KERNER GOES DOWN

I saw this column in New York magazine and had to share it with my readers. It's a review/interview with author Ian Kerner, whose new book She Comes First is all the rage in Manhattan these days: Naked City: Head Case By Amy Sohn, who you might remember as the novelist who wrote Run Catch Kiss.

A LETTER TO JDATE: SUBMITTED BY A READER

One of my readers copied me on this letter she sent to JDate. Her issue with them is that she feels their claim to have a certain number of members is misleading, since any number of those "members" are actually "profiles" and not paying members who could view your emails, were you to contact them... Dear JDate: It now costs money to send email and/or to view email. This enables you to say that you have x number of people who belong, that there are x number of people online right now and that you are the world's largest Jewish dating site when it is unclear how many of these people can't be accessed. I believe this is tantamount to fraud. So I'd like to be taken off your site. I couldn't find a way to do this on line. Sincerely, J. Agree? Disagree? Discuss.

HAD TO SHARE...

Tonight, in cruising JDate profiles, I came across the following opening line: "Physically, I am 6 feet tall." Hmm. My response? "Emotionally, I weigh 115 pounds."

LIVE, FROM NEW YORK, IT'S PAMENSKY...

Huh? I feel the same way. Aryeh Pamensky, an Orthodox rabbi from Toronto, conducts a dating workshop in NYC next week. A friend told me that Pamensky is hilarious, but this article in the Jewish Week highlights his approach and not his humor (IMHO). He says that people who "date for fun" are developing skills that will not result in a long-lasting relationship, or that will destroy a relationship that results from a dating-for-fun scenario. I think "dating for marriage" is too much pressure. My feeling is that maybe one can "date for fun," then like them sufficiently that they find it worthwhile to spend the time working through relationship issues (intimacy, long-term compatibility, commitment etc) and end up dating that person for marriage. I wouldn't like to eliminate the fun, flat-out. That's been my major issue all along, that none of my recent dating experiences have been any fun. If Pamensky were universally righ, I might as well marry someone boring right now. But no one approach works for everyone. That much is clear. And Pamensky's addressing a very religious audience, so their concerns and approaches are somewhat different from those of more modern/secular daters. What do you think?

SOULMATCH

I just learned about a new online dating service. I have not tried it yet, but they take a more soulful approach to the whole Internet dating thing. Beliefnet, the spiritual gurus of the Internet, is readying to launch an online dating component called Soulmatch: Beliefnet's mission is to help people meet their own spiritual needs, and perhaps none of these is greater than the need for companionship, connection, and love. That's why we've created Soulmatch--a dating site focusing on values, spirituality, character and beliefs--all the qualities that matter most to you. If you try it, let me know what you think.

I BEG OF YOU

Do me a favor. Kill me. Kill me now. Before I have to read one more profile with a moronic header. It would seem like common sense. You use JDate, you know how your profile appears. So why shirk the instinct to be interesting? Why, when your profile appears as "David, 34, New York City," do you begin the opening statement of said profile with "Hi! My name is David, I'm 34 and live in New York City!" Then there's MORELATERMORELATERMORELATER. That means you couldn't come up with 100 characters to describe yourself. Modesty aside, we can all find 100 characters to describe ourselves. If you truly cannot talk about yourself for at least 100 characters worth, why would I want to even read your paltry profile, let alone consent to talk to or eventually meet you? Not enough for you to kill me? How about blinding me? So I don't have to read any more of these mind-numbing profiles... Please?

LIKE SOMEONE? HERE'S HOW TO TELL THEM...

For your consideration: New publisher Arriviste Press introduces the Virtual Wingman, your solution to crushes you don't know how to handle. The upshot is that you fill out a form, and Arriviste has a professional writer craft a witty email to the object of your friendship/affection. Just click on the link above to get all the details. And yes, Madames and Messieurs Scrooge, it is free. Try it out, let me know if it works!

MORAL QUANDARY

Earlier this week, I posted that story about the guy who invoiced his date for her half of the dinner that they had on their date. Even if the story and the names are true, I'm not going to conribute to the rumor mill. If the guy were a serial rapist, it might be a public service to make others aware of his nature, but this (his sending an invoice) is a poor choice that might have been meant as a joke... Who among us has not been misconstrued in a letter or email we sent, where tone was not apparent, and a joke went unabsorbed? I know I've been a victim of this before, and therefore live in a glass house as far as this is concerned. Far be it from me to throw the first name.

