 |
June 13, 2007 |
|
 |
|
|
The Luckiest Man In The East Village
FOUND by Christopher Mims
in New York, New York
During the transit strike I was living in the Lower East Side and walking to work. Somewhere on 1st Avenue in the teens there were a half dozen of these plastered on one light post after the next. My girlfriend says this is touching but I just think it's creepy. Either way, I sure hope Reena contacts this guy - he sounds desperate.
Sign in or register to start a profile and keep track of your comments. You may also post without creating a profile, but you'll have to answer some tough spam protection questions.
Student January 14, 2008 |
Happy New Year December 26, 2004 |
Country Wedding August 14, 2007 |
Not a Party Building January 01, 2006 |
 |
|
 |
         |
We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework,
to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles -
anything that gives a glimpse into someone
else's life. Anything goes...
» We're hopping on a plane and jetting to Europe for our Fall 2008 Euro Tour!
» Join Peter Rothbart for his mini-tour of the Pacific Northwest
Sorry, but I think that this barely makes sense-"I met you and hung out with your friend but now I want to hook up with you'? The very length and rambling prose makes me think Reena should never, ever, call this freak.
Hahhahahaha
this dude seems desperate
i wish someone thought i was that amazing.
I saw a movie like this once.
A guy talked to this guy on a train or something and fell in love with her, but he forgets to ask her number.
So he pays money to put up an ad on a billboard & it says his details and could her ring her. Gets big publicity etc, but all the girls who ring the number aren't The Girl, so his friends date them all until they find the real one, and upset her accidentally.
Anyway its a happy ending and they meet etc.
This just reminded me of that. Inspiration from the movie maybe?
If they only hung out for a night, they probably didn't get to know each other that well. . . so maybe this guy doesn't really know Reena and if he does end up meeting her again, what happens if he doesn't actually like her? What a wasted effort
They met at Karma. It was meant to be. She better call him so she can give him 5 minutes to tell how unintrusive and grateful he is... and look at the time he spent on the flyer with all the different colors and font sizes... WOW!
The Graphic Designer in me has to smile at this poster.
I have a bit of a problem with taking out a poster to remind me how 'unintrusive' he was with Reena and her friend. Eeeee....
Tony needs to bunch up these flyers into two balls and shove them down his pants to act as substitute testicles (neuticles if you will). I'm sure he started the not calling with the excuse of waiting two days wich turned into him being afraid to call wich turned into months. One day when the Sears catalog and Dirty Found was no longer 'doing it for him,' he realized he needed actual human contact. Desperation beat out fear as he frantically searched for the number of the only girl to give him any attention since he graduated from SVA. After not finding the number he decided to creep it up a notch and stalk Karma for a few weeks drinking his fuzzy navel or amaredo sour in the corner hoping to see her. Finnaly in a girly drink haze he got on photoshop and made this extra creepy flyer in a last ditch attemp to get laid before resigning to a relationship with his hand and sock.
Do you think he made the first "e" in Reena a different color because he wasn't sure if her name had one 'e' or two? That's pretty considerate. For a freak. Well, but I love this poster, which used to grace our wall at work, and now graces the internets.
i wonder how many people called this guy and told him he's a freak? or said they're reena? or promised to meet at karma and then went and watched him wait pathetically for reena?
"A" for effort though.
This feels genuine to me, not like he was desperate. I'm not normally gullible... this feels like the truth. He clicked with Reena, lost her number, kept thinking he'd bump into her at Karma. Months went by and he'd think of her every so often, until finally, he decided to DO something about it. (Sorry, I know I just re-created the flier - I do think that's what happened.) He's not asking her to marry him, he's asking for five minutes, and another chance to get to know her. Wonder what happened? Wonder if she saw a flier, or if everyone took them to hang in their office, or send to Found? Hope he got to connect with her again.
This could just be a ploy/ad to get
people in the club. Can't imagine anyone going to that much trouble for romance.
