The Heart's Filthy Lesson

Since my late teens, the cool thing to do was to diss Valentines Day as a Hallmark (ugh!) of corporate opportunism.

In fact, most of my Valentines Days have been horrid: the best being 2001, when I spent the entire day composing an ear-scorching techno tune called Rushin' DF.

Since then, every day has been worse, culminating in a debacle last year that was embarrassing and pointless. Part of the reason for these disastrous days was a defeatist mindset.

This year, I'm taking a different tune. Fuck it. I'm sick of the post-modern, anti-establishment, nihilist, "buy nothing day" rhetoric that's dominated my mind set for the past decade. Time for a fresh start.

In Egypt, everybody celebrates Valentines Day, regardless of whether you've got a special friend or not.

Even single men cherish it.

A co-worker (we'll call him Mahmoud) just told me that one of his male cousins once gave him a red rose and a card with teddybears and hearts on it, simply as an expression of friendship.

So, give a friend a hug. Have a pint of pink beer. Do something. But don't pout.