Strategic Placement

I have seen pictures with "strategic placement" of objects for as long as I can remember. Those are the pictures you see where it's obvious that the person is naked but the important bits are covered. Not all instances of strategic placement were for obfuscating nudity--many times they were just blocking something for copyright or privacy reasons. Even the nude shots weren't always actual nudity. They were instead "implied nudity," meaning the objects that were used to cover the person's private areas were often big enough that there could have easily been shorts or a bikini top under there. Hollywood has used a guitar for such a covering for years. Remember the Peter Sellers movie that had him wandering around wearing a guitar at a nudist park? Or how about this Herb Alpert album cover? What was under that whipped cream? Was anything under that whipped cream? I fantasized over this one many times as a kid.

Advertising has been using this form of attention-getting for decades. It wasn't unusual to see full nudity many years ago when our media was in its infancy, but enough public outcry over the naughty imagery forced the FCC to put the stops on that. From then on "thoughtful product placement" won over.

In the world of nudism, the winner for strategic product placement goes to World Naked Gardening Day. There are tons of pictures with clever positioning of watering cans or wheelbarrows. Those are all fairly easy to execute. The hard ones have got to be videos. I can't imagine how many tries it would take to get all the bits to come out just right. "Cut! I saw a nipple there again."

Here's an entertaining little commercial from Cricket Wireless:

I don't speak Spanish, but I can kind of figure out what's going on in this KFC commercial. This one probably required a few takes to get just right... it's pretty close!

Lots of times people take strategic placement pictures just so they can include their shot in more places and reach a wider audience. For example, isn't this a fun shot? How could it possibly offend anyone? It's just wholesome, grandmotherly-looking ladies enjoying a nice time out in a local eatery!
Even Facebook couldn't say anything against such a wholesome group of people if they're not showing anything.

Let's round it all up with a couple of related cartoons. I love cartoons. I wish there were more of them in the nudism vein...

Happy International Skinny-Dip Day!

Actually, I had no idea. Just because you see something posted somewhere doesn't mean it's legit, right? I was reading something on the web, and you know how one thing leads to another. Of course, being nudist related I found it interesting and had to read about it. It falls on the 2nd Saturday of July every year, and that day is today! It's part of Nude Recreation Week.

The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) website has more on the event.

Obviously, not everyone has a place they can go skinny dipping if or when they want to. Or maybe you've thought about it but have just never had the chance to go skinny dipping. Like anything revolving around nudism, it's a lot more fun than non-nude swimming. Try it, you'll like it! I remember the first time I ever went skinny-dipping in a pool--In addition to the incredible feeling of being completely naked in the water, I was struck by how cool it was that I didn't have to pull my swimsuit back up as I hoisted myself out of the pool. I was hooked!

If you do partake, make sure you choose an area that's safe for nude swimming--be it posted or private. You don't want jail time to ruin your otherwise perfect day. A wrong mark on your record could cause you to fail a routine non-member security check and keep you from being able to enjoy your favorite nudist club!

Don't have a convenient place to go skinny-dipping? Neither do we, but we do have a hot tub, so that will be our way of celebrating this year. I suppose we could go skinny-dipping in Brenda's foot-cooling kiddie pool, but it wouldn't be more than a splish-splash and only our butts would be wet. Too cold for your pansy-ass fair-weather skin to be exposed? Okay, probably me too, but you certainly don't see this lady having any trepidation!

Come on, gather your peeps and get out there!

Crack a Grin

I don't speak any other languages. I know a little German from my year in northern Italy back in the 70's, but that's about it. I don't know shit for Spanish either. I also don't speak French. Well, I know a couple important words, like merde for example, but that's it.

This comic has circulated around the web in French for a while, but because it's a picture, you can't just copy/paste any text from it or have the page auto-translated by Google. I had some time to kill the other day and started typing phrases from the comic into my browser translator.

The mystery is solved. Well, it was a mystery to me anyway... 

Now, get out there and enjoy your Friday!

Painting Nudes... But Differently

I'm a pretty savvy internet sleuth when it comes to using search tools, syntax, spelling, and the like, but here's a challenge: Try to search the internet for nude people painting. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? That's what I thought until I really tried to narrow things down to specific kinds of content. What I kept getting were pictures of nude paintings... for the most part. The only real deviation I seemed to get from that were people's bodies being painted, like before the World Naked Bike Ride or something.

People are pretty used to groups of people painting a nude person. There have probably been art classes using that setup since the dawn of cave drawings. It might be high school, college, or an art class anyone might attend.

I was looking for the opposite.

A really small one I found somewhere on a compilation website got me started, and I went on the hunt for nudes painting non-nudes. Not literally, because as I said--the search results rarely changed away from nude paintings. I did find a couple of good ones, but pickings' are slim. Maybe it's because they're not candid. Usually, these classes only have one model in them, but in these cases they're all models I'm sure.

