google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday July 7, 2008 John Underwood

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Jul 7, 2008

Monday July 7, 2008 John Underwood

Theme: Special K ( O"K"?)

17A: Shoe-banging Russian leader: KHRUSHCHEV

40A: African-American festival: KWANZAA

64A: Superman's bane: KRYPTONITE

11D: More clumsy than anyone: KLUTZIEST

35D: Fruits of education: KNOWLEDGE

And more K's in the grid:

1A: "___ Sutra": KAMA. Hmm, the art of positions... KAMA is Hindu god of love and erotic desire.

10A: 32-card game: SKAT

21A: Stan's "South Park" pal: KYLE. Learned his name from doing Xword.

33A: Encrusted: CAKY

49A: Is missing: LACKS

1D: Pal of Fran and Ollie: KUKLA. Again, learned this name from the OLLIE binge 2 weeks ago.

6D: Sennett of Keystone Cops: MACK. I've never heard of him or the film before. Only know Baseball HOFer Connie MACK. Is that an Old Judge card?

40D: "Show Boat" composer: KERN (Jerome). Stumper for me. Here is Julie Andrews' "The Last Time I Saw Paris", also composed by KERN.

48D: One on a quest: SEEKER

50D: __ Sabe: KEMO. The Lone Ranger.

I also like the "K" clue in SHELF ( 8D: Knickknack spot), hate the "K" clue in ACUTELY (4D: Keenly) due to the "ly" double appearances. I think the constructor missed his chance to put another "K" for RIAL (58D: Iranian cash). "Khamenei's cash" would work perfectly, right?

I wonder if Underwood is a Duke graduate. Is this a tribute to "Coach K" or what? Anyway, there is some precious joy at my Mudville today, I did not completely strike out. Got "K"illed only at the KERN (48D) & TOWERS corner. I do think I will skip my banana today, too much potassium (K) intake from the puzzle already.

ACROSS:

14A: Summer Games org. U.S.O.C. (United States Olympic Committee). I don't think I would have got it without crossing references.

15A: Hidden hoard: CACHE

16A: What you are reading now: CLUE. Perfect CLUE.

20A: Slow, musically: LENTO. What is opposite of LENTO?

22A: Envelope abbr.: ATTN (Attention). French is the same.

25A: On the ___ (broken): FRITZ. Fritz LEIBER (the fantasy author) appeared on a May TMS puzzle before.

30A: Live oak: ENCINA. New word to me. Pieced it together from the down clues.

47A: Cleese sitcom, "Fawlty ___": TOWERS. Not familiar with this sitcom or the actor Cleese at all. The clue read "Cheese sitcom" to me for a long time.

53A: Hunt and Reddy: HELENS. Know Hunt ("Mad about You"), not Reddy.

59A: Omar of "House": EPPS. He was also in Jude Law's "Alfie".

62A: Frenzied: MANIC

69A: Bob or dog vehicle: SLED

70A: Thin-voiced: REEDY. This refers to the sound of woodwind instruments, not the singer's voice, right?

DOWN:

3D: Day breaks: MORNS. And AROSE (43A: Cropped up). Wish it were clued as "Greeted the day".

5D: Wiesbaden wail: ACH. That's German for DARN (68A: Phooey!), isn't it?

9D: Forbidding: SEVERE

10D: Remove from competition: SCRATCH. Poor "Casino Drive"!

12D: Em in Kansas: AUNT. Dorothy's AUTIE Em in "The Wizard of Oz". Does anyone own a Frank Mint Autie Em doll? Does yours have the original chickens in the basket? See also 39D: Fowl females: HEN. And 36A: Relative of -ess or trix: ENNE (Feminine suffix). I like the girl power in this grid.

18D: Sect of Zen Buddhism: SOTO. No, not familiar with this sect at all. Look at this SOTO monk. So serene.

24D: Mutton dish: STEW. In which country?

