Thailand’s Troubles Put L.A. Traffic in Perspective

I suspected that a book titled “Collapse -- How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” would mention L.A.

But author Jared Diamond takes an evenhanded approach, pointing out that though Southern California has huge problems, it keeps attracting newcomers because things are worse in other places.

And Diamond is a geography professor at UCLA, so he knows what it’s like to be trapped on the San Diego Freeway.

Still, traffic here doesn’t compare to Bangkok’s. He writes that some friends of his in the Thai capital “once set off to go out of town on a holiday weekend but gave up and returned after 17 hours, when they had advanced only three miles through the traffic jam.”

In fact, Diamond said, “travel can be so prolonged and slow” in that country that his friends “now carry a portable small chemical toilet in their car.”

I’m moving the first time I see such a receptacle advertised for L.A. drivers.

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Now you know how L.A. got its nickname: The Thais call their traffic-clogged capital Krung Thep, which translates as “City of Angels.”

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Guide to Adventurous Dining: We are pleased to present today’s specials du column (see accompanying), which include:

* Some lobster that has seen fresher days (Dave Kaplan of Monrovia).

* Wine for those who would rather look than drink (Chris Duke and Andrea Borr of La Jolla).

* A dog that loafs (Henry Sakrison of Long Beach).

And, finally, a restaurant evidently intended to attract those who disdain plastic food (Richard Bailey of Pomona).

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The perils of live broadcasting: When a news anchor on KFWB-AM (980) muffed a couple of lines in succession Tuesday morning, a colleague quipped, “We’ll edit this part later -- it won’t go on the air.”

On television, snafus are taken a bit more seriously, and no one was joking at Channel 4 the other day during a weathercast by Rachel Boesing.

With a live shot of downtown L.A. playing in the background, her voice became inaudible because of a microphone problem. Instead, while her lips moved, there were mysterious rustling sounds in the background.

Suddenly, viewers heard a male voice off-camera say, “What’s going on in front of that stupid shot?”

Who says weathercasts are boring?

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miscelLAny: Ellen Sultan of Santa Ana received a notice from the Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing that said in large letters: “Important: Expiration Notice.”

Commented Sultan: “In light of the subject matter of this journal, maybe the phrase ‘Time to Renew’ would have been a better choice.”