Love in the ‘90s: A Van Nuys...

Love in the ‘90s: A Van Nuys company is marketing stuffed animals that come equipped with a pack filled with condoms. The purpose of the gifts, said a spokeswoman for Cuddly Condom Couriers, is “to reduce the social stigma surrounding the word condom .” She added that the packs can be reattached to a “wrist, belt or shoe with the provided Velcro strap.” Sorry we didn’t learn about them until after Valentine’s Day.

Those wacky postal workers: When Francis McNamara of Arcadia received a letter from his daughter, Cathy Steel, he noticed that the Postal Service seemed to have attached religious significance to the change in presidential administrations (see excerpt).

Actually, says L.A. postal spokesman Dave Mazer, who checked into the matter, there was a slight snafu.

The post office in Portland has “new canceling machines,” he said. “They were testing them and some maintenance guy put (that message) on. When they finished the test, they forgot to take it off.”

If the letter had been mailed in October, we presume, it would have said: “BH (Before Hillary).”

Long Beach at its crudest: In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, here are some of the beers manufactured and served by area micro-breweries:

Long Beach Crude, Top Sail (Belmont Brewing Co., Long Beach)

Mount Wilson Wheat, Arroyo Amber Ale (Crown City Brewery, Pasadena)

Alpine Village Red Ale (Alpine Village, Torrance)

Pride Beer (Angeles Brewing Co., Chatsworth, which says a portion of its sales “will go directly to causes of special concern to the gay community.”)

Dueling signs: Val Rodriguez noticed that at one Long Beach intersection the little international symbols seemed to be staggering about in opposite directions. Too much Long Beach Crude perhaps.

The layout is a sin: We’re sure it’s just a coincidence but Dave Lindell of Hacienda Heights points out that Page 233 of the Universal Almanac carries the item, “Number of Catholic Schools, Pupils and Teachers, 1960-1992,” beneath the heading “Crime and Punishment.”

And then he slipped on a banana peel: A robber wearing latex gloves, a beanie and a gorilla mask took his costume seriously, West Covina police said.

When he reached into the cash drawer of a local store and an employee told him to stop, what did the intruder do? “He grunts like a gorilla and pushes her hands out of the way,” Police Lt. Lee Rossman said.

Then, before being captured in the parking lot, the robber bit a security guard on the leg.

miscelLAny:

Former First Lady (and USC alum) Pat Nixon, who celebrates her 81st birthday today, was born Thelma Ryan. But she later changed her first name to Pat to honor the memory of her father who exclaimed at her birth, just before midnight on St. Patrick’s Day eve: “She’s my St. Patrick’s Day babe in the morn.”