Vanity error: It’s often amusing to read...

Vanity error: It’s often amusing to read what the Eastern-based publications have to say about our dusty little pueblo out here in the hinterlands.

Vanity Fair, for instance, graciously announces in its January issue that the “famously hideous stepchild . . . the San Fernando Valley, is coming out of its awkward stage,” and, as proof, lists two of the area’s institutions, the Huntington Library and Old Pasadena.

Oops! Wrong valley! The Huntington as well as Old (new, and middle-aged) Pasadena are, of course, still very much in the San Gabriel Valley, despite the seismic activity of recent years.

VF also makes some bizarre comparisons, calling Pasadena “the Brentwood of the Valley,” Calabasas “the Malibu of the Valley,” and Hidden Hills “the Bel-Air of the Valley.”

The mag forgot to mention Van Nuys--”the Valley of the Valley.”

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Bad connection, Ma Bell: Mark Stewart sent along an AT & T ad in Newsweek that purports to show a motorist navigating via a computer screen on his dashboard. But “the poor lost fool,” as Stewart calls him, is shown trying to go east on the Ventura Freeway (134) off the northbound Hollywood Freeway (101), which would be a rocky ride indeed because there is no such transition.

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Sunset spinoffs: Now that “Sunset Boulevard” has returned as a stage musical, we wonder if it will be followed by remakes of some other famous works whose names connote Southern California. (At least, to Vanity Fair.) Just to name a few: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Westside Story,” “How Green Was My Valley?” “On the Beach,” and those two romps by Thomas Mann, “Death in Venice” and “The Magic Mountain.”

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Maybe we won’t take a swim, after all: As an incoming Metrolink train approached Union Station, two women were overheard speaking.

First: “Oh, look, there’s water in the L.A. River!”

Second: “Maybe somebody flushed.”

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George Washington spent here: You may recall the L.A. County sheriff’s deputies who helped save an evacuated Malibu home during the fires and left a note that said: “Attached please find 50 cents for the Coke we took from your fridge.”

Mike Pachelli of Diamond Bar wonders if he might have happened upon a similar case. While shopping, he received a dollar bill that had this handwritten message: “I took two Pepsi. Hope you don’t mind. Thank you.”

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Wouldn’t you just know it: Following the brief rain, Southern California was graced with gorgeous skies and fresh air Sunday--perhaps the most beautiful day of the year. And, of course, because this is December, one of the shortest.

miscelLAny:

In 1979, when Barbara Cooke was awarded a $41-million divorce settlement from Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke in a Los Angeles courtroom--the largest such award in history at the time--Joseph Wapner was the judge. Wapner is also famous for starring in the “People’s Court” TV show. By the way, Vanity Fair includes Wapner’s sidekick, Doug Llewelyn, in its list of “Valley celebrities.”