google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, July 25, 2013 Matt Skoczen and Patty Varol

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Jul 25, 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013 Matt Skoczen and Patty Varol

Theme: "Counterfeit Crossword."

The last shall be first:
59A. Swimming infractions, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can all have :
FALSE STARTS. All the theme entries start with words that can make a common expression by adding "false" before them.

18A. *Union VIP : LABOR LEADER. False labor. Also known as "Braxton Hicks" contractions.

24A. *You might sleep through it : ALARM CLOCK. False alarm. Like false labor?

39A. *Self-esteem essential : POSITIVE IMAGE. False positive. As in, an incorrect laboratory result. (Whew, you mean I wasn't really pregnant??)

49A. *1998 Sandra Bullock film : HOPE FLOATS. False hope. Oh well, we can always adopt a puppy.

Marti here with this week's Thursday contribution. And there were plenty of tricky spots that could have been my undoing, but I finished in almost my typical Monday time.

Across:

1. "The Walking Dead" network : AMC. I always skip these type of "network" clues until I have some perps in place. AMC used to be known as "American Movie Classics," but now they have de-emphasized the abbreviation because of a shift in focus. So no need for Abbr. in the clue.

4. Home of William, known for his logical "razor" : OCCAM. We are not talking Gillette here.  A philosophical "razor" is a premise that lets you eliminate the unlikely explanations for something.

9. Dubuque native : IOWAN. Because "Siouan" didn't fit.

14. John of England : LOO. Was anyone fooled by this toilet humor?

15. "Guess again!" : WRONG.

16. Aria response, perhaps : BRAVO. Because "encore" didn't fit.  See how easy this was?

17. Poet's eye : ORB.

20. Image on Irish euro coins : HARP.


22. Weigh station unit : TON.

23. Kitchen extension? : ETTE. Kitchenette.

27. Abates : EBBS.

30. Feedback for a masseuse : AAH.

31. Tip for smokers : ASH. Because "quit" didn't fit.

33. José's hooray : OLE.

34. It may contain a $10 bottle of water : MINI BAR. Funny clue, but alas - so true! And 54-Down. High-end : STEEP. "That water sure is steep!"

37. Bicker : ARGUE.

41. Super 8, e.g. : MOTEL. You won't find $10 bottles of water in their mini-bars.

42. The Big Easy, to locals : N'AWLINS. Hahtoolah, is that really how you say it?

43. "Yuck!" : UGH.

44. S.A. country : ARG.entina. For some reason, I thought they were talking about "South Africa." Duh!

46. Inc. cousin : LLCLimited Liability Corporation. [Update: It stands for Limited Liability Company. Thanks Vidwan827!]

47. Silk road desert : GOBIMap.

55. Peas, at times : AMMO. I can just picture DH and I flinging peas at each other across the table.

57. "Deathtrap" playwright Levin : IRA.

58. Horseradish, e.g. : ROOT. I love fresh horseradish.

63. An invitation might include one: Abbr. : RTE. Route.  Is that still true? I used to include a map when I sent invitations to our house, but now I just give them the GPS coordinates!

64. Small landmass : ISLET.

65. Prepare to be dubbed : KNEEL.

66. Casual top : TEE. and 67. Sculpted works : BUSTS. [snicker]...how about sculpted BUSTS with wet TEEs?

68. Après-ski drink : TODDY. Brandy, honey, lemon, hot water and tea.  I usually ask for mine without the tea, hot water, lemon and honey.

69. Intensify, with "up" : AMP.

Down:

1. Sign of tropical hospitality : ALOHA. Because "lei" was too short...

2. Parable message : MORAL.

3. Hooded slitherer : COBRA.

4. Hooter : OWL.

5. Tiny Tim's surname : CRATCHIT. Do you remember this Tiny Tim's surname?

6. Early computer language : COBOLCOmmon Business-Oriented Language.

7. "That's ___!" : A NO-NO.

8. Ball club VIP : MGR. Manager. And now we move into the baseball portion of the puzzle...

9. Skeptic's reply : I BET.

10. Speak with style : ORATE.

11. Besides Derek Jeter, only Major Leaguer whose 3,000th hit was a homer : WADE BOGGS. Did not know that. Did know Wade Boggs from x-words. More baseball.

12. City map abbr. : AVE.nue.

13. Here-there link : NOR. "That's neither here nor there!"

19. Change in Albania? : LEKS. Not sure this one really needed the "?"


21. Laud : PRAISE.

25. Tropical capital : MANILA.

26. Seven-time A.L. batting champ : CAREW. Of course C.C. knows him - he played for the Minnesota Twins at one time. Baseball, again.

