Some Criminals in Huntington Beach Must Be Big Fans of Salty Snacks

Thieves took some unlabeled boxes from a charity fund-raiser in Huntington Beach, and they got just what a couple of guys with twisted minds deserved: 40 bags of pretzels.

Letter imperfect: Brian Whyte of Granada Hills spotted an herbal extract ad containing spelling that called into question the product’s claim (see accompanying).

Food with some bite? It’s amazing how some bakers can fashion loaves into all sorts of shapes, as Carol Orendy of Chatsworth discovered (see accompanying).

Don’t ride ‘em, cowboy: L.A. County sheriff’s deputies received a call that a horse was tied near a mobile home in Paramount.

The resident claimed he owned the animal, but had trouble proving it.

So the deputies called in a local horse expert, who checked a tattoo on the critter’s back and determined that it was stolen.

“Lest you think there was any Old West romanticism associated with this operation, he wasn’t looking for a brand,” explained Paramount’s newsletter, City Talk.

“He was checking for the horse’s serial number.”

It’s called what? (Cont.): After perusing my list of the Top 10 all-time worst car names, Bill Tierney says I should have included Daihatsu’s Charade.

Good point.

One definition of “charade” is “a pretense or fiction that can be seen through readily; travesty.”

Which also describes a Montero I used to have.

But that’s another story.

I don’t think we have a winner! Pomona’s Smogdance film festival, set for Nov. 2-4 this year, has no entry fees and over the years has attracted a diverse collection of unusual short works.

“When Chickens Attack” was one memorable film.

So was “I Don’t Feel Too Good,” whose plot involved someone eating three corn dogs and spinning around 10 to 20 times, as I recall.

The most curious submission so far this year, says director Dan Dobrin, has been “Video Bingo,” by Marc Landes and Robert Jacka of Pomona.

“The ‘action,’ which seemed to last about an hour, consisted mainly of a bearded protagonist--occasionally wearing a Viking helmet--pulling bingo balls out of a coffee can and reciting their numbers,” Dobrin said.

“The leading lady would then declaim the same numbers in Spanish. After the climactic announcement, ‘N-37!’ the magnum opus, sans closing credits, abruptly cut to video snow.”

Don’t you just hate it when people give away the endings of movies?

But I would like to know more about this plot: In Fountain Valley, Steve Emmons came upon the following: “A man in those super-long shorts and a backward baseball cap, but well into his 30s, was obviously upset as he stalked up an aisle in Costco while talking on his cell phone. ‘Forget about my skateboarding!’ the guy said. ‘What you did was childish.’ ”

miscelLAny: Ferd Britton noticed a phone company ad with an eligibility requirement that seemed to discriminate against actors (see accompanying).

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.