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The Legend of St. Valentine
The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery. We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor's daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Origins of Valentine's Day: A Pagan Festival in February
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial--which probably occurred around A.D. 270--others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat's hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.

Valentine's Day: A Day of Romance
Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity and but was outlawed—as it was deemed “un-Christian”--at the end of the 5th century, when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day. It was not until much later, however, that the day became definitively associated with love. During the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of Valentine's Day should be a day for romance.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages, though written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

Typical Valentine's Day Greetings
In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings.

Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap." Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

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coming soon :) Safe House is an upcoming action thriller movie directed by Daniel Espinosa based on a script written by David Guggenheim (the script sparked a bidding war, and was finally purchased by Universal). The film is set to star Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington and Tim McGraw. The release date is tentatively scheduled for February 10, 2012.
Plot:
"Set in South America, Safe House follows a young U.S. intelligence agent (Ryan Reynolds) who must go on the run with a newly arrived prisoner (Denzel Washington) after his titular safe house comes under attack."

With Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington and Tim McGraw on board, the movie Safe House can boast a really interesting cast. I'm quite impatient to see how it will turn out.

new post for february

Top 10 Most Modified Cars

Modified cars are a unique part of our society where people buy a vehicle and spend thousands of dollars modifying the vehicle. Everything from the engine to the exhaust, modified cars have become an art form in some circles.

Auto insurance for modified cars however is treated very differently by car insurance companies and its imperative you understand how modified car insurance works. Anyone who modifies a vehicle must either (a) purchase modified car insurance or (b) confirm that the modifications do not alter the terms of your car insurance coverage.

Almost every car has been modified at one point but no matter where you go there are some makes and models much more popular than others. The top 10 modified cars in the world are:

Honda Civic

Some drivers would say the Honda Civic was created to be a modified car due to its low weight, dual wishbone suspension and the ability to run the car by outfitting almost any Honda engine under the hood. No matter where you go a tricked out Honda Civic is somewhere close The Honda civic is one of the most affordable vehicles to insure with the top end CIVIC SI edition running around $126 per month for full coverage insurance. Of course, once you had 44 inch wheels and a V12 engine you will need some custom car insurance.

Toyota Supra

Modified cars are huge in Japan and the Toyota Supra is a car which screams race car. Discontinued in the 1998 (USA) and 2002 (Japan) the Toyota Supra is still in high demand worldwide due to the performance of this vehicle. Well known for its racing abilities many owners trick this Toyota out with custom intakes, nitrous and more before attending auditions for the Fast and Furious.

insurance for Toyota Supra?

The Supra is an older model car and before you trick it out like Mario Andretti’s cousin auto insurance should run around $101 a month.

Dodge Charger

There are rumors that the Dodge Charger secretly comes with a tattoo which reads “buy big rims and light up my floor” but thankfully not everyone is so hip they need to spend $11,000 on rims which spin the wrong way. The Dodge Charger is cool and has seen many modified versions over the years A new Dodge Charger is going to cost around $152 a month in auto insurance for most drivers however since you are rolling with the big dogs now that shouldn’t worry you.

Ford Mustang

The Ford mustang is one of America’s muscle cars and is a favorite with modified car owners nationwide. Even with a V8 engine you can never have enough power under this hood and many owners have poured more money into customized Ford Mustangs then the base price of the car.

Car insurance for a Ford Mustang before a modification – around $142 a month. For young drivers and modified vehicles?

Consider attending college before you are obligated to pay the premiums.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

The Mazda Miata is a modified car owner’s best friend. Custom kits are available anywhere to modify this little roadster into a monster automobile. Some drives even go crazy and add a 5.0L V8 from the Ford Mustang under the Miata’s hood. At some point you need to understand the difference between having a roadster and a bat mobile and sometimes modified Mazda Miata’s can fall in both categories.

Relatively cheap to insure at about $110 a month before modifications. Auto insurance after a modification?

BMW 3-series

Outside of America on the other side of the pond the BMW 3 series is the most popular performance vehicle and owners have access to aftermarket parts and support on the same scale Americans do for Ford Mustangs. Even though the M series is a very expensive model to begin with there is something sexy about making one of these go even faster.

Average car insurance cost for a BMW 3 series – $130 to $200 a month depending on what version you want to buy and beef up. All modifications cost extra.

