Roses are red, violets are blue, if you’re a plant, was Valentine’s Day a few weeks back a concern for you? Genetic exploration, climate change and the Irish economy are all happening, fast and with worrying implications. But where’s the fire?

“Like gazing into a crystal ball, I am transfixed by the potential of her to open windows into our past, present and future. But it may reveal more than I would like to know….there are concerns”, Noel, 2003.

Nothing like a bit of romantic poetry on Valentine’s Day. It can remind you why you feel the way you do when you look into the eyes. Even if the above is a load of mushy waffle! License has it’s uses though, for in fact, the above is not a romantic poetry quotation. It is a paraphrased excerpt from a BBC article entitled “DNA: 50 Years In The Open”, written by Carina Dennis, a former editor of Nature and co-author of The Human Genome. The original reads, “Like gazing into a crystal ball, we are transfixed by the potential of DNA to open windows into our past, present and future. But it may reveal more than we would like to know”. Five words, nine letters re-ordered two ways, is all that made the difference just now between a probable romantic interpretation and the fact of its meaning. But what are the facts of love?

The French have a reputation as a bunch who know it all when it comes to this. They’re also revolutionaries. But it was a Chinaman who when asked what he thought of the French Revolution replied “too soon to tell”. Whether you trace February 14th’s origins to the man himself, his canonisation or his commoditisation by Hallmark, Valentine’s Day, if not the man, exists if you want him to. That’s the truth kids. Did Ross and Rachel teach you nothing!? The why is irrelevent, and is only to be found in the eyes, not the genes. In all seriousness, have you ever heard anyone say “Jaysus check out the genes on her”, or “I know she’s special, I saw it in her sparkling retina with my own two corneas!”. Of course, talk of societies basing their decisions largely on genetic odds is the stuff of Hollywood. Gattaca for example, a world in which genes play the larger role in determining one’s future, could never happen. Ever been mistaken for Ethen Hawke or Uma Thurman? Then again, Lost In Translation shows that a clinical approach to life could only be a plane ride away. Two days time will see the Irish release of Æon Flux, a film that paints a similarly apocolyptic but reactionary view of another possible future. Is life turning out to be a race to the bottom of the genepool? Check the cinema listings in the Sunday Independent or the Daily Express in that regard. Or ask Nintendo, the oldest of ‘the big three’. Industry analysts are predicting a return to the big time for the company when it comes to the Nintendo Revolution, the company’s next console. Why? The long of it is that Microsoft promises to sort out it’s well documented supply problems, while Sony can’t seem to stop supplying itself! Some might attribute it to technophobia. The truth is that Nintendo is keeping it simple, focusing on games and play not graphics and style.

It is easy to be cynical about the future, because it cannot be predicted. Science continues to challenge our perceived world, but that is all and that is good. Granted, there are some scary things out there right now. Near universal accessability to digital archives like Google and consequent unfettered access to sensitive medical information is one. Google this: will I die from a heart attack from searching Google so much? Jesus versus Rome, Columbus versus the Old World, God versus Darwin, and Genes versus Jeans all have on thing on common; they made people nervous at the time. Similarly, though you’d be a big chicken to admit it, the threat of a bird flu pandemic is another worry. Unlikely as it may be, the potential for millions of dead remains. Yet certainty of some sort remains also. Like an in-law, climate change is here and is making itself comfortable. In its worst snowstorm since records began in 1869, New York City saw 27 inches of it this February weekend. Other, more fiery and immediate horrors, have also visited that place. Nonetheless, like the monument to perseverance that it is, the city that never sleeps still stands tonight.

In Ireland, our rates of spending, speed and even sound (this country is getting louder all the time) are all rising constantly. The poential for tragedy and chaos, as illustrated by the 54 road fatalities here since the start of 2006, does exist in human progress. But then, it always has, and New York’s fiery day of horror supercedes anything this country has seen since September 11th 2001. Or does it? This Valentine’s Day, as RTE has reminded Ireland this past week, was the 25th anniversary of the Stardust tragedy. Unlike the families of those victims, February 14th 2006 was painful for some for reasons of love and war. But the world didn’t end. For the families of the deceased, be they those who died in the the World Trade Centre, the Stardust or on the road, it did, and it is is unlikely that it will ever return. Their tragic quest they must now live with, for what some call hallowed antiquity, a time and place of nirvana is no different from the human search for what others call a better future. Ultimately, it does depend on your point of view.

So, given the month that’s in it, one could be forgiven for asking, when it comes to love, is it in the genes or the jeans? Probably both, and neither. More importantly, does it matter? The important questions usually lead to more important questions, but no gold. So read a book, watch the TV or go to the cinema to see Goodnight and Good Luck, the directorial debut of George Clooney that takes on America in the mid 1950’s. Sleeping difficulties are a classic sign of what some call neuroticism. They’re also a classic sign of what others call love. So it may or may not be ironic to pose the question; are you willing to take responsibility for your actions or will you abdicate it? This, more than any genome, graph or god, is what matters, conviction and belief in life and how you live it. If that doesn’t work, feck it, go on the pull!