Valentine Conspiracies and Questions...

Okaaayyeeee, I attempted to upload the above image of my youngest son's Valentine bookmarks that he made for his classmates, and Blogger sent me to the CIA? It's a Valentine's conspiracy, I tells ya!

Before the detour, I meant to write that I'd like to develop some sort of love curriculum for the classroom, but I have no idea what it would include. Anti-bullying workshops are wonderful and sex ed. is great, but what would pro-love education look like? A parent-friend complained that school Valentine's Day parties are empty calories, Disney cards, and dollar store junk. I wondered how they could be updated, as I still think the holiday is a good opportunity to celebrate love. Also, my son had an I Love You button on his backpack until his friends made fun of it. I felt sad.

I've learned more about love from my sons than I've taught -- they inspired the I Love You Project. When my oldest was in elementary school, we did I Love You drawings in first, third, and fifth grades with his classes. Maybe it could be that simple? If you have any ideas, please get in touch!

Happy Valentine's Day!

After a string of successes with my projects, the one that was my seven-year-long I Love You to the world was rejected by every publisher. Unrequited love? I dunno -- it felt worse. In my personal life, I had been dealing with betrayal for a couple of years (unknowingly, and then all-too-knowingly). One day I found myself crying along with this song:

And I thought oh-my-God I've been walking around with a broken heart. I mean, I had a strange childhood and there were many occasions along the way where my heart could have exploded into millions of pieces. But when life keeps you busy, you can lose your groove and not even know it for a while. I haven't been posting on this blog much, and wasn't going to to do a Valentine's Day round-up, but while taking my son to hockey practice, I wandered into this:

It was a girls' hockey Valentine's Day party. My inner child heard the music, saw the hearts, and wanted to colour with the crayons. Over the next few days, I realized that things happen for good reasons, and I saw things differently (long story). Instead of low-grade, grayish pining over things I thought I lacked, I feel grateful for all that I have. So early this morning, Valentine's Day, one of my (outer) children and I fastened homemade hearts to fences around our neighbourhood. I'm starting to feel colours again.

 

More photos are online at the I Love You World Graffiti Project's Facebook Page (which is updated more regularly than this blog). Happy Valentine's Day. I love you.

Have a Heart Day / One Billion Rising

The February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March is held on Valentine’s Day each year to honour the memory of women from the Downtown Eastside who have died due to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual violence. Now in its 22nd year, the march brings courage and commitment to remember and honour murdered and missing women, and to end the violence that vulnerable women in the DTES face on a daily basis.

“We are here to honour and remember the women, and we are here because we are failing to protect women from poverty and systemic exploitation, abuse and violence. We are here in sorrow and in anger because the violence continues each and every day and the list of missing and murdered women gets longer every year,” says Marlene George, Memorial March Committee organizer.

Marches are also being held in other Canadian cities. Find yours here.

Also, One Billion Rising is addressing violence against women on Valentine's Day. A 2003 UNIFEM report said that one in three women, worldwide, will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.

On V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, 14 February 2013, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. .

ONE BILLION RISING IS:

A global strike
An invitation to dance
A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends
An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers
A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given
A new time and a new way of being

Visit here to find a rising near you.

Here's to every heart rising!

2013 Valentine's Day Round-Up

Same stuff at the dollar store. Shelves were stocked after Christmas.

Valentine's Day round-ups have been a thing on this blog for many years, but we're lacking new material this Valentine season. As usual, some folks love the holiday; others hate it. It was banned in a few countries, again. Many "experts" advise to forget about the coupledom component and simply celebrate love of every kind. Bags of money will be spent. You'll find survival guides for getting through the day if you're single, and for saving money if you're not (note: this heart-shaped island will likely blow the budget). We still argue about the origin of the holiday. Millions of snarky, geeky, healthy, kinky, crafty, quirky, drippy, cheesy cards will be sent. Celebrity couples will have dinner someplace.

Pinterest is new, though. People on Pinterest like Valentine's Day. A lot. And the weather forecast looks interesting in Spokane, Washington:

A Dichotomy?

"Sonja was translating the tour and I was practicing some German.  I love your dick = Ich liebe dich = I love you. Great. I drunk emailed Sonja and instead of telling her I loved her (a bad move) I told her I loved her dick (a worse move. Maybe the worst move). And now…radio silence."

-Cheap Throat,  The Diary of a Locked-Out NHLer

Like We Know

“It ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we’re talking about when we talk about love.”

-Raymond Carver