google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday March 27, 2011 Matt Skoczen and Victor Fleming

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Mar 27, 2011

Sunday March 27, 2011 Matt Skoczen and Victor Fleming

Theme: Rowdy Bunch - WILD can precede the first word of each starred answers.

22A. *Old library aid : CARD CATALOG. Wild card.

32A. *Soda fountain choice : CHERRY COKE. Wild cherry.

64A. Maurice Sendak kids' book, and the starts of starred answers : WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. Lovely unifier.

97A. *Ragtime dance : TURKEY TROT. Wild turkey.

110A. *'60s Haight-Ashbury type : FLOWER CHILD. Wild flower.

3D. *Political mantra : PARTY LINE. Wild party.

20D. *Drug problem : SIDE EFFECT. Wild side. Do you have a wild side?

67D. *One side of a defunct wall : WEST BERLIN. Wild west.

76D. *A cappella leader's gadget : PITCH PIPE. Wild pitch.

Fun puzzle. Made me think of Charlie Sheen's Wild Thing in "Major League": Wild Thing, you make my heart sing.

Terrific theme answer interlock in this grid. Awesome grid design. It takes luck as well as skills to make them work.

Quite a few baseball references to delight me, but I was stumped by O'DOUL (28A. Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty). Of course I wanted GROVE. Lefty Grove was a Hall-of-Famer. Wiki shows O'Doul won the batting champ in 1929 & 1932. Too long ago.

Another possible stumper for some might be ENOKIs (94A. Japanese mushrooms), which are part of my diet, so no problem here.

Across:

1. Move to a larger container, say : REPOT. Plant.

6. Office exchanges : MEMOS

11. Put a dent in : MAR

14. "Woe __!" : IS ME

18. In any way : AT ALL. Man, I had trouble getting this little answer.

19. Aromatic resin : ELEMI

20. "¿Quién __?" : SABE. Spanish for "Who knows?". Not me.

21. Where the Pecos R. begins : N MEX

24. Gadget, for one: Abbr. : INSP (Inspector). Not familiar with Inspector Gadget.

25. Water turbidity cause : SILT

26. Book after Neh. : ESTH

27. "Midnight Cowboy" con man : RATSO. Disturbing movie.

29. Motorcade VIP : PRES. OK, President.

30. Hit a lot of high notes : YODELED

34. Societal ideals : VALUES

36. What obsolete things fall into : DISUSE

38. Bananas : DAFT. I like nuts on bananas. 

39. "Marley & Me" actress : ANISTON (Jennifer). Love her. Can't understand Angelina Jolie's appeal. 

41. React to boredom, perhaps : NOD OFF. Thought of YAWN AT first.

43. Defeats : LOSSES. Noun.

47. Port of Crete : CANEA. Stumped me again.

48. Cockney toast starter : (H)ERE's. The starting H is dropped in Cockney accent.

50. Souvenirs at the park, usually : FOULS. Foul balls. I was picturing pins/caps/bats, etc.

52. Controversial "gift" : ESP. Why controversial? I wanted GAB.

53. Fresno-to-Bakersfield dir. : SSE. I trust it's correct.

54. Not __ Town: anti-hate-crime movement : IN OUR. New to me.

56. Procter & Gamble toothpaste : GLEEM

58. Salad cheese : FETA

59. Sail motions : FLAPS. I don't get this one. TIDES wouldn't work.

60. Not of the cloth : LAIC

61. Bombed : PIE-EYED. Both slang for "drunk".

69. One way to anticipate : EAGERLY. Then we have 85A. Eager beaver : DYNAMO. Slight dupe. But I did like the clue for the latter.

70. 8 x 10 phots., e.g. : ENLs

71. "... but maybe I'm wrong" : OR NOT

72. "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" dramatist : INGE (William). Easy guess.

73. Job jar items : TASKS

75. Thomas Paine's belief : DEISM

76. __ band: school rally performers : PEP

79. "Golden Age" Hollywood studio : RKO

80. Kept awake, maybe : ATE AT

82. Bruce of "The Astronaut Farmer" : DERN

83. "There is __ in the affairs of men ...": Brutus : A TIDE. Do you like this kind of quote clue?

