While it doesn’t seem like it would be that difficult – understanding the opposite sex is something men and women alike have battled with for years.

Even those of us who “get it” that men and women think and communicate differently, it can still be tough to really understand what motivates our partner or what would cause them to react in a certain way to a situation.

Recently, I had a great opportunity to have a sneak preview of a relationship documentary called LoveTalk that answers all of these questions and more as to how men and women are so different. I’m also really excited that I had the chance to bounce off a few questions to the film’s producer, Trudy Sargent who also worked on the films Road to Damascus and Are You Ready for Love?, a romantic comedy which won six awards at Monaco Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics last year on Valentine’s Day – reaching number 7 at the UK DVD Chart.

The LoveTalk film features many different voices on how to succeed in love, ranging from well known authors such as John Gray to relationship experts Susan Campbell, Tina Tessina, and Leonard Felder. Divorce attorney Vanessa Lloyd-Platt is featured as well as those who know best: Frank & Anita Milford, the world’s longest married couple.

There are many others featured in the film, and all of them have very interesting things to say about why we are attracted to who we are, how couples evolve, and how understanding the differences between men and women can make your relationship much easier and happier. I was surprised while watching it my husband there were actually quite a few topics touched on that my husband and I never even really thought about or discussed in great detail before.

Below I’d like to share with you the short interview questions I asked Trudy and her responses:

What was the inspiration behind LoveTalkMovie? Why make a documentary about relationships?

In 2007 I attended “Date with Destiny”, in Palm Springs, a six day event with Tony Robbins and on the third day, the relationship day, I was transformed… Finally I had all the answers to my relationship problems! I was so inspired to share what I learnt in that day, in that moment I knew I wanted to make a documentary and share that knowledge with the world!
Five years previously, my six year marriage ended for reasons I wasn’t able to comprehend then but after understanding how the masculine and feminine dynamics work in a relationship, I had the answers right in front of me!

What do you find to be the most interesting points in the movie?

There are a few interesting points. First of all, the whole concept of polarity, masculine and feminine – in Peta Heskell’s words, “women have become very aggressive, masculine and men are confused because they don’t know what to do”… what has worked in the past for our parents or grandparents might not necessarily work now, so it’s really important to be aware of how we behave when we are in relationships. We women sometimes feel threatened by our feminine energy… We have high-powered jobs, running entire households, even know how to change tyres or use an electric drill, yes, at work we are assertive, focused and decisive but in a relationship, we need to relax and let that beautiful feminine energy come out, we need to find the goddess within!

Second point is communication – John Gray is the master of explaining why we need to understand how we communicate with our partner is vital for our relationship. We have a large sequence on communication – and the sooner we know what men and women want in relationships, the easier is to build a long-lasting relationship. Now, I’ve become more aware of the words I use and I’ve stopped questioning and interviewing men that I date!

What was the filming process like?

Straight after the event, I went to my office and we compiled a list of people we wanted to interview… our list came up to around 30 people, amazingly, 25 people on the list said “Yes”!
We filmed in London, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco. It was an incredible experience to say the least! Interviewing Mr. Gray in the house where he wrote the classic “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”, we felt we were in a museum, part of the history somehow! Everyone was really amazing! Very generous! Rabbi Deyo, the Speed-dating creator spent with us over 2 hours explaining how the whole speed-dating movement started! Steve Nakamoto’s interview was the longest – over 3 hours! We have over 35 hours of footage so it was a challenging time trying to edit into a 90 minute film! Our editor was Kant Pan, Oscar nominated editor of “The Crying Game”.

We edited the film in London and it took us over 6 months! It was tough because all the content was really good!

Who do you think would benefit the most from watching this movie?

Originally my intention was to make a film where I would explain why we love, why we need to be in a relationship, why men and women are different, understanding those differences, embracing those differences – I wanted to help all my cynical single friends! I am a romantic at heart and after doing a lot of research on dating, I realised that we forgot how to date… we go on dates like we go to job interviews… So I wanted to inspire single people to look for love again, to have fun and not to take themselves too seriously!

In filmmaking, we have a saying, “there are three movies, the movie you write, the movie you shoot and the movie you edit…” Now, after the final edit, the film turned out to be liked not only by singles, but also by couples who look at their partner with a whole new understanding. So we are really pleased!

Is there anything else you’d like to share with IMBL readers about the movie?

My favourite sequence is:
“One of the key things that we need to get is what we’ve been taught is wrong – what we’ve been taught is to develop a series of masks that will present ourselves to the world in a way that we think other people want to see us – when actually what we should be taught is how to present ourselves as we are – and too many of us spend way too much time doing, doing, doing, making masks, creating a form that we think other people would like, where we could be spending a lot more time focusing on just being and giving up trying to be something we are not.”

