Please forgive us for our negligence of this Swim Aids shrine. We know not what we do and can only hope our visitors return and forgive us for our sins.

No, seriously. We fell off for a bit, but it’s never forever. We’re never going away! Swim Aids Forever!

Our next apology is to the Swim Gods for not making it to the Minnesota Grand Prix. We booked our hotel back in early August and were pumped! Then life happened — along with some crappy roommates — and the entire thing fell apart. We’re sorry for that as well!

But don’t worry. There will be swim trips for us in early 2010 and we’ll keep you posted! If nothing else, Ohio State gets a Grand Prix stop, and I will be in the hizzy because I live in Columbus, just 10 minutes from the pool!

I’m so tired of the suit wars. I wanna go back to the olden days where, when I’m shooting swimmers at a meet, I don’t feel like I’m capturing stills from a porno.

These days… as evidenced by the following swatch of suits from Summer Nationals in Irvine 2006.

Good times. Good times…

You know, back when the swimmers could show their personality in the suits color and it was cool. There was more than black, baby shit brown, and offensive (and see-through) red, blue, and gold apparel.

So, if someone can fix the situation and bring back this era, I’d be greatly appreciative. kthanxbai.

The 70s called.

They want their porn stache back. So, if you could go ahead and get that to them, that would be grrrrreat. Thanks.

<< This has been another Swim Aids Public Service Announcement >>

P.S. Bonus keepin’ it real points to whomever can name the movie I referenced in this post!

If you’re part of the cool crowd that is tweeting on Twitter (good for you), then this post is for you!

Dara Torres just created her own Twitter account, so y’all should definitely follow her! She’s currently gracing the cover of More Magazine. And don’t forget her book, Age Is Just A Number, is coming out soon; April 7th to be exact. Find more info, including her book signing dates, on her official website < /shameless plug>

And since we’re talking Twitter, you should follow our Swim Stars account too! You’ll not only get the news items from SwimStars.org, but also all the good stuff from right here on Swim Aids. It’s called consolidation and we’re big fans.

During the fall, while we were all checked into rehab with Olympic Games withdrawal, we missed a pretty big event: the release of Ryk Neethling’s autobiography, Chasing the Dream.

We can hardly believe it! We were so pumped for it because we love us some Ryk; or “the hotness”, as we like to call him. Anyway, Carrie brought it up the other day and I was like “OMG, I FORGOT ABOUT HIS BOOK”! I then sat in a corner, with a dunce cap on, for a few hours.

When I was finished punishing myself, I suggested one of us buy the book and we all share it. Since the economy’s in the crapper, this is a good way to save money! Carrie had an Amazon.com gift card, so she volunteered. And when she’s done, she’s going to mail the book to me to read. Yes, I’m actually going to read a book. Go ahead and alert the media.

When I’m done reading (which could take a while, since I’m out of practice), I’m going to ship it over to kiwi. Erika has yet to inform us if she wants to read this, but she doesn’t really get a say. This is required Swim Aid reading, so she has to, or I will fly down to Houston and punch her in the face. I kid. I love her. I don’t punch people I love. Well, not on purpose anyway.

So, our question to you, the Swim Aid visitor is: have you ready Ryk’s book? Did you like it? Are there pictures of him in it? Just kidding on that last question… kind of.

So, as I was watching Sportscenter today while I was “babysitting” my cousin and they did a little segment with the PTI guys about Olympic Spirit. First of all, I disagree with them and their stance on how “after the second day of hearing 13-hour old news, no one will care.” People will care. Some may cheat and find out the results ahead of time, but people care. And second of all, Michael Phelps won 6 gold in ATHENS, not SYDNEY. I know, it’s a slip of the tongue, but still…

Ok, be honest. Who else is overflowing with excitement?! Remember when we thought the Olympic Trials were soooo far off? Remember?

I’ve been OD’ing on NBC’s Olympic Trials coverage this weekend. I can honestly say I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve!

BTW, if you’re bored, why not check out the official websites of Kate Ziegler and Dara Torres. I designed them both recently and I’m all about the shameless plug action.