Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Naturist Living Show: Naturist and Nudist Organizations
Naturist Living Show: Naturist and Nudist Organizations: We discuss the role of naturist and nudist organizations through an interview with Jim Smock, the new Executive Director of the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR). http://bit.ly/z3A03p
Oops, I almost forgot to mention...
People magazine includes a feature this week (almost last week) on my niece Avery and her donor, Dalton, and his amazing family. Check it out. It's the issue with Elizabeth (not so) Smart's wedding on the cover.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Feeling Heart-y these days...
The actual page was a bit washed out but Photoshop makes it all better. Speaking of which, I have to post the announcement for an upcoming class... more very soon!!!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
No Nudists Were Harmed in the Making of This Film
I went to see "Wanderlust" yesterday, and with all the hype about it taking place in a "nudist colony" with real nudists, it's a real letdown in that respect. It's also a fairly average movie with a few laughs, and equally as many groans. A good movie to rent on DVD in a few months when it's released for home viewing.
The characters of George and Linda (played by Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston), stumble upon a B&B in Georgia run by a group of rag-tag hippie wannabees in a sort of idyllic commune setting. George is so taken by the drastic change in lifestyle compared to how the couple was used to living in stressful Manhattan, that he implores Linda to stay at "Elysium" for two weeks, convincing her by saying "there's no one way to live our lives."
Of course, there's trouble in paradise. People share everything equally, including sexual partners and automobiles. There are no doors, and even sitting on the porcelain throne will not keep people from entering and striking up a conversation. People slip hallucinogens into the community beverage during the "truth circle" where people vent their pent-up angers, then climb trees thinking they can actually fly. And there's also the matter of the greedy real estate developers who want to build a casino on the land unless the flower children can present a deed proving that they own the property.
This sets up the film's biggest disappointment, when Linda decides to take off her top in protest, and everyone follows her lead, but the camera cuts away. It's a major fail, not just because everyone seems to be so Pavlovian about seeing Jennifer Aniston's breasts, but the film at this point decides to play it safe instead of going for the moment. Even when the protest shows up on local TV news, the women's breasts are pixelated. At this point you realize that the film is a bit of a fraud.
This sharply contrasts other Judd Apatow productions, like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" where Jason Segal does a full frontal while sobbing as his girlfriend dumps him, and "Bridesmaids" where Melissa McCarthy takes a dump into a sink. These days if you want something to be funny, you can't hold back like "Wanderlust" does, promising lots of nudity and raunch, when all you really get is pretty routine Hollywood formula.
Even Joe Lo Trugilo as the commune's resident "nudist" wears a prosthetic penis, because apparently a large flopping member is funnier than a normal one when exposed in the headlights of George and Linda's car as they first enter the grounds. At most other times in the movie, the "nudist" wears a sort of jockstrap because of, you know, "pubes".
The only people with courage are a group of actual nudists who were on the set for basically one scene, who bare all in slow motion undulating glory as an SUV barrels down upon them. It's one of the few scenes which managed to get a real laugh from the audience, not because it was actually a funny situation, but because the bodies were of average, real people, and the laughter came at the expense of their flesh from people who are not used to the sight.
SPOILER ALERT here if you haven't seen the film. There are some good messages to take away from the film. In the end, George and Linda learn from their weeks at Elysium that there certainly is more than one way to live a life, to be open to new ideas, and let their proverbial hair down a bit. They learn to take these experiences back to Manhattan, where they redefine their lives based upon their new enlightened ideas.
This is something which can come from actual nudism, which allows people to shed their cares along with their clothes, making the return to everyday life just a little bit easier.
And the film does use real nudists, and some good things have been said in the press. Jennifer Aniston was quoted as saying "I got very comfortable with seeing nude people pretty much immediately. It was very bizarre. To know that these were actually nudists because here is a nudist colony in Clarkesville. To know how comfortable they are being nude."
USA Today picked up on the nudist angle here, quoting Randy Savage, a nudist extra in the film, who said, "It did not present any negative connotations regarding nudists at all ... I believe it will do very well, especially because it shows explicit nudity, including full frontal males (myself included). My son and daughter-in-law attended with us and gave the movie very high marks."
In real nudism, the "wander" is separated from the "lust". Overt sexual situations, free love and drugs are decidedly not part of the nudist or naturist experience. But it's important that the movie has sparked a conversation, and could provide a boost to clothing-optional and nude recreation. Like the fictional George and Linda, many people are also searching for ways to change their lives and seek relief from the tensions of stressful lives. What better way to do that than to strip off your clothes, go skinny-dipping, lay out in the sun, or socialize with good friends.
