The word is out--way out: You may...
The word is out--way out: You may have heard that Northern California scientists have begun a massive new search of the heavens for cosmic radio transmissions. We think the SETI Institute’s project is a great idea but wonder if it should be postponed for a while. After all, if contact was made with inhabitants of an extraterrestrial civilization in the next few months, all they’d want to talk about would be: “What happened with O.J. today?”
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We rhyme L.A.: In noting a rare instance in which a songwriter found a phrase that rhymes with “Angeles” (it was “man jealous”) we said it would be even more difficult to perform the same magic with L.A.’s original name.
Well, disc jockey Greg O’Neill of radio station KXEZ-FM (100.3) took pen in hand and, after what must have been hours of writing, came up with:
We don’t live in the downtown that was sung about by Petula
We live in the Nuestro Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.
Brought a tear to our eye.
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USC-UCLA court action that has nothing to do with basketball: The faculty publication UCLA Today points out that Judge Lance A. Ito and prosecutors Marcia Clark and William Hodgman are UCLA graduates, as are defense attorneys Robert L. Shapiro and Johnnie L. Cochran Jr.
The defendant in the case, of course, is an ex-Trojan.
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You can be sure that’s not in the Contract with America!Sara Meric took a photo of a Santa Monica sign that mentioned a government “WIG” program, which she suspects was supposed to be WIC (Women, Infants and Children). Then, again, given the proximity of Hollywood, perhaps it’s a program directed toward actors.
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Oh, the wacky world of Seinfeld: “Only in L.A.,” writes an irritated Fred Henderson of Beverly Hills, “would the star of a sitcom celebrating its 100th episode buy the back cover of the Hollywood Reporter to salute his co-workers with a quotation from the 20th Century’s most distinguished poet. And only in L.A. would nobody on the star’s staff, or the newspaper’s, realize that the poetic name had been misspelled.”
Yes, the ad signed “Jerry” ends with a quote from “W. B. Yates.” As in Yeats? Yikes!
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Dueling armbands: Now that the children’s drawings have been removed from the material covering the City Hall Tower, it once again resembles a black armband during earthquake renovations. A real lift for tourists, we’re sure. Meanwhile, a similar armband has appeared on the tower at nearby St. Vibiana’s Cathedral, which church officials want to replace with a new structure. But at least Vibiana’s armband is a more cheerful green. And it’s topical. St. Patrick’s Day is approaching.
miscelLAny:
Who says the San Fernando Valley has little history? When Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth in the 16th Century, one of the English estates where she was held captive was called Chatsworth. Several of Mary’s partisans were arrested in 1570 for their part in an unsuccessful plot to help Mary escape the dreaded Chatsworth.
