The Origin Of Giving Valentine's Day Cards

Traditionally, mid-February was a Roman time to meet and court prospective mates. The Lupercian lottery (under penalty of mortal sin), Roman young men did institute the custom of offering women they admired and wished to court handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The cards acquired St. Valentine's name.

The One About 'Keeping Keeley Hazell'

 Have you got what it takes to keep Keeley interested?

With Valentine's Day around the corner, this post might be one of our timeliest of all.

Well, it's about girls anyway. So, close enough...

The video-clip is an advert that has been running for a little while in the UK, but it's more than just an ad. We could even go as far as saying that It's an advert with a... twist.

Here is what its makers are saying about it:

"Girls get bored easily so it's a must to keep them interested which is why Lynx has developed the innovative new fragrance Twist - the fragrance that changes


To celebrate the launch of new Lynx Twist, the fragrance that changes, Lynx has taken its first foray into film production with the sexy comedy ‘Keeping Keeley’. This interactive film differs from other online offerings by allowing viewers to control the fate of the protagonist.


Insight from Lynx HQ has shown that girls are increasingly looking for guys who keep them interested. This interactive film is designed to test guys’ skills at keeping potential girls interested during crucial mating game moments - made all the easier by the fact the potential girl in question here happens to be the lovely Keeley Hazell! As seen in the TV advert where the Lynx guy ‘Twists’ himself with an array of looks to keep the girl interested, viewers of ‘Keeping Keeley’ are presented with a series of options on Lynx’s Facebook page to ‘Twist’ the guy, revealing new skills, hidden talents and fresh looks.


The film features a stellar cast of up and coming UK talent including: the eponymous Keeley Hazell, Blake Harrison (Neil from The Inbetweeners), Mike Fielding (Naboo from The Mighty Boosh) and the Scarlet Harlots (T4’s Orange Unsigned Act). Scripted by the BAFTA award winning team behind Channel 4 comedy Green Wing, ‘Keeping Keeley’ is shot entirely from multiple POV.


Guys can watch the film at www.facebook.com/lynxeffectuk or on X-Box Live, to see if they have what it takes to keep Keeley interested."

Image via www.facebook.com/lynxeffectuk

So guys,  have you got what it takes to keep Keeley interested?

Have fun! 

Loup Dargent

PS: RSS Feed Readers: If the video player doesn't appear on the page shown by your RSS Feed Reader Facility, please click on this link...

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Tags : Keeping Keeley, Facebook, Lynx , Keeley Hazell

A Note From Saint Valentine

Eric V. Allen, our Guest Writer
for today's post, was so determined
to get first hand information regarding
who should be thanked/blamed for having
started the Valentine's Day tradition that
he decided to travel back in time to
Emperor Claudius' Rome to get it...


(That particular travel in time was no
picnic as, apparently, there was no internet
or even mobile phones during Claudius' life.

And, believe it or not, they didn't have TVs
either in those days... Yikes!)


So, thanks to Eric's dedication, we are
now in possession of the equivalent of an
exclusive interview with Mr Saint Valentine
himself.

Enjoy.

Loup Dargent

A Note From

Saint Valentine
- A First Person
Tale Of This
Wonderful Day

Eric V. Allen


Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine.
I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long,
long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor
named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and
I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.


Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men
to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight
in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families.
As you might have guessed, not many men signed up.
This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had
a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married,
they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided
not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought
his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous!
I certainly wasn't going to support that law!


Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite
activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor
Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage
ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite
exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the
bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words
of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.


One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness
the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not
quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown
in jail and told that my punishment was death.


I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful
things happened. Many young people came to the jail to
visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window.
They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.


One of these young people was the daughter of the prison
guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes
we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my
spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the
Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the
day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her
friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."


I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love
messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on
the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D.


Now, every year on this day, people remember. But
most importantly, they think about love and friendship.
And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember
how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh --
because they know that love can't be beaten!

