google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 Gail Grabowski

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Jul 13, 2010

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 Gail Grabowski

Theme: A Better Place - The last word of the theme entries is a Utopia.

17A. "I Dream of Jeannie" star : BARBARA EDEN. "Jeannie", with navel.

28A. WWII aircraft carrier nicknamed "Tokyo Express" : USS SHANGRI-LA. CV-38 Image.

44A. 1928 #1 song heard in a 1990 Steve Martin film of the same name : MY BLUE HEAVEN. This is that long ago song with some additional information.

58A. Narrator in Kerouac's "On the Road" : SAL PARADISE. "On the Road" is known as a semi-autobiographic story, and Kerouac admitted himself being Sal Paradise.

Argyle here. We can continue from yesterday being happy because now we are Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Across:

1. Sells for : COSTS

6. In any way, shape or form : AT ALL

11. Word with legal or lily : PAD

14. Fur tycoon John Jacob : ASTOR

15. Wild Australian dog : DINGO. Image.

16. Census datum : AGE

19. CD-__ : ROM

20. Flu-like symptom : AGUE

21. Lifesaving technique: Abbr. : CPR. (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

22. Slangy starting point : GIT GO

24. "Dig in!" : LET'S EAT

26. Bike without pedaling : COAST

32. Cricket call : CHIRP

35. Type of sax : ALTO

36. Steamed up : MAD

37. Solitary : LONE

38. Mag with a "Bachelor of the Year" contest : COSMO

40. Libraries do it : LEND

41. Menu catchphrase : À LA

42. Crate component : SLAT

43. Merchandise : WARES

48. Sequence with a Y, sometimes : AEIOU (vowels)

49. Spouse's resigned assent : YES, DEAR

53. Taxpayer's dread : AUDIT

55. Take in, as a movie : SEE

56. Ultimatum end : ELSE

57. Incidentally, in online shorthand : BTW. (by the way)

62. Plea from a lea : MAA. Cute rhyme.

63. Walk leisurely : MOSEY

64. Scammed : HOSED

65. Inclined to avoid the spotlight : SHY

66. Give the slip : ELUDE

67. Unable to sit still : ANTSY

Down:

1. Conspiring group : CABAL. Popularized in English, 1673, as an acronym for five intriguing ministers of Charles II (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale), which gave the word its sinister connotations. Online Etymology Dictionary

2. Oklahoma native : OSAGE. Their web site.

3. Pompous gait : STRUT

4. "Without a doubt!" : TO BE SURE

5. Mme. in Madrid : SRA. The Spanish term for the French Mrs., ¿comprende?

6. Copes with change : ADAPTS

7. Wedding cake layer : TIER

8. "Furthermore ..." : AND

9. Part of XL: Abbr. : LGE. (extra large)

10. In olden days : LONG AGO

11. Many a McDonald's worker : PART-TIMER

12. Psyched up : AGOG

13. Test-driven car : DEMO

18. Some HDTVs : RCAS

23. Jerusalem is its cap. : ISR. (Israel)

25. Eerie ability, briefly : ESP. (extrasensory perception)

26. Pre-storm period : CALM. Does an eerie calm precede a storm or is that just an old wives tale?.

27. Savvy about : ON TO

29. Too big a hurry : HASTE

30. Co-worker of Kent and Olsen : LANE (Superman)

31. Mixes in : ADDS

32. Be silent, with "up" : CLAM

33. Fit for sainthood : HOLY

34. Really hurting : IN A BAD WAY

38. Egyptian played by Liz : CLEO. Both names are shortened versions of the full name.

39. Diamond Head's island : OAHU

40. Stopped at, as a board game square : LANDED ON

42. "Sounds good" : SUITS ME

43. "Scream" director Craven : WES. Movie.

45. Luau wreath : LEI

46. Salt's assent : AYE, AYE. (salt = sailor)

47. Avoid a pothole, say : VEER

50. Mass-mailing tool : E-LIST

51. Pompous types : ASSES

52. Like a bassoon's sound : REEDY

53. Aerial defense weapons, for short : ABMS. (anti-ballistic missiles)

54. Bryce Canyon's state : UTAH

55. Exceeded the limit : SPED

59. IM provider : AOL. (IM = Instant Messenger) Rather passé in today's world.

60. Baton Rouge sch. : LSU. (Louisiana State University)

61. "Solved it!" : AHA. Now that is almost too cute to have that as the last entry, but I liked it.