Be true to yourself! Be happy!

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Thank you so much Trudy for the interview and the preview of the movie! It’s certainly one I recommend for anyone who has struggled with understanding the opposite sex, as well as for the many professionals out there specializing in writing about or helping couples work through problems in relationships. Being able to sit down, almost “face to face” with so many individuals and relationship experts is an amazing experience that is unlike reading all of the books out there. If you’d like to learn more about it, as well as preview a few scenes, visit LoveTalkMovie.com.

We all have our break ups. Sometimes they’re for the best, sometimes they can be avoided or you have hope and can get back together. (Really – if you want to get back together, then you need to Read This)

But, if you’ve given up hope (though you really don’t have to – me and my husband are proof you can get back together with your ex) – then what you need are some good old fashioned break up songs to help you with mending that broken heart of yours.

There are probably thousands of break up songs out there in all genres – indie, alternative, rock, country, easy listening – and of course there’s also always been heartbreak through the decades – lots of great songs have been written through the 60′s, 70′s, 80′s and 90′s. Coming up with this list of break up songs wasn’t easy! I had planned originally to do a “top 100 breakup songs list” as I have done with my previous list of 100 Sad Love Songs – but found that 100 just wasn’t enough as I was leaving out some very good ones. Even with a list of 200 I know that after I publish this post many of you will leave suggestions and favorites that will make me realize a few great ones I had forgotten!

There are all kinds of songs on this list, and I’m excited to finally have a good excuse to list Lynard Skynard’s “Freebird” – which is the often disputed “best song ever, period”. I’ve also included a few that are just plain out silly or funny, like Jay Z’s “99 Problems”. There’s also a few that are embarassing to admit you’ve listened to at some point, but seeing as how Some of these songs on here are ones I personally have used to get over a few too many bad relationships I couldn’t neglect to include them here as well.

So without further ado, here is the official playlist of 200 break up songs as well as a list of song titles and their artists.

Warning: Some of these songs may have offensive language as many are fueled by deep rooted anger – so if you take offense to strong language or may be listening to this around those who would be offended, you may want to proceed with caution.

