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View Full Version : Valentine's Day, Harlequin's Day



FatherDog
02-12-2003, 09:22 AM
This isn't a typical Valentine's Day rant.

It's become cliche to rant about Valentine's Day. "It's just invented by Hallmark" "It cheapens real feeling; it's one day to treat your loved one like you should be treating them /every/ day"

That's true. But then, how many of us really /do/ treat our loved ones like that every day? How many of us, each and every day, tell our SO's exactly how much they mean to us and how glad we are they're in our lives?

I thought not. Maybe, over-commercialized, hyped, and sickly-sweet as it is, we could use a day to remind us of what we should be doing year-round.

But there's another side to this, and that's our society's tendency to stifle negativity. Showing your love or happiness is socially acceptable (as long as you're not /too/ enthusiastic). But showing negative emotion? Expressing the fact that you're angry, or depressed, or feeling bad? No, that just "brings people down". Bottle that **** up, tuck it away, brood over it in private. No one wants to deal with negativity. It's a little too real; it reminds them that the world isn't perfect, that even when their lives are going well, there's people dying, people starving, people raping and killing, people whose lives are spiralling downwards. We don't like to think about that. We'd rather all problems be solved in a half-hour, with commercial breaks to get snacks, and nothing unpleasant to ever last for long.

Well, negativity is a fact of life. Hate is a human emotion, and it's just as important as love. And maybe we need a day to remind us of /that/, too.

So, what do you hate? And I don't mean the weak dislike that the word's come to be used for "Oh, I /hate/ it when they're out of cappucino" "Oh, I /hate/ it when I have to pump my own gas". None of that. What makes you boil with rage? What makes you so angry you can't see straight? What genuinely infuriates you, makes you want to grab someone by the shirt and scream in their face, makes you want to batter away with your fists until your arms are tired? What do you despise?

Tell us about it. Write it down. Get that hate firmly fixed in your head, and write every thought you have about it, every reason that it fills you with anger, every loathsome detail, until you can't think of a single thing more to say about it. Write until you can't write any more. Spit all your bile onto the page, or screen, and fall back in your chair, empty and released.

Feels good, doesn't it?

Congratulations. You've just celebrated St. Harlequin's Day.

February 15th: A Day of Hate. Won't you join me?

yenhoi
02-12-2003, 09:24 AM
I hate whatever the State tells me to hate.

:mad:

Former castleva
02-12-2003, 11:14 AM
Uneducation-
Hateful and cynical ppl (or shall I say,the approach)
Lack of understanding being compensated by defensive passive agressivenes and opinions being expressed as truth.

GeneChing
02-18-2003, 09:56 AM
Bucket, Aiko, Lightning, Supplication, Lucy (w/Sammy Hagar), Hard to Handle (w/ Warren and Joan Osbourne), Casey (J), Cumberland (w/Michael Kang of String Cheese), Sugaree (J)

Rain, Sittin on Top of the World (M), LSD (J), Cross-Eyed, Help, Slipknot, Lovelight (JWM), Franklin's (JWM)

E: GDTRFB (J) Not Fade Away (JWM)

Not actually sure about Lazy/Sup - I was chatting up Julia Butterfly backstage at the time and stole that off someone elses list. Bucket Aiko was a strong opening, then the boys launched with Hagar. 1st set was a mind blower. It was great to be in the Warfield again. Can't wait 'til spring tour, or any tour for that matter.

Oso
02-23-2003, 04:04 PM
ok, now I understand why everyone calls you a hippie.
:)

GeneChing
02-24-2003, 01:20 PM
real authentic hippy (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=159)

herb ox
02-28-2003, 07:38 PM
I was d'ere, mon...

Dang, I can't believe I missed that story when it came out. Those were some pivotal periods in my life...

GeneChing
03-03-2003, 10:16 AM
All I can say is that Sammy rocked Loose Lucy. That was one of the top LL's I have ever heard.

