Valentine's Day feature! Love list, Sweethearts rage, and songs for any relationship
February 2024
My theme art has never been so on! Ooey Gooey Valentine’s Day is fitting here at the vaguely pancake-themed Landing Pad. This is a plate of cakes, recommendations, photos, and life tidbits, all stacked up, sweet.
↔ List of loveables:
When the bus arrives right on time
Time sliding by during the work day
Really loving a movie
Looking at wedding photos on Facebook
Still using Facebook
When the parent laughs so the kid laughs
When animals twitch in their dreams
When I don’t have bad dreams
When parents get along
Grass that blows in the wind like hair
Feeling okay after social interactions
Feeling great after social interactions
The phone charger was here all along
“No worries if not for real”
Peeing
Sour gummy worms
When Grammarly fixes a mistake (not sponsored)
Waitresses who say baby and honey
Finally standing up after a flight
Hearing good news
↔ “Changing just for the sake of change?”
According to vintage NECCO.com, Oliver R. Chase and Silas Edwin founded NECCO in 1847 after Oliver invented the lozenge cutter, a candy machine. They’re largely credited for kickstarting the candy industry in America. Not long after came the Sweethearts in 1901.
These were dearly loved and largely untouched until the 1990s when Vice President Walter Marshall asked the public for updated sayings. The best of which is confidently “Fax Me.”
The big drama was in 2010 when the classic formula was permanently retired and softer, more vivid hearts took the shelves. New flavors like sour apple and blue raspberry were unpopular with fans for either being too tart or too sweet.
2010 also saw a major overhaul in messaging again. In an article from 2010, journalist Jacquielynn Floyd interviews a forlorn fan, Nancy, and writes:
And - I dash away tears of angry grief as I write this - they now express such sentiments as “Tweet Me,” “Ur Hot,” “LOL” and “BFF.” Well, OMG, is there no standard that vapid teenage Internet argot cannot compromise?
…
Some of the classics (“Cutie Pie,” “Be Mine”) have been retained. But now we have the appalling specter of children trading candy bits with such legends as “Rock Star,” “Glam,” ‘“Party Girl” and the deplorable “Hottie.” Yuck, blech, indeed.
“It’s a little thing, but it’s a metaphor for much larger issues,” Nancy said. “Sometimes it seems like everything is changing just for the sake of change.”
She also expresses dislike for the Twilight promotion, “Bite Me” heart.
A promotion that blogger Brian Orndorf later rage posts about saying:
Sweethearts have found an appropriate venue with “Twilight,” keeping in tune with the film’s terse, monosyllabic screenplay and revolting performances. While all things Necco tend to disgust me, it’s a pleasure to report that…Necco still disgusts me. With such pre-menstrual catnip flavors as “Orange Obsession,” “Tempting Apple,” “Passion Fruit,” and “Secret Strawberry,” I can safely report that these all of these bite-sized hearts taste exactly the same, sharing a flavor I will christen “Gym Sock.” These bizarre, sugared mash notes are awful immediatley on oral contact, distancing me even further away from the core of the “Twilight” experience
Slipping pre-menstrual AND oral contact into one ounce of a blog post was really Brian’s skill set, not critiquing popular media. But okay, it was 2009.
The public is SO mad about Sweethearts, all the time.
I think it’s because they’re such a stable presence in our lives that we feel comfortable letting it rip. The coffee at home is never and will never be as good as the special treat café cup. Jacquielynn says, “Sometimes it's the lesser tradition - the fruitcake, the dreidel, the Easter basket lined with shredded cellophane “grass” - that infuses the holiday with greater meaning.” I agree. And sometimes that cellophane grass is one vacuum round away from compromising our collective composure.
Lucky for the haters, NECCO declared bankruptcy in 2018 and was bought out by Spangler Candy Company, who reinstated the original formula and messaging. I guess change for the sake of change is something that the public could change after all.
↔ The ultimate romantic love song…
↔ The ultimate lovers song…
↔ The ultimate friendship love song…
↔ The ultimate parenthood love song…
↔ The ultimate I like like you song…
↔ There’s a pink and red needlepoint kit on Etsy inspired by a piece by Bekah Worley, a modern folk artist, that reminds me of the heart, holey and scarlet with some shapes going on in the middle that no one really knows about. Great to stick the needle in.
Needlepointing is a tradition in my family that I’ve finally fallen into. It’s expensive, frustrating, and fun. This piece would be tough but a large filler stitch or something fancy like the cushion stitch would be gorgeous in all the open space.
Because of my low-buy year, I won’t be purchasing, but I will be appreciating.
xx
I am not and never will be in a low buy season-- so I am getting it for you! I really enjoyed this article-- the commentary and the lists.... well done