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    Blog Posts by Meg Stivison

    • Modern Courtship

      By Meg Stivison | Love + Sex – Fri, Jul 27, 2012 2:34 PM EDT

      My escapist drug of choice is thick Tudor histories. I can't stop reading stories of heavy eye contact, careful wordplay, formal flirtation, the slow build of mannered requests. Sure, there are battles and backstabbing in my books too, but it's really all about the courtly flirtations, isn't it?

      The draw of courtship in our world of post-bar hookups isn't so hard to explain. When decoding what a potential paramour meant by "later" or "hanging out," it's hard not to long for the formality and clarity of old-fashioned romance.

      Modern courtship doesn't require the complicated vocabulary of flirtation in a historical novel. A Victorian suitor might need to send flowers to impress the object of his affections before asking her for her company. He'd need to decide on the type and color of flowers carefully, making sure the bouquet expressed just the right affection, without rousing the suspicions of chaperons or servants. But a texted note from a modern suitor serves the same

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    • Social Media and the Long-Distance Relationship

      By Meg Stivison | Love + Sex – Mon, Jul 23, 2012 1:27 PM EDT

      I love the cyberpunk connectivity that social networks and ubiquitous smartphones have brought us. I'm excited by new technology creating new social patterns, by the endless, everywhere conversation of texting and the instant connection when photos of distant friends appear in my hands. Every day it's easier to connect based on interest and affection, and not only geography.

      I love it, of course I do, but somehow the side of me that has taught English still cringes at some of what passes for communication.

      Do you know what I mean? I hate a perfectly good verb like fail turned into a noun, and then overused. I hate an emoticon used as a crutch to make one's meaning clear, instead of choosing vocabulary more carefully. I've devoted more class time than I'd like to admit to explaining that texting acronyms don't belong in an essay. I empathize with my students' insistence that everyone writes like this, but I still suggest that they look for a synonym for she was :(, and remind

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    • Dateini

      By Meg Stivison | Love + Sex – Thu, Jul 5, 2012 2:09 PM EDT

      Dateini, one of the startups displayed at TechCrunch Disrupt, promises to help users "plan dates like Houdini". Users select their location, cuisine type, budget, and theme, and Dateini plans a date using those parameters. I love living in the future... or I will, once Dateini is finished.

      Cute Dateini man!Dateini is established in a couple major cities in the US, but fortunately for me, New York is one of them. (Because this is the greatest city in the world!) Current theme choices are Music, Romantic and Entertainment, but more are in the works. Like many TechCrunch displays, the current Dateini is much more an interactive proof-of-concept than a working product, more a demonstration of what Dateini could feature than a finished product.

      I chose my city, favorite food, theme and budget, but disappointingly, Dateini sent me on a date to Central Park... which wasn't exactly the unknown date spot I was hoping to find. With everything Manhattan has to offer, all the dates I requested as "Romantic" sent

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