Answer grid.

Here are Part IV of Kazie's Oz series. From her trip to Darwin. Such vibrant color! Gorgeous Sunset Over the Water.

Argyle

65 comments:

  1. Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - a nice offering from Gail, and a solid Tuesday puzzle; just not a lot on which to comment.
    The puzzle only took about 5 minutes, but I liked the fresh cluing, and the theme was pretty apparent after the second entry. That second entry, the USS Shangri-La, wasn't just a WWII ship; she also served in Vietnam. A well-decorated ship w/5 battle stars.

    Loved 'hosed' - it's such a great word with multiple uses. Argyle, IMs are passe? Ah well, I still use them a lot with fellow AOL members.

    Kaz, more great pictures; loved the 'Roadkill Cafe'.

    Today is Barbershop Music Appreciation Day (enjoy it, Crockett) and Embrace Your Geekness Day (enjoy it where appropriate).

    Did you know:

    - The word checkmate in chess comes from the Persian phrase Shah-Mat, which means 'The king is dead'.

    - Vanilla is used to make chocolate.

    - W.C. Fields kept $50,000 in Germany "in case the little bastard wins".

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  2. Good Morning. This puzzle was "angelic". I quickly caught on to the theme. I had fun with the theme clues. SHANGRI-LA was the mysterious place in James Hilton's book, Lost Horizon, which according to the book's cover was also the first paperback ever published. I don't know about that, but I do remember it was a wonderful book.

    I wasn't aware of Steve Martin's MY BLUE HEAVEN, but I did remember his earlier movie, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN, which was also based on an old song.

    I thought of both Kazie and Seinfeld as I filled in DINGO.

    I was thinking more Roman Numerals when I saw the clue with XL. So glad the answer was LGE.

    My favorite clue was Spouse's Resigned Consent = YES DEAR.

    QOD: Silence is Golden, but duct tape is silver ~ Unknown.

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  3. Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,

    I had some erasing to do before perps could help out. Hasty for Haste, Hot for Mad, Loan for Lend and Ache for Ague. Not a huge fan of Steve Martin so My Blue Heaven was unknown.

    How come Yes Dear was a gimme?

    A W.C. Fields Quote: "A woman drove me to drink and I never had the courtesy to thank her."

    Have a great day!

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  4. Good Morning everyone. More great photos to look at. Thank you, Kazie. Nice write-uo, Argyle.

    Nice easy but fresh puzzle today. Three passes to get the solve. Perps helped with a few unknowns. Liked BTW,CABAL and LGE. As usual, I didn't get the theme before coming here.

    Argyle's link showed how the Shangri La appeared in WWII. Here is how it looked after 1952 when the hurricane bow and the canted deck were added.

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  5. Morning, all!

    An odd puzzle today. Two of the theme answers (USSSHANGRILA and SALPARADISE) were complete unknowns to me, I didn't agree with some of the clues (HOSED means "scammed"?) and I didn't get the theme until after finishing the puzzle, and yet...

    Somehow I managed to breeze through it extremely quickly. Every time I hit a snag I just skipped it and quickly filled it in via the perps. So, all in all, a very smooth solving experience today.

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  6. Hello Puzzlers - Oh, Rats! Hahtool beat me to the DINGO reference. I gotta learn to get up earlier...

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  7. Hahtool, that cut of Elaine with the repartee about the DINGO was my thought exactly as I wrote it into the cw. One of the funniest lines from the show.

    ADAPT made me think of Sgt Highway in Heartbreak Ridge @ about 1:48 > 2:10 into the clip.

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  8. Good Morning All, I had a heck of a time with the theme answers today. BARBARA EDEN was not a problem, but getting the rest of them was like pulling teeth. (But I did like the shout-out to Jeannie.)

    The clues were just obscure enough that I didn't have much idea where I should follow. USS SHANGRI LA was totally new, I didn't see movie MY BLUE HEAVEN, although I know the tune and lyrics to the song. (Thanks for the link, Argyle. I enjoyed the old..old version.) I just couldn't remember Kerouac's SAL PARADISE. It wasn't on my radar.

    The four longer vertical phrases were slow filling in too. About TO BE SURE, PART-TIMER, IN A BAD WAY and LANDED ON, hey, I liked them a lot, they just didn't seem to like me.

