google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday December 3, 2010 Pamela Amick Klawitter

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Dec 3, 2010

Friday December 3, 2010 Pamela Amick Klawitter

Theme: No scotch, just add A RY(e). I am not good at naming these add on themes. By adding ARY to the end of the second word of a common phrase, a new and entirely different phrase emerges, with oodles of frivolity.

20A. Where a witch's influence ends?: SPELL BOUNDARY. Or is SPELLBOUND really one word? I like the imagery of a boundary on spells.

25A. Office employee to avoid?: DEADLY SECRETARY. Deadly secret. I am not really familiar with this as a phrase, though I know there is a movie, and the newspapers use it often, like when describing the Toyota cover-up.

47A. Shuttle evangelist?: SPACE MISSIONARY. Space mission. I think many of our televangelists would be better if sent off in a rocket ship, but that is just me.

53A. Bird in a landfill?: GARBAGE CANARY. Garbage can. My favorite, as it turns a can into a bird.

Well, it is your semi- recovered Lemonade here for your Friday entertainment. This is my first blogging of Ms. Klawitter, but we have had many of her puzzles this year, mostly on Sundays, but last month’s Wednesday effort with all the swapping and trading was fun.

Some really fun clues:

23A. River past Memphis: NILE. Ha ha, fooled you, Memphis used to be the capital of Egypt, before Cairo.

33A. Teen sensation?: ANGST. Great clue, man. For me it was ages 11 to 14.

9D. Treetop rocker: CRADLE. Oh. I LOVE this clue, they get you thinking about music, and rockers and then slip in my favorite lullaby, which was obviously written by someone who did not like kids. I mean what kid wants to hear about falling out the top of a tree?

40D. Item in a stirring picture?: SPOON. Another great clue, simple elegance..

On we go.

ACROSS:

1. Actor Gyllenhaal: JAKE. Did the controversial BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN with Heath Ledger, dated Reese Witherspoon among others, and his sister, Maggie appeared in the DARK KNIGHT which is the Batman movie where Heath Ledger was so fabulous as the Joker. Also, see below for more Batman stuff.

5. Big rolls: WADS. The online dictionary says this goes back to the US in 1778.

9. "Zorba the Greek" setting: CRETE.A wonderful, fun MOVIE .

14. Very top: APEX. Not to be confused with ACME, also four letters beginning with A.

15. Cartoon drooler: ODIE. Poor baby, he gets such bad press because of the CAT.

16. Invoice word: REMIT.

17. Downed shot: BELT. The first shout out to our shot downer, Tinbeni.

18. Eugene O'Neill's daughter: OONA. Also, married to Charlie Chaplin.

19. Lab flask contents, perhaps: ACIDS. Like my stomach tonight, ick.

24. Tim's "Tool Time" sidekick et al.: ALS. Ick, a gratuitous plural, when Lou Gherig’s disease could do it.

34. What a recent ex may need: TLC. Or recent eye surgery patients….

35. With 62-Down, call: SEE A, 62d. See 35-Across: BET. Poker rules, still.

36. Early 16th-century date: MDI.

37. "Also sprach Zarathustra" composer: STRAUSS. I am not the music expert, but is the music used for Space Odedsey:2001 ?

41. Shade on a beach: TAN. A wonderfully tricky clue, as I was trying to think of a three letter word for umbrella. I am a tan freak. We also have, 63A. Sunburn soothers: ALOES, to keep those tans safe.

42. Cookie recipe morsels: NUTS. Okay, I refuse to go back to that discussion, just believe me, there is no gravitational issue.

44. Fitting: APT.

45. Phoenician dialect: PUNIC. Well, while we may not know the clue directly, most of us have been taught about the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage, and the famous pictures of Hannibal crossing the Alps on elephants to attack Rome from the north. Of course, having a son getting his PhD in Roman archaeology may have made this a touch easier for me.

51. Part of a roadie's load: AMP. Okay, here is where I tell my tales of going on the road with bands I represented, traveling by bus, eh, maybe later.

52. __ bomb: ATOM. Well BOOM! BAM!(Forgive me Emeril and BATMAN).

59. Actress Thomas who is now St. Jude's National Outreach Director: MARLO. Danny’s daughter, and the star of That Girl .

60. For all of us: OURS.

61. Certain line crosser: SCAB. Unions were very serious when I was growing up, and while they did much good in the 40’s and 50’s, eventually they became tools of bad people and did much to ruin American Industry.

64. Actor Baldwin: ALEC. My favorite of the brothers.

65. Kate __, a.k.a. Batwoman: KANE. This was very difficult for me, as I never knew of the 2006 change to BATWOMAN who is no longer Kathy Kane, but is a Jewish lesbian! In the continuing saga of clues relating to my life, I collected comic books while in law school and for years after, and had my own store in Gainesville until I had to move to South Florida for a previous eye operation.

