Recently in Photo Funnies Category

Stopped at a red light Tuesday on southbound Central Avenue at Mission Boulevard, I noticed a sobering economic indicator: a strip club is now employing sign spinners.

Apparently not even lap dances are recession-proof.

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Faithful readers know the L.A. County Fair, which ends Sunday, is one of my favorite people places in the Inland Valley. Here are a few of the sillier things I saw this year.

This stand's extremely literal name could be the official theme of this year's fair, where even bacon could be found "smothered in chocolate."

Heck, even otherwise-healthy vegetables weren't safe. Do you think anyone put butter, mayo and salt on chocolate-covered corn?

Used to be that SoCal had lots of buildings shaped like the product they sold. Nice to see that look return, below, with a coffee stand shaped like a giant coffee pot.

Ah, the Ultimate Sushi Masker, just in time for Halloween. What would the Fair be without a misspelled sign or two? Whoever made this sign should have masked this error.

Unlike the real Fox Theater in Pomona, the miniature version at the Garden Railroad developed an enormous (scale-wise) cobweb. I love the Garden Railroad, btw.

Best of both worlds. Maybe the ice cream is served on a giant turkey leg.

Did you see anything this year that tickled your funnybone or otherwise delighted you?

Spotted at the L.A. County Fair on Friday evening. 'Nuff said.

This clock shop in Petaluma has the local time right, although when it comes to the time in New York, Chicago and Denver, the store draws a blank.

Maybe I've seen Jim Erwin's photo in our news pages once too often, but the San Bernardino County political figure suddenly reminded me of the "Dick Tracy" comic strip villain Littleface Finny from 1941.

This pavement marker would be a good spot for a DUI checkpoint. The view is to the south on College Avenue at Arrow Highway in Claremont. The crosswalk lines aren't much straighter.

...that is the question. Says reader Dennis Sampson of Ontario, who lives in one of the lofts downtown southwest of Holt and Euclid: "I had often wondered why this parking lot on Emporia was always so empty. Then, I took a close look at the sign and it all made sense. Or did it?"

A reader wonders why a company is trying to sell him solar panels if it thinks his home already has them.

On my way to Masala Bowl in Chino Hills the other day, I spotted an insurance office seemingly tailored to Russell Crowe.

That reminded me of an Ontario insurance office that apparently targets that subset headed off to Africa with pith helmets, guns and native bearers. At least the insurance looks affordable.

However, my hopes of a trifecta of oddly named insurance offices was thwarted when a visit to the Mountain Green center in Upland revealed that Survival Insurance is no more. Survival Insurance didn't survive? A sobering note for us all.

This stop sign in Upland near Foothill and Mountain has its message painted over. Officially? Unofficially? Unsure what to do, I stopped anyway.

The name of this gas station in Blythe, Calif., seems to be pulling our leg, if not our finger. I shot this while en route to Phoenix.

For families that like to shout across the dinner table, a "dinning" room set would be perfect. I walked past this East Holt Avenue store after seeing the president last week -- and did a double-take.

30 to 60 percent off shoes and feet? This Rancho Cucamonga closeout sale sounds like the economic equivalent of frostbite.

The time and temperature sign at PFF Bank in downtown Ontario flashed a possibly-telling message one night last week.

Oddly enough, a reader told me several years back about a PFF sign flashing a "con" message. It seems to be the default when the sign isn't working properly. Somehow it has a more subversive meaning these days.

I hate to say the Inland Empire housing market is in the toilet, but this sign for the former Trump Realty office in Rancho Cucamonga would seem to prove it. No ifs, ands or buts.

What a difference a letter makes, as this sweet message at a florist's shop in La Verne becomes something more pungent. Says the friend who tipped me off to the sign: "One colleague said he was going to take a picture and send it to his wife on Valentine's Day. I said he needed to include an image of Gabe Kaplan."

So much for shanghaiing unwary sailors. This employment agency on Holt Boulevard just west of Euclid Avenue in Ontario appears to take a more professional approach to filling vacancies. There is, seriously, a skull and crossbones on a wall inside, but the sign was harder to read from that angle.

This is the biggest 2008 I've seen. And after the up-and-down year we've had, maybe the location (on North Garey Avenue in Pomona) is appropriate somehow.

No, Ontario doesn't have a Moutain Street. This tile shop on Mountain Avenue is presumably better at fitting tile than in fitting all the letters in Mountain into a cramped space. The mistake is repeated on the other side of the building.

"Moutain" -- which I would pronounce "moo-tahn" -- doesn't mean anything, to my knowledge, but the word reminds me of poutain, the Canadian version of French fries that comes with cheese curds and brown gravy. Wonder if the Chaffey brothers would have liked that?

PFF Bancorp is likely to merge with another bank and lose its independence after 116 years. A missing letter at the 16th and Mountain branch in Upland seems to provide commentary.

Tired of attorneys who nod their head but don't listen? That apparently isn't a problem in Claremont.

Can't sleep? How about sleeping permanently? These dueling billboards on West Foothill Boulevard in Upland constitute a cautionary tale. File them in the Be Careful What You Wish For category.

For two neighboring businesses on Claremont's Indian Hill Boulevard, it's fire vs. water. If you stagger out of the first with a fire within, the second would seem well-equipped to douse it. Although you might not appreciate their angle of attack.

(Actually, A Fire Within is a pottery studio. Colonics is just what you think it is.)

The photo was taken by me but was suggested by Marshall Taylor, the mayor's husband. Um, did you want credit for that, Mr. Taylor?