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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Feb 14, 2013
February 14, 2013
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Valentine's Day!:
Quotable: Happy Valentine's Day --"a day set aside for you to shower that special someone with romance. Just don't let your spouse catch you." (unknown)
A little history: St. Valentine's Day celebrates the feasts of two Christian martyrs of this name back in 269 AD. The festival, however, is connected with fertility and dates back, some historians believe, to the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which traditionally took place each Feb 15. Europeans of the Middle Ages believed that birds choose their mates on Valentine's Day.
Another says that ever since St. Valentine drew a picture of a heart and wrote inside it "From your Valentine" back in 270 AD, hearts have been a symbol of love. The custom of ending verses has been traced back to the 13th century, though the first commercial Valentine's didn't appear until the early 1800's.
Editor's note: Like American men care. They just wanna know where the nearest card, candy and flower shop is. (Maiman)A few Valentine's Day quotes:
--"Without love in the dream, it will never come true." --Grateful Dead
--"You shouldn't listen to a woman who's just had her heart broken. We tend to lie." --Bree Van De Kamp, "Desperate Housewives"
--"When you are in love with someone you want to be near him all the time, except what you are out buying things and charging them to him." --Miss Piggy
--"I'll be the moon when the sun goes down /Just to let you know that I'm still around. /That's how strong my love is /Oh that's how strong my love is." --Otis Redding
--"I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox." --Woody AllenGoing All The Way On Valentine's Day:
Wanna get married in Las Vegas? You'll need $35 in cash and IDs for the license (the Clark County Courthouse is open 24 hours Friday and Saturday), and you both must be at least 18 or older and no closer of kin than second cousins. Once you get the license, it's good for a year but there's no waiting period and no blood test. And there's 64 wedding chapels at last count! Some of the semi-famous wedding sites include:
--Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel (features live webcasts of weddings as they're happening), $75 up to $14-thousand. (They also have an 11-12-13 Las Vegas wedding package!)
--Little White Wedding Chapel (open 24/7, featuring drive-thru weddings); $55-$799, although a 'drive-thru' costs $40. Here's the a la carte "menu."
Editor's note: Most of the casinos also offer wedding packages beginning at around $650.Another unusual site to get married: The Empire State Building.
This is the 19th year they've held a contest to tie the knot up on the 86th floor and chosen three couples for the big event:
--Laurie Ann Phillips and Daniel Rosenthal, both divorced parents from Washington, DC, who --instead of an engagement ring, bought a house together.
--Danielle Brabham and Michael Lynch of Miami Shores, FL, got engaged during a power outage from Hurricane Isaac last August.
--And Kari Morey and John Kelly (of Plymouth, MA and Yorktown, VA) met on their elementary school bus and then reconnected after 23 years through Facebook.Top-10 most romantic love songs:
The NY Daily News compiled a list of the "100 Most Romantic Love Songs Of All Time." The criteria was each song had to have been in the Top 20 during the year it was released, and be at least 10 years old. Here's the Top 10:
10. "I Can't Stop Loving You" --RAY CHARLES
9. "Michelle" --THE BEATLES
8. "Are You Lonesome Tonight" --ELVIS PRESLEY
7. "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" --ROBERTA FLACK
6. "In My Life" --THE BEATLES
5. "You Are So Beautiful" --JOE COCKER
4. "I Just Called To Say I Love You" --STEVIE WONDER
3. "Wonderful Tonight" --ERIC CLAPTON
2. "I'll Be There" --JACKSON 5
1. "My Girl" --THE TEMPTATIONSBillboard magazine has put together a list of the biggest "love" songs to ever hit the Hot 100. Here are the Top 10:
10. "I Can't Stop Loving You" - Ray Charles
9. "Best Of My Love" - The Emotions
8. "Because I Love You (The Postman Song) - Stevie B
7. "Let Me Love You" - Mario
6. "I Will Always Love You" - Whitney Houston
5. "Silly Love Songs" - Wings
4. "How Deep Is Your Love" - Bee Gees
3. "We Found Love" - Rihanna, featuring Calvin Harris
2. "I'll Make Love To You" - Boyz II Men
1. "Endless Love" - Diana Ross & Lionel Richie
PS:You can see the complete list of 100 love songs at billboard.com/lovesongs. (Marino) -
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