Besides It IS creepy.
when i read this, i immediately thought of this guy, who just makes me sad:
http://citypages.com/databank/27/1319/article1
Yep, metta, very sad and... very, very creepy. Especially this part: "gave his mother two of the hugs and kisses Denise gave him. He wanted his mother to feel the love that had transpired between them." Ewww.
I used to bartend and wait tables, and until I grew my tough, cynical exterior, I'd have guys call me at the restaurant and say, "But I could tell you loved me! The way you smiled at me!" Unlike Denise, I never hugged or kissed anybody. I'd have to say, "I smile at everyone. It's part of my job." It makes me sad, still, to think that they had been missing so much kindness in their life that they took a nice smile to mean true love. Poor Kevin Kupferschmidt.
I'm particularly taken by that one off color E. Would it be more effective if it were the first E, rather than the 2nd? Somehow it bugs me that REENA is in black to start with. More graphic design feedback ? ?
wow. i'm really in the minority here, but i think this is sweet. the phrasing about how "unintrusive" he was is a little annoying, but otherwise i think this is a really endearing gesture. it's not everyday that i have really great off-the-bat chemistry with someone else, and i really respect his attempt to see if there's more substance to it. i don't read any creepily i-know-you're-the-love-of-my-life-based-on-one-nigh dogmaticalness (i can't believe that's really a word). reading everybody's cynical and dismissive takes on this really depresses me.
I'm disappointed by how many people think someone must be ball-less to show genuine/enthusiastic interest in someone. "Can't imagine anyone going to that much trouble for romance"? Really? Typing a page and sticking it on a couple of lamp posts is too much energy for you to muster? Do you usually date furniture? This is LESS creepy, to me, than the "Missed Connections" on CL -- at least this guy is doing his work in the real world, in places where she's likely to come across it. Sure, it's a grander gesture than most people might make, but wouldn't most of us like to think we're worthy of a grand gesture now and then?
All of you seem overly bitter. I think this sounds like a adorable last try to find a lost love. Maybe they had love at first sight and he didn’t mean to lose it but he did.. I think its cute. YOU cant judge it because it wasn’t made for you, maybe Reena loves it and him.
Come on - am I the only one who thinks this guy got REALLY lucky when he met Reena & her 'friend' (partner) who dubbed him the 'luckiest guy...' Reena and her friend have moved on - to the next 'luckiest guy...' and obviously don't need a man who's looking for a relationship, as unobtrusive as he may intend it!
i love the idea of it :D
Brock seems right on. However I think Anthony has some "missed out on a potential threesome" regrets. Reena and her visiting friend, trying to catch her last night in town, "the luckiest man in the east village". Although it does seem strange that he waited months to follow up on the lost opportunity, and then made a creepy flyer out of it.
Wow, I can't belive the flyer I made to score some affection made it to this website and then sparked so much contraversy. I did finnaly track down Reena at a different bar and she didn't remember who I was. She was with another guy but I could tell she loved me more. Anyway, I told her when she was ready for something serious to call me. Thanks for your support guys, you are all awsome!
That is really really creepy to me. I have a stalker ex named Anthony and I had to call the cops on him a ton of times. He is like this guy except this guy spells and punctuates. My ex just randomly types letters in hopes that they'll makes sense to someone and his sentences are usually a page long.
Run Reena, run.
In the non-creepy minority! And I think I have a decent, healthily skeptical creepometer usually. If he thinks he really had a connection, what he did makes sense, and I think the note strikes just the right tone. He is being sarcastic about the "unintrusive!" He knows the flyer is a bit nutty, and he makes this point several times. Usually better to regret something you have done, than something you haven't.
Wow, Jean, I also have a stalker named Anthony, who used to live on the east coast. He electronically stalks me only, luckily, and constantly send me emails and voice mail messages very much like this one. If Reena saw this, I hoped she moved far, far away and changed her name.
Anthony: Reena sobered up and you were only remembered when her friend reminded her that some "Tony guy" was trying to get all up in her cranny.