About The Author:
Eric is a friend to the growers of fine roses
at Rosefarm International. You can send rose
bouquets, chocolate and other valentines's gifts
with www.Rosefarm.com.

Tags : Eric V. Allen, Saint Valentine, Claudius,

Emperor Claudius, History, Valentine's Day, February 14

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Jimmy Sangster: That Kolchak Episode

Image via Wikipedia

In our recent Jimmy Sangster: The Man From Hammer post , we've mentioned the TV series Jimmy Sangster worked on during his "American Years"... In that list was Kolchak: The Night Stalker (starring Darren McGavin) and the episode Horror In The Heights as he wrote the screenplay for it at the time.

In today's post, we're taking a more detailed look at Kolchak: The Night Stalker in general and the episode Horror In The Heights in particular.

(And we've also added a video-clip with Kolchak's opening intro.)

Enjoy this little trip dowm Memory lane...

Loup Dargent

Jimmy Sangster: The Man From Hammer

Cover of The Mummy

"Known the world over as 'The Studio that Dripped Blood', Hammer was the most successful British film production company ever, in terms of both output and box-office. Though their massive catalogue of films incorporated all manner of genres, it was for one particular type of film that they are best-remembered - horror."

Hammer Horror - h2g2 Edited Guide

In today's post, we have a look at one of those brilliant people who helped making Hammer so famous: Jimmy Sangster, Master of Horror.

If you're too young to remember the movies mentioned here, don't worry: you'll still be able to know what we're talking about as we've added the trailers for some of them at the end of the article.

If you are old enough to remember those movies then, hopefully, watching the trailers will be a nice trip down Memory Lane.

Enjoy...

Loup Dargent

Whitby's History - Stranger Than Fiction

"When asked where vampires can be found, most people usuallly answer Transilvania, London, Sunnydale or, even, Sunningdale..."

Well, that's probably because they haven't read today's post yet.

Alan Moore, our Guest Writer for the day, is taking us to Whitby, a Yorkshire town

that is rumoured to have been one of the lurking places of the Prince of Darkness,

Count Dracula, himself...

Now, that's a post with a bite.

Get the holy water and garlic ready and enjoy the visit...

Loup Dargent

We've also added a Youtube video that fits this post's topic perfectly. It's untitled "Whitby: Ghosts and Mysteries" and can be found right underneath Alan Moore's article... Great stuff!

St Hilda's Abbey (via THE WHITBY GOTHS )

The (Not So) Sweet Smell Of Revenge

image via fumier.com

There are times in our lives when we have a burning desire to get even with some rather annoying people...

It could be because of things they've said about us, or to us.

Or, they have been a pain at work (they might even be our boss).

Or, their moronic political views have irritated us on many occasions (like, for example, Nick Griffin and his BNP croonies).

2009 Was The Twitter's Year (Not in France Though)

Image via Wikipedia

According to Guerric Poncet, in his article"2009, l'année de Twitter" published in Le Point, while 2008 may have been Facebook's year, 2009 has been the year of Twitter...

At the beginning of this year, Guerric Poncet writes, the site had only a few million users, but now, Twitter claims forty million accounts.

He also mentions that Facebook is not a "has been" yet, as the social site's membership has now reached 350 million. Probably thanks to smartphones, those little marvels that allow us to surf anywhere, any time, and to share... anything.

Guerric Poncet also writes about how influential Twitter has become. He says the site's influence was confirmed in June, 2009 when the US State Department asked it to delay some scheduled maintenance work so that the Iranian opposition's members could carry on using Twitter to exchange information and stay updated on what was happening with the elections in Iran.

Of course, Twitter willingly accepted the request... That was the best publicity a social site could get after all.


Reading the article, and the first three comments posted there, I can't help but wonder if Twitter and its usefulness has properly been understood in France...

Only 9% of  French surfers are actually using it?! I could pretend that it's probably because we French do like to go on and on when we talk and write and the 140 characters limit can be a bit restrictive, but somehow I have a feeling that this is not the only reason.

