personal space optional

Just how much do you like being around your significant other?

This piece tells what happened when, for 24 hours, a couple stayed no more than 15 feet away from each other. If the one-day model isn't scary enough, consider this: an Arizona couple abides by that rule FOR LIFE.

How long do you think you could survive under the 15 feet rule? And what's the best way to tell a partner you're feeling smothered?

(not) in my pants

So apparently Kmart fashion makes headlines now. Who knew?

Here's info on a pair of sweatpants sold at the popular retailer that read "True Love Waits" on the front and back.

That's right, a butt message opposing premarital sex.

But store insiders maintain the message has nothing to do with abstinence. "It was just a graphic put on the pants," a spokeswoman for Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart, says in the aforementioned link.

Sure.

Anyway, the pants are apparently on markdown now. Guess who's hitting the Kmart racks this weekend? Are you with me?

what's going on tonight?

Here's your Thursday night lineup:

*Beginning tonight, downtown hot spot The Roadhouse, 1047 Broadway, opens its doors to Thursday night partiers for dance night with DJ Kenny Wayne. You can also look forward to 50 cent draft beer and no cover charge. The action begins at 9 p.m.

*The Broadway Event Series hosts The Locomotive Jazz Quintet 7-9 p.m. on the 1000 block of Broadway. It's free.

*The rockers from Bulletproof Marshmallows take the stage at Soho Bar & Grill, 5751 Milgen Road. It's $5, free for military. Show starts at 10 p.m. Call 706-568-3316.

*Scruffy Murphy's, 1037 Broadway, hosts Connor Christian and the MorningStar Revival beginning at 10 p.m. It's free. Call 706-322-3460.

*Smoke-free Phenix City nightclub Broad Street Blues has happy hour beginning at 5 p.m. You'll get buckets of beer (five for $10), a performance by Mojo:Saint and no cover charge. Call 334-297-3200.

makin' whoopee

Twenty-first century versions of "The Dating Game" and "The Newlywed Game" are coming to TV, this article says.

Both shows pry couples' minds to see how well they know each other -- on a trivia-like basis, that is. It's similar to a game I've played at many bachelorette parties, asking the groom-to-be to answer 20 questions about himself prior to the party. Then, the bride tries to predict his answers correctly.

Yeah, the girls usually don't do that well.

Which makes sense -- since theoretically, love isn't supposed to be about remembering the name of your significant other's first grade teacher.

Still, is there any fundamental trivia that each half of a couple is expected to know? Like, what tidbit about yourself would you be mad if your boyfriend/girlfriend guessed incorrectly?

Would it bother you if he/she couldn't remember your middle name? Your first love's name?

(P.S. The title of this post comes from this infamous "Newlywed Game" sketch. It comes at about the 2:12 mark.)

free show!

Hey Tuesday night partiers...

Whisky Bent performs a free concert tonight at the Shanty Shack, 4475 Warm Springs Road. The action starts around 8 p.m.

Call 706-507-3418.

Have fun!

meant to be spent alone

Yep, the title of this post is part of the chorus in the popular song "Vacation," by the Go-Go's. In my department of the newsroom, we sing that tune whenever someone's leaving on a trip.

Here's a list of the top 11 signs you're on a summer vacation with a geek.

My favorite? No sunblock needed because wookiee costume covers up all bare skin.

Time for you guys to weigh in:

What are your rules for traveling with a significant other? Is it OK for couples to take separate vacations?

was it good for you?

If you're female, it's likely a good 25 percent of your day has so far been consumed by analyses of "Sex and the City."

I caught the movie Sunday and surprisingly LOVED it. Nudity? Check. Tears? Check. A reaffirmed faith in love? Check.

I won't say more than that, as I want to avoid spoilers, but I'm anxious to hear what you thought.

If you haven't heard, the movie was ranked No. 1 over the weekend and earned about $55 million. Read more here.

And be sure to check out this humorous field guide to the different people you'll see at the film. I saw all of them.

Finally...among the movie's biggest emerging fashion trends? Cocktail hats. Count me out, but see them for yourself here.