Real men chew gum: The Wrigley’s folks...

Real men chew gum: The Wrigley’s folks are touting their spearmint gum as a substitute for cigarettes in newspaper and radio ads specifically directed toward L.A. restaurant diners and car-poolers.

Now comes a local company with a more provocative pitch. Gum Tech International trumpets its product as “a full-potency gum to increase romantic power.” The brand name? LOVE gum.

For the safety of others, please don’t chew it while car-pooling.

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For clean minds only: In addition to finding LOVE at our local food stand, we also noticed a sesame-and-raisin confection named Nookies, whose slogan is:

“Makes you feel good but not the way you think.”

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It’s not like we have sex on the brain today, but . . . We did notice this possibly-X-rated menu item in a Long Beach restaurant.

Waterfront life-style: Writer Tom Nagano, on some advantages of living in the downtown L.A. River district:

* Free meals on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

* Always able to find night parking on the street.

* When they let you out of jail, you can walk home.

* Very early previews of movie car chases and explosions.

* So quiet on Sundays and holidays that some call it Mayberry.

* At night, the sidewalks sparkle with “road diamonds” (broken auto glass).

* Hand car washes directly adjacent to your home.

* Lots of free assemblage art materials.

* For a few dollars, neighborhood security will watch your car.

* Urban night adventures that are better than Sierra Club wilderness hikes.

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It isn’t easy being a pedestrian in Southern California: And nowhere was this more apparent than at the Glendale Galleria, where Tami Mohr photographed a quake-damaged structure. Beneath the arches is a small sign that says: “Be Careful. Watch Your Step.”

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Capital-letter offenses: In this age of graphics, it shouldn’t be surprising that people are editing their names into more eye-catching versions in the manner of e.e. cummings. Some examples:

* w. euGene Scott, TV evangelist.

* k.d. lang, pop singer.

* A Alvarez, actor.

* (You’ll have to imagine a strange-looking symbol.) The replacement for the name of rock singer Prince.

* Donald K. BrOwn, a San Pedro-born lobbyist who has his own firm in Sacramento. He points out, incidentally, that he adopted the big O when he was 16, partly because of the surplus of Donald small-o Browns.

* And, finally, the spokes-model character in the movie, “L.A Story.” Her first name is SanDeE*. Didn’t catch the last name and not sure we’d want to.

miscelLAny:

Frederick Mellinger, the founder of Fredericks of Hollywood, unveiled the store’s first push-up bra in 1948. Its name: Rising Star. Well, they didn’t have LOVE gum back then.

Menu item found in Long Beach that might need an “X” rating.