66. Air ducts: VENTS.

67. "There you have it!": TA DA. The word of the whole corner!

68. USMC rank: SSGT. They have a lot more SERGEANTS than I knew. Dennis, was this just for you?

DOWN:

1. Setup punch: JAB.

2. Fossey focus: APES. Dian who lived among GORILLAS .

3. Source of the food thickener alginate: KELP. No clue, but with Jake being easy, so was this.

4. Lengthens: EXTENDS. Okay, Lois and Carol and ladies, I know where this one fits in your memory banks.

5. Wild associate?: WOOLLY. Don’t know why but this reminded me of this classic SONG .

6. Sun-dried structures: ADOBES. Unlike the tomatoes…

7. Flintstones' Snorkasaurus: DINO. Their pet; very cute.

8. Linebacker Junior who played in 12 consecutive Pro Bowls: SEAU. He played many years in San Diego, came to Miami for a couple of years and then EXTENDED his career with the Patriots. Sadly, I think he has retirement adjustment PROBLEMS .

10. Changes the actor: RECASTS, and the similar, 31D. Televise again: REAIR. REGURGITATE?

11. Kuwaiti VIP: EMIR.

12. Unlike folks on "Hoarders": TIDY. I have never and never will watch this “reality” show from A&E (Arts? Entertainment?) which exploits the sad life of mentally ill people.

13. Saturn drivers?: ETS. Cute, but drivers?

21. Light melodies: LILTS. Okay ladies, help me here, because this is all I thought of from my YOUTH , am I the only one?

22. Some traffic monitors: NARCS. We had this in a puzzle I blogged recently.

25. Condemns: DAMNS. Most famous ONE . Which leads naturally, even if spelling does not work, to 43D. Like an infamous "A": SCARLET.

26. Become, finally: END UP.

27. Antacid target: AGITA. Fascinated that this ITALIAN SLANG would be an acceptable term.

28. Texas and Tennessee, in Toulouse: ETATS. Well, this is silly, since there are no states in Toulouse named Texas, why not “to Toulouse” to show it is a French answer?

29. Gulager of "The Virginian": CLU. He is still working, now in horror movies at 82 ACTOR and has since 1956, when I first began watching TV; always sounded like he swallowed something wrong.

30. Insurance company named for a mountain: AETNA. A Hartford Connecticut mainstay, the company not the mountain.

32. "The Waltons" handyman Tucker: YANCY. Another one I did not know, but it is Friday. He was played by ROBERT DONNER, a weird looking dude.

38. City on its own bay: TAMPA. Okay Tin man who did you pay today?

39. Sch. in Troy, NY: RPI. And another Spitzboov reference?

46. Exposes: UNMASKS.

48. Make stand out: EMBOSS. Another opportunity ladies?

49. Divine: SACRED.

50. Mississippi source: ITASCA. We have had this river in Illinois, trying to trick us before.

53. 8 on the Beaufort scale: GALE. My first love was GALE, and I thought she was 10.

54. Elvis __ Presley: ARON. My oldest boy's name, spelled wrong,

55. Billy __: GOAT. For you again Tinbeni, I wanted MARTIN.

56. "The Long, Hot Summer" vixen __ Varner: EULA. We just had this back in an October offering from Ed Sessa.

57. Some HDTVs: RCAS.

58. Bright side?: YANG. Please somebody help, I know YIN, and I know YANG represents the bright colors in Feng Shui, so I guess this is what it must mean, but honestly I never saw the clue and would never put YANG in there except the corner was already filled. (From C.C.: Yang is literally "bright" in Chinese. Yin means "shady".)

59. Dallas NBAer: MAV.

Answer grid.

Well peoples, it is good to be at least partially back; enjoy the day and week end; bruised but not broken, Lemonade 714.

77 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I breezed through most of this one, helped in part by the theme (which I got after the first theme answer revealed itself). There were some sticking spots, however...

SEEA/BET refused to come until I got every single crossing, and even then I didn't understand it at first.

PUNIC was a WAG I had to infer from, as Lemonade said, my vague knowledge of something called the PUNIC war.

AGITA and KANE were complete unknowns, and I needed all the crosses to get them.

Have a great one!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade. Great write-up. I thought this was a pretty easy puzzle for a Friday, but still, lots of fun. The theme clues/answers came very easily, but I did have a few roadblocks in the middle section for some of (what I thought) were a bit more obscure.

Tinbini, don't you live near Tampa Bay? If so, then you got a double Shout-Out, with Belt, as Lemon, noted, and TAMPA.

Shout-Out, too, to Spitzboov, with our friend RPI.

NILE didn't deceive me.

I prefer Chocolate Chips over NUTS in my cookies. NUTS never occurred to me until the perps filled in a letter or two.

