With love, from both of me:

An L.A. County prosecutor recently received a love letter from a man she sent to prison on drug charges. The inmate seemed truly smitten. Not only did he sign the missive with his real name, but he included his alias. And his case number.

THE OFFICIAL START OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON: We mentioned that the first freeway spill of a Christmas tree occurred on Thursday (the Artesia had the honor). KNX traffic reporter Dona Dower points out there was also a sighting of deer that day off the San Diego Freeway in the Sepulveda Pass. Since it was drizzling, we hope you’ll pardon us for calling them rain deer.

FROM TAMALES TO TRIMS: You can’t always tell a business by the shape of its building anymore. The Wilshire Boulevard camera shop whose entrance was in the form of a giant Leica was converted into an Indian restaurant. A Chili Bowl restaurant became a circular auto garage. And the Chicken Boy figure atop a food stand was purchased by a design studio that puts out a Chicken Boy fashion catalog (complete with Chicken Boy head wear).

The trend has also affected the Tamale, a 67-year-old landmark on Whittier Boulevard in East L.A. In its early days the Mexican food eatery displayed a sign that said, “Tamales but No Beer”--an effort by the owner, it was said, to attract families.

The tamale-shaped edifice is still standing but its latest owner is now mainly interested in attracting female customers for its new business.

CAPITOL POINT: Speaking of misleading shapes. . . . Sharon Battles of Santa Barbara objected to our suggestion to redesign the Capitol Records building on the grounds that the company makes CDs now. Battles first saw the structure in 1964 after she was driven to Hollywood from her home in Lake Arrowhead--”down the hill,” is the way she put it--to a girlfriend’s birthday party. The Capitol building, she says, is “a reminder that there were such things as 45 rpm records and ‘The Twist’ and fun times when people didn’t worry if anyone brought a gun to a party.”

Well, we were just kidding. Anyway, Hollywood needs the building, too, if only to knock down in movies like “Earthquake,” and “Escape From L.A.”

TOO MUCH BANG FOR THE BUCK? General Motors’ new electric car made its debut this week, six years after the company announced it was going into the battery-powered jalopy business. Of course, the new model has gone through several alterations since then, including a name change. It’s now the EV1. The production version was called the Impact, a term that GM didn’t seem to realize could be taken the wrong way--especially in L.A., the fender-bender capital.

Or, as Johnny Carson said of GM’s Impact one night, “What’s next? The Ford Whiplash?”

NO ELECTRICITY: But EV1 strikes us a dull name--and one that fails to convey the unique quality of the car. Several months ago, Only in L.A. contest entrants submitted several more fitting monikers, including Voltswagen, Edcell, Ohmsmobile, Grand Amp and Current Model. We could give you more examples but our batteries are winding down.

miscelLAny:

We’ve all seen references to “pre-owned” or “previously enjoyed” (used) cars, “downsized” (fired) employees, and “residential suites” (condos). Tom Carvey of Santa Barbara reports that he saw a new euphemism on a billboard advertising duplexes--oops!-- “paired single-family homes.”