Conversations about Artificial Intelligence are the buzz these days. The hummmmm of the debate travels between categorical poles of thinking. It’s seen either as inevitable progress or malevolent manipulation. A case could be made for either position. AI maybe a platform that accommodates plagiarists or a tool for enhancing inspired research, or both. The ethics of the issue will be litigated for years… That’s business; on Valentine’ Day we’re talking passion!
Today is about the good old fashion thrill of writing or receiving a handwritten letter.
We get a charge opening letters of pen and ink. The writing style is a snapshot of a relationship. it’s sensory impression is transportive. The feel of the paper evokes an affair to remember.
Even today, Biblical scholars debate the metaphorical transcription of Eve tempting Adam with forbidden fruit. Historians speak of recorded passions that shaped dynasties. What was Cleopatra really up to with Anthony? And, Peggy Lee’s love song ,FEVER, sings the steamy praises of the “Very Mad Affair Captain Smith had with Pochahauntus”. These smoldering literary vestiges of lust need little translation. They’re timelessness sows the universally understood juicy seeds of sizzle.
Simon Garfield, author of the New York Times Best Sellers, “Just My Type” and “On The Map” turned his attention in 2013 to “The Letter: a Celebration of the Lost Art of Letter Writing“. The book is a collection of personal histories. Some letters are vicarious passports chronicling romantic travel adventures from long ago. Some are letters filled with centuries old scandalous gossip. Accommodating the transportation of such buzz this book also includes a thumb sketch of how the earliest ideations of a postal service grew into an international resource and ultimate supplier of sexy scripts.
Moving into the 21at century, Garfield’s book includes a story of how an early computer in Cambridge was flown to Stanford’s Research Center to link the heart of primitive codes. This primal evolution of the internet matured into emails that range on the steamy scale from ubiquitous to you gotta get get this!
The most specifically salacious part of “To the Letter” decodes the timeless creativity of amoré. As it turns out there’s nothing new in the unbridled search for connectivity. The fire of desire is fluent in all languages and is as old as time.
Page 400 of this fun little book decodes salutations used by solders in World War II. Some are dear, some are flirty and some are out and out hot!
How ever you celebrate this day of sentimental feelings, be it with an elder, a favorite pet, your lastest crush, a Galentine or your partner… remember the value of the written word. It will pay off today, and dividends in days to come.
Where ever you celebrate, however you celebrate~ Happy Valentine’s Day to all. XOXO