Have you ever read online personals? You'd think that most of the people are near perfect, with sparkling wit and verve. I've been on a few dates with people met online; sometimes things work out well, other times, I'd be happy to talk fraud charges with someone over what small, um, details were left out. The good folk over at Esquire magazine have started to host what they refer to as brutally honest personals.

Here's a sample:

Paul W. — Age: 34, Height: 6'2", Last relationship: Never, Seeking: A good-looking, intelligent woman who can overlook my physical shortcomings and teach me about love. Please hurry. I'm a 34-year-old university librarian with straight dark hair and dark-brown eyes. ...I don't drink, I don't smoke, and I'm not very good at parties; the larger the gathering, the more uncomfortable I become. I try to be witty and charming, but most of the time I'm very esoteric and hard to understand. Also, I'm a bit of a geek. I watch the X-Files religiously and, well, need I mention my comic book collection?

Good luck to you, Paul. At the very minimum, if you were to date someone from this site, you're probably not going to be let down with some skeleton in a closet.