Mistaken for a Super-Sized Office Superstore
Catherine Adamic of the California Film Commission reports that a few days before Staples Center opened, a visitor from the East Coast took one look at the huge edifice and remarked, “Gee, they sure need a lot of office supplies in Los Angeles.”
EMULATE SOFT DRINK CITY? Huntington Beach, you may recall, accepted $300,000 from Coca-Cola so the company could say its product is the city’s official soft drink. What’s the next step in creative government financing? Well, the other night, Bruce Springsteen said during a concert that L.A. should seek a sponsorship for the entire city from a certain corporation. And change its name to Los Staples.
But wouldn’t that put an end to the La-La Land jokes?
LOOK BUT DON’T TOUCH: Congratulations to two winners in Sunset magazine’s “Best Places to Live” competition: Newport (for “best waterfront”) and Glendale (sharing “best downtown” honors). Whoops! That was Newport, Ore., and Glendale, Ariz. The big winner among Southland cities was Huntington Beach, which won for “best open space.” But the magazine didn’t mention Surf City’s recent pollution problems.
HUMAN TOUCH: In a business publication, David Chan noticed a Huntington Beach eatery that carried an odd name (see accompanying). Chan guesses it was supposed to say “Hunan.” Reminds me of a menu item that said: “Stir Fried Chicken (Human Style).”
CAR DU JOUR? Jim Moore spotted an ad for what was either a very old dish or a car that’s been souped up (see accompanying).
HOW ABOUT RECYCLING? Brian Mackett came upon what seemed to him to be a trashy deal (see accompanying).
THE JAILER WOULDN’T LISTEN: In the lawyer magazine The Champion, columnist Charles Sevilla quoted this explanation from an attorney who was late in filing a motion:
“Although defense counsel admits fault in not filing the written notice of motion, he points out that the fault is not all his own. It was because he was delayed, missed his client in Riverside, and was arrested and charged as a felon in Chino, resulting in stress and the failure to file the motion papers.”
A NAME YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU KNEW: The Loyd Sigmon Radio and Communications Center has been established on the Pepperdine University campus. Who is Sigmon? The former general manager of then-KMPC (AM-710) as well as the guy who set up a traffic reporting system on radio with law enforcement authorities. The “Sig” in the dreaded term SigAlert is named for Sigmon. Interesting to note how far the campus is from the freeways.
miscelLAny:
Results 2000, a motivational seminar produced by Anthony (The Positive-Thinking Money Machine) Robbins will be staged at the Arrowhead Pond Dec. 7. One of the guest speakers will be actress Candice Bergen. Wouldn’t you love to see Bergen interviewed about the event by a certain fictional TV newswoman--good ol’ cynical Murphy Brown?
Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.
