I just tried to write this comment:
You could use $arr = explode(' ', $str); to split $str by . Then you could do the same on = to get your key->value pairs.
But it chokes on 
and formats like so:
asked May 8 '13 at 12:38
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$arr = explode(' ', $str);to split$strby. Then you could do the same on=to get your key->value pairs. – Antony May 8 '13 at 12:46