Theme: None
Words: 66
Blocks: 36
Brad's last LAT offering was March 27th, last year, when JazzB did the honors. I like these puzzles where nothing is so obscure that you can't suss out an answer with a WAG or two, after getting some perps. A cool looking, "Space Invaders" layout with 11-, 13-, and 15-letter grid spanners top and bottom, including one of my favorites-
52. 1984 Rob Reiner rock music satire : THIS IS SPINAL TAP, where it's "one louder"....
Splynter here to show how each letter "PLOPS" into place...
ACROSS:
1. It may be caged or staked : TOMATO PLANT - Very cool start, had to wait for the 'O' in Octad to get it
12. Lace alternative, perhaps : VELCRO CLOSURE - Shoe laces
14. Learns cold : COMMITS TO MEMORY
16. Out of the teeth of the gale : ALEE
17. Suffix with city : SCAPE - CitySCAPE, like this
18. Supply next to the grill : BUNS - hot dog and hamburger
19. First name in travel : MARCO - I liked this; I was thinking Expedia, etc., and had VASCO to start - Mr. Da Gama
21. Circular contents : ADS
22. Fix, as a bow : RETIE
23. Exile, perhaps : ENISLE - looks odd, but we've seen it before
25. Less inclined to ramble : TERSER
26. First National Leaguer to hit 500 homers : OTT - Mel, I believe - tell us more, C.C. (Notes from C.C.: Yes, Mel Ott, who spent his entire career with the NY Giants. I've yet to see his full name in a LAT grid. I think MELOTT will have the TOATEE parsing problem.)
27. Pre-makeover condition : DRABNESS - people and houses
31. Leprechaun-like : FEY - not what I thought it meant
32. Epoch in which grazing mammals became widespread : MIOCENE - a chart for you to 14A for the future
33. Mg. and oz. : WTs - Milligrams and ounces
36. Included as a postscript : TACKED ON
37. Humble abode : HUT
38. God often depicted with green skin : OSIRIS - him
41. Arlington, Va., post : FT. MYER
43. Like many Edwardian era collars : BONED - OK, I know who's going DF here....
44. Screwdriver parts, for short : OJs - The "screwdriver" mixed drink, Orange Juice and Vodka - just the tool for me these days...it's the only twisted I get
47. Perceive : SENSE
48. __ dixit : IPSE - Latin, "he says it himself" - from Wiki
49. Exams given by committee : ORALS
51. Was a passenger : RODE
55. Federal Reserve goal : STABLE ECONOMY - IMO, I think it's an "unrealistic" goal; I am grateful to have my foot in the door at UPS
56. Far from settled : UP FOR DEBATE - took me a minute, since I had the IBO, not the IBF
DOWN:
1. Boldness : TEMERITY
2. Pre-Columbian Mexicans : OLMECS - had AZTECS to start, was enough for a toehold
3. Co. with a '90s "Friends & Family" program : MCI - tried AT(&)T first, knew it wasn't right
4. Conservatory pursuits : ARTS
5. "Vissi d'arte" singer : TOSCA - I know of the electronica group TOSCA, not this
