Jetsons and flotsam: When last we heard...

Jetsons and flotsam: When last we heard from artist John Marshall, he was staging his controversial “Monument of the Unknown Government Employee” in City Hall. The 1992 exhibition drew protests from some city workers for what it depicted: a generic, briefcase-carrying worker and a coffeepot sitting on a pedestal.

After a long absence--we don’t want to call it an extended coffee break--Marshall is back with “Space Station Homeless.” His futuristic vision of an outer space Skid Row has landed at the L.A. Municipal Art Gallery in Hollywood’s Barnsdall Park.

“What (Marshall) has done in this work is to suppose that in the next century the people living in space stations become homeless because of budget cutbacks,” said art curator Scott Canty.

“Space Station Homeless” consists of a diorama of vehicles made of space junk as well as paintings that depict the homeless cleaning the windshield of a space shuttle, pushing rocket-powered shopping carts and holding signs that say, “Will Work for Food or Air.”

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Back on Earth: Wednesday’s column mentioned the 1918 Broadway play, “The Rose of China,” deemed noteworthy only because it rhymed “Los Angeles” with “man jealous.”

Of course, we could have added that Arlo Guthrie also wrote lyrics about the city in this ode to marijuana: “Comin into Los Angeleez / Bringin’ in a couple of keys / Don’t touch my bags if you please / Mr. Customs Man.”

But we’re still waiting for a songwriter that can find something that rhymes with L.A.’s original name, “Nuestro Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.”

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List of the Day: Digging into our own priceless collection of songs, as well as that of radio’s “Dr. Demento Show,” we have found that several resourceful writers were able to pair words with the names of other local towns and cities--with varying degrees of success.

All together now:

* “There’s nobody meana / Than the little old lady from Pasadena” (performed by Jan and Dean)

* “When Veronica plays her harmonica / Down on the pier at Santa Monica” (Kay Kyser)

* “We (El Monte) are just about a mile from Rosemead / And a little bit north of Whittier / And you might like the City of Industry / But our town’s a whole lot prettier” (Lyn Fawlks & the Rubber Band)

* “And loved the world away / In Marina del Rey” (George Strait)

* “So I think I’ll just travel on / To Avalon” (Al Jolson)

Still, it saddens us that the writers of some other Demento favorites didn’t attempt any rhymes with the burgs they honored. We’re talking about “October in Oxnard,” “August in Azusa” and “It Came from West Covina.”

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Should the DMV be given a Breathalyzer test?Gerald Clymer wondered if “it was a trap” when he read the small print in the accompanying information request from the DMV. After all, the form asked him to confirm that the information would “be used for any unlawful purpose”--an offense punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. Maybe it’s a new revenue-raising attempt.

miscelLAny When the Southern California Sports Broadcasters held its awards show at the Lakeside Country Club in Burbank on Wednesday, the table closest to the exit was reserved for the lame-duck L.A. Rams.