Weekend Reading: Be My Valentine Edition

Happy Valentine’s Day, ProfHackers! If you are haven’t gotten flowers yet for that someone special, Time gives us “5 Things to Know About Buying Flowers on Valentine’s Day.”

For the cynics among us, “6 Totally Unromantic Truths About Valentine’s Day Spending.” Here’s a hint: if you wait until February 15, you can buy those conversation hearts for half price.

If you are looking for a movie to watch: 9 Movies on Netflix to Match Your Valentine’s Day Mood. In addition to the list, you might consider Once (for the romantics), Gone Girl (for the most cynical among us)

Maybe skip the chocolate this year? Or at least cut back a little--"Something else in that box of chocolate: Heavy Metal.”

Love letters are a dying art. In an attempt to revive them, The Atlantic offers A Modern Guide to the Love Letter. Or, check out New York Times “Modern Love” on How We Write About Love.

Also from The New York Times: “To Fall in Love with Anyone, Do This.”

In a slightly different vein, our friend at Hook & Eye, Erin Wunkler, posted this piece, which might be a kind of Valentine for contingent faculty: “Dear Contract Academic Faculty.”

On public shaming and social media: “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life.” The more I think about it, the more I think that this piece should be a prerequisite for everyone with a social media presence.

We mentioned Scott Walker’s assault on the UW system last week, and the story has only gathered momentum since then. The New York Times explains, “Walker’s Wisconsin Budget Has National Message” while Salon features a take-down of Walker’s message by Wisconsin Teacher of the Year Claudia Klein Felske, who was also one of Walker’s classmates at Marquette.

And lest you think that it’s only Wisconsin where higher education is under siege, think again: “Louisiana higher education officials talk about potential cuts to colleges and universities.” And state officials in South Carolina are currently debating whether or not to close SC State for a year, fire all of its faculty and staff, and transfer its students with a 2.5 or higher GPA to other state schools. The Huffington Post was one of many sources to report the story originally. More recently, two members of the SC House of Representatives have written a bill that would keep the school open but fire its President and Board of Trustees.

Our video today comes from Simon’s Cat:

[Creative Commons licensed image by Flickr user LadyDragonflyCC]