bilking saint valentine's day

everyone will see red and pink today. not just for the lunar new year around the corner but because it is also saint valentine's day.
who would have thought of such a hoo-ha over one day in the year? flowers, candies, chocolates, diamond-related jewellery and what-have-you for your loved ones. and that's just for the womenfolk. that's crass commercialism and consumerism there.
one friend received a smart-tag device for her car. told her the guy no longer wants a touch-and-go situation but wants to go whole hog. what with it being the year of the pig and all.
so on that note, please continue to bilk and milk all you can from saint valentine's day 2007.
which brings us to this snippet from reuters yesterday.

Japan liquor shop churns out beer from milk

TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Great news for beer and milk lovers: A liquor shop owner in Japan's largest dairy farming region has stopped crying about local spilt milk and started making beer from it instead.
"We came up with the idea after hearing about surplus milk," said Chitoshi Nakahara, head of the Nakahara liquor shop on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. Milk consumption has been declining steadily in Japan, and Hokkaido disposed of nearly 900 tonnes of milk last March due to over-production, according to the Japan Dairy Association.
Nakahara's new brew, "Bilk" -- a combination of "milk" and "beer" -- is about 30 percent milk. It also contains hops, and the production process does not differ much from that of regular beer, he said.
His shop started selling Bilk, which apart from a slight milky scent looks and tastes like ordinary beer, on Feb. 1 after spending about six months developing the product with a local brewer.
Bilk is only available at six local shops or by mail order, but Nakahara is currently out of stock due to heavy media attention.

meanwhile, maybe just maybe a few of us will end up just having beers today. such, as they say, is life!