Book Review: The Tao of Fertility

When The Parent Blogger Network asked me if I wanted to review this book, I wasn't sure that I should. I was unsure for a couple of reasons, the first and foremost being that I'm male, and as such, I can't get pregnant... so why bother, I thought? Another reason that I had for not being sure that I should give it a gander is because Mrs Gunfighter and I are done having children.

In the end, I decided to review this book because I like to see things from points of view different than my own... and of course this is a seriously different view of pregnancy for me.

As you all know, I am an advocate of fully participatory fatherhood, and I tried as best as I could, to empathize with Mrs GF when she was pregnant. You know something? with all of the good intentions and sensitivity that I could muster, I CAN'T really imagine what it must be like to be pregnant. No way.

So. I decided to give this book a try.

First Impressions: "Oh, Lord... another touchy-feely, earthy-crunchy, new age, neo-hippie book on how to be spiritually holistic etc..." I figured that this would be another book that could be summed up by saying: "Watch what you eat, rest, drink water, exercise and all will be well"

I was wrong.

Clearly, I can't get pregnant, but there are things in this book that are beneficial to just about anyone... not just for women who want to have a baby.

The authors were kind enough not to fill the book with jargon that would leave my eyes bleeding and my head hurting. They wrote in plain speech, and didn't appear to try to dazzle the reader with flashy prose. On the contrary, this book is written so that a person with no knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine could understand it, and glean very helpful... and healthful information.

The information in the book even covers pre-pregnancy dietary information (including suggested menus and recipes), and self-applied accu-pressure, to promote health and fertility. By the way, I suggest accu-pressure with a partner. It's more fun. Yeah.

OK, so the book is good. The suggestions are good. The presentation is good.

Done, right?

Not yet.

There are other aspects of this book that I enjoy. The first being the stories of women about their journey toward pregnancy. Some of the stories were just heartbreaking. Other aspects that I enjoyed were post-partum suggestions on diet and exercise, as well as mom-specific nutrition.

I am going to be honest here and say that I thought I was fgoing to read this book and shoot it full of holes. I am rather pleased to report that this isn't the case here.

The authors, Daoshing Ni, Ph.D, and Dana Herko derserve full marks for their product.

GF

This book review is sponsored by The Parent Blogger Network and HarperCollins Publishers. This review is cross-posted at my regular blog, Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life.

Book Review: Raised By Wolves, by Christie Mellor

At the very start of this book, author Christie Mellor did something that few authors do for me. She made me laugh. She made me laugh aloud.

In her own wonderful and very humorous way, Christie Mellor gives young people some very cogent advice, while not sounding at all preachy, dry, or boring. She takes less than 250 pages to tell all twenty-somethings things that it took me almost 40 years to learn. Just think of the possibilities if I had learned them early on.

Mellor gives advice on basic living practices, such as the importance of keeping your apartment clean, how to clean your bathroom, and why it is important to make your bed, and the myriad uses of baking soda. Baking soda! Did you know that you can remove coffee and tea stains with that stuff? I didn't. I didn't know that you could also use it to kill fleas. who knew? Well, Mellor knew enough to share it with all of us.

She goes on to give advanced life-lessons about the working world; from not being a "fawning bootlicker" to not sharing the intimate details of your love life with people you barely know. Mellor gives directions to the young in ways that will make you laugh aloud, AND make you think (or at least, nod your head sagely).

Reading this book at age 44 was like a trip down memory lane. When the author talks about drinking to excess, and how you care to be remembered, I immediately thought back to my hard-partying days in The Marines. It made me think about the several old friends of mine from those days whom, in my memory, will always be pictured as roaringly, life-of-the-party drunk... or violently vomiting in public places.

To be sure, this book has a lot of lessons in it that can be categorized as "What Not To Do When You Are An Adult", but it doesn't spend all of it's time as a humorous "Don't" list. There are other things that young folks in anything close to polite society ought to know. Dinner Party etiquette; visiting invitations; hosting a party; basic recipes for the novice cook; and how to make a proper Martini (yes, it IS important to know how to make a Martini). Get this, she'll also teach you how to draw a Martini... see? (I drew this 10 minutes before posting this review. Useful, see?)

