B
Belligerent Ghoul
Guest
PLEASE FORGIVE ME IF THIS IS OLD NEWS. I AM 30!
"OLDER, WISER, IT NEVER APPLIES TO ME."
LOVELESS PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, UNITE & TAKE OVER!
(I could keep quoting until Armageddon comes, but I think I'll stop now!)
_____________
Will You Be My Electronic Anti-Valentine?
Thu Feb 12, 9:31 AM ET
By Michele Gershberg
NEW YORK (Reuters) - To the lovelorn who mock Cupid as stupid and can't wait for another Valentine's Day (news - web sites) to pass: Relief is closer than you think.
Whether you got dumped on New Year's Eve or were stood up in Central Park, you can still get in a last dig at that not-so-special person on the Internet, where bitter candy hearts and testimonials to love lost abound.
On anti-Valentine's Day sites across the Web, the lonely commiserate over breakups and the lack of movie-perfect romance. Some sites suggest pranks for that heartless "ex." Others lambaste the faux-holiday as a marketing enterprise that portrays love as being all chocolates and roses.
"For a long time, I wasn't in a relationship and it was a really a torturous holiday," said Megan Green, 35, a graphic designer in New York. "You are surrounded by people who are expecting all this stuff and you go home to nothing."
This year, instead of bon-bons, Green bought two boxes of BitterSweets, an anti-Valentine's candy from Despair Inc. (http://www.despair.com), a cynics' novelty retailer.
Shaped like the ubiquitous chalky "I Love You" hearts, these candies are inscribed with slogans like "Do My Dishes" and "Pre-Nup Okay?" Green shared some with friends at a party where guests felled a Cupid-shaped pinata.
"Almost everybody, no matter how happy they are in their relationship now, has been through an unhappy, dysfunctional and toxic relationship at one point in their lives," said Despair Inc. founder E.L. Kersten.
Kersten said he founded Despair Inc. with two colleagues after an employer shortchanged them on a stock plan, giving an outlet to cynics wary of corporate platitudes and plastic-wrapped romance.
When irony fails and revenge is in order, http://blackheartsparty.com features "Insult Gifts," reviews restaurants as suitable sites for dumping someone and posts profane poetry. The site is an offshoot of the Black Hearts Party, an annual fete in New York where hundreds gather at a secret location to flaunt their anti-Valentine's Day feelings.
"I'm actually surprised at the amount of reactionary movements that are popping up -- you don't see it happening with Christmas, Easter or Halloween," said Marc Leonard, a Black Hearts Party producer and co-editor of the Internet site.
He cited protests by hard-line Hindu groups in India -- where heart-shaped greeting cards were set ablaze last year -- who say the Christian saint's day encroaches upon their culture.
"Valentine's Day is intruding on people's personal lives. ... (Love) should not be mandated by the marketing division of Hallmark and the idea that everyone in the world should celebrate that specialness at the same time strikes us as false," Leonard said.
FAT, NAKED AND DANGEROUS
Hallmark Cards Inc.'s site (http://www.hallmark.com) has been the most popular for people seeking flowers and gifts in the weeks leading up to Feb. 14, according to online tracking service HitWise.
Valentine's cards like its "Snoopy Blowing Heart Bubbles" have a long-standing market. But rival American Greetings also sees the wry appeal of a "Strike Back at Cupid" electronic card (http://www.americangreetings.com), including a game to shoot the cherub with his own arrows.
At http://www.meish.org/vd/, homemade anti-Valentine's Day cards depict Cupid as "Fat. Naked. Dangerous" or proclaim "I'm so LONELY."
Internet bloggers keep up a lively archive of Valentine's bashing while entertainment forum http://www.women.com/dating/ gives advice on "100 Ways to Say the Hell with Love," including movie rental suggestions and comeback lines for the single girl.
"You just got over New Year's and now you've got this to deal with," said Sherry Amatenstein, dating columnist at iVillage (http://www.ivillage.com) targeted at women.
"It's nice to see there is a cyber supportive sisterhood on the Internet where women can band together. That's a much more nurturing, positive thing than having to send some anti-Valentine to an ex."
But for those who continue to balk at spending another Valentine's Day alone, imaginary girlfriend and boyfriends, via CD-ROM, are still on auction at eBay (http://www.ebay.com).
