Single Scene Newsletter 7-30-04 Issue 94 Copyright Single Scene 2004 http://www.azsinglescene.com publi-@azsinglescene.com IN THIS ISSUE: * Great date idea for August! * Love: Maybe it is all in your head. * Singles News Briefs * Advice from Aunt Janet: Back to school! * Good Cheap Eats! * Things to do in August --------------------------------------- For help in adjusting to and even enjoying single life, visit our website at http://divorcerecovery101.com. --------------------------------------- Great Date Idea for August! Take a date (or a group of friends will do) and head out to see the celestial "fireworks" as the Perseid meteor shower makes its annual appearance Aug. 11/12. Faster and brighter than many meteors, the Perseids are also one of the most abundant showers. Look to the northeast sky -- the darker your viewing area, the more meteors you'll see. Peak viewing is between about 2 a.m. and sunrise on August 12; expect three or four dozen an hour. You'll see some in the night sky on the 11th as well. No special equipment needed, but reclining lawn chairs are a comfortable option. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Love: Maybe it is all in your head. Is love physical, or spiritual? Or maybe both? The spiritual element may be elusive, but researchers say they're getting pictures of love on the brain, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the brains of 17 people who had been madly in love about two years. That's the time frame when research suggests our sense of commitment and devotion are at their peak. The researchers compared scans of brain activity for these people when they looked at loved ones, compared to when they looked at friends. Interestingly, the scans suggest that "love" is related to some parts of the brain shutting off, including parts related to moral judgment. And some parts get more active, including those producing brain chemicals involved in forming attachments. SINGLES NEWS BRIEFS……………………………………. Denver is best city for singles. Forbes.com has released their annual report on the best cities for singles to live. The Denver-Boulder area ranks #1 for 2004, besting other singles' strongholds like Boston and Washington, DC. The report ranks the 40 largest metropolitan areas on seven categories: nightlife, culture, job growth, number of other singles, cost of living alone, coolness, and public opinion. The "cost of living alone" index is based on the average cost of apartment rent, a Pizza Hut pizza, a movie ticket and a six-pack of Heineken. Coolness, on the other hand, is calculated from the area's diversity and number of workers in jobs requiring creativity, such as the arts, scientists and teachers. Top city in 2003 was Austin, Texas. How to spot a "cheating husband's" personal online. Recently Elle magazine and MSNBC sponsored a joint survey on people's use of personal sites on the Internet. Of the 15,000 people surveyed, almost two-thirds of women and over half of the men said they had logged on to personals sites. (Since the survey was conducted on the Internet, those figures are probably higher than for the population in general.) Just 36% of the men said that using web personals had improved their social life, compared to almost half of the women. Among men, one in five have claimed to be single when they weren't; the study resulted in the tip that men who don't post a photo with their online profile are twice as likely to be married. Single households on upswing. Single-person households are up 20% from 1990 to 2000, according to the US Census: up 28% for single women and 16% for single men. While the ratio of one-person households is on the rise in most of the country, the highest concentrations are in the area from Washington DC to New York, and in the Southwest "sun belt." AIDS rising among seniors. Sexual enhancement drugs may be leading to risky sexual behavior among older singles. Today 11% of AIDS cases in the US are people age 50 and older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that AIDS among those over age 50 is up 22% since 1991. Quotable. "Live every day like it's your last, 'cause one day you're gonna be right." Ray Charles. ------------------------------------- YOU CAN HELP! Our singles' Internet information, maintained solely to help newly divorced and widowed people, which means we have little budget to promote our services. Newly singled people will find out about it and get help only if readers like you (word of mouth) tell them about the sites and newsletters. Next time you attend a support group, class, seminar, singles event etc. please do both us and them a favor by recommending and telling them about these sites, newsletters, and courses. Remind them these are all totally FREE. ----------------------------------------------- Advice from Aunt Janet: Back to school! Once upon a time a woman wrote to one of the advice columnists (Ann Landers, as I recall) that she was thinking of going back to school. But, she said, it would take her at least five years to get a degree and in five years she would be 40, which seemed to her too old. The columnist replied, "And how old will you be in five years if you DON'T go back to school?" There's no time like the present to improve your education. If you'd like to get a degree but it seems overwhelming, you don't have to go full time. A class or two a semester will get you there eventually. And you don't need the motivation of a degree to improve your education: take a class here or there to increase your job skills, study a new subject, pursue a favorite interest. Most colleges and universities have "outreach" programs; community colleges are also a good way to go. Or check out classes offered at your local parks department or library. Some singles pick classes with the idea of meeting people. That's ok, but a better strategy is to take classes that INTEREST you, and you'll automatically meet people who share your interest! ----------------------------------------- Great Dates! Single Scene's list of date ideas costing $7 per person or less, including hundreds of FREE things to do around Phoenix. Send $2 to Great Dates, Single Scene, Box 10159, Scottsdale AZ 85271. ---------------------------------------- Good Cheap Eats! Recently "The Rep" weekly featured five local affordable AND tasty eateries. Have a culinary adventure without breaking the budget! Chicago Hamburger Co., 3749 E Indian School Rd., Phx., Mon.-Sat., 602-955-4137. Joe's Real BBQ, 301 N. Gilbert Rd., Gilbert, daily, 480-503-3805. Raffaele Pizza, 7019 N. 19th Ave., Phx., Mon.-Sat., 602-242-5117. Rito's Mexican Food, 909 N. 14th St., Phx., 10 am to 4 pm weekdays. 602-262-9842. Ted's Charcoal Broiled Hot Dogs, 1755 E. Broadway, Tempe, daily, 480-968-6678. ------------------------------------------------------ Get timely tips on how to handle the mysteries of dating by signing up for Harlan’s dating e-newsletter. Just send a blank e-mail to dating_agai-@topica.com. ------------------------------------------------------ THINGS TO DO (on a date or otherwise) in August (including "cool" things going on out of town!) Schedules are subject to change. When possible, always call ahead to confirm. Mondays through September: Birds in the Garden Tours, Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Parkway, Phx. 7 a.m. Guidedbirding. Free with $9 adm. 480-941-1225. Hey, Wild Thing. August is your last chance to see the Motorcycle Jacket exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum. 1625 N. Central Ave., Phx. 602-257-1222. Saturdays: Desert Ridge Marketplace features two stages of live music in the plaza 7 to 10 pm. Free. 21001 N. Tatum Blvd., Phx. 602-513-7586. Thru Sept. 4, Kierland Commons features live music 7 to 10 pm. Free. 15220 N. Scottsdale Rd. 480-348-1577. Wednesday, Aug. 4: Adults' Night Out, Arizona Science Center, 7th St. & Washington, Phoenix. 5-9 p.m. Includes a special program or lecture (7 p.m.). $5 adm., plus $2 for giant-screen film or planetarium. 602-716-2000. Wed./Sun., Aug. 4-8: 13th Annual Southwest Wings Birding Festival, Copper Queen Plaza, Bisbee. Exhibits, programs, tours. 520-432-5421. Sat., Aug. 7: 11th annual Bring in the Clowns Day, Rawhide, 23623 N. Scottsdale Rd. 480-502-1880. Sunday, Aug. 8: Arizona Old Time Fiddlers Association Jam Session, 1-4 pm, Eldorado Park Community Center, 2311 N. Miller Rd., Sc. 480-994-2697. Sat./Sun, Aug. 14-15: 14th Annual White Mountain Bluegrass Music Festival, Hon-Dah Resort & Casino, Pinetop-Lakeside. 928-367-4290. Thurs./Sat., Aug. 19-21: Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering, Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott. Poetry and musical performances from working cowboys. 928-445-3122. Fri./Sun., Aug. 20-22: World's Oldest Continuous Rodeo, Payson. 928-474-4515. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + IF YOU KNOW THE RIGHT CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS, meeting people can be fun and easy ! Improve your MEETING PEOPLE skills with the HOW TO MEET PEOPLE audiocassette by Janet Jacobsen, editor of Single Scene. You’ll learn **How to overcome your fears **Three sure-fire meeting methods **Where to find interesting people **Simple, fun techniques to improve your social life NOW. To order HOW TO MEET PEOPLE, send $9.95 (first class postage & handling included) to Interpersonal Enterprises Inc. Box 6243 Dept. E Scottsdale AZ 85261-6243. Satisfaction Guaranteed! -------------------------------------------------