We’ve All Been There

It’s safe to say that everyone has been on a bad date at some point in their life. Whether it was at age thirteen and your “boyfriend” had clammy hands at the movies, or last week when the hot stranger from your building admitted to watching people out his windows over drinks, it has happened to all of us.

Enter Raz, a twenty-something living in New York enjoying all NYC has to offer: friends, food, social events, and of course, bad dates. Raz’s blog When Bad Dates Happen To Good People is a collection of stories from all across the dating world. The stories range from borderline stalking (just happened to know exactly what apartment you live in) to people that just won’t get the hint (“are u there? hello??”) to a date with a bucket of nerves (it’s never a good sign if you end up sustaining injuries on a date due to clumsiness). Raz encourages friends to submit their dating adventures and includes some stories of her own.

Names are changed to protect the innocent (and not so innocent), so next time your date with that “really hot” guy from the bar goes awry, think about emailing Raz. At least something good’ll come of it!

Posted by Maya

Image source BadDatesGoodPeople.com

Smell Ya Later?

Image source datingtips.biz

Here at mm/c we’re all about what’s trending. Nail trends, hair trends, cocktail trends, movie trends, you name it, it’s on our radar. Even if it’s not pretty.

Social trends are no exception. We’re always down to mingle, so when the Associated Press reported the latest on our nation’s party scene, we were all ears. Or should we say all noses?

According to AP writer Amy Taxin, pheromone parties (we’re talking the scratch ‘n sniff of the speed-dating sector) are all the rage in the dating scene. That’s right, move over Match.com, bachelors are turning to a new source to find love: their nostrils.

To meet your match at one of these shindigs, minglers bring a bagged t-shirt they slept in for three nights and then stored in the freezer (to preserve their natural aroma) and lend a whiff to potential suitors, who unveil their own sleepy scent in return.

Um, hello? What if it’s a hot summer night and you’re not lucky enough to have AC? Talk about a bad first impression.

While you won’t find me at one of these parties any time soon, you better believe that if I’m ever caught dead at a pheromone soirée I’ll be a huge rule-breaker. Spritz a little perfume on one of my cute, just-washed camis and sniff, sniff, I’ve got myself a man!

Posted by Mary

Girlfriend for Hire

Image source GirlfriendHire.com

Guys — what if I told you that you could get all of the benefits of being in a relationship without being tied down? No more expensive dinner dates, meeting the ‘rents, or sitting through Sex and the City reruns. For just five dollars, GirlfriendHire can find you exactly what you’re looking for. Whether you want to make your ex jealous or impress your friends when a hot tween posts on your Facebook wall, there is (unfortunately) a girl on this site willing to help.

More depressing than the guys who frequent this site posting requests for girls to “send me a fake message on Facebook telling how much fun you had last night,” are the girls who post on it (MySpace photo included). Offering services that range from homework help and fashion and relationship advice (including “how to make out properly”) to Facebook posts and “flirty” text messages (code for sexting?). Oh, and then there’s just the “broke ass girl” willing to do anything “sane” for 5 bucks.

Is it just me or does anyone else think this recently-launched site has “recipe for disaster” written all over it? I can see it turning into a Craigslist’s casual encounters board for tweens, illegal sex-capades and all. According to BuzzFeed, 22-year old founder Cody Krecicki “doesn’t want GirlfriendHire to be seen as “an adult service” — he wants it to be ‘fun and safe.’” Now I’ve never been a teenage boy, but I feel like I have enough common sense to realize that this site is not being utilized nearly as much for homework help as it is for the exchange of dirty pics and texts. And while this may just be an innocent way to combat boredom, it could easily turn sour. Girls, I suggest that you find a less sketchy and desperate way to earn a few bucks. And boys, find a real girlfriend and learn how to interact with your fellow human beings like a normal person.

Posted by Erin

The Man Repeller

It’s true: Women dress for other women; they never dress for men.

Take it from someone who’s been recognized by The New York Times for her avant-garde, yet offensive-to-the-male-species sartorial choices—Leandra Medine of The Man Repeller blog.

A 21-year old journalism student who lives in NYC with her parents, Leandra’s dubbed herself “The Man Repeller” thanks to her appreciation for turbans, drop-crotch pants, excessive layering, fur, jewelry that looks like weaponry and what she’s dubbed “birth control glasses,” among many other fashion decisions that have ruled out the possibility of ever attracting a guy. Written with hyper self-awareness and an acerbic wit, The Man Repeller is a hilarious account of a girl who just can’t help herself when it comes to fashion. She knows that her choices can be ridiculous, but she’s powerless to the man-repelling fashions of “Alexander (No) Wang” and Martin Margiela.

If the trends mentioned above didn’t make you want to gag, and instead gave you a lady boner, there’s a good chance you too could be a Man Repeller. Take the quiz and find out for yourself.

Posted by Amelia

Cougar Craze

So just when I thought I’ve seen every possible online dating site imaginable,  I came across  a commercial for CougarLife.com.  Yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a dating website targeting all the post-menstrual, hungry tigeresses out there in need of some younger prey.  Cougars…this means you.

With a TV show on ABC, skits on SNL, and now your own website, it’s obvious that the cougar craze is definitely not slowing down; rather, it’s becoming a more integrated part of our society.  Women are no longer being held to different standards than men (at least in regards to dating younger) and younger dudes now have an easier time finding a more mature woman.  So whether the brains behind this website were a group of inspired feminists or MILF-loving younger dudes, I think it’s great.  Go cougars!  RAAAR!

Posted by Mike