Best Love Quotes: Shakespeare

From Shakespeare's Twelfth Night:

"If music be the food of love, play on!"

Love is Lame: Shit Bitch You Are Fine!

Hey, I'm old!  Everybody in the world has probably seen the cute little teddies that say "Shit Bitch You are Fine!" except me.  But they are SO cute!

Find this bear and more at Love Is Lame (and also at Amazon).

You can find this Love is Lame Shit Bitch bear HERE at Amazon.

Berries and Chocolate for a Valentine's Day Dessert

It seems to me that any Valentine's Day dessert needs to include chocolate, berries of some kind, and some kind of cream. Try this fairly simple Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.

Posted by Kris Maks HERE.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup chocolate cookies  
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted  
• 2 packages, one pound Philadelphia cream cheese, softened  
• 1/2 cup caster sugar  (Fine sugar or baker's sugar.. but not powdered sugar.  Granulated sugar can be processed through a food processor if you can't find "fine sugar")
• 1 cup milk chocolate, melted 
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 cups frozen raspberries
• Fresh raspberries and chocolate for decorating (as desired-  See picture)

Instructions:

• Step 1
  Place chocolate biscuits into a food processor and process to a fine crumb. Add butter and mix together. Press into the base and sides of a lightly greased 8 inch springform pan and chill.
• Step 2
  Beat Philly cheese and sugar together using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in melted chocolate and cream until well combined. Fold through frozen raspberries.
• Step 3
  Pour into the prepared crumb base and refrigerate until set. Serve topped with fresh raspberries and shaved chocolate.

(This recipe was found at a weight loss site on Facebook.)

My Girlfriend Is Going To Dinner With Another Guy on Valentine's Day!

From Yahoo Answers:

"Girlfriend going to dinner with another guy on Valentine's Day?"

We've known each other for 4 years. Been talking for past year and a half. I've been in the navy for the past 2 years. We finally decided to start flying and seeing each other. We really fell for one another and decided to commit. Today she is going to dinner with her male personal trainer. I told her to have fun. I hate being controlling but I'm pretty irate.

Valentine's Day Around the World (Updated for 2014)

Valentine's Day Around the World
A great series of pictures of people celebrating Valentine's Day everywhere in many different ways.  Published in Christian Science Monitor in 2012...
In Slovenia:

In Thailand:

Valentine's Day in Thailand.  Click HERE for the whole gallery.

Click on the link for the whole gallery from CSM:  Pictures from Pakistan, Egypt, Slovenia, the UK, the US, and many other countries.  

Starting a Romance: One Rose or a Dozen?

From Smell-the-flowers blog

From Yahoo Answers:  

Should I get a girl who I'm not even dating a present for Valentine's Day?

Ok, so I've liked this girl for ages now... She doesn't know.. I don't think.. We're not really even friends either more like acquaintances.. I'm friend with one of her best mates but I've not plucked up the courage to actual speak to this girl... Ive liked her for about 6 months now and cant seem to get her off my mind... She is 18 and I'm 25 also I don't think that's an issue but others think it might be?

I was thinking about getting some white roses and a nice bit of jewelry sent to her house on Valentine's Day... (Anonymously also) 

Any advice would be appreciated...

To clarify, I really want to... But I guess I'm being a wimp.. Girls hey! The handful of friends I've spoke to about the are torn between some saying a little over the top and some saying go for it... That's why I'm here...

My answer: 

Valentine's Day is the perfect time to kindle romance.  But be very, very subtle.  I actually think that ONE perfect rose might be a better gift than a dozen roses or jewelry..

I wouldn't send her jewelry unless you were really dating her.. Right now you just WANT to date her.  So be subtle.. ONE rose.. White, red, perhaps an unusual color.

Here's more about a gift of a single rose:  A single rose

And, just for your reading pleasure, here's a great blog about roses...and all flowers:  Smell The Flowers (Roses)

Celebrating Anti-Valentine's Day... Not (Updated for 2014)

Broken heart image found HERE

Apparently many people really do hate Valentine's Day and there is a large (and growing) subculture of anti-Valentine's people.    

The Christian Science Monitor captured the feel of the anti-Holiday in 2012:  

Fed up with the romantic industrial complex, oops, Valentine’s Day? Don’t want to be among the Americans who fork over $17.6 billion for everything from flowers to chocolates to, well, whatever else retailers can emblazon with hearts and seductive sayings?

Join the growing crowds of Valentine’s Day protesters. This contingent has its own guide, “The Anti-Valentine’s Handbook” by J. More, not to mention numerous websites, such as meish.org, that suggest how to spend the day. Tips include the ebulliently juvenile – think taking old photos of an ex and decking the person out with fake mustaches and the like. 

Or, compete online for the worst-nightmare date scenario. An early entry on Squidoo.com recounted a foray to a local petting zoo where not only was the writer jumped by a filthy-footed goat, but her date was spit on by an angry llama.

Anti-Love Songs 

Anti-Valentine's Day should be celebrated with such songs as "Love Stinks" or "You're No Good", according to the anti-Valentine's contingent.

I was really surprised when I found dozens of anti-Valentine's Day song lists after a quick Google! 

