Getting to the Root of Romance
I’m always a sucker for a heart-warming Valentine’s Day story. So I had to share this: During the month of February, Wenzlaff’s Hollywood Dental Care is honoring couples everywhere by offering “two for one root canals,” along with “complimentary Breath Management System Kits.” Who says there’s no sentiment left in Hollywood?
*
DOES FREDERICK’S OF HOLLYWOOD KNOW ABOUT THIS? Kathie Hager noticed an ad for a dishwasher that, she quipped, “would be super-efficient at washing cups--’D’ cups.” Or maybe it’s supposed to say Superba instead of Superbra . . . (see accompanying).
*
ANGELENOS ON THE ROAD: After the countless sets of dueling signs that have appeared in this column, it’s refreshing to see two that agree (see photo). Boy, do they agree. John Schmidt spotted them off Interstate 10 between Indio and Blythe. Schmidt theorized that one sign was for drivers who can only read capital letters.
*
POODLES, PUNKS AND OTHER CULTURAL LEADERS: Some offbeat notes from the book “Museum Companion to Los Angeles,” by Borislav Stanic:
* At the L.A. Poodle Museum on East 4th Street, curator Doren Garcia, an artist, has more than 1,000 poodle knickknacks, ranging from poodle ashtrays to poodle liquor bottle covers. (But don’t come sniffing around his studio without an appointment.)
* The Punk Rock Museum, located in the punk shop (You’ve Got) Bad Taste on Sunset Boulevard, houses such treasures as “the doors from Masque, the first punk club in L.A.”
* The World Wrestling Museum in Sun Valley boasts the private collections of several grapplers, including Intelligent Sensational Destroyer. In view of the current political trend--and his impressive name--I have to think that Intelligent Sensational Destroyer could be a strong candidate for governor here in four years.
* The Glendora Historical Society Museum has an exhibit devoted to famous fan dancer Sally Rand, a onetime resident, who was occasionally arrested for showing too much under the fans. (No superbra.)
* The Hermosa Beach Historical Museum is on the grounds of the former Pier Avenue School, “where the girls’ locker room was used for the film ‘Carrie’ in 1973.”
And, finally, a personal plea. There’s a Honey and Bee Museum in Canyon Country. Get out there and see it before the killer bees do.
*
GOING PLACES AND LOSING THINGS: Remember those films in driver’s education class in which you had to spot hazards confronting a motorist every 50 feet or so? Well, Southland freeways seemed to present that kind of obstacle course Thursday. During my commute, I heard sightings from radio reporters of: a box of nails, two cans of white paint, four large boxes, two ladders, a load of asphalt, a tire, an air conditioner, unidentified debris, innumerable stalled vehicles and one dog chasing cars on the Ventura Freeway. Didn’t get a make on the reckless pooch. But I doubt it was a poodle.
miscelLAny:
On Thursday, I mentioned the store with a sale that paired the Titanic and White House board games. Well, Sam Williams of Pacific Palisades pointed out that a Barnes & Noble ad paired “Sex and Morality in the U.S.” by A.D. Klassen and “Between Hope and History,” by President Clinton. I’ll let you judge whether those two offers merit a place at (You’ve Got) Bad Taste.
Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at (213) 237-7083, 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.