L.A. Reference Scores Points in Manhattan

Author Eric Jerome Dickey was at a Manhattan book signing for his latest, “Drive Me Crazy,” when he commented that one of the couples in his comic novel “got along like Shaq and Kobe.”

Reported the New York Times: “Laughter poured from the crowd.... “ Nice to know that L.A. can provide so much entertainment for the rest of the country.

Name game: In case you haven’t heard, the new chief executive officer of the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is Mark Wourms.

Bring a thick wallet: “And we crab about prices HERE,” wrote Dodi Fromson of L.A., pointing out that gasoline costs millions in Turkey (see photo).

Warning to the wingless? In Torrance, John Johnson of El Segundo found a shipping company whose name makes for an interesting parking sign (see photo).

As for parking up north ... : On a trip to San Francisco, Marvin Petal chanced upon an unusual exception to a lot’s no-trespassing policy (see photo). And, yes, all you guerrilla proofreaders out there, I did notice that “you’re” was misspelled.

That’s Hollywood!: David Chan of L.A. saw it in the police blotter of the L.A. Independent:

“A man undressed himself in front of a movie theater premiere and ran naked through the crowded red carpet area ... “ I phoned William Joyner, a manager at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and he confirmed that the intruder “ran up to the door. I don’t know why studio security let him get that far. It was our security who finally threw a coat around him.”

Still, the incident didn’t seem completely out of place, considering that the movie was “L.A. Twister (2004),” which is described as a look at “the twisted world that is Hollywood.”

Unclear on the concept: One of the unsolved mysteries of the new thriller “Collateral” concerns a taxi ride taken by L.A. prosecutor Jada Pinkett Smith at the outset of the movie.

She tells driver Jamie Foxx she wants to go to 312 N. Spring St., and they argue about the best way to get there. Finally, she confesses he knew best -- even though he is seen dropping her off at 5th and Grand.

miscelLAny: Don’t worry; I’m not going to reveal whether villainous hit man Tom Cruise is made to pay for the crimes of murder and riding the Metro Red Line without a ticket.

*

Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATimes, Ext. 77083, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.