    At least for a change, the little three letter fill were kind to me today.

    Nothing I didn't like here. No excuses, it's me today, definitely not the puzzle.

    Hahtool, thanks for the Seinfeld clip...always a real LOL.

    Kazie, I love your scenery photos, but the "Roadkill Café" and "CD rates board" made it very personal. I'm really enjoying your escorted tour.

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  9. GM all:

    Between Elaine and the DINGO and a (planned?) reference to COSMO Kramer, maybe this can become a Seinfeld appreciation puzzle. I see Boy____ and Joint Poetry fan?, WWII bad guy, Organic Dresser, Czech leader ; okay I will go to work

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  10. Here's a much better rainbow video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYV5nM6iQVY

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  11. 15A DINGO made me think of the following poem. Kazie, can probably tell you more about A.B. "Banjo" Paterson than I can. I do know that he is probably the most famous Australian poet. His best known poem, "Walzing Matilda" was set to music and is the one everyone thinks of as "Australia's song" This one is about another Aussie icon.

    High Explosive

    Twas the dingo pup to his dam that said,
    "It's time I worked for my daily bread.
    Out in the world I intend to go,
    And you'd be surprised at the things I know. "

    "There's a wild duck's nest in a sheltered spot,
    And I'll go right down and I'll eat the lot."
    But when he got to his destined prey
    He found that the ducks had flown away.

    But an egg was left that would quench his thirst,
    So he bit the egg and it straightway burst.
    It burst with a bang, and he turned and fled,
    For he thought that the egg had shot him dead.

    "Oh, mother," he said, "let us clear right out
    Or we'll lose our lives with the bombs about;
    And it's lucky I am that I'm not blown up -
    It's a very hard life," said the dingo pup.

    - A.B."Banjo" Paterson,1864-1941, written in 1933

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  12. Not a difficult puzzle, but some tricky clues lengthened the process of completing it (19 minutes). Started with LULL instead of CALM at 26D, INTO instead of ONTO at 27D, GETGO instead of GITGO at 22A, HASTY instead of HASTE at 29D, APRIL instead of AUDIT at 53A, etc. I first thought of the game rather than the critter for 32A (CHIRP), and couldn't make anything of 46D at first (AYEAYE), until I thought about "sailor" instead of NaCl.

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  13. Hi Argyle, C.C. & gang, we almost finished today's puzzle before my wife left but we didn't quite finish the right bottom corner. I had to look up Sal Paradise and we had BAA instead of MAA for 62A? I had forgotten that goats make the MAA sound...

    Great pictures Kazie!

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  14. Argyle, Great write-up!

    What a FUN Tuesday.

    Had the theme with BARBARA EDEN, the other three were "how fast can I write."

    Liked the OAHU & LEI, also CALM & CLAM.
    The stack, STRUT IN A BAD WAY.

    MOSEY, what a great word. I think I'll mosey on down to the drug store and get a soft drink.

    It even had the AHA! moment. YES DEAR, the first thing every new husband should learn if he wants his marriage to last.

    Good job Gail!

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  15. A fun easy puzzle for me today. Only hitch was having BAA for MAA--didn't even look at the perp that might have saved me. Didn't think about the theme again either. Several unknowns that the perps solved for me. I thought GETGO was slangy enough until ISR did it in. Thought DINGO was appropriate, given the photos of late. I'm glad they aren't boring you to tears yet.

    Andrew Barton Paterson was indeed, and still is, an Australian icon. I've posted his "Man from Snowy River" poem here before, which was the basis for the film of that name. The film, however, built on it shamelessly with a whole extra romantic back story that old Banjo never thought of.

    Speaking of films and the photos, "Australia" was set in the Northern Territory, and showed the bombing of Darwin towards the end of the film.

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  16. Hi all -

    Fun and fast (except for 28A and 58A) as already mentioned. The perps solved them. I was stuck with IM provider, I didn't know what IM was. Doh!

    Has anyone seen a picture of Barbara Eden recently...? I was in the line at the grocery store the other day, and of course the Nat'l Enquirer was right in front of me with all the pictures of plastic surgery results..she was one of them, wow, I'd sue the Dr over that!