Vajramusti
02-14-2005, 04:03 PM
Happy Valentine to all the women in the art!

kj
02-14-2005, 07:19 PM
Back at you, Joy. :)
- kj

AmanuJRY
02-15-2005, 09:39 AM
Ahh, I spent a lonly V-day at the movies.

Went and saw House of Flying Daggers, though. Nice love story.

Vajramusti
02-15-2005, 09:45 AM
I slow danced to Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me".

Am no dancer--- ends up with wing chun footwork- often enough.

Ernie
02-15-2005, 09:51 AM
Originally posted by Vajramusti
I slow danced to Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me".

Am no dancer--- ends up with wing chun footwork- often enough.

i can see it know Joy and the Jong on wheels spinning to candle light :p

old jong
02-15-2005, 12:26 PM
Originally posted by Ernie
i can see it know Joy and the Jong on wheels spinning to candle light :p

I was affraid for a second!...:eek: ;)

Ernie
02-15-2005, 02:40 PM
Originally posted by old jong
I was affraid for a second!...:eek: ;)

as you should be :D :D :D

couch
02-16-2005, 08:40 AM
I thought Valentine's Day was changed to Singles Awareness Day?

MasterKiller
02-11-2011, 11:14 AM
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lggkrc9Bet1qzozj1.jpg

sanjuro_ronin
02-11-2011, 01:06 PM
You know what is truly horrific about the human centipede?
Someone came up with that idea and someone pitched it to a production company and some production company thought it was a good idea and fianaced it !!!!

Syn7
02-11-2011, 01:24 PM
did that movie do well??? i saw the cover and made up my mind to not watch it within a heartbeat... stupid idea... most horror movies are garbage...

GeneChing
02-11-2011, 02:51 PM
I was tempted to post a trailer for the uninitiated, but then thought better of it. Even the trailer can mess with you for the exact reasons s_j describes above.

David Jamieson
02-12-2011, 09:22 AM
Why someone would make a 90 minute mouth to ass flick is beyond me.

Good science fiction uses Brain to Brain technology.

Anyway, it's always nice to have a monumentally bad movie come out. The world needs Ed Wood too. :p

Syn7
02-12-2011, 12:50 PM
Why someone would make a 90 minute mouth to ass flick is beyond me.

Good science fiction uses Brain to Brain technology.

Anyway, it's always nice to have a monumentally bad movie come out. The world needs Ed Wood too. :p

well, the completely retarded need something they can understand once in a while... these thinkin flicks just dont cut it for the truly stupid... they need their entertainment broken down into the simplest of simple or they just wont get it... but head up ass is something they can relate to...

wenshu
02-18-2011, 08:32 AM
Looks like the new solar cycle is beginning to ramp up. The sun emitted its first X-class flare in more than four years on February 14 at 8:56 p.m. EST.

X-class flares are the most powerful of all solar events that can trigger radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.

This particular flare comes on the heels of a few M-class and several C-class flares over the past few days. It also has a CME associated with it that is traveling about 900 Km/second and is expected to reach Earth’s orbit on Feb. 16 at about 10 p.m. EST
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/516921main_x2flare.gif


http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/517193main_X2_ZOOM_193.jpg

Hardwork108
02-18-2011, 09:40 AM
I guess that this solar flair will affect our climate in one way or the other, resulting in the Global Warming conmen putting more blame on pollution and man made activities. If this happens, then we are likely to see more taxes, legislative controls and fines. That is, whatever they can get away with.

All of this, while the population is disputing what the "Democrats", said and did, and then what the "Republicans" responded and did, while failing to realize that they (as well as other political parties worldwide) are masks on the safe face, that face being - THE GLOBAL BANKING/CORPORATE CARTEL!!!......:rolleyes:

wenshu
02-18-2011, 10:39 AM
I guess that this solar flair will affect our climate in one way or the other, resulting in the Global Warming conmen putting more blame on pollution and man made activities. If this happens, then we are likely to see more taxes, legislative controls and fines. That is, whatever they can get away with.