6. Square dance quorum : OCTAD - and I had EIGHT to start, too....
7. Falls heavily : PLOPS
8. Capital on the Gulf of Guinea : LOMÉ - a map for you - I WAGed ROME, since there is a "link" between Italians and uh, Guinea, but it's not the same
9. Polymer ending : ASE - as in "plastic bASE" er, I mean the scientific naming of enzymes, like oxidase
10. Book covering the Hebrews' 40-year wilderness exile : NUMBERS
11. Rainbow and Dolly Varden : TROUTS - did not know this
12. Lightly and quickly, in music : VOLANTE - Italian
13. Muppet wearing horizontal stripes : ERNIE - Here he is
14. Resulted from : CAME OF
15. River of Flanders : YSER
20. Game for young matchmakers : OLD MAID - never played, so here's what I found - a game of 'pairing', with one odd card in the deck, the "OLD MAID"
22. Is put out by : RESENTS - "friends of Bill W." make this a noun - "a" resentment
24. Idle and more? : ERICs - of Monty Python fame
25. :50, put another way : TEN OF - Over-thought this one; knew it was 'of the hour', but didn't make the connection until _ _ N OF
28. Peachy : A-OK
29. Letters used in dating : BCE - we've seen this before, "Common Era"
30. Animated Flanders : NED - the 'Hi-Diddly Ho ~!!' Simpson's neighbor
33. 1984 #1 country hit by the Judds : WHY NOT ME - I defer to our country fans on the blog for this one
34. Common voting occasion : TUESDAY - Election day is the Tuesday AFTER the first Monday of November; in other words, November 1st cannot be Election Day
35. "Out of Africa" star : STREEP - Meryl, here
36. Food for leafhoppers : TREE SAP - blecht~! I do not like bugs
38. Passing news item? : OBITuary
39. Some campus returnees : SOPHs - for their second year - had ALUMS to start
40. Undisturbed : IN SITU - Latin again, "In position"
42. Red wine grape : MERLOT
44. Calgary Olympics skating silver medalist : ORSER - Calgary, 1988, a look back, but not what I think guys should be skating for....
45. Ribbed : JAPED - to joke; I thought this was a condom thing....DF
46. Links bugaboo : SLICE - and its opposite, the hook. Golf.
49. Site of 1993 Arab-Israeli accords : OSLO
50. Kitsch deplorer : SNOB - I like some tawdry stuff
53. Org. with a pair of gloves in its logo : IBF - Here's the website & logo, top left corner
54. Ortiz of "Ugly Betty" : ANA - Image
Answer grid.
Splynter
Words: 66
Blocks: 36
Brad's last LAT offering was March 27th, last year, when JazzB did the honors. I like these puzzles where nothing is so obscure that you can't suss out an answer with a WAG or two, after getting some perps. A cool looking, "Space Invaders" layout with 11-, 13-, and 15-letter grid spanners top and bottom, including one of my favorites-
52. 1984 Rob Reiner rock music satire : THIS IS SPINAL TAP, where it's "one louder"....
Splynter here to show how each letter "PLOPS" into place...
ACROSS:
1. It may be caged or staked : TOMATO PLANT - Very cool start, had to wait for the 'O' in Octad to get it
12. Lace alternative, perhaps : VELCRO CLOSURE - Shoe laces
14. Learns cold : COMMITS TO MEMORY
16. Out of the teeth of the gale : ALEE
17. Suffix with city : SCAPE - CitySCAPE, like this
18. Supply next to the grill : BUNS - hot dog and hamburger
19. First name in travel : MARCO - I liked this; I was thinking Expedia, etc., and had VASCO to start - Mr. Da Gama
21. Circular contents : ADS
22. Fix, as a bow : RETIE
23. Exile, perhaps : ENISLE - looks odd, but we've seen it before
25. Less inclined to ramble : TERSER
26. First National Leaguer to hit 500 homers : OTT - Mel, I believe - tell us more, C.C. (Notes from C.C.: Yes, Mel Ott, who spent his entire career with the NY Giants. I've yet to see his full name in a LAT grid. I think MELOTT will have the TOATEE parsing problem.)