I can only think that Anthony is the same "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" described in this Magnetic Fields song.
http://stephinsongs.wiw.org/tab/69ls1.html#8
I don't think it's creepy at all, I think it's thoughtful, origional and romantic.
Now that's a very well designed creepy flyer. Creepy in a touching and maybe romantic way, but I really liked the colors and size of letters :D
A) meet awesome female.
B) go to that location, like, 15 times a day for classic "bump into"
C) kicks ones self for putting phone # in Best Jeans and washed in hot, twice (for that especially casual look)
D) moment of movie/stalker/romantic fantasy epiphany..."I know, a flyer or mass mailing"
E) Cheaper for flyer
F) makes flyer on Mac.
G) Gets shat on at FOUND
What a story to tell the grandkids...
While it's nice that someone cares so much to design such an appealing sign - it is still a little too intense having been with the person for all of one night.
Maybe if they had been dating for a while and this was a plea for forgiveness then it would be heartfelt. But they weren't dating for a while and they barely know each other. What if Reena is a bitch? Then Anthony went to all this trouble for nothing.
Either way, if I ran a graphics art firm, I'd be trying to contact Anthony right now - maybe with a billboard?
The kid's got skills.
Madame Woo is vindicated big-time! While my "number of comments will double in three weeks" prediction hasn't come true quite yet, today's comments completely validate my "someone will claim the Find of the Day is 'creepy'" prediction and establishes the certainty of my being able to see into the future. Many thanks to all who have written to Madame Woo with your questions and support.
Madame Woo has one small favor to ask of today's readers: if five more commenters use the word "stalker," I believe a new record will be set. As with "creepy," it's an absolute-value thing, where it doesn't matter if you comment that Anthony is a stalker or is not a stalker, as long as you use the word or a variation thereof at least once in your comments.
Madame Woo sees all! Woo-hoo!
I am in agreement with Disappointed here, I think it is romantic and an interesting way to try and get in touch with someone you clicked with. Besides I think the "I saw you" columns in the weekly paper are way creepier then this where most of the time those people only saw and smiled at each other.
I think Romance can be found in unusual ways and if it ends up working out it is a truly beautiful thing. I met my love Djing a radio show and he wrote in to comment on my show, we conversed over email about music and art for several years, later we meet up and we are very happily in love.
So you skeptics true romance dose happen!!!!
I think Reena's friend is famous. That is why Anthony didn't want to mention the friend's name and that is why Anthony was "lucky".
So, i got no problem with dude's motives, but his method... that's the problem.
He did a lot of work and spent a lot of money on this flyer and what does he have to show for it? WAY to much text and no mystery. There is nothing for Reena to be intrigued by.
"Reena, the luckiest man alive ran out of luck, lost your number, and wishes you'd call. PHONE #" woulda been more effective. Even if it's scrawled with a sharpie and xeroxed.
I really like this flyer. I love all the detail, because that's probably how the guy is in person... If he'd bumped into Reena at Karma, he'd probably have rambled on about why he hadn't called instead of just playing it cool. Which is cool.
I don't know...it's full of sweet desperation for sure...but the jaded skeptic in me says he's just busting mad that he didn't say what he wanted to to 'score' that night, so he's gonna go for the romantic-meets-kinda-creepy approach.
The flyer looks nice though - and he was considerate.
I'M SURPRISED HE DIDN'T CONCLUDE IT WITH "NAMASTE"
i think its really cute. he must have really liked this girl to paste flyers all over. i think this proves that he didn't just want to get laid but actually had some sort of feelings for her. I hope he finds her and they live happily ever after!
I just realized no one has suggested (so far) that "Reena" could be another man. This group is normally so gender confused by a decade or more of PC brainwashing that at least one person will come up with a turnabout, no matter how far-fetched. Come on: creepy, stalkerish... what's missing? Maybe he's gay!
Oh, Hannah in Love, I couldn't have said it any better myself. Bless you.
