Valentines day history
Whether you're a cynical, anti-capitalist grouch or a hapless, romantic fool, Valentines day is sure to be on your mind: it's only four days away! A lot of people who don't recognise Valentines day and refuse to accept it always say that their reasons are that it was invented by the greeting-card companies, as yet another way in which they can take our money. As creative as it sounds, it's not true. From wikipedia:
Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days. The Valentines honored on February 14 are:
- Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae): a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.
- Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae): He became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).
So it's wasn't necessarily about honouring loved ones, but started out as a way of acknowledging martyrs. Regardless of whether you're a sap or a grouch, you should probably send valentines day gifts anyway. I'm sure that deep down inside you'll enjoy it! Just a simple flower will do.
- 10th February, 2008
- Hype, and Valentines Day.
Sunday satisfaction
There's something so satisfying about getting up early on your day off, especially when the sun's shining, the skies are clear, and you've got a nice bit of outdoor exercise planned.
Bringing back birthday invitations
Y'know what I miss from when I was little? Getting those neat little full-colour birthday invitations from school-friends, complete with illustrated balloons, cakes, and the promise of a good time at the local ball-pit or park. You'd sit down with your Mum, fill in the RSVP section at the bottom of the invitation, tear it off, and would enthusiastically run across the playground the next day, RSVP gripped tightly in hand, and deliver it to the party boy or girl. It was exciting stuff, and had a nice intimacy about it that I didn't really appreciate when I was little.
Nowadays all the invitations I receive are standard-issue white and blue, courtesy of the Facebook events invitation screen. It's all a little bit dull (except for Gareth and Emily's wedding invitations, which were full of heritage and character). I don't think that Facebook will be changing their events pages to make them more personable anyytime soon, so, it's time to bring back real-life, physical, full-colour invitations!
Here's a voucher you can use at VistaPrint, which'll give you 10 free birthday invitations when you buy a bunch from them. Use the code 'BlogInvite10', and help bring back schoolyard intimacy! Actually, that sounds a bit wrong, but you know what I mean!
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
Another Bruckheimer blockbuster! While BoS lacks the freshness that the first National Treasure did, it still entertains and covertly informs those of us who're a little bit lacking in knowledge of American History. This time it's not just about America though: they visited Buckingham Palace, and the Statue of Liberty that's in France, too.
It's left open quite nicely for a third film, giving National Treasure a potential shot to cash-in again at a later date. It's got that franchise appeal that the studios seem to be craving at the moment, and could potentially go on forever, provided The Wibberleys can keep weaving action with education in the great way they do.
Read more about the films I've watched on my movies page.
Publishing your Social Security Number Online?
That's exactly what Todd Davis, CEO of Lifelock has done. But why? Is he a soon-to-be victim of Internet fraud? Apparently not.
Lifelock is a company that offers identity fraud protection by putting a block on any pre-approved credit decisions that may be taken out in your name. The credit is only given once your bank has called you, asking for verification and approval that the credit was requested by you. They also contact junk-mail solicitors on your behalf, and ask them to stop sending you mail. Sounds quite neat, and the CEO is so confident that the system works, he's popped his Social Security Number online, for any would-be fraudsters to try and use to impersonate him. Sounds like it could be good for the elderly, or those folks who have really good credit ratings, which are dying to be abused.
I hope he doesn't end up with egg on his face. For you reference, his SS# is 457-55-5462.
Planet Terror
Some choice quotes:
- Dr. Dakota Block: No more dead bodies for Daddy tonight.
- Dr. Dakota Block: I'm gonna eat your brains and gain your knowledge.
- Lt. Muldoon: I put two in his heart, one in his computer.
Read more about the films I've watched on my movies page.
- 9th February, 2008
- Movies.
Beingness, Presence, Awareness?
The title of the post may sound like it's written by someone who's trying to show off their muscular vocabulary, but it's much more intriguing than that. It's related to the Sedona Method, a self-help method that's apparently able to change your life. People have been using it to become more decisive, improve their relationships, and give themselves a better quality of life. Beingness presence awareness: I told you it was intriguing.
I'm always interested in hearing what self-help/life coaches have to say, and usually they all have the same, simple messages, but convey them in very different ways. Cutting through the rhetoric, and getting to the point can be tough. The Sedona Method uses very catchy and appealing phrases like "The Happiness Wave" to describe the tools you can use to empower yourself.
The inventor of the method, Lester Levenson, was "very unhappy and unhealthy. He suffered from depression, an enlarged liver, kidney stones, spleen trouble, hyperacidity, and ulcers that had perforated his stomach and formed lesions. After having his second coronary, Lester's doctors sent him home to his Central Park South penthouse apartment in New York City to die." From the sound of it, he did some soul searching, and came up with a way to give himself reasons to live, and thus the Sedona Method was born. Sounds like an interesting guy, and anyone who can find it within themselves to overcome big obstacles is worth listening to for a few minutes. They're offering free DVDs and CDs at the moment, by the way...
'Sexman' produces the best movie reviews, ever
Roger Ebert's sure to soon to be replaced by this guy.
Amazing stuff. He's a legend in the making.
Lost, season 4, episode 2
Oh. My. Gosh.
Lost is amazing in so many ways that I can't begin to describe. It's completely compelled me again, and my days and weeks have started to revolve around it. The Friday mornings when the next 45 minutes of suspense and mythology are available to me are all I'll be thinking about for the next few months. I'll be sad when it's gone, that's for sure.
Las Vegas, here I come (eventually)
I'm not a big traveller. These days most people take a gap-year before hitting University, and end up being infected with the travel bug. It's a bug which you can't recover from, I hear, and it instills the urge to get away as often as possible. I wasn't one of the people who managed to get infected with this bug (maybe I'm immune?), and I largely put it down to not taking a gap year. It doesn't mean I don't like to get away now and then, but I don't feel the urge to use every bit of holiday as a chance to get away, and explore someone new. I'm obviously not of Romany descent!
Is being immune to the travel-bug sad? I don't know, possibly. Anyways, things aren't that bad: I've got a massive, no-expense spared trip to Las Vegas planned. It'll happen as soon as I have enough cash to do get tickets for all the big magic acts (Penn & Teller, David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Criss Angel), as well as enough bread to stay in a decent, on-strip hotel (like the Luxor). When the time comes, I'll probably see if I can get a good deal on a hotel like the Luxor by searching for cheap hotels on HotelsByCity: they might be able to sort me out. I'll probably top the holiday off with a quick helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon in there, while I'm at it.
