Modern Love

Obviously, if you have been reading my blog, you know that I am a regular reader of the New York Times. Although I occasionally disagree with some of the columnists, I think that the online Times is a great mix of hard news and entertainment features. In my opinion, one of the more entertaining columns is Modern Love.

This column does not appear daily; in fact, it seems to appear randomly. The other day I searched the NYT site to see if there had been any recent stories. I found several new Modern Love articles including a series written by college students who entered a NYT contest. The Times wanted to learn about Modern Love on college campuses. What's ironic to me is how applicable they are to me, a woman of a certain age. I have linked to four winning student entries here.

"Want to Be My Boyfriend? Please Define" This article is the winner of the NYT Modern Love college author contest. The author is a very articulate co-ed who tries to define dating, hooking up, and relationship expectations.

"Let's Not Get to Know Each Other Better" This article by a college guy is, in some ways, the "answer song" to the post above. It reminds me of one of the running jokes on Seinfeld: Is this a date?

"My Dropout Boyfriend Kept Dropping In" I was laughing out loud while reading this article about the afraid-of-the-dark boyfriend who decides to be voluntarily homeless. This guy "didn't need" an apartment (or the expense of an apartment) because he had a girlfriend with one. It reminded me of an old beau who "didn't need a car". Yeah, right, didn't need one until he wanted to buy groceries or move. He didn't need a car-- just a girlfriend with a car.

"Instant Message, Instant Girlfriend" I thought this one was fascinating. The self-described dweeb woos women using IM and e-mail because he is uncomfortable face-to-face communication. On IM, he transformed himself from "an overweight, overdressed frog to a charming, handsome, technology-savvy prince."

I hope you enjoy these humorous but also poignant views of love and relationships.

July 15 Update: Rather than add yet another post about relationships, I decided to update my Modern Love post with a link to an article by Ben Stein in today's NYT. "Lessons in Love by Way of Economics" is thoughtful but somewhat tongue-in-cheek. It includes several pearls of wisdom including: don't buy junk bonds, do your research before investing, long-term investment pays off, and the size of your return can be directly correlated to your investment.

Image credit: New York Times