Wouldn't it be tragic if Reena is illiterate and walked by the posters every day for months without knowing they were for her? She could still be waiting for him to call.
Wow! Anthony was about the eleventh "luckiest man" we blew that night. Glad they didn't all put up posters. Remind me not to drink vodka shots when I visit Reena again.
I LOVE IT! I REALLY REALLY WISH SOMEONE THOUGHT ME THAT IMPORTANT!!
Am I the only one who thinks he couldn't care less about Reena but wants to get in touch with her friend? I read the poster about four times before seeing it. That's not only super-creepy, it's really insulting. Also, try substituting his name for hers and vice versa and see how the poster reads. Ewwwww. No wonder she hasn't called him.
Although The Luckiest Man in the East Village is a good title for this find, I think I would have gone with Avert This Flyer.
Salty, turn off your freaking CAPS LOCK. It's rude and retarded to type a message in all caps, unless this is your first day on the Internet. Sheesh.
Sam, same as above, but you are way more important than some girl on a poster. Tony is mistaking his loopy idealization of Reena for a real person. He doesn't know Reena at all.
If you're looking for a decent relationship, don't bother hooking up at a bar, unless you think men are at their best when they're drunk. Generally, if it works into something more serious, like living together, most of the time you'll have to deal with each other when you're sober. It's one of those disappointing facts of life. :-)
I agree with Water Gurl. This is pure, manipulative crap. I can't believe anyone fell for this. He's totally not sincere, and this is not sweet or respectful.
'so much fun hanging out with your visiting friend' 'grateful to spend time together' (notice that he didn't say, 'spend time with you') 'catch up with you two on her last night' etc.
What a jerk!
im not really sure what to think of this. on one hand its cool that hes trying to contact this girl. but then again, it is borderline creepy
this guy sounds amazingly crazy, and i love the unintrusive/grateful combination. i would totally call him if i were reena just to see what the hell would happen.
This guy is totally playing the "try way too hard to be SO cute and SO incredibly sweet, and make her feel SO special (a la John Cusack holding up the boom box playing Peter Gabriel in "Say Anything"), that she'll swoon her way right into his bed" card. What a douche.
OK. It's so obvious that this guy, "the luckiest man in the East Village," hooked up with Reena and her out of town friend, and got to watch some girl-on-girl action, with the promise that he NOT join in.
This explains his emphasis on how "unobtrusive" he is; his empassioned plea to see them <naked> again, and his description of himself as "grateful".
So very ~On The Line~
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_The_Line
Ladies.. this is a perfect example of an unstable guy. The act is sweet. The energy and design put into it is commendable. But combine it with the language and flow (or lack of), and he's definitely a psycho.
It just made me think of "Thoughts of Rena" by the Voom Blooms. Great song. Therefore I like it. :)
I think it's kind of romantic....
I thought of the Magnetic Fields song, "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side" too. That, plus the fact that Karma is a record store here, makes me think that these two are music junkies. They might have met at the record store, found out they loved the same obscure bands, and had one of those all night conversations that convinced this guy they were soul mates.
The graphic designer in me cringes when i look at all the mistakes in this design. UGHHHHHH...
Spy/Terrorist/"Low Men" correspondence.
I really wish romance would come back in style instead of cynicism and skepticism. There's this huge population of elderly people that "fell in love at first sight", or "knew she was the one right off the bat". Whatever happened to those days? What's funny is those people have been happily married 40, 50, 60+ years (granted not all, but many). They fell in love and didn't worry about getting to know the other. They knew they'd get to know each other over the years they would spend together 'til death do they part. I don't know when that ended, but I wish it would come back.
Falling in love used to be a sacred act. Now, love gets twisted by individual wants. If only you looked like her or lost a couple of inches, or maybe if your eyes were blue and your nose wasn't crooked...then maybe I could love you. We as a society have gotten so wrapped up in all the other things that mean absolutely nothing. This note offers a glimmer of hope for the romantics out there (even if he does sound a wee bit desperate).