27. Pre-makeover condition : DRABNESS - people and houses
31. Leprechaun-like : FEY - not what I thought it meant
32. Epoch in which grazing mammals became widespread : MIOCENE - a chart for you to 14A for the future
33. Mg. and oz. : WTs - Milligrams and ounces
36. Included as a postscript : TACKED ON
37. Humble abode : HUT
38. God often depicted with green skin : OSIRIS - him
41. Arlington, Va., post : FT. MYER
43. Like many Edwardian era collars : BONED - OK, I know who's going DF here....
44. Screwdriver parts, for short : OJs - The "screwdriver" mixed drink, Orange Juice and Vodka - just the tool for me these days...it's the only twisted I get
47. Perceive : SENSE
48. __ dixit : IPSE - Latin, "he says it himself" - from Wiki
49. Exams given by committee : ORALS
51. Was a passenger : RODE
55. Federal Reserve goal : STABLE ECONOMY - IMO, I think it's an "unrealistic" goal; I am grateful to have my foot in the door at UPS
56. Far from settled : UP FOR DEBATE - took me a minute, since I had the IBO, not the IBF
DOWN:
1. Boldness : TEMERITY
2. Pre-Columbian Mexicans : OLMECS - had AZTECS to start, was enough for a toehold
3. Co. with a '90s "Friends & Family" program : MCI - tried AT(&)T first, knew it wasn't right
4. Conservatory pursuits : ARTS
5. "Vissi d'arte" singer : TOSCA - I know of the electronica group TOSCA, not this
6. Square dance quorum : OCTAD - and I had EIGHT to start, too....
7. Falls heavily : PLOPS
8. Capital on the Gulf of Guinea : LOMÉ - a map for you - I WAGed ROME, since there is a "link" between Italians and uh, Guinea, but it's not the same
9. Polymer ending : ASE - as in "plastic bASE" er, I mean the scientific naming of enzymes, like oxidase
10. Book covering the Hebrews' 40-year wilderness exile : NUMBERS
11. Rainbow and Dolly Varden : TROUTS - did not know this
12. Lightly and quickly, in music : VOLANTE - Italian
13. Muppet wearing horizontal stripes : ERNIE - Here he is
14. Resulted from : CAME OF
15. River of Flanders : YSER
20. Game for young matchmakers : OLD MAID - never played, so here's what I found - a game of 'pairing', with one odd card in the deck, the "OLD MAID"
22. Is put out by : RESENTS - "friends of Bill W." make this a noun - "a" resentment
24. Idle and more? : ERICs - of Monty Python fame
25. :50, put another way : TEN OF - Over-thought this one; knew it was 'of the hour', but didn't make the connection until _ _ N OF
28. Peachy : A-OK
29. Letters used in dating : BCE - we've seen this before, "Common Era"
30. Animated Flanders : NED - the 'Hi-Diddly Ho ~!!' Simpson's neighbor
33. 1984 #1 country hit by the Judds : WHY NOT ME - I defer to our country fans on the blog for this one
34. Common voting occasion : TUESDAY - Election day is the Tuesday AFTER the first Monday of November; in other words, November 1st cannot be Election Day
35. "Out of Africa" star : STREEP - Meryl, here
36. Food for leafhoppers : TREE SAP - blecht~! I do not like bugs
38. Passing news item? : OBITuary
39. Some campus returnees : SOPHs - for their second year - had ALUMS to start
40. Undisturbed : IN SITU - Latin again, "In position"
42. Red wine grape : MERLOT
44. Calgary Olympics skating silver medalist : ORSER - Calgary, 1988, a look back, but not what I think guys should be skating for....
45. Ribbed : JAPED - to joke; I thought this was a condom thing....DF
46. Links bugaboo : SLICE - and its opposite, the hook. Golf.
49. Site of 1993 Arab-Israeli accords : OSLO
50. Kitsch deplorer : SNOB - I like some tawdry stuff
53. Org. with a pair of gloves in its logo : IBF - Here's the website & logo, top left corner
54. Ortiz of "Ugly Betty" : ANA - Image
Answer grid.
Splynter
53 comments:
Hi all!
Had a bit more trouble than you did, Splynter! Informative write-up; thanks! Nice puzzle, Brad.
Had to red-letter it after a while. Need some sleep but really thought I could finish.
Knew ...SPINAL TAP immediately, but have never seen it. Love the group that made these mockumentaries. Favorite: Best in Show. Got a kick out of TOMATO PLANT.