Long Hot Summer starred both Paul Newman and his wife, Joanna Woodward.

JAKE Gyllenhaul is in a movie that is currently in theaters ~ Love and Other Drugs. I haven't seen it, so don't know if it is any good.

My favorite clue was Some Traffic Monitors = NARCS.

Off to another day of Continuing Legal Education. Happy Friday, everyone.

QOD: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies. ~ Groucho Marx.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning Lemonade, CC and All,

This is one of those days that my struggle in pencil led to on-line help, which was a struggle. Then I felt pretty stupid once I read the blog. Great write-up Lemonade and thanks for the explanations.

The only names I knew were Oona and had a lucky guess at Marlo. I didn't get the theme but picked and poked at answers with the "ary" ending. Red letters were the only way out.

36A has a different meaning to me. MDI is home sweet home!

Busy week for me and I'm feeling the effects. Went to the my oldest's winter concert last night and was totally blown away by the performances of both the concert band and chorus. The level of difficulty of the music was impressive. Big jump from middle school to high school.

Basketball game for the youngest tonight!

TGIF

Raymond Bednarz said...

50 Down. Itasca refers to the lake in Minnesota, not the river or town in Illinois

Tinbeni said...

Lemonade714, Your write-up was exactly how I was thinking while solving.
Great job!!!

Yup, TAMPA was a gimmie.
(Pamela the check is in the mail).

WOW and a-half on these themes.

OK, a few gliches, had neat before TIDY.
(I'm a Felix Unger, so watching "Hoarders" makes me clean Villa Incognito even more).

For that Lab Flask, well I did want PINCH.
Hell, I want Pinch in ANY and All flasks.

Like the JAB/BELT crossing.

TA-DA!!! Simply perfect.

December 3rd is my favorite day of each year.
It was on this day, 15 years ago, that my best friend, Charlie, had his Heart Transplant.
I always joked with him that he got either a black or hispanic girl's heart.
All of a sudden he could dance!

You see, he died last year on Dec. 2nd.
The last day of his 14th year with "replacement parts."
(It was NOT heart related).

Tonight's Sunset "Toast" goes out only to him.

The Interloper said...

My sincere apologies to CC and the one, true, Marge. Obviously, what was meant to be a joke can be carried on only so far, and then it turns out to be mean and vindictive - which is definitely contrary to the intentions of this blog. My intentions, were to point out the meaningless reservations on first names, and how common they can be - although there is only one Marge in blue ( thank god).

Marge Simpson: Bart, say something nice to the people on this blog -

Bart: Don't have a cow, man !

MH said...

Gee, this was pretty easy for a Friday. I have to admit that I'd never heard of AGITA but it was easily derived from the perps.

Tough to name this theme. Maybe something having to do with "airy"?

Nice day to all. I'm on a same-day out & back flight to Denver (from San Francisco) to pick up my daughter's dog, Nora (see my pic), who we are caring for for a few months. It's NUTS but there really isn't any good way to fly a dog without a person actually going along.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.

Great to "see" you back Lemonade, and I hope you are fully recovered soon. Great job on the blog this morning. I do remember LILT permanents - there were 4 girls in my family (I was the youngest), so it was almost a staple in our house, along with bread and milk. We also used to lay on the beach slathered in baby oil mixed with iodine, just to get more TAN.

I really enjoyed this puzzle, once I figured out the theme. But boy, all those names sure bogged me down. I had the same problem as Barry G with "SEE A BET". The "A" was the absolute last letter I filled.

I actually liked AGITA for "Antacid target", because I use that word all the time.

Have a great day, everyone!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Lemonade, great write-up. Thanks for the shout-out at 39d. Hope you'll be in fine fettle soon.

Rather easy for a Friday. Got the ARY endings for the theme fills early on. (Wonder how many office workers have been faced with a DEADLY SECRETARY? :-)) WAGS included SCARLET and YANCY. I liked ÉTATS, and the unanticipated clue for NILE.

Overall, a nice welcome back puzzle after 3 days in NYC. Enjoy the day.

thehondohurricane said...

Good Day Folks,

Sounds like I'm in the minority today, but the middle west section shut me down. Deadly & Angst never came to mind nor did Damns or End up and Agita was a total unknown. But in keeping with the week, I did have NUTS.

Other then my aforementioned lapses, I enjoyed the puzzle. There were a lot of fresh and fun clues.

Tinbeni, Our Ladies Basketball team visited your turf last night and the football team will be there tomorrow night. Both are class acts.

Tada everyone.

Barry G. said...

How about "ImaginARY Phrases" for a theme?

Lemonade714 said...

Mr. Hurricane;

Did you attend U Conn, as I and both my brothers did?