All of this, while the population is disputing what the "Democrats", said and did, and then what the "Republicans" responded and did, while failing to realize that they (as well as other political parties worldwide) are masks on the safe face, that face being - THE GLOBAL BANKING/CORPORATE CARTEL!!!......:rolleyes:


http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/7/2011/02/fe4a8413741c4fef27c2cc76a4b7bbe0/340x.gif

Hardwork108
02-19-2011, 09:45 AM
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/comment/7/2011/02/fe4a8413741c4fef27c2cc76a4b7bbe0/340x.gif

:confused:

Syn7
02-19-2011, 02:38 PM
we dont have to go there on every thread... 7868756987 threads dedicated to the NWO is enough..

Hardwork108
02-19-2011, 03:58 PM
The subject matter was relevant. Perhaps you can contribute in another way?

GeneChing
02-10-2014, 09:44 AM
Sunday, 09 February 2014 16:25
Superstar Jet Li shares how he WON HIS WIFE'S HEART (http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=224552:superstar-jet-li-shares-how-he-won-his-wifes-heart&Itemid=2#axzz2swCtGfD7)

He may be an accomplished martial artist on the big screen, but in real life, Jet Li struggled for years to perfect the art of courtship.

Recently, the superstar opened up about his marriage and shared the practical promise that won him the hand of his wife, Miss Asia Pageant winner Nina Li, reported Yesky.com via Jaynestars.

Jet and Nina met while collaborating on the 1989 film Dragon Fight.

At the time, he was still married to his first wife but they eventually got a divorce in 1990. In later interviews, he reflected that he did not truly know what love was and only married to repay his wife for her love and financial support during his early career.

Fortunately for him, he did find true love when he got together with Nina, who gained popularity thanks to her beauty and svelte figure and went on to feature in many films during the late 80s.

Considering Li's a private person who rarely discusses his family or personal life with the media, it was a surprise when he spoke up on his own travails in love on an episode of reality talent show Amazing Chinese.

In a bid to help a contestant propose to his girlfriend, Li revealed how he won over Nina's heart -- despite being the least remarkable one among her many suitors.

"She had many suitors, and I happen to be the least remarkable. Being good at martial arts did not help at all," he said.

What finally won Nina's heart, he added, was just a simple promise: "From now on, I will give you every cent I earn!"

http://static.divaasia.com/action/PageImage/07022014052653/28125.jpg
While it may seem unromantic by today's standards, Jet's willingness to give up his assets in exchange for her love exudes old-fashioned loyalty and commitment.

Moved by Jet's sincere promise, Nina married Jet in 1999 and the two continue to share a happy and loving marriage to this day. - Lollipop

How romantic. Never mind that he left his 1st wife, Beijing Wushu teammate Huang Qiuyan, who he had two daughters with as well, for Nina.

GeneChing
02-14-2014, 09:28 AM
This came up on my newsfeed today and it reminded me of many of you (especially the 'help is at hand' part :p).


10 places to avoid Valentine's Day (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/10-places-avoid-couples-valentines-6706588)
13 Feb 2014 14:44

If you'd resigned yourself to a night in to escape the romance, help is at hand

http://i2.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/incoming/article6670997.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/valentines-stock-6670997.jpg

To the singletons and cynics among us, there is no date more nauseating than Valentine's Day.

And this year, the Hallmark holiday is made even worse by the fact it falls on a Friday.

You want to go out - it's the weekend, after all - but restaurants are fully booked, bars and cinemas will be crammed with couples and there will be desperation on the dance floors.

But you don't have to resign yourself to a night in - we've put together a list of 10 places you can go to escape any trace of romance on the dreaded day.