87. '70s-'80s FBI sting : ABSCAM

90. Like some markers : GENETIC. Wow, first encounter with this DNA term "Genetic marker".

92. Swedish tennis great : BORG (Björn)

96. Chops up : MINCES

100. Spa service : MUD BATH. Nice one.

102. Big name in pineapples : DOLE

103. First toothbrush to go to the moon : ORAL B

104. One leading a charmed life? : COBRA. Charmed by the snake charmer.

105. The first one was founded in 1824 Eng. to protect carriage horses : SPCA. Good to know this trivia.

108. James or Jones of jazz : ETTA

109. __-mutuel : PARI

112. Lent organs? : EARS. Lend me your ears.

113. Harrow rival : ETON

114. Saintly qualities : AURAS

115. Utah's state gem : TOPAZ

116. Make a chart of, as land : PLAT

117. Safety feature for some walkers : NET

118. Conforms : OBEYS

119. Stieg Larsson was one : SWEDE. Quite popular after his death.

Down:

1. Regatta : RACE. Thought of Gunghy.

2. H-like letters : ETAS

4. Fixer-upper, often : OLD HOUSE

5. Dr. Mom's forte : TLC

6. Heavy __ : METAL

7. Made joyous : ELATED

8. Alice's restaurant? : MEL'S DINER. "Alice" the sitcom.

9. 1847 novel based on its author's time in the Society Islands : OMOO. Melville novel.

10. Milano Mr. : SIG. OK, Signore.

11. Impressive house : MANOR

12. Inane relative? : ABSURD

13. E-mail option : REPLY ALL. I Like this entry too.

14. Popular restaurants : IN SPOTS

15. Smug grin : SMIRK

16. A beanball might lead to one : MELEE

17. Personal organizer nos. : EXTs.

23. Part of a playground exchange : ARE SO

28. Very : OH SO. SO easy to have a dupe for a Sunday puzzle.

31. One who spiffs up your wheels : DETAILER

32. It's chewed in leas : CUD

33. Corp. fiscal VIPs : CFOs

34. Little suckers? : VACS (Vacuums). And 111. Small change? : CTS (Cents). Both "little" and "small" mean "in shortened form".

35. Santa __: West Coast winds : ANAs

37. Popular pad : SOS

40. Abecedarian : NEOPHYTE

42. One of them? : FOE. Nice clue.

44. "I'm outta here!" : SEE YA

45. Perfume compound : ESTER

46. One in a black suit : SPADE. Playing cards again.

49. Scammer's ploy : RUSE

51. Calling strikes, e.g. : UMPIRING

55. NFL part: Abbr. : NATL

56. Maddens : GALLS

57. Eye shades : LIDS

58. Suffix with song : FEST

59. Lacking dates : FREE. In a way, yes.

60. Patty alternative : LINK. We could only afford to eat meat once in a year in my childhood. Lots of stuff were rationed until I was about 10.

62. Getaway places : INNS

63. Typical Bond villain's malady : EGOMANIA

64. Uncanny : WEIRD

65. Good thing to have at a tearjerker : HANKY

66. Prod : EGG ON

68. Weed whacker : HOER

74. Battery spec : AAA

75. "Disclosure" co-star : DEMI MOORE. Beautiful hair.

77. Falco of "Nurse Jackie" : EDIE

78. Push-up targets : PECs

80. Unrestrainedly : AMOK

81. Unwrapped excitedly : TORE OPEN. Like my Xmas morning.

82. U.S. terr., 1861-'89 : DAK

84. Circus : TENT SHOW

86. Keep __ of: stay current with : ABREAST. Dennis would have fun with this clue.

88. Persnickety sort : SNOB

89. Collapsible bed : COT

91. Put in a cell : EMBAR

93. Pirouette : GYRATE

95. Seller of the $5 FOOTLONG : SUBWAY. Eat Fresh.

97. Add up to : TOTAL

98. Extreme : ULTRA

99. Occult medium : TAROT

101. Kind of shoes or blues : DRESS. I remember Monica's blue dress.

102. Sea, with "the" : DEEP

104. Country place? : CLUB. Country club.

106. Not in one's birthday suit : CLAD

107. Cutter with a bent blade : ADZE. This guy is using one. I'd like to see this word in Jerome puzzle.

110. __ Schwarz: NYC toy store : FAO

Answer grid.

C.C.

43 comments:

WikWak said...

Nice easy Sunday puzzle for a change, with a fun theme and several clues that tickled my fancy. Liked Eye shades / LIDS, Inane relative / ABSURD, and Lent organs / EARS.

It took me the looongest time to see an answer to "Kept up, maybe" in ATEAT. Parsed it seven ways from Sunday and it just would NOT make any sense to me, but the perps said it had to be right...

"Where the wild things are" was a favorite of both of our boys as they were growing up.

