AANR News

Bill Schroer is no longer employed by AANR as Executive Director. We wish him well.

AANR to Hold Special Fall Meeting November 15th.

by Mike Parker excerpted from The WellSpring (Hidden Springs Newsletter)
New AANR President Beverly Price has scheduled a special AANR board meeting to review and vote on the appointed advisory groups’ feedback on the items that were proposed at the convention this past summer. Some of the items were controversial at the time of proposal, most were not.

Board members will fly in on Saturday to Las Vegas, meet all day Saturday and fly out on Sunday. A low cost hotel is being used and board members are only being reimbursed for the lowest cost air flight available. There is no meal reimbursement, as is the AANR rule for all AANR meetings. Las Vegas was chosen due to low cost airfares and lodging.

Some of the items to be addressed are:

  1. The AANR building – whether to repair or sell and move the organization’s headquarters to a better and safer area.
  2. Simplifying dues structures – the regional presidents are all on this committee.
  3. A proposed name change – is one needed? If so, to what?
  4. Whether to reinstitute a new nudist trade association similar to the closed Trade Association For Nude Recreation (TANR).
  5. The “Carver Model” – whether to change the model of governance of the association to a different type of model as proposed by John Carver, author of the book “Boards That Make A Difference”. It would allow, among other items, looser control of the Executive Director by the board.
  6. Connecting with “adult” or “lifestyle” clubs and a proposed new rating system for nudist clubs. This is the one proposal that has garnered a lot of discussion and feedback. As AANR is now a family-oriented organization, any association with other types of organizations as noted in the first sentence would definitely change the principles and type of organization AANR is. There was a great deal of discussion of this particular item at the AANR-NW fall board meeting in September. Some consider this a “third rail” issue that could destroy AANR.

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Tiny Tim is Dead in the All Together

A few weeks ago, we announced the availability of a nude showing of the next Playwright’s Theater Production. We have picked Friday, Dec 12th as the day for this outing. If you want to be able to be part of this fun time, you need to let us know ASAP. We need to make a decision about whether to go ahead and buy out the theater. We will give it a few more days, but next week we will decide to cancel the nude showing if there aren’t enough people willing to commit to buying a ticket. To make sure you that we have the chance for this fun time and to get one of the seats, reserve a ticket NOW by emailing president@aanr-nw.org . The play will be performed at Hugo House on Capitol Hill in Seattle. This is first come, first serve.

The production is “Tiny Tim is Dead”. The play doesn’t address nudism, but it is a great venue for us to get together for a nude event. The synopsis of the play is:

On a frigid Christmas Eve amidst cardboard shelters and trashcan hearths, five adults and a mute boy band together and give the only gift they can offer. “A Christmas Carol,” as enacted by this ragtag group of vagrants who themselves might ask only for a little heat, leftover food and mittens. This irregular holiday tale is wickedly amusing and delicately poignant as it takes a wry and ironic look at a group of homeless people who form an unconventional family, related not by race, class or education, but by the same circumstances life has found them.

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Revenge Porn Bills

Revenge Porn is the posting of sexually explicit photos on the internet without the permission of all persons in the photo. This posting is often used to get even with ex partners after a breakup. Doing this is very damaging to the victim and should be stopped.

Laws across the country as well as the rest of the world are being written to prevent this sort of abuse. As can happen, these laws can have unintended consequences. They can be written so that even a nude non sexual picture is considered a violation.

Examples of what is happening in the United States can be seen on the NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) website
http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/state-revenge-porn-legislation.aspx

It is very important that we keep watch on legislation in our areas. If we find out early enough, we can take steps to make sure that the wording of the law doesn’t negatively impact innocent nudists. This is just one example of the type of legislation that we have to keep watch on.

Here is an article about how these laws can be overbroad. http://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahjeong/2014/09/23/is-arizonas-revenge-porn-law-overbroad/
and one where naturists are concerned about Britain’s Revenge Porn Law http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/569828/20141017/brit-naturists-oppose-revenge-porn-bill.htm#.VEnxEPnF-So.