The success of ladies BBall in amazing, and the 10 year run to a possible BCS bowl for the football team is awesome. My brother Barry played football for John Toner back in the 60's, when 3,000 was a big crowd. Of course the coaching staff did include Lou Holtz, Rick Forzano and Sam Rutigliano as assistants, so it was interesting.

Anonymous said...

Lemonade, at 53D. I'm sure you thought Gale was a 10, and not just 10. Hah! Good write-up.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning Lemonade, CC et al. There were a couple of times that I thought this would be DNF without resorting to G-spot, but I kept picking away, erasing a few early assumptions, trying something else and suddenly things started making sense.

I don't know why, but STRAUSS was a gimme. I knew right away that I needed the french word for states so I had a little toehold in the middle.

There were a bunch of names that I didn't know or wasn't sure of, but perps gave me enough letters to fill all of them correctly.

I'm familiar with the phrase "Yin and Yang" and generally understood it to mean negative and positive forces or something like that. I never knew until today that it is literally shady and bright. My learning moment and a clever clue.

Fave clue... Saturn drivers/ETS. I guess if there are any drivers on Saturn they would be ETS.

Had RUNIC at first, but needed a "P" for SPOON so that straightened itself out.

Glad to see you're "on the mend" and able to handle the writeup, Lemonade.

Splynter said...

Hi All ~!

Wow, a cruise through for a Friday; I guess I latched onto the theme with the first "CLU" and ran from there - and any of the tough answers mentioned in the blog here filled in thru the perps.

Yup, had ACME before APEX, OHIO before NILE (not that I thought Ohio was correct, but it is a four-letter river; by the way, Cairo is at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.)

One of these days, I'll get a shout out for attending RPI in the write up, too - that's three times now...

Somehow, I remember LILT as a hair product, too. I didn't think I was "that" old - I've got 2months, 6days before I turn Four - Oh.

I am consciously aware of Feng Shui, but I learned something about YANG today, thanks Lemonade714.

Get most of my weekends off, now, with the temp and daylight way down -

Enjoy it !

Splynter

Lemonade714 said...

SPLYNTER, sorry, I will not for get you RPI connection again.

Nice Cuppa said...

Some suggestions:

"Scary endings"

"Arbitrary finish"

"A Cautionary Tail"

"Imaginary (Fri)ends" (well it is Friday)

"The last literary device"


NC

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Needed a lot of perp help on this one, especially for AGITA and SEE A BET. Still managed a TA DA!

I gotta envy JAKE Gyllenhaal: first he got paid to put his paws all over an un-clad Anne Hathaway in Brokeback Mountain. Then, he got paid to have even more of a fling with her, with even less clothing, in Love and Other Drugs. This world is not fair.

I'm all for Anne Hathaway, could you tell?

Seldom Seen said...

Not to beat the point but...the grouping in the mid-west is funny.

There has been much ANGST lately as to what SPACE my DAMN(s) NUTS will ENDUP occupying.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi, gang -

Welcome back, counselor, and a fine job. Yes. yes, yes on STRAUSS - Richard, not Johann, who shows up later in the movie.

Mixed feelings about this puzzle. Like the theme. But AGITA?!? Also, very much do not like the clue for ETATS. Bright side for YANG is too obscure, even for a Friday.

Made some trouble for myself, too. Had BID for BET, having played more bridge than poker.

Couldn't get the simple END UP, so that section was DAMN DEADLY.

Don't know bat woman as well as I should, either.

Barry @9:09 - good thought!

Bright and sunny here today. time to put up the outside Christmas lights.

Here's a bad joke. A guy's mistress says, "When are we going to take that trip to Florida?"
He says, "I never said anything about going to Florida."
She says, "Yes, remember - just a few minutes ago . . ."
After a pause, he responds, "No -- What I said was I was goin' to TAMPA with ya'."

Cheers!
JzB (ducking the tomatoes)

Annette said...

Hi everyone,

I remembered AGITA and LILT!

As far as the theme, it reminds me of Barney's catch-phrase on "How I met your mother" - it's legend-ARY!

I saw a large group of Marlo Thomas' family photos with great captions online, and watched her biography on tv recently. She's led an incredible life!

Enjoy the rest of your day!
Annette

carol said...

Happy Friday everyone -

I really struggled with this as it was one of those play-on-word thingy's I dislike. I did get a few of them though and that helped the rest come into view.

AGITA??? YANG??? Even for a Friday, those were difficult.

Lemonade: great job and glad the eye is up to the task. Also thanks for the YIN/YANG explanation. I too always thought they meant positive and negative forces, not shades.
Always learning things here :)

17A got me....I put another dent in the V-8 can!

Jazz (10:37) Still groaning while laughing!

Annette said...

Good one, seen!

Anonymous said...

Good morning everyone.

Lemonade, what a great writeup, especially considering you're still recuperating.

