google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday August 22, 2009 Peter Wentz

Gary's Blog Map

Aug 22, 2009

Saturday August 22, 2009 Peter Wentz

Theme: None

Total blocks: 33

Total words: 72

Definitely an eased-up Saturday. I filled in so many blanks on the first pass. Loved the political flavor in this puzzle:

14A: Role in the film "W.": JEB BUSH. Very minor role. I don't like "W.", such a negative portrayal of Condi Rice.

45A: Leader with bouffant hairdo: KIM JONG-IL. Nailed it like it were OREO. He is grooming his son Kim Jong-un to be his successor.

59A: War on Poverty monogram: LBJ. I thought War on Poverty was one of FDR's New Deal programs.

2D: Front-page grabber: HEADLINE

34D: 1960 debate monogram: RMN. Did not know Nixon's middle initial: Richard Milhous Nixon.

45D: Post-Taliban president: KARZAI (Hamid). Wow, I always thought it's KARZIA.

58D: "Contract With America" first name: NEWT (Gingrich). A potential GOP 2012 presidential candidate.

I suppose you can add ABDULLAH (3D: Name meaning "servant of God") into the group too. The current king of Saudi Arabia is called ABDULLAH. I only knew ABDUL (as in Paula ABDUL) means "servant of".

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with four J's, 1 Z & eight K's.

Across:

1A: "Bingo!": THAT'S IT. Nailed it with just letter H from the intersecting HEADLINE.

8A: Corn piece: COB

11A:. Links standard: PAR. Links & golf course are often used interchangeably, though links refers to a specific type.

15A: Griddle fare: HOECAKE. I've never had HOECAKE. Kind of like corn bread, isn't it?

17A: Went ape, like Bart Simpson: HAD A COW. No idea. "Don't have a cow, man!" showed up as a Bart Simpson quote when I googled.

18A: Not pointless: ON TOPIC

19A: Norfolk, Virginia, sch.: ODU (Old Dominion University). Unknown to me. Wikipedia says it derives its name from Virginia's official state nickname, "The Old Dominion", given to the state by King Charles II of England for remaining loyal to the crown during the English Civil War (1641-1651).

20A: Flair: KNACK. Jerome has a Flair/KNACK for anagram.

22A: Haunted castle sound: CLANK. CLANK from the chains of a prisoner once kept in the castle?

23A: It's a crock: OLLA. So true! But I was thinking of nonsense crock. Great clue.

25A: Contemporary of Agatha: ERLE

26A: Bookstore section: HOW-TO

27A: Firing places: KILNS

29A: "Cheers" actor: TED DANSON. Had trouble stringing his name together, though I've seen this picture at least 3 times.

31A: Perform on stage: ENACT

32A: Kicks: FUN

33A: Tries again, in court: REHEARS. Feels like the extra "in court" is just for me, since I could not understand the RETRY & "Hear again" connection last time.

36A: Make good on: PAY BACK

42A: Scrip spec: MED. Did not know scrip is short for prescription. I actually read the clue as "Script spec.".

44A: Act of insurance fraud, perhaps: ARSON. No "fire" play today.

51A: Legal search subject: TITLE

52A: Words after cut or close: A DEAL

53A: Vacationer's accumulation, perhaps: MAIL

57A: Title host of a talk show featuring dance routine: ELLEN. OK, here is Obama on ELLEN.

60A: Uses a MapQuest feature: ZOOMS IN

62A: Big name at the Peppermint Lounge: JOEY DEE. Big stumper. Have never heard of the Peppermint Lounge disco club, the home base of JOEY DEE and the Starliters, who recorded their #1 hit "Peppermint Twist" at the venue in the early 1960, according to Wikipedia.

64A: Down deep: AT HEART

65A: Impressive way to walk?: ON WATER. I actually knew the Biblical "walking ON WATER" story, but I was too dense to think outside of SWAGGER.

66A: Suffix with Marx.: ISM. Marxism, Leninism & Chairman Mao Thought, the stuff I grew up with.

67A: "The Royal Tenenbaums" director Anderson: WES. Gimme, though I've yet to see the movie.

68A: Do some strategic schmoozing: NETWORK. Great clue.

Down:

1D: '80s William Shatner cop series: T.J. HOOKER. Another stumper for me. Someone might have mentioned this TV series on the blog before.

4D: Sched. question mark: TBA

5D: What toadies do, with "up": SUCK

6D: "That __ for the record books": IS ONE

7D: Block: THWART. My first reaction is STYMIE.

8D: Emotionally overcome: CHOKED UP

9D: Suffix with ball: OON. Balloon.

10D: "You __!": "Certainly": BETCHA. Ah, Minnesota!

11D: Fruit also called "prairie bananas": PAPAWS. Same as papaya? I don't know. Papaya tastes so different from banana.

12D: Very much like: AKIN TO

13D: S'pose: RECKON. The clue seems to indicate an abbreviated answer.

16D: Time punctuation: COLON. So simple in retrospect. 5:30, the middle two dots.

21D: Score symbol: CLEF

24D: Suffix with govern: ANCE. Governance. MENT won't fit.

28D: London's Victoria, e.g.: Abbr.: STA. No idea. Victoria Station is the second busiest railway terminus after Waterloo.

30D: ___ sequencing: DNA

35D: Parts: SEGMENTS

37D: China's Sun __-sen: YAT. He dethroned the last emperor of China. Brother-in-law of Chiang Kai-shek.

38D: Boater feature: BRIM. The boater hat, not the one who boats.

39D: Words on some autobiographies: AS TOLD TO. Mine was A MEMOIR(E). Wrong spelling to boot.

40D: Stadium vendor's cry: COLD BEER. Great answer.

41D: Unthinking: KNEE-JERK. I penned in HEEDLESS. Obviously I was unthinking.

43D: Regulating gadget: DIAL. For radio I suppose.

46D: Fools: IDIOTS

47D: Large unit of resistance: MEGOHM. Guessed. OHM is often clued as "unit of resistance".

48D: "The Bionic Woman" __ Sommers: JAIME. Have never heard of "The Bionic Woman". J'AIME ce nom, lovely.

49D: Familiar adage: OLD SAW

50D: "Crunk Juice" rapper: LIL JON. Nope. Looks so noisy.

54D: West African currency: LEONE. Currency for Sierra LEONE. Got me.

61D: Face reddener: IRE

63D: Deviate: YAW. As a ship/aircraft. Pitch, roll & YAW. I can never remember which line is for which.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is another great photo of our fellow solvers visiting the Spruce Goose. From left to right: Dick's wife Irene, Dick, Carol and Carol's husband Joe.

C.C.

45 comments:

  1. Excitement at breezing thru the northern half was quickly deflated by trouble in the south.

    Still don't get 42A clue. Understand the SCRIP part but was does SPEC mean?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Morning, all!

    Well, I breezed through the start of the puzzle, absolutely amazed that my wild-@$$ guess for THATS IT was correct. Then things got a bit weird...

    Had PANCAKE instead of HOECAKE, which in understandable since I've never heard of HOECAKE before. Then I had PAPAYA instead of PAWPAWS, which didn't help any. Then, I had SECTIONS instead of SEGMENTS for awhile, which really messed up the whole lower section.

    All of that finally resolved itself, but at the end I was left staring at the intersection of RMN and MED. Sure, I know that Nixon's middle name was Milhous, but I had no clue whose monogram was being asked for here. And I simply couldn't parse the clue "scrip spec." I eventually tried every single letter on the keyboard until I got my beloved "TADA!" Guess which is the last letter on the keyboard?

    *sigh*

    In closing, let me just say:

    MEGOHM????

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi!
    Another wonderful photo--and extra great, since we see both Dick and Carol this time!

    I used the red help online today as time will be short for me again. Got much of it with minor help, but was also slow in the SE. Same reaction as c.c. for ON WATER, and I wanted HOT for HOE--never heard of those.

    c.c.,
    Papaya is the same as pawpaw.

    Katy,
    I think the SPEC might be short for specification.

    Windhover,
    Good luck selling your lambs--I wish I could get some of it!

    Have a good day everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning C. C. and all, another struggle for me today. Like Barry I had pancake in lieu of hoecake and I also had never heard of hoecake. I sort of jumped all over the place trying to get a toe hold and managed to get enough fills that allowed me to get most of the crosses. For some reason TJ Hooker just did not want to come from the recess of my mind. And, I liked that show.

    My Favorite clue was 23A it’s a crock.

    Looking forward to a better solve tomorrow.

    Hope you all have a great Saturday

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, Ho, Solverinos,

    I had a huge expanse of white in the South West, all the way from KARZAI to LIL JON. I G'ed those two and the rest fell in.

    All in all, a good puzzle.

    milliohm, ohm, kilohm, and MEGOHM, for future reference.

    ReplyDelete
  6. kazie said . . . "Papaya is the same as pawpaw."

    Not so. The words may have a common origin but the two fruits are quite distinct. See Wikipedia.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good site for HOE CAKE info.

    Basically, it is corn bread baked on a flat surface, in this case, the flat blade of a garden hoe, heated over a fire or in the ashes. Another name is ash cake.
    Image

    ReplyDelete
  8. Some really obscure things, but overall, I thought an easier Saturday.


    Pawpaw , is featured in the play/movie Crimes of the Heart , which my son Devin performed in during his high school years. With HOECAKE, there was a definite country feel to this puzzle, maybe it came easy after my trip to Paris, Tennessee.

    Had not thought of JOEY DEE in years.
    Well off to the farmer's market with the kids. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Argyle, thanks for the information on Hoecake. Hoecake was a new word for me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Definitely an easy puzzle for a Sat. After last Sat., I was expecting it to be much harder. Hoecakes are a dish I am familiar with, having grown up in Fla. 34D RMN, got me to thinking about the debate between JFK and tricky Dick, when Nixon got so flustered. Jack sure shined in that debate. Have a great day everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good morning, C.C. and gang - this is definitely an eased-up week. Today's wasn't by any stretch easy, but certainly not in the same league as past Saturday puzzles.
    I did screw up at the top, putting 'ear' for 'corn piece'; that took a bit to straighten out. I knew 'hoecake' from living in Atlanta. Got a kick out of seeing Joey Dee - I absolutely loved (still do) the music from that era.

    'You betcha' immediately made me think of Sarah Palin. Unknowns included 'megohm', 'Lil Jon'.

    Today is both National Be an Angel Day and Tooth Fairy Day.

    Today's Words of Wisdom: "Never trust a man that speaks well of everybody." -- John Churton Collins

    Couple Fun Facts to end the week:

    - Marlon Brando's son Miko was Michael Jackson's bodyguard.

    - The minute hand was added to watches in 1670.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good morning, everyone.
    I had hotcake, which made betcha very long in coming to mind. Got many of the answers by coming here.

    Tarajo: Here is the answer from my d-i-l who teaches in a suburb of Minneapolis:(the names are her daughters)
    "I know I have had to ask that students bring a lot more because our district is in such a financial crisis that the classroom budget is so little. You should see the lists for Rosie and Lillian this year. I think they are ridiculous! I think the box is probably for holding the supplies. I think they may need to down-size the lists, though.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Today's picture of the four in front of the Spruce Goose is wonderful. We get to see Dick and Carol and their spouses. Great idea, C.C.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi, I'm a lurker and first I want to thank C.C. for this blog. I love it.
    I had to comment on the papaw clue. First a papaw, according to Wikipedia, is a papaya. A papaya does not taste like a banana but more like an over ripe melon. Now the pawpaw, a completely different species, does taste like a rotten banana. Since my roots are from Appalachia I'm very familiar with pawpaws (http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2007/10/way-down-yonder-in-paw-paw-patch.html) and as a new Floridian I have grown papayas. They're good for your digestion.
    Well back to lurking. I do enjoy all the comments. Such a nice group.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good Morning All, LAT has definitely eased up. That doesn't mean it was a walk in the park.

    I always get stuck on three word fills. AS TOLD TO evaded me, until the perps had most of it filled. The perps were totally responsible for MEGOHN and LIL JON (who?) Funny that singers LIL JON and JOEY DEE, whom I did know, were crossed.

    I thought it was interesting that KARZAI and KIM JONG IL crossed. KARZAI used to be the US favorite, but has fallen into some disfavor for his policies. KIM JONG IL's policies are just plain scary. We live in troubling times. (I wonder if IDIOTS was cozied up to both names on purpose.)

    My last head scratcher were the RMN/MED/DIAL crosses. "Regulating gadget" DIAL was my "D'oh" moment and my last fill.

    My favorite clue was "Impressive way to walk" for ON WATER.

    Nice to see the Spruce Goose-ers" on tour. Looks like Irene, Dick, Carol and Joe were having a great time.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Just a min. to check in...got "cob"( "What`s left after I eat my corn? Macabre) the last part of "bush", "hoecake", "teddanson", tried to fit "have a cow", "network", the ever present "olla","par", "knack" and then came here...had to feed these people.

    Excellent picture, Dick and Irene, Carol and Joe. Ya`ll look like a poster for "We are spending our kid`s inheritance." :)

    Sallie: Dang! I looked it up and still chose the wrong "commensurate/commiserate". (although either could technically "fit" and I DID spell them correctly!) Sounds like you enjoy fixing old things and making them beautiful, too.

    Boots: Welcome.

    Gotta go, gravy and biscuits are calling.

    BTW: That relative isn`t my m-i-l. She and I got along famously...she actually stayed with us at night for 10 years after her husband died. She would "take up for" Me! (Hubby`s twin sis also took her "turn.") She died two years ago this month. I really miss her, since my Mom is far away.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Jo Jo: I grew up in Pinellas County, FL...what about you?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good morning C.C. and pals,

    A challenge for me this morning. I needed some red letter and Google help, esp. for show biz names. Like others, the top half was easier for me than the bottom, but patience finally paid off.

    I was surprised at how many posters have never heard of hoecakes. They were a staple when I was growing up in Mississippi. In the agrarian South, corn was commonly grown instead of wheat, and most breads were cornmeal based.

    Hoe cakes were easy to make and were typically fried in a cast iron skillet in bacon drippings. Topped with home-made molasses, they were a treat.

    I can remember as a child going with my grandfather, who had a truck farm, to the grist meal to have corn ground into meal. That trip would be preceded by shelling the corn from the cob, using a hand powered shelling machine. You would only have as much ground as you needed to last a couple of weeks, to avoid spoilage. The unground corn would last for a long time.

    Our drought continues. Yesterday was our 46th consecutive day with temps oover 96. The water in our reservoirs is below 60% of capacity, and rationing will start when we go below 50%. It should have started already, but the city is making so much money off of water, they don't want to.

    Have a great weekend.

    How about them Cowboys?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Boots, welcome - hope to see you post more; good information on the papaya. What part of Ft. Lauderdale? It's our favorite town.

    Spruce Goose gang, a great picture. Dick, how tall are you?

    tfrank, lol, I wouldn't get too high about 'them Cowboys' if I were you. We'll have to make a bet on the Eagles/Cowboys games.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi all,
    Wasn’t bad for a Saturday, but still needed red letter help. Never heard of Lil Jon or Joey Dee. And add this Northerner to the list of never having heard of hoecakes. Didn’t get Kim Jong Il for the longest time even though I had the Ki. Really like network for strategic schmoozing and on water for impressive way to work.

    @tfrank, my son has lived in Houston since 2001 and he thinks this is the hottest and driest summer he has experienced. We are heading there for Thanksgiving and hoping it will be in the 70’s with low humidity by that time. Been anxious to visit them since they just bought their first house in May but never visit Houston in the summer. Another great picture of Dick and Carol with their spouses. Looks like everyone has been friends for a very long time. Have to side with Dennis with the Eagles over the Cowboys although their pre-season games have been less than stellar.

    Have a great day all. We have nothing planned for this weekend and am actually enjoying it. Currently reading “Three Cups of Tea” , a true story of an American mountain climber who has spent the last 20 yrs. building schools in the remote areas of Pakistan and now Afghanistan. His prime purpose is to educate women in these areas in order to help change the culture and improve the quality of life in these areas. Fascinating read.

    ReplyDelete
  21. SW corner was my waterloo. Couldn’t remember KIM JON GIL or KARZAI, and didn’t know MEGOHM. I figured out Nixon, but Milhous was a head slapper. I knew I knew it, but…..

    Hoe cake and Paw Paw were gimmies. One of the children’s songs I grew up with was The Paw Paw Patch. It was just for fun, playing with the words, and not at all descriptive of the tree or it’s fruit.

    Pickin' up paw-paws, put 'em in your pockets,
    Pickin' up paw-paws, put 'em in your pockets,
    Pickin' up paw-paws, put 'em in your pockets,
    Way down yonder in the paw-patch.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi C.C. and gang - It's a Sat puzzle!

    I really had problems because of all the clues about show/films I have never seen.

    45A had me looking for a female..who knew? I understood it after I saw the answer.
    Got tripped up on 11D (PAPAWS) but did get 15A (HOECAKES)...this was from reading and not from experience. I love novels with a Southern theme.

    Boots, welcome to our fun and crazy world.

    Linda (11:10) LOL - we love spending the inheritance!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Al Cyone and Boots,
    Welcome to both of you! And thanks for the correction on papaya. I should never assume things, but when I came here and saw papaya, and they looked like what I remembered as pawpaws at home, I assumed, and never tried them. Long-lasting mistake!

    Tarrajo,
    Our paper today had an article on school supplies on the front page. They suggested buying in bulk by cooperating with other families to save on costs. Any chance of doing that with LGJ's girlfriend's mom?

    Argyle,
    The original eponymous HOECAKE looked much too ashy for me. The pan fried one looks better. Thanks to all for the info on these.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Now one of Louis L'Amour cowboys would have just drag a hot flat rock back out of the fire and cooked his Shawnee cake on that. And have a cup of coffee while it was baking.

    ReplyDelete
  25. In honor of 22A: Haunted castle sound:, Knight in Rusty Armour by Peter & Gordon(1967). A real cute ditty, and modern, too. At the end, they mention a missing link; we can all relate to that.

    Off to look for Anne Boleyn now.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hej folks!

    Not bad for a Saturday, but I'd never have gotten the SW quadrant without help from my friend G.

    Favorite clue: 16D time punctuation
    Least favorite was 42A scrip spec. Seems a reach to me.

    Enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
  27. The top filled in for me a lot easier than the bottom. Blanked out on Karzai, and never heard of Lil Jon so had to Google those, then the bottom started to fall together.

    The PAPAW/PAWPAW song that was triggered in my mind was "The Bare Necessities" from Jungle Book. That was one of those movies/cartoons I found much more hilarious when I watched it with my kids as an adult, than when I saw it the first time as a kid. Phil Harris, Louis Prima: those guys must have had a blast making that movie.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I learned the "Paw Paw Song" in first or second grade. It was complete with arm/hand gestures. Sweeping the horizon looking for "Dear Little Mary" (slightly different verse), waving on the "Boys" to "go find her", picking up the invisible pawpaws and putting them in an invisible pocket. Lots of fun!

    Argyle, Thanks for the Peter and Gordon link. Your Anne Boleyn comment reminded me of another "Haunted castle sound", this Kingston Trio version of With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi all,
    Same pattern as yesterday...slammed in HEADLINE, KIM JONG IL and KARZAI(I'm a news junkie),TED DANSON,LBJ and RMN. Paused briefly before putting in OLLA, JEB BUSH and HAD A COW. Got JAIME although I put in Jamie and had HOTCAKES until I realzied it had to be BETCHA. PAPAWS held me up because I thought there was another W(pawpaw). TJ HOOKER came from nowhere with the J and that gave me THATS IT...woo hoo!

    No clue on Joey Dee and I really dob't know rappers...Bleh :oP MEGOHM fell one letter at a time.
    Most of the rest went fairly quickly and I was greatly surprised when it was finished.

    Favorite clue: 65A ON WATER.

    Thank you again to everyone for your cheers...much needed as I think that long-ago mentioned mural project has most likely fallen by the wayside. Too much trouble making up their minds as to what they want. Made me nervous to think we could spend several weeks at it and then have them say "hmmm, not exactly how we thought it would look". The project changed dramatically over the months and I was moving into territory that really didn't represent what I do...very vague color bars on the wall to look like golden Calif hills...sometimes it is better just to move on. Always looking forward. The $ would have been nice though. *sigh*

    It is hot and muggy here and I don't think the local weather people have a clue anymore...they have been off by about 10 degrees all summer. The more high tech they get the less accurate! I think I may go back back to reading the Farmer's Almanac which is amazingly accurate.

    Great day to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Worked on this puzzle for five hours between customers at farmers market. I was down to about 20 squares at close, and just decided to stay and finish. About fifteen minutes after everyone else left, a lady originally from California who I've never met, drove up, came to me, looked at the puzzle, gave me 10 D and 48D, which
    unlocked the rest of the puzzle (I still had ear for 8A). She then bought $40 of lamb and $35 of beef and said she'd be back next week. So there is profit in crosswording.
    WolfMom:
    love that avatar. Tell us about it.

    ReplyDelete
  31. School has started again in many parts of the country. I know we have lots of former teachers here, who might not appreciate the sentiment of this poem. But, consider it from the point of view of a cranky, imaginative poet, who must have had a cranky and unimaginative teacher. I'm sure we all have had at least one, at one time or another.

    First Grade

    Until then, every forest
    had wolves in it, we thought
    it would be fun to wear snowshoes
    all the time, and we could talk to water.

    So who is this woman with the gray
    breath calling out names and pointing
    to the little desks we will occupy
    for the rest of our lives?

    - Ron Koertge

    Switching topics, glad to hear that Windhover had a profitable day and solved the crossword at the same time...California woman to the rescue!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I love this blog. Have been following for quite a while. What an intelligent group of people! Not sure I can live up. Everyone is referring to "pawpaws". I got "papaws", interesecting with "on topic". Is "papaws" the same thing??

    ReplyDelete
  33. Clink, clank, clunk. All possibilities for 22A, and I had the wrong one two out of three tries. My way of saying Good Afternoon, all.
    My status as the last of the babyboomers was confirmed today. Joey Dee and LilJon are outside my bi-focal frames of reference. Ted Danson, Bart "Had A Cow" Simpson and TJ Hooker, sadly, are within my cultural grasp. Hoecake and papaws were there, just barely. My big goof was 60A, where I had "zeros in" instead of ZOOMS.

    As mentioned by others, some great clues/fills today, but I think two different people constructed the top and bottom halves of the puzzle.
    ClearAyes, good point on the IDIOTS crossing KIMJONGIL. (BTW, too many comics try to imitate him; it's a three second sight gag, not much more.) Please post a video of you teaching the PawPaw Dance at one of your California Coven Lunches. Think about it; we have a famous artist here, among other talented folks, so a U-TUBE star would be a great addition. Much better than those cats skateboarding. I'll send over a bottle of homeade limoncello if you need inspiration or fuel! Lol....

    Karzai may not be a great politician but he should get credit for dressing well.

    i love the hoecake stories, and info re: cornmeal andpapaws. Those kind of anecdotes are some of the "bare necessities of life.

    My two pesos and three "leones" are on Dallas. Bets on!

    ReplyDelete
  34. CA,
    That poem reminds me of the Harry Chapin song "Flowers are Red"

    ReplyDelete
  35. 17 across- HAD A COW crosses 3 down- ABDULLAH. ABDULLAH anagrams to HAD A BULL. God does have a sense of humor. I'm sure she also realizes that the clue "SERVANT OF GOD" anagrams to "GOD OF TAVERNS". She's quite popular among Irish pagans. And speaking of pagans... I wonder if TJ HOOKER ever told a THOR JOKE.

    I've been solving puzzles for 30 plus years and I've found most of them to be entertaining and fun. Some are very good. Peter's puzzle today is magnificent. It is, my friends, damn close to perfection.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Jerome...I just love the way your mind works...I solve, appreciate the overall puzzle, and move on. You are clever beyond words and I alwys enjoy your insight.

    Carol2, welcome and do join us...along with the other posters today. I was also confused on the absence of the first W in pawpaw/papaw. It seems that asimina triloba...native to the eastern US and commonly known as either PAPAW or PAWPAW looks very much like Carica Papaya, native to Mexico, which can also commonly be called PAPAW...so pretty much everyone today is correct. Interestingly, the descriptions of the American fruit(the largest native Amer fruit) varies from lush and fruity to stinky and potent...guess it depends on personal taste.

    WH...that was a commission piece for a great friend, best "go to" wine guy and sharer of a birthday that we(me, him, hubs) share with a dinner in a local French restaurnt every year...the painting is a street in a small town in Provence...the challenge was capturing the light. I just got another commission from him for a larger piece of one of the wine growing regions in southern France, which I plan to start on right after Jeannie's daisies.

    Also congrats on the Calif woman to the rescue...she could start bringing foodie friends...we Californians are good at that! LOL

    PJB...probably no videos but lots of photos...you betcha.

    ReplyDelete
  37. You may be asking yourselves, "Just who is Peter J. Wentz? By using his middle initial, he is apparently is trying to distance himself from rocker Pete Wentz, whose middle initials are L.K.
    Well then, next question "Who is PLK Wentz? And why does he sound un/familiar?" He is a Chicago suburban born (1979) member of a very popular group called "Fall out Boy," as well as husband to flash-in-the-pan Ashlee Simpson, and father to--get this-- "Bronx Mowgli Wentz." He also released an EP with the oh-so-poetic title of "My Heart Will Always Be the B-Side to My Tongue," and designs clothing sold at Nordstrom. He has bipolar disorder and a nightclub and is known for charity work. Thank you Wikipedia!

    Jerome, that's quite a compliment to PJ Wentz's work. I was wondering what you might think. Thanks for the great anagrams. I had one for KimJongIl, but it's lame and unprintable!

    Forgot to say that today's group photo was fun to see! Caption could read; A great time was had by all.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Couple more things...like PJB forgot to say what a terrific photo for today. My husband is very interested in heading up to Oregon to see the Spruce Goose. It was a good thing that someone cared enough to restore and share it. You all look terrific.

    This is for Tarrajo the zuccini maven. We planted just 2, count em 2 zuccini plants and my husband has been very diligent this year picking them small. He checks every day and they have been small enough that we can eat most of them, share a few and keep up. Wellll...yesterday I got 4 that apparently were in serious hiding and now I will have to make up some batches of freezable muffins and bread and whatever else I can think of, plus, again today, I have the standard collection of small ones...thank goodness my mom and at least one daughter and a friend will take the excess off my hands! LOL...so TJ...don't feel too badly, even 2 plants is one too many!

    ReplyDelete
  39. HELP!!! They`re dragging me to stock car races...AND ON A DIRT TRACK!! I HATE grit in my teeth and hair! But I`ll try to be a good hostess...for someone who hates dirt in the house...how can they like to WEAR it??

    WM: I read that Thomas Kinkaid said that, as soon as he figured out where the light was coming from...the rest of the painting was easy. We can all say we knew you when, after you become famous!

    Windhover had a little lamb...little lamb...little lamb...Windhover had a little lamb and then he sold it. (I`m too tired to rhyme.) Did you read Dagwood about Thursday? You should.

    Carol12: Why not "turn blue" and join us?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thomas Kincade is an interesting person, artist and conglomerate. His prints, ceramics, and figurines are sold just about everywhere. People either love his work or....don't. There doesn't seem to be much in between. He certainly came up with an original style and has made it his trademark.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I had to google almost every name but knew the words that others had trouble with - papaw & hoecake. I'm not from the south but learned these in early childhood literature.

    I'm enjoying all the photos that have been posted.

    Thank God, I don't have any school age children! I don't know how any parent can afford to send their kids to school. I had picked up several school lists so I could shop for supplies to donate to our community outreach next Saturday. I didn't get a list for 4th grade but the 6th graders had a list of "items to be kept in lockers", a list of "items to be stored in classrooms" plus separate lists for the enrichment classes such as music, art & tech ed. There is the potential of needing 54 pencils, 5 boxes of Kleenex; 10 notebooks; a 3-ring binder with 3 pkg of loose-leaf paper. And much, much more. The item I most object to is a calculator. I'm so old fasheioned I think 6th graders should be using their brains for math.
    Enough said.

    Dot

    ReplyDelete
  42. Dot,
    Good point. At the end of my teaching career, I was convinced kids aren't expected to use a brain in many classes even right through high school. They shun any subject that is challenging, so they can get good grades easily in the less challenging ones. It's never a need to learn and understand things, it's getting the grades!

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.