Love, Ice Dams, "Hallelujah"

(Image Credit: Our sweet, secret Valentines over at MLA2010.)

This isn't really a Valentine post. The moms aren't so into the Valentine thing, being congenitally opposed to all commercially manufactured public displays of emotion. Well, maybe not all of them. As you know, they would occasionally dress me up in wizard costumes and reindeer ears to honor certain other holidays that have been turned into orgies of commercial excess, but that was always about cuteness and irony, not the rank sentimentality of Valentine's Day.

Wow, this post is running off the rails as fast a Metro train on a chilly afternoon, isn't it? Yes, yes, my pretties, love conquers all and the moms are happy to raise a glass to love in all its shapes and sizes. They ventured out yesterday to see Jean-Marc Valée's The Young Victoria, which turned out to be a very Valentiny thing to do, given the film's emphasis on the I'll-take-a-bullet-for-you kind of love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. (That whole bullet thing? Not true, as it happens, but, hey, we cannot let historical accuracy stand in the way of a good story, can we?) And this afternoon, they'll head over to the Comcastle to watch the Terratots take on Clemson, which is also all about the deep, abiding love of sports fandom -- as well as, yes, the thrill of seeing strong, sweaty women in, um, action. Before the game, though, Moose has some ice dam work to do, which is why she can't linger in the red chair trying to explain the mysteries of love to you. She is going to suit up and go outside to investigate the source of a new leak in the casement windows in the dining room. Moose loves those windows, deep and white, and is offended by the idea of their being ruined by water. She is even threatening to ignore all the advice about not going out onto the roof to try to remove snow, because she is so determined to protect this house. It may not be I'll-take-a-bullet-for-you, but if you knew anything about Moose's sense of balance you would realize it was a significant death-defying kind of risk. In Roxie's World this morning, we do sincerely hope that love conquers all -- or that it is at least clever enough to find a way to conquer ice dams.

In the meantime, we offer you this little Valentine, by way of the Reclusive Leftist -- the vid of k.d. lang's performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics Friday night. There are many reasons to heart Canada, of course, but surely one of the best is that our neighbors to the north would decide to kick off the Winter Games by having a beautiful barefooted middle-aged butch belt out a breathtaking song that has not the slightest, even remotest, connection to sport, athleticism, internationalism, victory, or defeat. Yeah, we heart Canada, and we heart k.d. lang. And as always, darlings, we heart you. Hallelujah.