C.C.: ESP is a controversial "gift" because many doubt its existence (Extra Sensory Perception), and sails FLAP in the wind--hence "sail motions".

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, all!

fermatprime said...

Hello all,

"Friends, Romans and Countrymen..."

Grew REALLY tired of tax-stuff-sorting and decided to attempt a few puzzles. Friday's rather bad, this one more reasonable. In any case, no cheats, tho' was tempted.

Nice writing, C. C. Also, in answer to your question re quotes--not particularly. Still not thrilled with ATE AT, Wikwak.

Was happy to fill in across-all clue immediately. A real gift.

It's raining again. Mother Nature has gone berserk. Reminds me of a great John Hartford song (what a loss his early death was).

Have a good Sunday!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and friends. I love Mauric Sendak's drawings. I have scenes from WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE on my checks. (I still write a fair number of checks.)

Things I learned from today's puzzle:

Souvenirs at the Park are not (Ticket) STUBS;
Proctor & Gamble Toothpaste is not CREST;
Job Jar Items are not TO DOs;
A Spa Service is not a MASSAGE.

I did like seeing ESTHER and ESTER in the same puzzle. Esther is the Biblical book that was read in synagogue just last week during the holiday of Purim.

My favorite clues were Lent Organs = EARS, and Not in One's Birthday Suit = CLAD.

QOD: The most effective way to do it, is to do it. ~ Amelia Earhart

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

Does the blog write-up look normal to you? It's incomplete in my screen.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning C.C. and Sunday puzzlers all.

This one was mostly easy for me, but American History let me down. I didn't know author DERN and wasn't sure about the mushroom so I wound up with KAN instead of DAK. Durn that Dern guy!

Hand up with Hahtool for Crest before GLEEM and Todos before TASKS, but I already had the U in MUDBATH or I would have been looking for a massage also.

I had A TIME for Brutus' quote, but EMIE didn't look right for Ms Falco so I did catch that one and changed the M to a D. In answer to your question, C.C., I usually like the quote clues but they are sometimes too obscure.

AT ALL and ATE AT would never have emerged without perps. Is this a case of clueing run AMOK?

There were some other unknowns but they all filled via perps. I don't think I've ever seen EMBAR before and I doubt I'll ever use it in a sentence, but the perps were all solid.

As I was starting the puzzle, with the television in the background, there was a commercial for MEL'S DINER in Naples just as I got to the 'Alice's Restaurant' clue. Perfect timing!

Grumpy 1 said...

C.C. everything looks normal here.

Hahtoolah said...

C.C.: Your blog looks normal to me.

72-Across: INGE. My husband and I saw a theatrical production of BUS STOP last week, which is one of Inge's more famous plays. I had not heard of "The Dark at the Top of the Stairs" before.

93-Down: I think of Ballerinas doing Pirouettes and don't consider their dancing to be the same as GYRATING.

Lucina said...

Good morning, C.C., et al.

The blog looks fine and your writing is great, C.C.

Luckily the puzzle is available to print by late night and so I finished it before bedtime knowing that after the baby awakens in the morning it's impossible.

It was easy as Sunday morning to recall a song by the Commodores.

I don't normally like obscure quotes, but that one from Julius Caesar is well known.

Good recollections: Mel's Diner with Flo's catch phrase, "Kiss my grits." Bruce DERN, RATSO, CHERRY COKE.

I love Stieg Larsson's books and have all three!

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE is a beloved classroom staple.

Oh, oh, baby's awake.
Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!

Lucina said...

I agree, gyrating and piroutte are not synonymous.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, No time for the puzzle this morning. Sunday puzzles always take a little more time because of their size. Last night at the dinner party GAH was having such a good time, he invited some friends for breakfast.

Thanks for the information last night C.C. I thought I had it figured out, but I guess not.... I think I'm back on track now.

I haven't read it yet, but your blog looks normal to me.

Husker Gary said...

C.C., et al, What a delightful puzzle – a fun theme, a nice Wed/Thu feel and a lovely C.C. write-up which looks fine here!

Musings
-Meat once a year? Oh my!
-Love baseball references too and wanted GROVE too, but alas he pitched
-No chance on ELEMI, ABECEDARIAN or STIEG but perps to rescue
-Reverse for me – I love Jolie and don’t get Aniston
-Greek wife hates FETA
-Identifying GENETIC markers holds promises and nightmares
-Loved COBRA and EARS cluing!
-Casinos have killed PARI mutuel betting here where Aksarben horse racing used to draw thousands daily to Omaha
-I also had CHOCOLATE fountain cokes
-Quotes are okay if not too obscure
-FP, taxes should be done in 10 min on a postcard!

John Lampkin said...

Good morning solvers,

Sharp comment about the grid interlock, C.C. Vic is on record more than once saying that he always strives to interlock his theme answers. This interlock is particularly attractive. I suspect that the grid layout was part of Vic's contribution to the collaboration.

Not all constructors and mentors feel that interlocking is helpful or advantageous. It sure payed off with this one.

So congrats to Matt and Vic!

Husker Gary said...

Quick email story! I was pretty sure a colleague was saying some disparaging things about me and so I vented to my wife via an email I THOUGHT I sent home. You guessed it; I sent it to the suspected offender and just happened to catch it when I was sorting through sent emails. I rushed to her room to have it out with her and there sat her computer unattended with her email open. I saw my acerbic email proudly perched atop her Inbox. I looked around and hit the Delete key and walked out. In retrospect, a confrontation would have served no purpose and only made me look like a jerk. She was retiring in a month and God knows I have said (or been accused of saying) things I wish I hadn’t.

Two lessons, be careful what you put in print and avoid having anger drive your correspondences.

Anyone else have a similar story?

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

C.C. your blog not only looks fine, it was a delight to read! Thank you. The only problem was that I couldn't open the Demi More link. I remember her lack of hair in "G.I. Jane", so I was curious to see if you were making a "tongue-in-cheek" reference.

I rather like quote type clues, especially when they are a famous one like today's. But even the "YON gray head" quote the other day prompted me to re-read several of Whittier's poems.

Loved the clues:
"Gadget, for one" for INSP, "Like some markers" for GENETIC, "One leading a charmed life" for COBRA and "One in a black suit" for SPADE, among many other devious ones. Really fun Sunday, and I wanted more when I was done.

Have a great day, everyone!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning C.C. and all.

Good workaday Sunday puzzle. Basically just crisscrossed my way top to bottom, left to right (and back again) and eventually got Mr Happy's TaDa. Liked the theme but I, de facto, seemed to ignore it. No lookups needed. SPCA and NEOPHYTE were WAGS. Liked the 'lent organs' clue - EARS. A good Sunday romp.

DRESS blues- It's been 29 years since I've been CLAD in mine.

ADZE - Good log peeler. We had an ancient one on our farm. That and a drawknife.

Enjoy the day.

Annette said...

The quoted clues are usually a gimme for me. Even if I'm not familiar with the quote, I can usually make an educated guess based on the portion provided.

Husker Gary, I don't recall ever doing that, but I do check my Recipient List several times before sending sometimes. I have had people forward my emails when I hadn't said anything wrong, but hadn't worded it the way I would normally have for that audience. I do tend to forget to include the attachment though.

Mikey said...

Happy to solve the thing, which was generally enjoyable, except for 80A: ATEAT. If anyone has any idea how or why this is related to the clue, I'd love to hear it.

Grumpy 1 said...

@ MIKE Something was bothering (Ate at) you and kept you awake thinking about it.

Husker Gary said...

p.s. Did anyone else catch the "Push up target" clue near the ABREAST answer?

Splynter said...

Hi There ~!

Took me a while to grasp the theme, and I knew the author's name sounded familiar, but I don't think I read the book as a child - I think my younger brother did.

The top gave me some fits, I was not sure about MANSE or MANOR, and I was not looking for IN SPOTS, I was thinking brand name, like IHOPs....

Oh, legal drug problem, oops.

Here's a heavy METAL version of WILD SIDE, and I do have one C.C.,
- go fiugre....

Agree with HeartRx, too, that I thought you might be going with a Demi Moore "G.I. Jane" pic for something "WILD"

And I am an Aniston over Jolie kind of guy, too.

Splynter

Jayce said...

Hello everybody, and warm Sunday greetings. Well, my first reaction after finishing this puzzle was, "Well, so what?" But upon looking it over again I found plenty to like about it. Didn't catch on to how the Sendak book title had anything to do with the first words of the starred clues until reading this blog. Thought "Lent organs," "Kind of shoes or blues," and "One leading a charmed life" were clever, fresh, and fun clues. Didn't like fill such as DAK, EMBAR, EXTS, NMEX, ENLS, and SIG. Wanted SNAKE instead of COBRA, and, like several of you, MASSAGE for MUDBATH.

Anonymous said...

Can anybody explain to me how KEEP A BREAST OF means stay current with,,,,, and if I keep 2 breasts does it mean I see the future??

creature said...

