Just another naked day in Times Square....

SUBMITTED BY: Erik Paulsen   LOCATION: Times Square, New York City (2012)

When posing for a Tacky Tourist Photo, it is usually customary to embrace the quirky statue or mascot as if you are best friends.

Yet, there is something rather skeevy about getting intimate with a Naked Cowboy you just met.

Enter the brilliance of Erik, who pensively looks to the heavens, so immersed in thought that he almost doesn’t even notice the scantily-clad gent in front of the Marriott.  There’s now a proven method to pose with people when getting too close would be embarrassing or downright unhygienic.

On a side note, TTP has been at the forefront of insightful Naked Cowboy coverage rivaling the New York Post, the NY Daily News and Gawker. We’ve faithfully covered the Naked Cowboy for President campaign, the legal battle with the Naked Cowgirl and her common bond with Lady Gaga.

We’re depending on Erik to covertly capture the next chapter.

(Erik Paulsen, not to be confused with the Minnesota Congressman, is a sports video editor and photojournalist who has covered the Stanley Cup and the Tour de France. He also is a militant vegan.)

Al takes a nosedive into his exclusive sweat test on Beyonce's armpit at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

SUBMITTED BY: Al Kaufman   LOCATION: New York, NY (2011)

Beyonce’s “Heat” perfume was so hot that it was banned from the British airwaves.

Maybe it’s time for the diva to launch her own deodorant?

(Al Kaufman is an Atlanta music writer who avoids using the term “diva,” yet is pining for a Destiny’s Child reunion tour.)

The only lingering question about the Naked Cowboy’s campaign for president is will he take a page out of the Obama-Clinton playbook and name the Naked Cowgirl as his Secretary of State?

Despite their shared love for shocking Manhattan tourists, the Naked Dynamic Duo are actually bitter rivals.

As for offbeat presidential candidates, our pick for 2012 is Vermin Supreme, “King of the Rats!”

Do the peace sign and the middle finger cancel each other out?

SUBMITTED BY: Ilya Mirman    LOCATION: Times Square, New York (2009)

When the chain restaurants, Ferris wheels and wax museums replaced the strippers during the Rudy Giuliani administration, Times Square became just another mall, albeit with much tougher parking.

How refreshing, then, to stumble across Ms. Naked Cowgirl, a gregarious grandmotherly figure who’ll bite your head off if you dare photograph her cleavage without paying her $2 fee. Is it us, or is she a dead ringer for Carol Channing?

Ms. Naked Cowgirl is inspired by Times Square icon Robert Burck, a.k.a. The Naked Cowboy, who prances around the sidewalks wearing nothing but cowboy boots and tight briefs — no matter if it rains or snows.

“I saw that she was shooing people away from taking a picture. I asked them what happened, and they said that she wanted $2 for photo,” says photographer Ilya Mirman, a sucker for models in fishnet stockings. “I thought, ‘Geez’ – here’s a nice lady, trying to make a buck, getting no respect. So I went over, gave her $5, and she was just besides herself with glee – offering multiple poses, effusively grateful, and giving me a postcard of herself.”

Imagine what $10 might buy…

Tacky Tourist Photos co-founder Ilya Mirman with the Naked Cowgirl.

(Tacky Tourist Photos co-founder Ilya Mirman blogs at Kerslappity.com)

Ilya Mirman flirts with Jessica Simpson at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

SUBMITTED BY: Ilya Mirman        LOCATION: New York City (2008)

The surefire way to know who the classy guys are?

They’re the ones with the courtesy NOT to snap Jessica Simpson’s wax bra strap.

(Ilya also loves to shoot rock concerts, and was recently a guest guitar player for Mr. Brownstone, the infamous Guns ‘N Roses cover band.)