Still, at least, 60% of the French surfers had heard of it in November 2009 compared to the tiny 4% of the previous year... It's a start, I suppose.

On this side of the English Channel, Twitter's influence is pretty big and widely acknowledged, in spite of outrage from  British users when some members of the American far-right dared to diss the UK's National Health Service . Then there were, the tweeted reactions to the European Elections' shameful results (two BNP members elected as MEPs, thanks to a very poor turn out on  election day) Election outrage tweets made the Top Twitter trends as did tweets about the BBC's Question Time's episode with the far right BNP leader, Nick Griffin,  as a guest...

(The fact that the BNP supporters still carry on spamming Twitter by tweeting ad nauseam their website's posts is, in a way, another proof that Twitter is seen as an influential social site... Even if, like in this case, it's by people who obviously haven't got a clue on how to behave on the Net in general, and Twitter in particular.)

Of course, Twitter is not just about voicing our views on political matters, TV Shows such as Torchwood and Doctor Who, X-Factor with Jedward, or movies like Star Trek and District 9. It is also, and probably mainly, about sharing.

What we choose to share with our fellow tweeps is up to us... if it's important to us, it's important enough to tweet about it. It might not always be deep or life changing stuff but, at the end of the day, so what? It's not like what the three commenters dissing Twitter's users said was that deep anyway.

Some of us have heard about important events on Twitter first (like I did with Michael Jackson' death), and, sometimes, we also hear about important events on Twitter before they even make the news! Obviously, something that  commenters on the article's page are not aware of... perhaps they should use the site before going all negative about it.

I could understand reservations about the length of the tweets, especially when it comes to reading tweets with news and links... but, even that has been sorted. TweetMixx, for example, automatically unpacks all those shortened URLs into headlines and descriptions, effectively turning Twitter into a content recommendation site.

I do realise that I'm probably preaching to the converted here regarding Twitter, so I'm not going to go on and on, but, instead, I'm going to ask you guys to share with us (and, hopefully, the English speaking French surfers who might stumble upon this post) some of your tweeting experiences. It can be about what you regularly tweet about, events/news you've heard first on Twitter, apps you use or, well... anything Twitter related, really.

Maybe, just maybe, together we might be able to help my fellow French surfers make proper use of that fantastic democratic and informative tool called Twitter.

Thanks in advance...

Loup Dargent

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Exclusive Interview With Santa Claus

Santa Claus 

Over the past two months I have been writing a Christmas story.

It is about Santa Claus and the remarkable sequence of events that befell a young girl living on the edge of the rainforest in Palawan, a tropical island where I live. 

Of course, for such an apparently far fetched story, it was important to check out the facts.

That was easy to do here in Palawan, but how could I interview somebody quite so famous as Santa Claus, who lived far away in a land where I would freeze to death as soon as I got off the airplane?

Well, it turned out to be more easy than I thought, and we met, believe it or not, close to a big firework display in Southern England on November 5th 2005.

How I got there and how he got there, I am not allowed to say. In fact, I cannot say, simply because I do not know for sure. I can only speculate. My passport shows I was here; my wife tells me I was here; I tell myself I was here. But I was there, and this is what I can report from the notes I took at the interview.

(There was much more, but I am sworn to secrecy, and Santa Claus has such amazing powers, I would not go against his wishes.)

These are the 3 questions, and answers, I am allowed to reveal.

Q1: There is much speculation amongst historians about your origins. Can you tell us, to put this straight once and for all?

(Roars of laughter from Santa) “The last people you should ask are historians. They can only look backwards. What a dumb life they lead; they can never find the truth like that. Life is multi dimensional; time is multi dimensional. What do historians and scientists know about all that? The truth is like a sun with all it’s planets rotating round. If you just look backwards, you miss the whole spectrum, and you miss the sun itself.

“What are my origins? My good man, you’re just a simple soul, like everyone else on the planet, so I know you mean ‘when and where do I come from’. I do have a birthday; in fact, I have many birthdays, and they are all true. But for your narrow little world, I was born in 701 AD."

