RENT-A-GENT?

     Now, I've written about renting someone to spoon with and that girl who created that is a millionaire. Well, there's another new game in town that might be even weirder than the rent-a-spooner. I'm talking about "Rent-A-Gent"! Yes, ladies! If you're ever feeling lonely one night, now you can have your beefcake and have him feed it to you too! 

     Rent-A-Gent is a new escort service that offers up hunks-for-hire to serve as handymen, arm candy and "sexy task rabbits" (what the hell is a sexy task rabbit?), or you can rent them simply to make your ex jealous. So, basically, you can hire a male slave for the day. The catch is that according to the contract, no sex can be exchanged. That's what makes this service legal because these men are simply escorts and not male prostitutes. 

     Revenge was actually the motivating factor in creating Rent-A-Gent. Founder Sara Shikhman came up with the idea because she needed a hottie on her arm at an event that her ex-boyfriend would be attending. Shikhman expanded the idea to include men available for every purpose except for sex, as I just mentioned. The "Gents" must sign a contract that forbids sex, and the customers are well informed before the transaction. Here's what I don't get; what if there is chemistry there and the "gent" and his client actually end up liking each other. Are they allowed to bang each other then? Well, I guess if they went on a date without the girl paying and the sex happens, I guess that wouldn't be under contract, right? But what if they start dating? Would the girl expect her "gent" to quit his day job, though the money is pretty good? Something to think about when you become a "gent" I guess. 

     Shikhman says, "There are so many different things women can choose to do with their money. We buy thousand-dollar shoes because we CAN and now we can rent a guy because we CAN!" Since she launched the Rent-A-Gent website last winter, she has sent "gents" to 200 women in the New York area. Shikhman has since added Las Vegas, Chicago and Texas to the service. Wait, can these gents have sex with the women in Vegas since prostitution is legal out there? Of course, you could hire one of Shikhman's handy men to be a handyman, but the gimmick is obvious: "This is more about provocation than plumbing." Shikhman went on to say, "We have two big markets: the bachelorette market and the dates and events market."

     Women have the opportunity to shop for the men by perusing a seamless menu. There's a selection of 40 men like "Eric" the actor, who moonlights as the perfect wedding date, or "Jude" the sommelier, who's modeled for Valentino and has a degree in international studies, or "Tim" the blogger, who...Okay, who am I kidding? The cost for the men is about $200 per hour and according to some women, Rent-A-Gent is a service that you'll wish had a no-return policy. Okay, I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. Though, there is no sex involved isn't this still kind of a form of prostitution? Then again, I guess it really isn't. Plus, how do we know for sure there is no hanky panky going on? Is there someone following them throughout the date? If Rent-A-Gent is indeed what it says it is with no sex, the dating scene is doomed. 

Take a look at the video below to see what the New York Daily News learned about Rent-A-Gent: 

  

THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST

Kudos to the New York Daily News for delivering this shot! When I saw this photo in the paper this weekend, I was floored! When I worked and lived in New York City, Times Square is one place you stayed away from, unless you were headed in to see a play, because of all the tourists in the area. Times Square is the only place where you can be in a hurry, but you have to stop every ten paces because tourists in front of you keep stopping in mid-step to look at something. It gets a bit annoying especially when you are in a rush to get somewhere. That's why, for the most part, New Yorkers steer clear of Times Square, and that's what makes this photo so funny because anyone who's lived in New York City at one time or another has wanted to do this in Times Square. Many of us took the higher ground and just walked around the "posing for a photograph" tourist. Apparently, Deanne Ostbye could not take any more of this particular tourist, as the photo above captured her dislike for the stop-n-go tourist. The funny part is that Ostbye isn't even a New Yorker! She was in the city visiting, as well! I can't be the only one who finds comedy in this.

 Anyway, a 34-year-old Serbian tourist, Aleksandra Cvetkovic, was all smiles when she was about to take a picture in the middle of Times Square. Suddenly, another tourist, Ostbye, turned her joy to tears by knocking her down, a moment captured on film by Cvetkovic's friend, Ivana Lisavac-Bloom. The incident happened right at the corner of West 46th Street and Broadway at around 1:20 pm on Friday afternoon. The photo taken by Bloom is absolutely fantastic! Unfortunately for Cvetkovic, the end result was not so fantastic. 

The attack left Cvetkovic on the ground, bleeding from her head, a wound that would later require three stitches. She had only just arrived in NYC from Maryland, where she'd been staying with Lisavac-Bloom during her first trip to the United States. What a way to remember your first trip to the U.S., huh? The two women, Bloom and Cvetkovic were best friends when they lived in Serbia.

 Ostbye, the attacker, is 30-years-old and from Tacoma, Washington. She was charged with assault and reckless endangerment and was waiting to be arraigned on Saturday. No reason was given for the attack, but like I said before, if you've lived in New York before, you probably know why Cvetkovic was pushed. I can almost bet this is what happened. Ostbye was probably walking behind Cvetkovic for a few blocks and Cvetkovic, being the tourist that she was kept on stopping short to see some of the sights that she's never seen before. In one of those sudden stops, Ostbye wasn't paying attention and probably walked right into the back of Cvetkovic. Cvetkovic then probably proceeded to turn and give Ostbye a dirty look because of the little bump and probably talked trash to her friend in Serbian. Ostybye probably didn’t like the look or the trash talking, so she followed Cvetkovic for a few more blocks and waited for the right moment to attack. Now, I'm not sure how this really went down, but I can almost bet that I am damn close because I've been Ostbye before. I just never acted on it! That's why I love this story!