...

http://i3.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/incoming/article609006.ece/ALTERNATES/s2197/C_71_article_1408791_image_list_image_list_item_0_ image-609006.jpg

6. Give cage-fighting a go

Cage-fighting, or mixed martial arts to give it its proper name, probably isn't most people's ideal date. Salford MMA has a beginners' class at 7pm on Friday.


Zumba was #1.


And from the PAP:


Photos: A special Valentine's Day greeting from the People's Armed Police (http://shanghaiist.com/2014/02/14/valentines-day-greetings-peoples-armed-police.php)

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/02/soldier_vday1.jpg

D'aww. Some especially romantic policemen and soldiers in Sichuan posed for these Valentine's Day-themed photos to express their most sincere wishes to all the military couples around the world.

http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/02/soldier_vday2.jpg
http://shanghaiist.com/upload/2014/02/soldier_vday3.jpg

If you haven't yet vomited from an overdose of syrupy love updates, enjoy this photo story of Valentine's Day through the years in China.

By Isabel Quan

Syn7
02-14-2014, 01:20 PM
I guess I'm one of the cynics. Any day is a good day to do something nice for your significant other. I don't need a specific date for that. I feel the same way about pretty much every holiday. Historically, for me, they are pretty much a day off and an excuse to get my drink on.

Jimbo
02-15-2014, 04:52 PM
How romantic. Never mind that he left his 1st wife, Beijing Wushu teammate Huang Qiuyan, who he had two daughters with as well, for Nina.

I don't know if Jet Li offering all of his assets means loyalty and commitment so much as a ploy to appeal to someone with a very superficial set of values. Meaning, she only went with him because he (most likely) had more money than the others. Odd that he would even find that appealing, much less romantic. Maybe it's a cultural thing? Oh, well. If that's what floats their boat, more power to 'em, I suppose.

GeneChing
02-13-2015, 04:23 PM
But here's this - you know it's an indie martial arts vid when the NGs are as long as the video itself. :rolleyes:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJbIgIxHBg8

GeneChing
02-14-2017, 02:58 PM
INAPPROPRIATE AND JUST PLAIN WRONG VINTAGE VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS (http://dangerousminds.net/comments/inappropriate_and_just_plain_wrong_vintage_valenti nes_day_cards)
02.01.2017
11:46 am

Topics:
Amusing
Current Events

Tags:
cards
Valentine's Day

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/00cockval_465_800_int.jpg
An image paints a thousand words..or in this case just one…

It’s February. Time for the corporations to make some money selling Valentine’s Day cards and heart-shaped candy to lovers, couples, lonely-hearts and creeps for a made-up “holiday.”

Not that I’m cynical about these things. But to be frank, the only card I really want to see on the fourteenth of this month is your credit card so I can max it to the hilt.

Now, I know you’re gonna say Valentine’s Day is fun, Valentine’s Day is romantic, it gives lotsa lonely guys the chance to stalk women they don’t know yet. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is all good. So if you do dig Valentine’s Day then you might appreciate these inappropriate vintage cards which look like the kind of thing nice weirdoes and freaks sent their loved ones in the past.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/010erval_465_620_int.jpg
How did this even get published?

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/013butcherval_465_585_int.jpg
You know this guy’s a serial killer, right?

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/012guncopval_465_488_int.jpg
Cop with a gun card—what could go wrong?

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/09snojval_465_544_int.jpg
Snow comment….

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/03jealouval_465_465_int.jpg
For the jealous stalker in your life.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/012pengunval_465_643_int.jpg
My that’s one big canon you got there, sonny….

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/014icemaival_465_623_int.jpg
Ice maiden or corpse?

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/08ashcanval_465_465_int.jpg
Serial killer.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/011juiceval_465_580_int.jpg
Come again?

continued next post

GeneChing
02-14-2017, 03:00 PM
http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/01cannibval_465_566_int.jpg
Cannibal.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/06cann2val_465_518_int.jpg
And again.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/015carcraval_465_768_int.jpg
Roadkill or one for the J. G. Ballard fan.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/04hammerval_465_300_int.jpg
Psycho.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/09sickival_465_686_int.jpg
This is how it starts. And it ends with ‘Put the lotion in the basket…’

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/05bestival_465_353_int.jpg
For the animal lover in your life….