If you need chrome and gold …

Top News Photosof the Year

Best Bank Account Interest Rates - Summary for Week Ending 2012

Rate Cuts:

Alliant CU Savings - 1.00% [was 1.15%]
Alliant CU Checking - 0.95% [was 1.10%]
Clear Sky Savings - 1.00% [was 1.04%]
Capital One/Costco InterestPlus Savings - 0.85% [was 0.91%]
ING Direct Electric Orange - 0.90% ($100K) 0.85% ($50K) [was 0.95%/0.90%]
ING Direct Savings - 0.80% [was 0.85%]
Hudson City Savings - 0.70% [was 0.90%]

Once part of the great Byzantine Empire

Once part of the great Byzantine Empire, Albania, a country in South-Eastern Europe of more than 3.6 million people will be hugely represented by Anxhela Martini – a perfectly gorgeous supermodel. The country has never yet won in the Miss Universe since its arrival in 2002. This time, Albania will become a force to reckon with. Will this year be the reign of the first ever Miss Universe from Albania? The chances are too high. Watch Miss Universe 2010 online to find out

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More contests here.

happy new year

The Romans dedicated this day to Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings. After Julius Caesar reformed the calendar in 46 BC and was subsequently murdered, the Roman Senate voted to deify him on the 1st January 42 BC ^[1] in honour of his life and his institution of the new rationalised calendar.^[2] The month originally owes its name to the deity Janus, who had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. This suggests that New Year's celebrations are founded on pagan traditions. Some have suggested this occurred in 153 BC, when it was stipulated that the two annual consuls (after whose names the years were identified) entered into office on that day, though no consensus exists on the matter.^[3] Dates in March, coinciding with the spring equinox, or commemorating the Annunciation of Jesus, along with a variety of Christian feast dates were used throughout the Middle Ages, though calendars often continued to display the months in columns running from January to December.
Among the 7th century pagans of Flanders and the Netherlands, it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year. This was a pagan custom deplored by Saint Eligius (died 659 or 660), who warned the Flemings and Dutchmen, "(Do not) make vetulas, [little figures of the Old Woman], little deer or iotticos or set tables [for the house-elf, compare Puck] at night or exchange New Year gifts or supply superfluous drinks [another Yule custom]." The quote is from the vita of Eligius written by his companion, Ouen.
Most countries in Western Europe officially adopted January 1 as New Year's Day somewhat before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. In England, the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25, was the first day of the new year until the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. The March 25 date was known as Annunciation Style; the January 1 date was known as Circumcision Style, because this was the date of the Feast of the Circumcision, being the eighth day counting from December 25 when Christ was believed to be born. This day was christened as the beginning of the New Year by Pope Gregory as he designed the Liturgical Calendar.

The true story of Santa Claus begins with....

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.

Under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruthlessly persecuted Christians, Bishop Nicholas suffered for his faith, was exiled and imprisoned. The prisons were so full of bishops, priests, and deacons, there was no room for the real criminals—murderers, thieves and robbers. After his release, Nicholas attended the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. He died December 6, AD 343 in Myra and was buried in his cathedral church, where a unique relic, called manna, formed in his grave. This liquid substance, said to have healing powers, fostered the growth of devotion to Nicholas. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration, St. Nicholas Day, December 6th (December 19 on the Julian Calendar).

Through the centuries many stories and legends have been told of St. Nicholas' life and deeds. These accounts help us understand his extraordinary character and why he is so beloved and revered as protector and helper of those in need.

Erin

Featured Model
August 2011

Stats: 34-25-34
Height: 5'2" | Hair: Brown | Eyes: Brown
Number of pics: 52
Photography: Paul Miller

We got some great photos of Erin Jones posing next to an amazing motorcycle, and then we took her out a beautiful boat in Ft. Lauderdale.

Sexy Aly Michalka Maxim Photos

Actress Aly Michalka arrives at a special screening of Summit Entertainment's "RED" at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on October 11, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images) more pics » Aly Michalka in Maxim Magazine Maxim Aly Michalka isn't afraid to get a little sassy. She recently posed for a sexy photo shoot with men's magazine Maxim. Michalka is best known as 'Marti Perkins' in the CW teen television series Hellcats . This blonde bombshell is also slated to act in the 2011 movie 'The Roommate'. Aly Michalka got her start as a Disney actress. Like many other Disney actresses before her, she doesn't