5th Anniversary HNT!

First off...say a little prayer for Phain (Remember Phain? Longtime HNTer/OHNTer/two-time MG/two-time OsShirt recipient). Just got word that her apartment building burned to the ground today. She and her kids are safe, but they have lost literally everything. I'll let you know what, if anything, we can do.

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Be sure to check the post below this one too. A list of my favorite HNTs. A great blast from the past, with a new one just added today!

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OK, on to the business at hand... It was five years ago that this little venture started from such humble beginnings. Thousands of pictures, and hundreds of participants later, it shows no sign of stopping. To start off this long post, I'll repost the Guidelines for HNT. These haven't changed since the day they were written. Granted, some of them are unneeded or outdated. But I keep them in anyway. I know that there are many of you who have never seen these. Please take the time to read them! As always, you can click on any of the HNT badges/buttons and find them, too!

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The Guidelines
I offer these guidelines for "Half-Nekkid Thursday":

• In that North American, Puritanical way that most of my readers think, "Nekkid", or its variations, somehow insinuates sex, or its variations. WRONG!! The purpose of "Half-Nekkid Thursday" is not to see sex acts! It is the celebration of exposure. Of your big toe. Of your breastbone. Of your knuckles. Of your uvula. Whatever. Of course, sex acts can qualify, so if you want to post those.....
  
• "Nekkid" is not the same as nude! Again, nude qualifies, but it is not a requirement!
  
• Pictures should be taken of you or by you. Don't be going to some internet site and downloading "Half-Nekkid" pics. And don't use Uncle Bob's pictures from Spring Break '72, either. Let's try to keep this fairly "real".
  
• You don't necessarily have to be the subject of the picture. By the same token, if you're not, then the subject(s) should be known to you. No fair going to the beach and snapping pictures left and right. Yes, they might be "Half-Nekkid", but they don't follow the spirit of "Half-Nekkid Thursday".
  
• While animals can be included in a "Half-Nekkid Thursday" picture, they are not the focus, therefore cannot be the subject. If an animal is all that keeps your picture "Half-Nekkid" rather than "Full-Nekkid", that's OK.
  
• You are allowed a very limited number of cute-kids-in-the-tub type of pictures. We're interested in YOU!
  
• Use some originality with your shots. Facial shots should be limited. Artsy body landscapes, conversely, are highly encouraged. If a partner/family member is needed to take the picture, that's OK.
  
• Props can help you with creativity, and their use is encouraged, but not necessary.
  
• As we get into this, you may find that you want to post more than one picture for "Half-Nekkid Thursday". I would discourage this practice unless absolutely necessary. You should hold some pictures in reserve, in case you find yourself without a new picture down the road.
  
• While I can hardly control when you post pictures on your own blogs, let's try to keep "Half-Nekkid Thursday" special, and post "Half-Nekkid" pics only on Thursdays. If you feel the urge to post them more than once a week, I might recommend just emailing them out, rather than posting.
  
• Tattoos are certainly an acceptable subject, regardless of location. Scars are also acceptable, but please respect the others who visit "Half-Nekkid Thursday" on a regular basis. Spread out the scar pictures over a few weeks' time, please!
  
• Speaking of scars--If you use a picture of a scar, it must be accompanied by some sort of humorous anecdote as to how you got it. For a long, but good example, go here.
  
• Other skin conditions might not be acceptable, due to good taste. These include, but are not limited to warts, zits, lesions, ingrown hairs, boils, open sores, peeling skin, scabies, rashes, or any other assorted gross things. I'm not saying that you can't post them. Just use your best judgment, for the sake of the rest of us.
  
• When referring to "Half-Nekkid Thursday", please spell it correctly! Not Naked, not Neked, not Nakid. It's "Half-Nekkid Thursday".
  
• It's very important to not be dissing other's submissions! We're all going to have half-hearted entries from time to time. None of us is better than the other. One the other hand, it's completely acceptable to heap praise upon those that deserve it!
  
• IMPORTANT!--Remember to visit my current "HNT" post and leave a comment indicating that you've posted a picture for "Half-Nekkid Thursday". Consider my blog as the informational kiosk for "Half-Nekkid Thursday". You'll be able to see who is joining the tradition. Commenting is much easier for all concerned, rather than updating my blog each time someone posts their picture. I will try to keep the Blogroll in my sidebar updated each week.

I hope that these guidelines help all of you. Get those cameras going!

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Back in the simpler days, when all I thought HNT would amount to was a tummy, or a bare shoulder, or an earlobe, this was the sort of half-nekkidness that we expected to see. I even started out by pushing the limit! I sort of hit the gross factor right off the bat! That's a nasty blister that formed and popped during a round of golf five years ago. But for what it's worth, it's the very first official HNT picture. To the right, the same heel and the same parking lot, but sans blister. You can click 'em to big 'em, but that would just be weird.

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I love to touch her skin.
Soft, delicious skin on legs, belly, erect breasts, succulent lips.
I love to touch her skin.
Our mouths, with gentle suction, pulling and drawing.
Our tongues, entwined in rhythmical dance,
sliding, swirling, simulated movements when united.
Thick protrusion enters her skin,
Her skin, I love to touch.

The first time we touched, I held you so tight
that feeling I felt only felt so right.
Things were moving kind of fast and I wanted more
You made me feel so comfortable and said once more
We are miles apart and I wonder when I will see you again,
I can't wait till I kiss you, hold you, and just see you....
My sexy mystery friend.

This week's Mystery Guest will be revealed Thursday afternoon. Thanks to her secret admirer for the words.
The MG this week is Crystal, but it seems like many of you had that figured out! Stop by to say hi anyway!

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Based on the early returns, it's going to be a little sparse over at "...the Other HNT". I offered it as a place for former bloggers to join in on the festivities if they wanted, but I haven't heard from any of them yet. I hope they're not all waiting until the last minute! So I don't know what's going to be over there, but let's assume it's NSFW like usual!

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I've been getting some interesting questions over there in the formspring box in my sidebar. Keep them coming! Anonymously, even!

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Go check out the OsShirt site in the near future. OsShirt v.3 will be showing up there soon. It's been quite active as of late, and will be taking a trans-continental vacation this summer! You might even get to see it somewhere among this week's HNTs, too!

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Many of you might have received some lovely spam from my gmail account. Gmail even shut me down and made me jump through hoops to get back into my own account! And then last night, my ability to send emails was temporarily suspended (it's back now) because "I" had sent out too many undeliverable emails (that would be the spam filters on your end). Some research shows that if you clicked the link provided, your computer was not infected at all. Just urged to by Viagrow. If you received this link from me, please consider buying some Viagrow. I'm hoping I can get a commission from the sales. (I also hear that Daniel from "29 Pearls in Your Kiss..." got spam sent out under his name, and I got one last week from Roximoon. What's up with Gmail???)

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OK, I only had one person who wanted to send their anniversary tribute to OHNT, so I'm going to put her here. This is from MamaKBear:

Here are my pics...my very first HNT was in Oct. 2005, and was a picture of my hand with my baby daughter's hand in it. I took a recreation, and the anniversary HNT pic is of my hand and my now 5 yr old daughter Meghan's hand. :) How fitting that she is 5 now also!