True Love

It was Halloween night. 2007. John Park’s sister Monica instructed him to come over to her house. “My sister said, ‘Johnny, I’ve met your soul mate.’ I said, ‘I don’t want a soul mate.’ And she said, ‘She’s going to be here Halloween night. You have to be here.’ I just said, ‘I might or might not.’ So I was sitting at home trying to decide If I wanted to go and at the last minute I went down there.” Franny Prevell remembers he was wearing an “old sweater” as if he had rushed over there and wasn’t exactly dressed to impress.

The history of Valentine's Day is buried in myths and legends. One story is that St. Valentine was jailed by the Roman emperor Claudius II for illegally marrying young people when the emperor had declared no marriages for the army-age men of the empire. Love kept getting in the way of his soldiers' ability to fight. Feb. 14 was the feast of Juno, the goddess of marriage, and so we have the day and the occasion forever tied together. Interesting, but all this has little to do with tomorrow's celebration of love and the ones you love.

Zov’s Cafe Bakery and Bar plans to dedicate February as the “Month of Love,” with a special all-dessert menu offered every Sunday during the month. The menu, also available Sundays at Zov’s Irvine location and Mondays at its Tustin location, comprises three courses: “Be Mine,” featuring mini-homemade cookies and warm vanilla cream sauce; “True Love,” chocolate ganache heart-shaped cake with raspberry drizzle; and “Forever Yours,” pomegranate-tangerine sorbet with citrus almond poundcake.

Jennifer K Mahal Of all the fairy tales ballet companies deal with, there is something about "Swan Lake" that makes it a standard. "Almost every choreographer who follows classical dance, their dream is to do their own 'Swan Lake,"' said Judith Morr, executive vice president of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. The ballet to appear Tuesday at the Center, opening its 2002 dance season, is the dream of Kevin McKenzie, artistic director of the American Ballet Theatre.

Celebrating my 62nd birthday this week, I pray I’ve learned that:  Maturity has more to do with what you’ve learned from your experiences and what they have taught you than your age.  Our background and circumstances influence who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.  It is taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.  It is a lot easier to react than it is to think.  It takes years to build trust and seconds to destroy it.  Learning to forgive, especially myself, takes practice.

Janet Adams Johnson June 24, 1929 – June 4, 2011 Janet Adams Johnson was born June 24, 1929 in Elymer, Canada, the daughter of Margaret Jones Adams and Richard Jones.  She spent the first part of her childhood cared for by her grandma Blanchie Cartwright.  Everyone knew Janet as “Jessie’s girl” and at five years old, she would walk into town to buy an ice cream cone for the 2 cents she had earned picking strawberries.  That love of a...

If you think teens turn off critical-thinking skills and steer clear of the pleasures of reading over summer vacation, you haven't been to the Newport Beach Central Library recently. Lining the Teen Center bulletin board like so much literary wallpaper are critiques of novels, nonfiction and biographies enjoyed by participants of "Book Raiders Dig Reading," the 2002 summer reading program for seventh- through 12th-graders. Fantasies are high on teens' reading lists.

Lolita Harper One. Four. Three. John Rothfuss shared the secret code with the hundreds of sympathizers who attended his wife's funeral Friday afternoon at Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary. It was how Jessica Rothfuss would tell her husband, "I love you," without any words. One letter in "I," four in "love" and three in "you." The signal would flash from the sidelines of the baseball diamond, the back of their motorcycle or in a dark movie theater, he said.

When Lysander, in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” observed, “The course of true love never did run smooth,” he pretty much nailed what playwrights before (a few) and since (a plethora) have summoned as a central theme. Romantic involvement has long served as fodder for the writer’s wit, and lately some modern scribes have zeroed in on that topic, the most successful being Stephen Sondheim in “Company.” Close behind, however, are Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts, who created a series of musical vignettes titled “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

Arnold Schwarzenegger gave up his A-list movie credentials to become the unlikely governor of California. Leaving office with a notorious sex scandal under his belt, Arnold now returns to his real occupation. He's back as an actor in lowbrow B movies full of random violence, silly dialogue and major gun battles. In "The Last Stand," he plays an LAPD cop who leaves the big city to become the local sheriff in a small Arizona town. But the nasty reach of urban criminal life follows to his sleepy outpost.