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/07gunval_465_465_int.jpg
That was a gun in his pocket.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/02psychoval_465_615_int.jpg
Bunny boiler.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/019creepval_465_509_int.jpg
Blackmail.

http://dangerousminds.net/content/uploads/images/made/content/uploads/images/020wormsval_465_519_int.jpg
Back to the old masturbation for you….

That first one is so Year of the Cock (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69980-2017-Year-of-the-Fire-Rooster).

GeneChing
02-13-2018, 11:23 AM
Sort of on topic...


From a Ninja with love: Swarthmore College students deliver Valentines for charity (http://www.philly.com/philly/education/valentines-day-swarthmore-college-ninja-cards-charity-engineers-without-borders-20180213.html)
Updated: FEBRUARY 13, 2018 — 10:18 AM EST

http://media.philly.com/images/1200*800/dixon-375477-f-wp-content-uploads-2018-02-1026929_7dbdeeba008d930-e1518468534170-1200x801.jpg
SUSAN SNYDER
Ninja Valentine deliverers close in on a classroom at Swarthmore College.

by Susan Snyder, Staff Writer @ssnyderinq | ssnyder@phillynews.com

Who are those stealthily clad Ninjas creeping around one of the nation’s most prestigious college campuses?

Swarthmore College students, that’s who.

Their mission? Deliver Valentine’s cards, affectionately known as Ninja Grams, sent by Swarthmore students and staff to students and staff.

Their work comes with a price. Order just a card, it’s $3. Want to add a truffle? Add a dollar. Oh, and if you’d like your Ninja deliverers to faux fight, that will be another $3.

“There’s also a discount for bulk,” said Julia Morriss, 20, a chemistry and biology major, who was manning the “Ninja Central” desk on the 1,620-student campus in Delaware County last week.

It’s all for a good cause. This year, proceeds will be donated to Engineers Without Borders, which aids developing countries.

Ninja-grams have been delivered at least since 2010 when more than $1,000 was raised for Haiti Community Support after a devastating earthquake. Among other efforts supported in past years were Animal Coalition of Delaware County and Hurricane Katrina Relief.

Morris and her sidekick — who would identify herself only by the sign she carried, “Just a Potted Plant” — were among the Ninja deliverers sneaking around the campus on Friday in their black garb and balaclavas, toting colorful swords. They hand-carried red cards with a Ninja heart inked in black, burst into classrooms where heady subjects were being debated and delivered the goods to unsuspecting recipients.

http://media.philly.com/images/600*450/dixon-375477-e-wp-content-uploads-2018-02-1026926_5e25f971b7a96ec.jpg
SUSAN SNYDER
Anonymous Ninja deliverer, “Just a Potted Plant.” awaits her next assignment at Ninja Central.

Sometimes they would prance and leap upon a fixture before laying down the card.

“We’re stealthy,” explained Morriss, who is from Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. “Most people think it’s pretty fun. Most professors are pretty good about having us in there. We try not to be too disruptive, in and out in two minutes or less.”

A white board at Ninja Central noted classrooms where deliveries were not welcomed – Bio 2, French 14, Physics 4 and Econ 21 — largely because quizzes were scheduled, Morriss said. Academics still trump sweet nothings on a campus where only 10 percent of applicants are admitted.

http://media.philly.com/images/1200*900/dixon-375477-e-wp-content-uploads-2018-02-1026930_279a204b054de84.jpg
SUSAN SNYDER
Ninjas present a card in an Arabic class.

Ziv Stern, 20, a sop****re linguistics major from the Bronx, who was helping at Ninja Central, said students send the cards to friends or someone they want to embarrass a little bit.

