Wednesday 2/14/24
Celebrate:
International Book Giving Day
International Quirkyalone Day
League of Women Voters Day
Library Lovers Day
National Call in Single Day
National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day
National Ferris Wheel Day
National Have a Heart Day
National Organ Donor Day
Pet Theft Awareness Day
Race Relations Day
Read to Your Child Day
Ash Wednesday - The start of Lent
Lent is a 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving that Catholics and some Christians observe as a time of repentance and closeness to God in preparation for the day of Christ's resurrection, celebrated on Easter.
Valentine's DayÂ
Where did this all come from?
Valentine's Day is a fixed day on the calendar that got lumped into a mid-February holiday on the ancient Roman calendar called Lupercalia—which some historians believe is what led to Valentine's Day being all about love. Lupercalia celebrated fertility, and may have included a ritual in which men and women were paired off by choosing names from a jar. In Ancient Greece, people observed a mid-winter celebration for the marriage of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera.
Who was St. Valentine? There are a few theories.
One of them is that Saint Valentine was a Roman priest who performed weddings for soldiers forbidden to marry, because of a Roman emperor's edict decreeing married soldiers did not make good warriors and thus young men could not marry. This Saint Valentine wore a ring with a Cupid on it—a symbol of love—that helped soldiers recognize him. And, in a precursor to greeting cards, he handed out paper hearts to remind Christians of their love for God.
--
New at the Movies
Wednesday - Bob Marley: One Love - celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity.
Thursday - Land of Bad - A covert Special Forces operation in the South Philippines spirals into a brutal 48-hour battle for survival.
Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, Milo Ventimiglia, Gunner Wright, and Luke Hemsworth
–
Yesterday was World Radio Day, everybody! The United Nations made it an official holiday in 2012. This year's theme is celebrating over a century of radio helping to inform, entertain, and educate.
Radio still reaches over 80% of Americans every single week.
A poll a few years ago ranked the radio as the 11th most important invention of all time. The top three vote-getters were electricity, phones, and vaccines. (wait..I thought sliced bread was the greatest invention.)
--
The National Retail Federation just released a survey showing the top seven things Americans are buying for Valentine's Day.
1. Candy. Probably something special . . . not like Sour Patch Kids.
2. Greeting cards. Just pick one with the right tone, and write a note inside.
3. Flowers. It may be too late to have flowers sent, but you can pick them up.
4. An evening out. A little thoughtful planning can REALLY go a long way.
5. Jewelry. If you know what they like . . . otherwise it's a pricey impulse buy.
6. Clothing. This is another one that's more challenging to pick out, last minute.
7. A gift certificate. Just pair it with a card with a nice, personal note.Â
--
Super Bowl 58 averaged 123.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl EVER. Last year's Chiefs / Eagles game set the previous record, which was 115 million.
--
It seems the Dunkin ad with Ben and Jennifer was the big most talked about ad this year from the Super Bowl. The site IGN ranked the 10 best Super Bowl commercials of all time. They gave the top spot to Apple's famous "1984" ad for Macintosh computers. It was directed by Ridley Scott.
The rest of their Top Five are Mean Joe Greene's "Hey kid, catch" ad . . . Volkswagen's "Darth Vader kid" commercial from 2011 . . . Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny's "Hare Jordan" ad in 1994, which led to the movie "Space Jam" . . . and Chrysler's "Halftime in America" ad with Clint Eastwood from 2012.
--
Should you re-use your zip-top bags??
Ziploc says you should reuse your Ziploc bags.Â
A rep says that each bag should be reused "several" times, because, quote, "Ziploc brand bags are made with high-quality, recyclable materials that are strong enough to be used again."Â They recommend hand-washing them with soap and water . . . and then air-drying them.
But there ARE instances when you should just toss them . . . like when they've held raw meat, fish, eggs, allergy triggering foods, or when something has spoiled inside. Basically, anytime it's a food safety issue.
It also may be difficult to clean bags that have held oils and "clingy sauces."Â But you should make an effort to re-use any bags that held dry foods or other easy-to-clean contents.
--
Valentine's Day, and if you’re staying in and looking for a favorite romantic comedy, Decider.com put together a list of the 45 best rom-coms of all time.
Here are the Top 20:
1. "When Harry Met Sally" (1989)
2. "The Big Sick" (2017)
3. "The Princess Bride" (1987)
4. "Pretty Woman" (1990)
5. "Say Anything" (1989)
6. "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World" (2010)
7. "Fire Island" (2022)
8. "The Wedding Singer" (1998)
9. "The Holiday" (2006)
10. "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001)
11. "Sleeping with Other People" (2015)
12. "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" (2018)
13. "High Fidelity" (2000)
14. "Clueless" (1995)
15. "13 Going on 30" (2004)
16. "Palm Springs" (2020)
17. "Set It Up" (2018)
18. "The Proposal" (2009)
19. "Uptown Girls" (2003)
20. "Broadcast News" (1987)
See their full list and reasons here.
--
There is a time traveler on TikTok. Eno Alaric has more than 826,000 followers and claims he's here from the year 2671.
In earlier posts, Alaric warned followers about twin planets crashing into Earth, extra-terrestrial visitors, and the possible start of World War 3. This time, he spoke about strange and frightening events that he claims are coming up. These include an earthquake and a "Pandora's Box" opening a path to another universe.
But first, he warns of an unprecedented destructive tornado, the likes of which we have never seen before - a force six. He predicts it'll strike Houston, Texas, causing extensive damage to humanity. (he says on the 17th)
March 28th An ancient artifact is found, when touched, it sends you to another universe. It's called 'Pandora's Box', the universes can be very similar, or completely different, like people being dorito shaped. April 2: A 9.8 magnitude earthquake, called Big John, occurs on the San Andreas fault. Soon after this, a 750ft high tsunami hits the California coastline, many large cities are in ruins, including San Francisco ."
This guy is all gloom and doom..must be a laugh riot at parties.
–
Today's Useless Fact of the Day (double shot) - While most people send out nice messages for the holiday, Victorian-era folks sometimes used valentines to turn down a suitor, called a vinegar valentine.
More than 250 million roses are produced for Valentine's Day—with red roses making up nearly two-thirds of that number.
--