Arnold Schwarzenegger gave up his A-list movie credentials to become the unlikely governor of California. Leaving office with a notorious sex scandal under his belt, Arnold now returns to his real occupation. He's back as an actor in lowbrow B movies full of random violence, silly dialogue and major gun battles. In "The Last Stand," he plays an LAPD cop who leaves the big city to become the local sheriff in a small Arizona town. But the nasty reach of urban criminal life follows to his sleepy outpost.

Love. Have you had it? Thought you had it? Want it? Need it? Looking for it? Love is an essential and important part of our lives. We crave romantic love and are happier, healthier and more productive when we have it. We like to hear and read love stories and watch romantic movies, dreaming, hoping and wishing that someday we will find true love. There are millions of people searching with a strong desire to conquer all and that find someone special. So why is it so difficult?

Janet Adams Johnson June 24, 1929 – June 4, 2011 Janet Adams Johnson was born June 24, 1929 in Elymer, Canada, the daughter of Margaret Jones Adams and Richard Jones.  She spent the first part of her childhood cared for by her grandma Blanchie Cartwright.  Everyone knew Janet as “Jessie’s girl” and at five years old, she would walk into town to buy an ice cream cone for the 2 cents she had earned picking strawberries.  That love of a...

When Lysander, in Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” observed, “The course of true love never did run smooth,” he pretty much nailed what playwrights before (a few) and since (a plethora) have summoned as a central theme. Romantic involvement has long served as fodder for the writer’s wit, and lately some modern scribes have zeroed in on that topic, the most successful being Stephen Sondheim in “Company.” Close behind, however, are Joe DiPietro and Jimmy Roberts, who created a series of musical vignettes titled “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.

It was Halloween night. 2007. John Park’s sister Monica instructed him to come over to her house. “My sister said, ‘Johnny, I’ve met your soul mate.’ I said, ‘I don’t want a soul mate.’ And she said, ‘She’s going to be here Halloween night. You have to be here.’ I just said, ‘I might or might not.’ So I was sitting at home trying to decide If I wanted to go and at the last minute I went down there.” Franny Prevell remembers he was wearing an “old sweater” as if he had rushed over there and wasn’t exactly dressed to impress.

Celebrating my 62nd birthday this week, I pray I’ve learned that:  Maturity has more to do with what you’ve learned from your experiences and what they have taught you than your age.  Our background and circumstances influence who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.  It is taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.  It is a lot easier to react than it is to think.  It takes years to build trust and seconds to destroy it.  Learning to forgive, especially myself, takes practice.

Paul Newman and longtime friend and business partner author A.E. Hotchner used to mix batches of their homemade olive oil and vinegar salad dressing in Newman’s basement, pour it into old wine bottles and give them to friends as Christmas gifts. These days, Newman’s wine bottles are filled with wine, and Newport Beach diners will have a jump on the rest of the country as Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar is offering the latest additions to the actor and philanthropist’s Newman’s Own line.

Zov’s Cafe Bakery and Bar plans to dedicate February as the “Month of Love,” with a special all-dessert menu offered every Sunday during the month. The menu, also available Sundays at Zov’s Irvine location and Mondays at its Tustin location, comprises three courses: “Be Mine,” featuring mini-homemade cookies and warm vanilla cream sauce; “True Love,” chocolate ganache heart-shaped cake with raspberry drizzle; and “Forever Yours,” pomegranate-tangerine sorbet with citrus almond poundcake.

In his first encyclical -- the highest form of papal writing -- Pope Benedict XVI wrote about the meanings of love, and said that physical love, when reduced to pure sex, becomes a debased commodity, "a mere 'thing' to be bought and sold." To reach a higher, fuller meaning of love, one must enhance it by spiritual, selfless love for God and others. He argued that the word "love" has become too common and misused and needs to be restored to its "original splendor." Do you agree with the pope's assessment?

John Fortson has been a fixture behind the bar at Milano's Cucina Italiana on Brand Boulevard since it opened in 1992, but tending bar is only half his story. Acting is where his true heart lies and Milano's patrons who have come to know him well, both for his ability to shake a great martini and from his television and film roles including "My Big Fat Independent Movie," "7th Heaven" and "ER," have banded together to support his new venture. His new solo-performance play, "Loveswell," in which he stars, will take you on a journey of a man getting in touch with his emotions.