The pharmacist probably got an earful, possibly in the eyes

It’s a good thing Vincenzo and Maria Paravano of North Hollywood have a sense of humor. Otherwise, they could really give their pharmacist an earful about the directions on one package of medicine (see accompanying).

More confusion: Matthew Rule chanced upon a business that didn’t know whether it was closing or expanding (see photo).

Community insults: Ever since I mentioned Manhattan “Ditch” and West “Ills” among geographical names that were mangled in print, I’ve been hearing of other injustices. Anne Gross of El Cajon said her mailman delivered a letter there addressed to the city of “Al Capone.” In a similarly violent vein, Tim Creedon sent along a telephone book cover that bashed Sawtelle (see accompanying).

Bathroom humor: Looks as though some of the workers at a construction site were having some fun with a Port-a-Potty, spotted by Vern Machado of Covina (see photo).

Cluck, cluck: In a community newspaper’s police log, Irwin Green of Bel-Air read about a juvenile suspect who used “fowl” language. He waddled off to safety.

Such a deal: Si Frumkin of Studio City received a solicitation for a charitable contribution that assured him it would be tax “detectable.”

Blimey: My colleague Patt Morrison wonders if the motion picture folks’ “official oscars.com site is sucking up to all the British nominees this year by spelling ‘glamorous’ in the English-fashion, ‘glamourous.’ ”

Get serious: Christopher Hitchens’ Vanity Fair essay asserting that women aren’t funny drew several letters from that sex -- and some of them were sort of humorous, I have to admit.

“A woman will laugh at a man not only if she thinks he’s genuinely funny but also as a way of rewarding him, like a trainer throwing a herring to a seal,” declared Robin Schiff, an L.A. writer-director-producer. “It’s an audible, easy-to-understand way of giving encouragement to his fragile little ego.”

Schiff added: “Women are funny. It’s just that the jokes we tell are on you men. And you poor souls often don’t get it.”

I can’t speak for my male brethren, but my ego is held in check by a teenage daughter whose response to my jokes is usually, “Hah [pause], hah [pause], hah [pause].” I get that.

miscelLAny: When you’re using the Internet, you never know when some X-rated page is going to pop up. Todd Terres of Camarillo, for instance, was trying to make a purchase at a coffee-oriented website when he read that the site was down for some maintenance. Then Terres was asked to please “bare with us.”

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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, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. CA 90012, and by e-mail at [email protected].