28. Really bummed : BLUE.

29. Observe : SEE.

32. Skater known as "America's sweetheart" : HAMILL. Dorothy. She developed the "Hamill Camel" skating move. (at 0:22-0:28 on the clip.)

34. Puts in storage : MOTHBALLS. Interesting article about "mothballed" ships.

35. Word shouted at church : BINGO. Because "amen" was too short...

36. Actress Gardner : AVA.

38. Bitterness : RANCOR.

39. Kelly's possum : POGO.


40. Like star-crossed lovers : ILL-FATED.

41. Ham it up for a shooter : MUG. I was always the one who ruined the family photos by crossing my eyes just as the flash went off.

45. P-like letters : RHOS.

48. "You ready?" answer : I'M SET. (Then GO!!)

50. Grand ___ : PIANO.

51. Had to say "Oops," say : ERRED.

52. Vital conduit : AORTA.

53. Clan symbol : TOTEM. Thinking of Scottish clans here, I wanted "plaid."  But the Scots call the pattern "tartan." To them, "plaid" means a tartan cloth slung over the shoulders, or even a simple bed blanket. Who knew?

56. Ball club whose colors are blue and orange : METS. Enough with the baseball!


59. Little white lie : FIB.

60. Sch. with a Mesa campus : ASU. Arizona State University.

61. Box office buy: Abbr. : TKT. Ticket.

62. Slick : SLY. Since MS-PV did not allow me any other opportunity, I will close with this particularly appropriate link!

See you next week!
Marti


71 comments:

River Doc said...

Happy Thursday everybody!

To crib from yesterday: DRAT! The Big Easy was not so easy for moi. I had AVA Gardner on the first pass, then stupidly overwrote the A with an E to make NEW_ _ _ _. RANCOR finally fell (once LTD changed to LLC), and after I remembered how to correctly spell Dorothy HAMILL’s last name, I was left staring at NEWLINS. Knew this just couldn’t be right, but had to go back to work at the end of lunch, so I reluctantly turned on the red letters to reveal my faux pas…. Or FALSE Finish…. Should’ve used OCCAM’s Razor….

In other words, I have met the enemy, and it is I, to paraphrase POGO….

In hindsight, there were a TON of negative clues I should’ve picked up on. UGH, A NO-NO, WRONG, ERRED, ILL-FATED, RANCOR, BLUE, all of which apply to my effort today….

Okay, ‘nuff grumpage for one day….

ROOT directly atop RTE…? Homophones rock!

Mill St. near ASU is a wonderful place to “sight see” after an afternoon Spring Training game….

Sculpted BUSTS with wet TEEs… AAH yes, now that’s a POSITIVE IMAGE…..

The price of snacks from the MINI BAR scare me more than Chuck Norris….

Finally some fun baseball trivia – the METS’ team color choices of orange and blue were an “homage” to the two teams that left NEW YAWK for the West Coast in 1958. Orange from the Giants and blue from the Dodgers….

nice captcha today - forSho!

Southern Belle said...

Morning to all,

Sailed through today, even with all the baseball. Problem is, I don't know why the words came so easy today! Maybe that is a good omen.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Not overly difficult, but definitely a few bumps in the road today.

I thought there was more to the theme when I got POSITIVE IMAGE and realized there was a word missing from the common phrase POSITIVE SELF IMAGE. Except... "self" was in the clue, so that couldn't be right, could it?

I misspelled both N'AWLINS and HAMILL to get N'AWLENS and HAMELL. Didn't figure it out until I failed to get the *TADA* and went back to check for mistakes.

I could not figure out what RTE had to do with an invitation for the life of me. I finally decided it must be some weird way of meaning "directions". And in retrospect, it's probably not that weird (since the words are synonyms), except you'd never actually say that you included a "route" with an invitation.

[nlopica]

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. This was a zippy Thursday puzzle. The top half went so quickly, that I had several answers filled in before I read the clue. The bottom half was a tad slower. Fun theme.

Yesterday we had Baton Rouge, and today N'AWLINS (thanks for the shout-out, Marti).

The emergency agencies began to AMP UP yesterday due to the named tropical storm in the Atlantic.

I initially thought of the other Tiny Tim, whose real name was Herbert Khaury, and his "famous" Tiptoeing through the Tulips.