    Hahtool: Re QOD, That is why duct tape is a great parenting tool. LOL

    Kazie, such great pictures! I feel as if I am on a vacation with you. Beautiful places, colors and very interesting places to eat :)

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  17. Good morning, Argyle,C.C. and everyone.
    A solid Tuesday offering from Miss Grabowski. A fast solve. Some of the answers emerged by themselves. Had to go back to read the clues after solving. Never knew CABAL used to be an acronym. Always nice to have a learning moment. Thanks Argyle. Favorite word today is MOSEY.

    Have a good day everyone.

    August

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  18. Good morning. A nice, enjoyable puzzle; no gripes.

    Interesting to see 53D ABMS. Last weekend I attented a reunion of those who constructed or operated the US's only cold war era anti-ballistic missle system ABM. I spent the summer of 1970 working construction at the MSR site (Missle Site Radar, used for fire control) near Nekoma, ND . We were not able to tour the actual radar building (nicknamed "The Pyramid on the Prairie") where I worked, as the interior had been salvaged years ago. However, the associated PAR site (Perimiter Acquisition Radar, long-range missle detection) near Cavalier, ND is still in operation as a space object tracking system and we were able to tour that. They are still using the original computer system from the early 70's. The computer towers fill a large room and are water cooled. We were told that the average Smart Phone has more capabilites than that system (it is currently in the process of being updated).

    This ABM system was designed to protect the Minuteman missles in the area, one of which was just a mile down the road from our farm.

    It is hard to believe that 40 years have passed since my time at MSR, but it was interesting to be a small part of such an historic project. I still have the hard hat I wore on the project.

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

    Argyle, loved Iz's ..a great start.Each day I realize more and more of how much info never has sunk in or has gone over my head. Whoosh! Thanks for CABAL info and website for Osage.

    Somehow I managed to breeze through it extremely quickly. Every time I hit a snag I just skipped it and quickly filled it in via the perps. So, all in all, a very smooth solving experience today. a la Barry..me too.

    Like Carol, I had no clue as to what IA was, but knew mosey and elude, and looked up S. Paradise. Didn't know The U.S.S. Shangrila, but perps filled it.

    My big oops was 6A-I had ataae, which looked strange.Realized that it was lge, not age 40,and eons ago had to be long ago.
    When I came here, I did have baa, not maa.Tsk!

    Had to laugh at "taxpayers' dread". DH was an auditor for yrs and NO ONE was thrilled by his visits. He now volunteers his auditing skills to the ACS. They have those great little second hand stores and it seems there are Relays for Life going on most weekends.

    Kazie, your pictures are wonderful, but the captions make them even better!I will have to figure out how you did that.

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  20. Is C.C.'s email crosswordc@gmail.com? I wrote to her last Saturday and got no reply.

    Thanks.

    Jim

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  21. There's eight phrases in the fill and all have a symmetrical partner!

    TO BE SURE / LANDED ON
    PART TIMER / IN A BAD WAY
    LONG AGO / SUITS ME
    LETS EAT / YES DEAR

    Pretty neat feat and a thing of beauty.

    Not so neat-
    There's a DOG IN DINGO. What's it DOING there?

    BARBARA EDEN knows my bliss... A BAR AND BEER. After a few drinks LETS EAT in SEATTLE then take a snooze in A HUT in UTAH.

    Great puzzle, Gail.













    When we get to SEATTLE LETS EAT

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  22. Hello, Santa and puzzlers.

    How nice to join this CABAL of solvers for a lovely Tuesday xwd.

    I didn't cotton on to the theme because I failed to review it all, it was so quick. However, I hiccupped at ABMS where I'd put ABBS until I read the blog.

    Although USSSHANGRILA and SALPARADISE were unknown, the perps filled in most of them.

    My hand is up, I thought of Kazie on DINGO.

    Barbara Eden was actually interviewed sometime last year and I thought she looked great given her age. Of course makeup can do wonders.

    Kazie:
    What amazes me about your photos is that the weather is so clear. Did you just luck out on it or is the weather always like that? I, too, loved the Roadkill Cafe with its exotic fare.

    Now I'll just mosey on to the gym.
    Bye all. I hope you have a factastic Tuesday.

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  23. You can be thick as a brick, Gunderson. Nice dangling sentence. Sheesh...

