For an eternity I have sought out (and found) love in nightclubs. Being "the man" made it easy to meet beautiful, intelligent, fun females to date, and I must admit that in my youth I changed gals at the rate that I changed my shirts. But then something happened -- I fell in love, got married, and enjoyed a 12-year relationship with a model/singer who remains my friend to this day. Next up came 12 years with a girl who I saw on the other side of a crowded dance floor; she saw me and flashed a smile that started my heart again. We were locked by accident in the Limelight courtyard after an all-night talk and needed a street guy to wake the daytime security guard to get us out. That lasted 12 years again, and yes, we’re still great friends. Most recently, after a year of banging heads and looking for love in all the wrong places, I met my last great love at Marquee. But after two and a half years we are departing -- yes, as friends -- and now I find myself feeling incurably romantic and looking for a new reason to be cheerful. I won’t be looking in clubs this time, though.

I’ve had almost 27 years of what must be considered good luck, as my limited charms and limited riches could not explain why those incredible women fell for me. The good people at Blackbook have decided that my next long-term relationship should be found with their help. Details are still being hammered out, but from a pool of interested applicants, a group of the most eligible nominees will be selected by an impartial jury of peers (i.e. the ladies of BlackBook who have decreed that I need their guidance). Finalists will then be treated to a variety of "dates" -- dinners, shows, trips, and more, with side benefits like the odd prize or two (or six) -- at no cost to them. Eventually, natural attrition and/or affairs of the heart will produce a winner. The entire process will be chronicled here, of course.

Consider this a soft launch, but it never hurts to start early. I will await images and emails from gals who think I may be "the man" for them, and a sort of dating elimination will bring me the girl of my dreams. Please send an email explaining why a fabulous person like yourself would want to be my girlfriend. A photo will be most helpful in the process, so send as many of those as you would like as well. And those prizes for the finalists? They'll be so fab that I’m definitely just a consolation prize. I plan to take this seriously and look forward to meeting some wonderful people.

Please submit entries and images to {encode="etauginas@blackbookmag.com" title="etauginas@blackbookmag.com"}. And stay tuned for more info and big reveals about the prizes.