Valentine's Day

I am reposting this from last year for those who may have missed it.  Since Valentine's day falls on Monday, I am including  my "Valentine" Quote of the Week.

Loving is not just looking at each other,  it's looking in the same direction.  - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939

Is it real, or is it Hallmark?  There are those who think that Valentine's Day is just the creation of greeting card companies as another occasion to buy and send cards.  Florists also do a booming business, and what about candy?  All those heart-shaped boxes with ribbons and bows filled with delectable morsels trying desperately to attach themselves to our thighs.  Woe unto ye who forgets this day!

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However, while cards, flowers and candy dominate this seemingly invented holiday, according to various historical accounts, there really was a St. Valentine who was believed to be a martyred priest.  He was said to have been caught marrying Christian couples.  At that time, about 270 AD, Christians were being persecuted by the Roman Emperor, Claudius II, and helping them was considered a crime.  Thus, Valentine was imprisoned.  However, the Emperor liked Valentine, that is right up until he tried to convert him.  For this, Valentine was beaten and stoned, and when that didn't kill him, he was beheaded.

Another version tells that he was beheaded for refusing to deny Christ before the Roman Emperor.  Validity of these stories aside, St. Valentine is listed in the Martyrology, which is the Catholic Church's list of Saints.

Now why did this come to be celebrated as a romantic day?  One account states that Valentine fell in love with a girl, possibly the jailor's daughter, and before his death he wrote her a love letter that he signed "from your Valentine", a phrase that is still used today.  So in honor of St. Valentine, we send cards, flowers and candy to show our love for that special someone in our life.

So where do you stand?  History or historical fiction?  Stay tuned for more thoughts on Valentine's Day and a special recipe.

Now I leave you with another special Valentine thought.

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart.  - Author Unknown

The Power of Love

Random thoughts transformed into a Friday Flash 55.

Black and white
Shades of gray

A dawn's delight

A fading day  

The moon, the sun

The stars above

A moment begun

The power of love

Hot and cold

Another way

Still the same

We must obey

Endless hours

Morning's dove

Here forever

The power of love

How Well Do You Know Your ABCs?

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Today is one of those days that I said "Wow, today is Wednesday and I have nothing prepared.  What to do?  I have been absorbing all the hints, tips and tricks for finding topics found in the forum at Tribal Blogs.  I decided to utilize some of what I've read, and the result is today's post.

Jumbled Words

Now we've all seen this kind of thing before, but it seems there was an unsubstantiated study into how the human brain interprets words.  It takes the position that only the first and last letters are needed for us to translate the text.  Take a look at the following paragraph and try to read it like you normally would. 

"Arocdnicg to rsceearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer are in the rghit pcale. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit pobelrm. Tihs is buseace the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."*

So, did it make sense?  It seems fairly simple, and I think that the context of the sentence has significant influence our ability to interpret this.  As the "study" indicates it is because we do not read individual letters, but the entire word.

I tried my hand at a nonsensical jumbled word sentence.

The gnait tdedy baer csuemond smliy fsih form a snaagtnt pnod, and sqsetnelubuy tosfrenaemrd itno a pophatchyisc sraeil knlilig mtsoner.

Did your brain translate as you read?  What does it say?

Whether or not there have actually been studies done on this, it is still amazing that despite all the misspellings, we can still read it.  What are your thoughts and theories?

*http://dan.hersam.com/2005/01/27/reading-jumbled-letters/

Quote of the Week

Dood - Big Changes!

God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me.  

- Author Unknown

The only person we can truly change is ourselves, and then only when we're truly ready.  Change is seldom easy, whether it is dreaded or embraced, whether it's by choice or necessity.  However, changing ourselves is an even greater challenge.

Life is Good

Photo Credit: Bob Fornal

When life hands you a bowl of lemons, you make lemonade.  

When life throws you a curve ball, hit a home run.  

When life catches you by surprise, smile, it can turn your day around.  

When life breaks your heart, cry and move on.  

Life is good.  Never let it get the best of you.

Written for Friday Flash 55.