Valentine's Day Boycott

Sooo... It is now February. That month at the end of winter where things start to look hopeless and it seems summer will never show it's face again. Depressing, I know.

I have this theory that Hallmark saw this, and took the opportunity to stick a holiday right smack in the middle of this depressing month, in an attempt to bring people out of their misery. Or maybe just to make money. The latter, if you ask me...

Those who know me already know my opinions on valentines day. It's a meaningless holiday that seems to be designed to pressure you into buy lingerie and jewelry in a pathetic attempt to prove that you know how to be "romantic". It peer pressures everyone to get a date, because god forbid you would be alone on this day. If you ask me, I think that this is the most unromantic day of the year. You think that buying your loved one a present or taking them somewhere special on Valentines day is romantic? It's not. It's expected. You do it out of obligation. Why don't you try taking your sweetheart out on another day, for no reason other than you actually care about them?

What do I want? How about men and women loving, caring and sharing the other 364 days a year? February 14 isn't the only time to send flowers to your woman. How about dropping her a flower arrangement on May 14? And on that card you need to write, "Just because..." I can guarantee that she will be thrilled.

Instead of men and women spicing up their sex life on February 14, make the effort to do so on a regular basis. Girls, it's ok to get lingerie on a regular day, too. Guys, it's ok to make a regular night really great for a girl.

Honestly, if last Valentine's Day was the last time you took your significant other out to a really nice restaurant, you deserve to be in trouble. The people that plan their romance and love around something like Valentine's Day are the same type of people that spend more time planning their wedding than their marriage. The day is nice and wonderful, but what makes it last is what you do on the "non-special" days.

The days of free love are gone. People don't give a shit anymore. We need a commercial holiday to remind us to love one another, and I say let's make this stop. Let's love for 365, and not just one. Show your support. Wear black on this February 14th. Celebrate on February 13th, just because. Celebrate on March 14th, too, and everything in between.

Next time you see the one you love, make sure to remind them how much you love them. Just because. Do something special for them, just because. Let's show this world what love is really made of.

Bookworms and such

"A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read ‘The Lost Symbol’, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it."

A quote I found lurking in the internet. This is exactly my problem with things like Oprah's recommendations and such. This is also why people who read twilight tend to love it. It's why such books get so overrated. You know what, people? There's amazing books out there. A world full of them. Filled with amazing stories that would never make it to the new york times best selling list. Stories that make you think. Feel. Books that show you a side of life you've never thought of. They aren't generic. Not all of them are based around a teenage romance, or someone fighting cancer. There's a story for everyone, if you look hard enough.

It makes it very frustrating to be a bookworm. You read an amazing book, and want to share it with the world, or at least have someone to talk to about it. But go find someone who actually read it, or someone who would be willing to read it, when no one famous told them to.

It's funny, or rather, it's sad. Because a lot of those amazing stories don't make it to the shelves. Publishers don't always take on stories that are different, because they know that such books wouldn't appeal to the mass garbage.. I mean, public. This is exactly why I want to go into book publishing. If I manage to find even one of those rare stories, those books that leave you breathless when you're done reading, and bring it out into the open, I'd feel like I've made a difference in this world.