Weighing In - Part 1

 Henry Armstrong and Enrico Venturi

Boxers and some other athletes have to weigh in before the bout, because they compete in weight categories.  For example, a welterweight boxer must weigh no more than 147 pounds.  Since a heavier fighter has an advantage, competitors try to pack on as much muscle as possible without going over the limit.  Just before the fight, each competitor is officially weighed.  If he is over the limit, he strips off everything and tries again, because sometimes a few ounces can make the difference.

So, over the years we have been treated to a succession of naked weigh-ins.

In 1938, the weigh-ins for a fight between boxers Henry Armstrong and Enrico Venturi were captured by LIFE photographer Carl Mydans.  Here's Enrico Venturi weighing in.  In those early days, nobody worried about modesty.

And here's Henry Armstrong weighing in.  

The boxers' modesty was such a non-issue that the photo of Henry Armstrong stark naked was actually published in the Jan. 31, 1938 issue of LIFE (above).

Many more weigh-ins to come.

World Naked Bike Ride - Part 2

 Pinocchio

Some of the WNBR riders are recognizable, year after year.  Like this guy, who appeared at the 2016 WNBR in Brighton, England, with his clever body painting of Pinocchio.

Here he is at the 2017 London WNBR with a smiley face mask that he has worn ever since.

He also appeared the next day at the 2017 Brighton WNBR.  This is the only photo I have of him without a mask, and I must say, he doesn't need to hide that handsome face.

The next year he rode in several WNBRs.  Here he is in the 2018 London WNBR on June 9.

  And the 2018 Brighton WNBR on June 10.

And the 2018 Brussels WNBR on June 16, unaccountably wearing different body paint.

But he was back as Pinocchio in the 2018 Amsterdam WNBR on July 7.

Finally, here he is at the 2019 London WNBR.  The 2020 WNBR was cancelled, but I look forward to seeing him in the future.  I have only one request.  Pinocchio, I want to see what happens when you tell some lies.  Please tell some whoppers!

Photographers - Part 2

 Stuart Gore

Stuart Gore (1905-1984) was born in England but moved to Australia with his parents at the age of three.  Early in his career he operated Perth's first same-day photo developing business.  During World War II he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force and served in the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU), taking aerial photos to help the war effort.

Through not known for nude photography, while in the RAAF Gore took several photos of unashamed fellow PRU members and soldiers.  All photos are from the State Library of Western Australia.

The PRU camp was at the Coomalie Airstrip & Snake Gully, near the Adelaide River, Northern Territory, not far from Darwin.  This is Stuart Gore with a dog in camp.

PRU members cooling off.  It can get hot in northern Australia.

A closer view of PRU members cooling off.  Some of the guys have swimsuits; some don't.  It wasn't a big deal in those days.

More unashamed guys cooling off.

Open-air shower.  Showering together wasn't a big deal, either.

Fishing with a net.  Again, some have swimsuits; some don't.

Sunbathing (Aussies call it sunbaking).  Gore made the photo more interesting by showing another PRU photographer capturing the sight on film.

I've saved the best for last.  This 1942 photo was taken during a military training landing exercise on the Abrolhos islands off Western Australia.  If you enlarge the photo, you'll see that this guy who just waded ashore isn't shy at all.  He's smiling for the camera.

Events - Part 1

 Folsom Street Fair and Dore Alley

San Francisco hosts some of the best events for seeing unashamed men, namely the annual Folsom Street Fair and its little brother, the Up Your Alley Fair, commonly known as Dore Alley.  Both cater to the leather/BDSM crowd.

Both are clothing-optional events, where crowds of clothed people mingle with guys wearing little or nothing.  (Dore Alley, 2012)

A leather harness is a favorite costume.  (Dore Alley, 2019)

Street sex is prohibited, but it happens.  And there's a lot of groping going on.  (Dore Alley, 2006)

Inside the vendor booths, nothing is prohibited.  Among the vendors are porn video companies who are happy to tease the customers.  (Folsom, 2007)

But the most popular attraction at both fairs is undoubtedly Twister on the Steamworks raised stage.  I think you can see why.  (Folsom, 2008)

So close ... but can't quite reach.  (Dore Alley, 2008)

More street event pictures to come.

Vintage Athletes - Part 2

 Washington Redskins at Virginia Training Camp

These photos from the LIFE photo archive were taken by Carl Mydans in 1938.  None were published in the magazine.

A player getting a massage.  No need for a modesty towel – we're all guys here.

Could you rub a little lower?  Ah, that's nice.

Everybody strip down and shower.

No individual showers in locker rooms.  Men showered together in those days.

Might the photographer take a frontal view?  No worries; LIFE will never publish it.  Little did they know that the LIFE photo archive would become available for millions to view. 

Poem of the Day - Part 3

 Reflections on Ice-Breaking

by Ogden Nash

Ogden Nash wrote a number of poems that are very short and to the point.

Reflections on Ice-Breaking
by Ogden Nash, 1931

Candy
Is dandy
But liquor
Is quicker.

Art - Part 1

Is it Art?
Pissing Statues

I'm sure you've seen fountains with statues in the middle, with water coming out of a horn or a fish's mouth.  If you're like me, the thought has occurred to you, "There's an obvious place for water to come out of a statue, and that's not it."

Well, the creators of these statues had the same thought.

Although not part of a fountain, statues of Hercules pissing were apparently popular in ancient Rome.  Many have turned up, like this one from Herculaneum, which was buried by the same eruption of Mt. Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii.

The oldest working pissing fountain that I know of is this 17th century peeing boy in Brussels, Belgium, called the Manneken Pis.  It's now quite a tourist attraction.

But there are plenty of modern examples.  Mitlenberg, Germany boasts these three boys pissing into a rectangular pool.  Appropriately, there is a public restroom behind the statues.

This pissing angel in Knokke, Belgium, was sculpted by Wim Delvoye in 1995.  Well, you know, when you've been holding it for a while, the relief is heavenly.

In this 2004 fountain in Prague by Czech artist David Černý, the statues are mechanized: the two men's hips can swivel and their penises can raise or lower, allowing the streams of water to spell out words.  The pool that the men are pissing into is shaped like the Czech Republic, which is probably a statement about something.

This 2013 fountain in Helsinki, Finland, by artist Tommi Toija is called Bad Bad Boy.

This 2016 sheet-metal statue by Edgar Carmona in Fort Myers, Florida, is called Territorio.  Both the man and the dog are aiming for the lamppost, marking their territories.  It's not a fountain – no water comes out.

The prize for size goes to this statue of a 28-foot-tall Labrador retriever created by California artist Richard Jackson in 2013.  The dog is pissing on the Orange County Museum of Art.

And speaking of pissing on walls, we end with this 2005 statue by Danish artist Claus Carstensen, installed at the Panum Institute at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.  He's not part of a fountain, but we know what he's doing.

OK, I've got to "go" now. 😊