Love is Evol

...okay, not really. The title of today's blog is the title of the hilarious Christopher Titus' latest comedy act. Check out his website for video clips or to order the DVD. He is hilarious.

But I digress. The point of today's blog. I am really not a fan of Valentine's Day. Not because I'm depressed or single or anything like that, but because I think love should be celebrated every day whenever and however people want to celebrate. I don't think that a man or woman should feel bad because he/she doesn't buy his/her partner candy or jewelry or flowers. I think that's kind of silly.

Anyway, in today's blog I wanted to share some history of Valentine's Day and offer two alternatives that can be done with friends, family, a significant other, or by yourself.


History of Valentine's Day
According to the History Channel, there are multiple theories on the origin of Valentine's Day and what exactly St. Valentine did.

One story suggests that emporor Claudius II thought that single men made better soldiers, so he outlawed young men from getting married. St. Valentine was then put to death for illegally marrying young lovers

Some say that St. Valentine was killed because he helped the Christians escape Roman prisons.

There is also a story that he sent the first valentine while he was in jail. He fell in love with a woman who would visit him and he signed the note "from your Valentine."

But, besides St. Valentine, a few other notable things happened on Valentine's day.In fact, a few things happened in history on February 14th.

In 1929 the St. Valentine's Day Massacre happened in Chicago when seven of Al Capone's rivals were gunned down.

Oregon was admitted to the Union in 1859 (and Arizona in 1912)

Dolly the sheep was put down due to complications from being the first cloned mammal.


Of course, even if you're not into Valentine's Day, you have to eat, right? Good.
Here are two links to a couple great entrees and a couple great desserts.

Rachael Ray's Lemon Basil Pasta (great if you cook up some shrimp or chicken)

Emeril Lagasse's 4-cheese Macaroni and Cheese

Strawberry shortcake (Angel food cake + thawed frozen strawberries + whipped cream)

Devil's food cake (from a box and frosting from a can!)


Here are some nice, romantic movies to snuggle up and watch on Valentine's Day:

Casablanca

The Proposal

Ghost

Much Ado About Nothing

Princess Bride

Images courtesy of IMDb

And, of course, here are some not so nice Anti-Valentine's Day movies:

War of the Roses

Closer

Fight Club

Vertigo

The Break-Up

Images courtesy of IMDb

Things I love

I love gadgets that make life just a little bit easier. That's why I wanted to share them with the whole world. While I'm not Oprah and cannot offer free goodies, I'll let you know where you can pick these things up for yourself. And, don't worry, they're all good for people on a budget, which who isn't?


Black & Decker Brew 'N' Go - $24.00 Amazon.com
I got my Brew 'N' Go from my aunt before I went to college. It was the best thing I'd ever gotten and I still use it almost every day. The cup is a travel mug with a lid and it makes the best hot drinks. It heats the water super fast for tea or cocoa or any hot drink, or you can use the filter-less basket for a quick cup of coffee. I'm the only coffee drinker in my house and I could never drink a whole pot, so an individual cup is perfect.



Photo courtesy of Amazon.com


Rotary Slicer - $19.99 Amazon.com
Unfortunately, my rotary grater is no longer being made. However, I have found some great substitutes that seem to work just as well. These graters allow you to grate more in less time, but without all of the space of a box grater or food processor. I use mine for nuts, cabbage, zucchini, cheese, ect. The graters come with both coarse and fine drums depending on what you want to shred.



Photo courtesy of Amazon.com


The Tingler - $18.99 Amazon.com
The best product ever! While it may look like a large metal spider and sound like something dirty, it is none of the above. Have you ever wondered why dogs and cats love their heads scratched? Because it feels great and is so relaxing. The Tingler is a head massager that will give you....tingles down your spine. No lie. While it works the best when you've got a buddy administering the tingles (I think it's the fact that you'll never know when the tingles will happen), it's easy to administer yourself and you may just become addicted.
Photo courtesy of Amazon.com


Heated Massage Mat $29.99 Amazon.com
This little creation is fantastic. After a day of working out or just working, your back can get a little tight. This mat not only offers massage therapy, it is also heated, which helps relax those tight muscles. You can set it up on any chair or couch, or you can even use it lying down. It's remote-controlled so you can have a heated massage, heat with no massage, or a massage with no heat. It's small and easy to store as well.



Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Offbeat Gadgetry

Technology has created some of the coolest, most useful, most useless, fun, and important gadgets of all time. Here is a list of just a few that are slightly out of the ordinary.


Finger Drums - ThinkGeek.com $24.99
A lot of people strum their fingers on their desk, but why not make it more exciting and more musical? Finger drums have five different touch-sensitive sites to make sounds from snare drum to crash symbol. The best part? Record your riff and play it back later!




E-Plate Scrolling LED License Plate Frame HSN and stores nationwide $39.99
Who hasn't driven in traffic and wished to tell the guy behind you to stop tailgating or to try your products? Now it's totally possible. The E-Plate is extra cool because it comes with a remote control!



Multi-Color LED Bulb w/ Remote ThinkGeek.com $34.99
LED bulbs have become more popular because of their extended life. This bulb fits into a regular light bulb socket, but it does so much more. Cycle through 16 colors and 4 transitional effects. All with the touch of the remote. A nice novelty, holidays, or everyday use.



LED Faucet Lights ThinkGeek.com $19.99
This gadget makes the water coming out of your faucet look super futuristic. The LEDs change color with the water temperature - red for hot and blue for cold. The best thing about this product is that it can be really useful as a night light. Now you can get up and go to the bathroom or get a glass of water without having to turn on the harsh overhead lights.



Washable Mouse Amazon.com $8.75 (on sale)
It's flu season, and people who work in offices are quite susceptible to germs and colds because of the shared work spaces. Once I needed a coworker's help even though she was sick. She sat down at my computer, coughed into her hand and then used my mouse. I wish I would have had this product - a washable mouse! This optical mouse is soap and water safe and also features a touch button scroll feature.
(They also now make washable keyboards)


Wi-Fi Detector Shirt Amazon.com $19.99
A lot of places now offer free wi-fi, but instead of pulling out your laptop to check for a connection, wouldn't it just be easier to look down? ThinkGeek has created this working wi-fi detector shirt that shows the connection strength and features a removable decal and battery pack.




DX1 Input System Customizable Keyboard ThinkGeek.com $139.99
This is the ultimate keyboard for the ultimate gamer. This keyboard features blank keys and labels so that you get to customize your keyboard the way you want it. This comes in especially handy for computer gamers who want the edge over their online opponents.

Game Review: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Image Source

Sunday isn't normally a day that one associates with music, movie, or video game releases - except on those rare occasions where something truly epic is about to be released and the distributors want to set a special release date to boost their first week sales numbers.

That was the case with the video game New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Regardless of the semantics of how and when the game came out, the game is definitely worth checking out if you've ever enjoyed any version of a Mario Bros. game. Seeing as I am a huge Mario and platformer fan, we went out and picked up this game and I'm definitely glad we did.

The creators of New Super Mario Bros. Wii incorporated elements from the first three Super Mario Bros. games, Super Mario Galaxy, Yoshi's Island, Super Mario World, etc. These elements include power-up options like the tiny mushroom and ice ball throwing, all of the Bowser baddies, as well as ice world and desert world. The game even incorporates new elements like donning a penguin suit. The makers of this game took great elements from past Mario Bros. games and added in new and exciting elements to create some great gameplay.

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One of the features that I think is exciting is the ability to co-op with up to three other players. This is a fun way to involve everyone - especially if your group has one player who dies a lot and spends most of the game play waiting for the other player to die to resume game play. This feature also adds another dimension of difficulty to the game because the screen is not split (which might be my only complaint about co-op play) so all of the players are using the same screen. I had a tendency to forget if I was Mario or Luigi and would end up trying to figure out why my character was not doing what I wanted. Overall, though, that makes the game that much more challenging. After about three hours of play, we had beaten the first three worlds.

Pros:
Vibrant colors
Elements from previous games
Challenging, but not overly difficult
Fun for groups
Co-op play
Controller is held like a regular Nintendo controller, and it's probably possible to use a classic dog-bone controller as well.

Cons:
Co-op play doesn't use a split screen
The box makes it confusing about the controllers - you do not need a nun-chuck for this game unless you want to use an analog stick

Obviously the pros seriously outweigh the cons. I definitely recommend The New Super Mario Bros. Wii. It (and the Wii system) would make a great addition to any home, just in time for the holidays.

You can purchase this game through Amazon or at your nearest video game retailer.