Normally, I'm not much for strip clubs. But, as my lovelife has been in some strange flux as of late, I decided to take a friend up on his offer to hit up North Boulder's contentious Bustop last week. In nearly a decade of being in town, he'd never been. And as I thought the experience would be a healthy way to get my creative juices flowing, I thought what the hey.

Besides, everyone needs an escort during such adventures and I certainly didn't want my buddy to have to go at it alone.

The encounter was, if nothing else, an intriguing peek into a subculture I never really thought about in the past. When I later spoke with lovely and lusty Boulderite Jordan LaRousse, co-editor of erotica website oystersandchocolate.com and various books on sex with her (business) partner Samantha Sade, about more entertaining and artful ways of keeping said creative juices flowing, she suggested investigating her specialty.

"Erotica provides an outlet for your fantasies," LaRousse said. "We live in a culture where you have to behave a lot of the time, and it's definitely part of human nature to want to misbehave a little. Erotica lets you do that, allows you to indulge in your fantasies without hurting anyone. Erotic literature is a real artform the same as music and painting; it's therefore aesthetically appealing, as well."

"We read to be entertained first and foremost, and erotica brings pleasure to people in Boulder," Sade agreed. "It's adventure, new ideas for fantasies they can explore."

Sade went on to expound upon monogamy being an integral part of our society -- despite our biology which might impel us to be polyamorous -- and that indulging in erotica can be "a good thing for that sense of 'newness' that keeps the bedroom exciting."

When I asked the girls if they were at all concerned with those who might end up "indulging" a bit too much, Sade replied that, "You hear about porn addiction, but I've never heard that in erotica." LaRousse concurred, saying that if there were erotica junkies, "it would be great for business."

Clearly someone's buying smart smut these days as, according to LaRousse, since Barnes & Noble helped to mainstream erotica by finally including it amongst their shelves in 2005, the genre has enjoyed a steady rise in sales.

"It's not as taboo anymore," said Laura Matte -- district manager of Fascinations, purveyors of adult entertainment merchandise who have a store on 28th Street -- on the topic of sexual amusement.

"I think there's art in what we sell," Matte continued, adding that the original Fascinations store in Arizona has begun integrating erotic photography and artwork into the mise-en-scene of their store. She also noted that Fascinations offers educational seminars in order to help explorers to better understand all things libidinous.

"I think it's a way to make sure you're healthy, sexually," Matte concluded.

Which brings us back home again, reminding us that we don't have to go out on the town for a "good time," especially if we remember the sage wisdom of Woody Allen: "Don't knock masturbation. It's sex with someone I love."