Los Angeles
CHANGE MY LOCATION
Dan Collins and Joan Allen
Making the most of every day, relationship
- JOAN: What is single life like for a 47-year-old divorced woman who has tried everything to have a baby?
Survey says, trust yourself, not the research
- Nowadays, there doesn’t seem to be a subject on Earth that someone in a white lab coat isn’t delving into via a clinical trial soon to be reported by the New England Journal of Medicine and People magazine. The topics range from vitamin supplements to love, but can science truly provide solutions to our romantic woes? Our resident doctors of détente, Joan and Dan, offer their prognosis.
From friend to lover: a tough barrier to cross
- Huffington Post writer Andrea Syrtash recently mused on Yahoo how to cross “the friend zone,” that ephemeral buffer between the platonic and the romantic, that horrible realm from which there is seemingly no escape. Or is there? This week, Dan and Joan discuss if you can dig your way out of the stalag of friendship.
Dare you say the words?
- You’d think it was Nietzche, but the quote, “Print is dead,” seems attributed mostly to Professor Egon Spengler — the nerdy guy from “Ghostbusters” — if a quick Google search is to be believed. Point is, you don’t see too many new forays into print nowadays, so kudos to Howard County resident Paula Bisacre, who recently launched a new quarterly publication “reMarriage” (www.remarriagemagazine.com), which takes a look at issues facing the 103 million Americans who are remarried or considering retying the knot.
When going green hurts your love life
- When you’re green with envy, you’re not doing much for your personal environment. Envy is like a toxic substance, a negative byproduct that arises when you watch your friends pair off with the loves of their lives while you remain home — alone — with only 500 or so cable channels to keep you company. You don’t want to feel jealous, but you can’t help it. This week, Dan and Joan take a look at dealing gracefully with the relationship successes of your friends.
Afraid to test the dating waters?
- There’s a saying, “Once bitten, twice shy.” Relationship disappointments can pile up like the sand, leaving one reluctant to test the dating waters. Why are they so shark-infested? Perhaps it’s not the waters, but your attitude. The lifeguards of love, Dan and Joan, are here to help you keep afloat.
To be or not to be ... faithful
- Recent studies indicate that only about 10 percent of the birds and mammals that supposedly mate for life are, in fact, faithful to their partners. So it would seem that infidelity may be standard operating procedure in the animal kingdom. Man’s an animal, right? Especially on Friday and Saturday nights. Kidding aside, should we be more forgiving of our loved one’s affairs because of biology, or should our snugglebunny be made accountable?
That darn ex, Part II
- Last week, Dan and Joan tackled the question of “What do you do with your ex?” Say goodbye forever? Keep her around as a friend? Take him to the exchange desk at Macy’s? The topic got our binary stars of the dating universe really twinkling, so they keep on where they left off.
How to deal with the x-factor in relationships
- Like Dandy Don Meredith used to croon on “Monday Night Football,” “The party's ooooovvvaahhh.” The guy gets the dog, she gets the goldfish. Now what? Do you never see this person, with whom you shared your thoughts, dreams and frozen yogurt, ever again? Is a clean break the best for all? Dan and Joan, who have broken up relationships more times than an audience at a Chris Rock concert, offer their insights.