Good Day C.C. and all,

Well, C.C., you hit the nail on the head. My hair stood on end when I read your write-up. My two googles:O'Doul And ENOKIs.You are uncanny in your abilities.

The puzzle was a delight. Perps helped with some unknowns: 24A Gadfget,INSP; 82D,U.S. terr,DAK;
80A, kept awake,ATE AT.Everyone has already addressed these and others.

Favorite{funny}:Bombed:PIEEYE


Thanks,Matt and Victor.


Dodo, your get together sounds so great. I wish I could be there. Can't wait to see all the new pics.

Have a nice day everyone.

Jayce said...

Didn't Bruce Dern play an astronaut whose job was to maintain hydroponic farms on a spaceship in a movie called "Silent Running"? Did they change the name of that movie, or is "The Astronaut Farmer" a different movie?

For some reason it took me way too long to stop trying to parse ATEAT as A TEAT.

Yep yep yep, have had similar email screwups, both as sender and as recipient.

I don't "get" either Aniston nor Jolie, and would not go out of my way to see a movie just because one of them is in it. Now Vera Farmiga is a whole 'nuther story.

Spitzboov, were you in the Air Force?

As for clues that are quotes, I don't mind them at all. To me they are just another way of cluing, on a par with other types of cluing. Now circular-reference clues are a whole 'nuther story.

Bill G. said...

C.C., the writeup looks fine on my computer. Meat only once a year? What kind of meat would it be? I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup.

However, EMBAR, what a wierd little word! The contructor must had painted himself into a corner and couldn't find any better choices. ESP seems controversial because some folks believe in it while others don't. At least that's the way it seems to me.

At first, I zeroed in on the first two theme words, CARD CATALOG and CHERRY COKE and figured the theme must have something to do with our C.C. But no.

I noticed the connection between 78D 'push up targets' and 86D 'keep ____ of'. I guess the connection was just in my vivid imagination. (I see Husker G noticed it too.)

Husker G, yes, I once wrote a note complaining about someone to an Internet friend but accidentally sent it to the conference instead. The administrator saved my bacon.

Jayce said...

Okay, I looked it up, and sure enough, "The Astronaut Farmer" is whole 'nuther movie entirely.

I had to look PLAT up, too. Learn sump'n new every day.

Don't think I could go a whole year without meat. Then again, if there was no other choice, no other alternative, maybe I could. Or not. I might be wrong.

A brief respite from the rain today, but we're due to get more later today. I hope the forecasters are right that it's going be much drier this week. Man, we got the new roof put on our house just in time.

I hope Buckeye is all right. anybody heard anything from him or about him?

Jayce said...

Anonymous @ 1:34 PM, I like to keep abreast of the news.

eddyB said...

Hi.
Congrats to Dario (P1) and Simona (P4). Open wheel racing is not
supposed be a contact sport. I wish
they would stay on ovals.
If you haven't checked out the PG
recap of the ACPT, do so. There are a lot of photos of the constructors. It is nice seeing who's who.
Rain in the forcast for later. #13?

Take care

Spitzboov said...

@Jayce - My service was with the Navy.

Here is our Task Force in a line ABREAST formation. Your humble avatar is 2nd from left.

eddyB said...

Hi again.

49 yrs in May since my dress blues.

creature said...

Hey, EddyB, Will you link the "PG" for the C'word puzzle tournament. I would love to see the pics.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the nice comments about Matt's and my puzzle. (Also, great advice, Gary Husker!)

Vic

Abejo said...

Good Afternoon, folks. Thank you Matt and Victor for a great puzzle. Thank you C.C. for the posting and write-up. Your posting looked normal to me.

Really enjoyed this puzzle. tough, but doable (as opposed to Saturday's, which was too tough for me).

Got through it all. Got the first part of the theme book, but could not get the last part. Asked my wife and she knew it off the top of her head.

Initially wanted DEAD Sea instead of DEEP Sea. Fixed that after perps. Wanted RUBDOWN instead of MUDBATH. Wanted TENTCITY instead of TENTSHOW. Wanted BLEU cheese in stead of FETA cheese. Wanted IPANA instead of GLEEM. At least I did not write that down. We have had IPANA many times in the past as an answer (remember Bucky Beaver?). Wanted VILLA for MANOR. I did not write that down either, and waited for perps.

Abecedarian was a new word to me. Got NEOPHYTE with the perps.

Great fun today.