First swim today since nuclear test. For some reason, I was MUCH more buoyant than usual! Don't get it.
Have a happy weekend!
Morning, all!
Definitely a challenge for me. Plenty of unknowns today, including MIOCENE, LOME, OSIRIS (knew the god, didn't know he was green), TROUTS (know the fish, but never heard of "Dolly Varden) and IBF.
Plenty of initial mistakes on my part as well. AZTECS instead of OLMECS. ALLEGRO instead of VOLANTE. EIGHT (and then OCTET) instead of OCTAD.
Note that most of those trouble spots were in the upper section of the puzzle, which is why that area gave me so much trouble. The bottom 2/3 wasn't so bad, but that top 1/3... Yeesh!
Splynter great write up. Thanks for explanation about voting I was thinking about votes on bills and couldn't see what Tuesday had to do with that. I wasn't thinking about elections.
I agree with you I only got the Judd answer thanks to working around it. Maybe Windhover can tell us more about it.
Fun Facts by Dave Letterman
When asked about his hair, Donald Trump once admitted that as a teenager he was bitten by a radioactive muskrat.
The 1983 New York City marathon took three day to complete when runners were required to pay a toll before crossing the Verrazano-Narrows bridge.
Splynter: Thank you for explaining my DNF.
OK, Let me be honest with you.
I have "Staked" a TOMATO PLANT.
As for "Caged" ... I like the "free-range" ones.
As for "nothing too obsure."
OLMEC'S -v- Mayan's or Aztex's;
LOME or ANY "Gulf of Guinea Capital" and
MIOCENE as the "Age" when "grazing mammals became widespread" are pretty obscure.
I did suss out (and WTF) that '88 Calgary Silver Medalist, ORSER.
Note: Didn't remember the Gold Medalist either until I checked your link.
Had CONDE (Nast) as the First name in travel.
Never came off it.
Yup, like Barry G. my top 1/3 was an Ink Blot test.
Oh well, there's always Monday.
Cheers to all at Sunset.
RSD:
I'm not a big country fan (one of my top ten bands is the same as yours), but the Judds were a mother(Naomi)- daughter(Wynona) duo. Naomi was originally from Ashland, Ky. , and moved her daughters (Wynona and the actress/UK fan Ashley) to Morel, a small community near Big Hill, Ky., just outside Berea. They lived for a time without electricity and running water (a la Windhover) before they made the country music big time and moved to Nashville.
TMI?
Good Morning Splynter, C.C. et al.
Thanks for the great write-up, Splynter! I loved the "Spinal Tap" link best - that is just such a nutty scene, it makes me chuckle.
I had the opposite experience, Barry. I immediately filled in TOMATO PLANT. They have been much on my mind lately, and I have "Staked" them up because of all the foliage. Tomatoes seem to be coming late this year. I have lots of little green marbles, and a couple green golf balls, and one green baseball. If they don't start turning red soon, I am afraid I will have to go back in blog history and pull up all those recipes for fried green tomatoes!
The bottom half is what gave me fits - I don't know any of the Judds' songs (well, now I do: "WHY NOT ME?"). STABLE ECONOMY and UP FOR DEBATE just took way to long to suss. But I pecked away, and they finally emerged.
Off to the gardens - the weeds, unlike the tomatoes, are prolific this year!
Volente, Olmecs, Enisle, etc. = nothing obscure (even my spell checker is upset)? You’re a better man than I am Gunga Din (Splynter). Fabulous learning links! I put the pencil away and had to have a little red letter help but learned a lot.
Musings-
-I got the two long fills but had other issues (our tomatoes are right out my window and are staked and caged).
-Velcro is a staple of life in the weightlessness of space
-Thought FODOR might be travel name
-I played many hands of OLDMAID but Husker Du was the memory game of choice for me and my girls
-:50, OMG, now I get it. I thought RATIO.
-I had ATT and ALUMS as well at first
-Mister SLICE and I are a first name basis too often!
