Mission to Mars: Bring Your Board

Surfers have been complaining of the increasingly crowded waters off Southern California for years. Perhaps that explains why a Palmdale resident wrote to Dana Point-based Surfer magazine, asking, “What is the probability of there being ridable surf on planets outside our galaxy?”

(Possibly the reader also realized that Palmdale is almost as close to the next planet as it is to the Pacific Ocean.)

Surfer magazine responded that “it seems likely that there will be planets found that have oceans, and undoubtedly, some of them will have good waves. The hard part will be getting to them.”

And getting permission to use those distant waters. You know how resentful the locals can be.

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PLANETARY SURF REPORT: Surfer magazine quoted a scientist as giving the sad news that “in our own solar system, we have two places with liquid water right now: Earth and Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Unfortunately, Europa’s ocean is under a thick cap of ice, so it lacks weather, and more importantly, beaches.”

Kind of a bummer.

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L.A.--YOU CAN’T ESCAPE IT! Hungry in Hungary (the city of Gyor, to be specific), vacationing Charles Jones of Calabasas came upon the Malibu Pizzeria (see photo).

I’m filing it away with some other familiar sounding names that readers have found:

* Super Nail of Los Angeles (London)

* L.A. Bar and Grill (Eurodisney, Paris)

* The Pasadena Restaurant (Paris)

* L.A. Chinese Cuisine (Vancouver)

* L.A. Rock Diner (Dundalk, Ireland)

* L.A. Cafe (island of Crete)

* California Tan and Beauty (Belfast)

And the famous pavement that pays tribute to this area: Allee de Los Angeles (Bordeaux)

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LETTER IMPERFECT: Ed Stalcup of Malibu--the Malibu closest to Palmdale--came upon a warning from a sign maker who had a slight slip in the spelling department (see photo).

A 911 CALL FOR 911: The discussion here of Southland companies with names that grab your attention (Rentokil, Armed Plumbing Contractors, Radio Active Auto Body & Paint, etc.) prompted Jim Glass to recall one of his favorites. It was Sushi 911 in Chatsworth (see photo), which was featured in this column a few years ago, then went out of business afterward.

miscelLAny:

Among the Hollywood legends discussed on the Web site of the San Fernando Valley Folklore Society (snopes.com) is the story about Charlie Chaplin losing a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest.

It really happened, the society’s researchers say.

Actually the event was a competition to see who could best imitate Chaplin’s “Tramp” character. On a whim, and without makeup or costume, Chaplin entered such a contest in San Francisco in 1915 and failed to make the finals.

He complained to a reporter afterward that he had wanted to show the others the proper way to enact the Tramp’s walk.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, Times Mirror Square, L.A. 90053 and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.