A similar category has lot more to enjoy. It's still nude people painting, but instead it's just a nude person painting a picture all by themselves. They are more plentiful, and are also a lot more genuine. I'm not a painter or an artist of any kind, but you'll get no argument from me about painting being more comfortable to do while you're nude... like everything else is!

While it would be nice if we could narrow down search results better I suppose there's not much reason for the search engines to wrap their algorithms around such a small segment of the searchosphere. It keeps the searchers and diggers like myself always reaching and trying. It gives me purpose.

I've got other posts planned around this same topic, but with different varieties, such as nudes painting nudes, nudes painting houses, nude arts & crafts, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

Fun with Nudists

Sometimes I run across pictures that I love and have to wonder what led up to the picture in the first place. That's probably what the lady is wondering in this picture. Did she just "happen" by and saw him? Was he stuck and asked her for help? Did she ask him if he needed help?

Sometimes there is just one little something about a picture that turns it from a totally ordinary one into something that starts the cartoon questions marks flying out of your head.  This picture would be just another typical day at a nude beach except for that one thing: Why are there beautiful white geese on the beach? Then, to carry it a little further: why are they side-by-side and so well-behaved? Maybe they're her pets and she brought them from home to keep the bad people at bay! (Everyone knows how ornery geese can be.)

This next one is a fairly common picture on the internet when you start perusing pictures, but I loved the composition of it the first time I saw it. It captures your eye because the subject matter is drawing you in with the weaving, meandering of the bare buns. Again, there's that one detail: Segway scooters. Seeing one Segway is unusual enough (unless you're wandering San Francisco) but to see a string of them is pretty unique. Maybe it's becoming the new cool "resort thing."

This is obviously show night at a club somewhere, but what a cool idea? Marionette wires on a naked person. Let the dancers do the work.

This picture would be a normal picture on any other day but for one thing: the location. What the hell are they doing with a vacuum cleaner out in the middle of a field? "You see here, Marion, this is the newest thing on the market. Now all we need is electricity."

This picture had me wondering. Is she sending him off to work? If so, from where? Are they camping or at a nudist park? Apparently, she got the good end of the bargain if she gets to stay naked all day. Poor fella. All that chafing...

Nude on Two Wheels

Sometimes I can't believe how lazy I am or how slow I am to act on things. Several years ago I wanted to buy myself a motorcycle to play with out in the shop during "me" time. I still have my Harley (which never seems to get ridden lately), but I wanted a supplement--like a project bike. The Harley is road-ready and needs nothing, but I wanted something to make the way I wanted to make it. A smaller, more nimble bike, but simple and old-school. I love old-school.

I decided on a Yamaha xs650 twin. After watching Craigslist ads for quite a while I found a good deal on one, and we jumped in the truck and went out on a snowy day to bring it home.

That was November of 2017.

When I first brought it home not much got done on it, mainly due to the Christmas season ramping up. Over time, I did get a lot of work done and many things were gone through. Even so, it was a couple years before I even got far enough along to get it to start. What a slacker! I think the trouble is that I just love spending time with my wife and always want to hang out with her. I'll get back into it--this is just the way I operate. I tend to be on things then off... then on, then off. You never know what's going to stick with me. It certainly wasn't a temperature restriction. With the big, overhead heater that's the shop it can get plenty toasty out there if I want it to. You can tell by the way I'm dressed here, sitting on it and making vroom, vroom noises or something...

We nudists can be motorcycle enthusiasts, too!

Missing

"Where are my pants?"
"Do you remember where I got undressed yesterday?"
"Where did I leave my clothes?"
"Have you seen my shorts? I thought I took them off in the living room yesterday, but I don't see em."

Those questions are heard often around here, especially this time of year.

I peel my clothes off whenever the mood hits and usually leave them off. Sometimes clothes go back on, and sometimes not. Sometimes less goes back on. I usually look for any excuse to stay naked. Brenda is the same, but she is subject to chills and hot flashes, so she's constantly taking them off and putting them on. We both prefer leaving the clothing off whenever possible.

But damn, sometimes you need to get dressed.

Living almost at the end of a dead-end street as we do, there's not much traffic going by, but the road does continue as a paved walking/bike trail with people going by all the time. Obviously all things that take place in front of the house require clothing, like going out to check the mail, getting a package off the porch, moving the rolling bins in or out on garbage day, things like that. If I do go out front for something I peel the clothes back off instantly when I come back in.

So, like most nudists, when we peel clothing gets left somewhere. Depending on which door we used at the time, or where we were when we stripped, that's where the clothing ends up. In the mornings when the alarm goes off, we wander out into the dim light, blinking the night away. If it's a cool morning, we might have to go on the hunt for something to wear.

And it starts all over again.

