In Hollywood, the big story involving the...

In Hollywood, the big story involving the launch of the shuttle Discovery was the voice quality of the female count-down announcer, Lisa Malone.

“She did everything right, she lowered the voice and slowed the tone,” said author Lillian Glass, a sort of Voice Therapist to the Stars.

The appointment of Malone, 27, as the first woman to serve as the voice of Shuttle Launch Control was “revolutionary,” Glass said, noting that the job advancement prospects of women often are hampered because of the tone of their voices.

“She was well-modulated and in control, quite a joy to listen to,” Glass said.

And, of course, she got the numbers right.

McDonald’s Corp. reports that Rod D. Johnson of Los Angeles has been awarded a bachelor of hamburgerology degree (BHD) at good ol’ Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Ill., site of the company’s training facility for managers.

McDonald’s didn’t say who the commencement speaker was.

Are the folks at Universal City worried that looting will follow the opening of their attraction “Earthquake, the Big One”? Among the several job openings that the studio recently advertised for the attraction was a position in “crowd control.”

When it’s OK to have one (or more) for the road:

Kinko’s photo-copying stores are now offering reduced prices each day during periods that they call their “happy hours.”

For the thousands of Southern Californians who suspect that the little critters are nothing more than a widespread hoax, the Cabrillo Marine Museum in San Pedro is offering a “Meet the Grunion” program through July 20. The exhibit includes drawings as well as a film. Still, there is an absence of conclusive evidence, such as live specimens.

A big rig spotted on the Artesia Freeway didn’t exactly exude the romance of the road with license plates on its truck and trailer that said, respectively, DAMNTRK and DAMNTLR.

Heartwarming news: A man recently bought a lottery ticket worth $256,477 at a liquor store in . . . Beverly Hills.

Owner Simon Levi notes, just for the record, that he opened his store on Oct. 1, 1962, “the same day that Johnny Carson started his show.”

Where does a 600-pound gorilla make love? Anywhere he wants . . .

A sign at one exhibit in the Los Angeles Zoo says: “Quiet: Gorilla Breeding Program in Progress . . . Gorillas are sensitive animals and are easily disturbed . . . Do not shout . . . Do not clap your hands. . . .”