
Coloring + Loving Outside The Lines
Celebrating "Love Is Love" Today + Everyday
Valentineās Day is here, dear. And since some of us identify as queer, letās cheer!
Whether youāre celebrating with a special someone, friends, or simply embracing the power of self-love, it's the perfect time to reflect on the many forms of love that make life so beautiful and colorful.
Here at Collide Press, I celebrate love in all shapes and sizes.
Today is all about honoring it in whatever way feels meaningful to you.
VALENTINEāS DAY = READER SUBMISSIONS
āItās 1957, and these servicemen are on shore leave. The USS Essex CV-9 is in San Diego, and itās a rite of passage for young men to carouse in the legendary bar The Hole in the Wall. That happy guy in the light suit, third from our left, is the finest man who ever drew breathā¦.. Heās an Ordinance Officer on the Essex. Four years in his future, heāll father me, and early in my adolescence, heāll know Iām gay. And I can only wish that all gay men enjoyed the blessing of such absolutely loving and nonjudgmental parents as I had.ā
Grant Tarredus
āOnly love heals: Love everyone, everywhere, no exceptions.ā
Keith Voos
āTo my future Valentine husband...
I shall love you to Uranus and back again...
Together we shall conquer all hand in hand...
While the sands of time around us spin and spin...ā
JR
To help set the mood, I found a curated playlist filled with love songs that capture a wide range of emotions. Whether youāre basking in romance or just in the mood for some sweet tunes, this playlist has something for everyone:
However you celebrate or remember love, donāt forget to smell the roses.
Theyāre lovelyā¦just like you, boo!
Clint šāļø
SPECIAL VALENTINEāS DAY LOVE + LIGHT
Thank you all for being a friend!
ON THIS DAY = FEBRUARY 14
BIRTHDAYS
1818 = Frederick Douglass = American abolitionist, writer, and statesman
1921 = Hugh Downs = American journalist, game show host, and producer
1934 = Florence Henderson = American actor and singer
1944 = Carl Bernstein = American journalist and author
1957 = Ken Wahl = American actor
1959 = RenƩe Fleming = American soprano and actor
1962 = Kevyn Aucoin = American makeup artist and author š
1970 = Simon Pegg = English actor, director, and producer
1972 = Rob Thomas = American singer-songwriter
1980 = Josh Senter = American screenwriter and producer š
1992 = Freddie Highmore = English actor
EVENTS
1849 = James Knox Polk becomes the first POTUS to have his photograph taken.
1876 = Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone.
1924 = The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
1931 = Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, is released in theaters.
1953 = British-American writer Christopher Isherwood, 48, meets portrait artist Don Bachardy, 18. Their relationship continues until Isherwoodās death in 1986.
1953 = Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon move in together. They cofound Daughters of Bilitis in 1955 and become the first same-sex couple to be legally married in the US in 2004.
1991 = San Francisco becomes first to register same-sex domestic partnerships.
1991 = The Silence of the Lambs is released in theaters.
2005 = YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY
āToday I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain... To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices - today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.ā
Kevyn Aucoin
I know it's late and most of the day is gone but I just wanted to let you know that your love matters to me and many many others . . .
Thank you Clint, real lovers are hard to come by in this world but you are one. a.
Happy Valentines Day, Clint, you are one special guy šā¤ļøš©·