Hollywood, California, is my spiritual hometown. I actually grew up in three other communities in California, but it hardly seems to matter which three. How could my heart take root anywhere under the tyranny of American public schooling?
I don’t have to work for a living. After my father died in December 1997, my family and I won a legal settlement.
The Blog About
Nothing: Sudheer of Hyderabad, India, is a big fan of Playboy and an
even bigger fan of Seinfeld. In this blog, he composes humorous
dialogues for the show’s characters.
Hit & Run: the official
blog of my other favorite magazine, Reason: Free Minds and Free
Markets; winner
of the 2005 Weblog Award for Best Group Blog; “the best
libertarian blog” according to the October 2005 issue of
Playboy.
Scoobie Davis Online: a self-described “filmmaker, surfer, and party crasher” in southern California. He’s also a Playboy fan, a left-leaning political gadfly, and a connoisseur of Jack T. Chick religious tracts.
The Search for
Health in Decadence: poetry and philosophical writings of Will, who has
engaged me in lengthy, good-natured debate through comments on my
blog.
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Steven
Pinker. With stylistic flair, a Harvard cognitive scientist
refutes myths about human nature underlying a multitude of political
beliefs—including many of those that would either favor or
oppose the sexual revolution.
God in Popular Culture by Andrew M. Greeley. A liberal Catholic
priest sees quasi-Christian messages of grace abounding in the
allegedly soulless realm of commercial pop culture. For all I know,
Greeley is not necessarily a Playboy fan. But his
interpretation of Madonna’s song “Like a Virgin” has
influenced my impression of Playboy. (In case anyone wonders, my religious heritage is Lutheran on my father’s side and secularist on my mother’s.)
The Playboy Philosophy is essentially a call to joie de vivre. So why do I have to be such a grouch when somebody misidentifies a non-Playmate as a Playmate? The Canadian edition of AskMen.com sings the praises of ten Playmates from Canada—but I can’t let go of the fact that number 7 on their list, Tracy Tweed, never appeared on the centerfold proper and is therefore not a true Playmate (even though she has modeled nude for the magazine). Do I have a legitimate complaint, or am I just being a dork?
A comment on the article points out that Cara Wakelin (November 1999), for example, deserves a spot on the list. She could have had it if she hadn’t been displaced by an impostor. Another comment mentions Kimberley Conrad as a neglected choice, but she was actually born in Alabama, not Canada. There I go again with my cranky nitpicking. Deal with it, folks.
For the third time, I thank Johnny Testa for emailing me about something interesting and Playboy-related at AskMen.