Valentine’s Day

Tuesday

Madeleine Kearns

Newlywed dining around the world

Nick and I were married on February 4, 2023, and spent our first Valentine’s Day at Le Grand Colbert in Paris. There, we had oysters and Champagne, lobster, scallops with a side of mashed potatoes (naturally) and profiteroles for dessert. This year, we’ll be at a wedding on our anniversary, and Valentine’s Day coincides with Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstinence from meat for us Catholics. So I’ll be attempting a romantic homemade meal to celebrate both occasions on the unremarkable second Saturday of the month. Looking through my phone, confronting my strange habit of taking pictures of memorable meals, I was reminded that our first year of marriage has involved a lot of hosting, dining out and dining in. In March, my in-laws visited us in New York City over the St.

dining

Sunday

Calla Jones Corner

Be my Valentine

I don’t know when my father showed André Fleuridas, a friend, the chunk of jade he’d brought back from Burma, where my father was based as a war correspondent during World War Two. Nor do I know how my parents’ friendship with Bonnie and André Fleuridas began. I can only guess. It might have been through art, as both my father and André were artists, and in Weston, Connecticut, where I grew up, artists occasionally gathered in each other’s studios to draw or paint from live models. Or they might have met at the Weston firehouse where artists, writers, musicians, actors and TV news anchors made up, along with farmers, Weston’s all-volunteer fire brigade.

valentine

Thursday

Godfrey Elfwick

Happy Rape Culture Day

Valentine’s Day is here again to remind us all that we are still living in a rape culture. No matter how prettily the greetings card companies attempt to dress it up, an entire day dedicated to the celebration of men stalking women is beyond reproach. If you celebrate Valentine’s Day, you are actively participating in the continued normalization of sexual assault. Think about that. The majority of cards and gifts sent today will have been sent anonymously and without prior consent. As a society we are actively encouraging ‘gift rape’. If this doesn’t already sound sinister enough to you, then strap yourself in because it’s about to get a whole lot bumpier.

Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s day
Tyler Grant

A tactical guide to Valentine’s Day

It’s that time of year again — we’ve made it to the one holiday where the sole societal expectation is romantic entanglement: Valentine’s Day, where a litany of traps lay waiting for men lucky enough to be in love. Landmines, outside the scope of the Ottawa Treaty, canvass that lonely day in February. In 1917 fashion, I find myself running to the front lines to warn you that the mission you are about to embark on is headlong into a feminine defensive retreat surprise attack (it’s helpful to be aware that most women have closely studied German World War One and Russian World War Two tactics).

aoc valentines
Cockburn

Valentines for Democrats

Like all true romantics, Cockburn is not a Valentine’s Day enthusiast. He was, however, amused to find his progressive nieces messing around on his computer, giggling over Valentines memes they were making for their equally woke crushes. For those readers wondering how to woo a leftie, apparently these cards are all the rage on Twitter. Simply find out your beloved’s favorite politician, print one out, fill it in, hand it to your sweetheart, and remember – the best word to describe your political views is ‘moderate’. May Cupid’s arrow fly true.