Theme: RESIDENT EVIL. Today, Doug gives us a hidden word theme, with EVIL
tucked into 4 starred entries, and plainly identified in the unifier. I
try to avoid solving the unifier too soon, so as to not spoil the
gimmick, so for this kind of give-away unifier, it's good to place it
close to the end. Let's see where EVIL lurks (other than in the minds and hearts of men.) With 4 answers, one of them grid-spanning, there is lots of opportunity.
20. *Darth Vader, e.g. : MOVIE VILLAIN. Well, this is just about perfect. A major nasty from a block-buster epic series.
Not a good drinking partner, no matter what the drink
28. *City near Sacramento : ROSEVILLE. I don't know anything abut the place, though we also have one here in MI. Maybe the CA coven can fill us in.
Something EVIL might be happening there - if you're a crustacean.
38. *Weekly newspaper with three Pulitzers : THE VILLAGE VOICE. The definitive source of information for news, music, movies, restaurants, reviews, and events in New York - such is their claim.
Beware of EVIL content
46. *Bottom-feeding fish : DEVIL RAYS. Also an American League baseball team since 1998.
They only look EVIL
And the unifier -- 53. Horror video game/film franchise, and a literal feature of the answers to the starred clues : RESIDENT EVIL. This is a series of video games and movies in the horror genre about which I know next to nothing. But I was able to find this picture.
Alice has some big guns, but is not that EVIL looking
Hi gang. JazzBumpa here. This is a strong theme, and a good one if
you don't give in to it. Let's see what else is lurking in this puzzle
- if you dare join me. I'm taking amulets, a light saber, and a
lobster cracker, just in case.
Across:
1. Blue toon : SMURF. Not evil, just annoying, and not worth a link, IMHO.
6. Stats at Anaheim's "Big A" : RBI'S. Runs Batted In.
It's only been a few weeks since my beloved Tigers went down to
ignominious [not to mention EVIL] defeat, and already I miss baseball.
Only about 3 1/2 months until Spring Training.
10. Thyme rackmate : SAGE.
Companions on the spice rack, or perhaps they might both be used to
flavor a rack of lamb. I won't take the thyme to make any SAGE DF rack
comments.
14. Garbage can insert : LINER. This is referring to a plastic bag. I just spent several futile minutes trying to find an image of an ocean LINER in a trash can.
15. Vane point : EAST. Weather vane and direction, respectively
16. Supermodel Heidi who inspired a 2009 Barbie doll : KLUM. I did not know that.
Those are EVIL looking heels
17. Wonderland wanderer : ALICE. What's your opinion of the Queen of Hearts?
18. Arctic obstacle : FLOE. Serious navigation hazard. What's the difference between a FLOE and an iceberg?
19. Words before a conclusion : IF SO. Then again, maybe not . . .
23. Educ. support org. : PTA. Parent Teacher's Association.
24. Place to see long lines, briefly : DMV. The much maligned Department of Motor Vehicles - still better than trying to deal with an Insurance Company.
25. Copier tray abbr. : LTR "Letter" size paper - remember, it might not be EVIL, but nor is it legal.
33. Luciano's love : AMORE Italian for Love in general, not Pavarotti's paramour in specific.
35. Common bill : ONE. AKA "The single" - the smallest denomination of U.S. folding money.
36. Never, in Munich : NIE. If I were in Munich, I certainly wouldn't.
37. Workplace in many crime shows : DNA LAB The place where skilled technicians derive evidence from bodily residues to help track down EVIL doers.
42. It's ground in a Southern side dish : HOMINY I've heard it's a bit gritty.
43. Desperate letters : SOS.
The universal cry of distress in Morse code for those who are asea. It
was in effect internationally from 1906 until 1999. It is now illegal
for a ship to signal that she is in distress in Morse code. I am not
making this up.
44. __ Aviv : TEL The second most populous city in Israel.
45. Calvin of couture : KLEIN Maker of the world's finest designer underwear for men and women. I'm not making this up, either.
49. Weird : ODD. Like certain trombonists' senses of humor.
50. Developer of the one-named "Jeopardy!" contestant Watson : IBM Formerly International Business Machines, now just IBM.
52. "You don't say!" : GEE Actually, I don't say, "Gee."
59. Composer Bartók : BELA One of the most important composers of the 20th century - and a Hungarian.
62. Privy to : IN ON. Like the Privy Council I once discussed.
63. Pizzeria order : SLICE. We had a mountain of pizza Thanksgiving Eve
64. Folk singer associated with Dylan : BAEZ I don't remember the association, but it's been a looong time.
65. As is proper : DULY. Such as giving the devil his due.
66. Chromosome components : GENES. The genetic bits that add up to make you what you are.
67. Student's surprise : QUIZ An EVIL sort of surprise.
68. This, in Havana : ESTA Spanish
69. Bouquets : ODORS Technically, this is correct. But we don't typically speak of appetizing odors and EVIL bouquets.
Down:
1. Sound of an angry exit : SLAM Don't let the door hit you . . . OK - too late.
3. Deg. issuer : UNIV Degree and University, respectively
4. Rachael Ray offering : RECIPE Does anybody ever use recipes they find on TV?
5. Motel come-on : FREE TV This is quite retro. Now free TV is a given and the come-on is free WIFI - though that's pretty much a given too, these days.
