Love Stinks

The perfect Valentine's Day gameplan for singles: Don't be a sorry fool, party hard

Valentine's Day is an exclusionary holiday, which, frankly, is some crap. I have a date this year — waits for applause — but for many years, I did not. From those cold February days came a distaste for Cupid and Hallmark and an appreciation for the Anti-Valentine's Day experience.

And for those of you out there who are spending Feb. 14 alone, take solace in the fact that you will not have to spend money on an expensive dinner or overpriced underwear. No, instead, you get a Saturday where you can do one of two things: Feel sorry for yourself or have fun with it.

Fifty Shades of Grey for one, please
The Twilight fan fiction turned bestseller is getting the cinematic treatment with a release on Valentine's Eve, but the real magic will be at the Saturday evening showings. Revel in the complete lack of chemistry between Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, the fanatical housewives whose husbands never got their knot-tying badge in Boy Scouts, and the faint scent of cat dander.

At least the soundtrack looks good.

Treat Yo Self
Clothes. Fragrances. Massages. Mimosas. Fine leather goods. Treat Yo Self isn't just a Parks and Recreation joke; it's a way of life. What better way to spend Cupid's Saturday than on yourself? You don't need someone else to buy you a mani-pedi or a deep-tissue massage.

What better way to spend Cupid's Saturday than on yourself? You don't need someone else to buy you a mani-pedi or a deep-tissue massage.

Go buy that shirt you've been eyeing and match it with some dope pants. This is all about you, and you deserve to treat yo self.

Netflix is the friend that never leaves

If you don't feel like leaving the house for a movie, Netflix has your back. The streaming service added all 10 seasons of Friends on Jan. 1. So what if you've already seen all the episodes on Nick at Nite and know that "The One With The Secret Closet" was the 14th episode of the eighth season?

Get nested with a day's worth of junk food, start from season one, and if you stay committed, you'll be well past the one where Ross and Rachel take a break. See, everyone has rough patches.

Pub golf!
Round up some single friends and do a pub crawl the way it was meant to be done: With a scoring system that encourages drinking a lot. The best part about this is you can play with as few as two people, but a foursome or more is where the party gets going as you chug your way to the lowest round.

Plus, friends bring new friends, and with alcohol on your side, you might just end Anti-Valentine's Day a little less single (at least for the night).

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”

Love Stinks

The perfect Valentine's Day gameplan for singles: Don't be a sorry fool, party hard

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
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