io9: dating

Post-it Comic Reveals the Perils of Catching Lois Lane on the Rebound

Lauren Davis — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:30:00 PDT

You're dating a new girl and things are going great. Then one day she asks you to meet her ex...who just happens to be Superman. Can a mere mortal ever live up to the Boyfriend of Steel?

Jonathan Goldstein's short story "Man Not Superman" (previously featured on This American Life) follows the man who dates Lois Lane after she breaks it off with Superman. Our comparatively ordinary narrator is head over heels for the famed reporter, and things go swimmingly at first; sick of superheroes, Lois just wants a guy who can make her laugh. But Lois and the big Kryptonian are still good chums, and the relationship hits a snag when Supes insists on taking his ex's new beau as his sidekick.

The original text is an uproarious read, but the artwork (composed entirely on yellow sticky notes) from animator Arthur Jones perfectly captures the narrator's insecurities and the humiliation involved in working for Superman.

Man Not Superman [Post-it Note Stories via Metafilter]

Welcome to the Gattaca Dating Service!

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:31:08 PDT

It's the perfect dating site for the personal genome age: Genepartner will take your genetic material and hook you up with people whose genetic profiles match yours. Because you wouldn't want to date somebody with a nasty genetic profile. According to the site, "Our formula is based on research on hundreds of couples and analyzes the pattern of genetic combinations found in successful relationships. Using this formula we will determine the probability for a satisfying and long-lasting romantic relationship between two people. This probability is highest when two people are genetically compatible." This is way more squicky than cloning, if you ask me. [GenePartner via MedGadget]

Milo Wuvs Hayden, We Saw It Coming

Kevin Kelly — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:45:21 PST

At the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival last month during the Heroes event, we noticed that Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere were canoodling with each other the whole time, whispering back and forth like giddy schoolkids. But, we chalked it up to nerves and confusion about what was going on during the Q&A. For instance, Milo's answer to "How has Heroes changed your life?" was "I don't really know what to say." Nice. Our tabloid-papparazzo circuit wasn't working properly that day and anyhow, now it's official. The brother/sister set of Peter Petrelli and Claire Bennet are Hollywood's newest incestuous power couple. At least until Sylar swoops in and eats their brains, hoping to gain some of their couple-of-the-moment pheromones.