“But,” I said, “all the historians…….” his glare told me to be quiet about historians. That seemed like a good idea, given that they got it all totally wrong.

Santa was a tolerant and gentle man despite his massive powers.

“And, young man” ( I had not been called that for a long time) he said. “You will not believe where I was born. It was not the North Pole, though I go there often. It was not Lapland, where I do now live. It was Central Africa."

I was dumbfounded; he just laughed at me. I moved on quickly.

Q2: I have to ask, Santa, how do you get around the whole world like that, every Christmas, delivering gifts to so many millions of children? In less than 2 days. It’s just not..

Before I could finish, he had put his hand firmly on my arm to stop me.

“Of course it’s possible. You think it’s not possible because your “scientists” say so, not because of the truth. Only the truth matters. And it is possible, because I do it every year.

You say “not possible” because of the way you all look at things; narrow and blinkered. Even my blinkered reindeer know more than your silly scientists; so forget it’s not possible. I do it, and young man”, (I was really beginning to like this guy), he went on, “I just love every moment of it.”

“But……?” I was about to ask, but he stopped me again with a firm hand.

“Ok,” he said gently. “Let me just tell you about something. In the 8th century I was exploring brainwaves; your scientists don’t have an inkling yet about the brain, how it works, the brainwaves and what they mean and how you can use them. I was able to discover great things, things all the scientists have been too narrow minded in the past to seek out, understand and utilize.”

I was in his spell, listening intently to every word. He was about to reveal….

“Have you heard of Quantum Chimney Descent Theory? No, of course not. By 820 AD I had it all worked out; a year later I had discovered Time Corridors. You know time corridors? No, of course not, but I tell you young man, that was what did it, that was what enabled me to deliver gifts at Christmas all over the world.

“I then developed the Time Corridor Interweaving Theory. For the next 30 years I started to put them both into practice, and then bring them together. That my dear friend is how I get around the whole world like that and deliver gifts: by exploiting the Quantum Chimney Descent Theory in unison with Time Corridor Interweaving.

“Do you understand now?” he asked.

Well, who was I to argue, I might sound like a historian or scientist? So, that was it, I had the answers to the greatest Santa Claus question of all. I did not have a clue what he was talking about, but I am sure he anticipated that.

We went on to the final question as the firework display reached its climax.

Q3: What happens to all the mince pies and glasses of sherry that millions of children leave out for you?

Santa roared with laughter again, “oh, all the things people leave out for me; they are so sweet those children. “But you know, their parents should tell them the truth; they should not deceive. It is their parents who drink the sherry and other alcoholic drinks. It’s just their excuse. I don’t drink the stuff, never did.

“But the mince pies, yes I do love a good mince pie. The children are so considerate leaving them for me, and I eat as many as I can in Australia. But over a million? I have to tell you, those mince pies get spread around all sorts of places. The creatures of the oceans and the forests are very much experts on mince pies now. But the year before last.....”

Santa saw my expression change.

“Aaah, we can’t say what happened that year, can we? It’s in your story. We mustn't spoil your story."

A moment later I awoke in my bed many thousands of miles away near the Sulu Sea. My wife was next to me; and funnily enough, I was next to her. When I went to my computer room a while later, I found my notebook. And what you have read above is what was written in it.

I really did like Santa Claus; “young man” indeed.

Santa Claus

About Today's Contributor:
This Christmas Santa Claus article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner author of the Gifts For Xmas website.

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Some 'Easy Does It' Recipes For Christmas

Image via Wikipedia

"Because Christmas is not just about presents, you know..."

Okay, so you're almost done with the presents
buying and cards writing and sending activities,
and the decorations do look good... well done!

But, what about the food?
Will you have enough time to do that as well?

Christmas Trivia Questions Time: "Who Are You Mr. Claus?"

Sinterklaas AKA Santa Claus

Just about everyone in the world knows that jolly toy-bearing Christmas figure from the North Pole, but how much do we really know about him?

