google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Victor Barocas

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May 4, 2010

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 Victor Barocas

Theme: Y - Each theme answer contains a contiguous pair of letter Y's.

20A. Roger Clemens has won it seven times: CY YOUNG AWARD. The honor given annually in baseball to the best pitcher.

27A. Tammy Wynette classic: "STAND BY YOUR MAN". Country music classic.

46A. 1618-'48 conflict: THIRTY YEARS' WAR. The war was fought primarily (though not exclusively) in what is now Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe. From Wikipedia.

53A. Sunny color: CANARY YELLOW. The bird. From an Egg.

58D. There are contiguous pairs of them in 20-, 27-, 46- and 53-Across: WYEs.

Argyle here, with the "whys' but no "wherefores". If you care to construct a railroad wye, here is a layout.

Across:

1A. Common URL ender: ORG. Argh! I had to back out .COM the first thing.

4A. Make chocolate milk, e.g.: STIR.

8A. Wisdom teeth, e.g.: MOLARS.

14A. For each: PER.

15A. Volkswagen subsidiary: AUDI. German automobiles. And 4D. Ion and Vue, in the auto industry: SATURNS. Formerly GM automobiles.

16A. Trapped by routine: IN A RUT.

17A. With 50-Across, South American shocker: ELECTRIC. 50A. See 17-Across: EEL.

19A. Pet's home away from home: KENNEL. If you have a pet 26D. Rattler, for one: SNAKE, do they stay at kennels?

22A. Opposite of post-: PRE-.

23A. Fuss: ADO.

24A. Contingencies: IFS. "And if "ifs" and "ands"
Were pots and pans,
There'd be no work for tinkers!"

32A. Corp. bigwig: CEO.

33A. Confident: SURE.

34A. Cuttlefish pigment: SEPIA. One strange looking dude.

35A. Tear to shreds: REND.

37A. First commercial carrier to use the Boeing 747: PAN AM. A big, big plane.

40A. Well-done, as toast: DARK.

41A. On the ocean: AT SEA.

43A. The Berenstain Bears live in one: TREE. The popularity of the books subsequently spawned numerous child-friendly television shows and computer games. Wikipedia article.

45A. Actor Marvin: LEE. He was such a versatile actor.

51A. __ kwon do: TAE. Korean martial art

52A. 1 or 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Routes.

59A. Steal, as cargo: HIJACK.

62A. Ghost story setting: CEMETERY.

63A. Criticize harshly: SCATHE. And if you were the recipient, then you 27D. Get really hot: SEETHE.

64A. "Up and __!": AT 'EM. "At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun!" (The Army Air Corps song)

65A. Dogfight winner, perhaps: ACE. Nice tie-in with 64A.

66A. Tightened (up): TENSED.

67A. Confessional revelations: SINS.

68A. Ballet step: PAS. Pas is a simple step in any direction.

Down:

1D. Cartel that added Angola in 2007: OPEC. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

2D. Count (on): RELY.

3D. Earl known for tea: GREY.

5D. Appeared: TURNED UP.

6D. Hippie's "Understood": "I DIG!".

7D. Costa __: RICA.

8D. Operetta with Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, with "The": "MIKADO". Don't forget Ko-Ko.

9D. Burdensome: ONEROUS.

10D. Finish a flight: LAND.

11D. Prince Valiant's son: ARN. We haven't had this minor comic strip character in awhile.

12D. Regret: RUE.

13D. Letters on a Cardinal's cap: STL. The St. Louis Cardinals (baseball)

18D. Nightclub in a Manilow song: COPA. Long version of the song.

21D. Manner: WAY.

24D. Savanna grazer: IMPALA. Deer-like animals in Africa.

25D. Snow White, vis-à-vis the queen: FAIRER.

28D. Throat tissue: TONSIL.

29D. Lingerie support item: BRA.

30D. "Fiddler on the Roof" matchmaker: YENTE.

31D. Wine choice: RED.

32D. Slatted box: CRATE.

36D. Berlin article: DER.

38D. Altar in the sky: ARA. In the Southern hemisphere.

39D. Little John was one of them: MERRY MEN. With Robin Hood in the Sherwood forest.

42D. Embassy diplomat: ATTACHÉ.

44D. Regards highly: ESTEEMS.

47D. Pulled hard: YANKED.

48D. Vote in favor: YEA.

49D. Whip mark: WELT.

53D. Musical based on Eliot poems: "CATS".

54D. Some TVs: RCAs.

55D. Himalayan legend: YETI.

56D. Quantum event?: LEAP.

57D. Shamu, for one: ORCA.

59D. FDR's last VP: HST.

60D. Rocks for a Black Russian: ICE. A cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur (usually three parts vodka to two parts coffee liqueur, per the Kahlúa bottle's label) served over ice in a rock glass.

61D. Yr. starter: JAN..

Answer grid.

Argyle

71 comments:

  1. Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - super easy one today. After the first two theme answers, I was pretty sure the theme had something to do with the word 'you', but the next theme answer pretty much squashed that. Brief hiccup with 'yenta' instead of 'yente', but the perp quickly resolved that.

    Today is Renewal Day, Bird Day, National Candied Orange Peel Day, and most importantly, National Teachers Day.

    Today's Words of Wisdom: "A conscience is what hurts when all of your other parts feel so good." -- Anon

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  2. Good Morning, CC and all. I loved this puzzle. As soon as I filled in CY YOUNG AWARD, I knew I was looking for Double Ys. Roger Clemens played for the BoSox, back when I lived in Boston. He was my favorite player, but that was long before I knew of his steroid usage.

    1 or 66, eg = RTE was one of my favorites today, even though the fill came through the perps.

    I also liked Rocks for a Black Russian = ICE.

    The THIRTY YEARS' WAR was, like so many, a religious dispute. It began in what was then known as Bohemia with the second Defenestration of Prague. Fortunately for Ferdinand's advisors, there was a pile of garbage outside the window.

    Lee Marvin may have been a good actor, by my memory of his is due to his palimony suit.

    QOD: A wise woman puts a grain of sugar into everything she says to a man, and takes a grain of salt with everything he says to her. ~ Helen Rowland

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  3. Good morning Argyle, C.C., Dennis, Hahtool and the sleepyheads:

    I loved this puzzle, for many reasons, but especially for reminding me of FIDDLER on the ROOF which as I mentioned at the time, I had the pleasure of seeing Topol in his farewell concert tour as Tevya, last year. So many amazing things about the production, the greatest of which was how perfect his performance was despite being 74, with the same enthusiasm as when he filmed the move 40 years before. For those of you trivia buffs, I doubt many remember who played Perchik in the movie, the Russian revolutionary who wins Hotel’s heart, thereby upsetting the YENTE, the butcher and others.

    Have a great day all, heal well, Brooke and all the rest

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  4. Good morning Argyle and All, a nice stroll in the park today with this puzzle. I thought it might be one tick up over yesterday's puzzle, but a very quick fill with no help but the perps.

    I did recognize the double Y theme early as I knew 20A "Cy Young Award" and 27A "Stand by Your Man". All four of the theme answers were easy.

    Best clue/answer today was Rocks for a Black Russian/ice IMHO.

    My favorite Lee Marvin movie was "Cat Ballou" and the scene where he is so drunk on his horse.

    Hope you all have a great Tuesday.

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  5. You're right, Lemonade. Mr. Starsky/Hutch was not on my radar. Not a favorite actor of mine, but I do know that he has done a lot to promote funding for AIDS research.

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  6. Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,

    More of a Monday feel today. Everything flowed right onto the paper with the only erasure being Pirate instead of Hijack for 59A. Perps fixed that in a hurry. Favorite clue was 60D, although the drink is too sweet for me.

    Dennis, I feel your pain. My riding partner has twice the mileage on his legs than I do. I'm always chasing.

    Tarrajo, Echoing others, your friends here far out number the others. You have to love the water to be a duck, but at least it still runs off your back, especially in down pours!

    We had a tournament last weekend. The kids have moved up an age group and are now on the younger end of their divisions. They both did quite well and brought home trophies. I think they are more proud of the bruises rather than the hardware. I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

    Thanks for the blog Argyle.

    Have a great Tuesday.

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  7. Good Morning Argyle and all.

    Susan, welcome aboard to this MERRY group.

    Lois, great news on Brooke. Hoping for a continuing steady recovery.

    Kazie, I hope your ankle gets better.

    Great little puzzle today. No problems with the solve, although the double WYE theme didn't hit until 58d. CY YOUNG AWARD and THIRTY YEARS WAR were gimme's.

    C.C. I was thinking something like BZ for well done toast until I saw DARK. du'h

    Enjoy the day; nice and sunny here

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  8. Good morning, C.C., Argyle and all,

    This is a really fun puzzle today with a theme that revealed itself early on. No unknowns and no look-ups required.

    I remember well my first flight on a PanAm 747; it was their flight #1 from Kennedy to London. I was with some banker friends on a junket to raise money in the Eurodollar market, and we were flying first class. Our dinner was served not at our seats, but in the upper deck of the lounge at a regular table with linens and fine crystal. What a treat! This was long before security checks and searches became necessary.

    Great WOW today, Dennis. Well blogged, Argyle.

    Have a great day.

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  9. Hi Argyle, CC and all,

    Fun easy puzzle today. Painful 8A as I had a wisdom tooth extracted last week.

    Several years ago I saw Fiddler on the Roof with my two teenage daughters -- it put SO much into perspective watching from Tevye's point of view as his little girls start making their own decisions and he loses control (as if he had any all along).

    Lois, great news about Brooke -- onward and upward.

    Have a great day.

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  10. Very easy puzzle. Only took 10 minutes to finish successfully.

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  11. Lucina: Thanks for the nice comment late yesterday. I love mental challenges, which has kept me in the classroom for 36 years now. It's a perfect fit for me. Effectiveness in the classroom is hard to gauge, but I do what I can every day. I have a particularly talented class of AP European History students this year (9 seniors, 6 of whom are National Merit finalists). They'll do very well on their AP Exam this Friday afternoon, but how much of it will be because of who they are and how much because of who I am? Always hard to tell.

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  12. Dick,
    Cat Ballou was a favorite of mine too, especially the scene you mentioned, made even funnier because the horse appeared to be drunk as well.

    The puzzle went easily for me today despite not really knowing a few names. Perps did those for me. Only pause was waiting to see how to spell WYES in 58D.

    I had to read Mutter Courage by Bert Brecht, if memory serves, at some stage in college German. She was a camp follower during the 30 Years War and I remember feeling totally depressed by the thought of what people go through during wars (it was the Vietnam era at the time).

    On my way across the Atlantic from Paris to Boston, I had my first 747flight in 1971, and I believe it was a Pan Am jet too. Even being in economy seemed like luxury then--they didn't cram in so many rows of seats in the early ones.

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  13. Good morning all.

    Nice debut puzzle. Thank you, sir!

    Hand up for COM. YENTL changed to YENTE.

    That Prince Valiant strip has wandered into medieval science fiction lately. Very strange.

    Favorite clue was 29D. Clever (or cleaver?)

    Hope everyone has a peaceful Tuesday.

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  14. Hi Argyle, CC and all,

    This felt more like a Monday.
    Nothing ONEROUS. The four themes fell easily.

    I recently saw a show on the Cuttlefish. These little guys put on a show changing colors. Considered very intelligent.

    Thought that FAIRER, Snow White, vis-a-vis the queen, was clever.

    Pulled hard, YANKED. LOL moment, not going there.

    As for that Black Russian ICE, well I'll stick with my 3 parts Scotch, with 2 more parts Scotch, in a snifter, NEAT !!!

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  15. Good Morning All, Nice puzzle all the way around. No annoying little abbreviations, so I was able to sail right through it.

    Although I'm not a big Barry Manilow fan, I really like COPAcabana. I TURNED UP the volume. How can you not want to get up and samba around the room?

    I do remember Paul Michael Glaser from FOTR, but it is more for his grace in dealing with his personal life. When his wife Elizabeth Glaser contracted AIDS via a transfusion and passed it on to their children, very little was known about AIDS. It was often spoken of as a curse from God on gay men. She and the Pediatric Aids Foundation she founded, put faces on this horrible disease. Although she and their daughter died of AIDS, Mr. Glaser continued to be involved in this charity which was named for his wife. Elizabeth and daughter Ariel's deaths were tragic, but the long term outcome from the Foundation's work is that new treatments have been found and AIDS is no longer the automatic death sentence it once was.

    Dennis, LOL, it must have been the schwa at the end of yéntə that threw off your spelling.

    I had to smile at 8D MIKADO. I may not be as well known as Pirates of Penzance, but it is my favorite G&S. (Yes WM, I got it right away :o)

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  16. Those pesky typos can get you in trouble. I may not be as well known as Pirates of Penzance LOL, Of course, I'm not as well known as Pirates of Penzance. Well, maybe around here. Anyway, I meant "It may not be as well known as Pirates of Penzance"

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  17. I thought this was as fun puzzle and thought it was easier than yesterdays. I caught onto the theme right away when I typed in Cy Young. Argyle my hand is up for .COM for 1A. but the perps soon took care of that. I also didn’t know Mikado and never heard of Nanki-poo or Yum-Yum. Nanki-Poo? My favorite clue was “lingerie support item”-bra, and am a bit surprised Argyle that you didn’t post a link.

    Lois, please keep us up to date on Brooke’s recovery.

    Gunghy, Lo-li-ta goes in the water this weekend. I hope the weather is decent.

    Here is my appreciation for all you teachers out there. Just think of all the lives you have touched.

    Dennis, what are you and your friend up to today? Bungee jumping?

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  18. Hi gang -

    Very enjoyable puzzle today.

    One of the things that makes spelling so difficult (for me, anyway) is the tendency for any unstressed vowel to morph into a schwa. Oden or Odin? And Y Y not Odon, Odan, or even Odun? Scarcely ,makes any difference. Not Odyyn, though. That would by odyyous.

    Planting shrubs in my own yard today. Two red twig variegated dog woods joining three already in place along the patio.

    One in, one to go, then the back grass to cut.

    Almost like Farmville, without the leveling up.

    Cheers!
    JzB the I DIG trombonist

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  19. Good morning Argyle and all,

    Great puzzle today! For once I got the theme although it did not help. I thought this one was easier than yesterday's.

    Had to use the perps to fill in sepia, because I thought cuttlefish was one of those calcium pieces that you put in the bird cage.Actually it is, but it is called a cuttlebone.This marine animal is related to slugs and garden snails.

    Bob, sorry about being so snarky. You definitely are a master of Latin, and I have forgotten most of it.Finding those quips was helping me remember the simpler words that are often in c/w's. I loved teaching, but found that teaching 6th graders for 40 years narrowed my knowledge base.I now read everything.

    Great job, Argyle.

    a big welcome to you Susan!

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  20. Lastly, I loved "in a rut" and "seethe"(great word).

    Here's a lot of IFS

    Whatif by Shel Silverstein
    Last night, while I lay thinking here,
    some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
    and pranced and partied all night long
    and sang their same old Whatif song:
    Whatif I'm dumb in school?
    Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
    Whatif I get beat up?
    Whatif there's poison in my cup?
    Whatif I start to cry?
    Whatif I get sick and die?
    Whatif I flunk that test?
    Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
    Whatif nobody likes me?
    Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
    Whatif I don't grow talle?
    Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
    Whatif the fish won't bite?
    Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
    Whatif they start a war?
    Whatif my parents get divorced?
    Whatif the bus is late?
    Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
    Whatif I tear my pants?
    Whatif I never learn to dance?
    Everything seems well, and then
    the nighttime Whatifs strike again!

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  21. I enjoy the puzzles all week and like reading the explanations and comments. I am new to this so excuse my ignorance, but - what does "perp" mean?

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  22. "Perp" - words that are perpendicular to the entry you are trying to solve.

    The reason I didn't link 29Down - BRA is that I spend way too much time looking...for just the right link.

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  23. Kazie:

    From Wikipedia: Grimmelshausen's "Landstörtzerin Courasche" became an important inspiration for Bertolt Brecht´s play "Mutter Courage". BH is a descendent of Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (1621 – August 17, 1676). I think he was a lieutenant or an aide during the 30 Yrs war. I'm sure you know more about this, but his writings drew on the terrible experiences of that war.

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  24. Crockett:

    You surely did have a link, but perhaps you were too subtle. Many of the links I post do not appear read, and that may because the name used was not enticing. CLEAVER was CLEVER but NOT CLEAVE HER. I now will always remember the meaning of My Cup Runneth Over .
    Oh what a happy bunch we seem today.

    How is the ankle KZ?

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  25. Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and all you happy people.

    This was great today, as many of you attest. My first thought was ".com" but too many variables out there, so I waited for the perps and "rely" snagged it.

    Very cute theme; "wyes" especially. As we say in Scrabble, if you can say it, you can spell it.

    "Cats" again today; my dtr loves that musical. In NY we saw it in the front row where during the performance the "cats" prowled right up to our seats, pawed us, and waved their tails in our face. Great fun!

    Lois, i hope Brooke is doing well.

    You all have a grrrrreat day!

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  26. Hello Puzzlers - Major, massive D'OH moment today. Huge. I swapped MOLARS and MIKADO by accident and didn't catch the blunder for a looong time. That really bollixed everything. In my defense, I'm situated in a busy cafe with lots of friendly staff to chat with...

    Tried BANANA YELLOW before catching the joke, but as recent posts point out, T. S. Eliot didn't write much about BATS.

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  27. Lemonade,
    Thanks for asking. I'm wondering if it was a storm in a teacup. I just got back from walking the dog with no ill affects, the swelling is still down from where it got to yesterday, but then each morning it has been better too. The main thing is that the redness seems to be subsiding, and that was what the Dr. was more worried about, so that's good. She had thought there might be a blood clot, but measuring around my leg at various intervals found no sign of one. She was going to have the radiologist look at the xrays today so I'll hear if he sees anything suspicious that she missed.
    I probably wouldn't have gone to see her except for my DH's urging, the nearness of my imminent trip to Oz, and wanting to take care of anything urgent before that. I leave May 26th.

    Spitzboov,
    Thanks for the extra research. Actually I wasn't aware of the details you provided, though the name Grimmelshausen does ring a tiny bell somewhere in my memory bank. If I ever had heard these details, they were probably given in German at a stage in my career when my proficiency was less than it became after 33+ years of teaching and 16 years of dealing with our sister school colleagues in Germany. Very interesting that Brecht used an existing story and built on it. He wasn't nearly as weird as his contemporary, Franz Kafka. Thank you!

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  28. tfrank,

    You set me off on a nostalgic moment with your relating the dinners up in the bubble on PanAm. I think they had that until the early 80s. I also flew them on one of their flights as an international carrier and it was the absolute pits as far as 1st Class Service was cercerned. If we only knew what was coming.

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  29. Hello everybody,

    A pleasure to read all your comments, as always.

    Sure enough, I immediately wrote in COM for 1A, thinking I was getting off to such a good start. Putting in OPAL for 15A didn't help either. I really messed myself up when I fixated on YES for 48D and then couldn't figure out what the heck CANSRY YELLOW was! And then I misspelled CEMETERY as CEMETARY, causing myself to wonder what kind of quantum penomenon a LAAP is. Woooo, took me 15 minutes to straighten myself out.

    I loved this puzzle! I loved Fiddler on the Roof! I love The Mikado, and sang in the 'chorus' (one of the citizenry) in a college production. Had a crush on the girl who played Yum-Yum. Lovely name.

    Tinbeni, I'm with you regarding scotch. Sweet drinks give me awful headaches/hangovers.

    Favorite clue was the Snow White one.

    What? You don't board your snakes in a kennel when you go on vacation? LOL.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  30. Jazz - Just caught your tagline from last night. As soon as you're done with your shrubbery, you must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with - a herring!

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  31. Funny how things end up tying together, Lucina, when I saw CATS on Broadway, I also was in the front row, and the second act began with me feeding junior mints to to the cast (yes Jerome a baby anagram).

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  32. Good Morning, all. At least here it's still morning. This was a goodie. Hand up for .com, though and I put 'yenta', too. but both were easily fixed.

    What a sad song, "Copa". I had to listen to the very end to find out what happened! Loved the rythm, though!

    Since one of my daughters was a flight attendant for PanAm, we flew it several times, until United bought the Far East destinations. The first trip we were given first class and had the 'bubble' treatment. We always had wonderful service, but possibly because we were family. I remember when United took over, my daughter came home from a flight and sneered, "Mother, they serve screw top wine in first class!" We were all very spoiled. Unfortunately, this was in PA's last few years. However, we did fly on that very first 747. It was called Clipper Juan Trippe. The purser was a middle aged man who'd flown for years.
    We were bumped in New York and then got that flight the next day. We shook, rattled and rolled all the way to SFO! The good ol'days!

    Still pulling for Brooke, Lois. Do keep us informed!

    Yuk, candied orange peel! My grandma used to make candied grapefruit peel every Christmas. I hated it!

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  33. BTW:

    Gunghy, after four mentions of my three transplants, I was beginning to wonder if anyone was ever going to ask about my Third Eye.

    The truth, in the last two were not successful, so there will have to be at least one more (and probably two, as my good cornea, is clouding over) so, I have much to look forward ti.

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  34. Crockett:
    Maybe cleft is the British form of cleaved. Either way there are several clefts in that link. That's a liberal use of the word if I ever saw one.

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  35. Happy Teachers Day to all of those wonderful people who actually seemed to care about our furture. They are still out there and working harder than I ever did.

    Dodo, the candied citron in fruitcakes is a good reason to steer clear of those bad boys.

    JD, you found a much better Shel Silverstein poem than I could have. Very nice!

    I've never flown 1st Class. I never thought the filet mignon, wine and hot towels were worth the ridiculous markup. GAH and I were bumped up to business class on a flight to Bejing, so we didn't have to pay anything extra. Quite nice. I can see that it is easy to get spoiled.

    Windhover, LOL

    Waiting hopefully for more good news about Brooke.

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  36. I prefer the subtle approach, but sometimes it's necessary to SHOUT! (probably NSFW)

    Hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday!!

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  37. You know, CA, that's so true about fruit cake, but somehow, I have overcome that dislike when it comes to Panetonne (sp?)

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  38. Since snakes only eat once a week or there abouts, I just leave them with sufficient water and don't worry for up to 2 weeks. The biggest problem is that they are accomplished escape artists.

    Once I was in the pet store purchasing mice when the lady behind me said, "Gee, those are cute. Do they make good pets?" She left the line when I looked at them closely and replied, "Wow, I never considered that."

    My grandmother used to make candied citrus rinds. As kids, we would lick the chocolate off of them and put them back in the bowl.

    Hand up for "Cat Ballou", although I like "Paint Your Wagon" better.

    I was suspicious that COM was too easy, so started with a perp.

    The only operas I like are of the horse variety, but as soon as I saw Nanki-Poo, I knew it had to be MIKADA. (No, that's not a typo, I really don't like them.)

    I'm glad to see no new tragic occurrences, it seems there have been way too many recently.

    Jeannie, I've got a race series this weekend. 3rd of the season, although as many storms as we've had, most have been real drifters. Huntington is still snowed in, but it is recognized as one of the premier lakes in the nation. I can't wait for the thaw.

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  39. Hi all -

    Easy one today (as it should be for Tuesday)...Loved the YY theme. Not being a baseball fan, I surprised myself my getting 20A right away.

    I have never had a Black Russian (or a White one) but when Argyle listed the ingredients, I realized that one would at least be a wide awake drunk, if over-serving oneself.

    Lois, hope Brooke is doing well today..we are all waiting for an update.

    I didn't know Audi was a VW subsidiary. I do learn something new on this blog every day. As the kids say, "how great is that?".

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  40. Carol,
    Did you know that Porsche is also related to VW? Hitler approached Ferdinand Porsche asking that he design a car that everyone could afford, and the VW was the result.

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  41. JD: I don't get offended easily and wasn't by your comment. I knew the translation wasn't yours, and I just thought it might be fun (for me if for no one else) to spend a little time thinking about the quote (which was new to me) and the translation. Actually, I'm about to email it to a colleague who teaches Latin for her opinion about it. Like me, she likes to analyze that sort of thing. So, thanks for posting it.

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  42. Kazie, thanks, yes I did know VW was related to Porsche - I once worked at a VW/Porsche/Audi dealership and don't know why the brain fade hit me on this. The VW's were on one side and the P/A showroom was across the street. I worked in the P/A one as a service cashier. I can tell you from experience that the Porsche's of the early 1970's were not good cars, they needed constant tuning. Guess this is my D'oh moment for today. :)

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  43. Hi.

    VW now owns 42% of Porche. They finally merged. Jaguar is owned by Tata of India. Hummer by China.

    Jeannie. What kind of boat is the Lo-li-ta?

    The Morgan 32 had a fixed keel and the trailer was the size of a car carrier. A crain was needed to get it into the water.

    26 to go and counting.

    eddyB

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  44. Hello All--A fun, easy puzzle today. I did it while waiting for a Dr's. appointment this moring, so couldn't Google if I had needed to. I especially liked the Snow White, vis-a-vis the Queen clue.

    JD, I loved the poem today. However, your "stoopid" snails have migrated to my garden and my newly planted Alyssum is skeletal!!
    I haven't seen so many snails in one place for a LOOONG time. I'll have to replant some of my border after I've stomped the remaining snails! I've been out every morning for the last few days to gather the critters.

    My favorite Lee Marvin film was "Paint Your Wagon". We enjoyed that film and it is one of the few we have seen in a theater.

    Lois, Such good news about Brooke. Please keep us updated.

    Dodo, my Pannatone recipe doesn't call for candied citrus. We use dates, dried apricots, and raisins. I've substituted these as my family won't eat anything with the citrus in it. Almost any dried fruit will do.

    Have a wonderful evening everyone.

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  45. Good evening Argyle, CC, et al., Really enjoyed this puzzle. Flew thru it so fast that I missed a lot of the perps. Short on time so it was perfect.

    Update on Brooke: You won't believe this! She's w/out tubes today and this afternoon is supposed to be sitting up on the side of her bed. She had a great lunch (Five star) and should be going home next week. She feels good and strong, but is still in isolation. We can't get near her and her mom has to scrub and suit up to go in. I'm glad they're careful. She's going to be moved to 5th floor soon. It's just utterly amazing! She's in good spirits but will miss her CCU nurses. She was joking and laughing 'heartily' yesterday. I've told her & the family about all of you. They wanted me to be sure that I told you "Thank you sooo much for the prayers and support." It really means a lot to all of us. What a ride! You all are just tremendous - a great bunch of friends. All that's been said about the kind of heart she received is that it is 'a good heart'. At one point, the head surgeon (Dr. Handsome) said that he hoped for a male heart b/c it would be stronger and that race was not a factor. Apparently neither is gender any more. That info is confidential and we may never learn, but like Tinbeni said, I do pray for the donor and his/her family. It's an awful situation. We're all just so grateful that he/she was kind enough to be an organ donor. Once everything gets settled, I'm curious to know if her tastes will change. I've heard of that happening. She looked great even through the glass door. She really did. I have no doubt in my mind that you all had a lot to do with this success story. Thank you again for everything. I will keep you posted.

    Dot: Brooke is 30..and beautiful, inside and out.

    Dennis: now let's get your friend through his ordeal. With all that has been going here lately w/everyone, not just Brooke, we're primed. Do you know exactly when his surgery is? BTW: your visitor sounds like a lot of fun. What a free spirit!

    KZ: glad the ankle is better. I'm glad you looked into it before the trip. Ounce of prevention & all.

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  46. Lois, so very glad that Brooke is doing so well !!!! What wonderful news. Thank you for the informative update, so 'heart warming' to have a happy ending to what could have been tragedy! Amazing that she is sitting up!
    I (being as Dennis says, older than water) remember the first heart transplant...the patient did not live very long. This was in 1969, I think. There was the artificial heart, the pig heart but we finally did enough research to enable today's 'miracles'.

    Kazie, I forgot to mention (in my 5:10) that I am so glad your ankle is shaping up. Never seems to fail, just when a trip is planned, something goes wrong somewhere; car trouble, refrigerator quits, water heater springs a leak, baseball through a front window....you know :) Never discuss vacations/trips/even weekend outings in front of major appliances.

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  47. Lois,
    I agree. Glad I checked it. But your news of Brooke is superb. What could have been tragic is now a miracle! i'm so glad she's doing so well. Thanks for letting us in on the story.

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  48. Lois, such wonderful news. When you get to see her in person, how about a photo to post here? We'd all enjoy seeing the lovely Brooke.

    Carol, so true about keeping travel plans (or any celebration) a secret from the appliances. You can hear them whispering at night, making their diabolical plans to ruin ours.

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  49. EddyB, I hope Jill received good wishes and appreciation on this special day set aside for those of us who put out so much for the benefit of our younger charges. Hooray for teachers of all ilk!

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  50. Crockett-

    When you say 'Hooray for teachers of all ilk", it also reminds me of law enforcement officers.

    Both are unappreciated and underpaid. IMHO, they both nurture and Shepard the good and bad. Quite a big job in maintaining a civilized society.

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  51. Lois, fantastic news about Brook. It's hard not to believe in the power of prayer, or positive thinking, whatever one calls it.Miraculous or science.."it's all good." :)

    Chickie, I thought I was the only oddball that snuck out early to collect snails;today's count was 120.I also do the beer thing, but it doesn't catch that many.

    I was sorry to hear about the passing of Lynn Redgrave.That family has given us some of our finest entertainment over the years."Georgy Girl" was one of my favorites, very similar to "Bridget Jones"

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  52. Hi everyone, great blogging Argyle. My wife and I had no problem in finishing today's puzzle before she left for work.

    For EddyB, I just read your comment about Hummer going to China?

    Here's a link to “GM to Wind Down HUMMER After Unsuccessful Buyer Search” I think that the China deal failed to materialize.

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  53. Anon @ 7:46, I usually don't respond to anonymous comments, but I must say I agree whole-heartedly with you. There are many in our society who do much to keep the fabric strong, but are under-appreciated or not recognized at all. Working together, we can all have a good life.

    JD, I was also saddened to hear of lovely Lynn's passing. "Georgy Girl" was a very enjoyable film.

    Tschuß!

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  54. Lois: I am so glad to hear that Brooke is doing so well. Clearly, she is a beautiful and strong woman. We will continue to keep her in our prayers as she continues her recovery.

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  55. Lois
    That is such great news. Thanks for the emails.
    Brooke must be one hell of a fighter.
    We can't cure the "common cold" but when it gets into the tough stuff modern medicine is really quite amazing.

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  56. Lois, that is fantastic news on Brooke.

    My Mom (Thelma) is doing much better. She still can't drive for another week which is "driving" her nuts. She's a can do it kind of gal. "Thanks Mom!!" She is my inspiration and is responsible for what I am.

    Tarrajo, good to hear from you again. You are a great Mom and don't let the anons scare you away from posting. In my opion you made the right choice.

    C.C.,are you okay? I miss you and your wisdom or uncanny ability to match people with these clues.

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  57. Hi.

    I got caught-up while waiting for the overtime period to start.

    Cockett. She did and also recieved nice letters from SJSU and BUSD.

    Warren. I should have had a ? mark after China. I knew better. Penske also pulled out the Saturn deal.

    Half way done with tomorrow's puzzle.

    Amazed but not surprised. Nite.
    Game has restarted

    eddyB

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  58. Did any of you solve Merl Reagle's recent puzzle? When you write a two by four, it's often written as 2 x 4 with x standing for the word 'by'. So the answers to some of his clues were things like NORTHXNORTHWEST and LETXGONESBEXGONES. Very clever I thought.

    Beautiful weather here lately. I tutored a student this afternoon and am now relaxing in front of the flat screen watching the Dodgers, Lakers and the waning episodes of 24. Go Dodgers, Lakers and Jack!

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  59. Hi. Sharks got a two on one breakaway and won!!

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  60. Lois: I'm so happy for Brooke. It's a gift to all of us to see something as amazing as that happening to someone so special.

    Jeannie: If your mom's getting that frustrated by the confinement, then she MUST be feeling better!

    "Paint Your Wagon" and "The Dirty Dozen" are two of my favorites! Lee Marvin was so different in them.

    I'm still trying to find a good way to address that the words Tata and Hummer were used together earlier...

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  61. I saw in the paper today that "Ten Chimneys" the summer home of Lunt and Fontaine will be opening this weekend for their summer tourist season. It is at Genesee Depot, WI not far from Madison. It not only is open for house tours but is a museum of memorabilia of many actors and actresses. In addition, there are programs with famous people all summer long. Lynn Redgrave was scheduled to appear in July.

    Tarrajo, You said that as a single parent you have to second guess everything you do. I'm not downplaying the struggle of single parenthood - It sounds as if you are doing a terrific job but if it makes you feel any better, that second guessing part is just part of being a parent - single or married. I told a father the other day who is struggling with
    decisions regarding his teenage daughter, that being a parent is like a tightrope act. You are always trying to balance between giving them independence and maintaining a certain amount of parental control. And when they turn out to be successful, law- abiding citizens, you let out a big sigh and say, "Thank God, I guess I did something right."

    Dot

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  62. Great news, Lois! Yes, please send us a picture.

    Gunghy: Chocolate? Wow! We never got that; just the nasty things rolled in sugar. What kind of snake do you have? My grandson has a boa, Calypso. He says she's very loving(???) Wonder how he can tell.

    I knew I misspelled Pannatone, Chickie. Couldn't remember where the two ens went. I have never made pannetone; I just buy it at Trader Joe's as soon has he gets it in around Thanksgiving. It's right from Italia. Very, very good, anyway. I have made brioche, though, which is pretty much the same type of bread but without the anise, or is it fennel?

    Hahtool, the news about the leaking oil is really distressing! Are you in New Orleans or near the coast at all? I need to look at a better map to see where Venice is.
    I'm not only concerned about the people but what about the sea creatures? And how much of this can happen without permanently damaging all the oceans? Bad enough that the polar ice is melting. This affects many more species, I should think. We are not being very good stewards are we?

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  63. Dodo: Venice, LA is at the tip of the toe of the State, near the mouth of the Mississippi Rover on this map. Here are some other oil spill graphics. The whole gulf coast, from the mouth of the Mississippi to the Florida panhandle are threatened by this disaster unless it can be contained quickly.

    It has massive potential to damage wildlife, including migratory birds, as well as indigenous plants and animals. It is the beginning of nesting season for many birds. If oil comes in contact with the oyster beds, they will be harmed, both the creatures and the oyster industry. Interestingly, wildlife experts claim that Dawn dish detergent can be used to clean/wash turtles that have gotten in oil.

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  64. Dodo, I've had Amazon rainbow boas, black tail boas, ball pythons, corn snakes, rat snakes, king snakes, sand boas... Never anything poisonous. I kept them in the classroom, and actually stopped having them about 3 years ago because of worries about law suits.

    They can't be 'loving', that part of the brain doesn't exist in a snake. The ¿best? quote I ever read came from a family whose Burmese python had just eaten their baby: "I don't understand how he could have done it, we treated him just like he was part of the family." Snakes can be hungry, horney, and afraid. That's about it, and also why I quit raising them. I get more love daily from 1 selfish cat than from every snake I've ever owned.

    Don't burst his bubble, but your GS is mistaking a quest for warmth for love. That's why the cling to you.

    Lois, let me add my awe and well wishes to all that type faster.

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  65. Hahtool
    We had an oil mess here in Tampa Bay about 17 years ago. Two ships collided. 1M gallons or so. Ugly stuff.
    Real mess, but nothing the size of this current snafu.

    But it got the Pinellas Beaches bad.

    At the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary we cleaned birds with the Dawn liguid soap. It does a great job.

    They already have TV spots asking people to donate. I got them a case.

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  66. I agree with Gunghy. Reptiles don't have a 'love' gene. Mammals do and maybe birds to a lesser extent. Maybe a little bit with some fish.

    I think that's why we enjoy dogs and cats best as pets.

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  67. Dodo, Anise is the flavoring of choice for Pannatone. However, I like plain old vanilla in mine. A matter of taste. The Italian version from Cost Plus is also very good. I always buy at least one at Christmas time.

    The snake discussion reminds me of my husband's Biology teaching days. He also had snakes, mice, rats, and whatever else came his way, in his classroom. During the summer we brought them all home and housed them in our garage. The local kids found out and our doorbell rang all summer. We also heard the comments as kids passed by our house,"Hey, this is the place! You ought to see what they have in their garage!"

    Our gopher snake was big and a good escape artist, as Gunghy mentioned. Our neighbor had a hoe poised over our snake as we raced next door to rescue him--yet another time. We finally had to give up on classroom pets as the list kept getting longer and longer naming those that were not acceptable for classrooms.

    Lois, such great news about Brooke. She certainly has made remarkable progress.

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  68. Yes, Lois, wonderful news about Brooke. Modern medicine is almost miraculous as are the dedicated doctors, nurses, techs, etc.

    And three cheers for Thelma! What a valiant woman.

    I love anything candied; my favorite is candied watermelon rind, mmmmmmm.

    Happy thoughts for a good night.

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  69. G.

    Did you ever become attached to the snakes, knowing they did not have the capacity to love you?

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  70. I had favorites, but I wouldn't say I was really attached to any. I belonged to a herpetology club for a while and always looked askance at the members that waxed poetic about their pets.

    The black tailed Boa got over 7 feet and 50 lbs. He would get attached to me occasionally and was real hard to uncoil. That's why zoos require 2 people on a 6 footer and another person for every 3 feet after that.

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