The L.A. participants in the World Naked Bike Ride flashed Echo Park, Silver Lake, Downtown and...
This post is in partnership with Worldcrunch, a new global-news site that translates stories of note in foreign languages into English. The article below was originally published in Tages Anzeiger.
When "Germany's first hiking trail for nudists" opened on May 29, 2010, near the town of Dankerode, enthusiasm was running high - and not just among those who enjoy braving nature in the buff. Mayor Monika Rauhut hailed the trail as "the latest attraction here in beautiful Wippertal." (See eight new natural wonders of the world.)
The trail was an instant hit, which got us wondering if such a thing might be a good idea in Switzerland, where the issue of nude hiking will soon be taken up by the Supreme Court. The "unofficial spokesperson" for Swiss lovers of the outdoor activity isn't so sure. But Puistola GrottenpÖsch (not his real name) does see some upsides. A sanctioned trail would give many people an opportunity to experience the "bodily freedom" that only hiking in the nude offers - an experience that "fills you with happiness," he says.
In Germany, signs placed around the nude trail area warn: "If you don't want to run into any naked people, stop right here!" The message makes GrottenpÖsch uneasy. "It seems to suggest such a thing would be terrible," he says. "The sign could be taken as more of an encouragement than a deterrent." Nor does he like the idea that such a trail could be seen as a "ghetto" for nude hikers, particularly as such a thing might make people think "that it's obligatory to be clothed everywhere else." (See Switzerland's nude hiking [EM] in the winter.)
GrottenpÖsch recently appeared in court in Appenzell-Ausserrhoden to support a fellow nude hiker who was arrested for practicing the peculiar pastime.
The first year that the German trail - played up initially as a "paradise" for nude hikers - was up and running, there were no legal problems. But there have been some red faces. The brains behind the endeavor is a nearby campground owner who had hoped the novel trail would bring him more paying guests. He no longer wishes his full name to be given in the press, reports German nude-hiking aficionado Horst K. on the Nacktwandern website, which has provided information about the trail since it opened.
Integrating the naturist trail and the family-oriented campsite proved more difficult than anticipated for the owner, whose initial enthusiasm soon gave way to concern. Instead of trying to draw nude hikers as customers, he found himself telling them to give his campsite "a wide berth." (See a brief history of the Appalachian Trail.)
"Yes, there were some problems," Horst K. says. "But we cleared those up, and now things are okay for both sides." As things presently stand, the mood in Harz seems to be one of determined conflict avoidance.
Even among backers of the birthday-suit lifestyle, nude hiking can be a prickly issue. The president of the German naturists' association called naked hikers "neurotics and psychopaths." Fans of the activity, in both Germany and Switzerland, reject the labels flat out.
"We are careful," Puistola GrottenpÖsch explains, citing by way of example an outing he took near Toggenburg (Appenzell, Switzerland), where he came across a group of people celebrating a religious service in a field. GrottenpÖsch conscientiously hid his privates with a scarf, something he carries for just such occasions. "You quickly wrap it around yourself and all conflict is avoided."
Image: Craig Simonox, Dominion Post and TVNZ
Nick Lowe, of Johnsonville, New Zealand, pulls on bike shorts and a t-shirt when he climbs on to pedal away through the city. But as soon as he hits the open road, a "change of clothes" is on the agenda. The t-shirt graces Lowe's handlebars. The bike shorts he carefully arranges on the saddle so that the chamois seat pad still performs as point of contact. "The majority of the public has no issues with it," Lowe told TV New Zealand.
But one person did take offense. And took Lowe to court. Lowe explains the philosophy behind his fight in a YouTube video. And we look at the verdict: does it mean a free-for-all for nudists in New Zealand?
Lowe first suspected trouble when a car driven by a woman on her cell phone passed him, slowly. She pulled over to let Lowe pass by. Then drove past him again, slowly. In all, the woman took advantage of the "offensive" scene fully five times. Curious about the strange behavior, Lowe assessed his new admirer. The look on her face convinced the fit 40-year old cyclist that she was not enjoying the view. Shortly thereafter, Lowe was pulled over by the police.
Lowe represented himself at the trial. He walked away with a NZ$200 (US$140) fine, and court costs, on his tab. The Johnsonviller decided to fight. On appeal, he took his lawyer. And walked away with a singular precedent.
Justice Clifford of the Wellington High Court ruled that Mr. Lowe's behavior did not meet the standard of "offensive." According to reports in Der Spiegel (German), the ruling determined that one person finding a behavior offensive is not sufficient to support a conviction for offensive behavior.
Now when Lowe takes to his bike, he applies his chafe cream liberally, and packs one additional item under the saddle: a copy of the verdict. But does his case clear the path for nudists of all stripes? Not so fast: analyses of the Justice's ruling point out that it is specific to the behavior in question in this particular case. Walking nude on a public path may be evaluated differently than a bicyclist on a country road.
