Category Archives: Matt Weinstock

Galloping Inflation As all armchair horse players know, bookmakers don't pay track odds. They limit payoffs to $60 for win, $24 for place and $12 for show on a $2 bet. Of course, this takes care of most wagers, but … Continue reading →

This was one very sad day in my young life.   Blind Justice Sees While absent-mindedly crossing a downtown intersection, an elderly woman saw the traffic policeman at the corner coming toward her and realized in panic that she was jaywalking … Continue reading →

Book sales are at a record high, Sylvia Porter says. People are turning off their TVs and reading ("Exodus" and "Lolita," presumably). East Coast Culture Actor Harold Peary, among others, was propelled to his typewriter by mention of the We … Continue reading →

  "Unbelievable!" Mafia Troubles Sometimes a person just doesn't know what to think. When the Jackie Leonard case broke, Chief Parker said the beating was pure revenge by the Mafia," to which he has attributed all sorts of deviltry. A … Continue reading →

Wrong Rite It seems incredible but people keep going to the wrong funerals. Announcement was made in a church on a recent Sunday that a faithful parishioner named Fred Johnson had died and services would be held on the following … Continue reading →

The Missing $113,200 The case of the missing $113,200 is obviously a classic of its kind and don't think for a moment that the whodunit boys aren't fully cognizant of its implications. Why, it could revolutionize the TV private eye … Continue reading →

Balm of Bother The differences of opinion over background music in offices — whether it soothes or disturbs — continues to echo. The original complaint came from a City Hall worker who found the music there shattering to his nerves … Continue reading →

You've Got Troubles? How tough can things in L.A. get? Let a down-and-outer describe it: "I've been cut off from all relief and if it were not for a little cleaning job I wouldn't eat. I missed two meals the … Continue reading →

Writing Rights Ray Bradbury, a home-town boy who has become one of the nation's most prolific authors of realistic fantasy and who has seen many of his story ideas stolen without payment, believes firmly that writers should fight for their … Continue reading →

Supreme Insult Mostly the people in state employment offices who deal with the public, a wearing and thankless job, take things as they come, but occasionally there's an exception. A man came into one office for his unemployment insurance as … Continue reading →

Passing the Writ As every sane motorist knows, the best thing is to obey the law. Don't run any red lights. Stop for pedestrians. Don't go too fast or too slow. Make boulevard stops. Especially now. The law is bearing … Continue reading →

Only in L.A. A well-known figure in the music world was dining with a woman in a restaurant the other night when his brother walked in. The music man turned the other way and shielded his companion so they wouldn't … Continue reading →

Judging the Judge As literary editor of The Times, Bob Kirsch reads at least one book a day, some days two or three, and renders his judgments in print. Today Bob's first novel, "In the Wrong Rain," reaches the bookstores … Continue reading →

  Pupil Punishment The papers had a story from Sacramento recently stating that the Assembly had passed a bill, which has now gone to the Senate, giving teachers authority to punish students who misbehave. One paper headed the story, "Teachers' … Continue reading →

Flint's Faulty Fountain This corner has been nagged persistently the last few months by Mal Deans to do something about a civic disgrace — the stilled fountain memorial to Frank Putnam Flint (1862-1929) on the 1st Street grounds of City … Continue reading →

Day at the Races After a long hiatus, Snake, this corner's caddy correspondent, has reported in again, this time with a racetrack adventure. He and some other Bel-Air caddies who'd made a few good loops (carrying golf bags around the … Continue reading →

"A Speed Never Before Reached by Man!" Only in California There are in our city a large number of newcomers who constitute what Doris Steele, TV producer recently transplanted from New York, calls the We Love California But club. They're … Continue reading →

A Fast Start A long-cherished dream of the professors of the Italian department at UCLA — a cultural magazine named the Italian Quarterly — recently came true. As any proud authors, the profs were keenly interested in its reception. Would … Continue reading →

Check out this font. How about that G in "judge?" Police File Trouble A television station's mishandling of confidential information from criminal files in the Police Dept.'s record room has complicated the lives and labors of those hard-working, hard-bitten police … Continue reading →