the Aggression MMA 9 event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 11, 2012.  He had to weigh in naked, but unfortunately for us, he was concealed behind a cloth.

However, after the weigh-in, Nick calmly proceeded to put his pants back on in the background with no cloth to block our view of him, above.

Nick fought in the lightweight class.  In this event, he fought Stephen Beaumont and lost.  His overall fight record was 4 wins and 3 losses.

Poem of the Day - Part 71

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Artists - Part 74

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Beach Bums - Part 68

 Beach 19, Lisbon, Portugal

Beach 19, called Praia 19 in Portuguese, has been called the largest and most beautiful gay beach in Europe.  To reach it, you take a little train that runs along the Costa da Caparica, which is the shore south of Lisbon (above).

Stops are marked by numbered signs.  Get off at sign 19, hence the name of the beach.

This beach is not only a nude beach, it is also mostly a gay beach.  The beach is huge – it's part of a beach that stretches along the Costa da Caparica for 13 miles – so it's not crowded.  Beach 19 was declared an official nude beach in 1995.

You can enjoy the sun ...

or enjoy the sea.  The waves are not rough here.

I saw several photos of waders but none of swimmers, but it may be that the photographers were concentrating on the attractions close at hand (above).

Behind the beach there are dunes.

You can also sunbathe in the dunes.

Some cruising takes place in the dunes.

But behind the dunes are woods, where the real cruising takes place.

Resulting in this ...

and this, both filmed behind Beach 19.

At the end of the day, the sun sets into the Atlantic Ocean ...

and it's time to take the little train back from Beach 19.

Gods, Myths, and Heroes - Part 65

Hercules

Hercules was one of the principal heroes of Greek mythology.  The Greeks called him Herakles, but I will use the Roman name Hercules which is more familiar to most people.

We have already looked at the twelve labors of Hercules.  Today we look at two other myths.  The fresco above shows Hercules at left, carrying his trademark lion skin and club, with the river god Achelous and Deianeira, daughter of the king of Calydon.

This fresco is in a house in the Roman town of Herculaneum. The town was named after Hercules and was destroyed by the same eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii in 79 A.D.

Both Hercules and Achelous wanted to marry Deianeira, and they fought over her.  Achelous, being a god, was able to change shape.  He transformed himself into a snake.  Above, Hercules fighting Achelous in the form of a snake, by Francois-Joseph Bosio, 1824, in the Louvre museum.

The front view of Hercules fighting Achelous as a snake.  Amusingly, it looks like Hercules is holding a can of beer or soda, but I guess it's supposed to be a rock.

Unable to win as a snake, Achelous then transformed himself into a bull.  Above, Hercules fighting Achelous in the form of a bull, a 17th century sculpture by Ferdinand Tacca.  Ultimately, Hercules won the fight, and he married Deianeira.

A second myth involves the centaur Nessus.  A centaur was half horse, half man.  Above, a fresco in Pompeii showing Hercules, Deianeira and Nessus.  Nessus acted as a ferryman, carrying passengers across the river Euenos.  In this story, Nessus carried Deianeira across the river, then tried to rape her while Hercules was still on the other side of the river.  Hercules could see what was happening, and he shot Nessus with an arrow that was poisoned with the blood of the Hydra, a monster that Hercules had killed in his earlier twelve labors.

This vase from 420 BC shows Hercules attacking Nessus, but it omits the poisoned arrow, which is vital to the myth, as we will see.

Here's a 2nd century Roman sculpture of Hercules attacking Nessus, again omitting the poisoned arrow.

And here's the rear view of that same sculpture in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, Italy.

The myth continues.  As Nessus lay dying, he gave Deianeira his blood-soaked robe, telling her that if she gave it to Hercules, it would ensure that Hercules would be true to her forever.  Actually, he knew that his blood was deadly, infected with the virulent poison of the Hydra.

Later, Deianeira told Hercules' servant Lichas to give Hercules the robe.  When Hercules put on the robe, the poison blood in the robe burned his skin.  Thinking that Lichas was behind this, Hercules threw Lichas into the sea.

Above, Hercules and Lichas by the sculptor Antonio Canova, 1815.  Canova concealed Hercules' genitals with a fig leaf ...

but interestingly, if you look from below, Canova's sculpture shows Hercules' balls behind the fig leaf (above).

Here's a modern painting of Hercules and Lichas by William Horace Littlefield, 1937.

Even without the robe, the poison continued to burn Hercules, and it became unbearable.  So Hercules lit a funeral pyre and jumped onto it, burning to death, as seen in this 1655 illustration by Michel de Marolles.  A dramatic end for a dramatic mythical hero.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 74

 St. Louis 2023

Today we look at another World Naked Bike Ride in the U.S.  This one was held in St. Louis, Missouri in 2023.  Above, participants gather before the ride begins, including this well-hung guy.

Another participant before the ride begins, sporting body paint handprints.

It's always good to have Cupid on hand at these events.

At first I thought this guy's beard entirely covered his face.  Closer inspection revealed that it's not his beard at all.  He's wearing a dark cloth over his face, and we're seeing his long hair.

The ride begins.  Here's another long-haired guy, this one wearing a helmet.

Look, ma, no hands!

The ride goes through the downtown streets toward St. Louis' iconic Gateway Arch.

Still heading toward the Arch.  The building on the right looks like the State Capitol, but it isn't; that's in Jefferson City.  This is the Old Courthouse building.

Later, after dark, a group of riders posing for the camera.

We end with rider Jeffrey Roberts, at right, and a guy with a "Don't Tread on Me" slogan, where the treads are tire treads.  Evidently he was promoting safety for cyclists, which is a WNBR theme, i.e. "Don't run over me and my bicycle with your car or truck."  

It was another successful WNBR.