A new caffeination theory:Vanya Seiss says she...

A new caffeination theory:Vanya Seiss says she was in a Vietnamese restaurant, discussing names for her new coffeehouse, when she half-jokingly blurted out: “Grassy Knoll.”

“Everyone turned around and looked at me,” she recalled. “I’m not even sure if they understood English but they understood that phrase.”

Seiss was impressed. And, so, today marks the opening of Grassy Knoll on Sunset Boulevard in Los Feliz. The name, of course, refers to the spot in Dallas, seen in the famous Zapruder film, where some believe President Kennedy’s killer hid.

“I don’t care if it (the name) causes some fistfights,” she said. “We want arguments. That’s what a coffeehouse is supposed to be.”

Seiss, by the way, does believe that President Kennedy was assassinated by CIA agents.

There will be other reminders of the assassination controversy, too.

“We’re going to have a bookstore downstairs we’ll call the Book Depository,” she said.

And there’s her cat.

“His name,” she said, “is Zapruder.”

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Only in L.A.’s latest conspiracy scenario: OK, there’s a coffeehouse named Grassy Knoll, right? And who was the spokesman for Mr. Coffee? Joe DiMaggio, right? And who was he married to? Marilyn Monroe. Think about it.

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Trojan horse: Our mention of the limited role envisioned for the USC mascot Traveler because of the reconfiguration of the Coliseum brought back memories for Art Gontier of San Marino. Memories he had once kept to himself.

Long before rider Richard Saukko appeared on Traveler in 1961, Gontier made a onetime romp around the field on horseback during a 1954 USC game--and heard the laughter of his fellow students.

“I think they thought it was a joke,” he said.

The problem was that another USC student had originally volunteered to ride out to fire up the football team but came down with a bad case of stage fright after seeing the stadium full of fans.

Gontier substituted, inheriting the Trojan warrior costume, which was far too large for him.

What’s worse, the stable renting out the horse sent the wrong one. Instead of being white it was sort of gray and “had a real swayback,” Gontier said.

When he rode out, he recalled, “the visor came down over my eyes.”

The Daily Trojan mercifully chose not to identify him. “And,” Gontier added with a laugh, “I didn’t tell anyone myself for more than 10 years.”

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Everywhere a celebrity: Overheard at an art auction in Beverly Hills;

Guest 1: “So, what do you do?”

Guest 2: “I’m the person responsible for bringing blue corn chips to California.”

miscelLAny:

Before the World Trade Center’s two structures were ever constructed in New York, Southern California had its own Twin Towers near LAX (see photo)--admittedly a shorter set.