6. Mtge. payment-lowering option : REFI ReFinance - take out a new loan, with more favorable terms, to pay off the old one.
7. Musket projectile : BALL
8. Lover of Tristan : ISOLDE
A legend dating back to the 5th century, made into a 3 act opera by
Wagner, and a 2006 movie by Ridley Scott. It is full of violence,
death, weird turns of fate, and illicit love. The early pilot for all
soap operas.
9. Mirror obscurer : STEAM The bathroom mirror.
10. Shallot covering : SKIN OK - but why not onion, or apple, or any person?
11. TV E.T. : ALF Extra-terrestrial and Alien Life Form - yet another TV show I never watched.
12. Mercury Seven astronaut Grissom : GUS
He was the 2nd American in space, and the first to go there twice.
Along with Ed White and Roger Chaffee, he died in a fire during a
pre-launch test of Apollo 1 in January, 1967. The module contained a
wide range of lethal hazards, and this sort of tragedy was, alas, probably inevitable.
13. Mopey music genre : EMO Derived from mid 80's hard core punk, originally called "emotional hardcore" or "emocore." The rest is history
21. For naught : VAINLY
22. Joint tsar with Peter I : IVAN V IVAN was the nominal Czar from 1682 to 1696. He was a chronic invalid with sever physical and mental deficiencies.
25. Nabokov nymphet : LOLITA Humbert Humbert's favorite ingenue. Will our Lolita show up today?
26. Actress Gold of "Growing Pains" : TRACEY She played Carol Seaver on this 80's sitcom that I never watched.
27. Rejects authority : REBELS Here, REBELS is a verb. I can relate.
28. "Orange, Red, Yellow" painter Mark : ROTHKO You tell me.
29. In phone limbo : ON HOLD Where you end up after climbing the infernal automated telephone tree - a truly EVIL invention.
30. Came off as : SEEMED
31. Hip-hop's __ Kim : L'IL Image. Doesn't look so L'IL. Maybe she's short.
32. Car shopper's option : LEASE Mine is up in March. Maybe I'll buy this time.
34. 1972 host to Nixon : MAO I'll bet C.C. knows more about him than I do. (From C.C.: Trivia: Chairman Mao loved hot & spicy food. He was born and grew up in Hunan Province, where they put loads of hot peppers in their dish.)
37. Decorator's study : DESIGN
39. Final article of the Constitution : VII. The full text: The
Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for
the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying
the Same. I think it was a success.
40. Navel variety : INNIE We all know what this means. This turned out to be another time waster, since I couldn't find an attractive picture that I thought met the high standards of this blog.
41. URL ending for many agencies : GOV For Government agencies.
46. It's usually barely passing : D-MINUS Try harder, please.
47. "Time to split!" : LET'S GO
48. Aroused the patrolman's suspicion : REELED This one confused me, until I figured out he suspected you were drunk.
51. Hit back? : B-SIDE The flip side of a hit record. Tricky.
53. Make fun of : RAZZ Derived from "raspberry." I wanted JAPE. I just like that word.
54. Blockhead : DOLT
55. Gaelic music star : ENYA. Eithne Ní Bhraonáin and I must have some sort of mystical connection. I get her every time.
56. Ristorante beverage : VINO Italian wine for an Italian eatery.
57. Éclair finisher : ICER One who applies icing.
58. Reduced by : LESS According to the free dictionary, in this usage, LESS is a preposition. Five less three is two.
59. Jul. 4th party, often : BBQ Burger, dog or brat?
60. __ Claire : EAU A city in WI. "Clear Water" in French
61. Ring of blooms : LEI A new clue for a crossword stalwart.
There
you have it. A pretty solid puzzle with no blatant clunkers, but with 20 3-letter words and an
abundance of abbreviations and a smattering of foreign words. Not sure how I feel about that. What about you?
Cool Regards!
JzB
94 comments:
Had to guess "Roseville", the rest was easy.
Morning, all!
Mostly smooth sailing today. The theme answers came pretty easily, with the exception of ROSEVILLE, and the theme itself was a big fat gimme as I'm a huge fan of the first three RESIDENT EVIL movies (wasn't crazy about the last two and never played the game).
The one stumbling block was in the area surrounding ROSEVILLE. It took awhile to drag ROTHKO out of the dark recesses of my brain, HOMINY didn't exactly spring immediately to mind, and even VII tripped me up as I was thinking amendments instead of articles and started it off with XX (which wouldn't have worked since there are actually XXVII amendments).
Good morning everyone,
Jazz, thanks for an entertaining write up. I'm also looking forward to Spring Training because that will mean winter will soon be in our rear view mirror.
Doug's offering was a tale of two puzzles for me today. The North was a quick fill. I thought that Rich may have mixed up Mon & Wed this week. But reality struck as soon as I began in the Middle and continued through the South. It became a real slog.
It started with the ROSEVILLE/ROTHKO twosome. Never heard of either, but I wagged the R. 40D, 50A, & 51D did me in. I had INNEE for 50D and no clue for 51D or 50A. I'd completely forgotten about Watson.
Otherwise, I did eventually solve the rest of the puzzle, but still a DNF today.
Good Morning, Jazzbumpa and friends. This was a speed run for a Wednesday. I had to go back and read some of the clues because I had already filled in the answers. Only The Shadow knows what EVIL lurks in the hearts of men.
I agree, JazzB, that the enticement of FREE TV is non-existent. I look for the Free WiFi.
I was in TEL Aviv last month, but had gotten out before the conflict.
Ring of Blooms = LEI was a nice new and fresh clue for our old crossword staple.
Hit Back = B-SIDE was my favorite clue and answer.
The Wagner opera, Tristan and ISOLDE, will be playing at the Houston Opera in the spring. We already have our tickets.
34-Down inspired today's QOD: A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits. ~ Richard Nixon.
(Today is also Randy Newman's 69th birthday).
Link text
I too had the same problem with 28 acr. & 28 dn. Had OSEVILLE and OTHKO and having never heard of either of the two just plunked in the letter R. Lucky guess. The rest of the puzzle was smooth sailing for a Wednesday. Have a great day everyone.
Hello Puzzlers -
Pretty much WBS, except that I've never heard of the Resident Evil franchise. It perped in easily enough.
Morning Jazz, appreciate the wit!
After struggling yesterday, I was a little worried about the Wednesday puzzle. Didn't know Rothko, looking for a Los _____ something for City near Sacremento. Otherwise, had fun solving the clues
After the 2007 season, the Tamp Bay Devil Rays changed their name to the Tampa Bay Rays suggesting that the team was “...a beacon that radiates throughout Tampa Bay and across the entire state of Florida”. Remember that Florida is "The Sunshine State".
They added a sunburst image to their logo that is across the front of their jerseys. There still is a small manta ray image on their sleeves.
Apparently new names that were rejected included Aces, Bandits, Cannons, Dukes, The Nine and The Stripes.
Now all they need is a better stadium.
A minor stumble in the SE corner but a fairly typical Wednesday puzzle. Didn't know ROSEVILLE but once it appeared I remembered Bill Staines' song, "The Roseville Fair". [11:46]
I’m up early today as I am fighting a cold and couldn’t sleep but seem to be on the mend. Doug’s EVIL puzzle sure beat DAYQUIL. I saw the theme early but had never heard of the unifier. Loved B SIDE!
Musings
-moviE VILlians in old westerns and film noirs were always easy to pick out. Today scantily attired size 2 models with killer figures toting guns seem comical to me. I wonder why they do that…
-Touching a RAY is like rubbing a wet inner tube
-Since RBI is plural the sports lexicon now leans toward leaving off the s at the end. He had 113 RBI sounds weird.
-Melodic Queen of Hearts
-My programming syntax was IF….THEN
-I remember when vending machines started to accept/require ONES. Keep your dimes!
-DNA has freed some wrongly convicted people too. DULY noted.
-Jazz, you and I seemed to have not watched the same TV shows together ;-)
-FREE Bkfst at the motel is lame if there’s no bacon!\
-GUS Grissom died because we were going to fast on Apollo. It took over a year to redesign and still make JFK’s “send men to the moon and return them safely to Earth before the decade is out.”
-I have checked out a car LEASE but never saw the advantage
-In a discussion of grades, an old pro told me, “A D MINUS never fooled anybody!”
-In what movie is the main character called Calvin KLEIN because his underwear had that label?
Thank you Doug Peterson for a fine, wonderful puzzle. Quite tricky, but fun. Thank you, JazzB for your funny, witty comments. It was a pleasure reading your commentary.
I had MACE before SAGE, ( I don't use SAGE or THYME in my cooking - ). I was in Jackson Hole, WY, five years ago and saw 5000 acres of sage brush growing wild and randomly, all over the place. Even the deer and elk wont eat it.... maybe they're trying to tell us something ? (lol). The native Americans use them as amulets, as sacred objects and as an air freshener.
ROTHKO was a lucky wag, and Mr. Rothko was one lucky painter - a 1000 paintings just like his wouldn't be worth a tinker's damn today.
I can do without free TV / Wi-Fi or anything else, so long as they have a free breakfast.
Have a good week, you all .... and work on working off those added weights.
Are you going to Scarborough Fair? That's why SAGE immediately popped into my mind when I saw Thyme.
The burning question today: Is Roseville a suburb of Sacramento? Oh, nevermind, it's not important...
Anyway I wanted Rockville before I sussed the theme.
Pretty much what Hondo said. Got it done, with that R being the last fill (read guess).
Joan Baez was one of a bevy in Dylan's storied history, but probably the best known. After he released "Blood on the Tracks" in 74, Joan responded with Diamonds and Rust in 75. Not entirely a theme album, but pretty much.
Loved the Randy Newman, Hahtollah!
In what movie is the main character called Calvin KLEIN because his underwear had that label?
That would be "Back to the Future" if memory serves.
Fun run. At first I thought they were all going to have VILL, but then it wouldn't connect both words and Devil Rays didn't fit that anyway.
Husker Gary-- Marty McFly wore the Calvin Klein underwear in Back to the Future.
Good morning, crew.
I thought this one was just right for a Wednesday with some really nice non-theme fill.
Tristan and Isolde is also a not-so-well-known Shakespearean tragedy.
Rothko was a gimme. John and Dominique Menil built the Rothko Chapel in Houston back in the '70's to house only his work. At first glance the paintings appear to be plain gray-black rectangles. But after staring at them for a while, shadowy images seem to appear. But is that the painting or your mind playing tricks?
Yes, Jazz, I do cook recipes I've seen on TV, particularly those from Cook's Country and America's Test Kitchen on PBS. DW is a vegetarian, so I have to cook my own meat dishes. I'm not a very good cook, but those shows have made me better.
The tree people are due any minute to take down the rest of my willow oak and haul it away. That's the third good-sized tree I've lost from the same "island" in the front yard. Guess I'll have to plant a replacement.
Good morning everyone.
Interesting theme. Worked it mostly from the bottom up. It helped knowing EVIL was in each theme fill. Kinda neat the way Doug crammed a Q and two Z's into the small SW corner. Liked 51d, B SIDE; very clever. 4d, RECIPE was a WAG which broke the dam on completing the top of the puzzle.
DMV - long lines. In NYS, routine license and registration renewals can be done on-line. Very easy.
Have a great day.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Doug Peterson, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for an excellent review.
ROSEVILLE was easy for me. I used to work there. It is east of Sacramento, maybe 20 miles. It was a railroad hub for a long time during the building of the west. It has a railroad museum that is outstanding. I did some work for the Roseville Telephone Co. I think they have a new name by now, as most telephone companies do.
This puzzle moved along pretty easily. The theme appeared and helped me with a couple of the theme answers.
ROTHKO was an unknown, but perps took care of that.
Never heard of THE VILLAGE VOICE, but it sounds interesting. I have never lived in or around New York City.
EMO was also an unknown. Perped it.
Well, almost back to Chicago. Had a good week in PA. Got a lot of work done. Had a couple beers as well. Life is good.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Caught on to the theme early. This puzzle was not to hard but was not a speed run by any means.
Like Barry; it took me a while to sussout Rothko.
To add to ANON @657 the MLB team formerly known as the Devil Rays dropped the devil prior to the 2008 season primarily to concede to the wishes of religious conservatives in Florida. The ownership group has roots in the Philadelphia area as does at least one member of the broadcast team. Kudos to Jazz for the writeup and Doug for the Puzzle.
I'm still chuckling over your humor, Jazz.
As others said, the top was like a Monday puzzle. The second half was more like you'd expect for Wed.
Hahtoolah, yes, I thought of that, too. Who knows what evil..?
ROTHKO, weird name, weird painting.
I remember looking it up. last time. An ice floe forms over water. An iceberg breaks off from a glacier formed over land
I love a good JzB write up, and this one didn't dissapoint!
Like Barry, I've seen all of the RESIDENT EVIL films but never played the games. When I was a kid game controllers had one button (Atari). Today's controllers have more buttons than your average computer keyboard! I can't figure the dang things out....I must be getting old.
Anyway, good puzzle today. It was smooth sailing other than ROTHKO. And no, JzB, I don't like the painting you linked.
However, I did like 51D: Hit back? B SIDE, and I do enjoy HOMINY (but never had it ground).
How the convict responded to the question, "Why are you here?".
ISOLDE
Here's an Alt QOD I received from A.Word.A.Day (Do you subscribe?).
Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences. -Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist, essayist, and poet (1850-1894)
I never realized that he died so young.
I've been to the Rothko Chapel in Houston. Not my cup of tea.
Thought it was going to be a breeze through the top half, then I came to a screeching halt. Hit back, what a clever clue, but I was clueless. Bartok??
Clever write up as always! Thx
Hi Gang. I was no show yesterday as work got in the way of pleasure. Is 56 too early to retire ?
Stupid boo boo yesterday. Zena instead of Xena so no ace. Today was different. No problems. Unknowns all fell with the perps.
Mari, thanks for the info on the Lipitor generics. I do and mine are mfg'ed in India as well, but by a different co. Called CVS and they said not the same.
Abejo, yesterday's Erie. Keep meaning to tell you that I worked and lived there on Buffalo Rd summer of 72.
JzB, enjoyed your write up. However, about the the thought provoking links... Incl those where you ack the source. I wandered off reading and forgot to go back to the review. Twice ! Going to read again after I've had some coffee.
Roseville pop's
MN 33,660
MI 47,366
CA 118,788
OH 1,861
Americana antique dealers know Roseville Pottery
Speaking of Decorators study answer The famous 50A Rebus
I loved the Pop 67As. Other students didn't always share my excitement.
Thanks for Scarborough Fair Hatoolah. Loved hearing it again.
Back to the grind.
Roseville is just outside of Sacramento and remarkable for it's large rail yard. If you're riding rails you're best off hitching to Roseville.
Jazz: Outstanding write-up & links.
Doug: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday. Nice EVIL theme. lol
Living just North of EAU Claire, the Tampa Bay version (Clearwater, FL) I'll leave the DEVIL RAYS discussion of their name/logo change to others ...
Today is Jon Stewart's 50th birthday. He's now older than his targeted 18 to 49 audience.
A "toast" to all at Sunset.
Cheers !!!
What Hondo said. I also messed up IBM, looking for a first name. Knew nothing of ROTHKO, ROSEVILLE or RESIDENT EVIL, but made it through those along with the rest. At first I thought we were seeing the VILL combination in theme words, until the unifier broke.
I wonder if all the states that now want to secede are not among the nine originals? I haven't had time to research either group.
Fun Puzzle. Felt more like a Monday to me. Super easy with only a couple head scratchers. Hominy was a cinch as I have tried it before and will never again. Saw the evil trend right away, so when I got to the unifier it was a no brainer. 51 down was also my favorite, I was hesitant to fill in IBM until I read the clue "hit back?" then I remembered my old 45s. Fun! Since I'm from the West Coast, I had never heard of the Village Voice. I began with the village times, Which made the mid-east the only stumble for me. Regards...
In Back to the Future III McFly was Clint Eastwood. Watched Gran Torinio last eve... good flick.
Good morning:
A just- right Wednesday offering. Had berg before floe but otherwise, smooth sailing. Thanks Doug P. for the challenge and thanks JazzB for the fun expo. Loved the clue for Bside!
Nice, sunny, crisp November day here in the Northeast.
Happy Wednesday.
Great puzzle and witty write-up! Billy Joel and Juice Newton links brought back memories. I didn't know much about Randy Newman (didn't he sing the theme song from "Monk"?), but the song JB linked was heart-wrenching.
Fun to see BELA Bartok used today. He wrote a goofy little ditty that my women's singing group uses once in a while. (Bread-Baking)
Several of the answers I got purely from perps: ROTHKO, ROSEVILLE, ICER, NIE, THE VILLAGE VOICE (I wanted IDIOT; don't know why).
PS Two communists today, LENIN and MAO. Interesting.
Qli: Lenin? Where?
Took a good long while to puzzle out todays puzzle. I had everything except 2 spots. 15A vane point had me thinking there must be some obscure name for the metal pointy thing on a wind vane. after a 1 hour break, i came back, took one look, & went "EAST" (D'oh)
But i must say that little box labeled "28" got me. In the end, i decided to write in the margin: B,H,J,L,N,R,T,V,&W. Any of which made as much sense to me...
For Yvette Mimeuex fans, The Time Machine is on TMC @ 8:00 tonite!
I just discovered the choppy sound i was getting on YouTube using Chrome can easily be fixed by disabling 1 stupid & unecessary App!
The definition of "EVIL".
(& no, it is not the preceeding commercial...)
Good morning and happy hump day to all. Thanks DougP for a fine puzzle,and Lemon for the writeup. Not much of a resident evil fan, but it was a little weird when I was about half way through and two Jehovah's witness ladies knocked on my door.
The Tampa Bay Rays have a big fish tank outside the right field fence with several cow nose rays in it. I personally don't think they need a new stadium,just look what it did for Miami.
The warming trend continues here,that's why I love it.
Have a great day to all. RJW .
Lenin was 39A in the Thomas Joseph crossword this morning.
Talk about Randy Newman and "heart-wrenching", here's one of the best. It's from the same concert that Hahtoolah linked, and from the same album release Good Old Boys. It's called Guilty 2:42.
For those of you not familiar with Randy Newman, he's a member of the Newman Dynasty of movie score composers. Randy wrote the score for the movie Maverick, among others.
Hello, cyber friends. Love to see your byline, Jazz. Thanks for the witty review.
I can't wait to go to the dentist. He has a Mark ROTHKO painting in every room! We have often discussed the style. Or he has while holding me hostage with a drill.
SMURFs were a favorite of my daughter while growing up.
This filled very smoothly with no stumbles at all. Than you, Doug Peterson.
TRACEU was my unknown today.
I also wish LOLITA (Jeannie) would make an appearance.
desper-otto
I also love America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country Kitchen.
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Oops. Tracey.
Fun Wednesday puzzle, even with a big grid spanner in the middle. So, many thanks, Doug. Had a little trouble nailing the theme because I got MOVIE VILLIAN and THE VILLAGE VOICE first and was sure the theme had to do with VILLA. When RESIDENT fell into place I was doubly sure, and even changed ISOLDE TO ISOLDA to give me the VILLA in ROSEVILLA. It wasn't until late in the day that it dawned on me that the theme was actually EVIL.
(Maybe that's why I love the SMURFs, Jazz B--because they don't have a bit of EVIL, if I remember correctly).
Wouldn't have known L'IL KIM except I think she was on "Dancing with the Stars" one season.
We're huge life-long "Jeopardy" fans, so WATSON was a gimme for me.
Have a great day, everybody!
Thanks for that Guilty clip, DO. I've got Bonnie Raitt's version, but had never heard Randy's.
Randy Newman is one of the most under-appreciated guys out there, IMO. Everybody knows his songs, but rarely know he wrote them. As one example: Momma Told Me Not to Come, or You Can Leave Your Hat On.
Whoops. First link was a leftover. Try again Momma Told Me Not to Come.
Greetings!
Great puzzle, Doug! Fun theme! Very thorough and witty write-up, Jazz! Thanks so much!
Had no problem with ROSEVILLE as I used to have relatives in Sacramento area. (Can't imagine how my mind dredged up ROTHKO immediately. Have we talked about him a lot here?)
Watched a mystery show containing plain paintings, prostitution, and a murder in an art gallery last night. Am so loopy after an egregious amount of sleep that I cannot remember which show. Help?
Enjoyed the start of the new season of Rizzoli & Isles. Have read all of the Gerritson books on this duo. Much funnier on screen.
Cheers!
PS Also a die-hard Jeopardy fan.
JzB you are a treasure. Puzzle was not very puzzling, but entertaining. Other than that WEES.
Trying to work, three closings so far today. I miss my little bundle of joy.
later
Thank you for all the warm welcomes yesterday. I feel very welcome.
And thank you to Argyle for the link! I feel as if I've been serenaded!
I have not been a Helen Merrill fan, but am now! What a beautiful voice!
Good afternoon JzB, C.C. et al.
I just love your sense of humor, JzB. I prefer rosemary on my racks, but I do use thyme and sage as well.
Really late to the party today (work got in the way.) So, lots of WEES. Except for ROTHKO and ROSEVILLE, I thought this was a really easy puzzle. WAG'd the R to finish.
I'm not a big fan of video games, and had no clue about RESIDENT EVIL either, but the perps were solid enough for me to guess at it.
Spitzboov - I also noticed that Q-Z-Z corner - nice!
Musings 2
-Yup, Marty McFly was in his Calvin Klein’s in his mother’s bedroom when she was also a teenager and she called him Calvin from then on. Calling Dr. Freud.
-Willow, welcome from this member of our merry little band. I’ve learned a lot here and made some good email pals. You will as well.
-I too am a JEOPARDY fan and well remember when the host was Art Fleming with a mechanical board on morning TV. Besides a mechanical board the players did not have to wait until the question was read to ring in and the contestants were from the east coast.
-I’ve had grits but no HOMINY
Husker: HOMINY grits did you have ???
Worst Jeopardy Contestant
Makes you wonder why so many believe what he says.
Grits is NOT a side dish in Southern cuisine. it is an essential component of any meal of the day, or all of them.
Natick at DEVILRAYS cross TRACEY. Had pEELED, not REELED. Like pEELED better.
Still say Watson had the jump on the humans because it could ring in faster. If anyone read Jennings book, he spent hours just practicing that part, standing behind a chair and hitting an imaginary button.
Tin, GROAN! I don’t know HOMINY grits I had but I did have some when I stayed in Huntsville, AL for two weeks. Jackie Gleason says something very similar to hominy @ :44
-What a genius Blitzer is!
-Tampa is not really in the “south”, is it? Isn’t everyone from somewhere else or do you have a lot of y’alls around there? Most of the peeps I dealt with in Orlando were from IA, NE, MI, etc. When we ate gator at a hole-in-the-wall cafe in Christmas, FL, we had true southerners waiting on us and had us some grits and sweet tea!
Happy Hump Day All!
Am currently sitting at home waiting for a buddy’s late plane to take off so I can eventually meet and greet at McCarran.
REALLY wanted Los Angeles Times in the middle (I mean, after all, this is an L.A. Times crossword, is it not?).
Tinbeni, I have to disagree with you. Here’s the worst Jeopardy contestant ever ….
I also remember Art Fleming. The announcer was Don Pardo, and Fleming would remind everyone that Potent Potables was Don Pardo’s favorite category….
Had trouble with "reeled", since the other theme answers I solved, had two Ls. Plus I thought it was a bad clue.
Hi Y'all: Fun puzzle, Doug! Love your 'wicked' sense of humor always, Jazz! Thanks for explaining EMO. No errors today.
Lots of great links today from several people. Hahtoolah, can anyone listen to "Louisiana" without welling up with tears? I have an Aaron Neville recording I play if I need a good cry.
Rothko painted that after he lost his other colored crayons.
TTP: thanks for the Roseville pottery link. I have some of my grandmother's collection of art pottery.
I remembered when Nixon opened China to world trade in 1972, the year I moved to the farm. Best price for wheat in years as a result.
Hearti: I just use soap and water on my racks. Oh, you mean lamb...
Our DMV got new software which was either defective or the training was. Horrible lines and scandal. They tried to recall the county treasurer who oversees it to no avail. He's over 70 and won't step down. A new one elected but won't take office for a year by law. Such a mess!
Taking a break from FIGHTING EVIL,,,
the dynamic duo apparently had a running gag (12:24)
A little long, i admit, but i enjoyed the suspense of who was going to pop in next!
Hi gang -
Thanks for all the comments. I had a great time with the puzzle, and it's great having all of you as virtual friends.
Cool regards!
JzB
Vegas Doc, enjoyed the Cheers! clip.
PK, way to rack 'em up!
PK @ 3:09, you never tried rosemary? From what I've heard, it really adds a lot of flavor...
Hi everybody. I got a little stuck in the west with ROSEVILLE and ROTHKO. Other than that, very pleasant puzzle.
I just got back from my favorite Kiwi-owned coffee shop. They were having their one-year birthday party today so I went earlier than usual. They had free cupcakes as a present. In honor of the occasion, I ordered a frittata. I had never had one before. It was nothing fancy but really good. I'll have to try to make one sometime.
Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today. I did get stumped by the cross of two proper names: is it CLEIN or KLEIN? Is it ROTHCO or ROTHKO? Clein just didn't look right so I picked K on that basis alone.
Although I finally filled REELED, I didn't know what it had to do with the clue until coming here.
Last night on Dancing With The Stars they had dancers performing to "Gangnam Style" and also to "Call me, Maybe." I just had to smile.
Best wishes to you all.
Seen @ 8:14
How the convict responded to the question, "Why are you here?".
ISOLDE
I don't get it.
If you tied Rachael Ray's hands behind her back would she be able to talk?
I'll have to pop on over to Rex's place to tell @Evil Doug about this fun puzzle, he'll get a kick out of it.
Husker Gary - "Made some good email pals" was it something I said?
"I sold E". "E" is nickname given to the drug 'Ecstasy'.
Two puzzles, math and no math
A car trip:
A car travels downhill at 72 mph, on the level at 63 mph and uphill at only 56 mph. The car takes four hours to travel from town A to town B. The return trip takes four hours and 40 minutes. Find the distance between the two towns.
Body parts:
Name a five-letter internal body part that is plural and contains an "I." Reverse the letters, replace an "I" with an "O" and the new word will be another internal body part in close proximity to the first body part.
Dudley,
Re: Yest
Ah Rats!! I've been outed (outted ?)
Yes I was a Zappa fan in my youth and that's where I heard it. My two favorite albums of his was Sheik yerbouti and Joe's Garage. Don't know if it was avg Joe's garage, but he may tell. There was nothing better back then but sitting back, sipping tea, having a few crumpets and listening to Frank.
Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone here that I was a Zappa fan.
Thanks
Dennis
You are so smart! I didn't get Isolde either. Thank you.
Hey, even a blind squirrel finds his nuts once in a while.
Or something like that.
HuskerG ; I am was born in St.Pete, but my parents were from NY near the city. They moved right before I was born. The area where I live , Spring Hill has a lot of New Yorkers.
It seems strange to me but in north Fla and the panhandle there's more southern dialects, and to the south more northern sounding people. I myself have hardly any particular dialect. RJW
You basketball types will enjoy these two. Heck, I'll bet you might enjoy them even if you aren't fans.
Uncle Drew, Part 1.
Part 2.
Good evening everyone! Thanks for a just-right Wednesday puzzle, Doug. Like most others, the “R” in the ROSEVILLE / ROTHKO crossing was a total WAG for me. And I could See No Evil until the unifier. Great write-up JzB.
So many terrific links, so little time! Hatoolah, I’m a huge Simon & Garfunkel fan -- really enjoyed the concert link. Watching Jeopardy is a nightly ritual at our house, so I was LMAO at the Wolf Blitzer fiasco. I always think the celebrity tournaments are a hoot, but some of the celebs are surprisingly good players.
Have a great night, all!
Java Mama, to wit: Cheech Marin. He blew me away the first time I saw him on the Celebrity Shuffle. I knew he was funny, but never knew he was so smart.
Talkers Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett were from Nebraska and Tom Brokaw from South Dakota. We are noted for having no discernible accent.
Ron Warden,
Your " I myself have hardly any particular dialect" made me chuckle.
Growing up in central Mass. I thought I had no accent compared to others until I spent time overseas with students from all over the country at a private HS. The favorite pastime was " guess where you are from, from your accent" Well mine was always the first give away! Then I was always ask to say " Paark you Caarr in Haarvaard Yaard". I just replied with the shortened version
"@$#% you!"
