Last weekend we went shopping for soup. Rob wasn't feeling well and wanted "something light." So we went on a soup crusade to Safeway and Harris Teeter. They were both having enormous sales. So we STOCKED UP.
When I got home I figured out why these sales were happening. Tacky!
Then we hosted a dinner (not soup!) for 3 friends followed by a screening of the feel-good movie of 2009.
But my friends were more interested in their iPhones than the movie.
More specifically, they were interested in the iPhone app Grindr. I've longed for someone to invent an app that makes people stop talking about their goddamn iPhones ALL THE TIME or when they're playing with them at inappropriate times, perhaps an app that delivers an electrical shock when necessary. But I will admit I'm fascinated with Grindr. I like the idea of knowing (within feet!) of other dudes available for sexual relations. The gays are so sexually technological AND creative. Shocking!
So I was shown a demonstration of this phenomenon. The first profile that grabbed my attention was of a woman. I was like "I think that's Tori Amos. OMG -- why is Tori Amos trying to score some gay man-butt?" Upon closer inspection, it WAS Tori Amos posing in a photo with a horny dude. Poor Tori! I'm sure she didn't think that posing for an innocent photo with a fan would be used as a sexual hook-up lure. I love Tori Amos but she won't help get you laid. Awkward!
Hey Jupiter
Nothings been the same
So are you gay
Are you blue
Thought we both could use a friend
To run to
And I thought you'd see with me
You wouldn't have to be something new
I know Jimbo hates guys using Grindr while in his company, but I find it amusing. So if you want to bust it out during dinner with me, please do, just don't use it for any other reason.
But if you say it's OK for people to use their iPhones at the dinner table, then they will think it's acceptable at all times, and it's not. iPhones out during dinner, at a restaurant, during a funeral, or at a holiday gathering is wrong, period.
Mom wouldn't let us answer the phone during dinner time, and rules for a handheld device should not be different. If you're there to gather with friends, your attention should be on your friends, not some hot guy 37' away. The iPhone does not excuse you from basic rules etiquette.
Umm... TJ... you are just as bad with your Dell laptop. Yep. It's just like a bigger iPhone so Maw Maw can see with her bad eyes. Oh, yes... I went there.
And Jimbo got room to talk about iPhones! He is in constant cruise mode in the bars. It's not easy to have a conversation with Jimbo either because he always has his tongue down someone's throat.
Sorry... I am in brutal honesty mode today... no one is safe... no one!
DB: It is NOT a Dell!!! Gross.
Watching someone using an iPhone can be annoying at the wrong time, but it's always more fun if Jimbo is there, to shudder and shake like Rumplestiltskin. One day he'll explode, and it will be very messy, and the funeral will be sad, but we can always say he made us laugh.
Did any of your friends actually hook up that evening as a result of their grindr sessions? I can't help but think that grindr is more often a higher tech way of teasing without responsibility. If a guy accepts your dinner invitation and then tells you he has to leave early to hook up, that's rude. If a guy accepts your dinner invitation and then spends the evening on grindr for some mild titillation, that's both rude and pathetic. Encouraging their behavior is a little bit pathetic, too.
Brett: At least with my tounge down someone's throat I'm having in-person interaction. And bitch please, I WISH I got as much booty as Grindr addicts fondle their devices. The truth is neither of us do.
TED: 99% of the time the bores on Grindr don't actually ever hook up, but the app serves as a major source of constant validation. The mental monologue goes like this: "AM I CUTE?" 'beep' "OMG yes I am." 'beep' and repeat.
It was only a matter of time until someone invented Grindr. But I agree with Jimbo: people have gotten out of control with the iPhones every minute. Give it a rest when when in the company of real, live people (ie: friends).
So I've had this iPhone thingy for a week now. Granted I'm in Louisville, KY and not DC. But this whole Grindr thing seems like a mobile ManCunt with distance to target included. Most exchanges are the same.
Ur Hawt! Pics for Trade dude.
Ahem...I was texting thank you very much and only for a moment or two. This photo is staged! DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES!
PS: No props on the Cheesecake...tsk tsk. Now where did I put that recipe?
DB: Strother made a delicious apple walnut cheesecake, and the photo captured exactly what went down with the iPhones.
OK so I was an early adopter of the iPhone. (Sorry Jimbo) In fact, I really hope that the $699 that Steve Jobs tricked me out of went directly to fund a piece of his shiny new liver...otherwise WTF?
Anyhoo...I recently upgraded to the 3G and was getting on with my life really only using new apps to play Facebook Scrabble and manage my Netflix queue...til yesterday! This post forced me to download Grindr just to see what all the fuss was about. OK...so I got chatted up almost instantly...I am evidently not too hideous...so yay! But I hesitate to see how this would actually get anyone laid...IMHO there's just not enough info provided to make that sort of decision. (Like Brett would ever spend any time chatting up anyone who he didn't know well in advance was a TOP!)
Jimbo is right...to Grindr in front of friends is just rude...I mean would you whore around on Manhunt at dinner with friends? Two old friends of mine had a saying that desparation looks good on no one...Grindring at dinner looks a little desparate...no?
DB: Ask Brett's ex if Brett was the top, thanks.
Dare I change the subject from Grindr? Ok, so once again, you made me spit Diet Pepsi all over my computer screen when I clicked on your link re: soup purchases.
Bless your wonderful warped sense of humor!
Ahem. Since this conversation has now denigrated into talking about my sex life, I must speak out. My Ex is a big puss.
No one else is running away from the challenge...
Brett, Your ex may be a big puss... but he was the top...
I am WAY too manly to be anyone's bitch. Cracking knuckles. Just wait Carlos... I'll show you who the big TOP is when I get a hold of you.
I only use my Blackberry when it is appropriate, for example, in the presence of my partner, who I ran out of things to talk about about 7 years ago.
By the way, I understand that those two pilots overshot Minneapolis last week because they were on Grindr competing over the really hot guy in 11F. It's not just rude, it's dangerous!
Just so you know-- yes I have Grindr, but no that shit has NEVER paid off for me!
Evidently I'm a big loser, and yes, there's an app for that.
Intersting post. You should think about adding a FB like button?