Here are a few quick trivia questions about our beloved Santa brought to you by Lewis Payton.

Q: Where does the name Santa Claus come from?
A: The name Santa Claus was derived from Sinterklaas, the Dutch term for the ancient Christian figure of Saint Nicholas who was famous for his generosity to the poor (more about him later).

The Dutch immigrants to America imported their gift-giving saint to New Amsterdam where he merged with his British counterpart, Father Christmas, to become America's own Santa Claus.

Q: Everyone knows that Santa lives in the North Pole, but where is the real St. Nicholas from? 

A: St. Nicholas who many consider to be the inspiration for modern Santa Claus was born in Patara around 275AD. 

Patara is located in present day Turkey, on the Southern Mediterranean coast in what is today an international tourist resort area where visitors spend hours basking in the warm Mediterranean sun. 

Certainly not a place you would want to be wearing fur coats in.

Q: If you really wanted to find St. Nicholas today, where would you go looking?
A: You may enjoy a trip to the North Pole, but if you really want to honor St. Nicholas, you would do better by heading towards Italy, where the remains of St. Nicholas are stored in the basilica of St. Nicola in the city of Bari. 

They have been there since the 11 century when they were, uh… borrowed… from their previous resting place in Myra in present day Turkey. 

Q: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and his companions take Santa on his rounds completely airborne. How is it that reindeer can fly?
A: Many people believe that the tale of flying reindeers (as well as other parts of the Santa story), originates from Lapland in modern day Finland. Some say that in Lapland reindeer had a habit of seeking out the hallucinogenic amanita mushrooms which they ate and then would prance around while under their influence. 

As these mushrooms are quite toxic, it was regular practice for local shamans to drink the urine of tripping reindeer for a "safe high" and then "fly" together with them. 

This could also explain the general cheerful disposition (with the "ho ho ho" and all), and the flushed red cheeks of today's Santa. 

Q: Where did Santa get his unique outfit?
A: While it's no secret that the marketing people of Coca Cola have a lot to do with the modern image of Santa, some say the roots go way back. 

The same North European Shamans that liked to consume those red and white mushrooms with their reindeers used to wear quite a similar outfit when they went out to collect their pickings – red and white fur trimmed coats with long black boots. 

As implied above, it's quite certain that St. Nicholas was no inspiration for this outfit, as he lived in sunny south Turkey.

Q: Who was the first to create Santa's modern image?
A: Coca Cola still uses the iconic images of Santa which were hugely successful in the 30s, and created for it by the gifted artist Haddon Sundblom, an American of Swedish origin (does Northern Europe ring any bells here?). 

However the modern image of Santa was only finally standardized in his works, but had actually been developing for years before. Coca Cola wasn't even the first beverage company to make commercial use of every child's jolly toy bearing hero – a company called White Rock beverages used him to sell ginger ale and mineral water as early as 1915. 

However earlier versions wore a wide variety of colors. 

Coca Cola's Santa is the one the finally set the record straight, and since then Santa has been wearing nothing but Red and White.

About Today's Contributor:
Lewis Payton writes trivia questions for 247trivia.com

The Haunting Story of Alexandra Holzer

Cover of The Ghost Hunter

Now, that's the spirit! 

Okay, not really that kind of spirit, but we have good reasons to be cheerful as our favourite Ufo Guy is back with a very haunting story...

It's the story of Alexandra Holzer and, as she is the daughter of the famous ghost hunter Hanz Holzer, publishing it is definitely a great way to launch our "Paranormal" category.

Those of you who read the old version of 'Forward and Share' might remember some of Bill Knell's articles... They were great additions to our UFOs Related topic and were very popular among our readers (Good news: We have managed to salvage some of them and will definitely publish them again in a near future) so being able to publish more articles from him is like an early Christmas present for us.

But, enough of my rambling: Bill Knell and his haunting story of Alexandra Holzer is only a few mouse scrolls away...

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent