Good Tuesday morning.
The word “love” has a more than a few definitions, according to our friends at the Collins English Dictionary:
- A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person
- A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend
- Sexual passion or desire
- A person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart
- A term of endearment
- An affair, intensely amorous incident
- Sexual intercourse, coulation
- The personification of sexual affection, as in Eros or Cupid
- An affectionate concern for the well-being of others, as in the love of one’s neighbor
- Strong predilection or enthusiasm for something
- The object of one’s strong affection
- A scone of zero (chiefly in tennis)
- The benevolent affection of God for his/her/their creatures
- A word used in certain communications to represent the letter “L”
There’s actually a lot more where that came from, depending on how you’re using the word “love” – as a noun, adjective or verb (transitive or intransitive, and I had to look that up, too). But it would take too long to list them all out here, and I think you get the picture anyway.
The noun “love” was once “leubh”, which was used by the Proto-Indo-Europeans some 5,000 years ago to describe care and desire. In Middle English, it was also “louve” or “luve,” and in Old English it was “lufu.”
The verb was derived from the Latin lubēre (later libēre ), which means “to be pleasing.”
The concept of love as we know it dates back to the ancient Greeks, who defined four forms of love: kinship or familiarity (storge), friendship and/or platonic desire (philia), sexual and/or romantic desire (eros), and self-emptying or divine love (agape).
What “love” actually means varies widely from person to person. The bond between a mother and her offspring is something all mammals share, but the concept of romantic love – the long-term bonding between individuals who are not otherwise related – is fairly unique to humans.
Love is a learned skill and not one that we are innately born with. Some people are better at it than others. To be clear, we aren’t talking about lust here – that’s a whole other thing, and it’s driven by hormones.
Love is a choice; it happens not in the heart, but in the brain. But it also has a profound effect on our physical and mental health. It is not unusual for a person to die of a broken heart, and without love, humans fail to thrive.
There’s a whole science behind why humans fall in love, which you can delve into here if you have the time. Some scientists say falling in love is akin to an addiction because when it happens, the brain releases the so-called “love hormone” oxytocin and makes you feel a rush similar to the kick you get from a very strong drug, like, say, cocaine.
For the record, oxytocin is also released when you gaze into the eyes of your dog, and petting your furry friend can also cause the lowering of the stress hormone cortisol.
Perhaps we can make today about celebrating love in all its profound mystery and forms, instead of something superficial that requires acknowledgement through the giving of cards or gifts or candy?
Try saying an extra special “I love you” to your plants, or your dog, or your friends…and, of course, your partner, if you’ve got one…or even yourself. And I guess a little chocolate kiss to underscore the sentiment might be nice, too.
Happy Valentine’s Day, all.
One thing I am loving, so to speak, is this weather. Another warm-ish day is on tap, though perhaps not as balmy as yesterday, with temperatures in the mid-to-high 40s and partly cloudy skies.
In the headlines…
The White House — under fire for a lack of transparency about unidentified airborne objects — must contend with frustrated lawmakers and a mystified public amid the Biden administration’s failure to launch a coherent communications strategy.
Biden ordered a new government-wide effort to determine what precisely is happening. And in four separate locations, from the frozen waters off Alaska to the Carolina coast, work was underway to collect and analyze debris from the shot-down objects.
While officials have disclosed some info about the objects, there are still major gaps in what the government has learned and communicated publicly.
An object shot out of the sky over northern Canada on Saturday was a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” according to the Pentagon, providing a bit of new detail about three such devices that were downed over the weekend.
Former Trump White House national security adviser John Bolton will be briefed tomorrow by Biden administration officials about Chinese surveillance balloon incursions that happened during the Trump administration, his spokesperson confirmed.
Biden will tap Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard for the White House’s top economic policy job as the U.S. braces for a high-stakes fight over the debt ceiling and a possible recession, according to two administration officials.
She will replace Brian Deese, who is departing the Biden administration after serving in the role for more than two years.
Biden is traveling the US touting the resilience of the economy and booming job market. Fed Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, meanwhile, says If the economy keeps powering ahead, the central bank will likely slam harder on the brakes to kill inflation.
Biden dismissed Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton amid calls from lawmakers of both parties for him to step down over allegations that he misused government property, impersonated a law enforcement officer, and avoided the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“After doing our due diligence, the Architect of Capitol was terminated at the President’s direction,” a White House official said.