So what about world naked bike day activities? Nude activism in organized demonstrations is judged by a different standard: if people are aware of a planned activity to which they might take offense, they have the right to stay away. Did it help Lowe's case? The Justice chuckled as he viewed photos of other activities on world naked bike day, which happens to be precisely the day on which one woman took offense at a naked cyclist on a rural route.
If you are interested, Lowe tells his story to Close-Up for TV New Zealand.
http://cdn.brightkite.com/03/1f/031fff6c6aa8cc766d9085a92ea3b9a7.jpg
by Chris Spags
While some philanthropists are stripping theirSomeone tell Georgewallets to donate for victims of the Haiti earthquake, Amy Fisher is just stripping.
The media-savvy Long Island Lolita — who’s getting naked at Scene Restaurant & Lounge in Commack, LI, today, tomorrow and Saturday — promises to donate a portion of her earnings toward the relief effort.
Fisher, a mother of three, launched her own porn site last year and embarked on a tour as a stripper for hire across the country. Thankfully, she’s not taking her act toPort-au-Prince .
Just in case you were left unsatisfied by her red carpet breast baring, Tara Reid will appear naked in Playboy. Those pesky lipo scars, still apparent after an attempted revision in 2007, can't hold her back. In Touch Weekly released the following statement:
In Touch can exclusively reveal that Tara Reid has stripped down to pose for the cover of an upcoming issue of Playboy magazine. The American Pie star, who underwent a botched liposuction procedure in 2004, posed entirely nude for the popular magazine at a private residence on October 7 in Santa Monica, Calif. Although Tara, 33, was a bit nervous shooting, she seemed to ease into it as the day went on. "She was a bit insecure about her body when they first started," says an insider. "She looked great and finally got into the groove." Tara had said in the past that she would never pose for Playboy, saying, "I know there are problems with my stomach. There are bumps on it, it's uneven, but it's not that bad. My stomach scars are my battle wounds."
ALLURE: What did you do to prepare for the shoot?
PADMA LAKSHMI: "I exercised a little bit extra, but I actually think I look better when I have a little bit of weight on—my breasts are fuller, and I'm curvier than when I'm at my thinnest."
ALLURE: Are you confident about your body?
PL: "Yes; I like the way I look. I think I look better now than I did in my 20s, because I'm more confident about my body—and I don't want to look like anyone but myself."
ALLURE: Do you sleep naked?
PL: "I tend to sleep in the nude. I'm an innately tactile person and a very sensual-leaning woman. You have to use the word 'leaning' or it sounds like I'm boasting! When I'm in my own private space, I do spend time with very little on."
ALLURE: Why did you agree to pose naked?
LYNN COLLINS: "Women with confidence in their bodies are the sexiest thing, so I put on my cape of courage and did it. It was quite liberating!"
ALLURE: What body part were you nervous to expose?
LC: "He shot that place where your butt meets your thigh. It's a special place on a woman; it's a highly erogenous zone, but it's one of the hardest places to get in shape."
ALLURE: How do love scenes in films compare to our shoot?
LC: "It's different when you're working with another person, for sure. By yourself, there is a certain amount of security involved, and you feel like you have more power."
ALLURE: What did you do to prepare for the shoot?
SHARON LEAL: "At first, I was flattered to be asked, and then I thought, Wow, can I do it? I tried not to have my late-night French-fry fix, and I tried to mentally prepare and keep the fear at bay."
ALLURE: What was the worst part of the shoot?
SL: "The ache in my hip from holding the pose."
ALLURE: What happened when you dropped the robe?
SL: "I just breathed and said to myself, 'I'm comfortable, I'm beautiful; I'm comfortable, I'm beautiful,' until I didn't have to say that anymore.... It's liberating, but posing once may be enough."
ALLURE: Why did you agree to pose naked?
CH: "I like being naked, and I like Allure, so I figured, Why not?"
ALLURE: What was it like on the set?
CH: "I think it was easy—you're naked a couple times a day, so I think it would be easy for most women."
ALLURE: What body parts are you most proud of?
CH: "My boobs are good. They're real and perky. Even if you can't see them, the important thing is that I know about them, and the guys I've slept with know about them."
Romp ... Zac Efron lays on the beach with naked model COPYRIGHT: MIKAEL JANSSON/INTERVIEW MAGAZINE - www.interviewmagazine.com The High School Musical heartthrob has the beauty's bare boobs in his face as he lays on the sand with his arm around her. The pics run alongside a chat he gave to Interview magazine ahead of the release of his latest movie, 17 Again. Efron's clean-cut image has helped him become Disney's golden boy, however it seems he's eager to distance himself from the teen market. His girlfriend and HSM co-star VANESSA HUDGENS is also no stranger to controversial pictures. In 2007 private photos of the actress posing naked were leaked online, forcing her to make a public apology. The April edition of Interview containing the feature on Zac Efron is released on March 24. 