A READER'S QUERY

Has anyone ever used a different Jewish dating site besides JDate? Jewishfriendfinder? JMatch? JewishMingle? J2Jsingles? etc.? Feel free to post your comments here, about all online dating services. Just because it's "JDaters Anonymous" doesn't mean you can't contribute wisdom gleaned from other online experiences...

A MUSING, OR AMUSING?

Can't decide whether this is a musing or amusing. One of them for sure. Since I founded JDaters Anonymous, the only readers who have written to me about the site are men. Since the publication of my latest Jewish Week article (see post below) about JDate profiles, the only readers who have written to me are men. What does this mean? I'm convening a subcommittee to investigate.

TV IS LOVE

Of course, I'm in love with my TV, that goes without saying. But this is something different: a new dating TV channel in Israel. Here's an excerpt from Viva Sarah Press's article in the Jerusalem Post (you may have to register to access the article in its entirety): Lying about one's looks when it comes to TV is a hard thing to do - as each participant on the new dating service will feature in her or his own self-promoting video clip. The two-to-three minute clips, done in interview format, will be broadcast around the clock and will cost approximately NIS 480 to make. Subscribers who want to view the channel at home will have to pay NIS 35 a month for the service. Everyone will receive an intranet post box through which to communicate with potential partners. As opposed to Internet dating where everyone and anyone can peruse a profile on line, Klika's service can only be accessed by subscribers. And to be a subscriber of Klika, one has to show his ID card to prove he is who he says he is. "You can get a picture on the Internet that is five years old," says 32-year-old Ganor, who has on line dated on-and-off for three years. "The video is current. JDate.com, even with a picture, is still a blind date. Here, I can choose the videos to watch. I don't see TV personals as a blind date." And that's exactly what Klika is about. "We're trying to take the blind out of date," says Arieli, 39. "On the Net, you're in a fantasy world. You never know what the person looks or sounds like until you actually meet him. I'm single and it's easier for me to date someone having already seen him." For Ganor, who recently returned from abroad and is between jobs in the hi-tech field, that the television medium enables interaction is a bonus. "I'm very cynical and I see people don't understand what I write," she says. "The Internet is flat. There's no tone on the Web." I just keep remembering that the camera adds ten pounds. And I know that unless people have professional makeup and hair crews working on them before air-time, people look different on TV than they do in real life. So, as usual, I'm skeptical. But we'll see what happens, if this takes off in Israel and if (a big if) it ends up migrating to the States.

NEW JEWISH WEEK ARTICLE

My new column's up and this one is about, um, surprise, JDate. Here's the link: A New Profile, A New You. (And if you decide to contact E-Cyrano for profile help or go to the workshop at the 92nd Street Y, tell Evan I sent you!)

A READER DISCOVERS THE UP-SIDE TO CENSORSHIP

I guess there's always a way to make lemonade from JDate-given censored lemons. A reader writes: I think the jdate censors now block the word "excite." There is a guy whose profile used to begin, "Promise to Excite and Entice..." (He's in my list of people who've viewed my profile. Now it says, "Promise to and Entice..." Is this because some small number of people use an email service at excite.com? Soon there will be nothing left. I'm glad you've exposed this problem, though, because now I am not as judgmental about sentences that seem disjointed. Instead of assuming the writers are careless or stupid, I can blame it on jdate... I agree. Knowing that there are other forces at work on these profiles make me also think twice about discarding a profile for perceived lapses in otherwise-coherent sentences. I'm more tolerant now, and it's all because of me. :-)

HOW TO JDATE FOR FUN, PROFIT AND JAIL TIME

The Forward reported that an Orlando man used JDate to “lure women into dating him” was arrested in Broward County, and bail was set at $21,000. (Here's the URL, though I think you'll have to register with the site in order to view it.) I know many of you are thinking that maybe he was arrested because he claimed to be 5’10 and he was really 5’5. But no…the 34-year-old was charged with grand theft. He swindled at least fifteen women, “stealing credit card information, personal checks, a car and identity information.” The kicker? The so-called “Internet Casanova” who is described as a “published poet,” wasn’t even Jewish. And a close reading of the article reveals that only one of the swindled women was a JDater. What do we learn, boys and girls? Sweet words aren’t everything, and anything that seems too good to be true probably is. Dating in general, let alone Internet dating, is a scary world: go forth and have great adventures. Just remember to proceed with caution.