Abejo

Enjoyed PITCH PIPE. Always think of Barbershop Quartets when I hear of a Pitch Pipe.

Bill G. said...

I taught Jordan how to play checkers this afternoon. He was concerned that since he didn't know how to play, that he wouldn't do well. I took care of that concern for him. Then, Jordan and I decided to hit the coffee shop. I didn't have a laptop so we couldn't look as cool as some of the other folks but we both had a book to read. He seemed to enjoy the experience.

I just came across The Weavers on public television in an old documentary about a reunion concert. They were my introduction to the joy of folk music. It's great to hear them again.

Husker Gary said...

Bill G., I happened to watch A Mighty Wind last night on HBO and it is the ultimate folk music reunion show. If you haven't seen it, you should! It is a hoot(enanny).

dodo said...

Greetings, friends,

C.C., wonderful writeup! And it looks perfectly normal on my screen.

I really enjoyed this puzzle.,. wish they were all like that! I like quotes, but like everyone else, not so obscure that I'd have to read the entire Bartlett's to find it.

Bill G., I wonder if you caught a repeat of the Weaver program I saw a couple of weeks ago. Speaking of t.v. relics, I read today that Jean Marsh(Rose of USDS) will be Rose again in a pre-WWII update of the saga on PBS.It'll show on 4/10, 4/17, and 4/21. Marsh is now 76 and a lot of the cast have died. Can't wait to see it. If you get the SF Chronicle, you can read about it in the pink t.v.columns. You can probably get it on Chronicle's website.

Oops, over 20! Sorry

dodo said...

cont'd.

There's a brand new anniversary edition of the whole Upstairs, Downstairs, all 5 yrs. for $199.99!
If it had closed captions, it would almost be worth it. I don't translate the English accent very well these days!

Jayce, the word is 'abreast'! I'm sure you're pulling our legs here!
And BTW I don't think 'atilt' and 'areel' are nearly as bad as 'embar'! For all one knows, it doesn't mean 'jailed' at all. It could be a pub! "He was embarred at the White Horse all night!"

eddyB said...

Hi.
Just got up. Now, I'll up all
night.

@creature. Go to CC's write up.
About at line 113A there is a link
on the right to L.A.C.C., open it.
After the answeres to Merl's, Doug
P does todays LA Time puzzle.
He provides a link to The ACPT recap. Hope is is clear enough to find it.

eddy

Bill G. said...

Dodo, I'm sure it must be the same Weavers documentary. There can't be two of them, can there? Besides great music, the Weavers had a social consciousness about them. They were from the end of the McCarthy blacklist era.

When I heard them at a concert at Cornell with my future wife, I was struck by their enthusiasm. They looked like they were having such a great time. You couldn't help but be enthusiastic yourself.

BTW Dodo, you needn't count the blank lines of your post. I get only 18 lines.

JD said...

Hi C.C. and all,

I always feel badly when I don't write in when you're with us,C.C.Sunday is always hectic. I try to get as much of the xwd done before the family arrives, but today it was only 1/2 done. I ALWAYS go back and read your write up and the blog.
My 3 grand sons are such a joy, but I do get a work out.Wouldn't want it any other way.I am blessed that they spend so much time with us.
Eddy B said day 13, but it was a gorgeous spring day.Tulips are everywhere.

BTW, I loved Where the Wild things are..a gimme, of course. Tried soooo hard to see the connection with the 3 fills I had...sigh

Clear Ayes said...

No puzzle for me today, but we had a great time with friends. The rain has finally stopped and the sky cleared around noon. It couldn't have been more pleasant.

Creature, I think the "PG" eddyB was referring to is Puzzle Girl at LA Crossword Confidential. Just arrow down to the Archives at the bottom of the page. Click on blue 03.24 ACPT and you'll find the "ACPT Wrap-Up" with lots of photos and a nice write up of the fun and games.

Otis said...

Hello puzzle people,

Just finished the Sunday puzzle for a change (have been DNFs lately).

Like others, MASSAGE threw me, as well as EERIE for "uncanny", and a WAG of MEDEA for "Port of Crete". Ah, well, it all worked out in the end, and enjoyably so.

The blog writeup looked fine, but my RSS feed for the blog no longer updates (as of Wed).

FYI, Not in Our Town originated in my town (Billings, MT) in 1993. It involved community reactions to local hate crimes, the success of which resulted in a PBS documentary. From that, an action model emerged for other communities to use.

Enjoy the week, and happy (belated) spring! (I will soon have to REPOT my seedlings - YAY!)
O

thehondohurricane said...

testing