Once satisfied to hang out in San...

Once satisfied to hang out in San Juan Capistrano, the swallow of today is just as likely to go to college.

Pepperdine University and Valencia’s College of the Canyons report that flocks of the feathery squatters began showing up on campus last week. The disobedient birds jumped the gun on San Juan Capistrano’s swallows, which are suppose to make their official return from winter vacation in South America today, St. Joseph’s Day.

“Apparently, they like prime real estate,” said Pepperdine spokeswoman Colleen Cason with a laugh. “When they build a nest on the side of one of our buildings, they build on the side facing the ocean.”

College of the Canyons, meanwhile, has incorporated the study of swallows into its biology program after trying for several years to discourage them from nesting there.

Once, after a TV show reported on the futile prevention efforts, the school was bombarded with letters from viewers who suggested such solutions as spraying Tabasco sauce in nesting areas, hanging rubber snakes and rubber lobsters from buildings, and caging a few as a deterrent.

Nothing worked. Still, the birds came to Valencia, apparently determined not to stop in Orange County.

List of the Day:

The Razzies, the annual show that dishonors Hollywood’s worst achievements in film, will be held for the first time at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel this year.

The suspenseful March 24 program will involve such nominees as Andrew Dice Clay (“The Adventures of Ford Fairlane”), Mickey Rourke (“Desperate Hours”) and Bo Derek (no one can remember the name of the film).

The production is in keeping with the colorful history of the Roosevelt:

1--Legend has it that the ghost of actor Montgomery Clift can still be heard in one of the rooms, practicing on the trumpet for the movie “From Here to Eternity.” (The sound is more raucous than ghostly because Clift couldn’t play the trumpet.)

2--The bottom of the hotel’s swimming pool is a 4-year-old painting by David Hockney, who fashioned it with brushes on cutoff broomsticks. Local authorities at first deemed it a hazard that could hinder a lifeguard’s view, but the state Legislature passed a bill declaring that the painting is safe. It resembles a school of swimming parentheses.

3--The lobby, meanwhile, houses the Jazz Age painting “Hollywood Comes to Napoleon’s Aid,” by Charles de Ravenne. The Little General is seen with several soldiers who have the faces of actors such as Douglas Fairbanks and William Powell. In the foreground (see photo), the Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) is comforted after having had more than a Little Champagne.

Lou Hancock of Burbank writes:

“I am an actress and have a personalized license plate that reads CAST ME. However, since I am 60 years old, I usually get asked if I am into fishing. Oh well.”

miscelLAny:

A study by the Department of Transportation found that the worst time to take off from LAX in 1990 was between 5 and 6 p.m., when 22% of the departures were more than 15 minutes late.