google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, April 11 2012, Jack McInturff

Advertisements

Apr 11, 2012

Wednesday, April 11 2012, Jack McInturff

theme: death and TAXES - TAXES is spelled out by the starting letters of all the theme answers.

benjamin franklin: "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." very timely. hopefully most of us are done with this annual nightma-- ... er, chore, for another year.

18A. Porterhouse relatives : T-BONE STEAKS. ribeye for me, please.

24A. Hannibal Smith underling : A-TEAM MEMBER. george peppard portrayed this character in the tv series.

36A. Any of five Wolverine films : X-MEN MOVIE. based on marvel comic's fictional character. had to look it up, i've never seen any of them.

54A. Some online shoppers : E-BAY BIDDERS. anyone here not an e-bayer?

59A. Pot holder, perhaps : S-SHAPED HOOK. like this.

32A. Org. concerned with the word spelled by the starts of 18-, 24-, 36-, 54- and 59-Across : IRS. internal revenue service.

melissa here. since april 15th falls on a sunday this year, we have some extra time to file. if you haven't filed yet, you really shouldn't be here. go do your taxes. we'll wait.

Across:

1. Great, in slang : BAD. she's built, she's stacked.

4. Take as one's own : ADOPT

9. Scenic view : VISTA

14. Fifth in NYC, e.g. : AVE. major thoroughfare in midtown manhattan, "most expensive street in the world."

15. Indian prince : RAJAH

16. Indian, e.g. : OCEAN. world's third largest ocean.

17. [Quoted verbatim] : SIC. notation that indicates words are transcribed exactly as spelled from the original source, complete with any mistakes.

20. Trading center : MART


22. Without __: pro bono : A FEE. "professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service." then there's these pro bonos.

23. Chop : HEW. to cut, as with an axe.

28. Dined : ATE. a belated easter funny ...





29. Polish place : TOENAIL

30. MetLife, for one : INSURER

33. Muslim leader : IMAM

35. Popular dolls : KENS. how you doin'?




40. Jeer : GIBE

43. Geraint's lady : ENID. here is the wikipedia page.

44. Cookbook abbr. : TSP. teaspoon.

47. Elite athlete : ALL-STAR

51. Urban skyline standout : EDIFICE. a building of imposing appearance or size.


53. Actress Peeples : NIA

56. Receive : GET

57. Talker on a perch : MYNA. talking myna bird.

58. Aid companion : ABET

64. Reason for gaping : AWE

65. Immunity agent : T-CELL. lymphocytes.

66. Porter's "__ the Top" : YOU'RE. cole porter tune from the 1934 musical 'anything goes.'

67. Dastard : CUR. new to me, but both are synonyms for coward.

68. Halos : AURAE

69. Board game with an exclamation point in its name : SORRY! and
55d. Internet giant with an exclamation point in its name : YAHOO!

70. Mil. spud duties : KP'S. kitchen patrols.


down:

1. Long-grained Asian rice : BASMATI

2. One skilled in plane talk : AVIATOR

3. Fiats : DECREES

4. Legal hangings? : ART. haha.

6. Pancho's peeper : OJO. spanish for eye.

7. Jet age 2011-'12 TV drama : PAN AM. abc series.

8. Hoover led it for 37 yrs. : THE FBI

9. Political pollsters' targets : VOTERS

10. Winter glaze : ICE

11. Mollusk named for its pair of long earlike appendages : SEA HARE. pretty.

12. Rest : TAKE TEN. also, paul desmond's sequel to his monster hit 'take five,' that he wrote for the dave brubeck quartet.

13. Responds : ANSWERS

19. Espied : SEEN

21. Catch some rays : TAN. soon!

25. Injure severely : MAIM. ow.

26. Marceau, notably : MIME. marcel marceau.




27. Verve : ELAN

31. Don Ho's instrument : UKE. ukulele.

34. Sra.'s French counterpart : MME.
madam.

36. Crosses (out) : X'ES

37. A student's GPA blemish : ONE B. alright.


38. Caesar's "I saw" : VIDI. latin.

39. "__ it my way" : I DID. frank sinatra's signature song.

40. Kind of rap : GANGSTA. from wikipedia: "a subgenre of hip hop music that evolved from hardcore hip hop and purports to reflect urban crime and the violent lifestyles of inner-city youths."


41. Former Romanian president : ILIESCU.
President of Romania from 1990 until 1996, and from 2000 until 2004. a bit obscure.

42. Utter nonsense : BLATHER

44. Secure behind one's head, as long hair : TIE BACK

45. Make a mess of : SCREW UP

46. Really bugs : PESTERS

48. Synagogue : TEMPLE

49. "Rock-__ Baby" : A-BYE

50. Actor Quaid and pitcher Johnson : RANDYS

52. Pharm. watchdog : FDA. food and drug administration. also known as the f-duh.

60. According to : A LA. or, 'in the manner of.'

61. "__ Song": #1 country hit for Taylor Swift : OUR

62. Hockey great : ORR. bobby.

63. Opener on a ring : KEY

Answer grid.

melissa

82 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Despite such obscurities (to me, at least) as SEAHARE and ILIESCU, I managed to make short work of this. Obscurities don't bother me as long as they have good perps crossing them.

My only real hesitation came at the crossing of OUR and YOUR at the bottom. I didn't know either song and had to wait until I had everything except for the crossing U to be sure. Two obscurities crossing isn't optimal, but at least there weren't any other letters that could have possibly made any sense at that crossing.

Taxes, huh? Good news is that mine are filed. Bad news is that I keep forgetting to send in my first estimated tax payments for this year (also due on April 16th). Actually, due to a local holiday (Patriots Day), I've actually got until the 17th...

HeartRx said...

Good morning melissa, C.C. et al.

Thanks for the sparkly write-up, melissa! I loved the talking MYNA clip.

SRA is the abbr. of "Senora" and MME is the French abbr. for "Madam". MLLE would be "mademoiselle", the equivalent of SRTA, or "senorita". Both Srta and MLLE have come under scrutiny lately, and the French are doing away with that abbr. altogether because it denotes marital status and is considered un-PC. You can read all about it here.

I can't really say I enjoyed doing this puzzle, because the theme reminded me of the dreaded tax deadline.

The execution was spot-on, though. It was quite clever to come up with five theme entries that all begin with a single letter. I stunned myself that I actually knew ILIESCU. Never heard of SEA HARE, but it was easily perped.

Favorite entry: BLATHER. So I will quit blathering now, and go finish my taxes...

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Fun puzzle and write-up, Jack and mb.

Have had rough time lately. Termite workers removing parts of roof keep waking me up early.

Just finished initializing internal hard drive, after a long struggle. (Could not boot from disk.) Ended up using TechTool Pro after finally locating serial number.

Happy hump day!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, MelissaBee and friends. I had fun with today's puzzle. My taxes are done and a check was just sent to the IRS. I have another month before filing my state taxes.

I liked the crossing of Sorry! and Yahoo! (Exclamation Point!)

I have tried to purchase/bid on anything at E-Bay.

I liked the Hoover clue. Were we looking for the former president, the vacuum cleaner or J. Edgar? The latter, of course.

QOD: Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't. ~ Erica Jong

Argyle said...

Except for 41D : ILIESCU, I thought there were far less obscurities than in Mon. and Tue.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jack McInturff, for a very good puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a s well write-up.

In the NW, had no idea what BASMATI was. Thank goodness for perps.

Three of the theme answers were quite easy. XMEN MOVIE was not, neither was S SHAPED HOOK. Got them, but it was a struggle. I did remember ILIESCU. That helped in the SW.

For T CELL I was looking for some sort of government agent, Immunity Agent. GANGSTA and ILIESCU fixed that.

RANDYS was easy. Remember that pitcher from a Series Game a few years back.

Liked the Myna Bird, Melissa B.

Off to the Eye Doctor today for a Glaucoma and Cataract check-up. I will be doing that for the rest of my life.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Anonymous said...

Regular Tax returns (not just estimated taxes) aren't due until April 17th because Washington has a holiday on Monday for Emancipation day. So one more day for the ultimate procrastinators....

Didn't know who Hannibal Smith was, so hung up there...

desper-otto said...

Good morning, all.

DNF for me today. I screwed up square #1 with "Great, in slang" = RAD and that long-grained rice = RASMATI. Sounded good to me.

The SW slowed me down the most trying to twist my KITCHEN HOOK into an S Shape. Never heard of Pitcher Johnson, so RANDYS started life as DENNIS. What a mess!

Two more days of preparing taxes. Those who'll be getting refunds have long gone. Now the real tough cases start coming in. Federal deadline this year is next Tuesday.

grams said...

Struggled w/Dennis stead of randys. Really messed up se corner

Mari said...

A few write overs for me, but I finally got it. Cute theme.

Also didn't know SEA HARE, BASMATI, and ILIESCU. I thought 1D was Jasmine rice. Thought RANDYS were Dennis (Quaid). KENS threw me off, I usually think of female dolls before male dolls, and I was looking for something faddish (all the rage) - the word Popular threw me off.

Are there really five X-Men movies? I only saw the first two.

I liked seeing BLATHER, SCREW UP and PESTERS.

Tax refunds are in hand, I just need to deposit them. Have a happy _________ (fill in the blank).

Avg Joe said...

Clever theme today. I don't think I've ever seen anything similar. But I had a load of trouble in the SW corner resulting in multiple erasures. Finally got it straightened out. Fun puzzle.

Tax returns were filed nearly 3 weeks ago, and have both state and Fed refunds in hand. I even paid my quarterlies late yesterday, so no last minute hassles for me.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

A DNF today. The SW Corner and !A & !D in the NE were the causes. Basmati rice... never heard of it .

As far as the SW goes, 40D, 41D, & 42D and 40A, 56A, 59A, &65A were empty. For 60D I had PER instead of ALA. The last seven squares for 59A were OK, but the first four...........

Other then that, it was a piece of cake today!

Anyhow, the flu has returned (thank you daughter in law) so it's back into the sack.

Happy hump day

Yellowrocks said...

Fun puzzle and write up, Jack and MB. It was a fast solve today.

I was surprised to see my picture on the PRO BONO link.

My son and DIL serve basmati rice. Delicious.

I got HARE from perps and wagged SEA.

I knew ILESCU but wasn't exactly sure of the spelling.

Although YOU'RE THE TOP was written in 1934, I'm sure most will recognize this song after the short intro.
Link YOU"RE THE TOP

Although I used some perps, I found none of the answers obscure.

kazie said...

I was vague about the beginning of Basmati, since RAD was my slang for great. But my real hangup was the SW corner, where I didn't know or think of T-cell, and Gangsta remained incomplete.

Suddenly today just about every word here is showing up as a misspelling. Anyone else having that happen too?

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning MB and a happy hump day to all. Nice puzzle, Jack.

BASMATI was a gimme and I remembered ILIESCU, but wasn't sure of the spelling. SEAHARE is something I've seen before in a crossword but I needed lots of perp help to dredge it up.

It's ironic that Patriots Day can be used as an excuse to delay paying taxes, when our vice-president says that we should express our patriotism by paying more taxes.

I never even thought to look for the theme. It certainly wasn't needed to finish the puzzle.

Although accurate, it seemed that the clue for EDIFICE was a little clunky.

I'm not a frequent buyer on Ebay, but, if I'm looking for an item online, I'll often look to see if it's available there. I've never sold anything there.

Yellowrocks said...

Those of you who mentioned months ago that you enjoyed reading "Guns, Germs, and Steel" might also enjoy the book I am reading now, "1493, Uncovering the New World Columbus Created" by Charles C. Mann.

The entry of Columbus and other explorers into the New World led to globalization connecting Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas in a web of unforeseen ecological and economic changes. The discussion of the way this Columbian Exchange has created today's world is fascinating.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Not much to add. On 41d, since I had ---ESCU, and knowing that was a typical Romanian name ending, I first thought of Ceaușescu, the last Communist head of state. But of course the lead C didn't fit, and it was too long. The cobwebs cleared with a vague recollection of another leader and voilà, ILIESCU was entered. The theming helped get T-BONE STEAKS. Agree with Marti about the TAXES. Didn't like GANGSTA either. Oh, and I don't like to eat BASMATI rice - don't like its aroma.

Have a great day.

Ron Worden said...

Good morning to all and happy hump day. Thanks MelissaBee for the write-up. I had jasmine at first for 1D but then got to the theme with X-men and figured it out. The rest came along easily so all and all a fun Wed. Thankyou Mr.McInturff. My taxes were filed and actually got a refund this year back in Feb. Have a great day to all RJW.

Tinbeni said...

MB, Excellent write-up & links. YOU'RE the top.

FUN Wednesday offering. Thanks Jack.

WEES, esp. about needing the 'perps' to finally get ILIESCU.

And I always like a puzzle with ICE (lol).

Cheers!

Montana said...

Nice puzzle and writeup Jack and MB.
I did Tuesday's puzzle last night and regained my self-esteem. No problems, in fact fairly easy.
Today I had to go through the alphabet to get the second S in sshapedhooks since I didn't remember that president's name and the s_haped was not registering in my brain.
I went back and forth between across and down clues but in the end, I completed a Wednesday puzzle.
Temps Into the 70s in Montana today. Everyone would like to get out in gardens but newscasters keep saying, "Wait until May!, Wait until May!" Birds that have never been seen before May are migrating through in early April. Crazy year.
Have a good day,
Montana

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Not quite a speed run. Tried FAB instead of BAD, and A LISTER instead of ALL STAR.

Paused a bit at the YOUR/OUR cross, same as Barry, so as far as that goes, WBS. Taxes? Not so much. We're still turning the crank.

I haven't been to the Corner for a few days, and now it looks like the comment block has been put back up into the upper right corner. Did I miss something?

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I guess my skills are deteriorating. DNF. Too many obscurities for a Wed.

Didn't enjoy it much.

Taxes are filed, first payment sent, thanks to the LW.

Cheers!
JzB

Anonymous said...

I started on the wrong note. 1A RAD, but thanks to Mellissa I have a new understanding of BAD, as in the phrase "bad girl, go directly to my room".

Anonymous said...

Dudley, amazing you got in your WBS phrase even though the crossing was YOU'RE / OUR in the puzzle.

Lucina said...

Greetings, cyber friends. Very nice job, Melissa, and it's good to see you.

WEES. This flew off the pencil though ditto for JASMINE rice first. Didn't know ILIESCU but easy enough to work out. Ironic to see his name next to GANGSTA.

I have never bid on E-BAY but played SORRY! when my daughter was small.

RANDY Johnson lived in AZ for many years as a Diamondback.

Loved seeing TOENAIL as polish place, BLATHER was great as was legal hangings, ART.

You all have a wonderful Wednesday!

Lucina said...

My state refund was electronically deposited in March but I owe the Feds. Time to mail it.

Argyle said...

Yellowrocks, I've sent you an email. Argyle

Tuttle said...

Had the same issue at the bottom with OUR/YOUR that Barry G did.

There are 5 X-Men movies... kind of. The 4th one (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) doesn't really have the X-Men in it per se (it has several members of the team, but not as a team), and the 5th one (X-Men: First Class) doesn't really have Wolverine in it as it is set in 1963 and predates the character's use of that name (and his appearance is a 5 second cameo). It has been argued that the first four films are really Wolverine movies while the 5th one is actually an X-Men movie.

And due to licensing issues you'll see more X-Men movies. If Paramount doesn't make an X-Men film every few years the rights revert back to Marvel who would then gleefully roll them into the shared universe of Iron Man/Captain America/Thor/The Avengers. Same deal applies to Sony with their Spiderman movies.

Yes, I'm an X-Men nerd.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Fun puzzle, timely theme. Thanks Mr.Mc, and thanks to Melissa for a good expo.

Had a couple of write-overs but mainly an easy solve. Any iffy areas were helped by perps.

Have never done anything on EBay. Amazon is my downfall; so many books, so little time! Right, Mari?

Happy Wednesday everyone.

Misty said...

Well, I scooted right through this puzzle until I got to the SW corner, and then, like Kazie 8:55, I got stuck. I got GANGSTA and knew anybody Romanian was going to end in an ESCU but just couldn't make it work even though I was pretty sure about TCELL and AURAE. The problem was that I had NAN instead of NIA, and therefore BANTER-something instead of BLATHER, blah, blah, blah. But that's all my problem, not the puzzle's, so thanks Jack, and Melissa B.

I really should get my TOENAILs polished, or at least get a pedicure. But no time, with getting ready for our Thursday trip.

But thanks to HR Block, the taxes are done!

Have a good Wednesday, everybody!

Mari said...

Tuttle @ 10:57 am: Very interesting about the movies. DH is a huge movie buff. I'll enjoy sharing your comment with him.

Mari said...

Irish Miss @ 11:02 am: Yes! So little time. I think I'm going to spend my all of my vacation time this year reading!

Yellowrocks said...

Argyle sent me this delightful visual link to YOU'RE THE TOP. Thanks, Argyle.
Link Song

Jerome said...

I'M A STAR RASMATI cook.

MARTI'S A RASMATI cook, too.

What? It's BASMATI? AM I BATS?

CrazyCat said...

Good morning all. Thanks Melissa! The puzzle today seemed easier to me than the last two. Maybe it's because things have quieted down around here. I got BASMATI right off the bat. I've been trying to eat brown rice, but white is so much better! BASMATI always turns out nice and fluffy.

Had a few write overs - TAD before DAB and CAD before CUR. Also had AURAS before AURAE. Other than that it was smooth sailing, except I forgot to look for the theme.

A few years ago, I went through a major cleansing of cupboards and closets. I sold most of the stuff on EBAY. It was a lot of fun, especially when buyers got into bidding wars.

chin said...

Never heard of KP being "kitchen patrol". In nearly 30 years of military contact, it was always "kitchen police". Works either way. I once paid a pal a whopping $2.00 to take my KP duty which lasted about 10 hours!! I would have gone higher if he had asked for it.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today, with some terrific fill and nifty clues. Wanted COOPT instead of ADOPT, which made me wonder what a CRT had anything to do with legal hanging. Hands up for AURAS at first. BASMATI was a gimme, since that is what we use at home. The only fill that jarred me was KPS, since I have never heard KP used in the plural. You have KP duty, or are "on KP," and if you had the duty several times you would say something like, "I was on KP three times last month," or, "I had KP (duty) three times last month."

Mailed in our Fed taxes yesterday; got refund from Calif last week. Whew, all done. Got audited last year; hope we got it right this year.

Thanks for your always clear writeup, melissa. Best wishes to you all.

PK said...

Thanks Jack and Melissa. Started out with rAD, never heard of BASMATI. Hate it when I don't know the first two clues. Thought 20A was MAll. For 29A finally got _O__A__L and wanted pOlkAhalL for Polish place, but didn't fit.

Put 53A mIA at first, soon changed.

On YR's link at 8:50, one of the side links is Ginger Rogers doing the Salsa at age 92! I could weep for joy--can't wait to get that old so I can salsa. LOL

Never been to EBAY. Should sell some stuff.

Irish: Amazon is making a killing off me. If I find an author I like, I go back to the start and read all his/her books. I'm about half through Sara Paretsky's series now. Haven't felt well enough to do much else but read, so Kindle's a God send.

Jayce said...

Love my Kindle; reading ever so much more than I used to before getting it. Trade off is watching less TV, which I consider a good trade off. Mostly reading non-fiction "conspiracy theory" exposé books such as The Big Short and The Tylenol Mafia. Also enjoyed a heavy-going slog through a fictional yet fact-based account of the life of Vlad "The Impaler" Dracula, who actually was a hard-working, semi-successful ruler of a small principality called Wallachia in the 15th century, to which he brought peace, security, and prosperity during his short reigns.

Only ever bought anything on eBay twice. One time I got counterfeit products that didn't work. The other time I got a mint-condition, good-as-new, hard-to-find product that we are still very happy with.

placematfan said...

Nice puzzle, Jack. Fun write-up, Melissa. Interesting grid pattern. Had RAD instead of BAD and ADAPT instead of ADOPT; don’t know my rice so RASMATI seemed okay, and don’t know my Spanish so I figured AJO meant “eye”. As a solver, I think one or two unknowns adds to the enjoyability of a puzzle; I appreciate the fact that ILIESCU and SEAHARE were crossed well.

Tuttle, I’m a huge fan of the animated X-Men series from the 90s. It was quite addictive and very well-written. Wikipedia says IGN ranked it the 13th greatest animated show of all time. Haven’t watched it for years, though, so I’ve probably lost the right to claim geekdom. But it’s definitely going on my to-watch/maybe-add-to-library list. I’ve seen most of the movies, some of the comics, and the other animated versions, but none of them piqued the Fan in me.

Avg Joe said...

Jayce, If you like that type of book, you might look into Griftopia. It is fantastic.

I've bought a few things on EBay, but never sold anything. What I have bought I've had good luck with. Have done a lot more with CraigsList, cuz you have the opportunity to look someone in the eye. I've even bought and sold 2 cars on CL.

HeartRx said...

Argyle/Yellowrocks @12:17, delightful visual of Cole Porter's rendition - thanks for sharing!

Jerome @ 12:29, (^0^)

CrossEyedDave said...

I guess it's from watching cooking shows, but i always thought Basmati Rice was Italian. Now it's even Gangsta

It took a looong time to get "toenail", i kept thinking this

Louise Brooks was a knockout! Never heard of her, that's why i keep reading the Blog.

Argyle's visual guide to you're the tops was very helpful, my only previous experience with the song was when Hawkeye on MASH lost a bet, & had to sing it on a table in the Mess Hall, in his underwear. Unfortunately i cannot find the clip...

CrossEyedDave said...

I found it:

hawkeye, you're the tops.

Anonymous said...

Easiest of the week. Yep, another incondistant week. A little confused at 70 A. KP is already plural, so to me kp would not fit. To me KPs meant 2 or more individuals that are doing KP. Example... Private Smith and Private Jones are doing KP/PVT Smith and PVT Jones are your KPs SGT Smith (the cook) for the day. So "Mil. spud duties is KP!!!!!!" not kps. Thanks...... First Sergeant J. T. Hall (Retired).

Anonymous said...

Finished the puzzle, but after coming here, I found out I had made 2 errors. One In the NW corner, RAD & Rasmati; Two, GIBE & BLATHER.

If I had bothered to look up the words I didn't recognize, I would of realized why I didn't recognize it; It wasn't there.

Just a minute, I got to get my cat away from the mouse. I don't approve of the websites she's sending me to.

I had a terrible time with the SW corner. Didn't know GANGSTA, ILIESCU or BLATRER. Falling for the Dennis Quaid misdirect didn't help (Remembering Randy Johnson's days with the Mariners eventually fixed that). With numerous write-overs I was finally able to complete that corner (with the 1 error).

No Idea on the Wolverine clue; X-Men Movie was a WAG. By that time I realized the themes were _-___ and I had MOVIE, so I plugged in X-MEN)

No, I've never bought or sold anything on eBay. Not about to pay for a product I know nothing about or even exists.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I had the same misdirects and problems as a lot of others today. Hands up for Jasmine rice. I didn't know the Porter's song or the one for Taylor Swift.

Sea Hare filled in, however. Thanks for the picture, MB. I had never heard of that particular sea creature before.

The SW corner was my bane. Gangsta, Nia, Iliescu, were all partials. All star started out as pro star. A general "screwup" all around. My eraser got a real workout today as did Mr. G.

I did like Blather, Aviator, and Pesters. Not words that are usually found in our CWs.

Have a great day everyone.

Grumpy 1 said...

Pvt Jones: "How many spud duties did you pull last month?"

Pvt Smith: "I pulled two KP'S last month."

Pvt Jones: "Do you mean you pulled KP twice?"

Pvt Smith: "That's what I said!"

There is almost always some context where a word can be made plural.

Yellowrocks said...

HELP!! HELP!!
When I went to read Argyle's email to me, I was notified that there had been more activity than usual on my account and it aroused suspicion.. Yes!! I’ve been using it more in the last 36 hours. So I was talking to more friends, so what? I changed my password as asked and was given access. They also asked for another account where I could be reached. I gave my main account username.

Several hours later I found my main account blocked for suspicious activity. Now all my addresses and all my saved emails are blocked. What can I do to retrieve all that valuable information? There are many important letters, etc. I have not copied.

melissa bee said...

good afternoon all,

thanks for the comments, and for keeping me on my toes. the madam clue has been corrected. didn't know about april 16 holiday, does anyone get that day off?

Irish Miss said...

PK @ 1:39-I am glad you're enjoying your Kindle. I 'm a stick-in-the-mud, old-school-type who prefers hardcovers. Plus, I converted a bedroom into a library/den/office and had a lot of shelves that needed filling. That's when Amazon and I became BFF's! Right now, I think I have about 30 books in my Wish List. Happy reading.

Marge said...

Hi all,
I have not had much luck lately with the crossword puzzles,including last week. One problem is lack of time.

Today's was easier than Mon. and Tues. this week but I struggled. It was fun,though.

We went to our tax person several weeks ago, already spent the refunds. We no longer have to send estimates in because my DH sold his half of the farm he and his brother inherited in Mo.

For doll, I could only think of Ann for Raggedy Ann. I also didn't think of Ken until I had to.

Seahare was definitely a new one, couldn't find it in any crossword dictinary, either.

Have a good evening all!
Marge

ARBAON said...

Haven`t gotten into "X-Men" or "Twilight" genre...I DO know Hugh Jackman...but not in the Biblical sense :)
To any one who says "music" doesn`t effect him/her (re: Gangsta rap) I say, then who ever writes and pays for the scores to movies and TV shows is really wasting a lot of money. If "Music hath power to soothe the savage breast..." It stand to reason it (music) can enrage and inflame that same savage breast.
Favorite clue: Military spud duty.
Least favorite: Dastard. The answer, to me, has more to do with canines.
24a made no sense as "ate a member" until I noticed the extra "m".
I love the word "elan." It`s a good thing. It`s shown up a lot lately!
"Tad" for "dab" held up center top for a while..."opener on a ring" was so obvious that I had to ponder a while until "sorry" fell...I didn`t think it would be so straightforward.
BTW, is it "blithering idiots" or "blathering idiots?" Either way, I know a few...

HeartRx said...

melissa @ 4:13, government workers in MA get the day off, but retail stores are open. Me? I work on Vienna's schedule, so I get things like Easter Monday, Ascension Day, The Annunciation, and about 20 other bank/religious holidays that they celebrate. Patriot's Day is just another day at the office!

Maine also celebrates on Monday, because they once were part of MA. They seceded from us as a state, but kept the holiday - smart cookies !!

Avg Joe said...

The phrase is definitely "Blithering idiots".

But it can easily be argued that they blather. Not entirely sure what the distinction might be.

CrossEyedDave said...

YellowRocks:

i sent you an email, then realized you probably will not be able to see it.

Try a reboot.

Shut the Dang thing off, & restart from scratch.

Dont know if you have windows, or mac, but if you can, try a restart using safe mode. (F2/F8/F12) one of those keys on start-up, every PC is different.

Good Luck.

Grumpy 1 said...

Yellowrocks, it sounds to me that you may have fallen victim to a phishing attack. The email you received about suspicious activity is a common ploy to get you to click on a link that looks legitimate, but in reality takes you to a site where you are asked for information that they use to take over the account. Call the customer service number ASAP.

Anonymous said...

Further, if you just roll your cursor over the link provided in phishing emails, it'll show where it's actually redirecting you, and it's never what the link says it is.

- John

HeartRx said...

Arabon @4:33, It depends whether you are a beer drinker

or an
incoherent speaker.

Of course, if you drink enough Blithering Idiot, I suppose you would eventually become a blathering idiot…

Spitzboov said...

KP - In the navy, the mess cook who peels the potatoes is referred to as the Spud Cox'n

Lemonade714 said...

melissa, it is always a pleasure to see your work, and Jackmack is a favorite as well. Really busy, so I only have time to link my favorite PRO BONO work.

Sfingi said...

Managed to finish w/o Googling despite kid movies I never heard of. Had oMENMOVIE before XMENMOVIE.

Avg Joe said...

My favorite Pro Bono

(Turn it UP!)

Bill G. said...

I got two things from eBay. I was at a local watering hole and there was a plasma jar behind the bar with white lightning buzzing around a small Smirnoff bottle. I asked the barmaid if she would sell it to me. She said she couldn't but guessed I could find it on eBay. She was right. I found several and one was 'Buy it Now.' I did and it's still a conversation piece.

There used to be a neat old restaurant in this area called The Bay 90s. We enjoyed it fairly often. You could get a good steak dinner for &1.99; inexpensive even by 1960 standards. I found somebody offering a menu on eBay. It brought back fond memories of good times. I bid on it but was beat out at the last instant by an interloper. By then I had struck up a nice email conversation with the seller. She felt bad and made me a Xerox copy before she shipped it to the buyer. Very nice.

CrossEyedDave said...

Lemonades ProBono link had me surfing the side clips, until i found These Boots are made for walking which would have been great if i found it last week in response to someone's request for Mini Skirt clips...

Lucina said...

My brother, Fred, passed into eternity this morning, 4/11. Thank you for all your good wishes and prayers.

HeartRx said...

Lucina, my heartfelt prayers go out to you and your family.

CrazyCat said...

Bill G - That's Ebay for you. Since its based on a feedback system, I'd say about 99% of the people trading are very honest and helpful. I had some great experiences.

My favorite was selling an Andrew Wyeth print from his "Helga" series. I got it years ago in Chadds Ford, PA at the Brandywine River Museum. It moved with me from NY, to FL to TX and then to CA. I sold it to a woman who lives in Chadds Ford and it turned out that Helga was her baby sitter when she was a child.

Helga Pictures

Lucina - just read your post. I'm so sorry.

LaLaLinda said...

Lucina ~~ My deepest sympathy ~~ My thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time.

mtnest995 said...

Lucian, I'm terribly sorry for your loss. Prayers and kind thoughts to you and your family. Bless you all.

Irish Miss said...

Lucina:

My deepest sympathy for your loss. May he rest in peace.

PK said...

Lucina: may loving memories of your brother console you now and in coming days. His pain is over. My thoughts are with you.

dodo said...

Oh, Lucy! I'm so sorry. dodo

dodo said...

Well, my comment got lost, but at least I got your message, LUcy. How sad; I do feel for you!

Avg Joe said...

My sincere condolences Lucina.

Misty said...

Oh dear, Lucina, I didn't realize he was in such extremity already. What a desperately sad loss. My heart goes out to you and your family, and I'll be thinking of you in the difficult days to come.

ARBAON said...

My dear Lucina, It`s never easy to let a loved one go...I am so sorry for your pain and sorrow.

Bill G. said...

Lucina, I know you were expecting this but it's got to be a very sad time for you. I'm so sorry. Sincere condolences and best wishes for you and the rest of the family.

Spitzboov said...

Lucina, my deepest sympathy to you on the loss of your brother.

Hahtoolah said...

Lucina: My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. You have become such a friend on this blog. Please know that we are all thinking of you during this difficult time.

Dudley said...

Lucy - I just read the day's posts. My condolences to you at this difficult time. I wish you all the comfort I can offer from the opposite side of our great continent! Peace.

kazie said...

Lucina,
I'm very sorry to hear of your brother's passing. My condolences go out to you and your family.