What a delightful "bad ass" free spirit Aiché Nanà must have been! Fabulous story with a sad ending. Once again, men judging women by so called "morals and values" that they never apply to themselves.
I never get invited to the good parties. Sure, I was 3 mo.s shy of my 2nd birthday and living in Lancaster, CA. But still.
I really cannot abide prudes, regardless of whether they harm others or (like Umberto) themselves. The prude, like the zealot, always hides a secret weakness (I'm pulling a line from LeCarre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" here.) Or, in the case of the prude, a secret hypocrisy. Internet traffic demonstrates that by far the biggest consumers of porn are all in the deep red Bible Belt.
I am reminded of Judge Ben Lindsey of Colorado who was hounded off the bench on fabricated corruption charges for publishing (in the late 1920's) a book advocating for (and by the same title) "Companionate Marriage." His argument was that birth control should be legal for married couples who want the companionship of marriage without the burden of children. That's not even 100 years ago. (You can download a copy of his book from the Internet Archive, and see for yourself how tame his argument really is: https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28companionate%20marriage%29 )
I'm glad she achieved something of a life for herself. I'm sad that Umberto felt he had to throw his life away. (I mean, a *JAZZ* pianist? Jazz is supposed to make you sweaty and get naked, yeah? Maybe I'm missing something, but Beethoven never had that effect on me.)
I'd never heard of Judge Lindsey of Colorado, and now I have, thanks to you. Yeah, you'd think poor Umberto would have been a little more ... jazz musician-ish? John knew his son quite well, and met Umberto on numerous occasions. The guy was superbly talented.
I'm always fascinated by prudery and the feigned revulsion at the sight of a naked female body. Granted, that's not so shocking today, but back in the day, it still made no sense. The naked female body had only the power to offend that one saw fit to grant it, yet far too many saw it as evil and dirty. That, after the gaudiness of their churches when so many of the faithful were so desperately poor, is my biggest problem with the Catholic Church. The Church cared far less for the spiritual life of their flock than their money and controlling their lives. It's truly pathetic that so many continue to buy into it.
The Vatican has always built upon corruption, suffering, ignorance, and poverty. And millions of Catholics have blithely signed up to be taken for a ride.
So, this story is actually worth the effort to type. There is a palazzo here in Amelia with beautiful frescoed ceilings. One of those ceilings had been written about in art books. It depicted a beautiful naked nymph--you know, pretty typical fare for these parts. But no one could find it. It seemed to have disappeared.
Then a friend of mine bought a palazzo, and she quickly realized there was a false ceiling in the bedroom. When she took it down, voila--the naked nymph. Now, why was there a false ceiling in the first place? The previous owner was a priest who was affronted by the sight of female nudity.
Fascinating story. From exposed ankles, to gams, and Elvis being cut off at the waist for gyrating his hips, a free thinking society will keep being repressed as long as religious ideology gets to call the shots on morality and what’s offensive.
Touche’! Uncle Jon mentioned the other day that”the tragedy of religion is that it’s based on something that doesn’t exist”. I’ll never understand it either.🤔
What a delightful "bad ass" free spirit Aiché Nanà must have been! Fabulous story with a sad ending. Once again, men judging women by so called "morals and values" that they never apply to themselves.
*sigh* We've put up with more than our fair share of their nonsense, haven't we?
Great story Stacey! Sad...
I thought so, too. In this case, for both Aiché Nanà AND Umberto. Life can be profoundly unfair.
I never get invited to the good parties. Sure, I was 3 mo.s shy of my 2nd birthday and living in Lancaster, CA. But still.
I really cannot abide prudes, regardless of whether they harm others or (like Umberto) themselves. The prude, like the zealot, always hides a secret weakness (I'm pulling a line from LeCarre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" here.) Or, in the case of the prude, a secret hypocrisy. Internet traffic demonstrates that by far the biggest consumers of porn are all in the deep red Bible Belt.
I am reminded of Judge Ben Lindsey of Colorado who was hounded off the bench on fabricated corruption charges for publishing (in the late 1920's) a book advocating for (and by the same title) "Companionate Marriage." His argument was that birth control should be legal for married couples who want the companionship of marriage without the burden of children. That's not even 100 years ago. (You can download a copy of his book from the Internet Archive, and see for yourself how tame his argument really is: https://archive.org/search.php?query=title%3A%28companionate%20marriage%29 )
I'm glad she achieved something of a life for herself. I'm sad that Umberto felt he had to throw his life away. (I mean, a *JAZZ* pianist? Jazz is supposed to make you sweaty and get naked, yeah? Maybe I'm missing something, but Beethoven never had that effect on me.)
I'd never heard of Judge Lindsey of Colorado, and now I have, thanks to you. Yeah, you'd think poor Umberto would have been a little more ... jazz musician-ish? John knew his son quite well, and met Umberto on numerous occasions. The guy was superbly talented.
I'm always fascinated by prudery and the feigned revulsion at the sight of a naked female body. Granted, that's not so shocking today, but back in the day, it still made no sense. The naked female body had only the power to offend that one saw fit to grant it, yet far too many saw it as evil and dirty. That, after the gaudiness of their churches when so many of the faithful were so desperately poor, is my biggest problem with the Catholic Church. The Church cared far less for the spiritual life of their flock than their money and controlling their lives. It's truly pathetic that so many continue to buy into it.
The Vatican has always built upon corruption, suffering, ignorance, and poverty. And millions of Catholics have blithely signed up to be taken for a ride.
So, this story is actually worth the effort to type. There is a palazzo here in Amelia with beautiful frescoed ceilings. One of those ceilings had been written about in art books. It depicted a beautiful naked nymph--you know, pretty typical fare for these parts. But no one could find it. It seemed to have disappeared.
Then a friend of mine bought a palazzo, and she quickly realized there was a false ceiling in the bedroom. When she took it down, voila--the naked nymph. Now, why was there a false ceiling in the first place? The previous owner was a priest who was affronted by the sight of female nudity.
Fascinating story. From exposed ankles, to gams, and Elvis being cut off at the waist for gyrating his hips, a free thinking society will keep being repressed as long as religious ideology gets to call the shots on morality and what’s offensive.
Separation of church and state. Why we've allowed these encroachments I will never understand.
Touche’! Uncle Jon mentioned the other day that”the tragedy of religion is that it’s based on something that doesn’t exist”. I’ll never understand it either.🤔