"Tainted Love" is mentioned, and another I didn't think of:  "Every Step You Take" by The Police.. It's a stalker song, as pointed out by Jeannie at hubpages.  Hmm... I missed that in the many thousands of times I heard that song, but, yep, it sure is:  "Every step you take I'll be watching you", and "You belong to me."

Now, to my mind, "anti-Valentine's Day songs" aren't about broken love but about cynicism about love.  The following lists, however, contain odes to broken love, crazy love, love gone bad, and other kinds of not-love. 

If you are looking for a few great anti-Valentine's Day songs, here are a few lists to start with, then add your own:

• Jeannie in a Bottle's hubpages Best Anti-Love Songs for Valentines Day 
• Ten Intense Songs; None of Which I have Heard of at Loudwire (includes "Die, Die My Darling" and "I know You are F#cking Someone Else")
• Readers choose their favorite un-love songs here at Line Out the Stranger.com.
• If you are a country fan, here's a list just for you at About.com Country music.

Some final thoughts..  

In a sense, Valentine’s Day is now governed by Henry Ford’s principle of mass production, as standardized cards, chocolates, and roses spew forth. However, here’s the rub: Even the anti-Valentine’s Day mood has been captured by the maw of commerce. Websites hawking merchandise with cynical slogans such as “love bites” “Happy Singles Awareness Day!” abound.

But before you get too cynical, stop here and ponder the "I Hate Valentine's Day" sentiment.  Maybe Valentine's Day isn't that bad after all.
 
Oh, and there are plenty of retailers (most online) who aren't part of the Mass Production of Love brigade.  You may have to dig around to find them. 

Thirty Days of Love for the World

My "fifteen days of love" was going to be "thirty days of love".  But I couldn't quite get it together by mid-January.

 

From www.standingonthesideoflove.org

So I was very excited to see a Thirty Days of Love campaign as I traversed the Internet.  Not at all the same thing as my Fifteen Days of Love, but it is a great idea for people who want more from the holiday than the usual gifts, flowers, and overpriced meals.   

Many kinds of love; many ways to celebrate Valentine's Day 

"Standing on the Side of Love"s Thirty Days of Love project promotes a different kind of love, a love for all mankind through social justice, as described below:  

Standing on the Side of Love is a community of people compelled to speak out against oppression, united in the common belief that love is the ultimate guiding force of our world. Join us for the Thirty Days of Love, a period for intentional action, service, education, and reflection running from January 19 to February 17, 2013. 

Thirty Days of Love is a project that was born of their re-imagining of Valentine’s Day as a social justice holiday. It has now become “a month-long spiritual journey and commitment to sustained action and service.” 

The goal of Thirty Days is to influence attitudes and public policy by elevating compassionate religious voices. From January 19^th to February 17^th, each week has a theme and each day has a Daily Action for participants to complete. 

From www.standingonthesideoflove.org

You can participate! 

Among the various projects at the website is this nonpartisan non-religious pledge for people to contact their CongressCritters and sign:

Our nation needs our message. 

Tell your members of Congress to stand on the side of love by denouncing vitriolic language in the public discourse. 

After a contentious election year culminating in nail-biting fiscal cliff negotiations and in the face of upcoming debates on several big issues like preventing gun violence, comprehensive immigration reform, and the debt ceiling, we find ourselves in search of a more compassionate national dialogue. 

None of us has all of the answers. What we do have is our hearts. When we stand on the side of love, we allow our hearts to be our guide, and we ask others to do the same. 

At this crucial moment in time, use your voice to ask your members of Congress to stand on the side of love by denouncing vitriolic language in the public discourse and committing to a more respectful, bipartisan climate. 

Take this opportunity to ask our leaders to work with us for something better.

(Click on THIS LINK to learn more or sign the pledge.) 

And remember... Love is expansive.  The more you have; the more you can give away.. to other friends, family members, to your community, to the world.  

There are many kinds of love and many ways to celebrate Valentine's Day.   

Casablanca: Can You Love Two People? (Updated for Valentine's Day 2014)

Can you love two people at the same time?

One of our favorite movies is Casablanca. (No surprise there.)  My husband and I often watch the movie, and we frequently debate the question:  Did Ilsa (the Ingrid Bergman character) love her husband (The Czech resistance fighter Victor Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid )?  She was willing to leave him for Rick (the Humphrey Bogart character), but throughout the movie she expresses nothing but love and caring for Victor.  In the end, of course, she leaves with Victor as Rick (the Bogart character) stays behind.

Photo of Lazslo, Ilsa, and Rick found at The Atlantic

Passion, Respect, Admiration:  Love?

My husband contends that, while Ilsa respected and admired Victor very much (she was a young woman when she met him), she did not feel love for him in the same way she felt love for Rick.  Perhaps it is true that she felt more passion for Rick.  But the development of their relationship ended abruptly; they were still in the throes of the initial pangs of passion when the Germans entered Paris and Ilsa learned that Victor was still alive.  Ilsa and Rick never had time to live together or develop a life together.  Had they had that time, those initial flames might have burned down .....  And either burned out.. or cooled to a strong simmer that can last decades or even a lifetime.  We'll never know and it was just a movie anyway. But I don't doubt for a minute that Ilsa did love Victor and might have been able to be very happy with him.. She may have loved him more and more deeply as the years went on and she matured....  But Rick, far, far away, may have never have left her heart.  