“I sent one to my roommate. She sent one to me,” Morriss said.

In a class on Arabic, recipient Coleman Powell, 20, a sop****re from Lowell, KY., smiled.

“It’s very heartfelt,” Powell said.

http://media.philly.com/images/1200*900/dixon-375477-e-wp-content-uploads-2018-02-1026932_11cbaf248ab1159.jpg
SUSAN SNYDER
Student Coleman Powell receives “heartfelt” card in a class on Arabic.

In another class, the female recipient looked less than pleased.

“Some people think we’re kind of annoying,” Morriss acknowledged.

Deliveries concluded on Friday; no more Ninjas on campus until next year.

Thread: Valentine's Day, Harlequin's Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?19873-Valentine-s-Day-Harlequin-s-Day)
Thread: Ninjas! (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?44568-Ninjas!)

GeneChing
02-14-2018, 10:10 AM
As for the pix in the post above, **** ninjas (http://www.martialartsmart.com/ninja-styles.html), always hiding. :mad:


Mainland Chinese biggest Valentine’s Day spenders in Asia-Pacific, survey finds, as Hong Kong takes third (http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2133232/mainland-chinese-biggest-valentines-day-spenders-asia-pacific)
Averaging US$231, consumers in world’s most populous country followed by residents of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/02/14/bd7fd678-10b0-11e8-851b-21ca695cbae4_1280x720_080850.JPG?itok=Pfz-xqhL

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 14 February, 2018, 7:04am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 14 February, 2018, 8:08am
Cannix Yau

Mainland Chinese people were found to be the most generous lovers in Asia-Pacific during Valentine’s Day as a poll showed they were ready to spend about HK$2,140 (US$274) on average for the romantic holiday.

The study by financial services firm Mastercard involved 9,141 respondents in 18 Asia-Pacific markets last October, and showed Hongkongers not far behind in third, with planned spending of HK$1,800 (US$231) to shower their beloved with presents.

China topped the chart, followed by people in Taiwan, who were prepared to spend US$245. Singapore followed Hong Kong in fourth place, with planned spending of US$180. Thailand took fifth at US$145.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/02/14/11697406-10b1-11e8-851b-21ca695cbae4_1320x770_080850.JPG
Hongkongers came third in the survey of Asia-Pacific markets. Photo: China News Service

In Hong Kong, 64 per cent of those surveyed chose to dine out to celebrate the occasion, while a quarter chose to spend the romantic day at home. About 12 per cent said they wanted to go out for entertainment, such as to watch a movie or theatre performance.

The top Valentine’s gift choice for Hong Kong men was flowers (34 per cent), trailed by jewellery (32 per cent). Clothes and leather goods came a distant third (16 per cent).

For female Hongkongers, clothes and leather goods were their most popular selection as gifts (41 per cent), followed by high-end gadgets (28 per cent) and chocolates and candy (11 per cent).

Almost half of Hong Kong respondents, 48 per cent, believed that Valentine’s Day was the best day to propose marriage or receive such an offer.

Separately, another survey by the company called the Mastercard Love Index based on shopper behaviour over the past three Valentine’s Day periods (February 11 to 14, 2015 to 2017) in more than 200 territories around the globe showed Hongkongers’ spending climbed by 9 per cent since 2015, with the overall number of transactions up by 33 per cent.


The most popular choice of flowers is still red roses
JUSTIN CHUNG, FLOWER SHOP OWNER
While Hong Kong consumers’ share of spending on restaurants and hotels remained stable over the past three years – accounting for 46 per cent and 18 per cent respectively last year – the number of transactions for travel soared by 179 per cent last year. That accounted for 16 per cent of total spending during the Valentine’s Day period.

The study showed the number of e-commerce transactions also surged: 97 per cent from 2015 to 2017. However, 90 per cent of transactions around Valentine’s Day last year were still made in person. Only 5 per cent of gifts were bought online.

