Hiking - Part 78

Devil's Nose

The guy above loves to hike naked.  He posts his photos under a pseudonym, so I'll just call him "our hiker".

Today we see some photos that he posted of a hike that he took with his friend Adam (above) on April 25, 2021 to Devil's Nose, West Virginia.  The hike started in the fields below the mountain.

Eventually they reached the top of the ridge, with nice views of the surrounding woods, not to mention a nice view of Adam from the front ...

and from the rear.

And here's our hiker on the top, from the front ...

and from the rear.

Then they headed back down through the woods.  Here's Adam again ...

and we end with a view of the two friends.

Events - Part 79

Burning Man 2025

Burning Man is an annual event focused on community, art, and self-expression.  Last time we looked at Burning Man 2024.  Today we look at Burning Man 2025.

As part of the focus on self-expression, the event is clothing-optional, and many attendees are naked.  Above, an attendee on August 19, the beginning of "build week", the week before the festival.

During "build week", participants build a tent city of hundreds of "camps" in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, which they call Black Rock City.  Click on the photo above for a larger view.

At the center of Black Rock City is The Man, a statue that will be burned at the end of the festival.  In 2025 the statue and its supporting structure were designed by Mark Rivera.

On August 24 the festival proper started.  As always, some attendees were naked.  He's handsome, but IMHO, shaved pubes is not a good look.

Another festival attendee.

This amusing remote-controlled vehicle, called the Magic Carpet, made its way around the festival.

Various activities for attendees could be found at some of the camps, such as this trampoline.

These two guys engaged in a naked wrestling match.

Here's a video of their wrestling match.  Is it shocking that they wrestled naked in public?  In ancient Greece, all athletes competed naked, so a naked wrestling match like this would be perfectly normal.  Society makes arbitrary rules about what is respectable and what isn't.

At the end of the event, amidst fireworks, The Man statue is set on fire and burned.  Above, attendees, some clothed and some naked, circle the flames of the burning Man.  And that's it for Burning Man until next year.

Weighing In - Part 79

Tadeas Ruzicka

Tadeas Ruzicka, born in 1997, is a Czech kickboxer.

Ruzicka competed as a light middleweight at the W5 Grand Prix Kitek 32 event in Moscow in April 2016.

While weighing in, he was slightly over the weight limit and had to strip off his shorts.

Here he covers up, but we got a peek at him.  No need to cover up, Tadeas!  You're looking good!

Ruzicka went on to fight Sergey Chadon.  Chadon won.

Poem of the Day - Part 79

Star Light Star Bright

Today's poem is the nursery rhyme Star Light Star Bright.  When we grow up, we can still wish, but we may wish for different things.

Star light, star bright,

First star I see tonight;

I wish I may, I wish I might

Have the wish I wish tonight.

Artists - Part 82

Douglas Simonson

Yesterday we saw some of photographer/artist Douglas Simonson's photos and paintings of Diamond Head Beach.  Today we'll look at more of his artwork.

Born in 1950, he grew up in Nebraska and studied art at the University of Nebraska.  In 1971, he fulfilled his dream of escaping to the tropics by moving to Honolulu, Hawaii.

In 1979 he began photographing, drawing, and painting the male nude, which has been his focus ever since.  Above, a Hawaiian surfer.

This is called Happy Couple in Hawaii.

Yellow Wall, 1995.

Kneeling Darin in Color, 1999.

Jonny, 2000.

Under Sail, 2007.  The model is Renato.

In 2012, Simonson moved back to Nebraska; then in 2014 he moved to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he has lived ever since.

Above is an untitled drawing from Mexico in 2020.  Note to Big Dude, who likes photos with penis shadows: here's an artist's drawing with a penis shadow.

Simonson has been depicting full-frontal nudity in art since 1979, but some of his art goes further.  A relatively tame example dates from 2007, above, called Heads Up, and indeed it depicts a head that's rising up.

But in recent years he has gone further still.  Above, A Helping Hand, 2017.

On the Daybed, 2021.

Jet Propelled, 2023.  Does he get live models to pose for these artworks?

We end with a 2022 painting called Goteando, which is Spanish for "dripping".  I don't think I've ever seen this depicted in a painting.  It brings artistic realism to a new high – or is it a new low?

Beach Bums - Part 76

Diamond Head Beach

Honolulu, Hawaii is famous for Waikiki Beach, above, fronted by luxury hotels, with Diamond Head in the background of this view.  Diamond Head looks like a mountain, but ...

It's actually the crater of an extinct volcano, seen here from above.  Between Diamond Head and the ocean is another beach, Diamond Head Beach.

This is Diamond Head Beach, with a lighthouse on the slopes of Diamond Head.  It's harder to get to than Waikiki Beach, so it's not thronged by millions of tourists.

Some locals use it as a nude beach, although nudity is officially illegal.  Above, Michael Mayer on the sandy part of the beach.

This guy calls himself Keyblade Master.

Here's Kyle Michaels on a more rocky part of the  beach, where authorities are less likely to bother nude beachgoers.

Hawaiian photographer and artist Douglas Simonson, whose art and photos we have seen in previous posts, likes to photograph models nude on Diamond Head Beach, especially in the early morning when the beach is usually deserted.  The rest of today's images are by Douglas Simonson.  This photo is called Antonio Jogging.

Above, Early to the Beach with model Tommy.

Here's Tommy again in Sand Everywhere.  And it does look like Tommy got sand everywhere 😊

A result of that session at the beach: Simonson's drawing above called Tommy Nude at Diamond Head Beach.

Here's Simonson's painting of Rod at Diamond Head Beach.

We end with Simonson's painting of Diamond Head Beach called Shawn's Sunrise Stretch, 2002.