Happy Birthday, Casablanca!

Casablanca recently celebrated its 71st birthday, and, to celebrate the movie, The Atlantic published THIS article last year.  Ronald Reagan and Michele Morgan instead of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman?  Impossible to even consider.  Snopes says that this rumor is untrue anyway.   HERE's another recent article about Jewish influences on Casablanca that you may wish to read.

The Atlantic contemplates the Ilsa character:

The motives of Ilsa, Rick's old flame, are no less nebulous. Is she merely manipulating Rick, rekindling their love as an expedience to retrieving a pair of visas? Or does she truly love him, and is she really preparing to leave her husband at the expense of the French Resistance? 

My thoughts are above:  She really does love Rick, and though she might just have left Victor for Rick, she really did not want to leave Victor.  Ultimately, going with Victor was right and deep in her heart she knew it.  Victor might really have needed her more than Rick ever did.

Now a better question:  Can you love two people if they are close and you see them both?  

Now that just seems like a recipe for disaster.

Casablanca for Valentine's Day

If you are in the Chicago area, the Music Box Theatre features Casablanca as an annual Valentine's Day tradition--  including a love song sing along.  Details HERE.

In the Falls Church area of Virginia:  Details here.

In the Austin, Texas neighborhood?   Check out the Alamo Drafthouse HERE. Downstate Illinois, in Champaign: The Art Theatre.

Casablanca is also featured in dozens of "Valentine's Day movies" lists, including this one at Tinyprints, this one at the New York Daily News,and in the Christian Science Monitor.

More About Casablanca and Valentine's Day

On the Brattle Film Brattle Blog:  Casablanca- Valentine's Day in Morocco examines the question:

So why celebrate it (Valentine's Day) by watching Casablanca – a film, by most definitions, about love lost? 

They have some answers to that question.  Click the link above.

How Much Would You Pay For Love?

Matchmaker, matchmaker!   

I caught an article on MSNBC a few weeks ago about a modern day matchmaker who will find a great catch for you...... for the bargain basement price of $250,000!

$250,000?  Um....  I think I'd rather be alone.  But the 250 grand is the top price that men will pay if they use the services of the named matchmaker, Janis Spindel.  Her charge ranges from $100,000 to $250,000:  The article states that the more you pay, the more time Ms. Spindel will spend with you, and she will hook you up arrange for you to meet more desirable females.  It's not clear, however, what kind of "less desirable" woman you might get for the cut rate price of a measly $100K.  Perhaps women who didn't go to Ivy League schools and aren't heiresses or business owners?  Perhaps women who are not models?  (The article doesn't specify.)

Really Special...  Really..

Of course, you men out there have to be really, really special to use the services of Ms. Spindel:  You've got to be well educated, well-groomed; you need to be some kind of "upscale professional" and  you need to be targeting "commitment", as Ms. Spindel is NOT interested in hooking up people for one night stands or fun "on the side".  (I wonder how she checks.)

The article quotes a 48 year-old man named Jeff  who claimed that he was "ready for marriage and was tired of the dating game."   He explains, “I could forgive myself for spending the money and not finding someone, but I’d be less forgiving if I didn’t take a chance on what’s really important — a great relationship and family,” he told TODAY.com.   He says that it worked; he is now married and he and his wife are expecting their first child. The article doesn't really go into Spindel's techniques for matching people...  I remember computer dating, in fact, we just watched an old Perry Mason in which dozens of punched cards were being run through a machine by some kind of computer dating scheme.  I would hope that Ms. Spindel's techniques are a bit more...  sophisticated.

Women!  Jump into the Pool!  

The dating pool, that is.

Ms. Spindel does work with women, and, even though they don't need to cough up as much change as the men, they still need to present themselves well... very well.  If you are interested in one of these top notch, well-groomed men, you've got to write a long bio, you need to read her books, you need to fill out a questionnaire and attend a $250 "meet-and-greet".  If you aren't sure if you are coming off well, you can get coaching from Ms. Spindel for $1000 for a 30 minute session.   (I would hope that you would get more information than that you need to lose ten pounds.  But maybe she doesn't take women who need to lose ten pounds.)  

Spindel, according to the article, is "internationally known" and claims that she has 994 marriages to her credit.  She does not guarantee a visit from the Love Bunny, only 12 introductions over 12 months.   Even without a guarantee to find love, Jeff was willing to shell out six figures.

So.. If you have a spare $250,000 hanging around, gents, you may yet find a special lady for Valentine's Day!

Gifts and Shoes..

In the meantime, if you have a special someone, here are a few ideas for gifts:   



Or the brightly colored crystal necklaces at Dorota's Jewelry:

Dorota's Jewelry: My Valentine's Day Wish List

And, ladies, if you have a special someone and are going to someplace special for Valentine's Day, you may need a special, Valentine's colored pair of shoes.  Here are a few ideas: