Ah-one and ah-two The audience at the...

Ah-one and ah-two The audience at the Hollywood Bowl’s Fourth of July show was treated to a mysterious percussion sound that originated near the orchestra. A small projectile that had blasted off from a box seat landed on the stage: a champagne cork.

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It’s not easy being at the top: One of Manhattan Beach’s most famous landmarks--the Cessna 150 on the roof of the Hangar Inn--was snatched by jokesters two years ago. It was returned a few days later, at which time the owners tied down the 22-foot-long plane with wire.

Those restraints weren’t noticed by the latest would-be thieves the other night. “They apparently picked the plane up,” said owner Lindy Sluggett, “and then, when it hit the wire, they dropped it and it flipped. That’s the way we found it, upside down--in a real crash position.”

Sluggett called police and left a 45-foot ladder for them in the driveway. Then she went back inside. “It was a busy lunch hour,” she explained.

When the officers arrived a short while later, the ladder had been stolen.

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Freeway reading: In the midst of a traffic jam on the 605 Freeway, we spotted a Ford whose nameplate was missing the first letter, making it read: EROSTAR. A bit of editing by a self-professed great lover? Or a bit of negligence by a lazy owner? Well, anything to occupy the mind during a SigAlert.

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Mayor emeritus: Tom Bradley is no longer the boss at City Hall but he won’t be easy to forget. Even if you try real hard. Not with his name being affixed to a new site almost every day, the latest ones including the Civic Center/Tom Bradley Subway Station, the Tom Bradley Exhibit Hall at the Convention Center and the Tom Bradley Pedestrian Bridge at White Memorial Medical Center.

Are there any un-Bradley sites left? We found a few. There’s still no Tom Bradley Bike Rack at City Hall. Nor does the building have a Tom Bradley Drinking Fountain. And we were really surprised to learn that, at the entrance to the the City Hall garage, there’s no Tom Bradley Not a Pedestrian Walkway.

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All shook up: Fred Blaich of Desert Hot Springs writes to dispute our observation that it was “nice to have a June 28 pass without an earthquake” in the Southland. You’ll recall that was the date of the Landers (7.6) and Big Bear (6.7) twin temblors of 1992 and the Sierra Madre shaker (5.8) of 1991. Anyway, Blaich points out that on June 28, 1993, Yucca Valley was indeed hit by a quake--of 3.0 magnitude.

Geez, Fred, give us a break. For Southern Californians, a 3.0 quake is a ripple in a pond.

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Your move, Paramount: The California Bar Assn. has issued a plea for a cease-fire on lawyer-bashing, claiming that the practice contributes to violence against the profession. It will be interesting to see whether “The Firm” is pulled from movie theaters.

miscelLAny:

“The Rock & Roll Cookbook--Favorite Recipes From the Chart Toppers,” edited by Dick and Sandy St. John of Los Angeles, includes such concoctions as: “Turn Me Loose in the Kitchen and I’ll Make Stuffed Mushrooms” (Fabian), “The Night Has a Thousand Eyeland Dressing” (Bobby Vee), “Surf City Clam Chowder” (Jan Berry), “Louie Louie Salmon Chowder” (Dick Peterson), and, of course, “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Taste My Corn Bread” (Mel Carter).