{"id":10592,"date":"2009-02-11T10:27:55","date_gmt":"2009-02-11T15:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/?p=10592"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:53:10","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:53:10","slug":"cur-mudgeonly-valentine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2009\/02\/11\/cur-mudgeonly-valentine\/","title":{"rendered":"cur-mudgeonly valentine"},"content":{"rendered":"

.. \"\"<\/a> ..<\/p>\n

Valentine\u2019s Day \u2013
\na new sign says
\n\u201cThin Ice\u201d<\/p>\n

… by dagosan<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a> .. V<\/strong><\/em>alentine’s Day has often brought out the curmudgeonly side of the f\/k\/a<\/em> Gang.\u00a0 [see, e.g.<\/em>, our posts “not really in a Valentine mood<\/a>” and “off-peak romance<\/a>“]\u00a0\u00a0 This year, JC Penney’s declaration of Doghouse Prevention Week<\/a> has turned the secretly-romantic Prof. Yabut into a growling cur<\/a>, rather than a lapdog.\u00a0 Penney’s wants men to know that “No Bad Gift Will Go Unpunished<\/em>,” and its Beware of the Doghouse<\/a> website allows sweethearts to send their guy a warning or even list him as being In the Doghouse.\u00a0 Naturally, in addition to graphic examples of what happens in the doghouse, there are many (expensive) suggestions on how to avoid or get out of Casa Canine.<\/p>\n

We are not impressed.\u00a0 Instead, we repeat our contention from 2005 that “Cherries in the Snow<\/a>” author Emma Forrest<\/a> makes a very good point:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \u201cLove is so delicate, you can\u2019t afford to risk it on fake holiday.\u201d (AP\/Nashua Telegraph<\/em>,\u00a0 \u201cBritish author had no need for Valentine\u2019s Day rubbish<\/a>,\u201d Feb. 20, 2005)<\/p>\n

All quips aside about stimulus (or stimulated) packages, our economic crisis seems like a perfect opportunity for Valentine lovers (and even spouses) to let each other know it’s the thought not the price tag that counts.\u00a0 Indeed, in today’s Schenectady Gazette<\/em> article “Economy tops love this year<\/a>: Retailers expect recession to cut into Valentine\u2019s Day spending” (February 11, 2009), we learn that “Low-cost items this Valentine\u2019s are expected to have greater sway over lovers on the prowl for gifts.”\u00a0 For example, folks are buying half-pound boxes of candy rather than the larger heart-shaped offerings at Krause’s in Colonie. [Sharing fewer calories has many other advantages of course, in a nation where waistlines and bottoms keep expanding, even when the economy shrinks.]<\/p>\n

The Gazette<\/em> also reports that “The National Retail Federation said American adults are expected to spend an average of $102.50 on Valentine\u2019s gifts and merchandise, compared with $122.98 a year earlier.”\u00a0 In addition,<\/p>\n

“BISWorld Research, a Los Angeles market research firm, earlier this month projected holiday card sales to rise over the year by 1.1 percent and candy sales to increase 0.9 percent. But holiday apparel, dining out and jewelry are forecast to take the biggest hits, declining 6.7 percent, 6.1 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n

More cards and fewer diamonds sounds like a good trend to us.\u00a0\u00a0 However, if you’re heading for the doghouse, we suggest you click to hear Hank Williams’ plaintive request that his good dog “Move It on Over<\/a>” and let the bad dog squeeze in, too.<\/p>\n

I<\/em>f you’d like to tell your beloved how you feel in more than one language, click here for “Valentine’s Day phrases in 8 languages<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

N<\/em>ow’s a great time to reprise Roberta Beary’s haibun from Modern Haiku<\/em><\/a> (Vol. 39:1, Winter 2008):<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

What I Mean Is <\/strong><\/em> \"\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

everyone knows everything old people know only the good die young and kids know parents don\u2019t know it all and teachers know students wait until the day before the project is due and you and i both know that love doesn\u2019t conquer anything in fact it doesn\u2019t even come close<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

as if it mattered
\ni pocket
\na red leaf<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 by Roberta Beary<\/a>, Modern Haiku<\/em> 39:1 (2008)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And a couple of senryu by Ed Markowski:<\/p>\n

valentine\u2019s day
\nwe do nothing
\ndifferent<\/p>\n

valentine\u2019s day
\nthe sensous curves
\nof a snow drift<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026. by ed markowski<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\"\"<\/a> p.s.<\/strong> National Inventors’ Day (February 11)<\/em><\/strong>: I<\/strong><\/em>f the love of your life loves creativity and service to humanity, Prof. Yabut suggests you remind her (or him) that February 11th is both Thomas A. Edison’s birthday and National Inventors’ Day<\/a>. (via Securing Innovation<\/em> weblog<\/a>, which has a familiarly-anonymous editor<\/a>).\u00a0 If you really want to impress her, bring her to the far-too-little-known Edison Exploratorium<\/a> in downtown Schenectady.\u00a0\u00a0 The Exploratorium aims to “preserve, promote and celebrate the unique heritage of Edison and the pioneers who gave birth to the electric age here in ‘The Original Electric City’.”\u00a0 You might get sent to the doghouse for giving her an electric iron, washing machine or microwave oven, but you’ll light up her eyes with exhibits filled with those and other items pioneered in Schenectady.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Can’t make it to Schenectady?\u00a0 You can find dozens of YouTube clips<\/a> from the Edison Exploratorium, including one featuring Charles P. Steinmetz<\/a>, General Electric’s Chief Engineer and Scientist (1865 – 1923), who wanted to use inventions like the production and distribution of energy:<\/p>\n

“to develop the most perfect civilization the world has ever seen.\u00a0 The civilization not for a minority depending on the labor of masses of slaves or serfs but a real civilization of benefit to all the members of the human race.”<\/em><\/p>\n

…. finally, our lonely-guy 2008 Valentine haiga (photo Mama G. 1951):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

.. .. Valentine\u2019s Day \u2013 a new sign says \u201cThin Ice\u201d … by dagosan .. Valentine’s Day has often brought out the curmudgeonly side of the f\/k\/a Gang.\u00a0 [see, e.g., our posts “not really in a Valentine mood” and “off-peak romance“]\u00a0\u00a0 This year, JC Penney’s declaration of Doghouse Prevention Week has turned the secretly-romantic Prof. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3298,555,1414],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-haiga-or-haibun","category-haiku-or-senryu","category-qs-quickies"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-2KQ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12041,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10592\/revisions\/12041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}