This is going to be a terribly unoriginal post, I fear. Everyone has V-Day angst. Either you adore the holiday and are cast into a blue funk because no one else seems to appreciate all things fluffy and chocolate covered, or something gets forgotten or left undone or whatever, and the wailing and gnashing of teeth begins. Or, you're someone like me, in which you think the holiday is saccharine and appalling, that waxy chocolates and enforced jewelry-buying does not equal love, and intellectually the whole thing is disgusting. But somewhere, in your darkest and squishiest girl parts, you wonder if you're missing something, if there's a secret code of stuffed animals and horrible red lacy underthings that you simply don't speak, and you're doomed to live out the rest of your days lacking a certain (however puerile) joy.

See, this is why I suck. Because I worry about crap like this.

Anyway, since it is only 9am and I have work to do, and therefore cannot start drinking quite yet, here are a few cool things for everyone else who becomes just a little homicidal at the thought of a teddy bear wearing a t-shirt that says 'I love you this much!" blech.

The always fabulous Sandy Lam sent me this earlier this morning. It is a Valentine's Day cartoon by David Firth (creator of the horrifically amusing Salad Fingers shorts), and if you're like me, then the gratuitous dismemberment will make you cackle with glee.

One thing almost guaranteed to trigger a rant of epic proportions (or at least send me divind for cookie-dough sice cream) are all the abso-fucking-lutely horrible diamond commercials polluting what would otehrwise be fine coverage of women's olympic hockey. Watching the Family Guy episode with the 'Diamonds: She'll Pretty Much Have To" sketch (with the commentary on) provides some comfort. Also neat is jewelry that doesn't suck. For example, check out this article on uber-cool synthetic diamonds. Also, how wicked would it be to have carbon fiber rings? They're made out of the same material as formula 1 racers and stealth bombers. Or, what about jewelry that makes use of versatile and otherwise undersued materials like stainless steel and concrete? Perfect for that civil engineer in your life.

I will be wearing this shirt today -- a gift from a year or so ago. Someone set me up the bomb.

Here is a really neat list of fabulous ideas for the geek in your life. When you have his-and-hers computers side by each in the office, you need to think about these things.

I hope that your v-days are filled with whatever balance of squishily romantic and cynically avant-garde suits you best. Now where did I put the chardonnay.