After Gaffe, GTE Still Sends Mixed Signals
Did you read where GTE is going to apologize by phone to California customers whose unlisted numbers were mistakenly published in directories that were leased to telemarketers?
Of course, this process will take a while. GTE will probably get plenty of busy signals in as much as excited telemarketers also will be dialing those customers.
SOUTHLAND MILESTONES: HEY, HE AIN’T CHOPPED LIVER: Paul Schowalter of La Habra Heights says that his brother, Stan, made a hotel reservation in San Diego, only to find out he had been transformed into a luncheon meat (see accompanying).
SHOPPING FOR ARMAMENTS: I’m told that a parody of a customer survey appeared briefly on the Web site of a Southern California defense contractor before being yanked off. It may be another urban myth. But the questions were humorous, such as:
6. Please check how you became aware of the product you have just purchased:
[--]Heard loud noise, looked up
[--]Store display
[--]Espionage
[--]Recommended by friend/relative/ally
[--]Political lobbying by manufacturer
[--]Was attacked by one
HOLY TOLEDO! Barry Blitzer of Pacific Palisades notes that “the parking situation has gotten so bad around the local St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church that even St. Matthew himself has a problem” (see photo).
SPECIAL EFFECTS PROVIDED BY GOD: In downtown L.A. one recent afternoon, Ed Denton of Kaiser Permanente was addressing a group of architects, engineers, contractors and designers on the seismic retrofitting of hospitals when a 3.2-magnitude quake struck.
IT’S NOT AS GOOD AS HE GETS: Chick Hearn, the Lakers’ popular broadcaster, has worked more than 3,000 consecutive games, so maybe you can’t expect him to learn the name of every hit movie.
But what about one starring the team’s most famous fan?
Yes, I’m afraid I’m going to have to whistle Chick for a paraphrasing violation for reacting to the Lakers’ win over Utah on Sunday this way: “As Jack Nicholson would say, ‘It doesn’t get any better!’ ”
IS THAT A COMPLIMENT? In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been gone for a week. But, like the napalm train, I’m back in Southern California. As usual when I returned from vacation, I found a note from a reader protesting my apparent firing.
SOUTHLAND MILESTONES: Just over a year ago, 16 people filming an adult movie--including star Nina Hartley--were rescued from a sinking cabin cruiser off Long Beach. That’s how I learned the reason cabin cruisers are called pleasure craft.
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Blockbuster video stores are offering a special on blank videotapes to commemorate what must be one of the most important events of the 20th century. “Record the last episode of ‘Seinfeld,’ ” the display says.
Steve Harvey’s listed phone number at The Times is (213) 237-7083. He can also be reached by fax at (213) 237-4712, by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com and by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.