ZAC EFRON has shocked his teen fans by appearing in a raunchy photoshoot with a naked girl.
Compliments of Durden...http://www.wwtdd.com/
In a barbed remark, the actress joked that she goes on holiday with Jolie and Brad Pitt on weekends. 'The funny thing is that people don't realize we all go away to the Hamptons on the weekends,' she told the magazine. 'No. But can you imagine? That'd be hysterical (wwtdd editors note: no, it wouldn’t) ,' and making a reference to the couple's children, she added: 'I've got Zahara on my hip, and Knox....'
She also spoke about how she is still in touch with Pitt.
'We don't not talk,' she said. 'When there's something to congratulate or celebrate, there's always an exchange. But there's no charge on it.'
And asked if she talks to Jolie, she retorted: 'No, nuh-uh.'
Good lord this is madness. Three years. They broke up in January of 2005, and three years later it's STILL all this dumb whore can talk about. Any normal person, and you would have to pry this info out of them like Princess Di out of that limo, yet Aniston will talk to anyone at any time about this. I think we both know she has a little shrine to him in her house somewhere. Her closet probably has a fake back wall and she goes in there at night and kisses her Brad Pitt dolls and lays them on top of her naked body while a Laura Croft doll is forced to watch. "I love you Jenny-benny, I was crazy to leave you!" "Oh I love you too Braddy-waddy, mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah!!!"
Here we have your first look at POWDER BLUE, also known as THAT MOVIE WHERE JESSICA BIEL WILL PLAY A STRIPPER. In the movie, four Los Angelenos - a mortician, an ex-con, a suicidal ex-priest, and a stripper - are brought together on Christmas Eve by a mixture of circumstances. Jessica Biel plays a stripper. Lisa Kudrow, Forest Whitaker and Ray Liotta are also involved. Most importantly though, Jessica Biel plays a stripper.
Hit up MovieHotties.com to check out the screencaps. Somehow she doesn't do a thing for me, but don't be ashamed to print them out and paste them all over your walls. I'm certain Dave Davis has already. In fact I'm pretty sure if you kicked his door down it would look like John Doe's place in there.
FNC
The Bothell, Wash., cheerleading squad.
The parents of two Seattle-area high school cheerleaders are suing the district for suspending the girls from the squad after nude photographs of them circulated via text message.
The two teens were suspended from the squad — one for 30 days and one for the entire year — after school officials learned of the photos in August, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
The families suing Northshore School District weren't identified because the girls are minors.
The lawsuits, filed on Nov. 17, say the district violated the girls' due process rights, according to the paper. The families allege it was unnecessary for school officials to share the photos with other staff members, and claim they were negligent in failing to report the matter to police as a potential case of child pornography.
Matthew King, the attorney representing the families, told the Post-Intelligencer that it was unfair to punish the cheerleaders but not the other students who received or forwarded the photos.
"We're not technically challenging the sanctions as being too strict, we're saying they weren't evenly enforced across the school," said King. "There should have been some punishment meted out to those who were in possession of the photos. ... It seems like the girls are getting the brunt of it."
One of the pictures was taken three years ago and sent to the teen's then-boyfriend. The other was snapped in June. The lawsuits allege that the girls believed they had deleted the photos, but accidentally sent them to members of the football team.
King says he wants the disciplinary action expunged from the girls' school records, the suspensions waved and an apology issued by the school.
"This is frivolous," Northshore School District attorney Mike Patterson said. "It should never have gone to court and they (the families suing) should recognize that what happened here was created by their own doing."
Click here for more on this story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Former playboy playmate Vanessa Carbone has staged an unconventional protest against Japanese whaling, by holding a naked demonstration outside the Japanese embassy in Santiago, Chile (pictures).
The Argentinian model was among a group of protesters demanding that the Chilean government create a whale sanctuary in the country’s territorial waters. Stripped down to nothing more than a skimpy thong, she unsurprisingly drew the most attention from passers-by.
>> See also: Green Celebs: Playboy Playmates Lose the Bunny Tail For PETA
Under existing international law, Japan is prevented from killing whales for commercial activities, but is allowed to hunt a specified number each year for so called ’scientific purposes.’
Although unconventional, it’s likely that Carbone’s actions will help to significantly increase the spotlight on the activities of the Japanese whaling fleet - and on their opponents, who say the Japanese are seeking to re-commence commercial whaling activities by stealth.
Image Credit - svensonsan via flickr.com on a Creative Commons license
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