AHH,the good old old days.
Dan
Chefwen, I am looking forward to getting your next email after hearing about your "Wend"erful muffins and polydactyl kitty . Sorry I missed your one today. I can't find it.
Gary
D-O: Cheech was one of the celebs I had in mind; Pat Sajak also did very well. During my slightly-misspent youth, Cheech & Chong records were a big hit (pun intended) among our gaggle of friends.
Java Mama: Cute chimps. My mother lived by "See no evil, Hear no evil, speak no evil." She was a paragon of virtue, but she never knew what was going on around her and wouldn't believe anything bad about anyone. I got to the point of exasperation where I told her, "How can you combat evil if you never acknowledge its existence?"
BillG: Interesting Uncle Drew clip. Kyrie Irving is a real comer, playing point guard for Philly '76ers, I think.
Manac 4:42 - your secret's safe with me.
Always liked "great googly moogly", and still use it from time to time when it suits the situation. Which is surprisingly often.
How did we get to Cheech & Chong, ?
The longer version
Bill G @1636:
Let the total distance travelled downhill, on the level, and uphill, on the outbound journey, be x, y, and z, respectively.
The time taken to travel a distance s at speed v is s/v.
Hence, for the outbound journey
x/72 + y/63 + z/56 = 4
While for the return journey, which we assume to be along the same roads
x/56 + y/63 + z/72 = 14/3
It may at first seem that we have too little information to solve the puzzle. After all, two equations in three unknowns do not have a unique solution. However, we are not asked for the values of x, y, and z, individually; but for the value of x + y + z.
Multiplying both equations by the least common multiple of denominators 56, 63, and 72, we obtain
7x + 8y + 9z = 4 · 7 · 8 · 9
9x + 8y + 7z = (14/3) · 7 · 8 · 9
Now it is clear that we should add the equations, yielding
16(x + y + z) = (26/3) · 7 · 8 · 9
Therefore x + y + z = 273; the distance between the two towns is 273 miles.
Bill G
Atria :: Aorta
Hola Everyone, To add a tidbit to the Roseville question that JzB posed: Roseville was a stage stop in the late 1800's. They are still a RR hub, and it is on Highway 80 which is one of the main arteries to Tahoe.
I think you could call it a suburb of Sacramento, though the residents don't think so. I've a friend who moved there (to get a cheaper home than here in the bay area) and an aunt who lived in a Retirement community in Roseville.
We had our grandson home from the Peace Corp for Thanksgiving. He's here for good and had a lot of stories to tell about his service in Africa.
As to the puzzle, I've read the blog but haven't gotten to the puzzles these past few days due to lots of company, lots of cooking, lots of laundry, and lots of exhaustion.
I had the evil portions of the clues in, but I have never heard of the Resident Evil game. I'm afraid that video games and Hip Hop are not part of my grey matter.
I thought the Hit back? clue was great. I had B side in but it still didn't register until I read JzB's writeup.
Have a great evening, everyone.
To TTP: Caught your note. Where did you work in Erie in 1972? I had left town by then, 1965. But I still get back. A sister, a brother, and my mother a still in the Erie area.
Abejo
Thanks for the entertaining write-up, Jazzbumpa. Any post that includes a picture of Heidi Klum is a winner in my book. I put her in the puzzle hoping that the bloggers would take the hint. :)
Why you sly dog, you!
Doug P, then next time, put Sofia Vergara into one of your puzzles please...
OK, Heidi Klum. Now what movie had Claudia Schiffer as an idol of one boy's love-lorn father and she ended up playing Carol, a character that he got interested in near the end of the movie?
That was a terribly-worded question but not so bad that I'm willing to retype it.
Oh! Crap Bill!
I'm trying to watch the end of The Blue's Brothers and you try to hit us Love Actually?:-)
Okay folks. Why does my computer keep logging me out of the blog sometimes? I enjoyed the writeup of this puzzle. Doug glad you stopped by can you put PATRICK Swayze in there too? Goox night all!
Michele
Ghosts in the machine!
I believe in it!
I swear I typed the word "with" in my last post!
Abejo,
Workingmans Friend Gas Station. 2240 Buffalo Rd stuck in my mind, so I just looked it up. Must have been 2440 Buffalo Rd. Not bad for 40 years ago eh ?
I was 16 and made $5.40 an hour to pump gas. That was quite a bit of money at the time. In 2012 dollars, that would be about the same as being paid nearly $30.00 an hour now.
Remember the gas shortages and lines at the stations then ?
My sister and brother in law lived a mile or two east on Buffalo Rd. Lived with them that summer.
Roseville was easy enough for me since I used to date a girl who lived in Roseville while I was attending UC Davis, another City near Sacramento. She was a HOTTIE and if she ever reads this Crossword BLOG, "Lisa, call me!!!" LOL
I had to change 65a from duty to duly and 48d fell into place once Devil Rays played out...
Otherwise, a great mid-week gem for dolt like me...
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