Valley Talk

Vow Of Celibacy The on-again, off-again marriage of the Northridge Chamber of Commerce and the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce is off again for now. The two business groups have been discussing a merger in an attempt to bolster their membership and revenues and generally strengthen the services they bring to constituents, but after an apparent meeting of the minds, a final vote failed to approve the partnership. The latest change of heart led one observer to comment that the groups have become the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee of chambers of commerce, to which Northridge Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Richard Hardman quipped, “but we’re not making any videos.” Laughing Matters A Woodland Hills-based comic says he’s found a way to beat corporate stress and lost productivity humor. Marty Fidelman of the International Institute of Humor holds workshops around the country for corporate America, teaching uptight executives how to laugh on the job. Some of his tips: Take candid pictures of co-workers and post them on a bulletin board. (That ought to endear you to co-workers.) Play pin the tail on the donkey, but with an employee substituting for the donkey. (Can you say sexual harassment?) When faced with a stressful situation, imagine how a celebrity such as Roseanne or Robin Williams would handle it. (Bosses just love smart alecks.) Fidelman says nothing is funnier than the truth. Maybe so, but try these tips and you might be looking for the humor in getting fired. A Belly Full So you think you’ve had a belly full of information about the debut of “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace?” There’s more. The fans and fanatics who filled the streets waiting for the film’s opening also filled their bellies with junk food once they got into the movie theater. Edwards Theatres, which opened its 12-screen megaplex in Valencia in time for the Star Wars opening, reports that getting ready for the throngs that descended for the film meant not only more staff to handle the box office, security and other tasks, it also meant ordering more food. Edwards ordered four times more soda syrup, four times more popcorn and four times the butter it typically has on hand. Bad Signs, Good Deeds Ben Forat has taken a lot of flack from Studio City residents for the big, gaudy, moving hand that beckons drivers to his car wash, but it hasn’t made the owner of Studio City Hand Car Wash any less generous. Forat, who has been at the center of a battle about street signs in the Studio City area, recently set aside a day when the proceeds from his business went to the American Red Cross to assist Kosovo refugees. A refugee himself who fled Iran in 1979, Forat raised $1,200 from a combination of car wash receipts and additional donations from patrons. Beats Belgium Any Time Is it the “Baywatch” effect or what? In a new survey, senior U.S. corporate executives ranked California second behind Texas when it comes to favorable business climate. But among European execs, California was a resounding No. 1. One reason is, the state is perceived as leading the charge in the “.com” economy, said Rob DeRocker, senior vice president with Development Counsellors International, which did the survey. “That has given California an enormous cachet overseas,” he says. “Gallo wines have become a best-selling brand in France because they market it as Californian wine. If they had marketed it as American wine, it would have tanked.” Bed Potatoes Coming soon to a bedroom near you SkyTV. Just when your mind was reeling with all the advances in the telecommunications industry, a Pasadena man has come up with yet another twist a contraption designed to let you watch TV while flat on your back in bed. The system invented by James Tatoian, a defense-industry scientist, reflects images from a TV set to a suspended mirror. Though billed as having advantages for people with back or neck problems, it’s obviously a device tailor-made for bed potatoes. “He was just trying to find a comfortable way to watch TV in bed and this is what he did,” said Ann Tatoian, the inventor’s sister-in-law.