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  24. Lucina,
    I think we lucked out a bit by choosing the time of year known as the dry season. In the next groups of photos, we are in the Kakadu area, where it was explained there are basically two seasons up there: the wet and the dry. In the dry, the rivers either don't run at all, or are fordable, whereas the wet season has rain and fast flowing rivers all the time. It rained a bit when I was in Sydney though. The winter weather is like our late spring there, but in Alice Springs winter is much milder. In Darwin, it's summery year round. But they have a good water supply year round, unlike Sydney where there are water restrictions in force all the time.

    JD,
    I just send the pix attached to emails to C.C. and write the captions in the email identifying them by the picture #s. She does the rest. Isn't she wonderful?

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  25. Hello everybody.

    Man, that Coolpix S8000 is one heck of a camera, and Kazie you are one heck of a photographer! Beautiful! The sunset pic is especially awesome. Thank you!

    As for the puzzle(s), fun to do, as usual. Nothing to say about today's other than that it was enjoyable to solve. Favorites include YES DEAR and LANDED ON. Least favorites were LGE, ISR, and LSU.

    Interesting to learn about Shah-Mat. Thanks for that tidbit. By the way, I really like that you post these fun facts, Dennis, and I hope you continue to do so.

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  26. Kazie, you are a brilliant photographer.

    Lurker Anon

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  27. I should clear up the origin of CABAL(1Down). It was a word before it was an acronym. The Word Detective gives a good explanation.

    Down with the herd in the lea, they are arguing about whether it is "MOO" or "MAA". Clip

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  28. Geez, Jerome Gunderson you could have copied (then deleted) your first comments, corrected it, then just re-posted.

    Nope, you would rather talk to yourself.

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  29. Loved the write-up as usual, Argyle. Liked the puzzle, too; just slid right through it. I did the 'maa' thing instead but caught it! Nice to see the word 'lend'. Somehow it's not used much; most people use 'loan' as a verb, which is an alternative, I guess. I learned it as a noun. But English is a 'living' language, and I'll have to accept that, I suppose. But under protest! Don't like some of the expressions that are changing our grammar rules. Like 'lie and 'lay' and others.

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  30. I adored Jerome's added "thick as brick" comment. Also loved his observation on the eight long fill being multi-word entries & symmetrically placed.

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  31. re: Israel "IZ" Kamakawiw'ole

    Boy oh boy, i bet he can eat alot of poi!

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  32. Good afternoon everyone.

    Thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday. It was a spectacular one. As I mentioned earlier, my older son and d-i-l took me and DH to Orlando to go to Hogwarts. That was the most fun. If you have read Harry Potter, do go. If you haven't, I heartily recommend that you read at least some of the books. Wonderful imagination at work.
    Then the two sons and one d-i-l fixed a spectacular feast: oysters Rockefeller, venison and scallops with green beans and almonds, a spectacular salad, and chocolate mousse mit schlag for dessert. Champagne with the first, good wine with the entrée. And d-i-l made luminarias which she put outside and inside the lanai. The other d-i-l could not make it, which was the only draw back to a wonderful celebration. Two days swimming in the gulf and enjoying Naples' beaches.

    They left this morning for MN and Manhattan, and I've been doing laundry and putting away dishes (they left no dirty dishes!)

    Cheers

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  33. Argyle, In answer to your question, what comes before a storm is a 25 mph headwind. Then hail. That calm stuff is total Cr**

    With the comments being posted, it almost makes me sorry I never watched Seinfeld.

    Dennis, W. C. Fields opened accounts around the country under those wonderful assumed names he made up for his skits. Since he was usually drunk when he did so, he forgot what name and where quite often. There's a lot of money out there somewhere that belonged to him.

    Hahtool, I believe this is related to the originator of your QOD. Incidentally, we used to have a contest at school to see which team could duct tape a student to a chain link fence and pull out the chair the fastest. It took very little tape to hold a person off the ground.

    Dodo, Prioritize instead of set priorities. We can blame it on Nixon. He used to get ripped for adding IZE to nouns to make a verb, but it caught on. It still bugs me.

    Oh, about the puzzle? A, D, A, D, done. It would have been ADA, but I agree with Barry: HOSED is what happened when the referee made a bad call. It would have been faster, but I couldn't come up with any of the theme answers the first time through. (I don't think I ever missed that navel, I mean show, but Barbara is a name after-all.)

    Probable TMI, I'm out!

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  34. well, don't i feel like a horse's ass

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  35. Gunghy, I'll take care of the extras.

    seen, It's ok.

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  36. I put markers on the map for Barry Katz, Tinbeni, Lucina, Chickie and Gunghy. Any one else interested?

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  37. Too late, it was already taken care of.

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  38. Hi gang -

    Caught the theme quickly, but that didn't help me with the unknown USS SHANGRILA, MY BLUE HEAVEN - which I thought was from the 40's, or Mr PARADISE - Is he SAL, SOL, or SAM? Even a boy named SUE isn't totally out of the question.

    "Salt's assent" had me totally baffled. Perps filled it in, then came the AHA moment.

    BARBARA EDEN has always had appeal, with or without the navel showing.

    I've been mis-reading a lot of clues lately. 35A. Type of sex. I try to be CALM and not do it in HASTE.

    Was Julius ON TO CLEO?
    He couldn't ELUDE her AT ALL
    But, at dinner time, he said, "YES DEAR, LET'S EAT."

    I have never watched a complete episode of Seinfeld. Those characters are too creepy and unpleasant.

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  39. Did anyone see 'The Boy From Oz' starring Hugh Jackman on Broadway (NYC) a few years ago??? It was FABULOUS!!!

    The Oz pictures from Kazie are super.

    I really enjoyed *working* today's Xword.

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  40. Hello All--Another light-hearted puzzle. Yesterday with the references to smiles, and today with those of Eden and Paradise.

    I didn't have to look up anything, but did fall into the Baa/Maa trap. I also left out the W in Wares/Wes, as I was going too fast and didn't go back to fill in the missing letter. Sal Paradise, and Uss Shangri-La were unknowns, but filled in nicely with the perps.

    All in all a very enjoyable puzzle, that gave my Ego a Tuesday boost.

    CA, I chuckled over your poem today. and Kazie, my arm chair exploration of Australia continues to delight. I thought the Roadkill Cafe was especially fun today. Who would have thought?

    The Barbershop Music Appreciation Day reminded me of a rest stop in the Pacific Northwest where we were given free coffee and a wonderful round of Barbershop Quartet songs by a local group. They do this on a consistent basis. It gives those who stop a chance to rest a bit longer before hitting the road again.

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  41. But English is a 'living' language, and I'll have to accept that, I suppose. But under protest! Don't like some of the expressions that are changing our grammar rules.

    Dodo:

    Where have all our past participles gone???? I wince everytime I hear "I would have went" in place of "I would have gone". And "I would have did it" for "I would have done it". And so many others...

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  42. Gunghy: I laughed out loud at your link with the poor child taped to the wall!

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  43. Gunghy:
    That is probably the best picture I have ever seen of a tot.
    Actual laugh out loud !!!

    Hahtool, that "poor child" looks like it is having the time of its life.

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  44. Good evening Argyle, CC, et al.,
    Argyle: excellent job! Thank you for the Cabal history and esp for the IZ link...one of my most favorite songs. What a loss.

    This puzzle was a slice of heaven..loved it. Ms. Grabowski is on my A-list, not 'E-list', of constructors. Who can not find this theme appealing? Plus it has special appeal to me for the ref to OK & Lane/Kent. Like Dennis, I loved 'hosed' and its many meanings, altho' 'scammed' is not the first meaning that comes to mind w/that word.

    Gunghy: LMAO at the duct taped baby link. I'll keep that in mind for grandbabies. Hilarious!

    Kazie: wonderful pictures! Am really enjoying them all. Loved that croc head skeleton on top of the shelf at the Roadkill Cafe. What a hoot!

    CC: great job on Kazie's pictures. Thank you for all you do...in everything. We all vodka you.

    CA: great poem. Really enjoyed that.

    Sallie: Happy belated birthday. Sounds like quite the celebration and such a wonderful thoughtful family to do all that and even leave no dirty dishes. What a tribute to you. Congratulations and I wish you many many more happy birthdays.

    Dodo & Anon 4:36: I'm w/you on poor grammar. I hear 'have went' so often around here and from supposedly educated people. Another peeve of mine is 'me and Tom' as well as the use of the wrong case? after a preposition... with Tom and I. Makes me cringe.

    Yea for Barbershop Music...and Crockett. Love it!

