Ashton Kutcher and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have a lot more in common than a shared hatred of CNN. Their antics have helped demonstrate the growing influence of Twitter as a communication medium.
This week thousands of Iranian techies used Twitter to provide on-the-spot reporting as they took to the streets to protest Friday’s “punked” reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Due to state restrictions placed on conventional news sources like CNN, Twitter prevailed, providing both a vent for the frustrated population and one of the only windows into the chaotic situation.
Similarly, Kutcher’s public challenge and triumph over CNN in the race to 1 million followers demonstrated the power a single person can have in today’s networked society. Especially if their wife is Demi Moore and they are willing to share photos of her butt.
It’s also interesting to note that Ahmadinejad has promised to “ding dong ditch” the house of his opposing candidate, reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi when he is finally declared the winner of the election.
A topless Mona Lisa painted in a similar hand of the master Leonardo da Vinci has been discovered. This painting, which features many parallels to the original Mona Lisa, was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci at purchase in 1845. Leonardo may have painted his famous Mona Lisa in a number of styles — including nude. But it may just be a study based on one of the artist’s now-lost works.
A video promoting the exhibit.
According to Alessandro Vezzosi, director of the Louvre, Paris. The original naked Mona might have been part of a series of erotic portraits by da Vinci and his pupils, which were never really shown because they were considered inappropriate. Called “Monna Vanna,” the topless versions of the Mona Lisa are indeed often considered the portraits of a court mistress or prostitute.
Aside from social mores these portraits inspired other artists including. Raphaello’s 1518 portrait of his mistress, “The Baker Girl.”
“Our quest for naked Mona Lisa’s continues. We are now on the tracks of another interesting version in Las Vegas,” Vezzosi said.