I was caught with Memphis river, but I knew it had to end with an e, because adobes was a given. Finally thought Egypt, but it took a while.
Did get the ends of the theme: secretary, missionary, canary, and dary. But I couldn't get the rest of the words.

I have very sun-spotted hands and legs, so don't go out in the sun to get a tan! So far no cancerous ones. I did get beautifully tan when young, but who knew?

Cheers

windhover said...

Raymond:
Are you related to Dan B.?

Interloper:
Class apology. We've all gotta do it, now and then.

I flew to Denver once to bring a dog home myself, but didn't she missed the mountains and rented a car and drive back.

Bill G. said...

Fun puzzle and write up. I had an easy time at the top but got stalled in the lower two thirds.

Movies: I have the fondest memories of Zorba the Greek. I need to watch it again. And don't forget about Witness for the Prosecution!

We're going to go out later and take one more look at a Toyota Yaris and a Honda Fit. Both have their good and less good features. Decisions, decisions...

Anonymous said...

The flag of South Korea is made up of the Yin and Yang, which includes one dark side and one bright side, ergo the answer to 58 down in todays puzzle.

Bob Liska

Lucina said...

Greetings, Lemonade, et al.

I'm glad you are healing, L as I do enjoy your blogging and this was no exception.

I'm now enlightened about YANG as well. Like others I thought it was light and dark, but then bright is light, isn't it?

For most of this I was on Pamela's wave length and then hit a block on SEE_Bet and couldn't make sense of it, not being a poker player nor watching much of the Waltons.

Enjoyed the cute theme which filled in quickly. Hand up for not knowing AGITA. Is that relted to agitate?

Item in a stirring picture? SPOON was cute.

In Latin II class we translated some of the PUNIC war logs; what a slog that was.

I love Zorba the Greek and have seen it several times.

ETATS made sense because in Toulouse one would say that when referring to Texas, Tennesse or any state.

Today I plan to set up the Christmas tree and decorate as well as wrap the numerous boxes waiting in the guest room.

Have a lovely Friday eveyone!

thehondohurricane said...

Lemonade,

Make it Hondo or Skip, no Mister stuff... makes me feel old and I'm already old enough.

No, I did not attend UConn. Undergrad work accomplished at Miami (Fla). Bay of Pigs era. But I was born and bred in Ct., and have lived here most of my life.

John Toner was an icon in Ct. Prior to UConn, he was highly successful at New Britain High School. And you are right, he had one heckuva staff.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I was in "the zone" with Pamela Amick Klawitter this morning. Just about everything came easily.

After getting (20A) SPELL BOUNDARY, I figured that was the add-on for the rest of them and I zipped down the grid and filled in ARY at 25A, 47A and 54A.

I didn't like (35A) SEE A paired with (62D) BET There is no way to get these things, except via perps, at least for one of them.

Unknowns were YANCY, AGITA and KANE, but were easily filled in with a little perping and a little WAG.

I like chocolate chip cookies with both chips and NUTS. Pecan pieces are my favorites.

I'm very glad to see Lemonade is feeling better and able to blog.

Charley the schipperke flew on his own from Florida to Los Angeles when he became a Clear Ayes family member. He did very well and was skipp(erkey)ing around within a couple of minutes of getting out of his transport cage. He's a trooper!

I've got a watercolor painting I have to get done before Monday's class, so I'd better quit stalling and haul out the paints. I'm not a big fan of dabbling in watercolors, so I have to really push myself to work on them.

windhover said...

Damned IPhone auto-correct bites again!

Anonymous said...

JAB,,BELT,,WADS,,NUTS,,unMASKS,,BOUNDary
SECRETARY,,MISSIONARY

Sounds x-rated

Carlos del Oeste said...

Responding to Lemonade's Wednesday comment- Thanks for that. Yes, I'm fine. Just trying to make more progress in other of life's challenges. Getting caught up in the x-word family blog keeps me from that. I'm horribly disorganized. My wife calls it ADS.

Sounds like you are coming back from some medical issues. I wish you hasty and complete recovery.

Oh yeah, about today's x-word. For some reason, I breezed through it with perps giving me the unknowns. Then, I hit the mid-South, and it was a grind to the end. Maybe that Ginkgo Biloba is working a bit.

Cheers to all,

CdelO

Jeannie said...

This one wasn’t too bad for a Friday. Who wouldn’t like a puzzle with extends and wads in it? I wanted acme for apex and somehow wanted “flashes” for exposes. For some reason the crossing of wooley (willy) and wads made me laugh. I did have to visit the g-spot for Zarathustra to get Strauss, and got plenty of red letter/perp help with Punic, Seau, agita, and RPI. All in all, in the end I did get my “tada”!
Does anyone have any idea where the saying “have a belt” came from?

Seen: good one! You too, Anon.

Tinbeni, I too, will toast your friend Charlie tonight at sunset. Wait, at sunset nowadays I am still at work!