In terms of gift spending, the amount paid out on flowers last year increased by 17 per cent compared with 2015. Jewellery, however, saw a 24 per cent decline.

Justin Chung, owner of Gift Flowers HK in Causeway Bay, said the number of orders for Valentine’s flowers had risen by 20 per cent this year compared with last year.

Chung counted nearly 500 deliveries as some flower markets in Kowloon were focused on their supply for Lunar New Year, which begins on Friday.

“Last Wednesday we already sold out all our supplies and stopped receiving orders,” he said. “The most popular choice of flowers is still red roses. The HK$1,099 bouquet (US$140) featuring about 18 roses is the favourite pick.” $140 for 18 roses? :eek:

GeneChing
02-17-2021, 09:28 AM
'goop ********' just doesn't sound right...


OMG
Gwyneth Paltrow Jokes About Passing ‘the Time’ in Quarantine by Creating Goop ********, Teases It’s ‘All the Buzz’ (https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/gwyneth-paltrow-jokes-about-why-she-created-a-goop-********/)
By Johnni Macke February 15, 2021

Good vibrations! Gwyneth Paltrow joked about why she created the Goop ******** this year, before poking fun at herself in the name of product promotion.

Goop launched its first ******** on Sunday, February 14, and Paltrow, 48, had a lot to say about the sexy item. After poet Cleo Wade called the actress an “icon” for spending the coronavirus quarantine “creating her own ********,” Paltrow replied via her Instagram Story, writing, “Had to pass the time, you know?”

The Shakespeare in Love actress also jokingly posted a photo of herself from the 1999 Academy Awards, replacing her Oscar with the ********. “Beat you to it … I know how to meme too, guys,” Paltrow captioned the photo on Valentine’s Day. “Head to @goop to see what all the buzz is about.”

https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Gwyneth-Paltrow-Creates-Goop-********-Had-to-Pass-the-Time-in-Quarantine.jpg
Gwyneth Paltrow ETIENNE LAURENT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

“Omg ��,” Wade, 31, commented on the snap. Drew Barrymore added, “Oh my god I love you.”

Fashion editor Elizabeth Saltzman reacted to the photoshopped image, writing, “Good vibrations!!!❤️❤️❤️ or should I say GOOP VIBRATIONS ������.”

Goop’s announcement of the product included an equally cheeky caption. “We’ve tested a lot of ********s over the years — a job we take seriously, knowing that great ********s lead to great orgasms. Basically, it’s a pleasure,” the company wrote via Instagram. “We’re excited to formally introduce you to our Double-Sided Wand ********.”

According to the website, the sex toy features eight pulsating patterns on both sides of the wand and costs $95.

“Every detail is deliberate and precise, but we’d be lying if we said that using the ******** gives us the sensation we thought it would,” the description reads. “The truth is: It still shocks us. It packs way more power and delivers deeper pleasure than anything we’ve tried before. Although we may have dabbled in hyperbole once or twice, after you give this ******** a whirl, you may accuse us of understatement.”

Paltrow has a history of creating controversial products for Goop, including the This Smells Like My Vagina and This Smells Like My Orgasm candles.

The Iron Man actress, who previously revealed that the candles started as a “joke,” told Us Weekly about the real reason behind her headline-catching scents in September 2020.

“You grew up getting messaging around the feminine care that was heavily scented with synthetic fragrances and all this kind of thing,” Paltrow exclusively told Us. “I just felt it was time to make a bit of a feminist statement around accepting who we are and our femininity. I feel like once people get past the initial shock of it, and you really start to unpack what it means and what it’s saying, it’s pretty cool.”

Oh WTH?! Our forum censors vibrat0r? Cancel culture at work again! :rolleyes:

threads
Gwyneth-amp-Goop (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69410-Gwyneth-amp-Goop)
Valentine-s-Day-Harlequin-s-Day (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?19873-Valentine-s-Day-Harlequin-s-Day)