A new way to spell relief: In...

A new way to spell relief: In the Keenen Ivory Wayans movie “A Low Down Dirty Shame,” the secretary for L.A. private eye Andre Shame tells a friend to find a job and get off “county checks.”

“I ain’t on no county checks,” responds the friend, indignantly. “That’s FEMA I’m getting.”

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Another postal boo-boo?Norm Pringle of Winnetka took one look at the accompanying stamp and concluded that the U.S. Postal Service has mixed up a turn-of-the-century painter with a Johnny Carson character.

List of the Day: The Space Memorabilia Auction, which gets off the ground Feb. 25 at the Superior Stamp & Coin Gallery in Beverly Hills, has some out-of-this-world items. For example:

* “Flown Apricot Pudding: In a freeze-dried pouch (13” x 3.5”). . . . Flown food from Apollo 11 is rarely seen. From the looks of this, we can see why it was saved and not eaten on the flight ($350-$500).”

* “Flown Yarmulke: A white lightweight nylon yarmulke (a Jewish skullcap) actually flown on Gemini Titan 5 and used by Col. Richard Gordon to protect his head from being rubbed by the lightweight radio headset. This is the first yarmulke we have had the pleasure of offering ($350-$500).”

* “Flown Defecation Bag (never opened): For disposal of solid human wastes . . . complete with a chemical packet and a folded washcloth. An essential piece of flight equipment that is seldom seen ($250-350).”

* “Flown Chewing Gum: A three-piece pack of gum, unopened in a 2.75” x 2.75” vacuum pack. No Velcro tabs. One piece of gum is cracked but (in good condition) overall ($500-$750).”

* “ABC News Press Pass: Lot of two different, issued for the . . . Spacelab 1 and . . . Solar Max flights. Both pristine and mounted in plastic holders. Scarce. ($75-$100).” (Great--but can the passes get you into the O.J. trial?)

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Know your representative: Deborah Shafritz of Goleta sent along a letter from Common Cause, which mentions a heretofore unknown member of Congress. We hope that Michael Huffington’s vote fraud investigators will look into the campaign of this Esentative character, too.

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Alumni notes: Brian Bumpas of the Hamilton High Alumni Assn. informs us that we forgot to mention a few celebs who attended his alma mammy, including singer Joel Grey and actress Rita Cansino Hayworth.

Across town, meanwhile, Marshall High numbers among its alumni Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, as we’ve mentioned before. But Tom LaBonge points out that another Marshall alumnus was Caryl Chessman, the so-called “Red-Light Bandit.” Chessman was executed in 1960 after he was found guilty on three counts of kidnaping in another well-publicized trial in Downtown L.A.

miscelLAny The last time it snowed in Downtown Los Angeles was Jan. 11, 1949.