    Time to 'mosey'..ok, hobble... no, actually sail. I have a 'roll about' that is an elevated scooter that my knee rests on. I can flat fly down a straight hallway.'Adds'
    a little excitement to an otherwise 'calm' day 'to be sure'.

    Enjoy your day.

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  45. Gunghy, thanks for the info on W.C. I always got a kick out of his movies, and it's good to know he truly was a bit of a whack job.

    Jayce, thanks for the feedback on the 'Did you know's - I was wondering if anybody read them. Not that I wouldn't keep at it anyway - I'm guaranteed to learn something new each day I do them.

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  46. I enjoyed the puzzle but was guilty of 'baa' instead of 'maa'.

    have really enjoyed the photos, Kazie. I did not know Australia was so varied and interesting.

    I had a Dr's check up today and both he and i are very please with my progress. Basically, I can do whatever my hip allows me to do. If I try something & it hurts, I'm to back off for a couple of days, then try again.

    Lois, my biggest pet peeve is the "me and Tom" usage. When any of my grandchildren make a statement like that, I just stare at them and refuse to comment until they realize what they have said wrong & correct it. College students - and yet it still slips out.

    Dot

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  47. As you might guess, I'm with Lois, Dodo and Dot on all of your commentary about grammar. The I/me mistake is becoming more and more common. It happened twice on a favorite TV show of mine, "Friday Night Lights" last week. It happened a couple of weeks ago right here on this blog. I think one of the reasons for it is what Dot was saying about correcting children that say something like, "Can me and Tom go out to play." As she said, you wait patiently until they correct themselves and replace it with "Can Tom and I ..." I think they often end up thinking "me" sounds wrong and "I" sounds right.

    Time for the All-Star game!

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  48. Dot: Good for you. Me too. When my kids/students say that, I just keep asking "Who?" until they correct it.

    Dennis: I also appreciate the "Did you know" droplets of info you add every day...and all else you do. You're wonderful! You rock!

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  49. Here's an interesting article that answers the question about "Why is there a calm before a storm?"

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  50. Gunghy- You made my day with that picture of the baby duct taped to the wall. What a hoot! I said it was a great parenting tool and as Lois said, great for grandparents too. :)

    Bill G, Lois, Dodo, Dot: include me in with the grammar goofs. I can understand little ones making the 'me and Grant are going to the park', but when young and older adults say it, it grates. The people who use the word 'like' every other word drive me crazy too, but in my case, it is a short drive :)- if they only knew how stupid they sound, maybe they would quit using it. The generation before them used 'you know?' constantly. Of course OUR generation was perfect - LOL.

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  51. Actually heard on talk radio this very afternoon:

    "If I would have came in sooner, I would have saw what was happening"

    So I guess we're losing our past perfect tense (If I had come in...)
    along with all our past participles! Yeesh!

    I have a close relative (an in-law) that loves to add "You know what I'm saying?" to the end of every third sentence when relating events. It's (or is it Its? - just kidding) enough to drive me insane!!

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  52. Okay group, I've done some maintenance on the Blog Map. The markers are sorted alphabetically with the current commenters first and the inactive ones next. Tinbeni is the last of the current group. Hope you all find the map useful and fun.

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  53. Anon @ 8:04 I had a colleague that did the same thing as your in-law. I took to responding every time he said it with, "No, not really" or "Oh, were you talking to me?" I didn't cure him, he quit talking to me. Might not be the best solution for your situation, but it worked for me.

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  54. Lois, you're too kind. And I love a woman who's precondomized.

    I agree about the rampant use of incorrect grammar, and it's compounded here in NJ by the constant use of 'youse' as in 'youse guys'. Enough to make me, like, sick.

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  55. Dennis: hahaha. I love the boy scouts who, as a brownie, taught me (among other things) to always be prepared, esp those (like you) who were kicked out for certain behavior. Life skills!

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  56. Let me start with a belated Happy Birthday to Sallie! That was a beautiful picture of you.

    An eerie calm definitely precedes a hurricane, as well as the calm as the eye passes. It's very creepy and foreboding!

    I thought of "Pennies From Heaven" first for the Steve Martin movie too.

    Lrc, thanks for sharing your story. How cool to be part of something like that!

    I'm so glad to see a few others that also weren't into Seinfeld! Any other non-Frasier people out there too?

