My Lady's Lamentation and Complaint Against the Dean is a very long (226 lines) satirical poem that Swift wrote in 1728. It has become noted for these 4 lines. My interpretation of them may be slightly different than Swift's.
Hail, fellow well met,
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All dirty and wet:
Find out, if you can,
Who's master, who's man.
Adolfo de Karolis, also known as de Carolis, (1874-1928) was an Italian artist.
In 1902 he married his favorite model, Lina Ciucci, to the disapproval of his family, which may account for his changing his name from Carolis to Karolis. Above, a bookplate he designed using his new name.
He taught at the Academia di Belle Arti in Florence, and he revived the art of producing woodcuts. He produced art in many formats. He designed bank notes, posters, calendars, postcards, ads, and even product labels. Above, Sanguine Nude, 1907.
His art was by no means limited to naked males, but he managed to portray quite a few of them. Above, Sanguine Drawing, 1910.
A poster for the International Exposition of Industries in Turin, 1911.
The Archer, 1917, one of his woodcuts.
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Aeroplani Pomilio (Pomilio Airplane), 1918. I presume this is for an ad.
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Motori Gnome e Rhone Torino (Gnome & Rhone Engines, Torino), 1918 is for another ad.
Il Gigante Caduto (The Fallen Giant), 1925.
We end with Dante - I Barattieri, illustrating the barrators in the eighth circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno. Barrators are corrupt politicians who sell justice or government offices or employment for private profit. Remind you of anyone in today's news? Dante's punishment for them was to be immersed in a pool of boiling pitch and speared by devils if they rise above the surface.
Adolfo de Karolis came down with cancer and, after a few years of suffering, died in Rome, aged 54.
White Tail Resort is a nudist resort located in Ivor, Viginia, west of Norfolk. Above, Smitty holds what looks like a T-shirt for the resort.
It's a place for nudists to relax and enjoy themselves. It has a gym (above), indoor and outdoor swimming pools ...
a volleyball court, and more.
It's private and surrounded by woods. Above, Smitty with some friends on the grounds.
Here they are from the rear, for those who appreciate that perspective (Rick).
But this post is in my series about gods, myths and heroes. Well, White Tail Resort also provides a nudist chapel.
Churchgoers attend naked ...
and pastor Allen Parker preaches naked.
We end with Parker playing with his organ.
We're about to enter Portland, Oregon.
Or perhaps you'd rather enter this piece of Portland.
World Naked Bike Riders gathered in Cathedral Park in 2019 ...
under St. Johns Bridge, which spans the Willamette River.
Then the ride began. This video shows some of the riders leaving the park. The bridge is in the background.
In some years, over 8000 riders have participated in the Portland WNBR, making it possibly the world's largest.
Some riders walked their bikes up this hill.
Others rode up the hill.
A bit farther up, this guy stopped to rest. The World Naked Bike Ride doesn't require that you ride a bike (he's riding a scooter) and you don't even have to be naked (it's "as bare as you dare)".
Some spectators on the side of the road enjoying the view.
And remember, everything will be all right if you keep calm and love a dog.
We continue our series of photos from the Tartu Ülikooli museum of anthropology in Estonia.
For those who haven't seen my previous posts in this series, a few words of explanation. The museum provides no information about the men, other than the photos came from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu. In particular, it does not say who these men are, or when or why the photos were taken. However, the photos are labeled "Füüsilise antropoloogia pildistus" (physical anthropology photography).
Who are these men? My best guess is that they are military recruits. The very short haircuts suggest that these photos were taken during or shortly after the enlistment process.
When were the photos taken? My best guess is between World War I and World War II, when Estonia was an independent country with its own military. Before WWI, Estonia was part of the Russian Empire, and after WWII, Estonia was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.
Many of the men in this series have dark faces and hands. Are they are tanned from working outside like farmers, or are they dirty from some dirty occupation? We don't know.
A clue to the time frame is that these photographs were made on glass plates, not film. Dry glass-plate photography started in 1871 and began to fall out of use in the 1920s. I found some references to it in Estonia through the 1930s.
One other clue to the time frame of these photos is that in a previous batch, one of the men is wearing a wristwatch. Wristwatches were considered to be for ladies before World War I. (Men used pocket watches.) However, during the war, wristwatches proved very useful for soldiers and pilots. After WWI, wristwatches came into fashion for men.
Although wristwatches were evidently rare in Estonia (only two men wore a wristwatch among the hundreds that were photographed), it suggests that these photos are post-World War I.
Since the use of glass plates fell out of use in the 1920s, I think the photos were most likely taken shortly after World War I.
Although these appear to be military recruits, these are probably not military photos. We know that the museum that currently has the photos got them from the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Tartu. If these are military photos, why would they end up at the Institute of Anatomy?
I believe the photos were taken by academics doing a study of physical anthropology. Scientists at the Institute of Anatomy were trying to measure what they considered racial characteristics of the population by measuring the body, including phrenology (measuring the skull), ideas which are now discredited.
I think that the scientists at the Institute of Anatomy may have persuaded the military to let them take photographs of the naked new recruits for "research" purposes. I have no written evidence to support this idea, but since the photos were at the Institute of Anatomy, and the photo subjects appear to be military recruits, it's now my best guess as to what happened.
One other question that perennially arises from these photos is: why were the men photographed in pairs? Was it to save film?
The answer is that these photos were made on glass plates, not film, but glass plates were more expensive and involved more labor than film, so yes, it's likely that the men were photographed in pairs to save on glass plates.
So, bottom line: My best guess is that these photos were taken after World War I, the subjects are new or recent Army recruits, and the Estonian military allowed scientists from the Institute of Anatomy to take photos of the naked recruits for a study of physical anthropology.