I actually think this is really cute and I do believe that people can have an instant connection. This guy isn't crazy or creepy, he's just found someone finally, and don't we all just want to find someone that's perfect for us? I think I just say all this because I'm in love and believe in these kinds of things. I also think it's ironic that they met at a place called Karma- sounds like a place that would be in my town.
MC2, your comment was hilarious! :)
And I finally agree, this find is CREEPY. This guy is a stalker waiting to happen.
Jello, you are romanticising the past. Love weren't never what those people say it was. Husbands were just better at hiding their mistresses, their porn and the bruises when they beat the living fuck out their wives.
I'll take today's honest flaws to yesterday's lying ideals any damn day. When i think about the times i been dumped, there's a part of me that celebrates the fact that those women were liberated enough to choose to be without me. Cuz that means that when they were with me, they really wanted to be.
I have to agree with you, Rex. The past hid a lot of secrets. I'm sure there were a lot of wives who 'fell down a lot', and wore long sleeves in the summer time. It wasn't all Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver. I love your comment about the women who have left you being liberated enough. Strong enough to know who they were, and not to waste your time, or theirs. Kudos to you, man of the millenium.
You know what I love about the internet and message boards?
The fact that even though Mona's post agrees with me, is sinscere and is generally complimentary, the last line still reads sacrastically.
It's social interaction with a built-in Brechtian alienation effect.
"...begged to catch up with you two on her last night..."
wtf? way too funny.
Wait, Jello, you still think Anthony was interested in Reena? If he fell in love with anybody, it was Reena's friend. Otherwise she wouldn't even be mentioned in the poster.
The best marriages are built at least partially on denial and idealization. It sure beats the alternative.
God, are you guys cynical. I think it's sweet.
I'm loving the flyer in general, too. The colors..the font sizes..it's making me drool.
Sigh. Rex, you have discovered my greatest flaw. Even in real life, i have this distinct inability to sound sincere, even when i am. I dont know what it is, i'm trying to learn to sound sincere (my brother says that, when you can fake sincerity, you've got it made.)
Seriously, tho. So many people (especially those who know me well) think I am being sarcastic, when i meant what i said with every fibre of my being.
I think its because i usually am sarcastic and cynical, when i am sincere its taken as fake sincere.
Bertolt Brecht is a genius, tho.
I truly mean it, Rex. You are truly evolved, I think.
That boy should be on dialysis. He's clearly sufferin' from reena failure.
"I truly mean it, Rex. You are truly evolved, I think."
Hahahahahaha! You were doing so well, mona lisa. Poor Rex. :-)
see what i mean? see?????? see???? i cant freaking sound sincere. I really mean it. Rex is probably the most evolved (or the best at faking it, anyway, which is almost as good) man that posts here.
i'm going to my dark hole, now. someone pass me some froot loops? hold the milk.
Dear Mona,
Do you not see how your qualification of statements effectively negates the praise you intend and therefore sounds sarcastic or insincere? If you stopped at "You are truly evolved," it would be fine. Adding "I think" makes it sound like you're not so sure after all.
Saying "Rex is probably the most evolved (or the best at faking it, anyway, which is almost as good) man that posts here" is so full of qualifications that I hardly know what to think, even though I believe you're trying to offer a sincere compliment. Do you think Rex is evolved or just probably evolved? Do you think he's truly evolved or faking it? Are there women here who are more evolved than Rex? Why qualify your comment by gender?
I don't mean to criticize -- I wouldn't take the time to write this if I didn't admire you and delight in your contributions to the comments. Perhaps it is just old habits of speech. You can thank Rex and tell him you think he is truly evolved. And then stop there.
These are just my opinions, of course, so please don't take them too seriously. You are wonderful just the way you are.
I think. :-)))
I think it's sweet AND creepy, although I noticed the thing about the friend as well. Hmm.
In other news....
YOU CAN DO IT MONA!