If you see anything of concern, please send information to gat-chair@aanr-nw.org. And copy nudenews@aanr-nw.org so that we can keep our readers up-to-date.

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Persistent Prattlings

by Bob Campbell

While I was rummaging around in my alleged mind thinking about what subject I would discuss in this column, a recent piece by New York Times columnist David Brooks caught my attention. He wrote about the revulsion we all experienced over the beheading of two American journalists by Islamic terrorists.
In discussing this revulsion Brooks wrote, “The revulsion aroused by beheading is mostly a moral revulsion. A beheading feels like a defilement. It’s not just an injury or a crime. It is an indignity. A beheading is more like rape, castration or cannibalism. It is a defacement of something sacred that should be inviolable. But what is this sacred thing that is being violated? Well, the human body is sacred.”
The writer has hit upon something most nudists have known all along. He goes on by saying, “Most of us understand, even if we don’t think about it, or have a vocabulary to talk about it these days, that the human body is not just a piece of meat or a bunch of neurons and cells. The human body has a different moral status than a cow’s body or a piece of broccoli.”
He adds, “We’re repulsed by a beheading because the body has spiritual essence. The human head and body don’t just live and pass along genes. They paint, make ethical judgments, savor the beauty of a sunset and experience the transcendent. The body is material but surpasses the material. It’s spiritualized matter.”
Brooks’ column was right on target in his discussion of the human body. It’s no wonder the Islamic world is so heavily clothed. They don’t truly appreciate the magnificence of the wonderful human body. Hopefully most nudists do have that appreciation.
I do not take the subject of terrorist beheadings lightly. They are wrong. They are despicable. The perpetrators deserve to be punished similarly. And nudists should better appreciate just what we have in this country – the freedom to be nude.

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Theater in the Nude

Last week, we announced the availibiliy of a nude showing of the next Playwright’s Theater Production. Since no one has shown a preference for a given night, We will target Friday, Dec 12, 2014. It avoids various activities at local clubs on the Saturday evening, but is still on a weekend. Only 87 seats are available and some have already been spoken for. The play will be performed at Hugo House on Capitol Hill in Seattle. To make sure you get one of the seats, reserve a ticket by emailing president@aanr-nw.org . This is first come, first serve.

This production is “Tiny Tim is Dead”. The play doesn’t address nudism, but it is a great venue for us to get together for a nude event. The synopsis of the play is:

On a frigid Christmas Eve amidst cardboard shelters and trashcan hearths, five adults and a mute boy band together and give the only gift they can offer. “A Christmas Carol,” as enacted by this ragtag group of vagrants who themselves might ask only for a little heat, leftover food and mittens. This irregular holiday tale is wickedly amusing and delicately poignant as it takes a wry and ironic look at a group of homeless people who form an unconventional family, related not by race, class or education, but by the same circumstances life has found them.

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Partial Solar Eclipse – Update

Last week we reported on the partial solar eclipse coming up next Thursday afternoon, 10/23, including the viewing party at Sun Meadow.  For solar eclipses, the times and percent of totality are very location specific.  The times we listed were about 20 minutes off for Sun Meadow, so here are correct times, and times for other areas in the region.  Remember, even during a partial eclipse, the sun is far too bright to look at without proper filters.
 

  Start Time Max Coverage Time End Time % of the sun covered
Sun Meadow: 1:44 3:08 4:25 56%.
Seattle: 1:35 3:00 4:20 54%
Portland 1:37 3:03 4:22 51%
Eugene 1:38 3:04 4:24 49%
Spokane 1:43 3:07 4:24 56%
Boise 1:52 3:15 4:31 51%
Missoula 1:50 3:13 4:29 56%

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Nude showing at next Playwright's Theater Production

We have been contacted by the artistic director from Playwright's Theater, which did the very popular "To the Naked Eye" last June.  Their next production is "Tiny Tim is Dead" and they are willing to have a nude showing night.  The play doesn't address nudism, but it is a great venue for us to get together for nude event.  We will need to buy out the theater since it has nothing to do with nudity.  But I think we will be able to do it. Only 87 seats will be available.  We need a count of who is interested and what nights won't work for you. (send email to president@aanr-nw.org) He has proposed one evening of Dec 10, 11 or 12th.  The synopsis of the play is:

On a frigid Christmas Eve amidst cardboard shelters and trashcan hearths, five adults and a mute boy band together and give the only gift they can offer. “A Christmas Carol,” as enacted by this ragtag group of vagrants who themselves might ask only for a little heat, leftover food and mittens.  This irregular holiday tale is wickedly amusing and delicately poignant as it takes a wry and ironic look at a group of homeless people who form an unconventional family, related not by race, class or education, but by the same circumstances life has found them.

Related Images:

Partial Solar Eclipse

by Margie Cantlon

An eclipse of the sun happens when the moon moves in front of the sun and partially or completely blocks the sun from view. This eclipse will be partial – the moon does not completely cover the sun, but instead seems to “take a bite out of it.” The size of the bite depends on where you are. At Sun Meadow, the eclipse begins at 2:09 pm when the moon begins to move in front of the sun. The sun is then 1/3 of the way up the southwestern sky. A few minutes later people with properly-filtered telescopes will see a “bite” taken out of the right side of the sun. This bite grows slowly larger over the next 80 minutes until at 3:29 the moon covers almost half of the sun, and this is maximum eclipse. The moon then begins to move off the face of the sun, covering less of it minute-by-minute until 4:41 when the eclipse ends.

The sun will grow slightly darker during the eclipse, but not enough to notice. Even when eclipsed the sun is far too bright to look at without proper filters. Number 14 welders filters will work well, as will specially made Mylar and glass solar filters which can be purchased commercially. Fortunately for us, John Mosley has sent us a “sun peep,” which is a “safe eclipse viewer.” We can pass the thing around so we can all get a look at the eclipse.

In parts of region that are further west, the eclipse starts earlier.  In points east, the eclipse starts later.  Please check your local news for details. Or there is a schedule at http://www.vercalendario.info/en/moon/united_states-23-october-2014.html. And be sure to protect your eyes.  Handy hints can be found at http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/eclipse-tips-safety.html

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AANR-NW Wants You!!

In the past months, we have asked for help in various endeavors. AANR-NW is a volunteer organization. There are lots of ways to help.

If you are a lawyer, or you know a lawyer, or can suggest a lawyer that would be willing to represent nudists and their rights to be nude, please send a note to president@aanr-nw.org. We are looking to build a network of lawyers so that if any Northwest Nudists run into a legal battle, we will be able to refer them to lawyers in their state. This is not for pro-bono work.
Various clubs, as well as the nudist libraries, have 8mm and 16mm film that they want to convert to digital. Do you have any suggestions of a lab that can do this conversion but would not have a problem with the family oriented nudity in them? If so, please drop a note to president@aanr-nw.org.
If you haven’t connected your amazon account @ smile.amazon.com to the AANR Education Foundation, please go to smile.amazon.com and search for AANR Education Foundation and add them as your charity. Once you have done this, whenever you start your shopping at smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate .5% of the purchase price on most items to the cause of education and social nudism.
The Northwest Nude News needs content. If you have ideas for news or other articles, please send them to president@aanr-nw.org . Also, please send us your story about how or why you are a nudist for our continuing feature.
The AANR Bulletin is also looking for story contributions. If you have a story or an idea for a story , please send it on to bulletinads@aanr.com. Pictures are also needed, but you will need a signed AANR photo release for anyone that is recognizable in the photo.
GAT (Government Affairs Team) needs everyone to pay attention to what is going on in your community. If you find out about an issue that may affect social nudism, please send a note to gat-chair@aanr-nw.org. It is far better that the GAT hear about the same thing multiple times than for them to never hear about it. GAT is also looking for state chairs for Washington and Montana. There will be GAT training sessions at the AANR-NW Spring Board meeting in April at Squaw Mountain, as well as at the AANR-NW Convention in July at Fraternity Snoqualmie. For more information, please contact gat-chair@aanr-nw.org

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