Nudity

Nudity, or nakedness, is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is a predominantly human characteristic arising from functional needs such as protection from the elements and from cold temperatures, after the loss of body hair, and migration to colder regions. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations, such as a need for warmth, as well as social circumstances. In some situations, a minimum amount of clothing or none at all may be considered socially acceptable, while in others much more clothing may be expected. Social considerations involve issues of modesty, decency and social norms, besides other considerations, and these may depend on the context. There may also be legal considerations.

Terminology

Full nudity refers to complete nudity, while partial nudity refers to less than full nudity, with parts of the body covered in some manner. The term partial nudity is sometimes used to refer to exposure of skin beyond what the person using the expression considers to be within the limits of modesty. If the exposure is within the standards of modesty of a given culture and setting (e.g. wearing a bikini at a non-nude beach), terms such as nudity, partial or otherwise, are not normally used. If however, the degree of exposure exceeds the cultural norms of the setting, or if the activity or setting includes nudity as an understood part of its function, such as a nude beach, terminology relating to nudity and degrees thereof are typically used. Toplessness is regarded by most people as partial nudity.

Nude (Renoir, Belgrade, 1910)

Nude (1910, French: Nu, Serbian: Купачица / Kupačica) is a painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is oil on canvas, and was painted in 1910. In 1996 the estimated worth was about 6 million US Dollars. The painting is currently housed in the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade. The painting was given to the Serbian people by Prince Paul of Yugoslavia.

History

The painting was stolen in 1996 by an amateur Roma thief. During the theft, it was badly damaged and was recovered in poor condition, requiring a year of restoration. After the Renoir was stolen, the entire foreign art collection was moved to the museum warehouse to protect the collection until a better security system could be installed.

References

Nude (Aco album)

Nude (ヌード Nuudo) is the second studio album by Japanese singer-songwriter Aco, released on 21 April 1997.

All music and lyrics by Aco.

Track listing

References

Vast (novel)

Vast is a science fiction novel by Linda Nagata, part of her loosely connected "Nanotech Succession" sequence.

Background

The main characters of Vast are the crew and passengers of the Null Boundary, who are fleeing from the alien Chenzeme. The Chenzeme, using the "cult virus" and other, more conventional, weapons have destroyed much of human-occupied space, leaving the inhabitants of the Null Boundary to attempt to discover why.

While Vast is a standalone novel, there are links to The Bohr Maker, Tech-Heaven and Deception Well, primarily in the form of two shared technological innovations: advanced nanotechnology and "ghosts", a name given to electronically preserved human memories and personalities.

Literary significance and reception

The SF Site gave the novel a positive review, commenting on the balance between the relatively straightforward plotline and the complex character interaction.

John Clute, in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, described the "Deception Well" sub-sequence (comprising Deception Well and Vast) as "an immensely complex tale," drawing comparisons with the work of Olaf Stapledon and Larry Niven.

VAST (disambiguation)

VAST can mean: as a styling:

VAST as an acronym