While at lunch with a friend a few years ago, she couldn’t locate her lip gloss, so she emptied her purse out on the table to find it. She didn’t have much in there—an iPhone, a wallet, her keys and a small make-up kit. And also, a can of pepper spray.

A lot of guys have quietly lamented to me “Well, I’m a feminist and I hate cat-calling but how do I get a date without looking creepy?” Hopefully this helps. If you find yourself doing the things on this list, just stop doing them. Please stop doing them.

I did not know Janese Talton-Jackson on a personal level. There's a chance I might have seen her before. And a lesser chance I might have spoken to her. But if I did either, I don't remember.

I was in D.C. around this time last year for a screening of our TV pilot. We (my now wife and I) drove down from Pittsburgh that day, and made it to town at around five. Since the screening was at 7:30, we had a couple hours to spare, so we stopped somewhere on U Street to grab something to eat, and eventually met up…