Watch Out for the Money Mauler
You think the people who dole out parking tickets can be unfriendly? The police log of the Seal Beach Sun recounted this alarming incident: “4:32 p.m., Ocean Avenue: A parking machine was reportedly not accepting money and tearing the money in half.”
JUST WHAT YOU’VE BEEN SAVING UP FOR: A gold-painted porcelain sculpture of Michael Jackson and his sidekick Bubbles goes on sale May 15 in New York (see photo of Sotheby’s catalog cover). The auction house expects the 42-inch-high sculpture, by Jeff Koons, to sell for at least $3 million. A lovely work of art, though I can’t help thinking Koons’ Bubbles resembles a grizzled tuna boat captain I once interviewed.
ELSEWHERE ON THE BLOCK: A 1931 football signed by USC players sold for $557 at a Leland’s auction despite this description: “Ball is nice but bladder is deteriorated.”
The New York firm wouldn’t say, but I figure the buyer was a USC alum. Given the school’s mediocre football teams in recent years, its fans are used to having their hopes deflated.
HOPE YOUR LIGHTS DON’T GO OUT WHILE YOU’RE READING THIS: Reading through a 1967 issue of Look magazine (remember Look?) Liz Bernhard of Culver City came upon an ad placed by a national group of “investor-owned electric light and power companies” that assured readers there would be no energy crisis in the 21st century (see accompanying).
The companies said they would “help good things happen for customers, employees, supporting businesses and investors while we increase our country’s electric power supply.”
How? “Through sound business planning.”
Just ask Southern California Edison.
SHE WASN’T BORN YESTERDAY: “It’s true there are days when I feel old, but isn’t this a little much?” asked Sara Meric of Santa Monica, who enclosed a statement in her lab exam (see accompanying). “Especially when I was only born 4 months ago, according to these guys. All of which casts a little doubt on the validity of the actual lab analysis.”
ORDER IN THE COURT! No, when Carol McLaughlin of Rancho Palos Verdes was given this questionnaire to answer while on jury duty in Long Beach, it was not for a karate case (see accompanying).
IF THERE ARE NO SIGALERTS: Boston resident Alan Beauchesne writes that he saw a visiting BMW with California plates that said: 3HRTOUR.
Sounds like a Southern Californian’s daily commute.
BUDDY, CAN YOU DOWNLOAD A DIME? Mark Kleiman of Marina del Rey spotted a panhandler with this sign: www.sparechange.beg.
miscelLAny:
In the Capistrano Valley News, Paul Shapiro read a crime report about a lad who phoned police to report a brawl at his party, whereupon several teens “hopped through neighboring backyards to get away.”
Observed Shapiro: “Apparently the brawl broke out in the middle of the sack race.”
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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., 90012 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.