I’m suddenly reminded of a quote from a book I read long ago. The book is titled Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (you may remember the movie of the same name starring Kevin Spacey). “Truth, like art, is in the eye of the beholder. You believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I know.”

A few days back, Jennifer Aniston said that she still believes in love. Now that she’s promoting her flick “Love Happens,” she won’t shut up about it. In this interview, Jen seems a little disoriented and we aren’t really surprised because love isn’t exactly Jen’s strong suit. The interview really deteriorates when the actress compares trying too hard in a relationship to selling a car. She then mixes metaphors and talks about going into a “rental” situation and compares a relationship to the structure of a house. The interviewer adds that he’d like an option to buy, presumably if “love happens,” and I start to wonder if I’m watching a home makeover show.

Despite being America’s favorite broken-hearted sweetheart, to promote her new movie, “Love Happens,” Jennifer Aniston confessed to Australian Harper’s Bazaar that she’s still very hopeful. “I’m still a romantic,” she said. “I still believe in love.” [Celebitchy]

Awww ... I don’t know if Jen’s serious or if she’s just trying to trick us into thinking that she’s really falling for Aaron Eckhart so we go see the movie. Since Jennifer isn’t the only lady in Hollywood who’s had a rough ride on the relationship train, I thought I’d look up what some other unlucky in love ladies have to say about romance. And they were pretty easy to find by searching John Mayer‘s exes.

While people have been gawking at the “Gossip Girl” crew that’s been filming all over Manhattan, some of the fans aren’t there to get a peek at their celeb crushes. This guy found his heart drawn towards an unknown girl wandering around the set. Hoping to find her, he posted in Craigslist‘s “Missed Connections.”

I am hoping to find the Gorgeous Tan Girl who was wearing White Pants and an Orange or Red Shirt and was with her 2 friends on 2nd Avenue right outside the Gossip Girl set that was filming. We made eye contact many times and I was hoping you would walk in the same direction as I walked but after turning around many times I finally lost you. If you happen to see this, please email me and let me know if you remember or know who I am or what I look like, etc.. I would love to be lucky enough to take you out for a drink.. Hope to find you…..

Interesting use of caps here! We hope that they find each other. And that they don’t have a relationship as complicated as Chuck and Blair’s. [Craigslist]

After thinking a lot about that crazy singles map of the US and how all the ladies on the East Coast are screwed, I got back to my navel gazing about what it means to be single. (I have plenty time alone to think about these things.) I moved on from my bubble of self-absorption (played out) and started wondering what it must be like to be single in other countries—not that I’m thinking of fleeing or anything. Is it better in France where fidelity is not a cultural moray? Is it worse in India with the caste system and arranged marriages? And what are those cold singles in Iceland doing to stay warm? Well wonder no more, because Liz Tuccillo (Mrs. “She’s Not That Into You” and former “Sex and the City” writer) is travlling the globe to demystify singlehood in an awesome web series called, “How to be Single.” Um…amazing! After the jump, a few of my fave revelations from single sisters around the world. [Your Tango]

I recently got a call from my best friend’s 18-year-old brother: “Uh hey, Leo, uh, so I like have this date with a girl, and it’s kind of my first date. And, my sister says you know the rules.” Oh no.

Did I know the rules? I wasn’t sure, but I did my best to answer his questions like could he kiss her (yes), and did he have to pay (yes).

I have certainly dated a lot over the past two years, and until recently thought I was fairly proficient in the subject. After recently coming out of a romance that left me devastated, I’ve reluctantly started dating again, but found my skills have suffered. Especially when last week, I was astonished to find myself on an excellent first rendez-vous. I wanted to contact him after, but felt “the rules” weighing over me that said I wasn’t allowed to. But this is the modern age! Women should do what they want. What if this one time is an exception? Maybe he’s expecting you to get in touch…

Everyone thinks I’m an a-hole right now. Not because I’m trying to get everybody at Grandpa’s funeral to play Rock Band. No, I’m in love—and I can’t stop talking about it.

Butterflies in my stomach, stars in my eyes, I arrive at the office every morning with a new story about something adorable he’s done. We made waffles! We said the L-word! We talked about baby names! I told one of my co-workers about the love note he penned and five seconds in, she had stopped listening.

So I guffawed when I read Vice‘s “Guide To Being Totally Crushed Out”, an alphabetized list of things we do when we’ve got a crush, from “Only Calling To Hear His Voice And Then Hanging Up,” to “Jerking Off About Her.”

And, of course, “Telling Everyone In The World”...

When it came to my dating life, I wasn’t sure I should listen to Patti Stanger, host of Bravo’s “The Millionaire Matchmaker” and author of the book Become Your Own Matchmaker: 8 Easy Steps for Attracting Your Perfect Mate. Could someone hoisting a gold, ruby-encrusted Cupid’s arrow on her book cover, whose ample bosom was jammed into a white Liberace pantsuit, help me, an outdoorsy New Yorker with an A cup seeking a sweet, humble, non-cologne wearing guy with no roommates?

I was doubtful. But as an early thirties lady swinging and missing on the New York dating scene, I figured, “What have you got to lose, Singles McGonigle?” See if she’s got some news you can use.

Love seems elusive. Sure, we’ve loved and been in love, but we’ve never known exactly why or how it happens, or if we love one person differently than another. But that could soon change. Writer A.J. Jacobs underwent an MRI while looking at photos of his wife and Angelina Jolie so scientists could study his brain activity. They believe love is the result of a “chemical cocktail,” as Jacobs calls it, based on a person’s sex drive, and feelings of attachment.

Today, more women than ever are wildly ambitious and intellectually curious. According to Harvard Business School’s e-publication “Working Knowledge,” women now make up 35 to 40 percent of business school applicants; women also make up the majority in the undergraduate populations at more than one Ivy League college.

According to the BBC, the average woman’s workweek is now half a day longer than it was five years ago—sometimes with more work waiting to be done at home. The media has coined the term “alpha female” to describe these assertive, strong, successful women who are big on work.

But how do these hyper-ambitious alpha females navigate the dating land?

When your three-year-old climbs onto your lap and asks, “Do you love me the best, Mama?,” what do you say? “Well, yes, but not as much as I love your Daddy?” I don’t think so.

Elisa Baxt recalls one of her first dog dates with her boyfriend; it was on a beautiful spring day, and she and Scott were having lunch at an outdoor cafe, eating salads, and sipping lemonade. Next to them was Elisa’s three-and-a-half-year-old chow-lab mix Cody, chewing on a special order carrot (raw and unpeeled).

“It was a great day,” Elisa said, “and Cody was a great icebreaker. Of course, now, she’s like our child. And we take her everywhere.”

Before getting your moral molars all impacted, we’d like to make clear that we’re not endorsing having an affair or ruining a perfectly good marriage (or an imperfect one, for that matter).

Whether single or taken, flirting is fun. Getting hitched helps out in the tax and health care departments, but married social life can start to feel like a blur of “dinner at the Newman’s” and “girls’ nights out.” We already know that flirting at the office helps business and is good for substance-free spirit-lifting. Unlike flirting with single blokes, hair flips and deep conversations with married guys aren’t automatic green lights for making a move. Here are ten other reasons to flirt with a man in a (wedding) band.

Just as the world is starting to get used to homosexuality, a new type of sexuality is introduced. Today, “Good Morning America” discussed interesting cases in which people love inanimate objects. Yes, we’ve heard of this before with the man who has sex with cars, but now there’s a name: Objectum-Sexuality. Take for instance Erika Eiffel, who had a commitment ceremony and recently changed her name to reflect her bond with the Eiffel Tower. And the French landmark isn’t the first thing she’s loved. “When other teenagers were dating each other,” said Erika, “I was dating a bridge.” [ABC News]

After reading a recent report from the BBC stating that the current recession may have more negative than positive effects on our dating life, I started thinking about whether this was really true. Yes, money worries can be a huge obstacle to relationship building, but as the author of the report, relationship psychologist Susan Quillam, points out, surely animal attraction offers the most reliable and least expensive source of comfort when times get rough, right?

Let’s be honest—first dates are horrible and humiliating experiences. Trying to do and say all the right things so that the other person doesn’t think you’re a complete freak is exhausting and no one likes trying to make small talk with a virtual stranger, no matter how good looking he or she might be. In fact, the cuter someone is, the more pressure there is to make a good first impression. Do make good jokes; don’t bring up politics or religion. Do wear a flattering yet appropriate outfit; don’t dress like a castoff from “Rock of Love.”

Ten years ago, former New York fashion model and girl about town Christie Nightingale was looking for a career change. She’d always done well at parties, was an ace at networking and had successfully set up several friends on dates. She clearly had the skills to be a matchmaker, but it wasn’t until a bona fide cupid family member encouraged her to investigate the field that she began to see it as a professional option for herself.

There’s a pivotal moment in an episode of “The Simpsons” that has always stood out in my memory. When Lisa tells Ralph Wiggum she doesn’t want to be his girlfriend, his face scrunches in agony and he clutches his heart as if it’s literally breaking. I remember giggling at the exaggeration and then years later when my own heart got broken, I put my hand to my chest and felt his pain.

The night’s going great, you can’t believe you’re hitting it off so well on a first date, he’s a great kisser, you take him home…

Whatever you do, don’t sleep with him.

“I demand an apology!”

If you have to demand it, is it really worth receiving? Forced apologies are kind of like nice plastic. Shiny, maybe even useful, but ultimately just trash.

For a long time, I wanted an official kind of apology from my husband for some jerk-like tendencies he was trying out on me. It was pretty typical Mars/Venus stuff. I wanted a demonstration of groveling to make things all right and copacetic. Which, of course, made me the total jerk.