Jim Purol’s ambition is to sit in...

Jim Purol’s ambition is to sit in the Rose Bowl.

In every seat.

All 104,091 of them--one after another.

He estimates it would take him about 100 hours, including a 10-minute break every hour.

Purol, a 38-year-old comic, wants to break the old mark he set--or sat--when he plopped down 101,701 times in Michigan Stadium (and went through four pairs of blue jeans).

And he hopes to raise $40,000 for charity in the process.

The city of Pasadena isn’t sure whether to let him attempt the giant sit-in.

When he appeared before the city’s Board of Directors (equivalent to a City Council), one member called his proposal “stupid.” But the directors agreed to let him talk to Rose Bowl management, which wants security and liability guarantees as well as a detailed fund-raising plan before it will consider the stunt.

Purol, who is searching for sponsors, says he’s willing to comply. And he guarantees a professional performance.

“I start at the top and go all the way around, row by row,” he said. “I don’t slide, either. I lift my butt off every (seat) number.”

Has all this talk of a new ethics law made local officeholders nervous?

A few minutes after reporters were ushered out of a press conference in Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s office Friday, a Times reporter discovered that she had left her tape recorder inside. And it was running.

When she returned to retrieve it, Yaroslavsky refused to release it, telling her in a joking, but firm manner: “Wait a minute! That’s a good trick. I don’t know what we said (after the reporters left).”

The councilman then rewound the tape to the point where the conference ended and erased everything that followed.

Then he handed the machine back, with a smile.

Here’s one that probably won’t be condensed in Reader’s Digest: The 36-page “Official Earthquake Preparedness Guide,” which consists of one sentence repeated 36 times.

Naturally, a project of this dimension required two writers, Garrett Nelson and Eddie Braun of Encino.

In this era when professional athletes sell their signatures, John Stallworth of Pico Rivera--and not of the Pittsburgh Steelers--saw an old-fashioned scene at the recent Greater L.A. Auto Show. One of the guest stars, Olympic swimming champ Mark Spitz, signed autographs for free--and kept on signing when his scheduled three-hour stint was over because two dozen people were still in line.

It’s more than a month before the City of Industry’s Great Snail Festival, but we’re in for some big excitement before then: A destruction derby next Friday at the Indio Date Festival. This isn’t just any destruction derby.

“Making a special appearance,” a festival press release says, “will be a 12-foot high ‘monster’ tank that will crush cars like date pits.” Let’s hope they warn the drivers’ pit crews.