FeaturesFebruary 9, 1999
CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: LOVE, ROMANCE, ADVICE ABOUND ONLINE THIS VALENTINE'S DAY
Well, it's almost Valentine's Day -- again. A day for love and romance even online. Joni: It's hard for me or my husband to forget Valentine's Day because it's our anniversary, 19 years this Feb. 14. But in a way I think I get gypped. It's kind of like having your birthday on Christmas...
Well, it's almost Valentine's Day -- again. A day for love and romance even online.
Joni: It's hard for me or my husband to forget Valentine's Day because it's our anniversary, 19 years this Feb. 14. But in a way I think I get gypped. It's kind of like having your birthday on Christmas.
Peggy: It seems to be working though. Congrats on 19 years. Online, romance abounds. Maybe a good place to start is Valentine.com.
Joni: This site seems to be affiliated with the folks at InfoSpace, the online telephone directory folks. You can send a free animated Web card. They have some 17 different ones to send via e-mail.
Peggy: Having trouble finding the perfect card to express your feelings. Try their card picker. You pick your intensity level, shown on cute little conversation hearts. The levels range from simple curiosity to lasting devotion. You also pick situations, ranging from "I want to close the distance" to "I want to say goodbye."
Joni: They also offer advice on relationships. They have an advice expert and also a "mechanic's apprentice" who is 14 years old. I guess that would be good for other 14 year olds.
Peggy: Here's the best and worst lines, submitted by visitors to the site. Some are really bad. Here's one. "You must have been born in a forest because you're a fox." Or "Didn't I see you in Cosmo?"
Joni: Ughh. Let's see if we can build a dream date instead. You pick characteristics of a dream date. Hmm. My dream date is Brad Pitt. Did you know he once had a job dressed as a chicken promoting a restaurant?
Peggy: Everyone starts somewhere, I guess. Here's another idea. Put your Valentine or friends in the news. You can choose from seven celebrity storylines. Create an instant news Web page to e-mail to your friends. Here's one that links Joni with Brad Pitt. The plot thickens.Joni: Another hot site on the Internet can be found at The Kiss, a site dedicated to all things kissing.
Peggy: You can send an online kiss to someone you care about from their e-kissing booth. They also give you a tip of the day for dating and for kissing.
Joni: Here's a suggestion. Dab on a new cologne and ask your love for an opinion. When close enough, steal a kiss.
Peggy: The dating tip is try a dance class together. Not bad. From their trunk of fun, you can download "kiss notes," and print out kiss note pads on your printer.
Joni: In the Kissing Interactive, you can read articles from the Dating Doctor and read first-kiss stories. Some of these kisses were at young ages. Yikes.
Peggy: Want to celebrate Valentine's Day with Cupid? Check out Love Stories.
Joni: It's a site dedicated to stories, poetry, love and romance. You can send Cupid's love-grams. You can join discussion groups. They also have romantic recipes. Today's is for fruit fondue, made from angel food cake of course.
Peggy: One of the discussion areas this week is about cyber-relationships. Or you can participate in online polls. Do you usually sit across from or next to your date. Most said across from.
Joni: Here's a question about the favorite date. Dinner and a movie was the favorite. Or you can read stories about how couples met.
Peggy: You can also read the dilemma of the week. This week's is about a woman who is pregnant again at 44. Readers offer advice and suggestions.
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
Joni: Think love has changed over time? Take a look at Miss Abigail's Time Warp Advice, a collection of books spanning 1822 to 1977.
Peggy: You can read some 65 questions and answers. Here's one from 1948. "Will I ever meet Mr. Perfect?" The answer, basically, says nobody's perfect. That advice holds true today.
Joni: Here's one from 1923. "My sister is 32 years old and unmarried. Should we give up?" The answer, Don't give up; 32 is certainly not dead. They prefer the title bachelor girl to old maid.
Peggy: Here's advice from 1902 on being good to yourself. The advice, take care of yourself, rings true today.
Joni: You can also submit a question and ask for Miss Abigail's advice. Or you can search the bookshelf for books of the era. The site started when the author found a 1967 book, "The Art of Dating" in a Salvation Army Thrift Store.
Peggy: Today she has 250 books on which she bases advice. Her best advice: Don't dismiss what our mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers were told.
Joni: Another place for love, romance and relationships on the Web is
Peggy: It offers a guide to a perfect romantic holiday. You can get tips on lighting, food and music. It has suggestions to make Valentine's Day last all week long.
Joni: Why stop there? Let's make it all year long. Here's a series of quizzes you can take to test your romantic aptitude. Everyone who plays is entered in a contest to win Harlequin romance books.
Peggy: You can be quizzed over love in movies and history and other topics. Each quiz has 10 questions. Way to go, Joni -- 10 of 10 correct. You receive a Doctor of Romance degree and a license to practice the art of love.
Joni: Thank you very much. Movie watching pays off. You can also read your horoscopes, love quotes and romantic ideas, maybe enough to last the whole year.
Peggy: Remember to use care as you surf to romance sites. Places that seem innocent enough can turn out to be inappropriate for a family audience. Parents may want to take a look first.
Joni: The Super Bowl ad for Victoria's Secret promoting its online fashion show Feb. 3 generated millions of visits to the Web site.
Peggy: In fact, the heavy traffic jammed up their computers for days. Several sections of the site couldn't be accessed. People wanted to watch 21 minutes of super models in lingerie. You can still watch it online, but the quality isn't the greatest.
Joni: Maybe an event like that will push Internet technology to the limit for better quality pictures and video.
Peggy: What is your favorite Valentine's site. E-mail us at click@semissourian.com
See you in Cyberspace.
~Peggy Scott and Joni Adams are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.
Story Tags
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.
Related
FeaturesOct. 24
Advertisement
Receive Daily Headlines FREESign up today!