My favorite counselor, it was good to read your blog today. I hope you didn’t strain your eye too bad.
We are expecting about 6-8” of the white stuff here by tomorrow morning. I hope it holds off until I can get home. Everyone enjoy your weekend!

Here is where the mighty Mississippi River starts. Very pretty.

Anonymous said...

The Virginian-Pilot has LA Times crossword for 12/4/10 in newspaper today. Anyone need any advance clues? I have all the clues but not very many answers. Ha! Wonder what they will do for an encore tomorrow?
Old Sage In Virginia Beach

Gunghy said...

Today was a DNF. Well, I filled everything, but there were errors. SEES BET and PUNIA gave me YSNAY. Made no sense to me; but EULA, CLU, ARON, OONA, and ODIE are better?

Also, 5D was filled as WOOLEY, (See, Lemonade, you got it spelled right in your link) and I never did read 23A: NIEE

I had to google to get Kane. I never read the Bat Woman comics. I thought she was another actress until I got here.

I didn't answer the last question from Jeannie last night. The anon-hole got to me. Ice fishing is not common in Calif. The lake rarely freezes before mid JanuARY and the lake level can vary by 50 feet as it's used for hydroelectric power. This leads to some interesting ice crevasses and thin spots. So short answer: It's still on my bucket list.

A very recent ex girl friend left her cat with me. (She claimed she was coming back.) I just got permission to give it to my father who is mourning the loss of his beloved Kit who was killed last summer. I'm off to brighten his day. She also offered me one of her dogs which I had really bonded with. I don't have to fly to get her, although I would have. The only down-side is I won't be renaming the dog. I've mentioned before that I've always wanted to call a dog Kick. There is just something that makes me want to own 'Kick, the dog."

Later.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, The top third of the CW went like clockwork today, but then I hit the middle section and came to a screeching halt.

I did what CA did and filled in ARY for the ending to the theme words, and that helped get a toehold in the rest of the puzzle. I managed to finish it all with just one lookup. I didn't know Batwoman/Kane, which also left the N out of Yang. Once that was in the Bright side? made sense. The white side of the Yin and Yang is the brighter side.

I had forgotten Yancy Tucker, and the Antacid Target, Linebacker Jr. and School in Troy, NY all filled in with the perps. I woulnd't have gotten them without that help.

I thought the theme was clever and the clue for Cradle/Tree top rocker was my favorite today.

Setting tables and finishing up the housework for my brunch on Sunday. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Oh! Lemonade, so good to see you back and on the mend. Thanks for the write-up today.

eddyB said...

Hi all.

Sure hope tomorrow's is a bear after these two easy ones.

Tin, is it ok if I join you tonight? All of a sudden I have lost 30 lbs. Still thinking about Tampa/St Pete.

Take care.

windhover said...

Gunghy,
The rule I've heard is not to name a dog or a child something you wouldn't stand on the porch and yell.
A long ago neighbor named his dog Dammit.

Marge said...

Hi all,

C.C. thank for your comments about the name Marge.

Interloper-I'M not upset, I just wondered how we could figure which Marge is which if you go blue.

I haven't done yesterday's or today's puzzle yet. It's amazing how you don't get things done when you really don't have anything to do. We are staying in an Extended Stay hotel although the room is fairly large. there are no chores to do except wash a few dishes and make the bed.

We are in Kennesaw, Ga.

We are staying in Ga. until after Christmas. We got here last Saturday, as we had tickets for the Green Bay Packers vs Atlantic Falcons football game. There were 7 family members, three of us from Wisconsin four from Ga. Our kids both live here. It was a lot of fun. I had never tailgated before, we brought Brats and cheese from Wisc. The Packers lost but it was fun anyway.

C.C. and all other Minnesotans, it sounds like you are getting snow again. Wisc. may get some too but I won't have to worry about that for a while.

Have a good afternoon!
Marge ln Blue

Jazzbumpa said...

Apropos of nothing, I thought, y'all might appreciate this.

Cheers!
JzB

ARBAON said...

For all the wonderful people who celebrate the Festival of Lights,
go here and enjoy!

ARBAON said...

...sorry, the link did not work...it`s a Utube parody of "Dynamite" by some young, Jewish men...

Tinbeni said...

Jeannie & eddyB
I'm heading over the bar where I met Charlie ... boy he was a terror.
It took him 51 years of over doing it before he got on the transplant list.
Two years to find the match ... not a second too soon.

But by Christmas 1995 he was home and we toasted the New Year (with coffee), played chess and watched a Tampa Bay Lightning game (4-0 win).

He still went to bars, never drank anything but water or decaf coffee.
But he loved to flirt with the barmaids ... jeez, the guy was bald on top, 5'8", 210 lbs and MORE girlfriends than any guy I've ever known.
(Probably had a lot to do with his sense of humor).

