Jailhouse Rock:You know you’re in the Entertainment...

Jailhouse Rock:

You know you’re in the Entertainment Capital when you walk into the L.A. Criminal Courts Building and notice that the coin trays next to the metal detector have been embellished by an anonymous artist with sketches of Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead and The Doors.

Speaking of glamour, the Odor-Eaters Hall of Fumes has blown into Southern California, where it’s currently entombed in an airtight case in the Glendale Galleria.

The display of disgusting footwear from past years is here to stir up excitement for the 1991 L.A. Rotten Sneakers Contest, which will smell up the mall on Saturday. Registration begins at 10 a.m., with slobs 18 years and under eligible for the 2 p.m. competition.

Owner of the most disgusting pair will win a trip to the March 20 international finals in Montpelier, Vt., (the offending sneakers ride freight class).

We hope we got the news out before many promising candidates got picked up in this week’s trash collection.

Which reminds us: After we reported that the average amount of trash generated by each resident of L.A. County is 4,238 pounds per year, Ray Collins of Sunland wrote:

“And 4,000 pounds is junk mail.”

We also heard from a North Springfield, Vt., woman who enclosed a business card that says:

Mrs. Pat Geiger

Elvis Postage Stamp Campaign

She pointed out that we were in error when we said that if the United States issues a stamp honoring the Big E, it would be the second country to do so (Grenada was the other).

Geiger says that more than 20 other countries have issued Elvis commemoratives, including West Germany, the Republic of Central Africa and, one of our all-time favorite groups, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Columnists in Seattle and other cities aren’t the only ones taking shots at the City of Angels. So are L.A.’s own billboards--from “The 405 Should Be This Smooth” (a whiskey ad) to “Just What L.A. Needs--More Heels” (a shoe ad). And, a visiting Texas Monthly writer spotted a Western wear billboard here that showed several pairs of boots, along with the caption:

“More Snakes Than a Hollywood Party.”

L.A., we love it!

miscelLAny:

The L. A. County Public Library circulated 13,624,052 items--including books, videocassettes and audiocassettes--during the 1990-91 fiscal year, the highest figure of any county in the United States.