Events - Part 24

 Cambridge Best Bum 2013-2015

Today we present more contestants in the annual Best Bum contest held at the University of Cambridge, England.  Students, male and female, submit rear view photos of themselves on a campus location, and fellow students get to vote on the winner.  This is Thomas, studying Performance Art, in a library in 2013.

David, studying English, by a carved door in 2013.  David played the naked lead role in Equus.

Rob, studying Modern and Medieval Languages, in 2014.  Apparently Rob is on the crew team.

Marc, studying Zoology, in 2014 with an interested observer.

Nick, studying Classics, in 2014 at the Cambridge Union Society.

Stanley, studying English, in 2014 by some more beautifully carved woodwork.

William, studying Mathematics, on a roof in 2015

George, studying medicine, in 2015 taking in the view – or maybe that's us taking in the view.

Harry, studying engineering, in 2015 on a bridge across the river Cam.

Philip, studying music, on a roof in 2015

We end with Andrew, studying Anglo Saxon, Norse and Celtic, in 2015 near what is called the Mathematical Bridge, which appears to form an arch but is actually constructed entirely of straight timbers that form tangents to the arc of the bridge.  Popular lore on campus says it was designed by Isaac Newton, who was a professor of mathematics at Cambridge, but that's not possible, because it was built in 1749, after Newton's death.

Who would you give the prize for Best Bum to?

I have more Cambridge Best Bum photos, so we'll be seeing them again.

Vintage Military - Part 26

 WWII - India, Burma

After conquering Thailand, the Japanese advanced into the British colony of Burma (now Myanmar) in 1942.  These are some British troops in Burma.  The photo caption says: "Bath night at Sadaung, Burma. Mobile bath units provide hot water, baths and a good deal of fun for forward units on the Burmese front. Bath tubs are sliced in half oil-drums each named after a famous film actress."

British forces in Burma were routed, and the Japanese quickly took over the country.  The British needed to stop the Japanese in Burma, because India would be next.  A British attempt to re-take Burma, starting with the airfield at Akyab Island, failed in 1943.  This is a member of the 40th Photo Squadron showering at Akyab later, in 1945, after Burma had been recaptured.

When the British retreated from Burma in 1942, they abandoned the Chinese Expeditionary Force that had been sent by Chinese resistance leader Chiang Kai-shek to help the British hold back the Japanese.  Some of the Chinese managed to find their way into India, where they were put under the command of American General Stillwell.

This brief video from the National Archives shows Chinese troops who were being trained in India.

With the loss of Burma, the Burma Road was cut off.  It was a supply road from Burma to China to resupply Chinese resistance forces fighting the Japanese.  That left only one way to resupply the Chinese: flying "over the hump," i.e. over the Himalayas from India.

In 1944, LIFE magazine sent photographer Thomas MacAvoy to document the "Fireball Express to India," an air supply route that stretched all the way from Miami, Florida to India, where the supplies were then re-loaded into planes that flew over the hump.

The photo above was taken on Ascension Island, a stop on the route in the middle of the South Atlantic.  Propeller planes of that era could not travel very long distances before refueling.

The photo of a guy taking an outdoor shower on Ascension Island was actually published in the June 5, 1944 issue of LIFE (above), along with other photos taken along the route.

Meanwhile, General Stillwell was put in charge of building the Ledo Road that would go from India to China to replace the blocked Burma Road.  This April 1944 photo of road construction was taken by LIFE photographer William Vandivert.

In addition to his American troops, Stillwell had local forces to help build the road.  This April 1944 photo shows some of them.  My guess is that they were some of the Chinese troops that had retreated from Burma.

The location was not given for this May 1944 photo by Vandivert, but I think it shows some of Stillwell's American troops.

The Ledo Road gradually advanced.  In May 1944 another LIFE photographer, Bernard Hoffman, took a series of photos called "Capture of Myitkyina Airdrome," an airfield in Burma along the route.  This photo shows an American soldier giving his buddy a shampoo.

A July 1944 photo set by Bernard Hoffman called "Ledo Road" documented further progress.  Here a somewhat chubby American soldier is washing a truck.

And here's another view of the truck washing.  In all, the Ledo Road had to cross 10 major rivers and 155 secondary streams, averaging one bridge every 2.8 miles.

An American soldier in the "Ledo Road" photo set taking a tub bath.

In late 1944, the Ledo Road finally connected to a northern part of the Burma Road not held by the Japanese, allowing supplies to go to China by truck once more.  However, the air route "over the hump" was still used and actually delivered more tonnage of supplies than the Ledo Road did.

The photo above from the National WWII Museum, taken by John Tate of the 18th Veterinary Evacuation Hospital, shows servicemen under an outdoor shower in Burma or China. 

