A radical idea blooms about the weather, but it’s all wet
Sure, we’re in the midst of a bad drought but I’m confident it will end because I just ran across a Torrance preschooler’s poster of about a decade ago (see photo). I like the way she advanced a radical theory by revising an old saying. The kid should have a bright future as a TV weatherperson.
Mystery of the week: A few days ago, Craig Birker noticed that a giant letter D had suddenly appeared above Mulholland Drive and wondered what bowl of alphabet soup it spilled from. Birker’s wife, Heidi, points out that the letter seems to be the same font used by Disney on its old Harbor Boulevard entrance signs (see photos).
One such sign, taken down in 1999 during the construction of Disney’s California Adventure park, was purchased on eBay by actor John Stamos for $30,700. Sorry, I wasn’t able to find out if Stamos is missing one of his letters.
Whatever, I guess the just-arrived D makes Mulholland the Happiest Drive on Earth.
Food for thought: Myke Muller found a convenient stopping place for dieters who aren’t that serious (see photo).
Low finance: You’ve heard of a creditor bombarding a customer with notices. How about someone who owes you money and won’t let you forget it?
Robert Sauter of Claremont writes that when his mother died in 2001, she had a surplus of $4.99 on her Adelphia cable bill. He stopped the service but Adelphia, and later Time Warner, continued to send him credit balance statements -- every month for the last five-plus years.
“No oral or written entreaties to either company ... have effected a change,” Sauter said.
He added: “If a customer owed the company and ignored the charges for more than five years, how much in late charges and fees would be owed on an original balance of $4.99?” Enough to allow the cable company to take possession of the customer’s house.
Traffic obstacle du jour: The crime log of the Seal Beach Sun carried this dispatch: “Friday, April 27, 10:21 a.m., Marvista Avenue -- Someone in a brown monkey costume was running in front of vehicles in the street. Police were unable to locate him.”
Real monkeys, of course, wouldn’t do anything that dumb.
miscelLAny: A 1990s mystery novel, “Bleeding Dodger Blue,” declared that the expression “seventh-inning stretch” at Dodger Stadium referred to “the stretch limousines that carry away spectators during the seventh inning to beat the freeway traffic.” And that was before owner Frank McCourt got the bright idea of changing the parking routes at the stadium this year.
“From what I heard, fear of spending an hour in the parking lot is driving a lot of fans out of their seats even earlier than usual,” wrote Kevin Roderick of laobserved.com. Say hello to the sixth-inning getaway.
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