He will appreciate your "toasts".

Jeannie, Sunset here is 5:35 pm.
I remember in Zagreb it was around 4:00 pm at this time of the year.

Bob said...

Not too tough for a Friday (22 minutes). Didn't know 8D SEAU, 27D AGITA, or 18A OONA but could figure them out anyway.

I think I may have posted this before on the blog, but here it is again: PUNIC and PHOENICIAN are essentially the same word. In the evolution of words, consonants matter most, so the signficant letters in both words are PNC. P and PH are often interchangeable, so PNC is equivalent to PHNC. Both have "i" after N so PNIC = PHNIC. Finally, a vowel shift (common) occurs from "u" to "oe," and "ian" is just an adjectival termination in English. The Roman word was POENI. Phoenicians settled Carthage on the Tunisian coast around 800 BC.

Relative to Windhover's remark: "The rule I've heard is not to name a dog or a child something you wouldn't stand on the porch and yell." Can't remember if I've told this one before either....My brother served two years in the Peace Corps in Africa (Ghana). He adopted a stray dog which he named Kutu, the name of the military dictator of Ghana at the time (Ignatius Kutu Acheampong). Kutu was overthrown by a junta and subsequently executed by firing squad. The next day, the pooch's name suddenly was changed to Clarence.

kazie said...

I just got to the computer for the first time today. I'm not used to having three other computer users in the house all day with me!

I got the CW done early with lots of perp help, WAGS and one assist from DH with ITASCA. The mid south was the last to fall.

Haven't read the comments yet, so will get to that now.

Seldom Seen said...

On this date 31 years ago The Who played a concert at Riverfront Coliseum. Over 7,000 kids arrived early to get a good seat since there were no reserved seats(festival seating). When The Who did a late sound check the crowd thought the concert had begun and overwhelmed an under manned venue staff and 11 people were literally trampled to death.

This has nothing to do with crosswords but AMP is in today's puzzle and there are Fender Amps in the background of the video.

Lucina said...

Tinbeni:
I meant to comment earlier on the passing of your friend. What great memories of him you have. I, too, shall remember him with a toast at dinner.

Seldom Seen said...

Correction:

There were both reserved seating and general admission per wiki.

dodo said...

Hi, Al, C.C. and everyone,

Another fun one! Easy for a Thursday. Clever! Loved the theme and theme answers! Jeannie, I also loved the Itasca link. Shades of my childhood! Things have certainly changed, although they've done a good job of retaining the wilderness aspect. Thanks.

Great blogging, Lemonade. So happy for you being able to accomplish such an informative enjoyable read. Keep on recovering! A close friend is losing the sight in her one remaining functioning eye and is terrified about having a cataract removed, as that was the beginning of her problem with the loss of the other one. I wish she could hear your story; it might help her face this.

How lucky we are for so many things we just take for granted.

creature said...

Good Evening C.C.,Lemon and all,

Lemon, thanks for your write-up and antics. Hope you keep progressing in the eye department.
Hope for you every day.

The puzzle was a good Friday effort. I got the theme and it helped. Basically, I was on the same wavelength as Pamela, yet she dropped me on agita and Kane. Wags, but fun.

Drs Appts today, kept me out today. All reports good; glad to be home and off the streets this weekend.

Loved being able to read the blogs
this evening.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jeannie said...

Well Tinbeni, I knew I wouldn't be home at sunset (4:32pm tonight). I tried, as the snow began to fall so I left work about 3:30pm and didn't get home until an hour and a half later. It wouldn't have been wise to toast while trying to keep my car on the road. So far we are up to 6" out my way. I am however, toasting you and Charlie now. One thing I have learned about men and relationships is a sense of humor is more important than looks in my book.

Gunghy, Kick, the dog is priceless. WH, I am not so sure why you can't stand on your porch and yell "dammit". I've been know to do so. Gunghy, ice fishing is huge here in the land of 10,000 lakes. You wouldn't believe some of the ice houses some of the guys have, complete with generators, big screen TV's and Wii. I think it's the commaraderie more than "catching" the big one out of a hole in the ice. Believe it or not, they also start bon fires on the ice...yeah, I know it sounds nuts, but in mid-January the ice can be up to 2 feet deep.

Incidentally, I found this cute video.

Argyle said...

No problem with a bonfire on the ice. The heat goes up and the coals go out as soon as they hit the ice.

eddyB said...

Hey Tin.

Opened the new bottle for Charlie.

Offical sun set here @4:49 local.

Take care.

RichShif said...

As stated earlier the Virginia Pilot had a different puzzle. If it is Saturday's, the only thing I can say is Good Luck...you'll need it!

Gunghy said...

Tin, Does root beer count? It went down @ 4:42 in central CA.

