The Friday Evening Nudes & Something Important to Think About

Good evening, All

I thought this post was all set to go, until something caught my eye in my reader. I clicked to a blog that I often visit for its fine photography and clever wit. Why, What Have You Heard? is hosted by a gentleman named Mojo. I'm not sure just what type of Mojo he happens to be   :-) , but I do know he cares deeply for the issue of violence against women. I have this video to share with you tonight, previous to the Friday Evening Nudes because, serendipitously, tonight the nudes are all painted by women. And. October is National Domestic Violence Month.

A loved one of mine was the victim of violence and rape a few years ago.  As a social service worker (many moons ago) and teacher (now),  I've seen the aftermath of beatings:  bruises, broken teeth, burn marks and unwanted pregnancies that resulted from sexual violence. When I was a young  woman, in my mid-twenties, I served as women's shelter volunteer. I recall during the shelter training, learning that domestic violence between women couples was significant in our area, which includes the city of Northampton, where there is a strong and thriving lesbian community. That completely blew away a lot of the naivete I had regarding the romantic aspects of a relationship between two women. What I mean to say, is that I had made this assumption that women don't hurt each other. 

Please watch. If I've done this correctly, this foundation will receive $1 for each viewing of the video that will go toward supporting services for women. I know in my own area, the shelter lost most of its funding. They are only able to serve a small fraction of all the women and kids that need their help.

Thank you, Mojo, for keeping this issue on the radar at all times.

 

Happy weekend and enjoy the nudes.

American

1930's

The nudes this week are mostly by artists I very recently discovered. With the exception of Sylvia Sleigh.  Tonight's nudes were all painted by women.

Gwen John

Welsh

early 1900

Gwen John was once a model for and lover of, the sculptor August Rodin

Isabel Bishop

mid-1900's

American

Jacqueline Marval

early 1900's 

French

Romaine Brooks

Weeping Venus

1916

American

Sylvia Sleight

Elaine Shipman

1974

English

Sublime

In aesthetics, the sublime (from the Latin sublimis ([looking up from] under the lintel, high, lofty, elevated, exalted) is the quality of greatness or vast magnitude, whether physical, moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetic, spiritual or artistic. The term especially refers to a greatness with which nothing else can be compared and which is beyond all possibility of calculation, measurement or imitation. rest of entry here

I'm glad I found this video today. It was such a blustery, ever-changing day with wet leaves blowing and a sky that changed from sun to clouds to heavy drizzle in the blink of an eye. My own moods were consistently rapid-cycling today. I think today I identified with what it must be like for people who deal with bipolar disorder everyday. For my own loved one who deals with it, I'm just so grateful that she learned the love lesson well. It's helped her as a cushion. Love builds resiliency. It's in all the books, no matter how many different ways they try to write it.  ;-)

Okay. Without further ado ~~~~~~you must listen.

All the love,
Pagan Sphinx

Eighth Anniversary of the of Afghanistan War

I'm not an expert on history or foreign affair. I try to stay basically informed but when it comes to arguing the value or lack-there-of of any particular war or conflict, you can count me consistently on the side that says "enough". I don't really give a rat's behind about the game of war itself. I learn what I need to learn and the rest is simply outrageous to me. That intelligent men and women make justifications and even fabricate lies to begin a conflict (Iraq War) that is really about securing economic resources, is part and parcel of the war game that our nation has engaged in since the American Revolution. It is only a matter of months before the length of the Afghan War surpasses that of the American Revolution.

Enough.

Afghanistan is not about bringing democracy to that nation, saving its women from cruelty and inhumanity (a justification for the war that I often read or listen to), it's about the pipelines, folks ( in Pakistan, too) Just as Iraq was about the oil itself. So when Leftists around the globe demonstrated in the streets of their respective countries when our nation invaded Iraq, using the slogan "no blood for oil", they were spot-on.

Write or call President Obama and tell him to listen to the people who voted for him and supported his campaign, not to The Generals who are part of the war machine that seeks to uphold the profits of the oil companies. (And while you're at it, encourage him to work to stop another invasion: that of Palestine by the Israeli government.)

Poll: Support for Afghan War at an all-time low

The Friday Evening Nudes on Sunday...

and in the afternoon, yet.

Last week, I received a complaint from a priest about The Friday Evening Nudes...

Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Balthus

Franz Marc

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

Adam and Eve

Tamara de Lempicka

Paul Gaugin

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

  

 Girl With Horizon Quilt

George Bellows

that the nudes were..uh...not nude enough. No further complaints from clergy, please.  ;-)