Bare Poetry

I've said before that I have multiple blogs, and one of those blogs just happens to be all poems and limericks. Several of those rhymes revolve around my favorite theme like this one does. I'll post those here every now and then. Here's one:

The Other "N" Word
by Rick Williams

I love the feel of nakedness
and don't care who I tell.
I'll announce it to the world
and everyone else as well!

I wear t-shirts every day to work;
many with "Nudestock" themes.
They're my subtle way of saying,
"There's a nudist on your team!"

At first it was a common thing;
people would always wonder:
"Why would anyone want to see

what's usually hidden under?"

It isn't just about what you see
when you're only wearing shoes;
it's also about how you feel--
it helps you kick the blues!

Bodies differ so very much--
there are really no two the same;
so why should less than perfect ones
be made fun of and/or shamed?

I've had many experiences
of nudism over the years,
but never thought to share them;
perhaps acceptance fears?

Nobody wants to be ridiculed
about things they think or do.
Maybe I thought I'd be seen as odd
and taunting would ensue.

I'd like to think that everyone
is born a nudist at their core;
but alas, most kids are taught
to have those thoughts no more.

Instead, be sure to make it known
that you're a nudist too!
Share those thoughts with those you know--
I'll bet that some will envy you!

Nudism in Advertising: Wartime Style

I almost didn't post this because I don't want my blog to be about sexuality. Sexuality is a whole different subject today than it used to be. No, I don't want controversy, bashing, or anything negative to come from my blog posts. It's all about fun and nudity! I have quite a few old advertisements I have collected with something to do with nudity. It's entertaining to see how ads have transitioned since the early days.

In the early 20th century, product advertising was rife with suggestive content. After all, it's been known for decades that sex sells. Lots of companies had those kinds of ads, even the good ol' Ivory Soap company. These ads were different though--they were male bodies, and lots of them. It was all about the camaraderie within the armed forces. This was wartime, and it was a time when the whole country rallied behind the fighting men of the military. Who was the target audience though? Men? Women? G.I.'s?

Not to be outdone, the folks at Cannon Towel company probably took a look at those ads and said, "Hey, look at those guys--they don't even look happy! Let's take our product advertising a level further!" They definitely added some fun, but maybe a bit too much fun? Don't you get the impression that, instead of towels, they're selling fun? When is the last time you saw anyone's butt crack in an advertisement? Coppertone?

I guess they were doing their best to lighten the mood of war.

This one is even more odd because it features natives standing there with blank looks on their faces, wondering what kind of root these guys have been mashing and smoking. It looks comical enough to have sprung from the pages of MAD Magazine...

Ditto, this one... "Hurry up guys, it's almost time for the show!" Check out the guy in the background, probably keeping any eye out for officers.

For the folks fighting in the colder north, they include an ad for them, too. They carried the towel fun indoors. This one almost looks anti-nudist, doesn't it? "Put yer damn clothes on, and do it now!" This one is apparently describing how hard it is to bathe in the northern climates...

Lighter things

I love this cartoon--it's our last name! Unfortunately, I'm not a lawyer or I'd be able to afford a home with more privacy...

The "Non" Fremont Solstice Parade 2020

Thanks to the Covid19 pandemic, cultural events we are used to attending are largely not happening this year. Millions of people around the world have been shut-ins for much of the first quarter of the year, and not being able to attend favorite cultural events has tended to compound that feeling of isolation for a lot of people. Having to stay away from group gatherings is unfortunate and hard to deal with, but it's necessary. Sports events, restaurants, concerts--even parks--have had to shut down. Add to that growing list the famous Fremont Solstice Parade in Seattle, one of the originals. This marks the 31st year it's been going on, and yet--it's not quite going on...

It's gone "virtual" this year. The annual Fremont Solstice Parade has always happened, rain or shine, but will not be happening this year. Their website states that this year's event, "...will be a compilation program of prerecorded content made of historical archives, ensembles, art, personal testimonies..." among other things. Isn't that weird? A virtual parade. I never thought I'd see the day. Even our beloved painted naked bicycle riders have to be reruns this year.

While I enjoy the hell out of this parade, I've only actually attended one time, even though it's only 45 minutes away from my home. My daughter and I went in 2008 and had a great time. I was fairly new to the camera I was carrying that day, and I found out too late that I had a bit to learn with regard to its camera settings, but I did get a few lucky shots here and there.

Here's an odd story: Several years after we attended I happened across someone else's 2008 Solstice Parade album on the web, and I started looking through their work. Imagine my surprise when I found a picture of me there! You can't see Sarah, but there I am in the back wearing the yellow shirt. That's not all though--When I went back through my own pictures, there was the opposite of the same shot! I'm assuming it was likely the guy in the kilt, but still--what are the odds? By the way everything is lined up it looks like the other shot comes after the gal take about 3 or 4 more steps.

Here are a few more of my not-too-crappy shots to give a little taste of this great event:

You can see how the parade brings out the lucky locals too!

Check out the elaborate head-wrapping gargoyle hat this guy came up with: