Columnist Lisa Ferguson: Sun Lite for Sept. 20, 2004

Lisa Ferguson

Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 | 8:38 a.m.

Advice for the unattached

If the neighborhood pub seems a bit more meat-markety than usual this week, chalk up the abundance of extra-cheesy pick-up lines and trays loaded with "courtesy of ..." drinks to the fact that it's National Singles Week. The, um, celebration continues through Saturday.

In honor of the festivities, the merry matchmakers at It's Just Lunch, a dating service with locations around the globe, polled nearly 4,000 single men and women in the United States (of the more than 110 million that the company claims are out there) to get the lowdown on the state of first dates. Among the oddball findings:

Ribbeting reading

Some consider the dating scene a zoo. Marilyn Anderson, on the other hand, favors a slimier analogy.

The Los Angeles author reveals some courting myths warts and all for women in her tome, "Never Kiss a Frog: A Girl's Guide to Creatures from the Dating Swamp" (Red Rock Press, $14), including the one that is the basis of her book: "You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince." In actuality, she writes, "You can't find a prince if you're busy kissing frogs."

Anderson a speaker and a comedian who claims she's also written for the TV series "Murphy Brown" and "Fame" warns women to be on the lookout for men with froggy flaws, and categorizes amphibian offenders by nicknaming their types "Count Frogula," "The Godfrogger" and "The Long-Term-Go-Nowhere Frog," among others. Meanwhile, she's formed Frogaholics, a tongue-in-cheek "12-leap program." For more info or to purchase the book, visit www.neverkissafrog.com.

Stereo, I'm home!

So, you're ready to abandon the search for Mr./Ms. Right. Who needs a whining, nagging significant other, anyhow? Still, coming home to a lonely, empty house pretty much bites.

Never fear: The Amazing Instant Mate is here. Pop in this CD and prepare to be reminded how much you were missed while you were away ("Hello, Baby, how was your day?"); wooed with compliments about what a wonderful, deserving person you are; and tantalized by a disembodied voice offering to fulfill "whatever pleasure you request to make your evening relaxing and stress-free." How's that for finding your soul mate? Male and female-voiced discs ($6.99 each) are available at www.amazinginstantmate.com.