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  57. Question:Can Tom and I go out to play? Answer: Of course, you can BUT you may not!!

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  58. Hutch said: Question:Can Tom and I go out to play? Answer: Of course, you can BUT you may not!!

    Ya got me! I know the difference but I don't think about it always in casual conversation or writing.

    I used to say "different than" until my daughter corrected me. I didn't realize that was wrong and I am still not sure why it's wrong but now I'm a "different from" kind of guy.

    I do know about "just deserts/desserts" though. That's a surprising one.

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  59. I'm troubled by the lack of English skills too.Our parents/teachers drilled it into us. When the writing essays became the district & statewide evaluations(with scores printed in the papers here in CA), what and how teachers taught changed,except for those of us oldies who hung on to the grammar lessons and old texts.New teachers were not given grammar books, only literature books with grammar lessons- no real practice.How can today's children be corrected by parents who have never had it taught to them? There is a big difference in exposing students to grammar, and teaching it.Rant over.

    Gunghy, tape duct kid was hilarious!

    Crockett, merci, Monsieur Map Maker

    CC, I'm impressed with the way you set up the pictures and captions. Thanks for putting in all that extra time for our enjoyment.I'm still struggling with the avatar change..ha,ha, can you tell?

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  60. Grammar misusage bugs me too, especially when my colleagues (teachers) were making those mistakes and didn't act as though they knew it was wrong. How do we expect kids to learn if teachers don't know the difference--or care?

    I think we're probably in a losing battle with the 'me/I' thing, but I hate to hear it. Also 'different from' was incorrectly used as 'different to' when I grew up in Oz. The first time I ever heard 'different than' was here. What really gripes me is 'would of' ('if I would of went') especially when you see it written that way. No wonder I couldn't teach them foreign languages effectively!

    Dot,
    Glad to hear the hip is progressing. Take it slowly and carefully!

    Crockett,
    Thanks for doing the map for us. It's good to be able to see where we all are out there.

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  61. Hello Again Puzzlers - A bit late, I know, but there are a few things things I hope to add.

    First, I am with anyone who finds today's grammar decay irritating. Actually, there is a lot about present-day American life that causes me to fear for the nation's welfare. Declining language skills are just one facet. I'm glad Bill G. got turned away from using "different than"; that phrase is one of a few pet peeves.

    Second, for Argyle especially: thanks for the Iz link! I was only vaguely aware of his arrangement of Rainbow beforehand, and not at all aware of his (short) life story. My wife and I agree that the world lost a talented and gentle soul.

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  62. Annette, I don't watch much TV at all, but Frazier didn't grab me. I could watch it though. If Seinfeld was on and I couldn't get the channel changed, I'd have to leave the room.

    Crockett, a public thank you, that map is great.

    Hutch,
    Student: Can I go to the bathroom??
    Me: I hope so, but that's a question for your doctor.

    I haven't chimed in on the language stuff, much, but my English teaching soon-to-be-ex used to ask me to edit her work. OMG!

    Thanks for the comments on the picture. I receive that one several times a year as an email. I suppose it says something about the people I correspond with. Snicker, snicker.

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  63. Kazie: I meant to write that "different to" is common in England. I choose to believe it's a convenient contraction of "different when compared to...". Sounds clumsy. I have never heard a Briton say "different than".

    The absence of caring about grammar is, for me, the worst.

    Anyway, g'night, John-Boy.

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  64. Love all the grammar-ranting. Sometimes I think I'm just a crank!
    A woman I taught with used to say, "...with Helen and I". I knew her well enough to correct her. Her answer was, "I know but I think it sounds better that way!"
    JD, I agree with you re: examples set at home. And now with texting and all the other technological things available to the students, I wonder if in another generation or two there will be any rules at all. Will we be able to understand each other, let alone experience the beauties of poetry and literature and just good conversation? Scarey!

    And the word-making, as Gunghy said about 'prioritize'! Think of 'nucular', orientating, and on and on. Sometimes I despair.

    On a happier note, Kazie, we are all impressed with your terrific images, and the real beauty of your native land. Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us and you, C.C., for what you do for us and the talent you possess!

    "...me and Tom" Bah humbug!

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  65. Dudley, I seem to find 'different than' in a lot of books written by English authors, mostly detective stories, I confess. I have always considered that 'different from' was the correct usage. Now I have 'different to' to confuse things even further!

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