Patent the kiss

Officially Sealing It with a Kiss – Harlequin Files Patent Application for the Essential Romantic Kiss to Encourage More Kissing this Valentine’s Day.

Harlequin, the global leader in series romance and one of the world’s leading publishers of reading entertainment for women, announced today it has submitted a patent application (61438360) for the “Essentail Romantic Kiss” to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Patent Pending).
The patent applied for by the HOPK outlines a basic method by which two people can reciprocate their romantic feelings toward one another in a manner that deepens attachment, provides pleasure and promotes physical and emotional well-being – The Essential Romantic Kiss.

--Well they didn't really, but they had a bit of fun with the idea for Valentine's Day. They also have a fun app to play with, "interactive kissing" here you can create your own kiss, or explore the gallery of kisses created by others

Valentine's Day

So, I didn't post about Valentine's Day last week. What does that say? A romance author forgetting the day meant to celebrate love... Shocking :)
I think my biggest problem with Valentine's Day is the obligatory nature of it. Gifts received are not because someone just happened to be thinking of you, but because they knew they had to get you something. Nonetheless it is nice ot know there is a day set aside in our busy schedules to spend time with a loved one.
Here's a few interesting "facts" about Valentine's Day (I'm going to have to keep that in quotes because I can't verify any of these, they are just fun facts from the internet font):
- Women by 85% of Valentine's Day cards, but men buy 73% of the flowers.
- In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
- If you see a squirrel on Valentine's Day, you will marry a cheapskate who will hoard all your money.
- If you see a goldfinch on Valentine's Day, you will marry a millionaire.
- If you see a robin on Valentine's Day, you will marry a crime fighter
- If you see a flock of doves on Valentine's Day, you will have a happy, peaceful marriage. (probably explains why some people release doves on their wedding day).
- The ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia on February 14th in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses. Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.
- About 3% of pet owners will give Valentine's Day gifts to their pets.
- Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D.

Enough fun facts. Just remember, just because this week is not Valentine's doesn't mean you can't do something special for someone you love. :)

Pictures to tell a story

Sometimes pictures tell a great little story all on their own...

Lighter Fun

Men try to understand women by reading romance...

Sorry I've been dumped back to dial up speed this week so I'm going to try to keep it quite short.

Over the years I've heard a few men say they should try reading romance, it might help them understand women. Here's a little article about some men who did. A recently engaged writer hopes to be the best husband possible and decides to read the book on his fiance’s nightstand with a few of his friends in order to gain some insight. ...

“Spontaneity, I think it’s a big thing,” The Executive said. “Malcolm’s always doing things like grabbing her breasts, fixing bikes, punching guys’ faces.”

It seemed we were onto something. I scribbled “spontaneity” on my notepad, and we dug deeper. We read some sex scenes aloud. The Jock reached for carrots and dip. ...

It's worth reading the article just for the punch line. Enjoy your week :)

Libraries

On January 20th author Philip Pullman spoke in defense of libraries. (Many of the libraries in his area are likely to close due to budget cuts).

I too, have always loved libraries. Loved them enough, in fact, that I worked as a librarian for a while. I love the magic of disappearing into other worlds. Growing up the library was the place that had all the doors, hidden between the pages of books just waiting for me to find them.

For that reason I thought I would include a section of his speech (too long to put the whole thing here, so follow the link for the rest)...

Philip Pullman: "I still remember the first library ticket I ever had. It must have been about 1957. My mother took me to the public library just off Battersea Park Road and enrolled me. I was thrilled. All those books, and I was allowed to borrow whichever I wanted! And I remember some of the first books I borrowed and fell in love with: the Moomin books by Tove Jansson; a French novel for children called A Hundred Million Francs; why did I like that? Why did I read it over and over again, and borrow it many times? I don’t know. But what a gift to give a child, this chance to discover that you can love a book and the characters in it, you can become their friend and share their adventures in your own imagination.

And the secrecy of it! The blessed privacy! No-one else can get in the way, no-one else can invade it, no-one else even knows what’s going on in that wonderful space that opens up between the reader and the book. That open democratic space full of thrills, full of excitement and fear, full of astonishment, where your own emotions and ideas are given back to you clarified, magnified, purified, valued. You’re a citizen of that great democratic space that opens up between you and the book. And the body that gave it to you is the public library. Can I possibly convey the magnitude of that gift?"

I too, have always loved libraries. Loved them enough, in fact, that I worked as a librarian for a while. I love the magic of disappearing into other worlds. Growing up the library was the place that had all the doors, hidden between the pages of books just waiting for me to find them.