One of the most important chapters is the one about finance. Look, in today's economy, things are tough for families... we already know that, but we shouldn't assume that things are free and easy for young adults, especially as they often start amassing horrendous debt early in life. Mellor's advice on money is sound. So, pay attention.

The bottom line on this book is that there is a lot of good information in it, and it would be useful to a young person who has just left or is about to leave his parent's home or graduate from school. It would also be every bit as useful to that person in their thirties or forties, you know the ones, who just don't have a clue.

It's a keeper... but not for me. I'm sending MY copy to my college freshman daughter (that is, after I copy that soup recipe!)

GF

This review was sponsored by the Parent Blogger Network and the fine folks at HarperCollins Publishers

CD Review: Back to Black - Any Winehouse

Having listened to British soul singer Amy Winehouse's 2006 CD, I have to say that it isn't the unpleasant experience that I expected it to be... not at all.

Simply, the troubled Ms. Winehouse has talent. The songs are all done in the bluesy, early soul style that is very retro... reminiscent of the late 50's or the early 60's.

Just about every track is catchy and interesting to listen to, and the musicianship is great and Winehouse's vocal style is enjoyable.

There are tracks that you'll want to sing along with or even have a nice slow dance with someone that you are fond of.

Winehouse has fairly solid writing credentials as well. She wrote or co-wrote every track on the CD.

One song in particular stands out, and I'm not talking about Rehab, which is catchy, but not that special. No, I'm talking about track number seven, Tears Dry on Their Own. This song was written with Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson of Motown fame. This song samples a couple of musical phrases from "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"... I really like it.

OK, enough love and kisses... even though the hooks are good, I have a bricks to throw, and here they are: Several of the songs have sex and drug references that I could do without. Yours truly is no prude, but, I suspect some of these lyrics were done just for shock value. I suppose one saving grace is that you either have to listen very closely to hear many of them, or read the lyrics to see them.

Amy Winehouse has talent, sure enough, and like so many talented people, she seems hell-bent of self-destruction. I hope she lives long enough to do another CD... I would like to see what she does next.

GF

Book Review: The Sky Isn't Visible From Here

The scenes from Felicia Sullivan's book are heartbreaking.

Stories of her childhood as she watched her mother abuse drugs, and abused by often-violent men. Stories of a child who had to take her mother to the emergency room on a regular basis when the dope stopped feeling good. Stories of a nomadic youth. Stories that aren't filled with love, and don't have happy endings.

I didn't know where to start with my review. I really didn't. It isn't because I didn't get it, because I did. It isn't because the book isn't good, because it is. I didn't really know where to start, I think, because I am very aware of the fact that a lot of the author's childhood was like my own.

I too, lived in a home with a single, drug abusing parent, and sure as hell, it wasn't pretty.

Ms. Sullivan tells us about some of the minutiae of life with her mother, and her own struggles with addiction and it's aftermath. Anyone reading this very personal, powerful, and moving memoir, should come away knowing at least one thing for certain: That the wreckage of substance abuse isn't just physical, and it isn't just mental. The wreckage is emotional, and it's raw... and despite what you've been told, time doesn't heal all wounds.

Felicia Sullivan's well-written story is one of survival, not victory.

Survival.

Sometimes survival is the best we can ask for.

This review is sponsored by the Parent Bloggers Network, and those fine folks at Algonquin books.

You can read Felicia Sullivan's blog here.

Product Review: Cleanwell Antibacterial Wash

My kids are old enough that I don't have to get terribly involved in their biological dirt... and that's a good thing. The problem is that whether you have little kids or not, it's a dirty, germy, nasty world out there, folks, and most of those germs aren't airborne. No, they are right there on your keyboard, or the door knob, or the steering wheel, or on that dollar coin... or on any of the myriad surfaces that you and I touch every day.

