Thank A Penis

NPR published a brief, blurby-type article about “Naked Attraction,” a dating game show streaming on HBO, acquired from England’s Channel 4, the publicly-owned, commercially-operated English broadcaster separate from the BBC, which is paid for by commercials. Apparently, the show’s quite popular, and for whatever reason, has created quite a stir here in the States.

As you might suspect, Naked Attraction is yet another naked pseudo “reality” type show in which the contestants participate unclothed, which, as Neda Ulaby, who reports on arts, entertainment, and cultural trends for NPR’s Arts Desk, wrote, has a fairly simple concept. “Here’s the gimmick: One contestant faces six boxes that contain six naked people. Bit by bit, their bodies are revealed, starting from the bottom. The contestant eliminates possible future dating partners based on the body parts they see.”

Professor Dr. Jeffrey P. Jones, PhD, Executive Director, George Foster Peabody Awards, and Professor at the University of Georgia, authored a book on HBO’s history, was interviewed for the article and stated the most likely reason for the show’s newfound attention:

“They are showing full male frontal nudity, and that’s maybe what’s catching a few breaths. This is marketing that happens without the HBO or Netflix marketing departments.”

In the article, Ms. Ulaby asked a blasé question: “But if nudity is a gimmick that gets them — what happens when nudity gets old?”

Professor Dr. Jones, who earned his undergrad & master’s at Auburn, and PhD at UT Austin, had a succinct reply for that:

“People will never get tired of nudity. It’s on frescoes all through Europe. Nudity is with us forever. Frankly, it’s a central part of who and what we are as humans, and we’re going to tell stories about it.”

On a personal level, I’m glad to know, that at least in a minor way, American society is finally, slowly acknowledging that men have penises, since we so rarely see them in film, or television. That fact seems to have escaped our Puritanical Evangelical brethren who eschew acknowledging that foundational core value of our being, which is that we all owe our existence to a penis.

And to be fair, there’s necessity in the ovaries & fallopian tubes, (manufacturing & delivery), vagina (sometimes termed “introitus,” or driveway) and, uterus (the housing center), as well.

But we in America have shamed the human body, have instilled via extreme, fear-based, punishment-exacting religious indoctrination, a base of shame-based guilt, for no good reason, save to perpetuate a system of dogmatic indoctrination, and legal articulation of extreme rightwing radical religious rhetoric.

It is unimaginable that in this year, era, and age, that

Cooking Turkey Naked

Turkey in the oven!

Gotta’ get a head-start on Thanksgiving, don’t you know!?

It’s 13.68lbs (6.2kg), and will be cooking approximately 4 – 4.5 hours at 370ºF  (187.7ºC).

I’ll check it around the 3 hour mark, give or take.

I’m cooking it “naked,” as seen.

The bird, not me.

I’m wearing clothes.

And since

Republicans: Let’s fly to Israel, eat fancy food, drink Dom Pérignon champagne, and swim nekkid!

Hey!

I know!

Let’s get lobbyists to pay for a trip to Israel where we can eat fancy food, drink Dom Pérignon champagne, and swim nekkid!

You know, it’d be funny if it weren’t first so sad… because it’s all true.

Every Dogdamn bit of it.

—-

August 21, 2012

Skinny-Dipping in Israel Casts Unwanted Spotlight on Congressional Travel

By ERIC LICHTBLAU and JODI RUDOREN

WASHINGTON — The trip was much like any of the hundreds hosted in recent years by a nonprofit offshoot of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful Washington lobby, and the purpose was much the same: to solidify the support of American lawmakers for Israel at a time of Middle East tumult.

For eight all expense-paid days, House Republicans visited Israel’s holiest sites, talked foreign policy with its highest officials and dined at its most famous restaurants, including Decks, known for its grilled beef, stunning views of the Sea of Galilee, and now, for an impromptu swim party.

With hundreds of Washington lawmakers having gone to Israel courtesy of the program, the trips have a reputation as being the standard-bearer for foreign Congressional travel. “We call it the Jewish Disneyland trip,” said one pro-Israel advocate in Washington.

But for lawmakers, the attention surrounding last summer’s trip — thanks to reports of a skinny-dipping Kansas lawmaker who was part of the delegation —  has

Sex, Drugs & Rock-n-Roll, “I want my MTV,” and… the end of Titty Bars.

Ever been to a strip club?

It’s almost a “who hasn’t?” response.

We see them on teevee and in the movies, so if one has never been, it’s almost as if they have, even if they haven’t been physically.

Even Huntsville, Alabama – a conservative, strongly religious, Republican-leaning state, and Huntsville, it’s most highly educated city – has strip clubs.

Otherwise and sometimes known as titty bars, and a variety of other pseudonyms, the venues are typically bars or lounges where alcohol is served to predominately male patrons by female employees, and whom quaff their brews while seated together in a dark room watching a female dancer gyrate to various popular musical tunes, accompanied by various stages of disrobing.

Sometimes, depending upon locale and local or state law, the female dancers may be required to wear “pasties” which are opaque adhesive coverings which cover their areolae and nipples. Sometimes also – again, depending upon state and/or local law – alcohol may or may not be served, though it frequently is consumed on premises.

Typically, the dancers will be