Jeannie, cute video. When do we get to see your "Flannel on top"?

Anonymous said...

Marlo Thomas is also the wife of Phil Donahue, the former talk show host.

Seldom Seen said...

The different sunset times are fascinating. I toasted mine with Great Lakes Christmas Ale @ 5:12p on the western edge of the eastern time zone but not quite as southern as say...Tallahassee, FL where the sunset a 5:35p.

Lemonade714 said...

RichShif, how nice to see you. Where are the other cards and letters? I appreciate all the links you guys added, it amkes mt day seem even better.

are we reaching the lo li ta number today?

snow looks really pretty, especially on tv or by email

Lemonade714 said...

For those who like a love story, there is PHIL and MARLO .

Jeannie lover said...

Here's a help for Jeannie's number...hope you are safe and sound Jeannie and all you other's in the MN snow belt.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Jeannie how are you holding up. I know where you live and it seems you are getting more inches than me. We are up to 6" and it looks like your neck of the wood is up to 8". I sent Brady Joe out at about 7pm to shovel and had to call him in at about 9pm. Thank God for Sierra's dad, as he plowed us out and the two were making a snow fort. I convinced him that they can continue that tomorrow.

Jeannie said...

Tarrajo, good to see you tonight! I am sorry to hear you only have 6" tonight. We have hit 8" and it's still extending as far as I can tell.

Gunghy, no flannel for me, but I am known to wear camoflage. Here is a better take on us women in MN. The work dress attire is different for me though.

Anonymous said...

Jeannie, you are so funny. I just now got what you were referring to. Naughty! I just had to make Brady's favorite hot chocolate and he's sound asleep in bed making little man snores. I hope he grows out of that. Somehow I doubt it. Hopefully the gal he marries will put up with it. I know I would.

Bill G. said...

Hi Tarrajo and Jeannie,

No snow here in Manhattan Beach. High about 66F. No snow, darn it. Maybe some rain on Sunday.

Anonymous said...

I am standing up for myself this time, and dammit, don't delete this the powers that be. I have worked my ass off to make sure that Brady has had everything he needs in life. He's a good student, a good athlete, and a good person. He has added much needed delight to my life. For once and all, leave me and more importantly, my Son alone. I have never taken anything from the State or Government for help. For once and for all...leave me and myself ALONE.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

I am bored to repeat this again: Do not feed the troll.

Anonymous said...

C.C. I apologize. But it seems whenever I post this ass&^^% attacks me or my kid. It's a natural response for me to defend myself or him. I guess I can't be a part of your "flock". I have enough trials and tibulations to have another one to deal with.

Jeannie said...

Tarrajo, if you don't feel comfortable posting here, you know my e-mail address. I don't know how much I can help you as I have never had children. I am a good listener though. More power to you, as you have taken on a bigger role than I can ever achieve.

Jeannie

Jeannie said...

Boy, I got my number, but for once I didn't get any satisfaction from it. Tarrajo, take care of Brady and most of all yourself. We will talk.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

The Anonymous comment was deleted literally seconds after it's posted. You helped him achieve what he wanted by replying. I am doing the same here, and I don't want to do this again.

Anonymous said...

C.C. you won't see me again on your blog if I can't defend myself and my son (when needed). You decided to then make matters worse by berating me for that action. I am sorry, but I am one protective Momma.

Respectfully, Tarrajo.

Argyle said...

Sorry to see you go but if you can't respect the rules of the blog then I guess you will have to leave.

Anon will only have Jeannie to pick on. But she can take it. She's TOUGH.

Right, Jeannie?

Gunghy said...

Argyle, I respectfully suggest that we refer to this one as anon-hole to separate him from the many quality anons we have here.

On the same topic, if I understand my mythology correctly, Trolls are daytime creatures and rather fearsome. We need a term that is more nocturnal and slimy and that implies cowardice behavior. Ghoul is the best I can do.

Never mind, Wiki describes trolls as ugly, slow and dim-witted and states they were believed to turn to stone if exposed to sunlight. It's good.

Argyle said...

ORKS! from Lord of the Rings.

Argyle said...

Don't feed the Anorks.

Jeannie said...

I am sure I am over posting, but right Argyle, (Santa); Jeannie wants a big present this year. I do have a chimney and the sweep just made sure it was safe. I hope you got my list. It isn't too lengthy. I am not greedy.

I want Lemonade to have his good eye turn good, and I want his other to do the same.

I want Fermatprime to dance a "jig"

I want BillG to embrace his "new" lifestyle to find happiness again.

I want Clearayes finally free of cancer.

I want KQ's son to be rid of his seizures.

I want us all to be happy that we(all strangers) but friends can find the help we all need in times of trouble or strife in a simple couple of key strokes.

C.C. thank you for bringing us all together. That's a heartfelt, but somewhat sappy Jeannie comment.