I was also reminded of the these stickers today because I was driving behind someone I’m fond of, and I thought I saw one of these stickers on her car. It was incredibly disappointing to consider the possibility. I was relieved to learn that it wasn’t a Jesus sticker, but a firefighter crew sticker. Cut me some slack — they looked similar at a distance! ;)

Later today I’m going to take some photos of the daily “No on Prop 8″ rally at the intersection of Lynn Road and Hillcrest Drive as I drive to the gym. I’d really like to interview some of the people to get some material to ridicule on YouTube, but I don’t have that kind of time.

The KPFK radio hosts then came back on the air to announce that for a donation to the station of just $175, I could get a copy of this amazing DVD. They went on to explain that the reason conventional medicine cannot or will not cure cancers, arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease, is because there is a conspiracy among the government, and pharmaceutical and meat industries that prevent this information getting out. One of the hosts pointed out that the founder of the AMA isn’t even a doctor! (Actually, Nathan Smith Davis was indeed a well respected medical doctor.) The two hosts went on to explain the vast conspiracy, but I couldn’t bear it any longer.

As some people know, I had cancer (NHL DLC) about ten years ago. By the time I was diagnosed and treated, my odds weren’t good. However, conventional medicine did bring me to a state of remission, and I am very thankful to my doctors, medical staff, friends, and family. I remember the feelings of hopelessness, though not to the degree of someone for whom there are no known effective treatments. It is these people I think about when I hear quacks and self-help gurus market their secrets (in some cases, The Secret™). It makes me absolutely furious when I see false hope packaged, marketed, and sold — often with aid, complicity, or actual endorsements by otherwise respectable personalities and organizations.

Regarding this particular diet plan; I will concede that it’s a darn good idea to eat more vegetables. But to claim that eating only raw vegetables will cure serious disease is just deplorable.

I’ll be happy to have this week of workouts behind me. Hopefully I can build up my core strength quickly, as most of the exercises make use of abs and back. Just doing the strength portion, I average 150 BPM and max at 175 BPM. Who knew that the act of moving one’s body around could take some much energy. It’s easy to understand how quickly a human would turn to Jell-O in a weightless environment (or a desk).

Here are some pictures from the event. More are posted on my Google Picasa page.

The Marcel Marceau figure cracked me up. Apparently French mime artists are all the rage these days.

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I was recently asked about scholarly books on the subject of swinging, AKA The Lifestyle. In fact, I’ve not read any conventional, published material on the subject. Of course, Couple Doing It has a fantastic website to explain what it’s all about to the “vanilla” world. Their great sense of humor and writing style make the content accessible to practically anyone.

So, I asked some of my friends, and did some research on my own. I have assembled a list of books on the topic (and some that aren’t) that may be helpful to someone that is interested in learning about The Lifestyle, but does not necessarily have any intention of participating. If you have comments about items on the list, or would like to add another reference, please post a comment or send me an e-mail. Thanks!

The Lifestyle: A Look at the Erotic Rites of Swingers

by Terry Gould (2000)

This appears to be a fairly serious investigative treatment of The Lifestyle. Some readers appreciated it, others didn’t. One reviewer offered, “if you have only a curiosity about it, this will tell you what you want to know in an unbiased, unvarnished manner.”

Together Sex

by Ed and Dana Allen (2005)

This book seems well reviewed by readers that offer some reasonable and coherent arguments. Oddly, if you view the scanned material (Amazon Search Inside!™), the same ISBN refers to a book copyrighted in 1976 by Ann and Ed Allen by a different publisher. It might be an honest mistake, but still, WTF?

Recreational Sex : An Insider’s Guide to the Swinging Lifestyle


by Patti Thomas (1997)

The writing style appears to be quite informal, and possibly something that can be read quickly. However, many reviewers that identify themselves as swingers attest to its accuracy.

A Private Diary: Our First Year in Swinging

by Jerry L. Moore (2005)

The gimmick of this book is that it’s written by a real couple as they entered The Lifestyle. Given that perspective, it couldn’t possibly provide the reader with a generalized survey of swinging. Some reviewers complained about the author’s writing ability. That seems a little harsh for a book with “private diary” in the title.

