Perfect Prototypes

Sculpture Fragment, Greek C4 BC (8 1/4")

Every now and then you come across a painting or a piece of sculpture that seems the perfect prototype for what your have in mind for that art form.

The fragment above of an antique Greek sculpture of the C4 BC IS the Greek ideal of male beauty for me.

It is believed to be carved under the direct influence of Praxiteles ...

Hermes by Praxiteles C4 BC

... and mostly likely by one of his school.

I found this quite extraordinarily beautiful work on the blog 'Et Apres?', the author of which goes on to quote from The New York Times of 1916 ...

"A fragment of an entire statue, the head, has remained intact, and is a remarkable example of Greek beauty. It has a charm from every point of view. The profile is no more lovely than the full face and every feature is lovely in itself. The car is small and well shaped, and the hair grows back from the low brow in small curves. It is of heroic size, the face measuring 8 1/4 inches. It is believed to be an original Greek work of the fourth century B.C., executed under the immediate influence of Praxiteles, and probably by a member of his school." (The New York Times, April 8, 1916).

The blog itself is very well worth a look-see, wide ranging over gay-focussed art and literature, history and biography and with a decent dollop of sexual imagery.

It posts almost alternatively in French and English - and is a great read.

Daring The Fates and Aiden Shaw

The Three Fates of Greek mythology - Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos

I've dared The Three Fates guys - and re-posted Aiden Shaw. Minus all the links to his site - which I feel were the real evil genie in this saga.

Just give me a nudge if they exact any revenge!!!

Aiden Shaw

'Sordid Truths: Selling My Innocence for a Taste of Stardom'

Aiden Shaw is one of that extremely rare breed: porn stars who become successful writers, be it all the kind who transmutes life pretty directly into art. To explain their lives.

Everyone probably's aware he's put out three novels, two books of poetry and two biographies and is doing the rounds selling his 2009 book 'Sordid Truths: Selling My Innocence for a Taste of Stardom' ...


Shaw was interviewed by Judith Regan about the book, and his life as a British gay man and sex-worker. The interview is on Aiden Shaw's website.


I've read a couple of reviews (one at Queersighted) and bits and pieces of the book I've goggled up at Issue and at 'The Advocate'.

And I can't quite decide on him.

There's almost something of Quentin Crisp. In the unexpected quirky counter-view, the perhaps unconventional common sense and a sometimes irresistible and curious humanity. Which is at odds with the often condescending and rather elite positions taken by good looking sex workers with a big dicks to their clients.

Like when Shaw's asked by Judith Regan about having sex with guys who repulse him and he responds saying he seldom is, but would look for something attractive. Like a part of the body, such as the hands. Or the smell of the guy's clothes. Or would focus on the 'humble way the guy looks at me', showing an appealing less than arrogant empathy with the psychological position of the client.

Or when he's asked, alluding to the title of the book, to talk about the 'sordid' things. And he suggests the word refers to the position others take. And expands, describing the way he/the central protagonist deals with situations, for example, like arrinving at a client's flat to find him tied up with a plastic bag over his head. Without judgement, he says he feels his way along, trying a few things and seeing how the guy responds. Shaw then considers the subtext of his clients needing human interaction and 'being heard'.

I laughed a lot through the interview. And Shaw speaks with a disarming candour and witty self-deprecation that seduces. But I guess ultimately a question mark hangs in the air for me about the value of his work beyond the solid homespun truths and titillating insider insights into a world we all find compulsively fascinating.

What do you think?

What IS certain is a post like this would be more than incomplete without at least a couple of images of 'it' - the dick one customer early on told Aiden would be the making of him.

So here we go, a la maison ...







.. and en plein air ...







Reckon the real question is where does he look hottest?

For me, he's more 'naked' indoors but, curiously, more hunky and blokey outdoors - the tan?

A Genuine 24K Gold Fox

Apart from having a great great chest and totally erotic trail, big muscular shoulders, a rock hard hooded dick and and and ... this guy's got the magic whatever that makes a true fox. Maybe it's something in his face.

If you can drag yourself away from the foxiness thing, then this's exactly how Jan Herak managed to get himself in the state he's in in the very first header shot ...




And once in that state, here are some of his variations on the theme of that first pose ...





... with a quick sit-down ...


... before bidding us a fond 'farewell' ...


Though it looks pretty much like a 'hello' to me!

Some Ab Fab 50s Fabric and Lino Design

1 Marion Mahler fabric design

In a probably premature celebratory move (so I'm seriously tempting the Gods of Smugness here), some ab fab 50s fabric and lino design.

For me what's great is the introduction of simple quirky abstract shapes and bright primary colours in often off-centre design - all as a way, I guess, of optimistically starting the new decade after after the horrors of WW2.

No more comment is needed guys ...

2 Marion Mahler fabric design

3 Marion Mahler fabric design

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5

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7

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14

Champagne!

Any favourites?

I'm crazy bout the first three Marion Mahler designs and (for obvious reasons) the lurid bright green lino design (#7)!!!

News Flash 3

Sticks had the bright idea that the Aiden Shaw post was the villain in the piece - cos once he got back past it, the rest of the blog re-appeared, along with the right side bar (with my profile and things).

When I tried to turn this suspect post into a draft, it disappeared - after a message saying there were HTML errors!

So maybe the problem is solved.

How do things seem now for those who were having problems here?

News Flash 2

Hey again guys.

One obvious solution for getting round the difficulties I'm currently experiencing here is to export the whole blog into the new blog site I set up a while back - 'The New Organ Between My Ears'.

Now, perhaps all my blogs may be experiencing the same problems, springing from the same Google email account, nickwallacesmith@gmail.com.

So to determine whether this is the case or not, would someone mind checking 'The New Organ Between My Ears' (LINK) and saying whether there are two (hot) posts and a sidebar with my profile and pretty much all the stuff here, and whether comments can be posted?

I'd appreciate any help on this - so we can just get right back into it.

And with the expanded storage, big video posts will be back in the agenda!