By The Way...

Thursday, February 8, 2007
6:31:00 PM EST
Hearing February Stars -- Foo Fighters


Next Wednesday is Valentine's Day, the day on which lovers everywhere disgorge flowers, chocolates, cards and gifts for their beloved. Some folks even propose or get married on Valentine's Day. So here's what I want to know:

Weekend Assignment #151: Is Valentine's Day a genuinely romantic day? Or just a big commercial money pit into which romantic people fall? Go on, share how you really feel about the day -- whether you enjoy it, or feel like it's forced on you by greeting card companies, or fall somewhere in between those two poles.

Extra credit: Suggest a nice romantic movie.

For my part, I think it's pretty clear Valentine's Day is a big fat push by commercial interests to suck money out of people's pockets and encourage conformity in how we display our affection to each other. It hasn't always been thus, but it certainly is now. That said, I personally enjoy Valentine's Day. I think it's fun.

This is partly because I don't actually feel like I need to be reminded by retailer to tell my wife how much I love and appreciate her, and to give her tokens of my affection; I do that anyway, so my approach to Valentine's Day can be pretty relaxed. Which is the other thing: we don't stress about V-Day, or worry about making a big romantic show of it. We have fun with it, basically, and that makes it a nice thing to have.

We may or may not give each other lots of cards and chocolates and flowers, but we do tell each other we love each other and get all schmaltzy and stuff. And then we'll do it on other days, too, because it's also fun then.

Romantic Movie: I like The Tall Guy, starring Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson. because it's funny, it's light and also, Emma Thompson is quite yummy.

You're up! Share your thoughts about Valentine's Day: Post them in your blog or journal, and then come back here to leave a link!


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This entry has 28 comments: (Add your own)

• #28 Comment from jetssuper 
  2/15/07 8:04 AM | Permalink

  I like St.Valentines day. It is a excelent and heartworming day to give cards to all my friends and family. My favorite part about it is getting all the chocolate. Yummy, yummy chocolate.
• #27 Comment from sparkles02599 
  2/14/07 9:14 AM | Permalink

  I guess I would have to say it depends on where and who your with at the time it rolls around, it can either be romantic or depressing, at this present time I am excited that its basically one of the days of the year people are actually focusing on love, lol,  not enough love in the world.
  
  P.S. favorite romantic movie would be "When a man loves a Woman"
• #26 Comment from jlester961 
  2/13/07 6:54 AM | Permalink

  I'm not a fan - no matter what I do it always feels like I didn't do enough or I did too much.
  http://journals.aol.com/jlester961/YarnsandTallTails/entries/2007/02/13/school-what-is-that/2584
• #25 Comment from alphamoon65 
  2/13/07 1:04 AM | Permalink

  I forgot to mention my fave romantic movie. It would have to be "Legend" an old Tom Cruise movie. I love fantasy, and love conquering evil is pretty cool too....damn I cannot believe I openly admitted this....lol
  Dwana
  
• #24 Comment from hamster861 
  2/12/07 6:27 PM | Permalink

  i totlly agree,people gve candys and chocolates just so their loved ones will get them a great gift for them.....such a hoax!!!!!!!!!!!!

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