Crazy Eskimos

Last week, All Nudist humorously described the current Wisconsin weather. (It's even snowing on his website!) It's a bit warmer now, but it's been an interesting day...

This sums up my last 24 hours in wonderful southwest Wisconsin:

1. Freezing rain -- enough to go ice skating on any flat surface.
2. Snow up to a foot on top of that.
3. Temps near 15 degrees, winds up to 25 mph. (I don't want to calculate the wind-chill!)
   
4. Walking 18 blocks (30 minutes) across town in said weather to campus and thinking nothing of it. Mickey Mouse boots and a good coat do wonders! I never got cold! This was for a training through work, since I'm actually done with school for now.
5. I saw several people walking around outside wearing t-shirts on campus.
6. I saw several people walking around outside wearing shorts on campus. (If they stop by the gym, they wear shorts that whole day.)
7. I saw several people riding bicycles to/from campus in said weather -- I seriously can't understand how they do it, since cars even have trouble getting around! I never see them fall, or evidence in the snow that they have fallen, yet they are riding on ice and through snow.
   

Last weekend, a southern attendee to Lee's memorial service referred to us as Eskimo's. (He then pointed out that it's odd that TNS is based here.) By definition, Eskimo's do not live in this region. I believe the phrase he was searching for was "just plain crazy". Often it's in a good, tough, and humorous way.

This Thursday, assuming we're able to visit some friends of ours, I might just make a naked snow angel! They have been known to dive naked into the snow, and take a dip in their pool after breaking through a layer of ice on top.

UPDATE: Of course we did! We didn't right away, but after Steve made one we had to! (See the comments on his post.) It was mid-January and 15 degrees out.

Is it wrong to be crazy when the others around us are just as crazy? Is it wrong to be naked when when the others around us are just as naked? Hopefully your answer is the same for both questions... In my opinion, doing crazy (but safe) things every once in a while is something that keeps us human. From what I understand about Lee, he would've probably agreed. Hopefully the next N magazine will capture some of the crazy/cool things that Lee has done in his life, since several were talked about at the memorial service.

Have you done anything crazy recently? Post it to the comments if you have.

Recap and Winter Plans

Every so often I do a post on what's going on with the blog, and my personal life. Similar to the "Missed News" series, it's full of little things that may or may not be of interest.

On the topic of "Missed News", I notice that other bloggers are picking up stories from my monthly posts. Cool! I'm happy that people are finding some of the stuff interesting, even though a lot of it is edgy and sometimes completely off-topic.

Back in August, I celebrated my missing of Burning Man with a reader-contributed story. Here's part 1, part 2, and part 3. Recently, I've had a commenter accusing him of having a fetish-driven desire to be nude among textiles. I disagree -- I believe that 99% of people are genuinely good and only change that opinion if I have solid evidence otherwise. The story lacks that evidence. Feel free to post your feedback to that story using the links above.

Last month I wrote up some game theory regarding the actions of TNS and AANR relative to public land issues. I was probably harder on AANR than I should've been. I later found out that AANR has donated towards TNS activities ... once ... indirectly.

Speaking of TNS and money -- they are running a little short. Since the economy is down, people haven't been renewing their subscriptions. Now is an ideal time to get a membership or buy some stuff from them if you're able to. To see what happens if they run out of money, click the game theory link above.

In other news... I used to be a very anonymous blogger, but have recently been using my real name, had naked pictures posted, and then completely busted our privacy with both a picture and our real names (below).

My recent post about the Ocean Angels got the attention of one of them. Fiona added a comment of praise soon after it was posted. It's neat that she responded, since some charities don't like to openly acknowledge that nude people exist. So far, we're the only nudists on the faceboat and we're very lonely! Use this link to post a picture by us -- donations can be as much or as little as you can afford. Please join us for the sake of breasts everywhere!*

* "Breasts everywhere" = breast cancer care charity. Imagine a world where there are no beautiful breasts to look at, or squeeze, or to use as pillows when camping, or to feed our babies. If our babies can't eat, the human race would go extinct. To prevent this scenario, you must donate, and post a picture next to ours!

I've been eagerly waiting to see what happens on Dec. 17th and Jan. 12th. What's on those days, you ask? I've been following Amy's reporting of the Naked Pumpkin Run, and those are the days of the court appearances. Will they be free, or will their lives be ruined? (Amy left a few comments on the related post here, which is neat.)

Today, I attended the memorial service of Lee Baxandall. Info was posted here about the service, and there will be a lot more info from TNS in the future. Since I'm only 3 hours away, I thought it would be good to attend and learn more about him. What an inspiration! He's an amazing guy!

After the service, I got to hang out with the TNS crew at their office for a while. I was finally able to meet Bob Morton and Mark Storey, both of which have bright minds and write some great articles. Mark brought up that they are always looking for new articles, and hinted that I could be a part of that. So far, I don't think I've written anything that matches their quality of work... Have I?

Currently, I'm happy that I have more time to work on the blog. A huge load was lifted when I completed my thesis. Another was lifted with the end of summer, which means less trips to the beach and other events. The biggest of all was when I told my mom about our lifestyle. Being of European decent, I knew that she wouldn't care. I told stories of all the cool people we've met, and all the cool things we've done, and reassured her that it has nothing to do with sex, and she doesn't think it's a big deal. I'm glad that's in the open now, actually. It'll make summer conversations a lot easier.

Next on the agenda is my "Future Resort" series. I'm currently writing the 10 parts, with the intent to post them weekly starting in January. This will certainly be a highlight for the blog, and I'm hoping that some of the ideas will be implemented.

After that, I'd like to focus on the summer. I'd still like to coordinate a "nude olympics" at Mazo Beach, and will have a post dedicated to how I intend to do that. Ideally, it would be a big crowdsourced event that can include fundraisers for TNS and BN. Stay tuned!

Ocean Angels

We're supporting the Ocean Angels on their naked trip across the ocean in a rowboat!

To put this amazing challenge into perspective: "More people have walked on the moon than have rowed across the Indian Ocean."

We put in a donation and added our picture (and real names) to their faceboat. If you're quick, you can see us in the "latest faces" list. We were #25 to sign up out of 25,000 available spaces.

Want your picture by us? Use this link. Let's show them how many nudists are actually cheering them on! Proceeds go to Breast Cancer Care.

Update: For those coming from All Nudist's blog, this is an old post. There's a lot more info here.

Missed News (12/2008)

The "Missed News" series is for all the random stuff I found interesting, but was missed by other popular bloggers.

• Merry Naked Christmas!
• Here's a warning that people sometimes get caught driving in the buff. I know you've all done it, just be careful!
• However, sometimes driving in the buff is required. (Hmm, I know what sign I'm putting on the bike at VVRC's car show next year...)
  
• One swinger finds his kind trustworthy because of their nudity. Although it's a swinger themed article, he does make the separation that it's the nudity that brings trust between people.
  
• Sonia Belle finally gets off the political rants, and switches to political celebration.
  
• Here's a small list of teachers that have been fired because of their personal life.
• The nude photo leak of Adrienne Bailon was a publicity stunt. Us nudists didn't think it was a big deal in the first place.
• If you're looking for another nude photo link, try this one. For a site that thrives on anatomy, they sure don't know it!
• An Australian outback mayor won a sexist award for asking ugly women to move to a town full of men. Sexism aside, it's not a bad idea because ugly women are few and far between. (I can say that from experience.) In a town full of men, they have a much better chance of hooking up than trying to compete with the typical Aussie female.
  
• A bra for men is surprisingly popular in Japan.
• New advances in nanotechnology make clothing "unwettable" and has potential for swimwear. We have a better technology -- skin.
• Here's a wonderful write-up from the Bare Oaks Blog regarding nipples on TV. During a sex-change operation, the same breasts are blurred out at the start and exposed at the end. They also have a paragraph on how the labia is only offensive when attached to the woman.
• Rick explains that nipple radiation is dangerous. It's an old post but a great one if you missed it.
  
• Fairwind Lakes Naturist Park thanks TNS for helping them survive after AANR ran and hid. From what I can tell, Fairwind Lakes is NOT an AANR affiliated park.
  
• All Nudist suggested a corn maze. Since the midwest is filled with corn anyway, I think it's a great idea!

And now a question for all of you -- does anyone have experience in the US patent application process? (Nudists are a very diverse group, so it's worth asking...)

Segregated Nudism - Good For Our Rights?

Ever since I took an interest in nudism, I've wondered why there are two different big organizations in the US: AANR and TNS. More specifically, I've always wondered why TNS is so active in nudist rights and AANR (which appears much larger) remains quiet. Shouldn't they both be working towards protecting nudist rights and any place that allows nudist use? Well of course they should, but they're not set up that way. In fact, it's to AANR's benefit to do the opposite, and I'll prove it with a little game theory!

To start, the biggest difference that I have found is that AANR is commercial, and TNS isn't. AANR makes their money from their affiliated clubs. Many of these clubs either require you to pay AANR membership dues (ex. Blue Lake, Turtle Lake) or charge you more for not being a member (most others). I'm not sure if these additional charges go to the resort, or go to AANR / TNS. It's fair to say that AANR gets some money from each person that pays to stay at a resort, either directly or indirectly through the resort's partnership. It is unclear where this money actually goes.

TNS, on the other hand, doesn't want your money. Seriously, it says that right in their Network Resource Guide: "What we do not want: Your money. We're not interested in lining our pockets at the expense of your group or club." They get their money from voluntary memberships (which the group/club gets commission from) and donations. When they work to promote nudist rights or save a beach from being closed, people send them money, and it's clear that the money is going to a good cause.

Now that I've outlined the clubs, let's outline the people. Alice only likes going to "Bare Resort", which is AANR affiliated and costs her $10 for the year. Bob prefers to take the free route by hanging out at "Free Beach", but will give his $1 to TNS since it's still open because of them. Carol just likes to be naked, and will go to either "Bare Resort" or "Free Beach" as her $4 budget allows.

On the issue of saving public lands and keeping the right to be nude on them, the following chart shows the payoff for the two organizations, with the Nash Equilibrium (best, most profitable option) highlighted for each group.