31D: Without ice: NEAT

34D: Saab model: AERO. I've got no idea. I think I am used to the "Aviation prefix" clue.

37D: Poet Pound: EZRA

44D: Sushi Wrap: SEAWEED. Not a very accurate clue, sushi is wrapped in NORI, and NORI only. It would become inedible were it wrapped in KOMBU (Japanese for KELP), which is only used as a stock base for the vegetarian miso soup. The last kind of SEAWEED is called WAKAME, which tastes great both in soup and salad.

52D: Shopping bender: SPREE

54D: Early computer: ENIAC (Electronic Numeral Integrator And Computer)

57D: Cornfield cries: CAWS

60D: Gomer of Mayberry: PYLE. This once-obscure name has become a gimme for me now.

61D: Burned rubber: SPED

65D: Give it a go: TRY. "TRY me, TRY me..."

C.C.

61 comments:

  1. Good morning, C.C. and gang - I liked that this one started with the Kama Sutra -- more commonly known as Lois' exercise manual.

    Pretty straightforward puzzle - didn't know 'encina' was a live oak, and don't think I've ever used 'caky' to describe 'encrusted'. And is 'lotsa' really a word? I couldn't find it.

    Hope it's a bearable Monday for everyone.

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  2. Bingo, Dennis. Never saw ENCINA before; never used, or heard anyone use CAKY. And LOTSA? We've probably all used it but is it really a word?
    Had a small problem with 10a. Having played the game for years with a 52 card deck, I didn't know there was a German version that used 32 cards. The game in the US is commonly called "31" and isn't even close to the German game of the same name.
    The answer was easily inferable but I still had to look up the 32 card version!! I guess ENCINA and SOTO were the only new words for my vocabulary today.

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  3. Good morning, C.C. and all!

    C.C. - Encina and soto were new to me. I filled them in from other clues.

    Helen Reddy sang "I Am Woman (Hear Me Roar)" in the 1970s, and made several movies, the only one of which I can recall is "Pete's Dragon."

    Reedy or thin voiced could apply to either a singer or a reed instrument, but I'm more likely to use it to describe a person's voice, or the overall tone of an arrangement, rather than to describe the sound of a woodwind.

    The opposite of Lento could be Presto, Vivace, or Allegro.

    Is Caky a word??!! Same for Lotsa. It seems our standards are slipping, and it's a shame in such an interesting puzzle.

    C.C. you HAVE to watch one of the Fawlty Towers reruns on TV! I don't normally care for slapstick, but this is quite funny.

    Chicago has muggy, hot weather with thunderstorms threatening. I hope you all have a sunnier day!

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  4. Hello Cc, Dennis, Bill and all the DF's. Good one today as I started off failing to see anything in the NW corner and upper middle. Then the coffee kicked in and the entire puzzle was a breeze. I agree with Dennis and Bill about lotta being a word but I have heard it many times and probably even used it myself. At best it is probably slang. Encina was new to me but it was easily inferred. I never heard of "Fawlty Toowers" and did not recognize any of the characters from Cc's picture link.

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  5. Dennis I had the same thought about Lois and "Kama Sutra"

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  6. Well, Gollleeeeey!!!! (Gomer Pyle). This one was easy. I see Kukla made it back. Dennis - remember a while back we talked about runes in the puzzle. Well, "rune" was here. Kyle and Pyle in the same puzzle. Lots of K's as I'm sure all have noticed. Purr in the middle is nice because I think of "K"itty "K"at.
    I didn't like "lotsa" either. There are some hits on google but they are part of a store name or something like that. And caky is not in Merriam Webster Online.
    I like "Mack the Knife."
    I've had mutton stew. It is meat from an "old" sheep. I know it is used in Mideast and British cooking. However, in some of those countries it refers to goat meat.

    Today is Macaroni Day. Maybe we can all stick a feather in our caps. Also, it's Chocolate Day and National Strawberry Sundae Day. Finally, a real stupid reason to celebrate is that it is -Bonza Bottler Day It is celebrated once a month when the number of the month coincides with the number of the day (Jan. 1, Feb. 2, March 3, etc.).

    Have a great Monday!

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  7. Kittyb - Helen Reddy also played on the movie "Airplane." She was the nun who sang to the little sick girl, Lisa Davis (played by Jill Whelan, who later went on to play Vicki Stubing, daughter of Capt. Stubing/Gavin McLeod of "The Love Boat" fame).

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  8. Sorry, I meant Airport, not Airplane.

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  9. And Jill Whelan was in Airplane. I feel so stupid.

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  10. What about Rapidamente kittyb? Is that the opposite of LENTO also?

    Had a C in KLUTZIEZT and SKAT instead of a K and ACHE instead of ACHY.

    Did not know SOTO or that ENCINA was a live oak either. Agree on CAKY and LOTSA.

    Hope you all have a good Monday too.

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  11. Thanks for the music link NYTAnonimo. I always struggle with all of the music terms and this site sure will help.

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  12. Dennis et al,
    LOTSA: You guys are right, "slangily" or "casually" should be added to the clue.

    CAKY: You will find LOTSA of "How to avoid CAKY make-up" advices in beauty magazines. It's a solid word.

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  13. C.C., CAKY may be a valid makeup word but still unfamiliar to me as I never use the stuff. I'm so good looking without, that the beauty magazines ask for advice from me!!!
    (If you believe all that junk, I have a bridge for sale!!!)

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  14. Good morning everyone. Good puzzle today. I had a problem with some of it, but got most of it.
    That was a great video of James Brown, and Julie Andrews.
    It's going to be hot here in Michigan today.
    Got lot's of running to do today, have a good one everyone.

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  15. Morning, all!

    No major problems for me today. Didn't know ENCINA, MACK (although I've heard of "The Keystone Kops"), or SOTO, but was able to get them all via the perps. I agree that ACUTELY was poorly clued (I would have been happy with "in a keen manner"). And I was also not crazy about LOTSA (maybe if the clue had been "Plenty of slang").

    I have actually used the word CAKY to describe my eyelids when I first get up in the morning, so I can't complain about that one.

    And yes, Fawlty Towers is definitely a must see!

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  16. Cleese was part of a great comedic troupe called Monte Python. I had one album (yes, I'm older than dirt) named "Matching Tie and Handkerchef" that had three sides. One side was normal, while the other had two tracks intertwined. It would play the track that the stylus came upon first, in an apparent random manner.

    Was anyone else bothered by the clue for 9D? I think it should have been "foreboding". It's a big stretch to get to "severe" from "forbidding".

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  17. Jim, agreed - I didn't like the 'severe/forbidding' link either.
    Bill, I knew that was you I saw on the cover of Gentlemens' Quarterly.

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  18. Jim in Norfolk & Dennis,
    I think "Forbidding" (adjective here) is perfectly fine for SEVERE, both are harshly unpleasant & exacting, even draconian in a certain way.

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  19. C.C., if someone asked me to define "forbidding", I'd go through a LOT of words before I thought of 'severe', if I thought of it at all.

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  20. Dennis,
    That's interesting. I will come up with harsh, hard, threatening, then probably SEVERE. Of course, being the MOREL guy that you are, nothing is probably forbidding to you.

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  21. Good morning CC & DF's: Dennis you are sooo funny! However, my 'assets' down to exercise for the kama sutra "games"...I've taken it darn near to an olympic sports level...which start tomorrow night.Get ready for some seismic disturbances. Mt. St. Helen's will be a mere sneeze of a gnat in comparison! Kama Karma, Kemo Sabe!

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  22. I believe that the antonym of LENTO is ALLEGRO.

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  23. Pretty easy one but I struggled with the middle - got kwanzaa but it wasn't until I got purr that I was able to complete. It was also complicated by me not acknowledging that "lotsa" is a real word. The other funny thing was that I initially put CACHE in for 5A: Stock up on. Then I saw that the word directly below, 15A: Hidden hoard, had to be CACHE. There were a lot of Zs in this puzzle too.

    The theme seems to be K followed by a consonant so how about "KONSONANT" as the theme (or maybe KCONSONANT to make the word follow the theme?). Or KLUE?

    Hope all had a good holiday weekend. It was too foggy in San Francisco to see the fireworks but we watched anyway.

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  24. flyingears - allegro was close but got me on the right track. I found allegretto (acronym = alltto) meaning fast in music.

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  25. Lois,
    No wonder the squirrels are jumping like mad in our garden this morning. I've forgotten that animals act strangely/instinctively before an earthquake hits.

    Flyingears & Dr. Dad,
    "The opposite of Lento could be Presto, Vivace, or Allegro", according to KittyB (6:24am), who is very knowledgeable in musical terms and musical instruments (woodwinds).

    Flyinggears,
    I have a question for you: On June 27, Friday, 8:56am, you said "I used to like her (Michelle WIE) a lot UNTIL she started her jumpin' jacks...". What does "Jumpin' jacks" mean? Jump from LPGA to PGA? What are "jacks"?

    MH,
    I was struggling hard with this double consonants K theme earlier. KLUE sounds fantastic!

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  26. yeah, i liked the clue clew too..but ruhllly..lotsa is kin with gonna and i sures hopes we aint goin there. i thought i knew my horticulture but encino was new...everyone just calls them live oaks or quercus something...fun to actually do this puzzle in chitown again..personally, i think severe works--now time for some jumping jacks and then a swim...cheers

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  27. That's right! ALLEGRO means HAPPY or somewhat fast,but ALLEGRETTO is a synonym. PRESTO is most likely the answer...

    c.c, .Jumpin' jacks is a "floor" game played with a bouncing ball and 10 jacks which are picked with each ball bounced on the ground. It's a kiddy game mostly girls play it. So my applying it to Michelle is that she jumped from tour to tour unsuccessfully. To view a jack you may have to go to a game place such as Toys 'r Us...

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  28. flying ears...that's not what most of us mean by jumping jacks...it's a warmup exercise practiced by athletes and at all schools before the students start in on their games/sports

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  29. I X I X I X - my jumpin' jacks visual aide

    KZ's - Kawasaki motorcycles

    had the same problems as the rest of you, now I have to find more pictures of the maid on 'Fawlty Towers'. I'm gone.

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  30. Thomas, you're right on target. I meant another floor game PROBABLY known as JAX, played by girls (and some boys, too). I used the wrong terminology but tried to explained the problem Michelle has had with her jumping around... Although jumpin' jacks could also be applied to Michelle...

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  31. CC: glad you liked KLUE.

    Where i come from the game played on the floor with a ball and little spiky things was simply called "jacks". Jumping jacks refers to the exercise done in athletics and by military during physical training.

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  32. Morning C.C. and gang,

    C.C.:I was stopped at 47A and 40D area..never heard of that sitcom, but I don't watch TV at night..of much of any other time.

    Got all the other areas without help but it wasn't easy.

    Dennis, I agree "caky"?, "lotsa"? kinda (!) slangy, what?

    Lois, the Kama Secret = Position, Position, Position. By the way that monk looked like he was measuring for something, huh. !! :) oops

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  33. Carol, you've clearly come over to the dark side with that comment.

    Welcome!

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  34. Loved this puzzle. So many K's and lots of interesting words. LOTSA stuff to like in this one ("LOTSA" itself? Not so likeable).

    I did have one error, having ACHE for 7d Sore and didn't catch that KELE wasn't a South Park character (21a) since I've never seen that toon. The only thing I think I know about South Park is that "Kenny's dead" is a catchphrase (I think he dies in every episode?)

    Had a hard time believing that KHRUSHCHEV was the correct spelling for the former Soviet leader, but I guess I've been misspelling his name all these years (as "Khruschev").

    And did anyone actually know 30a ENCINA? I certainly hadn't seen that term before and I thought I knew a little about trees.

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  35. With all the talk about ENCINA, I had to chime in and say that I actually hadn't heard the word before but there is a Southern California town called Encino which is a Spanish word for an evergreen oak tree. I was able to infer encina from knowing that assuming that it is the feminine form of the word.

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  36. Stan would say "Oh my God! They killed Kenny!!" Kyle would then say "You Bastards!!"

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  37. Barb B
    Sorry to keep using anonymous id – always considered myself computer literate, but haven’t figured out things for blogging. I’ll work on it.

    I love Monday puzzles. I can feel smart for a day.
    Didn’t know Skat or conger catcher, and I didn’t get the ‘funny car’ fuel - got them from the perps. Had seen Encino in other puzzles, but forgot.

    I liked seeing Aunt Em – I know an Auntie Em who’s nothing at all like the Auntie Em doll. Svelte and sexy, she is.

    Love all the k’s; all we need is k-k-katie. And I liked having Reedy and Reddy in the clues. Cool.
    Didn’t mind cakey and lotsa – I thought they were fun.

    Mutton stew is a popular Navajo dish, but I think it’s also common in Scotland and France.

    Dr. Dad – thanks for the chocolate day tip, it’s nice to have an excuse.

    Argyle – love your jumping jacks. Perfect.

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  38. Mark - buenos aires

    caky is interesting, go to mid Wales and it refers to someone in a bad mood.

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  39. Good morning, everyone! Not a bad one today. New words/names: KYLE, ENCINA, SOTO. Shouldn't 49A be LACKS? Loved the 16A clue. Opposite of LENTO, VIVACE, perhaps? REEDY could also reference a singer's voice. Have a fantastic Monday!

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  40. Carol, that's a riot! He looks like he's about to play a version of tiddly winks called peedly-winks, or a version of beer pong called peepong w/a shot on the side...or even yet maybe his jacks are in the bowl and instead of jumpin' them, he's floating them. This guy looks serene but he is one wild and crazy party animal! Did you notice the smiling face on the floor behind him? Somebody's enjoying the game!

    I used to love to play my version of jumping jacks back in the hood. I'd just say, Wha's yo name, Jack? And he'd almost always say, yeah? And I'd jump him.

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  41. Okay, a quick lesson. Tempos (or tempi, if you prefer) are not written in stone. "Tempo" in Wikipedia actually gives the beats per minute for some tempi, but the speed at which a piece is performed is very subjective.

    The composer writes a piece of music, and then it's the conductor's job to interpret the composer's intent.

    nytanonimo, RAPIDAMENT would work. crockett, VIVACE works, too, but it also implies a style of performance. When I think of VIVACE, I interpret it to mean "Lively," or "with spirit," as well as a faster tempo. Allegro and Allegretto would also be the opposites of Lento.

    Wikipedia says that Lento is 40-60 beats per minute, so that would be one beat per second or less. Sousa marches are frequently performed at 120 beats per minute, so a band marching down the street has to take a step every half second. Vivace is roughly 140 beats per minute, and at that point a good metronome is a must!

    Any questions?

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  42. One more thing: I disagree w/the forbidding/severe combination but I get that more than I get without ice/neat combination. Can someone explain that to me, please? Without ice to me is a shot!

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  43. dr.dad.....I got it. Airport 1975. I'd totally forgotten Helen Reddy was in it. Here's the site for her filmography: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0714761/#actress

    Could someone tell me how to create a link here? I'm used to MT.

    dennis is a 'shroom, c.c.??!

    Argyle, it took me a moment but your visual for the jumping jack makes total sense! *S*

    barb b, in the right hand column, below where you make your comments, I think it says "Need a Google Identity?" Click on that, and you can create an identity using your current e-mail address. It doesn't have to be a Google address. Good luck!

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  44. Lois, in bartenderese, "neat" means poured straight from the bottle into an old-fashioned glass, without ice, so that it can be sipped.

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  45. I guess drinking isn't one of Lois' vices...or maybe she's an "on the rocks" kind of drinker.

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  46. mh, I think you're right - just have a feeling that Lois doesn't like it 'neat'...

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  47. Hmmm...I guess I've heard of a "Dirty Martini"....Maybe we can create a drink and name it after her, like a "Loco Lois" (similar to a Coco Loco without the Coconut Creme).

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  48. mh, I don't think Lois would want a drink without that.

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  49. c.c., I did a little reading up on Jerome Kern, and as astonished to find how many of his songs I know. It seems that the shows they were featured in have been forgotten, but the songs live on. Probably his best known musicals are SHOWBOAT, ROBERTA, and COVER GIRL. He collaborated with Oscar Hammerstein II (who later paired so spectacularly with Richard Rogers), Ira Gershwin, and Otto Harbach, who provided the lyrics for his music.

    I bet that every high school boy who sings bass in chorus has tried singing "Old Man River," and the girls are equally taken with "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man." Both songs are from "Showboat."

    Kern's career spanned 1905 to 1945. His music is particularly suited to improvisation, and some of the songs are standard jazz band charts.

    Your comment prompted me to surf on Kern, and it was a pleasant stroll down memory lane. Thanks!

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  50. Dennis, I was thinking that for Lois we couldn't leave out the banana creme (vague reference to an old Soupy Sales joke)...

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  51. Ah yes, I remember it well. Just perfect.

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  52. Dennis & mh: You guys are killing me! What a hoot! And you're both right! Never neat! On the rocks occasionally...depending on the beach...and always w/creme (coconut, banana both are favorites). Soupy Sales was so funny and gave a whole new dimension to 'doing lunch'. Unfortunately, I was too young to exchange pies w/him. I still bake 'em though. Cherry pie anyone? I also make a great banana creme. Thanks for the info. I learn something new every day.

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  53. After noon everyone

    Dennis: R E Lois' exercise manual, Is that just for warm ups,
    Or for the full routine?

    R O F L

    The Whoo

    P.S. Carol R e 10.58 comment
    EXCELLENT COMMENT ON THE MONK
    I was kinda wondering about that myself

    Take care everyone

    PPS? I have takkken a distink dislikk to johk underwook

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  54. hello c.c. and all,

    did this one online and got it all but echo sentiments about 'lotsa.'

    @barb b: aw .. thx.

    it is a scorcher here in the west .. very hot and very smoky.

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  55. Melissa bee: very hot and smoky here too - we must be close. I live in Mountain View and work in Campbell. Today reminded me of the bad old smoggy days in L.A. in the 60's.

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  56. @kittyb

    How to create a link here. Also in cc's sidebar.

    Thanks for the music info.

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  57. KittyB,
    RE: Dennis & MOREL. You need to think vertically and imaginatively.

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  58. Kitty,
    Did you major in music in college?

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  59. nytanonimo, thanks for directing my attention to the sidebar. If I'm going to play here, I better familiarize myself with the entire site. I hope the music info helps.

    c.c. the image is firmly fixed in my mind, now! *G*

    Yes, I was a music major, ages ago.

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  60. The cultural references that are unknown here are killing me. You simply must know the Keystone Kops - they are the basis of all physical comedy that followed:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIk4ZLVGIC8

    Helen Reddy's I Am Woman is THE feminist anthem of the 1970s! "You can bend but never break me, cause it only serves to make me more determined to achieve my final goal" And that voice -

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPDcMyPlFvw

    And Fawlty Towers is probably the most popular British comedy to ever cross the pond - it achieved cult status for sure. Try not to laugh:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-AVDeLNC0M

    P.S. I loved this puzzle - the "K" words were gimmes. Always nice to feel slightly proficient.

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  61. Danielle,
    Thank you for the "I am a Woman" information.

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