Eat Up Before It Melts, or Before the World Ends, Whichever Comes First
It’s not often a single police log item combines cosmic, religious, international and local themes. In an entry titled “Suspicious occupied vehicle,” the Seal Beach Sun said, “Several men described as Middle-Eastern with long beards were reportedly passing out fliers and saying the world was coming to an end.”
The men had an explanation for police, though. They said “they were Christians and thought some people were upset because they crossed a picket line to buy ice cream.” I think I’d buy some, too, if I thought the end was coming.
Name game: David Scully of L.A., a former Peace Corps worker in Latvia, returned to that country recently and noticed a highway sign that could have been referring to the home of Shrek’s girlfriends (see photo).
Speaking of romance: Jackson Sleet of L.A. snapped an exhibit at a local high school that seemed to associate a local college with nuptial rites (see photo).
Sign of the times: In Temple City, Bob Fisher found an area evidently set aside for folks, married or otherwise, to get something off their chests (see photo).
Next stop? If the ranters don’t feel any better afterward, they might visit the peaceful area spotted in Alhambra by Katie Shiban (see photo).
Street solo: My colleague Allison Hoffman filed this report on the society event of the year in L.A.: “As a parade of sleek cars deposited their begowned passengers outside the Disney Concert Hall for the opening night gala, a woman marching uphill toward the blocked-off intersection of 1st and Grand shook her head at the metal barriers along the sidewalk and loudly announced to onlookers, ‘Just because I’m not wearing a $6,000 dress doesn’t mean I can’t cross the street.’
“Police watched as the woman coolly unhooked a section of the barriers and strode out in front of oncoming traffic, dodging limousines, valet parkers, and glaring security personnel before she made it to the other side.”
I hope no one shouted, “Encore!”
miscelLAny: You could have read it there first -- on page 186 of “Big Dreams: Into the Heart of California.” In Bill Barich’s 1994 book about his ramblings across the state, he stops to chat with a congressional aide named Adam in Sacramento. Adam tells him that the state is so large, has so many elements, that a politician needs “to be a personality to survive.” And what is the political future for California? Adam laughs and replies: “Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
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Reach Steve Harvey at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012 or steve.harvey@latimes.com.