If you would like to learn about real nudism, visit The American Association for Nude Recreation's website (AANR).
The characters of George and Linda (played by Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston), stumble upon a B&B in Georgia run by a group of rag-tag hippie wannabees in a sort of idyllic commune setting. George is so taken by the drastic change in lifestyle compared to how the couple was used to living in stressful Manhattan, that he implores Linda to stay at "Elysium" for two weeks, convincing her by saying "there's no one way to live our lives."
Of course, there's trouble in paradise. People share everything equally, including sexual partners and automobiles. There are no doors, and even sitting on the porcelain throne will not keep people from entering and striking up a conversation. People slip hallucinogens into the community beverage during the "truth circle" where people vent their pent-up angers, then climb trees thinking they can actually fly. And there's also the matter of the greedy real estate developers who want to build a casino on the land unless the flower children can present a deed proving that they own the property.
This sets up the film's biggest disappointment, when Linda decides to take off her top in protest, and everyone follows her lead, but the camera cuts away. It's a major fail, not just because everyone seems to be so Pavlovian about seeing Jennifer Aniston's breasts, but the film at this point decides to play it safe instead of going for the moment. Even when the protest shows up on local TV news, the women's breasts are pixelated. At this point you realize that the film is a bit of a fraud.
This sharply contrasts other Judd Apatow productions, like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" where Jason Segal does a full frontal while sobbing as his girlfriend dumps him, and "Bridesmaids" where Melissa McCarthy takes a dump into a sink. These days if you want something to be funny, you can't hold back like "Wanderlust" does, promising lots of nudity and raunch, when all you really get is pretty routine Hollywood formula.
Even Joe Lo Trugilo as the commune's resident "nudist" wears a prosthetic penis, because apparently a large flopping member is funnier than a normal one when exposed in the headlights of George and Linda's car as they first enter the grounds. At most other times in the movie, the "nudist" wears a sort of jockstrap because of, you know, "pubes".
The only people with courage are a group of actual nudists who were on the set for basically one scene, who bare all in slow motion undulating glory as an SUV barrels down upon them. It's one of the few scenes which managed to get a real laugh from the audience, not because it was actually a funny situation, but because the bodies were of average, real people, and the laughter came at the expense of their flesh from people who are not used to the sight.
SPOILER ALERT here if you haven't seen the film. There are some good messages to take away from the film. In the end, George and Linda learn from their weeks at Elysium that there certainly is more than one way to live a life, to be open to new ideas, and let their proverbial hair down a bit. They learn to take these experiences back to Manhattan, where they redefine their lives based upon their new enlightened ideas.
This is something which can come from actual nudism, which allows people to shed their cares along with their clothes, making the return to everyday life just a little bit easier.
And the film does use real nudists, and some good things have been said in the press. Jennifer Aniston was quoted as saying "I got very comfortable with seeing nude people pretty much immediately. It was very bizarre. To know that these were actually nudists because here is a nudist colony in Clarkesville. To know how comfortable they are being nude."
USA Today picked up on the nudist angle here, quoting Randy Savage, a nudist extra in the film, who said, "It did not present any negative connotations regarding nudists at all ... I believe it will do very well, especially because it shows explicit nudity, including full frontal males (myself included). My son and daughter-in-law attended with us and gave the movie very high marks."
In real nudism, the "wander" is separated from the "lust". Overt sexual situations, free love and drugs are decidedly not part of the nudist or naturist experience. But it's important that the movie has sparked a conversation, and could provide a boost to clothing-optional and nude recreation. Like the fictional George and Linda, many people are also searching for ways to change their lives and seek relief from the tensions of stressful lives. What better way to do that than to strip off your clothes, go skinny-dipping, lay out in the sun, or socialize with good friends.
If you would like to learn about real nudism, visit The American Association for Nude Recreation's website (AANR).
Friday, February 17, 2012
All Nudist, All Wrong
A blogger well known for his often sarcastic and mean-spirited posts has taken on the American Association for Nude Recreation and their just-announced Amazing Canvas Nudist Face and Body Painting Event to take place during Nude Recreation Week in July, 2012.
The problem is not so much that Mr. All Nudist is critical of the event, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but he has distorted and misrepresented the nature and purpose of the event, referring to it as "painting naked girls" and imagining "a naked middle-aged man painting a child's naked body".
This is reprehensible language, especially from one purporting to be a nudist. All he needed to do to do was pick up the phone and call AANR instead of jumping to conclusions and making false assumptions.