-How’s that OLSO peace accord working out? I have never seen a more awkward handshake. It’s hard to business with people who avowed goal is your destruction and will take any concessions you will give.
G'Morning Saturday gang.
A serious workout for me. Starting across at the top the first fill was ALEE and the 2nd was THIS IS SPINAL TAP. It never really got easier. But perseverance paid off and I did finish. Did NOT want to give up Aztec and have never heard of OLMECS, but when TOMATO finally forced itself on me, I had to cede that ground. Final fill was MARCO, and I fully expected it to be wrong. Turned out OK, I guess.
My caged tomatoes are late this year too, but they are looking good. We had one about 3 weeks ago. One! Now we have at least a dozen that are getting close and I think we might even have a plateful tomorrow.
Good Morning All, Thanks to all of you who have mentioned your caged and staked TOMATO PLANTS. It practically entered itself. Tne next line VELCRO only took a couple of perps to finish with CLOSURE.
Thanks also to my forth grade teacher who told us about the Mayans, Toltecs, OLMECS, Mixtecs and Aztecs. I can't keep them straight now, but I still remember the names.
Even though this puzzle wasn't easy, it had a good roof and THIS IS SPINAL TAP gave it a start of an excellent flooring. With a few perps like IN SITU, IBF, ORSER, SLICE and MERLOT, I had both a great sub-floor, STABLE ECONOMY,and foundation, UP FOR DEBATE.
LOME was a new one, as was DOLLY VARDEN.
Lots of great lines from "S.P." Splynter's was a good one.
Have you checked out today's Google Doodle? It's a good one.
When I saw the constructor's name; Brad Wilber, I knew it was going to be an adventure.
Yup, he had two earlier Saturday LAT's this year.
4/26/11 & 3/12/11 (both blogged by our C.C.).
Hello everyone. Good commentary, Splynter.
Needed Mr. G to finish today. Did not know VOLENTE, TOSCA, ANA, or that there were Dolly Varden TROUT. FEY came from the perps. MIOCENE and NUMBERS were WAGs The long fills are usually fun to suss out.. Got TEN OF from the perps but had to read Splynter's explanation. Good Saturday cap to the week.
Welcome aboard, Susan.
Enjoy the day.
Splynter, thanks, but splintered is a good description of my first pass sans red letter help.
Lots of fun clues, but too many obscure ones crossing. Still, nice to see MARCO (POLO).
33A: What is "Mg." ? A milligram is "mg" (no period). Magnesium is "Mg" (no period), and not a weight. Mg (still no period) as a weight is a MEGAGRAM or 1000 kg, i.e. a metric tonne. And if I were a pedant, I would point out that a GRAM is a unit of mass, not weight, but I'm not.
On the other side, I get thrown by words that are abbreviations but have apparently become informal nouns without periods, hence no apparent need to indicate in the clues - SOPHS, OBIT (nice clue though), OJS (which threw me completely, I confess).
And I seem to be the only one here who never heard of "This is spinal tap" (hence the whole South was murky), but had heard of a "Dolly Varden" trout (ultimately from the Dickens character, and her clothing preferences).
NC
Hi again~!
I uh, spelled Mr. Wilber's name wrong, hence I did not find his more recent puzzles - Sorry, Brad.
As for "obscure" clues, I studied on my own Meso-Americans, since I am a believer in "Ancient Aliens", so Olmec was a gimme, and when it comes to 'epochs' and ages, names in the last 65mil years were -cene, so I WAGed from there....
I am not a tomatoes person, but I think I would prefer the "wild" ones, myself; even my pet iguana was not 'caged'.
I, too, was 'eh' about Mg for mg, but all clues start with a capital letter, so....and yeah, I knew it was about mass, as well.
Thanks for all the comments
Splynter
thanks for info windhover as I didn't know very much about them other than they were singers and Ashley was an actress.