Blanton, appointed by Donald Trump, faced bipartisan calls for his resignation after an inspector general’s report last fall concluded he and his family used government vehicles for weekend trips and that he misrepsented himself as a law enforcement official.
Environment activist Erin Brockovich is calling on the Biden administration to “step up” after a trail derailment in eastern Ohio led to a controlled release of toxic chemicals.
One of the recent traditions of Super Bowl Sunday is that the president of the United States sits down with the network hosting the game for an interview. But it didn’t happen this year. Biden was not interviewed by Fox, which carried the game.
A gunman killed three people and wounded five others at Michigan State University, setting off a police manhunt and forcing students to hide in their dormitories at one of America’s largest university campuses.
A man suspected of fatally shooting three people and wounding at least five more during the rampage at Michigan State University has died, local police said, shooting himself off campus after an hours-long manhunt.
An Atlanta judge said he would make public excerpts of a report written by the special grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Trump’s fate in the 2024 GOP presidential race may pivot on whether he can retain the surprisingly broad support he secured in 2016 from an unexpected group of Republican voters.
South Carolina senator Tim Scott is reportedly taking steps to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Lawyer Timothy Parlatore said that Trump, whom Parlatore represents, used an empty folder that said “Classified Evening Summary” to block a light in his bedroom at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Republicans have pulled back on legislation to crack down on unauthorized immigrants and support law enforcement as internal disputes conspire with a tiny majority to freeze them in place.
A new congressional panel created by House Republicans launched an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic by requesting documents and testimony from health and intelligence officials who have worked in the Biden administration.
The select committee on the pandemic is requesting information on the origins of the virus from current and former officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the president of EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit pandemic prevention research organization.
Long COVID still lacks a universal clinical definition and a standard diagnosis protocol; there’s no consensus on its prevalence, or even what symptoms fall under its purview.
Queen Camilla , 75, has tested positive for coronavirus nearly a year to the day after her first diagnosis with COVID-19 was announced.
King Charles’ wife had been forced to postpone a visit to the West Midlands today, with the palace initially saying she had contracted a “seasonal illness.”
The future of the Alex Murdaugh trial could be in jeopardy. Two jurors were dismissed yesterday morning after contracting COVID-19, leaving just three alternates available as the trial’s fourth week started.
Nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021, double the rate of boys, and one in three girls seriously considered attempting suicide, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A federal appeals court said it would reconsider a lawsuit that questioned Connecticut’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete there.
Rep. George Santos’s failure to account for hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending is part of a pattern of irregularities in the way his campaign handled its finances.
The controversial Long Island lawmaker reported spending the money during his winning 2022 congressional campaign but did not say whom the campaign paid or what it was for.
Workers in the health care field will continue to be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 as other pandemic-era regulations like requiring facemasks inside health care facilities are ending, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Hundreds of people with disabilities traveled to Albany from around New York to push state lawmakers and Hochul to back a higher pay raise for workers who provide services to those with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Senate Republicans called for measures in the state budget meant to address the cost of living in New York, from ending a plan to charge tolls in parts of the city, to reducing local government burdens that contribute to property tax bills and home heating costs.
She didn’t thank them for sparing her the embarrassment of having to sue her own party, but Hochul has given a tacit thumbs up to a lawsuit filed by a Republican against the Senate Democratic majority, seeking to force a vote on her chief judge nomination.
Hochul said she didn’t expect the lawsuit state Senate Republicans filed on her behalf to force a full vote on her nominee to be the state’s top judge, Hector LaSalle, who was rejected by a key panel in January.
Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt was waiting for Hochul to sue over the LaSalle nomination herself, and said her “has seemed unwilling, unable to formulate a strategy” to get him confirmed.
Even with its billions of dollars in climate-related funding, policy experts said Hochul’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024 needs more vigor to meet the urgency of the climate emergency.
A bill meant to make it easier to sue oil and gas companies for their role in climate change is picking up steam in the state Legislature with the backing of Assemblymember Michaelle Solages in her chamber.
State lawmakers will dive right into debate over Hochul’s push to phase out gas stoves in New York as well as other environmental initiatives that critics say will increase costs for ordinary New Yorkers.