A couple of the photos he uses in the article are *not* representative of the AANR event, and were not provided by the organization. In addition, All Nudist previously touted the fun of body painting here, and even provided links to where paints can be purchased. The blogger was also present at a Badger Naturists Halloween party with "a bunch of folks that know how to have a good time", where body painting was one of the activities, and All Nudist posted a couple of photos here. The entire gallery is here.
Hypocrisy? You decide.
In case one wonders where such vitriol comes from, there is precedent on the All Nudist website for uncalled for, mean-spirited attacks. In 2009, a producer for Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre World" contacted All Nudist inquiring about an organic gardening nudist group in Wisconsin, or other nudist groups and activities in the state. Now, anyone who has seen Andrew Zimmern's shows is aware that this is a gregarious man, always enthusiastic and positive about the foods and cultures he exposes to his viewers.
So how did Mr. All Nudist respond? It's hard to believe, but this is what he said:
And is Mr. All Nudist himself bad publicity for nudism? With blog posts on erections, swingers, nudists obsessed with sex. and other provocative subjects, one can draw distorted conclusions. And saying that young people "tend to be both exhibitionist and insecure" isn't helpful for appealing to a younger demographic.
I offer this so that if you do take the time to read Mr. All Nudist's incendiary and reckless writing, that you take it with a grain of salt. He refers to himself as a "cynical old bastard", and that is one point on which we recommend you take him at his word.
Please note that I am on the AANR Public Relations Committee, and these opinions are my own. Details of the body painting event are still being worked out, with full details to be announced soon.
The problem is not so much that Mr. All Nudist is critical of the event, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, but he has distorted and misrepresented the nature and purpose of the event, referring to it as "painting naked girls" and imagining "a naked middle-aged man painting a child's naked body".
This is reprehensible language, especially from one purporting to be a nudist. All he needed to do to do was pick up the phone and call AANR instead of jumping to conclusions and making false assumptions.
A couple of the photos he uses in the article are *not* representative of the AANR event, and were not provided by the organization. In addition, All Nudist previously touted the fun of body painting here, and even provided links to where paints can be purchased. The blogger was also present at a Badger Naturists Halloween party with "a bunch of folks that know how to have a good time", where body painting was one of the activities, and All Nudist posted a couple of photos here. The entire gallery is here.
Hypocrisy? You decide.
In case one wonders where such vitriol comes from, there is precedent on the All Nudist website for uncalled for, mean-spirited attacks. In 2009, a producer for Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre World" contacted All Nudist inquiring about an organic gardening nudist group in Wisconsin, or other nudist groups and activities in the state. Now, anyone who has seen Andrew Zimmern's shows is aware that this is a gregarious man, always enthusiastic and positive about the foods and cultures he exposes to his viewers.
So how did Mr. All Nudist respond? It's hard to believe, but this is what he said:
You have apparently done absolutely no research whatsoever on the subject or you wouldn’t be asking these questions. Not only are all of them answered on All Nudist , one of the top legitimate nudist/naturists sites on the Web, but are readily available with the minimum of effort on the internet. As are Wisconsin nudist/naturist clubs, groups, forums, message boards, camps and year-round events. Do you even know what AANR and TNS are?
Our guess is that you are someone who has taken some journalism or media classes and is doing a Summer internship, probably unpaid. Close?...Be glad to help you after you do your homework, consulting fee $75.00/hr, one hour minimum. Or…maybe a promo on the show…Otherwise, read the damn website and learn more than you need to know.Of course, the producer was mortified:
Your email was completely unexpected and uncalled-for. I have worked on ‘Bizarre Foods’ for more than two years, speaking with people in all corners of the world, and I have never encountered anyone with such a negative reaction to a few simple questions. There are plenty of friendly people in Wisconsin who are happy to work with us; we will get a great show without including naturism.And now Mr. All Nudist is concerned that a body-positive AANR event will be bad PR for nudism, when his irresponsible and downright mean comments cost us all some damn good publicity.
And is Mr. All Nudist himself bad publicity for nudism? With blog posts on erections, swingers, nudists obsessed with sex. and other provocative subjects, one can draw distorted conclusions. And saying that young people "tend to be both exhibitionist and insecure" isn't helpful for appealing to a younger demographic.
I offer this so that if you do take the time to read Mr. All Nudist's incendiary and reckless writing, that you take it with a grain of salt. He refers to himself as a "cynical old bastard", and that is one point on which we recommend you take him at his word.
Please note that I am on the AANR Public Relations Committee, and these opinions are my own. Details of the body painting event are still being worked out, with full details to be announced soon.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
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