be@rbrick @ love

@ love.

If I were to make sense of that statement on the bear's chest (left), it would be this:

Being '@ love', to me, suggests an extrinsic geographical position: at the center of romance, but not necessarily being truly involved in it; being 'in love', however, describes an intrinsic feeling, heartfelt and genuine. In short, '@ love' may be the same as 'being in love with love', a condition that plagues most incurable romantics. Tell me what you think. :-)

The said Bear is one of two '07 Valentine Be@rbricks' that I acquired last February. I photographed it against the sheet music of 'Romance' Opus 44, No. 1 by Anton Rubinstein (right), Jewish/Russian pianist, composer and conductor born in 1829. As a pianist, Rubinstein was considered the closest rival of Hungarian Franz Liszt. Amongst Rubinstein's more famous works are the opera The Demon, his Piano Concerto No. 4, and his Symphony No. 2, entitled The Ocean.

He died in Peterhof in 1894, after years of suffering a heart disease. How heartbreaking!

(Rubinstein pic from Wikipedia.)