Every day hundreds of strangers fall in love on the strength of a glance, a smile or a particular hat. The moment is fleeting, and in a desperate attempt to reconnect, people post Missed Connections. I am completely obsessed with these funny, sad, strange and beautiful messages; these bizarre short stories of unrequited love. For the past two years I've been turning them into paintings for a blog, which are now collected in a book, "Missed Connections, Love, Lost & Found."
Missed Connections have about as much chance of reaching their intended as a love letter written on a paper plane and launched from the Empire State Building. But you'd be surprised. In the last year, I've had 47 emails from happily united couples. Six of them even asked me to illustrate their wedding invitations. I guess for all the hopelessness in writing and posting a Missed Connection, for all the "You probably won't read this," there's a justifiable 15-watt bulb of hope dimly glowing in each message...
Here is a hand-picked selection from the book, illustrations of some of the funniest, strangest posts I came across.
HUFFPOST BOOKS CONTEST: Come up with your own hilarious missed connection (it doesn't have to be real). Tweet @HuffPostBooks with hashtag #missedyou or post it on our Facebook wall. We will contact our 4 favorites and send them illustrated prints from the "Missed Connections" book, signed by the author.
(L.o.L.)
The drawings add such poignancy to the messages...
There is a certain beauty to asking for another chance, no matter how small.
I do think that people should be braver with strangers, esp if there seems to be some mutual attraction.
Guys (and Gals) ALWAYS get the phone number, or at least an email!!
I wish you all the best of luck in not missing your love/lust/S&M connections!
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I think the illustrations are flat, somewhat macabre and by no means humorous. If the goal was to pay homage to Cory, who successfully managed to achieve dark humor through illustration, she has failed. Her illustration style is more reminiscent of the American Folk Art period or school, which may stand alone very well in book cover art, but not as a collective portfolio such as this, even when centered around a theme.
In fact, each piece might have stood alone much better than if it had been centered around this theme, at which it simply fails to appeal.
That said, I do wish the artist good luck. She is at least making a living doing what she loves.