Be mine!
Pink hearts, red roses, love notes, and chocolates are everywhere right now because Valentine’s Day is around the corner. February 14 is considered lover’s day and people around the world celebrate in the name of St. Valentine.
So why is February 14, considered the day of romantic love?
According to History.com “Valentine’s Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial — which probably occurred around A.D. 270 — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine’s feast day in the middle of February in an effort to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed — as it was deemed “un-Christian.” At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day.”
The roots of Valentine’s Day may be religious but the religious aspects of the holiday has been stripped away and it’s now a day that people exchange cards, flowers, chocolates, and greetings with their family, friends and lovers.
Around the world, it’s called different things. In Finland it’s called “Friend’s day”, in India “Sweetheart’s day”, and in Britain it used to be called the “Birds’ Wedding Day.”
It’s also celebrated in various ways. In Denmark people send Snowdrops which are pressed white flowers to their friends and lovers, and in Italy small, chocolate-covered hazelnuts with a romantic quote attached in 4 languages is called Baci Perugina are given exclusively to lovers.
Do you have any interesting customs to celebrate this day of love? Please leave a comment below.
Happy Valentine’s Day to our great community!
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Loading ...Ask Mike: Barbie’s biography
Hey Guys,
Few, if any, toys are as iconic as Barbie. While I never had one (I was more of a G.I. Joe kid, myself), the doll remains incredibly popular with kids and collectors. Still, many might not know the doll’s history.
Like Cher and Rihanna, Barbie needs no last name. However, she does have one. In fact, she’s got a whole biography. Her full name is Barbie Millicent Roberts and she was born on March 9, 1959.
Though she attends high school in Willows, Wisconsin, the blonde teen has held dozens of jobs over the years. She’s been a dentist, a jet pilot, an aerobics instructor, and a McDonald’s cashier.
Barbie isn’t an only child. Far from it. The plastic icon has six younger siblings, including twins Tutti and Todd. As near as I can tell, her boyfriend through it all is still Ken Carson. When you hear somebody with bland good looks described as a “Ken doll,” this is who they’re referring to.
In 2006, Barbie was named one of the most influential people who never lived. She came in 43rd, ahead of Atticus Finch, Batman, and my very own G.I. Joe.
While Barbie does have many fans, not everybody believes she’s a good influence. Last year, a woman created a life-size version of the doll in an effort to show that Barbie may inspire some children to develop body-image issues and eating disorders.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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Loading ...Ask Mike: Black History Month
Hey Guys,
February is Black History Month, a time for Americans to reflect on the cultural contributions African Americans have made to the United States. Some may be wondering how Black History Month became an official celebration. And why is it celebrated in February? Here’s the scoop.
Most history experts give credit to Dr. Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950). Woodson is commonly referred to as the father of black history. Carter led a challenging but amazing life. At the age of 19, he entered high school and completed his studies in two years. He then studied Greek and Latin, while working in a mine shaft. Eventually, he went to the University of Chicago, and finally got his PhD from Harvard University.
But what does that have to do with Black History Month? After founding the Journal of Negro History, Woodson was instrumental (read: it wouldn’t have happened without him) in organizing “Negro History Week.” Woodson chose a week in February as a way to honor the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery, and Frederick Douglass, the iconic civil rights activist.
Negro History Week became Black History Month during the 1960s. “No other single thing,” Woodson said, “has done so much to dramatize the achievement of persons of African blood.” According to AppalachianHistory.net, Woodson often remarked that “he hoped the time would come when Negro History Week would be unnecessary; when all Americans would willingly recognize the contributions of black Americans as a legitimate and integral part of the history of this country.”
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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Loading ...The Yahoo! Answers App for Android is retiring
It’s no surprise, mobile is getting bigger and bigger in the online world. Over a year ago, we introduced the mobile-optimized version of Yahoo! Answers, which is proving to be extremely successful amongst users on any device.
To make things easier for Android users, we developed an app that offered the Yahoo! Answers mobile experience outside of the browser. However, we noticed that most of our mobile users still access the site directly from their browsers. As a result, we decided to focus our resources in building better core experiences for Yahoo! Answers across devices. Effective today, we are retiring the app for Android, but don’t worry: you can still access the mobile version of Yahoo! Answers by visiting answers.yahoo.com from your favorite browser. Or if you already have the Android app downloaded, you’ll still be able to use it.
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Loading ...And the winner is…
The first Academy Awards ceremony was on May 16, 1929 hosted by Douglas Fairbanks. It wasn’t broadcast on radio or television and only lasted 15 minutes. Times have changed since then. The Oscars are now broadcast to more than 1 billion people worldwide and three hours long!
How did the Academy Award get the nickname “Oscar”? According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences the nickname “Oscar” came about when then “Academy librarian (and eventual executive director) Margaret Herrick remarked that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. The Academy didn’t adopt the nickname officially until 1939, but it was widely known enough by 1934 that Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in a piece referring to Katharine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win.”
The Oscar’s official name is the Academy Award® of Merit, weighs 8.5 pounds is 13.5 inches and takes 3-4 weeks to manufacture. So who will be the lucky winners this year to take home the coveted prize?
The nominations were announced on January 24, 2012 and our very own Academy Awards on Yahoo! Movies will be providing complete coverage of the event. You can also make your predictions there and share them with your friends. The winners will be announced at the 84th Academy Awards on February 26, 2012 and will be hosted by Billy Crystal. So find out then to see if your predictions were right!
What do you think of the nominations? Do you think anyone or film was overlooked? Please leave a comment below.
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