Other countries were also involved in the war in Burma.  This photo from the Australian War Memorial shows an Australian pilot getting a shower in Arakan, Burma in 1944.

We end with this great action shot from the State Library of Victoria, Australia, showing two Australian airmen in Burma in 1944-1945.

Ads - Part 21

 Beer Ads

You think of beer ads as being super-macho, possibly containing naked women but never naked men, right?  Well, think again!

Our first example is Bofferding beer, made in Luxembourg.  They did an ad campaign with the theme "Drink in the Boff."

Another Bofferding ad had both a naked man and woman, perhaps to appeal to the macho element.  By the way, this is the only product from Luxembourg that I've heard of.

Our second example is Astra beer, made in Hamburg, Germany.  They have run a bunch of macho ads with topless or near-topless women, but there have also been a few ads with naked guys.  This one is for their summer beer called Astra Nackt, or Naked Astra.  The title says: "Now in the summer, [be] naked more often."

This ad says: "Astra is: if one knows how to help himself."

This ad is for a beer variety called Astra Arschkalt.  The title says: "The main thing is Arschkalt."  Arschkalt is German slang for bitter cold, but literally it means ass cold.

This ad says "In front of the lion's den."  Note the sign for FC St. Pauli in the background, which refers to Football Club St. Pauli, one of two football (soccer) teams in Hamburg.  Since the title refers to it as the lion's den, I assume the guy in the ad is associated with the rival team, Hamburger SV.  In any case, he's frontally nude, something that you'd never see in an American ad.

Here are some excerpts from an Astra commercial showing a fictional fashion designer working naked to make naked fashions.  At the end, it says "inspired by Astra Nackt" (naked Astra beer).

We end with an ad for Ursus beer, made in Romania, showing a rear view of what appears to be the Green Giant with something hanging between his legs.

Festivals - Part 23

Fête de l'Humanité

Fête de l'Humanité (Festival of Humanity) is a French festival with music concerts, but it also has hundreds of booths that offer food and drink, art exhibits, promote political causes, and more.  This is the booth of APNEL, the Association for the Promotion of Naturism in Liberty.

The festival is an annual event organized by the left-wing French newspaper L'Humanité.  It is the largest popular gathering in France.  This image is a screen capture from French TV.

APNEL is working to repeal laws criminalizing nudity, and in particular to change the French penal code so that simple nudity is not considered sexual exhibitionism.

Above, some APNEL volunteers in front of their booth in 2016.  Disclosure: I photoshopped this image to remove two naked female volunteers between the two guys who now appear to be arm-in-arm.

Note the hammer and sickle in the neighboring booth here and in the first photo above.  The festival sponsor L'Humanité has a close relationship with the French Communist party, and most of the festival volunteers are Communists, though most of the attendees are not.

This guy is posing as a nude model for festival attendees to try their hand at drawing him.

Jérôme Jolibois, director of APNEL, posing with a festival attendee. Jolibois is a "militant nudist."  He considers the right to be naked in public to be a fundamental human right.

In 2017, several of the APNEL volunteers got painted blue, mimicking the creatures in the movie Avatar.

More blue naturists.

And here are some non-blue naturists in front of the APNEL booth in 2017.  Disclosure: I photoshopped the image to remove a female naturist between the two guys at left. 

Wandering the grounds in 2017.  The sticker on the guy's posterior is an ad for walnuts that says "lick my nuts."

APNEL director Jérôme Jolibois dancing in the street.  He is also co-organizer of the World Naked Bike Ride in Brussels, Belgium.

Jolibois being filmed.  He says that because nudity is banned, people associate nudity with sexuality, but if nudity were commonplace, people would see that nudity is natural, not sexual.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 25

London Unicyclists, 2012

I previously posted a couple of photos of two unicycle riders at the 2012 London WNBR.  Here are some additional photos of these guys.

Here's our first guy. When you see the unicycle rider's hand in front of his crotch, it's not because he's shy. It's because there are no handlebars, so the only thing he can hold for stability is the front of his seat.

A side view of the same guy.

Crossing Waterloo Bridge.

He doesn't always have to hold on to the seat. Look ma, no hands!

He carried a whistle, which it looks like he's about to use.

Another no-hands view.

Here's our second unicycle rider in the 2012 London WNBR. Again, he's holding the seat for stability, not for modesty.

With his looks, he has no need to be shy.

And he, too, could ride hands-free.

The most interesting photo shows the two of them together, which can't be a coincidence. Are they friends? Lovers? Members of a unicycle club?

Not the Same Old Song - Part 14

 Pinball Wizard

This song from The Who's rock opera Tommy is a classic and one of my favorites.  I like it so much that I'm presenting the complete song, accompanied as always by some photo and video clips that I've set to the music.