A Case When Art Really Imitates Life

Grass-roots financing of films seems to have moved to the pavement. On Santa Monica Boulevard, Mark Horne saw two young men with a sign that said, “Need $$$ for First Movie.”

Wonder which was the writer and which was the agent?

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SOMETHING IN ALL AGES: Harry Kirshner of Pasadena spotted a shop that could be mistaken for an adoption agency with a wide range of selections (see photo).

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A HOUSE DIVIDED: Dr. Marv Silverman of Beverly Hills came across a flier for people who can’t get emotionally involved with the rain or their roofs (see accompanying).

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BEARING UP: I’m not sure whether bears like to venture out into the rain. But the Sheriff’s Department in Newhall said Monday it has not received any more sightings of the ursine intruder who was observed climbing a telephone pole in that city last week. In case you missed this episode, the woman who phoned in the report had some problems initially describing the beast.

So, helpful Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Finger asked: “Is it Yogi--or is it Boo Boo-size?”

“Yogi,” replied the woman, referring to the wisecracking full-size bear of cartoon fame.

The authorities later spotted Yogi, but the animal escaped, proving, as The Times’ Dade Hayes observed, that he was indeed smarter than the average bear.

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THE DEVIL, YOU SAY! Don Lehti, a retired Lutheran minister, was listening to a radio newscast when a reporter in Cuba was asked to describe the scene just after the arrival of the pope. “There’s not a helluva lot going on at this time,” the reporter responded.

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SOUTHLAND’S LARGEST MASS BLIND DATE: Long Beach’s Grunion Gazette will match male and female charitable donors of $25 or more who fill out applications in that newspaper. The entrants will be paired at a dance on the Queen Mary on Friday the 13th. (Information: (562) 433-2000). Last year, 2,200 people participated and lived to tell about it.

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HIGH-CALORIE POLITICS: Mention was made here of two Long Beach political candidates who capitalize on their names to hand out candy bars as campaign props--Joy Janes (Almond Joys) and Tom Clark (Clark Bars).

Tyra Chipman of West Hollywood reminded me that drag queen Kitty Cole gave out Kit Kat bars while running for mayor of Palm Springs in 1995.

Alas, the strategy didn’t pay off for Mr./Miss Kitty. The cross-dresser came in fourth with 2.9% of the vote despite a campaign pledge to “attract mobsters and movie stars” in order to “bring decadence back to Palm Springs.”

Still, Cole expressed delight over attracting 271 votes, observing: “I can’t believe there are that many people who would put their butt on the line for me.”

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A CURRENT POLITICAL DISCUSSION: Allan Gardner overheard two kids outside a Beverly Hills elementary school have this exchange:

“What is this thing ‘oral sex?’ ”

“Oh, that’s how dentists have babies.”

miscelLAny:

In the movie, “Deconstructing Harry,” the Woody Allen character discounts the notion of a man being sex-obsessed by asking whether the president of the United States would chase every woman he met. Then Allen adds: “Bad example.”

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Steve Harvey can be reached by phone at (213) 237-7083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com and by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053.