"OLDER, WISER, IT NEVER APPLIES TO ME."
LOVELESS PEOPLE OF THE WORLD, UNITE & TAKE OVER!
(I could keep quoting until Armageddon comes, but I think I'll stop now!)
_____________
Will You Be My Electronic Anti-Valentine?
Thu Feb 12, 9:31 AM ET
By Michele Gershberg
NEW YORK (Reuters) - To the lovelorn who mock Cupid as stupid and can't wait for another Valentine's Day (news - web sites) to pass: Relief is closer than you think.
Whether you got dumped on New Year's Eve or were stood up in Central Park, you can still get in a last dig at that not-so-special person on the Internet, where bitter candy hearts and testimonials to love lost abound.
On anti-Valentine's Day sites across the Web, the lonely commiserate over breakups and the lack of movie-perfect romance. Some sites suggest pranks for that heartless "ex." Others lambaste the faux-holiday as a marketing enterprise that portrays love as being all chocolates and roses.
"For a long time, I wasn't in a relationship and it was a really a torturous holiday," said Megan Green, 35, a graphic designer in New York. "You are surrounded by people who are expecting all this stuff and you go home to nothing."
This year, instead of bon-bons, Green bought two boxes of BitterSweets, an anti-Valentine's candy from Despair Inc. (http://www.despair.com), a cynics' novelty retailer.
Shaped like the ubiquitous chalky "I Love You" hearts, these candies are inscribed with slogans like "Do My Dishes" and "Pre-Nup Okay?" Green shared some with friends at a party where guests felled a Cupid-shaped pinata.
"Almost everybody, no matter how happy they are in their relationship now, has been through an unhappy, dysfunctional and toxic relationship at one point in their lives," said Despair Inc. founder E.L. Kersten.
Kersten said he founded Despair Inc. with two colleagues after an employer shortchanged them on a stock plan, giving an outlet to cynics wary of corporate platitudes and plastic-wrapped romance.
When irony fails and revenge is in order, http://blackheartsparty.com features "Insult Gifts," reviews restaurants as suitable sites for dumping someone and posts profane poetry. The site is an offshoot of the Black Hearts Party, an annual fete in New York where hundreds gather at a secret location to flaunt their anti-Valentine's Day feelings.
"I'm actually surprised at the amount of reactionary movements that are popping up -- you don't see it happening with Christmas, Easter or Halloween," said Marc Leonard, a Black Hearts Party producer and co-editor of the Internet site.
He cited protests by hard-line Hindu groups in India -- where heart-shaped greeting cards were set ablaze last year -- who say the Christian saint's day encroaches upon their culture.
"Valentine's Day is intruding on people's personal lives. ... (Love) should not be mandated by the marketing division of Hallmark and the idea that everyone in the world should celebrate that specialness at the same time strikes us as false," Leonard said.
FAT, NAKED AND DANGEROUS
Hallmark Cards Inc.'s site (http://www.hallmark.com) has been the most popular for people seeking flowers and gifts in the weeks leading up to Feb. 14, according to online tracking service HitWise.
Valentine's cards like its "Snoopy Blowing Heart Bubbles" have a long-standing market. But rival American Greetings also sees the wry appeal of a "Strike Back at Cupid" electronic card (http://www.americangreetings.com), including a game to shoot the cherub with his own arrows.
At http://www.meish.org/vd/, homemade anti-Valentine's Day cards depict Cupid as "Fat. Naked. Dangerous" or proclaim "I'm so LONELY."
Internet bloggers keep up a lively archive of Valentine's bashing while entertainment forum http://www.women.com/dating/ gives advice on "100 Ways to Say the Hell with Love," including movie rental suggestions and comeback lines for the single girl.
"You just got over New Year's and now you've got this to deal with," said Sherry Amatenstein, dating columnist at iVillage (http://www.ivillage.com) targeted at women.
"It's nice to see there is a cyber supportive sisterhood on the Internet where women can band together. That's a much more nurturing, positive thing than having to send some anti-Valentine to an ex."
But for those who continue to balk at spending another Valentine's Day alone, imaginary girlfriend and boyfriends, via CD-ROM, are still on auction at eBay (http://www.ebay.com).
