Total Gorgeousity

Last weekend, fiend Reader Mr. Lion jogged my memory about a certain car that I’ve always loved simply because it is so beautiful.  (Forget actually driving one:  they cost well over a million dollars, if  you could find someone willing to part with theirs.  Good luck.)

Anyway, here it is, the Ferrari 250 California Spyder, from 1958. 

Ferrari made several variations of the 250 over the years.  One of my favorites is the rather more conservative GTL Lusso:

Then there’s the (much) racier GTO:

I could go on, but there’s only so much one can stand, really.  Your favorite 250 models in Comments, if you like.

Wet

My wallpaper for the past few days (right-click & open in new tab to embiggen):

I know, it would be nice to show a beautiful street scene without graffiti.  Good luck finding one anywhere in Europe these days.

Regardless:  I need to get back to Paris, and soon.

Wanton Poses

From Reader David S comes this observation in email:  “I can’t get that pic you recently posted of Sophia Loren out of my mind.  Why is that?”

It’s a simple answer, and while Sophia is undoubtedly gorgeous, it’s her unladylike pose which does it.  Those carelessly-sprawled legs… the pose is an age-old aphrodisiac to men, and so powerful is its effect that it was only in the modern era that artists could even begin to portray it, e.g. Henri Matisse’s Odalisque Couchée:

…and Egon Schiele’s Reclining Woman:

Now understand me well:  I’m not talking about the typical pornographic splayed-leg shots, which remind me of nothing less than a gynecological view of the female anatomy (and Schiele is perilously close to it in the above).  But there is something sexy — maybe frighteningly-sexy — when the pose is done properly.  And of course, what I’m saying is useless without pictorial evidence, so here we go:

Téa Leoni:

Anthea Turner:

Amanda Righetti:

Amy Adams:

…and of course, there’s Marilyn:

But when it comes to truly erotic, you need a recumbent pose to get the full effect:

Jean Carmen:

Catherine Deneuve:

Kirsten Dunst:

Claire Goose:

Anita Ekberg:
…and finally, in a pose which mimics Matisse’s Odalisque, Charlotte Rampling:

Some people find these poses too overtly sexual — “slutty”, as my Mom might have put it — but there’s no denying their attraction.  I report, you decide.

Trifecta

I am often asked why I prefer movie stars of yore to today’s offerings. Allow me to explain, using but a single picture taken sometime in the 1950s:

That’s Jane Russell on the right, Debra Paget (I think) on the left, and I don’t know who’s in the middle.

None of that is important. As long as you’re prepared to overlook the hot dogs, that is.