Good afternoon, all. Great writer up Splynter. TOMATO PLANT was way too obvious and VELCRO something was my first thought there. That gave me enough to fill most of the top half. It only took a perp or two to see STABLE ECONOMY, but the rest of the bottom took some effort. THIS IS SPINAL TAP wasn't in my wheelhouse. I had THIS IS a fINAL TAP and didn't want to let go, even though the perps on those two letters didn't make sense. I finally changed to SPINAL, but really wondered if ORSER and JAPED were correct. I got lucky on my wags today.
Hello Puzzlers - a technical DNF today. I had to cheat to get the really oddball answers ORSER and JAPED. Wouldn't have believed the latter without proof. At least I had nearly all of the long horizontals; without those I'd have been up a creek.
Thanks again for your TEMERITY, Splynter!
A great Sat. offering. Thanks, Brad.
Doable, but required a letter at a time, here and there, and lots of perps and a few wags.
I messed up on my wag for OJ. I decided on OG, which stood for Orange juice and Gin. You’d think I had just finished one. All because, I didn’t know JAPED and felt gaped could mean ribbed as in bumpy.
Delightful, write-up, Splynter. Yes, I’ve often had to remind myself that all clues begin with a capital
letter, which some constructors use to foil the solver, IMHO.
CA, you have an uncanny memory- 4th grade, no less- very impressive! Sounds like all is well. I know what you mean about getting closer to civilization. Our mileage is terrific- Highway miles, but still. I dread the thought of moving. Have you listed your place with a realtor? It sounds as if the clean-out of pantries, etc. is a good indicator of some changes. Good Luck.
Welcome, Susan. Pretty Avatar. Glamorous, even!
This weekend has involved 2 birthdays in the family: DH and 29 yr. old grandson. I think tonight’s dinner out will finally wrap it up.
Sorry about extra lines, CC. I don't know how I got so carried away with the sound of my own'Voice'.
Hello, Splynter et alii.
Very nicely done Splynter and Brad. My experience was much the same as yours, Splynter, WAGGING some fun fill.
I can't believe my very first fill was OTT, a sports clue, but that proves if I see it enough it sticks!
Finished the SW and SE with OBITS, SOPHS and INSITU, STREEP, and TUESDAY.
Passing news item, OBITS, clever!
Only one DNF, ORSER and one search in the Atlas for LOME. Otherwise it was fun.
CA:
Thank you from yesterday. As you can imagine I collapsed into a deep sleep last night.
I hope your Saturday is tremendously joyous!
A woman frustrated with her Tomato plants not turning red , asked her friend for advice, she suggested for her to go naked in her garden and that might embarrass the tomatoes and thus turn red.
The woman thought about it and decided to try her friend's advice
A few weeks passed, her friend asked her if the tomatoes turned red yet, she answered
No , but my cucumbers sure tripled in size.
Does anyone know why on Sundays, I get a puzzle by Merl Reager and not the puzzle you all get?
My paper is the LAT, as I live here in Ca.
Btw it's Merl every Sunday.
Brad Wilber is a themeless specialist so you will be blogging his puzzles Splynter. We have had trouble with spelling his name in the past, not doubt due to the Mr. Ed effect.
These Saturday puzzles always amaze me with all I do not know, and all I do know and how perseverance and good guessing pays off.
Welcome the double brace of newbie blues yesterday, had computer issues so I was out of the loop to say hi.
Hello everybody. Wow, good puzzles these last three days. They all almost did me in, but I found that walking away and doing something else helped, as my brain would somehow think of a fill all by itself as I was occupied elsewhere.
Like Barry G, I filled in the bottom part more easily than the top, possibly because of the Spinal Tap entry. I had to look up Dolly Varden and consult a map of the Gulf of Guinea.
Overconfidently pencilling in ALLEGRO scrwed me up for a long time in that area, but once I convinced myself that COMMITS ALEE, and OTT were actually correct, then I knew ALLEGRO was wrong.
