Hello Darling, It's Me, Your Weekly Revelations.
Roses are red, violets are blue, St. Valentine died for your boo. While Valentine's Day has become a reason to eat an entire box of chocolates and not feel bad about it, it has a charmingly morbid historical context. It began when Emperor Claudius banned all marriages in Rome, while Saint Valentine, being the hopeless romantic he was, continued to secretly marry young couples. He was eventually discovered, beaten, and then beheaded on February 14, 270. Naturally, America jumped on the opportunity to celebrate a holiday utterly detached from its historical significance, and Valentine's Day was born! For those who are more into chewing than eschewing the holiday, Bottega Louie is offering an [assortment of romance-themed macarons](http://www.bottegalouie.com/valentines-day-gifts) today and tomorrow in Rose, Grand Cru, Raspberry, Strawberry & Vanilla. Don’t mind if we do.
DUDE TAPES
Good news for those of us planning on spending V-Night alone: Jeff Bridges has embarked on a new endeavor worthy of his most famous character, "The Dude." The actor/musician recently announced [his new line of sleeping tapes](http://www.dreamingwithjeff.com/) (yes, tapes), which hopefully include the soothing sound of him slurping down White Russians, and maybe him doing some yogi chants.
IT'S RAINING MEN(SWEAR)
The war of the sexes continues this weekend, but New York City has made a major concession to males. The city is launching its first ever [menswear fashion week](http://cfda.com/blog/its-official-new-york-fashion-week-mens), running July 13-16. Finally, equality between the sexes...
TRUNKIN'
It’s February: time to forget about 2014 and craft new memories. And what better place to hold these new experiences than in a luxury trunk, complete with a poker set and Spanish Cedar Cigar Box. Come on baby, grab your [T.T. Trunk](http://www.tttrunks.com/) and let’s just leave all of this behind.
LA VIE PANTONE
[Nick Smith](http://www.smithandstuff.com/) has put a clever, modern twist on works done by some of the Masters of Fine Art. His first solo show, _Psycolourgy_, consists of recreations of works by artists like David Hockney, Francis Bacon and Andy Warhol using custom pantone chips to imitate the famous art. It will be on display at [Lawrence Alkin Gallery](http://www.lawrencealkingallery.com/) in London through February 20th.
DRIZZY DROP
Seems that surprise album drops are becoming a superstar norm. Yesterday morning Drake released a characteristically pensive [short film](http://consequenceofsound.net/2015/02/drakes-new-short-film-jungle-is-quintessential-drake-features-new-music-watch/), followed up hours later by the unexpected drop of his album, [“If You’re Reading This You’re Too Late.”](http://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2015/02/13/drake-drops-surprise-album-if-youre-reading-this-its-too-late/) We couldn’t have asked for a better soundtrack to a love-filled (aka chips in bed filled) weekend.
ANISH I WISH
"It does have to do at some level with the toxic or the magical or something that we define as being 'other' than ourselves,” said Anish Kapoor of his work on scale, boundaries, fear, and the [Kantian Sublime](http://www.iep.utm.edu/kantaest/). One of his most renowned pieces, _Vortex_, is being shown at the [Kochi-Muziris Bienniale,](http://kochimuzirisbiennale.org/) an international festival of contemporary art held in Kochi India through March 29th.
OH, HELLO...KITTY
S&M has been the subject of many artists’ work—from Rihanna [to the artist who sued Rihanna for stealing her idea](http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.126951!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/article_970/alg-rihanna-jpg.jpg). Hello Kitty S&M, on the other hand, is not something that has been the impetus for many artworks. Misty Keasler ventured into this surreal, (dare we say creepy?) world of erotica, photographing Japanese sex hotels for her new work, [Love Hotels: The Hidden Fantasy Rooms of Japan.](http://www.mistykeasler.com/html/galleries/107/personal/love-hotels-the-hidden-fantasy-rooms-of-japan/0)
GLASS HALF FULL
Dustin Yellin’s [layered glass sculptures](http://dustinyellin.com/figures/) are a love poem in and of themselves. The floating bodies are made up of old magazines and books, flirting with ideas both of destruction and rebirth from the past. His elegant, buoyant figures will be on display at the [New York City Ballet](http://www.nycballet.com/) February 19th and 27th.
I LIKE MY COFFEE LIKE I LIKE MY UNRELENTING OPTIMISM
No true love is as constant as a coffee addiction. [Dutch Lab](http://www.dutch-lab.com/) prefers theirs served so dark that it borders on depraved. The company created a highly ornate coffee machine called AKMA, a name that was derived from the Korean word for evil. The inspiration is evident in their choice of dark colors and dramatic design. If you need to start at the shallow end of the dark side public pool, Dutch Lab also has a steampunk machine named ‘Gothicism’.
ARDENT READER SEEKS SAME
Unlike your [average American 1960’s soft-core pulp covers](http://www.mysteryplayground.net/2013/08/60s-pulp-covers.html)—sometimes lacking in the imagination department—our contemporaries South of the Border had us beat with their unabashed celebration of the strange. Currently showing at Ricco/Maresca NYC is [Pulp Drunk: Mexican Pulp Art from the 1960-70’s](http://www.riccomaresca.com/). The exhibition glorifies clashes of the common with the supernatural, psychedelic, and the deranged. Exactly what we may or may not want to be inviting into our dreams.
IT'S A NICE DAY FOR A...COUTURE SHOW
Do you believe in a thing called love? After witnessing [John Paul Gaultier](http://www.jeanpaulgaultier.com/en)’s Spring/Summer 2015 Couture runway show; “[61 Façons de se dire OUI](https://flaunt-mag.squarespace.com/blog50-pg17/womens-fashion/haute-couture-spring-summer-2015)”, we certainly do. The dreamlike project was comprised of dramatic floor-length wedding gowns gliding across the catwalk to the beat of Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”. The collection is a perfect marriage (pun intended) of the fairy tale and the avant-garde.
NIKYE
Kanye isn’t just dressing Kim now. His collaboration with the brand [made its debut](http://www.adidas.com/us/kanye) at New York’s Fashion Week, adding even more fodder for the media’s love/hate relationship with the rap icon. The show was filled with streetwear inspired coats, frayed hems, and neutral tones. The goal? “I want people to feel like awesome is possible.” Quoth the Yeezy.
Curated by Elaina Ransford and Addison Richley
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