This is not a lawyers joke: Raymond...

This is not a lawyers joke: Raymond Housepian of Glendale found it interesting that applicants for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam--an ethics exam for would-be attorneys--are not permitted to pay the $35 fee by “cash, business checks or personal checks.” Only “a cashier’s check or money order” is acceptable to the exam organization.

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Local booster: L.A. has taken its share of abuse in the movies. You remember Woody Allen’s observation that the only cultural advantage to living here is the right turn on the red light? Then there was Neil Simon’s quip that the region receives “30 inches of rain--in one day.”

What a refreshing change to have John Malkovich’s character in “In the Line of Fire” regard the skyline from a glass elevator at the Bonaventure Hotel and declare: “Nice view.” The only drawback is that Malkovich plays the part of a man trying to assassinate the President.

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It couldn’t have been rush hour: We thought one of the most terrifying moments in “In the Line of Fire,” incidentally, was the scene where Malkovich, driving north on Broadway, makes a right turn on 3rd Street and proceeds eastward.

Then we realized that traffic on 3rd--normally a one-way, westbound street--must have been reversed for the movie. Of course, the way people drive these days, we can’t be sure.

Speaking of heading in the wrong direction:

We mistakenly credited the person who took the photo of the store named, “We Frame It To.” It was Cindy Lieberman of Agoura.

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Garth Brooks, honorary gang member?It’s not exactly the country singer’s new title. But some current and former gang members in Compton paid tribute to him in the form of a T-shirt for his $1-million donation to a youth community center. The shirt was designed by local artist Dave Tees. Marvin Kincy, a spokesman for a nonprofit organization working with Compton youths, said Brooks’ donation will provide new job opportunities.

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It isn’t easy writing in pajamas: Bantam Books is suing Hugh Hefner and Playboy Enterprises for $400,000, claiming that the founder of Playboy magazine missed two deadlines for the manuscript of his autobiography. What Hefner did submit, a Bantam spokesman said, was not an “acceptable, professionally written presentation of his life.” Yeah, but what about the quality of the photos?

miscelLAny:

The L.A. Dodgers and Major League Baseball Properties are appealing a federal judge’s ruling that allows a business in New York to call itself The Brooklyn Dodger Sports Bar and Restaurant. Judge Constance Motley rejected the Dodgers’ contention that the bar was misappropriating the team’s good name in Brooklyn, pointing out that the team had not had a good name there since 1958, when it moved to L.A.