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August 6, 1999 |
Where was I? Oh, yes! Actual stories published this week included a thrill-a-minute tale of "Death and Dog Grooming," a suspenseful, investigative feature on soap and this guaranteed page turner, "The Republican mayoral candidate who fishes with his family!" It took a summer-themed package in the Boston Phoenix to remind me that the cure to my summer content doldrums had been sitting on my coffee table all along. - - - - - - - - - - - - The Boston Phoenix, July 29-Aug. 5 "Nudefest!" by Chris Wright Every time I read this story, I love it more. Journalist goes to nudist retreat, strips to get closer to his subject, feels vulnerable, learns something. "As one who enjoys the odd pint, my body is a road map that leads back to the Sam Adams brewery. But here -- and not only because the majority of the people are in worse shape than I am -- I feel completely comfortable. Or at least I'm beginning to," Chris Wright reports from the scene. The naked piece is part of a larger package on beaches. Jason Gay reiterates a few truthful stereotypes in his list of "5 beach jerks" and his disturbing report on Martha's Vineyard's private beaches. And no good time should be had without a smidgen of guilt, courtesy of the mandatory Interview With an Environmentalist to tell us how all this frolicking in the sand will kill Mother Earth. - - - - - - - - - - - - Nude & Natural: The Quarterly Journal of Clothes-Optional Living Summer 1999 If I've done my job correctly, you just skimmed that last part in a mad dash to find out just what was on my coffee table. It was a copy of Nude & Natural: The Quarterly Journal of Clothes-Optional Living. I hope you're not disappointed. Did I pick up a N&N because I'm a firm believer in the naturalist way of life? Because I believe public nudity should be accepted by all? No. Although I support nudity in designated areas, I picked up this magazine because I thought it would be good for some laughs. Indeed it was. Naked people covered in pudding are funny. And let me tell you, there is nothing unfunny about a straight-faced, naturalist take on "Beavis & Butt-Head" ("From the Outside, Looking In" by Mark Storey). Ultimately, N&N does offer more than giggle fits to the uninitiated reader. The same essay offers an intelligent examination of Diane Arbus' photos of nudists by a nudist. Later, Greg Friedler explores the alienating quality of clothing in a series of photographs of people with their clothes and without (excerpted from "Naked New York" and "Naked Los Angeles"). And, of course, the multitudinous shots of nudists on vacation -- with their abundance of body types, superfluous accessories and uneroticized genitals -- are a lovely reprieve from the idealized bodies we are bombarded with daily. - - - - - - - - - - - - San Francisco Bay Guardian, June 9 For 25 years, the S.F. Bay Guardian has been providing the left-coast with a guide to nude beaches. Bless them! - - - - - - - - - - - - McSweeney's "Sixteen Punchlines for Hot Days" by Jason Ross "It was so hot, a woman waiting for the subway imagined jumping down onto the track bed, hopping over the electric rails, and climbing up on the far platform. Then she wondered if anyone watching would be impressed. After a moment, she decided that yes, they would be impressed."
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