Theme: Vowel Movement
17A: Dang: EUPHEMISTIC OATH
22A: Deng: BULLS' PLAYER LUOL
37A: Ding: MINI INDENTATION
46A: Dong: SOUND OF A BIG BELL
54A: Dung: ONE TYPE OF BEETLE
This puzzle is a bleeding AIG mess for me. I am really not into clue-as-theme style crossword. Not good at defining things.
Have never heard of dung beetle. Ai ya, that smells. Luol Deng was alien to me also. Wikipedia says he is a British born in Sudan. I thought Deng is an exclusive Chinese surname, as in Deng Xiao-Ping, the long time Chinese Communist Party leader. If Deng were Tim Geithner, AIG would have returned those bonuses immediately. Or he might have taken an exit strategy from the expensive bailout weeks ago. He was rather ruthless, you know, with Tiananmen Square Incident. But he also opened our door to foreign investment.
I only know GILL (44A: Four fluid ounces) as a a girl's name or fish organ. Not familiar with the measurement meaning. But since OUNCE (47D: Light weight) is an answer, "ounces" should not be allowed in the clue.
So, this will be the last Wayne R Williams puzzle for many of you whose paper only carries TMS Daily from Monday to Friday. Maybe you can come to the Comments section at the end of this blog entry and tell me how long you've been working on TMS Daily puzzle and who got your started.
I am sure we will have fun with LA Times Daily. It's of much superior quality and edited by a highly respected crossword professional Rich Norris. Go to their website and print out the hard copy if your paper decides to go with another syndication.
Across:
11A: Boxer's stats: KOS. Sometimes the clue is singular form "Boxer's stat".
14A: Fragment: SCRAP. Did not come to me readily.
20A: Currier's partner: IVES. Or the Big Daddy in "Cat on Hot Tin Roof". I really liked that role.
21A: Old-fashioned dagger: SNEE. Now I've learned SNEE is "Old-fashioned", DIRK is not.
32A: President Garfield's middle name: ABRAM. Blanked again this morning.
52A: City south of Moscow: TULA. Forgot. Nice map. Wikipedia says TULA is the administrative center of TULA Oblast, where Leo Tolstoy was born and buried. Oblast is like our state, right?
53A: Big mil. brass: GENL. Always thought the abbreviation for general is GEN.
62A: 1900: MCM. Paris Métro was opened in 1900. So easy to navigate the Métro in Paris, even if you don't speak the language.
63A: Pong producer: ATARI. I suppose someone can make a Pang, Peng, Ping, Pong & Pung puzzle as well. Can you believe Pung is a word? It's a boxlike sleigh drawn by one horse. Peng is a Chinese mythological bird. Also a popular given name, as in Chinese ex-Premier Li Peng.
65A: Vegetable ball: PEA. Does not sound cute to me.
66A: Safin of tennis: MARAT. Have never heard of this tennis player. He defeated Pete Sampras and won US Open in 2000, then won Australia Open in 2005. How to pronounce his name? The same as MARAT who was killed in his bathtub?
Down:
2D: Fort Worth sch.: TCU. Texas Christian University. Very strange name, the Horned Frogs.
5D: Smeltery by product: SPEISS. New word to me. Same pronounciation as "Spice". Dictonary says it's literally "food" in old German.
7D: Bone cavity: FOSSA. Also a new word. The plural is FOSSAE.
9D: Radio static letters: EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference)
10D: LIRR terminus: NYC. LIRR stands for Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter railroad in North America.
11D: Sandra's "Speed" co-star: KEANU. "Bullock's "Speed" co-star" would be REEVES. Basic crossword rule: given name in clue, given name in answer; surname in clue, surname in answer. He emits more miliadonis now.
12D: Start of a path?: OSTEO. Osteopath. New word to me. I wanted PSYCHO.
13D: Sub-Saharan region: SAHEL. Another very forgetable word. This arid region, stretching cross six countries from Sengal to Chad.
18D: AL-NL honoree: MVP. Justin Morneau is AL MVP in 2006.
22D: High times: BOOMS. I wrote down NOONS. Often see NOON clued as "High time?". Completely forgot the question mark. "High Noon" is Bill Clinton's favorite movie.
23D: Wrinkly fruits: UGLIS. I finally had an UGLIE earlier this month. Not bad. Maybe my expectation was very low. It's kind of juicy, but not very sweet.
25D: Son of Leah: LEVI. No idea. Would have got it if the clue were LEVI Strauss.
26D: Campfire whoppers: YARNS. After some beer, probably.
32D: Anderssen of chess: ADOLF. No, no, nope. Have never heard of ADOLF Anderssen, the German chess master.
33D: Blue or Cross: BEN. BEN Blue was a Canadian-Amercian actor and comedian (the guy on the left). BEN Cross is an English actor. Both were unknown characters to me.
34D: Break in the audience: AISLE
35D: "Plaza Suite" setting: HOTEL. Got it from across fills. "Plaza Suite" is a play by Neil Simon.
38D: Footnote wd.: IBID. So close to IBIS the long-legged wading bird.
40D: Ernest of country music: TUBB. First encounter with this singer. Wikipedia says his nickname is "Texas Troubadour".
45D: Shoelace ends: AGLETS
46D: Tread heavily: STOMP. This Lucy stomping grapes barbie is quite pretty. Not very collectible though. The Lucy & Ricky 50th Anniversary Barbie is the hottest. Very hard to find one in unopened new condition.
48D: Muslim scholars: ULEMA. Or ULAMA. Arabic for "wise man". Appeared in our puzzle before. And of course I could not remember it.
49D: Marketplace of yore: AGORA. Ah, Socrates' shopping mall.
50D: Accord with: BEFIT. Can you give me an example to show how they are interchangeable?
51D: Like Brahms piano trio No. 1: IN B. Pure guess.
58D: Female of the flock: EWE. So sweet. I love EWE, Honey.
60D: Rent out: LET. Reminds me of the "Letters?" clue for LANDLORDS in LA Times last Friday. Very clever.
Here is the answer grid (Thank you again, Barry G).
Also, Crockett found out that the puzzle The Oregonian carries this week is an United Media Syndication. I hope you guys all vote for LA Times Daily in the end.
C.C.
17A: Dang: EUPHEMISTIC OATH
22A: Deng: BULLS' PLAYER LUOL
37A: Ding: MINI INDENTATION
46A: Dong: SOUND OF A BIG BELL
54A: Dung: ONE TYPE OF BEETLE
This puzzle is a bleeding AIG mess for me. I am really not into clue-as-theme style crossword. Not good at defining things.
Have never heard of dung beetle. Ai ya, that smells. Luol Deng was alien to me also. Wikipedia says he is a British born in Sudan. I thought Deng is an exclusive Chinese surname, as in Deng Xiao-Ping, the long time Chinese Communist Party leader. If Deng were Tim Geithner, AIG would have returned those bonuses immediately. Or he might have taken an exit strategy from the expensive bailout weeks ago. He was rather ruthless, you know, with Tiananmen Square Incident. But he also opened our door to foreign investment.
I only know GILL (44A: Four fluid ounces) as a a girl's name or fish organ. Not familiar with the measurement meaning. But since OUNCE (47D: Light weight) is an answer, "ounces" should not be allowed in the clue.
So, this will be the last Wayne R Williams puzzle for many of you whose paper only carries TMS Daily from Monday to Friday. Maybe you can come to the Comments section at the end of this blog entry and tell me how long you've been working on TMS Daily puzzle and who got your started.
I am sure we will have fun with LA Times Daily. It's of much superior quality and edited by a highly respected crossword professional Rich Norris. Go to their website and print out the hard copy if your paper decides to go with another syndication.
Across:
11A: Boxer's stats: KOS. Sometimes the clue is singular form "Boxer's stat".
14A: Fragment: SCRAP. Did not come to me readily.
20A: Currier's partner: IVES. Or the Big Daddy in "Cat on Hot Tin Roof". I really liked that role.
21A: Old-fashioned dagger: SNEE. Now I've learned SNEE is "Old-fashioned", DIRK is not.
32A: President Garfield's middle name: ABRAM. Blanked again this morning.
52A: City south of Moscow: TULA. Forgot. Nice map. Wikipedia says TULA is the administrative center of TULA Oblast, where Leo Tolstoy was born and buried. Oblast is like our state, right?
53A: Big mil. brass: GENL. Always thought the abbreviation for general is GEN.
62A: 1900: MCM. Paris Métro was opened in 1900. So easy to navigate the Métro in Paris, even if you don't speak the language.
63A: Pong producer: ATARI. I suppose someone can make a Pang, Peng, Ping, Pong & Pung puzzle as well. Can you believe Pung is a word? It's a boxlike sleigh drawn by one horse. Peng is a Chinese mythological bird. Also a popular given name, as in Chinese ex-Premier Li Peng.
65A: Vegetable ball: PEA. Does not sound cute to me.
66A: Safin of tennis: MARAT. Have never heard of this tennis player. He defeated Pete Sampras and won US Open in 2000, then won Australia Open in 2005. How to pronounce his name? The same as MARAT who was killed in his bathtub?
Down:
2D: Fort Worth sch.: TCU. Texas Christian University. Very strange name, the Horned Frogs.
5D: Smeltery by product: SPEISS. New word to me. Same pronounciation as "Spice". Dictonary says it's literally "food" in old German.
7D: Bone cavity: FOSSA. Also a new word. The plural is FOSSAE.
9D: Radio static letters: EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference)
10D: LIRR terminus: NYC. LIRR stands for Long Island Rail Road, the busiest commuter railroad in North America.
11D: Sandra's "Speed" co-star: KEANU. "Bullock's "Speed" co-star" would be REEVES. Basic crossword rule: given name in clue, given name in answer; surname in clue, surname in answer. He emits more miliadonis now.
12D: Start of a path?: OSTEO. Osteopath. New word to me. I wanted PSYCHO.
13D: Sub-Saharan region: SAHEL. Another very forgetable word. This arid region, stretching cross six countries from Sengal to Chad.
18D: AL-NL honoree: MVP. Justin Morneau is AL MVP in 2006.
22D: High times: BOOMS. I wrote down NOONS. Often see NOON clued as "High time?". Completely forgot the question mark. "High Noon" is Bill Clinton's favorite movie.
23D: Wrinkly fruits: UGLIS. I finally had an UGLIE earlier this month. Not bad. Maybe my expectation was very low. It's kind of juicy, but not very sweet.
25D: Son of Leah: LEVI. No idea. Would have got it if the clue were LEVI Strauss.
26D: Campfire whoppers: YARNS. After some beer, probably.
32D: Anderssen of chess: ADOLF. No, no, nope. Have never heard of ADOLF Anderssen, the German chess master.
33D: Blue or Cross: BEN. BEN Blue was a Canadian-Amercian actor and comedian (the guy on the left). BEN Cross is an English actor. Both were unknown characters to me.
34D: Break in the audience: AISLE
35D: "Plaza Suite" setting: HOTEL. Got it from across fills. "Plaza Suite" is a play by Neil Simon.
38D: Footnote wd.: IBID. So close to IBIS the long-legged wading bird.
40D: Ernest of country music: TUBB. First encounter with this singer. Wikipedia says his nickname is "Texas Troubadour".
45D: Shoelace ends: AGLETS
46D: Tread heavily: STOMP. This Lucy stomping grapes barbie is quite pretty. Not very collectible though. The Lucy & Ricky 50th Anniversary Barbie is the hottest. Very hard to find one in unopened new condition.
48D: Muslim scholars: ULEMA. Or ULAMA. Arabic for "wise man". Appeared in our puzzle before. And of course I could not remember it.
49D: Marketplace of yore: AGORA. Ah, Socrates' shopping mall.
50D: Accord with: BEFIT. Can you give me an example to show how they are interchangeable?
51D: Like Brahms piano trio No. 1: IN B. Pure guess.
58D: Female of the flock: EWE. So sweet. I love EWE, Honey.
60D: Rent out: LET. Reminds me of the "Letters?" clue for LANDLORDS in LA Times last Friday. Very clever.
Here is the answer grid (Thank you again, Barry G).
Also, Crockett found out that the puzzle The Oregonian carries this week is an United Media Syndication. I hope you guys all vote for LA Times Daily in the end.
C.C.
87 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - I think these 15-letter answer puzzles have become my favorite, although I struggled to finish this one. And this'll probably be the easiest Friday puzzle we'll see for the foreseeable future.
Fortunately I knew Bulls player Luol Deng from seeing his basketball card, and that helped immensely. Never heard of 'speiss', didn't know 'Tula', or Marat Safin, although I think we've seen him here before. Still don't like 'abler', unless it's on the end of 'en'.
Today is International Earth Day, the first day of Spring, and.....Extraterrestrial Abductions Day. Anybody missing? Anybody you'd like to see missing? Yeah, I know.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity - and I'm not sure about the universe." -- Albert Einstein.
And today's Fun Facts:
- Acorns were used as a substitute during the Civil War.
- McDonald's is the single largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes and apples in the United States.
- Farmers in Japan have developed square watermelons because they stack better.
Dennis,
Acorns were used as a substitute for what during the Civil War? I had square water melon once. They taste no different than the normal one. Human intelligence is infinite too.
I disagree with your post yesterday that some people will only appreciate the military "when they suddenly need them". People love our troops and appreciate the tremendous sacrifices those service men and women are making. It's the "Go-alone" Bush/Cheney foreign policy that we (at least I) had problem with.
Karen Q,
Hope your computer if fixed. Otherwise, email Bill. He is the man.
Kazie,
Is Dennis' quote yesterday "being free of caring" the same as "being free from caring"? Thanks for the map explaination. Now I see some part of the purple areas have words Oblasts and realize they are parts of Russia. Now I see Russia from my house (Wolfmom).
Lemonade,
Sorry for asking the new picture question when you already posted clearly who they are earlier. Somehow your 10:10am comment was not filed as Lemonade comment in my mail box. Very clever comments about fishing/trolling. How did you cook the wahoo? Fried?
Lol, sorry, was rushing to get ready for the gym. Acorns were used as a substitute for coffee during the Civil War.
We'll agree to disagree on the military issue. I know better. It's a small minority, but nonetheless it's there. Let's let it go at that.
Dennis,
Acorn for coffee? Sounds awful!
Lois,
That stand....is SATYR's erect MOREL. On top of it is his winecup.
Mainiac,
I am so sorry about your dog. Did you kill the coyote?
Linda,
See, your take on SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAPER is what I suspected what our editor was trying to convey. I did not know Jesus and "Little Zeus" connection. So interesting. Thanks.
Frank,
We've got another Korean vet who flew planes during Korean War. Maybe he will say Hello to you today. What does "They also serve who only stand and wait" mean?
Papajim,
Vietnam lessons are learned. Troops are treated much more respectfully because what you guys suffered during and after the war. And I am very sorry for the pain inflicted on you and other Vietnam veterans.
Joyce Lee,
Lovely SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAPERS story. Thanks for sharing. Your Lie to Lee name change reminds me of the German art song "Lied". It's pronounced as "leet". Then its plural becomes "Lieder" and pronounced as "leeder". Odd, isn't it?
Maria,
Nice to see you again. Those literati needs your funny comments to keep things fascinating here.
Dot,
Wow, 57 years! Congratulations!
Crockett,
Thanks for getting back to us on United Media puzzle. I vaguely remember someone mentioned it before.
Wolfmom,
So the pea in PEA SOUP refer to green pea not the yellow pea? I sure hope coming to this blog provides you with some inspiring and rewarding moments. Painting alone all day can get monotonous. Interesting for me to learn the reason why Catholic Church adopted so many of the pagan holidays. Thanks.
I agree with C.C.: after living in Taiwan all this time, Dang is a verb meaning "become", Deng is a family name, Ding is a way to serve chicken, Dong means east and Dung means crap to me. ONE TYPE OF BEETLE was the only theme fill I could get. I wanted AGAIN for OFTEN, SUDAN for SAHEL, NOONS for BOOMS, OLAF for OLAV, BONDS (as in stocks and...) for BOONS, APTER for ABLER and SNARE for SNARL. Obviously GEN (three letters) wasn't correct but "military" could have meant navy so I did consider ADML for GENL. AGREE and FIT IN were fills that came to me before the perps gave me BEFIT (at which point I was struggling with SOUND OF A BI???LE).
I'm glad to see Dennis admit to struggling. Dang.
Martin
Good morning CC and all,...this one kicked my butt a bit. I made several mistakes IE: noons in lieu of boons for 22D, olaf in lieu of olav for 31A etc., etc., .....
I never heard of gill, marat and genl for general?? Poor, poor and poorer cluing.
Looking forward to next weeks puzzles.
Golf league starts today so I will be back later today.
I hope you all have a great Friday.
Martin,
Dang is conjunction meaning "while", not "become".
Elissa,
The reason puzzles are getting harder as the week goes is not because the editors think we are getting smarter. They are aiming at different solvers on different days and hope to retain the solver-ship (is that a word?) and interest of as many solvers as possible. They know certain novice solvers only dabble in Monday's to Wednesday's and some experienced solvers only tackle the weekend warriors. So each day is aimed at a specific target. I feel Lancelot the character is easy to fall in love with, no matter who plays.
Richshif,
Thanks for the link. I was very surprised by what I saw. Thanks for the "It's a Wonderful Life" & SEE YOU IN THE FUNNY PAPERS connection.
C.C.
Stan Lee, the creator of Spiderman, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk was born Stanley Lieber. I think there are a lot of European names that have been shortened to Lee.
Martin
okay - i was having problems this morning and found it a bit harder ( the puzzle) than dennis did. I was not able to get some answers and had to use Regular skill level and use the hints :( .....I hope I will learn from my mistakes..
Off to work I go..
C.C., how would you translate 我要當醫生? I know the meaning of 當 in the Cyndi Wang song 當你.
Martin
Good morning CC et al., Another bleeder! At this rate I'm going to need a transfusion...of wine from a particular wine cup on a very erect morel stand! Thanks,CC. And I want more than a 'gill' - never heard of it - actually, I'll take more than the wine and the cup too for that matter. I did not like this puzzle. It belongs in the dung pile.
Off to play w/a raw egg - getting it to stand on end b/c today is the spring equinox and the yolk settles evenly at the bottom. Fun day!
Dennis: was going wild w/ideas of what acorns could be subs for... bullets, buttons, food, birth control pills for men.... oh, the possibilities! Thank you for clearing that up.
Off to PA to play for 3 days: got an offer I couldn't refuse.
Enjoy your day and wkend.
Good morning:
C.C., as usual your comments are very kind. We grilled the wahoo in an outdoor brick oven. I am on the first diet of my life, and grilling most things.
MARAT Safin is pronounced like the famous French Revolution figure, a very interesting life and death.
His sister, DINARA SAFINA has been making her own name in the tennis world recently. I find it confusing for a brother and sister to have different last names.
I really like the 15 letter puzzles, because you go from despair to understanding as soon as the one missing letter gives you the word. DENG was tricky,, even though the b-baller was my first thought , getting there was hard. I also did not remember OLAV rather than OLAF.
LEVI was one of the 12 sons of JACOB, one by his wife LEAH (he also had another wife RACHEL, and two concubines) and therefore one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Most of the other lines are "lost" but the descendants of LEVI became the tribe of priests. Interesting history, and it should help you remember LEAH's sons.
Time to get going, hope all are well.
Morning, all!
I still haven't seen any announcement in the Boston Globe about the puzzle being discontinued or what it will be replaced with.
This puzzle definitely slapped me around a bit. There were two spots where unknowns crossed that I had to make guesses, and I only guessed right in one of the two spots. The one I did get was the crossing of TULA and ULEMA. The one I didn't get was the crossing of BULL PLAYER LUOL with SAHEL. I couldn't even figure out what the clue for 22A was referring to until the bitter end when I finally realized it was the last name of somebody who apparently plays for the Chicago Bulls. That didn't help me, though.
The rest of the puzzle had plenty of other rough spots. I knew with 100% certainty that 25D was LEVI and that 38D was IBID, but seeing the resulting "II" in 37A made be doubt myself. Especially since I had erroneously put BOONS instead of BOOMS for 22D and TALES instead of YARNS for 26D (and didn't know ADOLF, BEN or TUBB) and therefore was staring at NINIIN__ETA__N in confusion for the longest time. The light finally dawned when I realized that 42A was BOONS, which meant that 22D couldn't be. And then I finally realized that 26D was YARNS instead of TALES, which got me ABRAM, and that in turn led me to ADOLF and BEN and the whole thing fell into place nicely.
The only other unknown today was SPEISS. Thank heavens I remembered how to spell EUPHEMISTIC...
Nothing to do with todays puzzle, comments from a sleepless early [late?] fri/thurs?
KittieB,
As a care giver of two 80+ yr old parents, I can relate!
Dad just had cataract surgery today [I guess yesterday]. So far, so good.
As for technical details, again I can relate! I don't even know how to send a pic to the post!
Thank You Vets!
My Uncle was a WWII Naval Aviator. He flew off the USS Enterprise [VT-10] in a TBF in the first carrier night attack of the US against the Japanese at Truk Atoll. I have his DFC hanging on the wall, as well as his Purple Heart, because he didn't make it back.
To All that have served Our Country, bless you and keep you, in whatever capacity you've served.
Sleepless in Osseo
Oh -- I forgot, MARAT was another unknown for me today...
Walked out of the gym a while ago to a car covered with snow. Out of the clear blue. Seems we're having a freak snowstorm here on the first day of spring. This truly sucks.
Kristen, I didn't mean to minimize my effort - I really struggled to finish this one. My point was that this will still probably be the easiest Friday puzzle we'll see now.
Rich, amazing memory with the "It's a Wonderful Life" quote.
Tried to put a contact in today to no avail; I guess my eyeball is not back to normal yet.
Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. I have the day off and thought I would stop by and see what's happening. Looks like a few changes are on the horizon for us puzzle solvers. I vote for the LA Times Puzzle.
Dennis - glad to see you are keeping up with "Today is---".
Maybe a more appropriate theme for the puzzle would be "bowel movement" because that's what I thought of this one. What a piece of --- you know. A bunch that I didn't know (like C.C. mentioned) but got them from perps. And that fits in with Dung being a piece of crap.
I have made square watermelons. You put them inside a cinder block when they are small and they grow inside of it and come out square. Have to be careful when breaking the cinder block to get them out. I also saw a picture of one that was grown inside of a mold so that it came out as Mickey Mouse.
Plenty of people I could hope would be ET abducted but alas, wishful thinking.
Regarding pea soup. Split pea soup I think is from the green pea. I know for sure that in New England (especially RI) that Ham and Pea soup uses the yellow pea.
I see Lois is still drinking and going nuts over nuts/acorns. Keep it up Lois! I never could get the egg to stand on end. Some tell me that it can be done on any day with enough patience. If you get it to work Lois, you can then crack it and put it in a gill of beer and drink it down. Yukkkk.
Anyway, here's wishing all of you a Great Friday!
Dr Dad, welcome back even if it is only for a day. I see from your avatar that you must have been working out with Dennis or Lois.
Happy Spring everyone. I think the only answer I did know today was Keanu...
CC, thanks for including the completed grid. I think it's a very helpful addition.
I'm not sure which puzzle we'll get in the Wisconsin State Journal on Monday; don't think I've seen any announcements. Maybe Kazzie knows?
I've been doing this puzzle since last Nov. when my job was eliminated and I found myself with some free time in the mornings. Even on mornings like today when I wonder if I will ever get the hang of these puzzles, I really enjoy coming to this blog and seeing what everyone has to say.
I'm off to stand an egg on its end.
G'day all,
I used lots of perp help and lucky guesses today, and a few googles for names like LUOL, ABRAM and MARAT. Didn't know TUBB or USTA--had an A instead of U. I also had BOON at first, and then changed it to BOOM, to meet MINI.
GILL came to me out of the cobwebs of my youth. Went to my trusty old notebook cover, but the liquid measures have worn off long ago. If they are 4 ounces, that would be a fifth of a British pint (20 oz), or a quarter of a US pint.
No, I don't think BEFIT and ACCORD WITH are the same.
In modern German, Speise is food, in a more genteel sense than Essen. They are also both verbs: speisen = to dine, essen =to eat. How SPEISS became food, I can't tell.
FOSSA in Latin means a ditch, like the Romans would dig around fortifications to make attack more difficult. So when the letters started appearing in the word here, I thought of it as a possibility, since a cavity is a hole, but I wasn't aware of this usage.
c.c.,
I don't see any real difference between free from and free of, unless the latter implies having previously been weighed down by it and now you have become free.
Dennis et al,
Please don't take offense, but I feel that the reaction to the Vietnam vets was misplaced and ignorant. Of course you were all serving your country honorably and deserved a heroes' welcome. What the protesters should have objected to, and really were protesting, was the misguided government action in getting involved in the first place, much like Iraq. Only now, people do blame the administration and not the soldiers. Many of the protests in the 60-70's were based on the unrealistic idealism of avoiding all warfare in general, the Peace Movement at its core.
Andrea1263,
No, I haven't seen any announcements about our WSJ either. But the reduced size, and lack of any new news each day together with the greater difficulty of the LAT puzzles will probably mean we'll drop our subscription and I'll tackle it online instead.
I've done this puzzle since before I retired. Often my first hour class would begin arriving as I was working on it, and students would help with the sports clues while we waited for the others to come in.
Kaz, absolutely no offense taken here; you said it most eloquently.
Good Morning,
This one beat me up pretty good. I couldn't get the Bull's player which led to wrong guesses at perps along that line. I've never heard of a gill either.
CC, Luckily the dog (Sparkey, didn't name him, got him from the SPCA) was inside that night. I have shot at coyotes but never hit one. They are quite crafty. When Sparks brother was alive I tied them both out on runs during the day. My wife called in a panic saying a wolf was attacking the dogs one morning. No wolf, but a rather large coyote. I never would have believed it if I didn't see it. The dogs are 90 lbs and this 50 lbs coyote was basically teasing them, charging in and out of their range on the runs. After firing off a couple of rounds the thing finally took off.
Sparks problems are appearing to more neurological in nature which is bringing on decision time. He's stopped eating which isn't like him at all. I hate this part of pet ownership.
On a lighter note, hooray its spring!! I've still got two feet of snow on the lawn but its melted away from the house. The crocuses have sprouted.
Have a great day!
Good evening from India,
General is not abbreviated anywhere as GENL, it is definitely just GEN no doubts about that.
On the whole an Ok puzzle except for the mnames as usual. Was stcuk on SPEISS, MVP and IVES, had to google my way out of that mess
Lastest word is that Wayne Williams will continue the Sunday Tribune crossword puzzle,the daily TV crossword and the daily unthemed easy commuter crossword. It is just the Monday thru Saturday Chicago Tribune puzzle that is canceled.
For some reason yesterday the comment I posted didn't go through. I guess it was kidnapped in cyberspace by those extraterrestrials! I called our paper (Savannah Morning News)to ask about the change and they had no idea what I was talking about. Today they had an ad about the change to L.A. Times puzzles beginning Monday. Well, we call it Slow-vannah for a reason!
Good morning everyone - As far as I am concerned, this puzzle belongs in the dung heap!
I've been working both puzzles this week and believe the LAT is a much better puzzle. Just started on today's (but needed a coffee break) but it doesn't appear as difficult as the Trib.
One of my newspapers switched to United Media Services several months ago, except for Sunday, so I have been printing out a blank puzzle on the website.
I've been puzzling since I was in my teens.....years ago....because I am very competitive. My Mom and I would fight over the puzzle and we finally had to buy two papers!
Sure hope that if a vote is taken, everyone will root for the LAT.
Mainiac: I empathize with you and your family about Sparkey. I had to have my dog Fledermaus put down, holding her in my arms. About the toughest thing I have ever done. She was only 11 and had seizures starting the night before the euthanasia. Couldn't stop the seizures. So my heart goes out to you.
C.C.: What a great explanation for why the puzzles get harder as the week goes on. Never thought of it. Thanks.
Mainiac: Sorry to hear about your dog. Yesterday Fresh Air on NPR had Dr. Nancy Kay, author of "A Veterinarian Advises How to 'Speak For Spot'," talking about how to make tough health decisions for your pets, which you might find helpful. Here is the link.
Lots of trouble with the puzzle today. In the middle top I wanted AGAIN for OFTEN and ROOMY eluded me, which meant I got no help for unknowns FOSSA and ORIEL. Also had the same BOOM/NOON, TALES/YARNS issue.
Other unknowns SAHEL, LUOL, TULA, and ULEMA crossed and I didn't guess correctly.
I think is it just wrong to make up abbreviations like GENL (and CMDR the other day). As the guys say on CarTalk -boooooguuuussss.
Dennis: My first thought was that acorns would substitute for bullets. My brother often used them for fuel for sling shots when I was little and they really hurt.
CC: If this be an example of Friday`s puzzles from now on...Lois can have my 5-post spot on those days...even my acorn coffee couldn`t reduce the headache...I solve in pencil (you can always tell a puzzle solver by the way they put letters with tails completely in the grid...), then I correct in ink. Today, I drained three new Bics!
I love all your interesting info about your native land.
"They also serve who stand and wait" could refer to the wives/husband/parents/children who also sacrifice greatly when their loved-ones are deployed.
Jimbo: Hope you`re taking seriously the suggestion about writing your memoirs concerning your childhood.
Concerning Einstein`s quote: Stupidity is often genetic but ignorance is by choice.
Square watermelon? Apostasy!
BTW: I still do many of those "pagan" rituals concerning Holy Days ( holidays ) but I do them with what I hope is a pure heart of celebration concerning the wonderful events, and not as a "pagan".
Concerning "little Zeus" , I have a friend who prefers to call Him what His mother called Him : (Y)Jeshua. Having said all that, there is only one, basic Truth that all believers must agree upon...all the rest is personal opinion and conviction.
Lemondade714: Here`s a funny story that is supposedly true: The Levitical Priesthood is being revived in Israel and preparations are being made to re-institute animal sacrifices(this part IS true and won`t the SPCA love THAT!) Anyhow, they had bred a necessary red-heifer for one of the sacrifices but "something happened" as my friend put it...and the heifer no longer was! Back to square one.
@Dennis - Sent you an email with bunch of inane stuff. Use as you see fit.
Razz
Dot: ". . . before the flood. (The one in June, not Noah's!)" LOL. I was helping an 87 year old friend get ready for moving and she was complaining that she might be too old for all the sorting and packing. I told her about your husband and she was reinvigorated. Thanks.
square watermelons
I saw this in a forward some time ago, and so knew it was on the web somewhere.
According to "Webster's 7th New Collegiate Dictionary", a gill (44A)is also 5 fluid ounces in British imperial liquid and dry measures.
Dumb question department:
Does "perps" mean perpendicular (answers)? If so...if I get an answer from the horizontals...what is correct? "from the hors"? "horis"? "horz"?
Oh dear. So much to learn!
Jeannette
This is a re-post of my late night comment from Thursday evening:
Hello, all. Spent the day at the first round NCAA games here in Portland, and haven't been around the computer to blog anything.
I did contact the Features editor at The Oregonian, and she called me back and left a message that said this week's puzzle are from United Media Syndicate. They selected it because the syndicate says it's their most popular crossword and because it was the closest to the current one (TMS), which they "really like." There you have it, boys and girls. It doesn't seem to have an online component.
Jeannette, the perps pertain to any of the clues that cross the one you're trying to solve, whether vertical or horizontal.
Hi C.C. and everyone, I have fried brain cells in attempting to finish this 'puzzle'.
So many words/names I had never heard of: SPEISS, GILL, ULEMA, MARAT,SAHEL.
I said 'EWE' and looked to the G-spot for some help.
Somehow I had a different meaning pop into my mind when I read the clue for 46A.
Mainiac, I am so sorry about your dog.
THE decision is the hardest one to make in pet ownership! Having lost my 2 cats, I don't ever want to go through that again, so I just enjoy other peoples pets.
Kazie, thanks for the picture link to the square watermelons! I have never seen them here (in Portland). We have the 'personal size' ones and they are really cute. I don't care for watermelon, but my hubby loves them.
Nice to know our paper's No.2 test puzzles are from United Media Services but it would be better if we knew who the constructors are. I am voting for the LAT.
Hope none of you are abducted today!
Good Morning All, Another perp day for me. I was totally stuck on BULLS' PLAYER LUOL and I never would have finished ARP, ADOLPH, ABRAM, GILL, ULEMA, TULA or MARAT without the perps. I still didn't really "get" the theme, with the progression of vowels until I came here.
Mainiac, I was rather surprised to find out coyotes have such am expansive range in the U.S. Here is an interesting Nat'l Geo article about coyotes in eastern U.S..
Around here coyotes are a fact of life. We see them crossing the roads on almost a daily basis and sometimes their howling wakes us up in the middle of the night. Our property abuts a coyote trail about three hundred feet from our house. Coyotes are the cleverest of predators and we have heard many sad stories from friends and neighbors about losing cats and small dogs to them. We have a fenced yard and motion sensor lights that are there to protect our 17 pound Schipperke. So far, no problems, but we are very careful. We are always aware that the coyotes were here first and have no reason to give up their home territories.
Dot, you and your husband are a true inspiration for all of us; thanks so much for being part of the blog.
Regarding putting a dog down - I've been through absolutely terrible things in my life, but one of the hardest things I ever had to do was hold my akita while she was put to sleep. It's horrible to say, but it hit me as hard as some of the people I've lost.
That's why I just have fish now - when they die, they just go for the great porcelain swim.
Good Afternoon C.C. and Co.,
C.C.,
I had probably done less than two dozen crossword puzzles in my life until I started doing the TMS puzzle regularly. I don't recall exactly when that was, but it was sometime within the last year or two. I have no idea if the SoFL Sun-Sentinel is planning to go with the LA Times puzzle, but it makes no difference. I don't mind printing the one from the LA Times.
Today's puzzle was tough for me. Although I was able to finish it, it took a long time and I got several wrong.
I wanted SAHER for 13D. And since I had never of LOUL Deng, LOUR sounded just as good to me. Also, since I am not a basketball buff, I did not catch the fact that I wound with HULLS rather than BULLS since I had HOOTS for BOOMS for 22D. That was the only thing that made sense to me since I had misspelled LEVI as LEVY and therefore figured 37A had to be TINY INDENTATION. Oh boy.
I did not recall TULA either, but I guessed right.
I initially had GNRL for 53A. I also think GENL is bogus. GEN is probably the best choice.
I don't much care for the looks of that Pung. I would much rather ride in a Chaise.
I agree that Keanu Reeves has become better with age.
Are you sure OSTEOPATH is a new word to you, C.C.? I am pretty sure I recall seeing it in the puzzle previously.
I think 'Accord with' would be better clued as 'In accord with' and that the answer should be 'befits'. An example might be, "Her sensibility is in accord with mine, indeed it befits it."
"I love EWE, honey" was cute.
I got MARAT, ADOLF and BEN from the fills.
Like ClearAyes, I didn't get the theme until I came here. Given that I usually forget to try to figure it out, that's no surprise.
Greetings all,
I started working on today's dung heap in my wife's therapist's waiting room (she is undergoing severe depression), bereft of Mr. Magoo and other aids, and got my ass whupped! I stumbled on most of the clues already commented on, especially 22a, not being a Bull's (or basketball) fan.
I think Wayne has been reading this blog and was reacting to the comments about easy puzzles.
CC, I think Linda's answer to your question about my quote is correct.
It's really Spring in Corpus Christi; 80 and everything is starting to bloom, including mosquitos.
Drdad: Good to see you again. You are missed very much. Nuts? It's a personality flaw. I'll always keep it up - or help someone else in that process.
Dick: If I'm going to be given the opportunity to claim credit for any aspect of Drdad or his avatar, I want to claim credit for the size, strength, and stamina of any man. Of course that will leave Dennis with perhaps the avatar's skin condition. Maybe his bloodworms can be blamed for the dermatitis, if it's not a genetic defect..or maybe even if it is. Those worms are potent little devils! (I'm glad you're getting better, Dennis, and even to the point of wanting to try a contact. That's good news. You keep that up. I'll keep up the nuts).
I am surprised no one has mentioned John Milton's "On His Blindness," the poem from which the quotation
"They also serve who stand and wait" is derived. He was self-justifying his post-blindness worth as a servant of his lord. When I was in high school, and unsure if I would ever see any better, I had that poem suggested to be by many teachers.
I just finished the LAT, and it was a challenge; I was really determined to put STL in for Stan Musial wore it; also never heard of a DECIliter, but Latin is latin so ten it is. There were some good ones, I liked SERENADE, and I was forced to remember there are two r’s in EMBARRASSED.
Also the theme, REDSTATES BLUESTAYES was witty.
Martin/Kazie,
Those Lees are not all shortened form of Lieber, right? Excellent point on Dang, Martin. Instead of eating worms, maybe I should chew acorns.
Lemonade,
I found out later that Russian women have feminine form of last name. An example is given on Mikhail Gorbachev's wife. Her name: Raisa Gorbachyova. Thanks for the LEVI and 12 tribe story.
Barry G,
If your paper is still quiet, then you should get LA Times Daily next Monday. Otherwise, you will have to solve it on line. We NEED (not merely want) you here!
TJ,
Sleepless in Osseo? What's bothering you? Love?
Dr. Dad,
Nice to hear from you. Have you tried cinder block to grow a square pumpkin for your Halloween carving? Loved your artwork last year.
Andrea,
Since last Nov only? You are definitely a TYRO, so green! Try another 8 months, you will be amazed by how much progress you'll have made. Be patient.
Kazie,
Wow, ESSEN means "To eat". That's a great way to clue ESSEN.
Fred,
Where did you get the information on Wayne R. Williams? I was told Jackie Mathews will be the editor for the six Daily Commuter Crosswords and a Sunday TV Crossword.
DJ Girl,
Good to hear the positive LA Times change! Do let us have your views on the new puzzles. By the way, I enjoy constructive "whinings" very much.
Southern Belle,
After seeing Crockett late post last night, I tried so hard to recall who gave me the United Features change information. It's EWE. Thanks for clearing things up.
Sallie,
Does your husband solve crossword also?
Dennis,
"That's why I just have fish now - when they die, they just go for the great porcelain swim". What is "great porcelain swim"? I am sure glad you are off steroid now.
Linda,
Wait until next Friday when we solve LA Times, you will know what Dennis said this morning is true. Today is probably the easiest Friday we'll see for some time. If Jewish people do not believe in Jesus, why do they have Yeshua? What happened to the red Heifer?
Clear Ayes,
Maybe you can help me elucidate on "They also serve who stand and wait". I don't quite get Linda's explanation. The sentence structure confuses me.
Morning all,
This was almost a total crash and burn and I have yet to look at the LAT puzzle. Had most of the same problems with obscure words. Did know AGLET and GILL, but LUOL just did not look like it could be a word. I did get 54A and A6A but the others just would not fill in! ARGH! :0(
C.C. I really love this blog and all these creative people and it is the first place I come to in the morning while I try to defog my brain. It also gives me a chance to try and share some of the incredible amount of random information I carry around in the filofax of my brain...sort of get to take it out, dust it off and throw it out there. The pea soup of London fog partly refers to the density and I would imagine that it would change in color and look depending on the light source. The standard phrase is ..."thick as pea soup..."
The only place I had come across GILL was in an Ian Rankin Inspector Rebus novel(Rebus drinks a bit) and ended up calling my Scottish friend for a definition.
Painting all day is very pleasurable, especially when it is going well...I find it to be very relaxing when I can stay focused. I always have this wonderful classical music station on in the background. It is definitely a discipline and I sometimes have to work at keeping other distractions at bay.
Dennis: glad you cleared up the acorn thing...I, like Lois, was trying to figure out a substitute(although maybe not quite so creatively).
I am with everyone who has ever had to say good bye to animals...Just before Christmas we were going to have to put down our lovely 19 year cat and the day before, our 16 year old Chow/Keeshound mix started having convulsions. We had to take both in on the same day...My husband took the dog and I sat with the cat. We are down to a 16 yr. old cat and I think when this one is gone we will, like Carol, decide to be pet free for awhile...too much heartbreak.
Again, sorry for the long post, but on a lighter note...hooray for Spring!, and even though it has been in the 70's, they are calling for snow on the hills by this weekend...and I live in freakin' CA!
Good day to you all...and as always C.C. Thank you for always showing us the "light" at the end of the Crossword.
C.C.,
I don't know of any Lieber to Lee name changes. Lieber means lover in German, so there'd be no reason to change it, unlike many names that should have been changed, such as Schwanz (tail or penis/prick), Schweinfuß (pig's foot), Schalk (scoundrel), just to name a few.
Frank, Elissa, Wolfmom et al,
Wayne R Williams is not a good editor, but he is actually a great constructor. His puzzles have appeared 38 times ((including 4 Sundays) in NY Times before. Very impressive! He's been probably on Dennis' steroid drops lately, with wicked, strange clues. He needs a good editor like Will Shortz/Rich Norris (Yes, Barry G) to polish his grids.
CC: With smile I say "the red heifer was found in very close company with a bull."
The porcelain swim refers to flushing dead goldfish down the toilet...
"Jeshua" and all it`s forms is a common, Jewish name...it could also be translated "Joshua." His full, earthly name was Yeshua ben Josephus.
I was asked to write a poem for the wives/husbands left when our local guard was deployed, and at the risk of stealing a little of ClearAyes` thunder...here is the last verse:
Safe, again, against our hearts
After having done their part.
Our sacrifice is near as great.
"We also serve who stand and wait."
Hope that helps...
PromiseMe,
I thought I turned you into a Lot's wife like pillar of salt with my comment, as I did last time with Martin's over post. He was so bitter. I feel very disappointed when others don't respect my decisions. I really can't remember OSTEOPATH. Psychopath was the only word that popped into my head. But then most editors would go with "Hitchcock movie" for PSYCO as shortened PSYCO is frowned upon in cluing.
Kazie,
Is Lieber "female lover" or "male lover"? Now, Hitchcock sounds very DF. He should have changed his name.
Coyotes are native to northern California, but I’ve never seen one. We get mountain lions wandering into back yards from time to time. But I have seen huge raccoons in our yard. We have a fish pond (which my husband calls the Raccoon Sushi Bar). One night my husband decided to take action when we were awakened about 4 am by a raccoon in the pond. My husband grabbed his spear gun, pointed it our the window and pulled the trigger. Since the spear was only a few feet from the raccoon, he nailed him on the forehead, which is a lot harder than the fish the spear gun is intended to pierce. We heard a thunk and the raccoon took off. My husband claims when he got home Mr. Raccoon told his wife, “You won’t believe what happened at the sushi bar. I was just getting a snack and some big, hairy naked guy shot me.”
Lieber is a masculine noun. It can also be the masculine adjective form. If you write a letter, the "dear" at the beginning is either lieber (m) or liebe (f). I don't know that the word is used as a feminine noun, but other words exist: Liebhaber (m) or Liebhaberin (f) for a lover in the sense of enthusiast or connoisseur. Liebesbrief=love letter. Die Liebe=love: Liebe macht blind=love is blind.
Hitchcock could have been angicized from something ending with Koch=cook. That's another name which people have here --Koch, and they're embarrassed about the pronunciation, so they pronounce it Cook, or Koh, or in the NY mayor's case Kotch.
This Xword appears in the SF Chronicle and SJ Mercury. I always check your answers after completion.
Is this the last time?
Oh! I am so happy to see Wayne Robert Williams's edited puzzles go! I have been despising them more and more each year. His puzzles are too off the wall. Who cares about who was the NL MVP back in 1900?
Or who was Sandra's co-star in "Speed?"
Citrus Guy
C.C. I have actually seen that David painting of Marat...It is tucked away on a little side street in Rheims in a little "Fine Arts" museum that was previously the Abbaye St. Denis...I found out from a guide book that it was in that particular place and spent a long time wandering up and down stairs looking for it. Finally found it on the very top floor tucked into a corner. It is a very stunning(and large) painting...but the rooms were filled with amazing paintings hung floor to ceiling in every room.
That is very interesting info on Wayne Williams...I think what has been frustrating with him is the puzzles with so much obsurity crossing obscurity. I am learning to enjoy more difficult puzzles, thanks to you, and have fun looking for themes and doublbed up cluing. But, it would only seem logical that when you have a slew of really difficult and random clues that there should be a blance in the crosses to at least allow some WAG'ing. I have had the impression that perhaps the job of designing many of the xwords has fallen on Mr. William's shoulders during the paper's bankruptcy and that while we are all whining, this guy was just trying to hold things together...you just never know.
Drat! Obscurity...Doubled...Balance...:0P
C.C. In modern times, the last line of On His Blindness has been taken to mean, as demonstrated by Linda, a reference to military families. It works very well in that respect. It is interesting that this sonnet is open to different interpretations.
This poem was written from a devout Christian perspective. Milton was comparing himself to the servant in the Parable of the Talents. He feels he has wasted his sighted years and now has been punished and cast into darkness for not using God's gifts.
Then, he realizes he was wrong.
God doesn't need man's service, and He is aware of our infirmities. Our humble acceptance of our limitations, even if in human eyes we seem inactive, can give as much glory to God as those who are able to more actively serve Him.
On His Blindness
When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts; who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,
And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve who only stand and wait.
C.C.
I got my info about Williams from Cruciverb-L where all the xword constructors chitchat, and also Amy Reynaldo's blog. I don't remember which site had the info. If you have confirmed your info you should post the same at Cruciverb-L since you seem to have an inside track about what's going on.
Lois: Interesting comment about the raw egg. I may have learned about that as a boy forgot it. However, this article claims that it can be done anytime.
Sallie: Are you a fan of Johann Strauss the Younger?
Mainiac: I, too, am sorry to hear about your dog. I hope Elissa's link to 'A Veterinarian Advises How To 'Speak For Spot' will be useful. I just bookmarked it myself.
Elissa: I shared your first thought about acorns being used for bullets. I would not want to drink acorn coffee. It sounds awful.
C.C.: I am not that fragile and I knew I was in the wrong when you spanked me. I will try to behave myself.
WHOOPPEE !!! My copy of 'Crossdown' has arrived. :)
C.C. I am suffering from a profound attack of Shock and Awe and sitting here flabergasted that you mispelled the name of your most revered main man - after Boomer of course. Isn't it Justin MORNEAU rather than Mornean? Oh my goodness!
You are overworked dear lady. You must ease up. Or simmer down. . whichever the case.
Best wishes for a rapid recoverence.
Hayrake
On the question of YESHUA religious Jews do not contest the historical existence of a rabbi who went by the name, which in English is "Jesus." As said by LINDA, YESHUA was a common name, as I recall there are 24 references to that name in what is now referred to as the "Old Testament." Jews do not believe Jesus was the Messiah, nor do they believe he is the son of G-d, nor do they believe in virgin birth or the holy trinity.
What really confuses things, are groups like "Jews for Jesus," which are people who come from an historically Jewish background, who have chosen to believe Jesus was the Messiah. To a practicing Jew, this is both an anathema, and in keeping with our week, a complete oxymoron. You have to look at the history to understand, that after the crucifixion, the initial efforts were not form a new church, but to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. When that failed, Christianity ,as explained also this week, turned to the pagans to recruit them to the new church, by mixing in some pagan concepts and holidays updated with the Christian perspective on virgin birth, crucifixition, resurrection and holy trinity, all concepts which were very familiar to the people of that time period.
I certainly do not presume to advise anyone what to believe, or what to not believe, and I encourage everyone to be happy in their beliefs, and respect other's right to believe differently. It is sad that religion has been used to persecute and exterminate so many over the years. The bottom line, you cannot be a practicing member of the Hebrew religion and believe Jesus was anything other than an intelligent man, who spoke well, and made some very good points about life in his sermons, angered some powerful Romans, and some powerful Jews, and gave his life for his choices.
Lemonade: Extrememly well done.:0) This very much coincides with what I thought to be true about the place of Jesus in Jewish writings...as a teacher, perhaps, but not the Messiah. I think it was very well said, informative and I like the way you pulled it all together.
The history of various religions is always interesting and I find it very fascinating that 3 major religions are always contesting the importance of one city...Jerusalem...to their religions, but disagree so vehmently with each other. I would think this would create a common thread among them...
See...you just always learn so much here.
PMT is that crossword software?
BTW There has been absolutely no mention anywhere in the San Jose Mercury about the switch in puzzles. Knowing them, they probably just figure they can slip in the new puzzles and nobody will be the wiser...
Philadelphia Inquirer has been silent too.
Finally, only a fringe group of extremists in Israel has proposed animal sacrifice, with the modern leaders rejecting the concept on two grounds. Animal Sacrifice.
First, there can be no animal sacrifice without the Temple being rebuilt, and the Temple cannot be rebuilt until the Ark of the Covenant is recovered. Since G-d has chosen not to have the Ark returned, it is obvious, such sacrifices no longer are appropriate. (Notwithstanding Indiana Jones).
Second, religion is dynamic, not static, and it is wrong to go backwards. Times have changed. The only constants are love G-d and love your fellow man, the rest is rhetoric. There are many active religious groups, like the Sandenista, who practice animal sacrifice.
Enough religion.
I had a busy day and did not have to insert Marat, and 12 Tribes
My thoughts go out to all who have lost little furry loved ones; they are all precious and understand unconditional love in a wonderful way.
Lemonade714: We have listened to Rabbi`s who say that there is room for the temple on the same mount as The Dome of the Rock (and it would have to be there to be Torah-correct) and that the supplies to rebuild it are already amassed. Their implication is that the temple could be built any time and probably soon. Since people of the Jewish faith spell G-d as you do, am I to assume you are Jewish? If so, have you been (or are you being) taught that Messiah is coming soon?
I agree that everyone has the freedom to believe as they choose and as their conscience dictates...and to proclaim it publicly and proudly...and I thoroughly enjoyed your informative post.
"You have to look at the history to understand, that after the crucifixion, the initial efforts were not (to) form a new church, but to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah."
Your observation begs the question: Whose initial efforts? Certainly you mean Rome's. Given that Jesus (if he existed at all) was a Jew, then it stands to reason that his movement was an offshoot, a sect of Judaism. If in fact he did exist, then his sect would appear to not only have been bowled over by the advent of Hasidic Jewry, but also to have been co-opted by Rome. There were many brands of emerging Christianity and Rome did its level best to STOMP them out, just as it did to stomp out the Jews.
"When that failed, Christianity ,as explained also this week, turned to the pagans to recruit them to the new church, by mixing in some pagan concepts and holidays updated with the Christian perspective on virgin birth, crucifixition, resurrection and holy trinity, all concepts which were very familiar to the people of that time period."
Indeed they were and indeed they did. It is, however, only fair to note that the stories of Noah, Moses and probably others, have their own antecedents in much more ancient near east and far east accounts. Don't get me wrong, I am not apologizing for Rome. It was, after all, they who found it pragmatic to compromise in order to bring the pagans into the fold. How else can one build an international dictatorship capable of standing for a thousand years? I am so sorry I missed this discussion this week.
Linda: Have you seen this?
WM: Yes, Crossdown is, from what they say, a professional crossword construction program.
..........................................................
Old definition - Exegesis: Critical explanation
New definition - Exegesis: "You can't see the kid 'cause I didn't get the check, haole!
PromiseMeThis:
Linda: Have you seen this?
As Artie Johnson used to say, "Ve-rrry In-ter-(v)esting."
Kazie: How do you get diacritical marks over your words?
Linda,
They're on the character map which should be on your computer somewhere.
But my preference is using the ALT key, which you hold down while punching a series of numbers for the letter with the mark you need. One hang up, you have to have a keyboard with a number pad on the side, and most laptops don't have them. You also must have the numeral lock on, to make it work. Here are the common ones:
With the ALT key down:
ã=0227, â=131, ä=132, à=133, Ä=142, á=160, ç=135, é=130, ê=136, ë=137, è=138, É=144, õ=0245, Ü=154, ï=139, î=140, ì=141, í=161, ñ=164,Ñ=165, ô=147, ö=148, ò=149, Ö=153, ó=162, ß=225, ü=129, û=150, ù=151, ú=163, Ç=128, €=0128, É=144,Œ=0140, œ=0156, ø=0248, Ø=0216, £=0163
Release the ALT key after all numerals have been pressed in succession, and the symbol appears. You'll notice I included the British pound and the Euro as well--they do come in handy at times.
And here I was simply going to say that you have to have your keyboard set up for US International.
While I was aware of the character map, Kazie, your method seems to be more efficient, assuming one can get the hang of it.
On my laptop, which doesn't have an actual number pad on the side, it has a virtual number pad. It has a FN key (with Fn in blue) that let you engage the NumLk key (in blue on my F11 key), which lets you use the virtual key pad keys (indicated in blue numbers on M,J,K,L,U,I,O,&,*,( keys) to make the symbol. I got it to make the £ sign. Learned another cool thing. Thanks.
PMT: I readily acknowledge that Judaism incorporated many pagan beliefs in its rituals as well.
WM and L thank you for your words, I have heard Rabbis say all kinds of things, and they, like you and I are people, entitled to their say; and I have been taught by scholars who believe the Messiah is near, some who believe the Messiah is here. It eventually is faith and opinion, and when we know, we will know, in the meantime it is beyond ironic that the three religions from the same stem fight amongst themselves so much, all preaching love. Yes I am Jewish, but not affiliated with a particular branch.
Lemonade714, You're quite a mensch.
C.C.: My husband helps out on demand. He says, "Not very well though." He is helpful on specific topics, such as technical queries. Is your husband helpful?
Thanks, Señora Kazie. What would we do without you? That was a lot of trouble to go to and I really appreciate it.
ClearAyes: You`re quite the mensch yourself. Me? A meshugenuh for sure!
Promisemethis: I am not a particular fan of Strauss, but I do enjoy "Fledermaus". But because she looked like a bat, I thought that was a good name. And I got her on Halloween.
Lemonade: And for my last post of the day, there are also groups who call themselves Messianic Jews...my daughter is one...we also have some interesting discussions (and holidays.) She`s Torah observant...speaks fluent Hebrew, as do her girls ( in my avatar) and her husband wears the prayer shawl and yarmulke. There is room in G-d`s world for us all.
In "The Shack", the character playing Jesus says, "I did not come to make men Christians...I came to make them Sons of G-d."
"Christian" is a word coined by men in Antioch several years after Christ`s death. I`d rather be called "A child of G-d."
Linda, Thank you.
Sallie, As far as technology goes, my husband keeps his fingers off the keyboard. That is his way of being very helpful and not crashing the computer on a daily basis. On other fronts, I couldn't get along without him. He does the outside gardening, inside vacuuming, dishwasher filling and coffee prep. He also does all the bathroom cleaning. I cook, change the sheets and dust. We each do our own laundry. All in all, I think I am definitely getting the better deal.
Linda,
This is #6, so it'll be short. You're welcome. I've copied and pasted the whole thing into a document so if anyone else wants it, I have it ready for another time.
Has Jeannie been abducted? Miss her wit & humor...
Call home, Jeannie, call home!
C.C.,
Yeah, that or the lack of. Plus the fact of talking about past pets has put me in sadness mode for The Cat, my roommate of over 12 yrs. Long story, there.
Mainiac,
Always do what's best for your friend, even if it hurts you. As a pet owner, you always know the day is going to come, even if you don't want it to be that day.
Chicory was also used as a coffee substitute.
Lois,
I'm A-Positive! Enjoy your PA experience, and if you need some refueling....
Lemonade714,
Here's to grilled fish! Had a buddy who used to work the canneries of Alaska & whenever he came home it was a party with grouper on the grill.
Started doing the puzzle as a teen after watching an Uncle whip through it in pen at our family's cabin. Was amazed, and grilled him for the "how's & why"s". He also taught me how to play chess. Thank You Uncle Dick! [since passed]
This is a great blog! Great people and great comments! And with the advent of the LA Times puzzle, I can only see it getting better and better!
So... another late nite for TJ in Osseo.
PS,
As for the puzzle, Luol crossing Sahel? Give me a break! I am seriously looking forward to better puzzles that are forthcoming from the LA Times, and the commentary from our group as to more challenging and thought provoking puzzles. Who else feels that this last week has been a drudge of afterthought puzzles by an editor who just doesn't care anymore?
Climbing off the soap box, now...
TJ [still sleepless] in Osseo
22 A DENG. All I could think of was Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping
I started doing TMS Daily since 1998. I used to meet a friend for breakfast once a week and we would work the puzzles together and share answers. She died 2 years ago. I just do them online now.
If they stop printing them in papers will the puzzle still be online? I like this puzzle and I would hate to lose it!
Looks like there will be another blog dedicated to the LA Times puzzle too.
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