I didn't know THAR (there) is an adverb.
More later.
Creature, not that great a memory...maybe it was fifth grade. I'm sure there was a textbook titled "History of the Americas". I think we started in Greenland and wandered through Canada and the U.S.before spending a few weeks in Mexico and then moving on to South America.
The conquistadors were very popular with us. Back in the '50's, there wasn't anything about the evils of introducing diseases like smallpox to the natives, in order to put a lock on the win.
It was the next year that we went back home to concentrate on United States history. The smallpox trick was still in use during Western expansion, although that part wasn't included in the curriculum.
Other than that, I think they did a pretty good job of the "Pilgrim story", early settlements, covering the events leading up to the forming of the Nation and most of the wars...gosh, there have been a lot of them!
Hands up for entering AZTECS and then having to change it. It's in situations like this that it becomes hard to tell which of your confidently-entered answers are right and which are wrong. Damn self-doubt, anyway! LOL I mean, I just knew that AZTECS and ALLEGRO were right, but I also felt that COMMITS was right. So, will the real wrong answer please stand up?
As for Common voting occasion = TUESDAY, I still don't quite see how Tuesday is an occasion; it seems to me it is nothing more nor less than a common time to vote, the occasion being, say, a presidential or mid-term election, or a vote for school bonds or something.
I have to say the conversation in this blog has been interesting these last several days, as it almost always is. I enjoy reading and contributing to this blog, and wish to express my thanks for it.
Best wishes to you all.
Why Not Me(3:29) with an extensive write-up of their history.
JAYCE:
A word that denotes place is an adverb: where, there, (thar), here, anywhere, etc.
As I was in a hurry I failed to mention that I had much the same misdirection as most of you.
AZTECS then OLMECS
ALLEGRO before VOLANTE
LUZ corrected by ANA
etc., etc. and I am pleased to be in such good company.
Just for you, CA. Conquistador(4:13) by Procol Harum. Long write-up with this one, too.
Clear Ayes @ 10:27, I absolutely loved your "house" metaphor for this puzzle. Very clever!
Yah, now I know words like "there" are adverbs. Having taken more time to think about it, I realize I knew it already, but had forgotten. I always used to get them confused with prepositions.
Fermatprime, I think you said something a couple of days ago about your tangle of computer cords and cables. I know what you mean; I am convinced computer cables come alive at night to mate and entangle.
Think I'm gonna have some MERLOT tonight.
Zcarguy, funny :)
Hi All ~~
Splynter ~~ you do a fantastic job with these Saturday puzzles ... a great write-up! This was tough, but I did finish it with a few look-ups. Unknowns included: FE, OSIRIS, OLMECS, and LOME and a few others that were filled in with perps. I liked the long answers although it took a while to get them. For 12A--LACE I was thinking of the decorative touch, not the shoe. For 24D-- 'Idle and more' I was thinking of someone being lazy - not the actor ... got me!
This was one of those puzzles I kept leaving and coming back to as others have mentioned, and it was satisfying to finally get it done!
Martydog19 ~~ our Sunday paper carries Merl Reagle's puzzles, also ... I print out the one done here from either the LA Times site or Cruciverb.
Right now I'm watching Game 2 of Red Sox-Yankees, hoping the results are better than last night ... sigh.
Enjoy the weekend ~~
CA,
Of the five names you listed in your original post, I remembered two- Mayan and Aztec. And that memory is not, I'm sure, from grade school.
I was impressed that you recalled the list and it was from the 4th grade.
How did smallpox figure in? If you don't want to use your posts, I will understand.
Hello.
Tomatoes are caged. Some have green baseball size. Others, golf ball sized.
Scott Dixon has P1 for tomorrow's race in Ohio.
Ashley married to Dario(P2). Will
never forget the sight of her running down the Indy pit lane in the rain. Nothing left to the imagination.
Welcome to the newbies.
Time to do Merl's.
eddy
What does "WAG" mean when used in commenting on a clue/anser?
