Writing a love letter is an art that can easily be labeled in the endangered category. With the coming of age of the Internet and mobile services, lovers hardly depend on the postal system or other people to deliver their message of love. But guys, believe me when I say that they still hold tremendous appeal to the love-sick heart. So if you want to earn those much-desired brownie points from your sweetheart, write a love letter and send it across. If you write a good one, you can only imagine the effects it will have. Here’s how to get started.

The mode and the medium is of utmost importance. Choose a nice pen and a classy color of ink. Keep those fancy pink and green colors for Christmas decorations. Get yourself a nice paper. No, that torn sheet of your favorite note-book is not applicable. When you begin to write, make sure you have already formed the rough draft in your mind. If you are the type who stumble on every word and are prone to heavy editing, write it on a separate sheet of paper first. If you write a wrong word while drafting the final copy, draw a line through the word lightly. Don’t paint the scratched word and make the whole thing look miserable.

The love letter should ideally be the spontaneous flow of your lovelorn heart. In the process of writing it if you fall short of ideas, wait for the flow to come back to you. Writing about inane stuff to fill out the pages is a bad idea. Your love would really not like to know about the fight you had with the cab driver or how you were duped into having an overpriced drink. Be relevant and maintain a sort of agenda. That way you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Begin and end with a tender, loving address to your beloved. I’d suggest you cut out any corny ideas. So, get cracking and let me know the effects!

The world media is abuzz with this act. Michelle Obama made headlines at the G20 summit, but not really for the reason a G20 summit is held. When she met the Queen Elizabeth II, the two women embraced briefly. Now this has set off the protocol pundits on a mad spree, making speculations and critical comments about this gesture. They are of the opinion that there has been a breach in the protocol that surrounds the royal Buckingham Palace. The Queen should not have been embraced, is what they say! When my roommate Adrian heard of this hullabaloo, he had a hearty laugh about it!

I think too much is being made of an incident that is not worth the newsreels and airtime the even is occupying. I wonder if media-persons have run out of ideas to focus on. Because of the focus being on the Michelle Obama-Queen embrace, there’s a shift in the attention from the more important discussions that happened at the G20 summit. If the media gets lambasted for sensationalizing issues, it’s for coverages like these. Some are taking it as an offense, some see it as a nice way improvised by the Queen to reach out to a guest. How do you see it?

Ugly incidents crop up every now and then, reminding us that no one nowhere is safe. Recently it was reported that a shooting incident took place at the Radford University. Official had to close down the campus. Students have been asked to take cover. While this is being written, there’s still no news of the suspect being under arrest. Various reports suggest that he has been sighted near the Bonnie Hurlbert Student Center. University officials have cautioned that the man is armed and dangerous.

I wonder where we are coming to really. There are reports of people taking up arms and going postal. It cannot be assumed that you are safe or your near ones are safe. The shooting was reported to have happened at 9 pm on Thursday. I was alarmed to read about the incident. My heart goes out to the families and folks of the students whose security is being threatened by an armed infiltrator. My sister Liz is really worried about the safety of my niece Rachael. And so is Donna, the mother of Ethan and Emily. With growing paranoia, I’m really concerned on the way ahead. What do you have to say on this? Write in.