Dorothy HAMILL also made a haircut famous.

QOD: I never forgive, but I always forget. ~ Arthur Balfour (July 25, 1848 ~ Mar. 19, 1930)

[aicchtr]

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Marti, you were in top form this morning! Really got me chuckling.

BOGGS -- for some reason I thought he was a politician.

AMMO -- In my ute my cousin and I had pea-shooter wars on many occasions. We also shot a whole bag of peas into a sand pile that had mysteriously appeared next door, and disappeared as the neighbors replastered their walls -- which sprouted a few days later. Oops!

The ship I was stationed on was MOTHBALLed at the end of that cruise, and was scrapped in the mid 90's. The last time we sailed into San Diego harbor we displayed a banner proclaiming, "Bonnie Dick is not a social disease."

Doha, I think that's because not much of anything scares Chuck.

Hahtoolah said...

Desper-otto: You are thinking of Hale Boggs, who was the father of Cokie Roberts.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Matt and Patti, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the swell review.

Well, cruciverb is finally working again.

Got the NW corner easily. AMC fell with only three perps.

The rest of the north fell, as well. OCCAM appeared with the perps.

Theme worked out. Never heard of HOPE FLOATS, however.

All the rest was pretty easy, except for the center. Took me a while to figure out the phonetic spelling for New Orleans. Eventually got it. Once I got HAMILL that helped. I still call it New Or Leens. Oh well.

Had LTD for 46A for a while. The verticals changed that to LLC.

I wanted two LLs in MANILA, but eventually saw the light.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(deriast)

HeartRx said...

Abejo, AMC fell for me with "only" three perps, too!! (^0^)

Hahtoolah said...

Abejo: when you visit the Big Easy, we will know you a a tourist! LOL

Mari said...

Good morning everybody! Nice puzzle today. The theme was easy enough and most of the fill fell into place nicely (with a few hiccups).

I liked these:
- 14 John of England: LOO (John is not the name of the new prince.)
- 55A: Peas, at times: AMMO (boy did this one have me stumped)
- 35D: Word shouted at Church: BINGO. (Another stumper. I wanted AMENS)

Southern Belle: Great avatar picture!

That's all from me. I have a quiet moment, so I'm off to read yestersay's comments. Better late than never!

Have a great day!

Yellowrocks said...

Interesting, clever expo, Marti. I enjoyed the Dorothy Hamill link. I had the same thought as you for Suoer 8. I started with COBRA, LOO, and ORB so I was off and running, The top third was done in a flash. I pictured the MINIBAR for the $10 bottle of water, but he word temporarily escaped me. I dove to the bottom and completed that quickly. Then the middle fell together.
We used to use items from the MINIBAR and then replace them. Nowadays you are charged the minute you open the door, so I buy my snacks and beverages elsewhere.
Sign of tropical hospitality made me think of the pineapple, which was the symbol of hospitality in the American colonies before it became one in Hawaii.
Link Piineapple

kazie said...

Desperotto,
sprouting walls--LOL!

Nice puzz today. I got it all but couldn't spell either NAWLINS or HAMILL, and have never heard of CAREW. So ended up with NARLENS. Not too bad considering all the other stuff that I didn't know.

I was also confused by RTE, but couldn't think of anything else to work there.

Happy Thursday to all!

Husker Gary said...

The worst FALSE START I ever saw was a over anxious high school sophomore who jumped the gun on a 3,200 m (~2 mi.) race at the state tournament.

Musings
-I didn’t quite make a Monday time, Marti, maybe I needed a TODDY. I do like your bust/tees idea!
-Testing positive is the big story in pro sports these days. OCCAM’s razor stands amid the denials when their production triples overnight.
-Like MTV, AMC is getting away from their original programming
-If that water was so STEEP, you could ski down it ;-)
-Hey, this Bates MOTEL looks cheap…
-My uncle made HORSERADISH that would curl the hair in your nose
-The reception will be held at 41.4333° N, 96.4978° W
-When I AMP up, 8 year old Elise says, “Dial it back, Papa!”
-Baseball is the only sport where the MGR dresses like the players
-Hey Romeo, why don’t you date that Capulet girl?
-Can you name my fav sci-fi movie that starts in a sand storm in the Sonoran, not GOBI, desert with airplanes that should have been MOTHBALLED by then?

Vidwan827 said...