200 of the Best Break Up Songs (in no particular order)
You Oughta Know – Alanis Morrissette
Like A Drug – Queens of the Stone Age
She F***ing Hates – Me Puddle of Mud
Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong – Spin Doctors
Fight Song – The Appleseed Cast
Rootless Tree – Damien Rice
The Day You Went Away – Wendy Matthews
Song for the Dumped – Ben Folds
Good Riddance – Green Day
Thought I Knew – Weezer
Cocoon – Jack Johnson
I Will Survive – Cake
With or Without You – U2
So Long – Guster
Something I Can Never Have – NIN
Only You – Filter
I’m Not The Only One – Filter
Where Do We Go From Here – Filter
The Sign – Ace of Base
Don’t Turn Around – Ace of Base
Sleep To Dream – Fiona Apple
A Song About You – Elliot smith
Amsterdam – Guster
Through With You – Maroon 5
Ex Girlfriend – No Doubt
Gives You Hell – The All-American Rejects
50 Ways To Leave Your Lover – Paul Simon
Say Goodbye – Theory of a Deadman
Should’ve Known Better – Richard Marx
Don’t Leave Me – Blink 182
Used To Love Her – Guns n’Roses
I’m Not Crying – Flight of the Conchords
Look Away – Chicago
Please Don’t Go – Chicago
Freebird Lynard Skynard
Walk Away – Ben Harper
If You’re Gone – Matchbox 20
Leave – Matchbox 20
Untouchable Face – Ani Difranco
Your Ex Lover Is Dead – Stars
Your Dictionary – XTC
Wild World – Cat Stevens
Good Woman – Cat Power
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart – Wilco
Without You – Harry Nilsson
Blue Monday – New Order
Now You’re Gone – Whitesnake
Painted on my Heart – The Cult
You Give Love A Bad Name – Bon Jovi
Black – Pearl Jam
I Hate Everything About You – 3 Days Grace
Pictures Of You – The Cure
Goodnight & Go – Imogen Heap
What Went Wrong – The Slackers
Wake Up Alone – Amy Winehouse
Better off Without You – The Clarks
Cheyanne – George Strait
Silent All These Years – Tori Amos
Tear In Your Hand – Tori Amos
All We Have Is Now – The Flaming Lips
No Need To Argue – The Cranberries
Add It Up – Violent Femmes
Please Do Not Go – Violent Femmes
Gone Daddy Gone – Violent Femmes
Come Pick Me Up – Ryan Adams
A Perfect Sonnet – Bright Eyes
You Could Be Happy – Snow Patrol
It’s Cool, We Can Still Be Friends – Bright Eyes
Lose You – Pete Yorn
Comfortable – John Mayer
I Dont Want You Back – Eamon
The One With ‘Kid’ – Local H
You Don’t Understand Me – The Raconteurs
Save Me – Unwritten Law
So I Thought – Flyleaf
‘Til I Hear it From You – Gin Blossoms
Say Hello Wave Goodbye – David Gray
If It’s The Beaches – The Avett Brothers
Popular – Nada Surf
So Broken – Bjork
Am I Wrong – Love Spit Love
Extreme Ways – Moby
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You – LedZeppelin
You’re Gonna Miss Me – The Thirteenth Floor Elevators
How¹s it Gonna Be – Third Eye Blind
I Can’t Stand The Rain – Ann Peebles
Stay – Lisa Loeb
Guess I’m Doing Fine – Beck
Torn – Natalie Imbrulia
Gimme Back My Dog – Slobberbone
You Suck – Murmurs
Revenge Is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were) – The Veronicas
All Hail The Heartbreaker – The Spill Canvas
So What – Pink
Wandering – Ben Folds
Crying Like a Church on Monday – New Radicals
I’ll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me) – Expose
Break Even – The Script
Lesson Learned – Ray Lamontagne
You Can Bring Me Flowers – Ray Lamontagne
The Winner Takes It All – Abba
The Last Song I’m Wasting On You – Evanescence
You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
Here Without You – Three Doors Down
The Best Thing You Never Had – Butch Walker
A Little Bit Of Soap – Drifters
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right – Bob Dylan
Picture – Kid Rock
The Breakup Song – American Hi-Fi
I’m Not Okay(I Promise) – My Chemical Romance
Hate (I Really Don’t Like You) – Plain White T’s
Violet – Hole
Hush – Automatic Loveletter
Let It Die – Foo Fighters
She Loves Me Not – Papa Roach
I Want To Hear You Sad – The Early November
I Never Really Loved You Anyway – The Corrs
Alone Again, Naturally – Gilbert O’Sullivan
I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About – Mayday Parade
Missing – Everything But the Girl
When It’s Over – Sugar Ray
Second Chance – Shinedown
Over You – Daughtry
Battlefield – Jordin Sparks
I Hate This Part – Pussycat Dolls
Can’t Go Back Now – The Weepies
Everything We Had – The Academy Is
Love Me Dead – Ludo
Nothing Better – The Postal Service
Shattered – OAR
We Might As Well Be Strangers – Keane
Never Gonna Fall In Love Again – Eric Carmen
How To Be Dead – Snow Patrol
Cheating on You – Franz Ferdinand
Where Did It All Go Wrong? – Oasis
Forgiven – Relient K
Gone For Good – Shins
What Went Wrong – Blink 182
So Sad to Say – The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
99 Problems – Jay Z
Lost Cause – Beck
Cheers Darlin’ – Damien Rice
The Sharp Hint Of New Tears – Dashboard Confessional
Break Stuff – Limp Bizkit
F*** You Lucy – Atmosphere
Blown It Again – Daniel Bedingfield
Dry Your Eyes – The Streets
Broken – Seether
Breakdown – Seether
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me – Boy George
Cardigan Weather – Meg & Dia
You Were The Last High – The Dandy Warhols
Do Me A Favor – Arctic Monkeys
Where No One Knows Me – Jann Arden
Something I Said – Safetysuit
Good F***ing Bye – Matt Skiba
Cry On Demand – Ryan Adams
Dog Problems – Format
Wrecking Ball – Interpol
I Am The Cosmos – Chris Bell
Heartbroke – The Good Life
So Let Go – The Good Life
Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
The Things You Said – Depeche Mode
The Night I Lost The Will To Fight – Cursive
About Today – The National
Been Here Before – Jeremy Enigk
Miserable At Best – Mayday Parade
Woke Up New – Mountain Goats
Summer Wind Was Always Our Song – The Ataris
Honey Honey – Feist
Shespider – Mew
Second Best – Pedro the Lion
Carry You – Jimmy Eat World
Starving Your Friends – Envy On The Coast
Happy Alone – Earlimart
Pink Bullets – Shins
Gone Away from Me – Ray Lamontagne
Never Meant – American Football
No Distance Left To Run – Blur
The Damage Is Done – Foreigner
You’ll See – Madonna
Wish Me Well – Bouncing Souls
Love Stinks – J. Geils Band
Love Hurts – Nazareth
Heavy – Collective Soul
I Think Ill Disappear Now – Crash Test Dummies
I’m Not Over You – Scouting For Girls
Last Time – Fuel
Bed – Semisonic
Do You Sleep – Lisa Loeb
Pale Blue Eyes – The Velvet Underground
No One’s Gonna Love You – Band of Horses
I Don’t Feel It Anymore – William Fitzsimmons
Heart Of Glass – Blondie
This Is Where I Came In – The Bee Gees
Potential Break Up Song – Aly & AJ
Where We Went Wrong – The Hush Sound
Love Song – Sara Bareilles
Love Song – Five for Fighting

Whew! What a list! I know I am missing some here and I know that I would love to hear from all of you – what are some of your favorite break up songs? Any songs that helped you get through the end of a relationship? Share your comments below!