The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities

by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt (1998)

This book did not appear in my initial searching, but was identified by a couple in The Lifestyle that I respect greatly. From the many positive reviews, it appears that the content is more about polyamory and human emotion, than with swinging in particular.

The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People

by David P. Barash and Judith Eve Lipton (2002)

This book examines the difference between what the animal world actually does, and what we’ve been told that they do, with regard to monogamy and raising of offspring. I don’t know that the authors actually make any statements about whether humans should try to be monogamous or not. It seems interesting, but not actually related to The Lifestyle.

Open Marriage: A New Life Style for Couples

by Nena and George O’Neill (1984)

This is a book originally published in 1973, and reprinted in 1984. The content is dated and doesn’t address what we know as swinging today. This seems to be the most popular complaint of reviewers. However, I include it on this list for historical purposes and because I had heard about this book before doing any research on The Lifestyle recently.

I went to the Cal Poly Tractor Pull as a child with my dad. It was awesome. I remember the Godfather and Nitemare with multiple V8 engines strapped onto their frames. The sound of these machines with their massive superchargers sitting atop big blocks made the air vibrate and the ground shake. I remember the smell of nitromethane. When a blower belt would break, little bits of rubber would rain down on us like confetti. It’s one of the best memories I have. Even as an adult, I get teary when watching these spectacles.

Today I am a fan of super stock and pro stock tractor pulling classes. These are massively modified diesel engines with multiple turbo compressors that produce nearly ten times the horsepower of the tractors they vaguely resemble.

I haven’t been to a tractor pull in more than a year. Hopefully ESPN will pick up the ATPA or NTPA series this summer. If you’ve never seen a tractor pull, there is a video on YouTube titled Horsepower! Tractor Pulling in the American Heartland that captures a small slice of the sport. I’ve seen many tractor pulling videos from European countries, especially Finland and Germany, lately. Go figure.

The first two shoe models I thought I wanted didn’t fit well. The sales assistant offered to verify my foot measurements. They were pretty much what I thought they were. We then went over to the computerized foot pressure pad and treadmills. He confirmed that I should have a neutral, ie. squishy, shoe, however the pressure pad graph showed that my arch wasn’t quite as high as I had thought. Interesting. I ran on the treadmill for a while where a video camera is positioned to capture the heel strike and pronation. After these quick tests, he recommended an adidas Response Trail. It was just right. Before leaving, I bought the upsell product: Superfeet Insoles. I do feel like a bit of a sucker when buying any add-ons, like warranty extensions or performance guarantees. But these insoles really do feel nice.

Later that day, I went walking with my folks in Ventura. I arrived a bit early, and I had been wanting to check out the Patagonia retail store at their headquarters. I had Olie with me, so I figured I would just do a bit of window shopping. We walked up to the front of door, and I poked my head in to check it out while Olie was in a sit-stay. ;) The clerk saw me and invited us in. I was hesitant because the store is beautiful and I didn’t want to offend anyone by bringing a dog inside. He reached behind the counter for a doggie biscuit for Olie and then took us on a tour of the store, telling me about the history and philosophy of the company. It was really nice. They’re an awesome company.

So, I experienced EXXXTREME Customer Service yesterday. It was refreshing. I highly recommended it.

My kingdom for some hot sauce! I’ve run out of my favorite brand of hot sauce. For several days I’ve been forced to eat food without a splash of jalepeno juice to awaken my taste buds. I might as well have been eating cardboard. Life without Caliente Cowboy is hardly worth living.

By the way, I categorized this under Lifestyle, because hot sauce most definitely qualifies as a lifestyle for me. ;)

On the upside, I’ve had hardly any intestinal bleeding recently. I doubt there is a connection.

Today I discovered that Kellogg’s Cracklin’ Oat Bran has 7 grams of fat (half of it saturated) per 3/4 cup serving. The ingredient list states that it’s palm oil, rather than palm kernel oil. That’s subtly better. Oh, and brown sugar alone wasn’t enough — it’s got corn syrup, malt syrup, and plain sugar too. Hooray!

I’d rather go to In-N-Out Burger for breakfast, actually.