Creature, the indigenous people of the Americas had no immunity to diseases like smallpox, measles or diphtheria. The conquistadors may not have been aware of this at first, but as time went on, there is little doubt that they made no effort to isolate their ill soldiers from the natives. I just checked Wikipedia "Cook and Borak of the University of California at Berkeley claim that the population in Mexico declined from 25.2 million in 1518 to 700 thousand people in 1623, less than 3% of the original population.". Approximately 65% of the decline was due to smallpox.
There have been many stories about the military giving smallpox infected blankets to natives. The story of Jeffrey Amherst is one of them.
Whether these plagues were spread maliciously, or by not so benign neglect is up to interpretation. Certainly in most cases, nothing was done to protect the most susceptible victims.
anon@5:36, wild-ass guess.
Unrelated, this is too good not to share.
Really?! Surprising. I wouldn't have guessed that by the context. Thanks.
Argyle, Thanks....how did you know I was a Procol Harum fan?
Marti, one of my few inspired moments ;o)
Dennis, well....I thought it was funny! Even more so because of the perplexed look on Henny Youngman's face at about :30. But then, I'm easily amused.
Jayce: That finally explains the situation!
Mac users: You may have difficulties with Lion and/or Safari 5.1. (I read MacWorld Daily in my email.) See
Removing Safari 5.1,
Lion compatibility.
Dennis:
Thank you for the link. That is really good!
Wow--this was hard for me. I only one I was sure of on my first pass was Tosca.
My tomato plants only have a few very small green ones. I have one caged and two in those upside down things. They look nothing like the ones in the commercial--mine are still trying to grow straight up. I've got lots of chiles through.
Thanks Creature. That's my business card photo.
Totally unrelated to anything said. I'm just sharing a portion of my day/evening. Here's a tune that has piqued my interest this evening. Hope you enjoy it.
P.S. Argyle, loved the "Why Not Me" link. Dennis, haven't gotten to your yet, but will.
CA,
Thanks for the links and info.
This was not in any books or discussions I have ever been privy to- I always thought that the concept of germ warfare was much later.Shocking reading and sad.
You always add so much,CA.
I'm just back from our last b'day dinner, and I'm fading fast.
Thanks.
Avg Joe, I enjoyed your link to Louise by Leo Kottke.
Here's one back at ya.
BillG, Thank you! I have the "Neck and Neck" album and it's great. FWIW, the one time I've seen Leo Kottke in person, it was when he was filling in for Chet Atkins, circa 1998. Chet came down ill while the tour was underway and Leo opened for Lyle Lovett in lieu of Chet while here in Lincoln. An amazing show!!
IMO, the most underrated album Mark Knopfler had was the sound track from "Local Hero". Pure sound that's unmistakably his, but with a lower intensity that really makes it work. Here's a sample.
Also, at that same concert after Leo had finished, the crew for Lyle set up with this playing over the PA. I've had this album since the 70's, and it's a cult item. I was in heaven that night.
Ooops. Must have messed up that last link. Try this.
Avg Joe, you're hitting them out of the park this evening...great songs.
"Local Hero" is one of my all-time favorite movies and I love the soundtrack.
GAH and I are longtime Leo Kottke fans.
Lyle Lovett is also a favorite of mine. I couldn't help but think less of Julia Roberts after she let him go. Not handsome? OK, but that voice makes up for all of that.
Lyle Lovett - More Pretty Girls Than One.
Lord Jeffery Amherst may not have been such a nice guy, but the town named after him ain't bad. Emily Dickinson made her home there (it's being re-roofed at the moment). The Lord Jeff restaurant is superb. The Amherst College campus is lovely. The UMass campus...well, it's big. :-)
Polymer ending: ASE implies "polymerase", an enzyme used to construct new DNA. Polymer names don't typically end in 'ase', but all enzymes do.
This one was pretty easy for a saturday puzzle.
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