It may seem silly to play a game that simulates dating when you could be out there having real life dates, but many role playing and simulation games can be a nice escape from reality from time and time. It’s also sometimes refreshing to play video games that don’t require you to blow up things and kill people too!

Below are some dating sim games that you may enjoy:

The Sims: Whether you play the original, The Sims 2, or are anxiously awaiting the release of The Sims 3on June 2nd (yes, you can pre-order now!) the Sims is a game where you create virtual characters, build them a house, get them jobs, and introduce them to dating and romance. The game, while it seems pretty silly, is also pretty highly addictive and is probably one of the best people dating simulation games out there based on its features. Your Sims can fall in love, get married, have kids, and even test their relationship through many of the same problems real-life couples face as well. (Yup, your sims are exhausted after a day after work and not always in the mood for romance!)

Harvest Moon: Harvest Moon is sort of like a dating game, though it is mostly a farming simulation game. You will need to create your characters and build a family though, so it does give you many aspects of a dating simulation game.

Brooktown High: Senior Year: Here is your chance to relive your high school dating years. In the game Brooktown High: Senior Year you create your character, and then go on a quest to get the date you want, with many mini games and other challenges.

Feel the Magic XY & XX: In this game you play a boy who is smitten with a girl and must do some silly and strange things to win her affection, like eat a goldfish. Downside: It’s only available on Nintendo DS. Read Reviews.

Sprung: Where Everyone Scores: This game is a little strong in innuendos as one may infer from the title, but it does give players the opportunity to try and date their characters in a ski resort setting. Again, only available on DS. Read Reviews for Sprung: A Game Where Everyone Scores.

The Guy Game: This is not so much a dating simulation game as it is a game for guys that combines Girls Gone Wild and strip poker type removal of clothing while you answer questions. Obviously, not meant for young adults or children! Who knows? Could be an interesting game to play as a couple. (I haven’t played this yet, but it looks interesting to say the least!) Read Reviews of The Guy Game.

Have you any other dating simulation games to recommend? Have you played and enjoyed any that are listed here? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

• 100 Sad Love Songs
• 100 Classic Rock Love Songs
• The Original 100 Odd Collection of Love Songs
• 100 More Alternative Love Songs forf You

This list of love songs has a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, but most of these songs in some way are the “good kind of love songs” – songs that show someone how much you care about them. (In whatever strange way it may be). There’s quite a lot of indie and alternative love songs, many that have been suggested from IMBl readers on previous posts. However, I won’t say this entire list is “indie” – afterall, I did have to include one obligatory song from Barry Manilow to make my husband happy.  (Hence this list being 101 songs, since I am not a fan of Barry Manilow at all!) There are also a few more popular songs on this list – and even a few that would fall into the rap/hip-hop category.

At any rate, all of these are some great love songs and I am sure that no matter what your musical preferences and tastes are you will find something you like.

And now that I have 501 love songs on IMBL, it only seems to make sense to keep growing these lists! So make sure you subscribe by email if you’d like to be updated of the latest posts.

If you’d like to download any of these songs, you can help support IMBL by downloading them from Amazon.com where many are less than $1 and you can easily import into iTunes or another music player of your choice.

Thank you to everyone who has made suggestions – and of course if you have any other love songs you like that you’d like to see included on future lists, be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below!

The list below is missing just two songs – “Christmas” from Just Say Noel and Til’ Santa’s Gone because they weren’t available to put in the playlist player!

At any rate, there’s a lot of great Christmas songs here, no matter what kind of music you like – I’ve included it all from Bing Crosby and Johnny Mathis to Kermit the Frog and Weezer. Whether you’re looking for that perfect “bitter-and-lonely-at-Christmas” song, a romantic Christmas song, alternative Christmas songs, or maybe just something silly, there’s sure to be at least one song on this list you might like.

Hope you enjoy the songs and listening to the playlist!

What’s YOUR favorite Christmas song? Any I’ve forgotten to add to this list? Share your thoughts in the comments below!