All the old paintings on the tomb - they do the sand dance, don't you know?

Oh, no! Back to work again!

Truth be told, I am not overly distraught - for, although this is likely to be a hectic one in work (it's always shit after any time away, and there were major changes in workloads just before I went on leave thanks to two people leaving in quick succession), I'm only there for five days before we jet off to the joys of Benalmadena again for a week (and I have another week off aftwerwards, to boot)!

On Saturday, a little gang of us went to the weird and wonderful Tutankhamun Immersive Experience [my first ever VR headset experience], where we were in turn educated and (mainly) overwhelmed with visuals evoking the glories and the mythology of the Ancient Egyptian empire (of which Tutenkhamun was merely a minor representative, given its 3000-year history) via glittering moving walls illustrating that world, followed by a (literally) flying 3D trip through Tutenkhamun's tomb and on to the mythological afterlife and much more besides. Best of all was the room where the headsets not only dropped everyone into a complete walk-around representation of archaeologist Howard Carter's desert camp (with the ability to turn pages on his books and listen to his gramophone) and the tomb he opened, but (hilariously) made everyone in the room into an avatar of the venerable gentleman explorer himself [with ID numbers underneath, so you could locate companions easily]!

Oh, and there was even an "AI photobooth", that merged one's features with Egyptian garb...

A floating Tut sarcophagus, and me as some kind of (big-eared) Pharaoh

It was quite extraordinary, and loads of fun!

Back to reality. On this Tacky Music Monday, this seems appropriate:

Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian

Have a good week, dear reader. I won't.

By the sea-side, beside the sea

From the BBC:

Graffiti artist Banksy has announced an exhibition at a derelict seafront lido in Weston-super-Mare.

The Dismaland show - which will also feature work from Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer and Jimmy Cauty - will take over the Tropicana site for five weeks.

Banksy described the show as a "family theme park unsuitable for children".

Sounds perfect to me!

Dismaland Bemusement Park – a festival of art, amusements and entry-level anarchism is open from 22nd August – 27th September 2015.

"We are not used to seeing a penis"

Do you find this shocking?

...or this?



Or any of them?











I like to think that male nudity is natural and pleasant (even if the "New Puritans" of San Francisco disagree - but that's America, where "moral outrage" is a money-making scam trend). We tend to think of Europe as being rather progressive where nudity is concerned.

However, apparently the Nackte Männer exhibition has caused quite a stir under the starched petticoats of the burghers of Vienna.

Read more on the BBC.

Tobias Natter, the director of the Leopold Museum said:

"It's quite unusual for an exhibition to focus on the depiction of the male nude. Surprisingly we had many exhibitions dealing with the female nude body, but so far never an exhibition which features the male nude. Somehow it is a taboo.

"On the other hand, we see that the male nude is getting a new presence in modern contemporary society. He is now on posters, he is on stages, he is getting more and more normal."

Erich Kocina of Die Presse newspaper said of the outrage:

"We are not used to seeing a penis - I think that is the main problem for people”

Ain't that the truth?

Nackte Männer: Nude men from 1800 to the present day is on at the Leopold Museum of Art until 28th January 2013.

Hello, Sailor

Trawling the website of Homotopia, a highlight of the Liverpool City of Culture [sic] celebrations, I came across this fascinating piece about an exhibition based on the lives and experiences of gay seamen (fnaar fnaar), particularly in the Merchant Navy.

Contrary to the opinions of some militant gays out there, who only want to see gay men portrayed as "straight acting" and attack camp as a sign of "weakness", these are the stories of real men, real heroes - serving their country in the face of war by day, and donning feathers and spangles by night!

I especially loved the maps the boys painstakingly drew up for each port they visited - charting the clubs, bars and cottages worth visiting across the world. And the fact that they gave their quarters nicknames such as "Balmoral" (where the queen lives) made me hoot!

I really hope that the lovely Jo Stanley realises her ambition, and this exhibition does go on tour. I would be fascinated to see it make an appearance in Greenwich Maritime Museum...

"Hello Sailor" - Gay Life on the Ocean Wave (Homotopia Festival 2008)

Vanity, vanity, all is vanity

I am salivating about the forthcoming exhibition of photos as featured in the gloriously camp Vanity Fair magazine.

On display at the National Portrait Gallery from 14 February 2008, the exhibition promises a spectacular display of pics by some of the most renowned photographers of the twentieth century, including Baron De Meyer, Edward Steichen, Man Ray and Cecil Beaton, as well as portraits by celebrated contemporary photographers such as Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts.

Sumptuous!

Read more about the exhibition