Hiking - Part 67

 The White Cliffs

Today we look at a hike by English naturist Graham Fauconbridge.  He labeled the photo above "Off on an adventure."  The white cliffs of Dover, right?

Almost, but not quite.  Above are the famous white cliffs of Dover.  These days, due to encroaching vegetation, they're starting to look like the green cliffs of Dover.

But the white cliffs are not just at Dover.  They stretch for miles along the English Channel on England's south coast.  Above, at the Tiger Inn at Birling Gap, there are stairs so you can get down to the stony beach below the cliffs.

Graham did not describe his hiking route, but he must have started at these stairs, then headed west on the beach (heading away from us in this view).

This photo was labeled "Heading for the Seven Sisters."  The Seven Sisters are seven conspicuous white cliffs, visible in the distance, that are west of the stairs that we just saw.

Graham stopped to have some tea from his thermos.

The white cliffs are made of chalk.  There's some discoloration here, but as the cliffs erode, it keeps exposing fresh white chalk.

Then Graham turned around and walked back.

In case you wanted a better frontal view of Graham, here's one that he posted, calling it "the main course."

Not the Same Old Song - Part 61

 From the Bottom to the Top

From the Bottom to the Top was recorded by Frank Sinatra in 1955.  Not one of his big hits, it's in a "doo-wop" style, not Sinatra's regular "crooner" style.

But it was was ripe for me to redo it as Not the Same Old Song.  I interpret the lyrics as being sung by a bottom to his top, telling the top that he can do whatever he wants.  Who knew that Frank Sinatra was a bottom? (just kidding)

Weighing In - Part 69

Ángel “Chaneke” Chan

Ángel “Chaneke” Chan, born in 1998, is a Mexican boxer.  In June, 2021 in Valladolid, Mexico, he weighed in at the El Regreso del Gigante II boxing match for a fight against Pablo "Rojo" Peraza in the lightweight division.  He had to strip for his weigh-in.  A cameraman nearby got a view of him putting his shorts back on, above.

Here's an expanded view of that moment.

Chaneke lost that fight. His overall record is 11 wins and 9 losses.

Poem of the Day - Part 69

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

Lahaina Noon

 Lahaina Noon

Today, in Hawaii where I live, the noon sun will be directly overhead.  This phenomenon, which occurs only in the tropics, is known in Hawaii as Lahaina Noon.  It is not named after the city of Lahaina in Maui.  Rather, "la haina" means "merciless sun" in Hawaiian.

Lahaina Noon happens twice a year in Hawaii, once in May as the sun moves north in the sky, and once in July as the sun moves south again.  The exact date when it happens depends on the latitude where you live, and the exact time is not 12:00, which is the standard noontime across the whole time zone, but at "astronomical noon" or solar noon, when the sun reaches the exact highest point in the sky.  The time when that happens depends on the longitude where you live.  For me, Lahaina Noon will occur on May 18 at 12:16 pm.

At Lahaina Noon, any object that is perfectly vertical, like a telephone pole, casts no shadow at all.

The drawing above, by Hawaiian artist Douglas Simonson, is called Straight Up Noon. I'm not positive that the name refers to Lahaina Noon, but I think it does, because the shadow of his arm looks vertical, as if the sun is directly above.  And of course, things in the drawing are "up" in more than one way.

Artists - Part 72

Pompeii

The Roman city of Pompeii, along with the neighboring town of Herculaneum, was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, burying the city under 20 feet of volcanic ash.

When Pompeii was rediscovered and houses were uncovered, many works of art were found, including the charming mosaic above in the House of the Faun, showing animals of the Nile.

Statues were also found, including this Roman copy of a Greek original depicting the god Pan teaching Daphnis how to play the panpipes.

Another statue shows a youth as a lamp-bearer.  Nude statues were perfectly normal in Greek and Roman times and were not considered shocking or shameful.

We expect mosaics and statues to survive through the ages.  What is remarkable about Pompeii are the paintings that have survived for 2000 years, mostly frescoes painted on the walls.  Above, a painting of Theseus, the Greek mythological hero who killed the Minotaur, in the House of Marcus Gavius Rufus, Pompeii.

A fresco in the House of the Epigrams showing a satyr and a nymph.  Note that the satyr has an erection.

A fresco in the House of the Vettii, showing the god Priapus weighing his huge penis on a scale.  Priapus was the god of male fertility.  Imagine having this painted on the wall inside your house for everyone to see.  That's what the upper-class owners of the House of the Vettii did.

Another fresco of Priapus and his enormous penis, depicted with attributes of the god Mercury.

This fresco from the Casa del Medico (House of the Physician) depicts a scene along the Nile with pygmies, and some of them are fucking.

We end with this sculpture from Herculaneum, the neighboring town also destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash, but Herculaneum was buried by a lava flow, so it was more difficult to excavate.

Art was also found there, including this exquisitely crafted statue of the god Pan fucking a goat, found in the Villa of the Papyri.  The wealthy owner of the house had a library of hundreds of scrolls.

This statue and the frescoes suggest that our attitude about what is porn is quite different from the ancient Roman attitude.  For the Romans, this was not porn – these were artworks that were proudly displayed.

Beach Bums - Part 66

 Sunnyside North Beach

Sunnyside North Beach is a nude beach near Melbourne, Australia.

It's the only official clothing-optional beach in the Melbourne area.

An overall view of the beach.  Click on it for a larger view.

It's a place where you can take off your clothes ...

and go swimming.  The waves are not heavy because the beach is at a protected location on Port Phillip Bay.

Or you can bask in the sun ...

or lie in the shade ...

if you bring your own shade ...

or you can visit with friends.  Altogether, a nice place.

In 2022, the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council threatened to get the state government to revoke the beach's clothing-optional status.  Michael James, above, led the campaign to save the nude beach.  He is a naturist who had discovered the beach 26 years earlier, and he frequently visits the beach.

Michael pointed out that opposition to the nude beach was based on an outdated report that associated the beach with illegal behavior, but that behavior didn't occur on the beach; it happened in the parking lot and on private land nearby.  The council voted to keep the status as a nude beach.  Victory!

Michael said the loss would not only have affected naturists, but members of the LGBTQ community for whom the beach has become a safe space.