Weighing In - Part 87

Shootboxing Weigh-In

The video above shows an unashamed black fighter weighing in.  Oddly, he strips off his shorts but leaves on his socks.  None of the websites carrying this video listed the fighter's name, or even mentioned the date or place of the fight.

However, the sponsors' names in the background tell us something.  Que Sera Japon has been a corporate sponsor of shootboxing events in Japan.  Shootboxing is a combat sport combining kickboxing and wrestling.  Que Sera Japon sponsored events in 2015 and 2016 in Tokyo, which may have been when and where this weigh-in happened.

Poem of the Day - Part 87

 It's Raining, It's Pouring

Another classic nursery rhyme.

It's raining, it's pouring,

The old man is snoring.

He went to bed and bumped his head

And couldn't get up in the morning.

Artists - Part 89

Hans Canon

Hans Canon was the pseudonym used by Austrian artist Johann Baptist Strašiřipka (1829-1885), no doubt due to difficulties that people had with his Slavic name.  Above, a self-portrait, 1868.

He mostly painted portraits and historical scenes.  Above is a large work The Circle of Life in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.  There is some nudity, but it's restrained and mostly covered.

However, he did paint a few full nude paintings, and interestingly, they're all male.  Above, Seated Male Nude.

Reclining Nude, 1876.

Male Nude.  It's clearly the same model as the previous painting

We end with Study of a Male Nude.

Beach Bums - Part 84

Tambaba Open 2013

Praia Tambaba, or Tambaba Beach, is a beautiful beach in the northeastern Brazilian state of Paraiba.  There is a clothed beach and a nude beach, but unlike American and European nude beaches, which are clothing optional, clothing is forbidden on this nude beach.  You have to be naked.

This sign says "The Naturist Association of Abrico is present in another event."

This beach is the site of the Tambaba Open, one of the world's biggest nude surfing competitions, sponsored by SONATA, the Sociedade Naturista de Tambaba (Tambaba Naturist Society) and the Brazilian Federation of Naturism.

One of the competitors.

Another view of him.

A different competitor.

One of the officials with a microphone.  The judges are naked, too.

Another surfer.

And another.

And another.

We end with a thumbs-up for the surfers and the competition, though two of them are making the Hawaiian "shaka" sign, a goodwill gesture which is also used by surfers to mean "hang ten."

Gods, Myths and Heroes - Part 81

Osiris

Osiris was the Egyptian god of the dead and lord of the underworld.  The figure above is not Osiris; it is the deceased inhabitant of an Egyptian tomb appearing naked before the god Osiris.

According to Egyptian myth, Osiris was murdered by his brother, the god Set, chopped up into 14 pieces, and scattered across the country.  His wife, Isis, who was also his sister, retrieved all of the pieces except his penis.  It had been eaten by fish in the Nile.

So Isis made a new phallus for the resurrected body of Osiris, apparently good enough to conceive a child, the falcon-headed god Horus.  The "corn mummy" above, inside a falcon-headed sarcophagus, shows the dead Osiris.  His body is wrapped, but he has a significant bulge.

Statues of Osiris always had an erection.  Apparently his penis was connected to his ability to resurrect you into the afterlife after you died.

But this is a more accurate view of Osiris.  This is the same figure as the previous photo, but it is lying down.  Osiris was always shown lying down, to emphasize that he was dead, and yet he lived again.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 90

Los Angeles, September 2025

The 2025 World Naked Bike Ride in Los Angeles was held on Sept. 13, 2025.  Above we see riders gathering before the ride.

Riders gathering.

I think the guy at left is one of the organizers.

Some people got painted for the ride.  The guy at right is certainly eye-catching.

Here's the guy who got painted at left in the previous photo.

Some riders carried signs or were painted to reflect the two main goals of WNBR.  The first goal is to make drivers aware of bike riders to promote safety.  This guy's slogan reflects that need.

The other main goal is to encourage people to ride bikes instead of driving cars, because cars generate pollution, as reflected in the "Less Gas" part of his slogan.

And they're off!

Riding down the city streets.

We end with the riders going past the Disney Concert Hall.

Memorial Day 2026

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