...There are few news items we like better than an animal born with an interesting pattern in its fur (we recall some Mickey Mouse ears appearing on a cow a few years back). The beastie gets a bit of notoriety, we get to wonder at the mysteries of the universe, and everyone feels good in the end. And we're feeling really good about the heart on this sweet ox from Japan. It is, after all, the Year of the Ox. Nice news that doesn't leave us with heart palpitations.
...A store in Atwater Village is selling a toy that rejects the traditional, not-too-graphic, popular-culture heart shape -- two mounds tapering down to a point -- and turns it on its side. Well, or adds valves and other bits to make it look like the real organ. Except for the smiley face. When we look at it, we can almost hear the thump-thump, thump-thump. From a toy. Weird.
...If you still get your coffee with just a pile of foam floating on top, Romancing the Bean in Burbank does a cute lil' heart design in milky foamy goodness. It's truly about the simple pleasures these days, or so say the magazines, and this one has a Valentine's twist. Sure, you'll sip that heart up right away -- that heart will be on your lip, in fact -- but imagine delivering it to your honeypie waiting at a nearby table. Romance, and all that. Meaningfulness in a cup of mocha.
