A Brief Valentine’s Day Message

I’m not much for this holiday, really. It’s kind of hard to get enthusiastic about it when you’re not dating anyone, as happens to be the case with me at the moment. In spite of that convenient pessimism, I have two Valentine’s Day-related bits to share with you, both of which also happen to be A Brief Message-related.

First is today’s adorable new Message, written by Esther K. Smith about giving pink hearts a chance, embracing cliché and reliving the abandon of grade school arts and crafts. This one was illustrated — also adorably — by Clément Fabre. Don’t be afraid — go read it.

Item number two isn’t quite so positive, but it will probably amuse those among you who are skeptics of today’s romantic agenda: illustrator Hadley Hooper sent over this sweet ’n’ sour image this morning via email. I think it’s hilarious. Hadley’s talented hand will also be responsible for the illustration on an upcoming article over at A Brief Message, so stay tuned to the feed. And have a Happy Valentine’s Day all the same.

080212_valentine.jpg
+
  1. Nick

    I’ve realized this year that Valentine’s Day is misguided. It exists in its current incarnation to bolster new love, while it unintentionally undermines those without a directed romantic interest, or those whose love is complicated and weathered and hardy.

    Valentine’s day should be about being close to those you love, in both a platonic and romantic sense. It’s also about bringing happiness and meaning to the lives around you. Even if it’s a simple compliment and smile, or an impromptu v-day card, the global happiness level goes up by some measurable quotient when you make someone else–be it stranger or freind–happier by knowing that you care about them. In a society that treats everything as disposable, inserting a little direct, one-on-one meaning is almost magical in its power.

    Happy Valentine’s Day, Khoi. I don’t know you, but I am appreciative of your insightful voice amongst the crowded and noisy noosphere that is the internet.

  3. Elyse Holladay

    Happy Valentines Day! I agree with Nick: Valentines should be about remembering and complimenting the people who make your life wonderful. I got chocolates from a best friend who I rarely have time to see anymore; that’s what it should be. So happy Valentines to you, for being a great blog to read 🙂

  4. Daniel Patterson

    I feel the same way as I dont currently have a companion, but now was a good time to kiss-up to those ladies in your family. A good friend of mine tipped me on the idea that you always have to take care of your mother, so I decided to send her some flowers which was well worth the effort.

    I agree its good to embrace those cliches as overtime you can actually rig your mind to liking them, within two years when you see a pink heart it can be a sweet thing instead of an annoyance.

  5. will

    A friend of mine came up with a badass action-packed alternative holiday to Valentine’s Day: Batman Sticker Day. Instead of celebrating flowers and hearts and the color pink (oh, okay, and the joy and beauty of love), you celebrate Batman and the fantabulousness that is the Dark Knight. It’s a day when you can freely dispense Batman stickers and other paraphernalia (preferably homemade) to all your friends and family and photograph them giving you the hairy eyeball. Batman Sticker Day is great to celebrate as an alternative to Valentine’s Day, or simply in addition to it, if that’s your bent. You see, Valentine’s Day is wonderful for those in a love situation, but for those who aren’t, it can range from, well, meaningless to angering and excruciating. Batman Sticker Day works whether you are in a love situation or not. If you are in love, what better way to surprise a significant other or crush than with Batman-y goodness? Batman is sleek, sophisticated, attractively mysterious, and all-in-all just plain cool. The people close to you are sure to realize that if you’ve sent them a Batman Sticker Day greeting, then you’re just as cool as Batman. Even better: Batman Sticker Day also works well if you’re not in a love situation as it happens to feature a lot of dark clothing and ass-kicking.

    Batman Sticker Day Trivia:

    – Batman Sticker Day was founded at a small, public high school in 1998. The original founders plastered their school halls with Batman stickers. All were apprehended sent to the office, and forced to remove the stickers, but the holiday lived (and lives) onЁ

    – Batman Sticker Day is actually being celebrated for its eleventh consecutive year by a growing minority of people from coast to coast in the US.

    – Batman Sticker Day has been celebrated at Vassar for over seven years now.

    – Batman Sticker Day has also been celebrated by students at Brandeis, Cornell, and Ithaca College, and in such faraway places as Scotland and New Zealand.

Thank you! Your remarks have been sent to Khoi.