Reptile Probably Went for a Rock-Bottom Price at a Big Bear Garage Sale

Yes, it is a pretty belt, but it seems to be moving: The sheriff’s log of the Big Bear Grizzly carried an alert about “a rattlesnake on a rock in the middle of a driveway and garage sale.” (Maybe it was one of those you-can-have-it-if-you-can-haul-it deals.)

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Better than ‘the dog ate my homework’: Well, wait until the claims adjuster gets this one. Big Bear’s newspaper reported the vandalizing of a car this way: “Appears bear ate car bumper and wiring harness. Scratches found along with fur.”

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Speaking of unusual delicacies: Today’s dining specials (see accompanying) include:

* A famous Philadelphia sandwich with a woodsy taste (Jolene Collins of Tujunga)

* An antique hamburger (Miriam Schildberg of Ontario)

* Some kielbasa that can also be aged (Michael Sautter of Simi Valley)

And, finally, important information for owners of pooches that weigh zero pounds (Maria Fahrenholz of Newhall).

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Probably doesn’t pay much in taxes either: I think it’s unhealthy to brood about the earnings of people around you, but not everyone agrees with me. The police log of the Huntington Beach Wave said a motorist on Brookhurst Street complained about a man “who was on the center divider asking people for money and was ‘making good money.’ ”

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Reverse snob appeal: One thing I like about radio is how the industry takes itself less seriously--at least in its ads--than pompous television does. Consider these show descriptions:

* “Less painful than waxing” (Danny Bonaduce, KYSR-FM, 98.7)

* “The WeaKIIS Link” (Rick Dees, KIIS-FM, 102.7)

* “ESPN Radio--rolls off the tongue like sneakers in a Maytag dryer, don’t it?” (network ad)

* And, finally, one I heard the other day:

“By popular demand, one hour less, 4 to 7 p.m.” (Joe McDonnell and Doug Krikorian, KSPN-AM, 1110)

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Who really dunnit: We’ve all read news stories about people who are convicted of crimes and sent to jail but later freed when they turn out to be innocent. But how about a villain in a mystery novel who turns out not to be the villain in the movie version of the book?

That’s the turnabout in “Blood Work,” the movie taken from the best-selling Michael Connelly novel about a retired FBI agent looking for a serial killer in L.A. And DNA was not a factor in the cinematic version. I guess the movie folks just wanted to tighten up the plot. (Connelly did not write the screenplay.)

Anyway, you can see the marketing potential here. If the makers of the “Blood Work” movie were smart, they’d use this line in their advertising: “You Only THINK You Know Who Did It!”

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miscelLAny: A letter from Arkansas was addressed to “Steve Harvey, L.A. Times columnist, or current resident.” What do they know back there? Hope to see you Tuesday.*

Steve Harvey hopefully 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.