Here’s a Candidate Who’s All Fired Up

L.A.-area Assembly candidate Herb Wesson has been sending voters a mailing that includes a ruler, which “symbolizes education,” and a bullet shell, which “symbolizes the violence that infects our community.” Gee, whatever happened to potholders?

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COSMIC SIG-ALERT: Doomsday warnings have long been a part of life in L.A. But traffic nevertheless slowed in the San Fernando Valley on Friday morning in the vicinity of a plane dragging a banner that said “Armageddon.” Most drivers undoubtedly realized it was an ad for a movie. Then again, when Armageddon comes, I’m sure it will be during the rush hour.

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A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT DOOMSDAYS: The new sci-fi memorabilia book “Saucer Attack!” by Eric and Leif Nesheim, is full of colorful movie posters and book covers, including one for H.G. Wells’ 1897 classic novel “War of the Worlds” (see accompanying).

The cover of this edition depicts a Martian machine that is rehabbing L.A.’s City Hall without bothering to obtain any permits. L.A. was not in Wells’ original story, of course. The focus was switched to the Southland for the 1954 movie version of the book, in which scientist Gene Barry and USC instructor Ann Robinson are thrown together in trying circumstances, to say the least.

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MOVING ON TO THE REAL THING: While some Republican members of a U.S. Senate panel worried this week whether U.S. firms had provided technology that improved China’s missile-targeting capabilities, one scientist at the hearing scoffed. He said that China already had the technology, adding that, as for pinpoint accuracy, Beijing didn’t care “which part of Los Angeles is ground zero.”

I have to admit I didn’t find his point completely reassuring.

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SMOKING AREA: Norm Paquette of Palm Desert sent along a snapshot of a sign that might be interpreted as a protest against puffers (see photo). Actually, it belongs to a tobacco company in the city of Banning.

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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: Ten years ago today, attorney Gloria Allred reported seeing five naked men when she marched into the shower area of the Friars Club of Beverly Hills.

Allred, who became a member of the previously all-male club a year earlier, had announced she would enter the shower this day after winning the right to use the health facilities in an anti-discrimination suit.

Speaking of suits, Allred wore a red, white and blue 1890s bathing costume. A club official claimed there were only three men present when she arrived. And he added that only one was undressed--the poor gent hadn’t heard of her plan to visit.

“So much for reading the club bulletin,” cracked Jack Jones, Only in L.A.’s columnist back then.

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DON’T TELL GLORIA: The extension class catalog of West Los Angeles College takes what might be called an old-fashioned approach in its description of a belly dancing course.

“Women are embracing” the ancient art form as a way “to entice their partners and for its wonderful body conditioning benefits,” the catalog says. “. . . Be prepared to give your husband or boyfriend a treat.”

The catalog adds that the class instructor has “danced in 14 countries.” (That’s impressive--I’ve only danced in three and that includes a night in Paris that is a complete blank.)

miscelLAny:

Here’s one honor that Southern California could do without--a current historical exhibit of sweatshops at the Smithsonian includes a reproduction of a local firm, the Long Beach Reporter newspaper noted. It’s the El Monte sweatshop where more than 70 Asian workers were being held as virtual slaves when it was raided in 1995.