Hochul’s proposed plan to ban the sale of menthol cigarettes and hit smokers with an additional dollar-per-pack tax is sparking a heated debate over revenue and the black market sales of smokes.
Hochul was in Rochester to discuss the impact she says her budget proposals will have on the Finger Lakes region.
Adams often talks about reining in the city’s vast bureaucracy. At the same time, he’s created at least three new offices to get a better handle on municipal agencies — including one with wide–ranging scope under the direction of his top public safety adviser.
Adams signed a yet-to-be-reported executive order to designate an Office of Risk Management and Compliance that reports to City Hall attorney Brendan McGuire, and an Office of Municipal Services Assessment under Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks.
Adams, during an interview with Caribbean Power Jam Radio’s “The Reset Show,” defended the rescinding of a COVID vaccine for city workers and that there may be a time that mandates will be in place again.
Adams: “Legalizing cannabis was a major step forward for equity and justice in our city. But legalization is about following the new laws, not a free pass to sell unregulated cannabis products.”
At least eight people were injured when a man drove a U-haul box truck erratically through Brooklyn, careening onto sidewalks and hitting pedestrians before being arrested, the authorities said.
In the middle of the rampage, in which a cop was among the injured, the driver rammed into a 44-year-old man riding an e-bike cops and sources said. He was pronounced dead later in the day, according to a law enforcement official.
A never-released internal NYPD report paints a damning picture of the department’s handling of the George Floyd protests in 2020 that led to days of rioting and looting across the city.
With a fiscal crisis looming, New York City municipal workers are enjoying furniture and supplies from the high-concept designer Herman Miller — and last year it came with a price tag of more than $5 million.
Manhattan commuters are spending $4,661 less around their offices per year than before the pandemic due to remote work, according to a study from economists with WFH Research, a group that tracks trends in working arrangements.
New York City saw a greater decline in spending near the workplace compared to any other major U.S. city. Los Angeles followed with workers spending $4,200 less a year.
Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino says biking in New York City should be subject to licensing and insurance requirements — drawing backlash from safe-street advocates who flew off the handle in response to the logistically dubious proposal.
In the heated bid for one of three new casino licenses in New York, Bally’s Corporation is promising to strip the former president’s name from the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point.
A federal prosecutor told a Manhattan jury that Sayfullo Saipov, who drove a truck down a crowded West Side bike path in 2017, mowing down eight people without mercy in a terrorist attack, had “not abandoned his jihad, his fight.”
In places where recreational use is legal, smokers are tossing the remains of joints in the street. Dogs are eating them and getting sick in increasing numbers, veterinarians and poison-control centers say.
Chuck Schumer has become a grandfather for the third time. The senate majority leader, 72, shared a photo of himself on Instagram, holding his newest grandson while announcing his birth.
A Rensselaer County State Supreme Court justice has ordered the City of Troy to turn over police disciplinary records the New York Civil Liberties Union requested nearly three years ago after a change in state law made them accessible to the public.
Sur La Table, a cookware and kitchen-goods store with locations nationwide, is taking over the Stuyvesant Plaza space occupied for more than 30 years by Different Drummer’s Kitchen, an independently owned shop forced out by the plaza’s new owners.
A state judge dismissed a $5 million lawsuit brought by the upstate company White Management, which owns the Bountiful Bread brand, and had sued the founder’s son-in-law for revealing confidential financial information to an industry competitor.
Fidens Brewing Co., which opened in a Colonie industrial park in late 2018 but has outgrown its ability to serve retail customers at the location, will open a brewpub in the coming months in the City of Albany’s warehouse district, a co-owner said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has signed off on plans to dredge the Hudson River off the shores of Beacon Island, where the Port of Albany is building an offshore wind turbine tower manufacturing plant.
Paintings, mirrors, and numerous matching end tables and chairs that once furnished rooms and lobbies in the Desmond Hotel are now being sold at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
Kanye West’s hateful rants against Jews has directly led to at least 30 antisemitic incidents in recent months, the Anti-Defamation League said.
The Chiefs’ rally to defeat the Eagles 38-35 in this past weekend’s Super Bowl is on pace to become the third most-watched television show in history, with an estimated 113 million people watching, according to preliminary numbers released yesterday.
Philadelphia cornerback James Bradberry admitted he tugged on the jersey of a Kansas City receiver. But was it really a penalty? The answer depends largely on what colors you wear.