Now, just because I don't have small kids doesn't mean that I don't get dirty... believe me, I do! I make my living as a tactical firearms instructor, and whether it is during training exercises, or during routine weapons maintenance, my hands get dirty. After a day of intense shooting, the last thing to do before finishing for the day is to clean all of my weapons. The problem is getting not only cleaning the burnt carbon and harsh chemicals and oil from my hands, but cleaning them with a soap that won't leave my skin dry dry and papery. As you can imagine, working in a government buliding, the soap in the men's room is usually that harsh, hard-core, skin-drying, industrial stuff that NOBODY wants to use.


In my home life, I do all of the cooking, and since I am a carnivore, and Mrs Gunfighter doesn't much care for beef, I use chicken in lots of the meals that I make. Now, boneless, skinless, chicken breasts aren't a major threat to your health, like a sub-machinegun... but Salmonella is.


So, whether I am at home or at work, I need my hands to be clean. Clean and disinfected, and I think that CleanWell's antibacterial wash will do exactly that. Whether I am in the kitchen, cutting up a chicken or at the range cleaning a sub-machinegun, shotgun, or pistol, when I use CleanWell, my hands get clean AND disinfected.

Here is the best part. CleanWell products won't hurt the environment. You see, the production of some of the chemicals in some other antibacterial soaps and hand-sanitizer's find their way into the environment either during the manufacturing process, or via waste water. Not so, with CleanWell. The active ingredient in CleanWell's products in Ingenium, which, according to company reseaerch, is a botanically sourced plant oil (that utilizes Thyme), which kills %99.9 percent of the bacteria which will make you sick.

Lastly: Guys, sure this stuff is environmentally friendly and it doesn't smell like turpentine, but it isn't unmaly. Remember: Environmentally savvy is the new studly!

Hey folks! There is a contest going on... people want to know how you get dirty... it's a photo contest, and you can find it here. It's brought to you by ShutterSisters

This review is sponsored by the Parent Bloggers Network, and those fine, environmentally friendly folks at CleanWell.

Book Review: Sex Detox

Sex Detox: Recharge Desire. Revitalize Intimacy. Rejuvenate Your Love Life.

Author Ian Kerner, Ph.D, wastes no time in this book. He jumps right in and makes it plain that American sex lives are broken. According to Dr. Kerner, our lives and our culture are so oversexualized from the media, music, and online pornography, that our own sex lives have become unsatisfying. Our increasing lack of exercise has eroded what he calls our "sexual fitness". According to Kerner's research, sexual dissatisfaction has become the primary for divorce (a stupid reason, I think). This oversexualization, fostering unrealistic visions of Hollywood-perfect bodies, and surgically enhanced pornstars has hurt us. Well, he might be right, but the good thing is that he has an answer: The Sex Detox regimen.

Kerner posits that too many people in this country are engaging in unsatisfying sex (and that goes for singles involved in the "booty-call" life as much as it does for the married fuddy-duddies), and that sex can be greatly inproved by simply not having it.

That's what the man said: Have better sex by not having sex.

Sure, some of you are nodding sagely, and some of you a spewing your beverages while bellowing WTF? I found myself in the latter category... but reading on, I had to concede that Kerner has a point. Denying yourself something that you want, something that you really crave, while it is sitting right there on the couch with you... and probably thinking similarly randy thoughts about you, can really increase the mental aspect of sex... which has to be better than having sex just because you are supposed to every other Tuesday night.

The Detox plan is very detailed, and from reading it, it seems to make sense. By the way, you don't have to be in a committed relationship for this program to be effective. Singles have as much sexual toxicity as those in committed, long-term relationships... it's just different.

I'm not going to give you a detailed description of the plan, but I'll tell you, I think that Kerner is on to something. Reading his plan, I think that it would be good for anyone who thinks that there is anything toxic in their lives, from sex, to friendships, or even the beginnings of substance abuse problems.

Give it a read. Even if you don't use the plan, you'll probably learn something useful.

Full marks for Dr. Kerner.

GF

This product review was sponsored by the Parent Bloggers Network, and the fine folks at Harper Collins books

New Giveaway!

The folks at PickPackGo have started a new give-away promotion!

This month, you can enter to win a Sony portable DVD player!



It's a nice player, and I know this for a fact, because I won one just like it in a give-away a few months ago! Find them here to enter!

While you are there, have a look around... If you are serious about vacationing (and who isn't?), you might be inspired!

GF