In plain English:

• If either club opposes keeping "Free Beach", it will be closed and AANR will get all the money.
• Nudity has a lot of pressure going against it, so if both organizations go neutral the beach will be closed eventually, and AANR will get all the money.
  
• If one organization supports the beach, and the other goes neutral: Alice will go to the resort, Bob will go to the beach, and Carol goes to both by splitting her money among them. (Actually, one trip to the resort costs her $2, and several trips to the beach costs her the other $2.)
• If both support the beach, more might pop up. Alice goes to the resort, but Bob and Carol go to the beach. Carol doesn't go to the resort since she has a larger selection of nice free beaches.
  

In the simplified model, the best move for TNS is to support the beach and get the small amount of money in voluntary memberships and donations. The best move for AANR is to get the beach closed, and enjoy a monopoly on the entire nudist market. This move would be horrible PR -- a nudist organization going against a nude beach? -- which explains why they seem to take the neutral position of remaining silent. The model also explains why AANR appears to be bigger. They have a lot of resorts and a lot of big spenders who prefer to go to them.

How accurate is this model though? The people represent the nudist community fairly well. Alice doesn't like the dirty beaches, and enjoys a weekend of luxury instead despite the cost (or she lives at a resort full-time). Bob is poor and prefers the cheap social nudism. Carol represents the nudists who enjoy a variety, or who are simply between the two other extremes. Which category do you fit into?

For organizations, TNS's NAC is obviously pushing for the legal rights of naturists and in support of free beaches. They ask for donations at the end of every post, where AANR doesn't. Has AANR ever actually gone against nudism, as predicted by the model? It turns out the answer is yes! Wikipedia points it out (source is gone, but covered here) that AANR attempted to exclude only AANR members in a nudity ban. In other words, nudity would be banned for everyone that isn't an AANR member at an AANR club. Although nudists were disgusted with AANR's move, it was actually in AANR's best interest to create a commercial monopoly on nudity. I've heard of other cases similar to this, but the one example above should be sufficient for the point I'm trying to make.

It is my hope that nudists do not fall into a social trap. AANR might be affiliated with the best clubs that many enjoy, but supporting AANR could eventually lead to less naturist rights and higher club prices because of their commercial interest and ability to obtain a monopoly. Personally, all my naturism money is going to TNS, and I don't see a reason why I should change.

Back to my original question -- are the two types of nudism (resorts and free beaches, with AANR and TNS respectively) good for our rights? Probably not. AANR is sucking up most of the money, which limits what TNS can do in fighting for nudist rights with the smaller income. However, they have a unique balance right now that shows slow progress, which is far better than an AANR monopoly.

I believe that the progress could certainly be better -- imagine an organization with AANR's income and TNS's philosophy. TNS itself is capable of becoming such an organization, but is not in the position to obtain it just yet. How can they get there? I have no idea -- I need to learn more about them and put more thought into it. I'll need to improve my model, figure out a way for TNS to change the game, and identify another Nash Equilibrium for them to transition to. (Only transitions between Nash Equilibriums are successful, otherwise one side is going against their best interest.) I'll let you know if I ever figure it out.

Naked on the Net!

UPDATE: The bloggers I linked to have mostly changed since this original post. Updates are in [brackets].

Some nudists like to stay hidden through low resolution [has since posted higher resolution ones], blurred faces [their page now shows better ones], hiding in moonlight [he's gone all the way with a full frontal], or just never posting photos [link removed -- "The Nude Life" moved to a resort in Florida, abandoned the blog, and it now links to porn]. Despite privacy concerns, others just let it all hang out. Some argue that we should all just post a photo of ourselves nude and get over it. I suppose they're right.

My girlfriend and I now have naked pictures of ourselves on the internet. She doesn't care in the slightest, with exception that the pictures aren't very flattering. (The good ones are in our brag book!) I'm a bit more uneasy about the concept, but it's something I need to get over if I hope to join the elite. I'm not going to link to our new-to-the-net pictures, but if you've been following this blog you'll know exactly where to look... if you dare!

Naked Pumpkin Run Update (11/6)

I'm following Amy's reporting regarding this year's Naked Pumpkin Run, and I'll post updates here as they happen.

They have released the names of the 12 runners who were cited. Here is a summary of a few:

Those cited include scientists, a doctoral candidate, a Fiske Planetarium docent, University of Colorado students and a cook. If convicted of indecent exposure, they would have to register as sex offenders.

In other words, these are all smart people who are capable of doing a lot of positive stuff for society within the next 10 years. However, that is assuming that they stay off the sex offender registry.

Amy argues that citing them with indecent exposure is overkill. Police had another option which doesn't require the sex offender registry: disorderly conduct.

In my opinion, it might be easier for them to be cleared of the indecent exposure citation. When put into context, running nude through a crowd that is there expecting them at a 10th annual event cannot be considered "indecent". However, if they're not cleared of the charge, the impact is far worse for both them and for society.

Those that are nearby should try to attend the hearings. They're scheduled for December 17th (for 10 of them) and January 12th (for the other 2). Mark your calendars! See Amy's post for all the information (phone numbers, location, etc.).