I went into this Thursday, with NO FALSE HOPES. By this day of the week, I am generally out of my element, so I am readily available to throw down my towel at the earliest possible opportunity. But, wonder of wonders, miracles or miracles -- I actually finished - hence enjoyed it thoroughly !! Thank you Matt and Patti ! Thank you Marti for a cheerful and witty blog. Really enjoyed reading it.

I had HALE BOGGS before 'Wade', presented itself. Well, it was one or the other. Now, come to think of it, I remember when the former disappeared in a plane crash.

Marti, I think LLC stands for Limited Liability Company. I think the statute was enacted to 'take care of' limited liability for Partnerships, and even in some sense, Proprietorships (sometimes - ) , who normally do not have limited liability. INC ( and the UK and Canadian equiv. - the LTD ) was already there to protect Corps., but partnerships did not have such limited liab. protection. Also, most big CPA firms had to be partnerships, by some state and federal law, so like Arthur Andersen etc., did not have ltd. liab. Protection. More importantly, law firms were also mostly partnerships, with unltd. liability. And of course, lawyers take care of those things, right away, ..... as soon as they can. TMI. ??

Doha doc, I loved your Chuck Norris, 10 rules, from yesterday. I wrote them down. Thank you.

Hahtoolah, would that be the author of the Balfour Declaration. ? I think one of your earlier QOD's was, 'if you forgive, but do not forget, you have not forgiven'. Btw, if you can, could you pl. confirm an email.

Have a nice day, you all.

Yellowrocks said...

Please join us for a surprise birthday party for Jane Doe at The Eccola Italian Bistro, 1082 Rte. 46, Parsippany, NJ on March 23, 2013 at 6:00 PM.

River Doc said...

HG - CEOTTK?

HeartRx said...

Vidwan - thanks for the correction on LLC. I have updated the write-up.

HG - Hands up for CEOTTK!

desper-otto said...

YR@8:56 -- Gotta ask, what the heck are you talking about?

Husker, I have no idea what movie you're referring to, but there's a real airplane graveyard on Davis Monthan AFB, in the Sonoran desert in Tucson.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

For the most part, sailed right through this but had no clue about the theme until getting the unifier. Kudos to Matt and Patti and Brava to our Miss Marti, Mistress of Mystery!

Our weather has turned much cooler; last night called for a sweater. Okay by me after last week's HHH.

After Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamill was my favorite figure skater. She was married for a short time to Dean Martin's son, who later died in a plane crash.

Happy Thursday.

Jane Doe said...

I'm having a surprise party? Gee, thanks for spoiling it, YR.

Can I bring John? How about all the anons?

Greg said...

I also got RTE, but thought it stood for return envelope. Still do! Prove me wrong.

Yellowrocks said...

D/O Example of RTE in an invitation.

Jane Doe said...

Dammit.

Ewww said...

You're better off Jane. Who wants to eat at a place called E. coli?

Hahtoolah said...

Vidwan: if you sent me an e-mail, I have not received it. Please try again.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Marti, thanks for explaining the theme; I was a little fuzzy on it.

Did the CW online today; paper's been late, lately. Not too hard. No searches needed. Knew LEKS but was unsure of the spelling. Liked the MINIBAR clue. Kind of funny. We don't use them.
Also liked the LOO clue.
Good job, Matt and Patti.

Have a great day.

grannie doe said...

It's bad enough my granddaughter's in therapy for identity crisis, now this.

Hey, YR, you probably know her sister, Dosey.

Roland N. Doe said...

What about me, the rich uncle?

Lucina said...

Hello, Marti and all. BRAVO! I always enjoy your witty commentary, Marti.

I awoke to loud thunder today so I'm a bit earlier than usual.

AMC, OCCAM, IOWAN started my sashay and surprise, surprise: Rod CAREW and WADE BOGGS just popped out of my head. NAWLINS, however, did not and had to wait for perps.

My only FALSE START was LTD for LLC which HAMILL corrected.

LEKS gave me pause until ASH emerged. ASU appears again!

I have to PRAISE Matt and Patti for a lovely puzzle, thank you.

DohaDoc:
If you haven't been to Tempe in a while you would be surprised at the changes on Mill Avenue. It's still a popular hangout, though, for the college crowd and sight seers.

Have a tremendously great day, everyone!

Husker Gary said...

-Doc and Marti, yep, it was CEOTTK. The special effects and Spielberg’s writing and directing were incredible. John Williams’ theme wasn’t chopped liver either. Five Note Sequence in the movie when contact is made.
-My favorite idea in the movie is recognizing that “strange visitors from another planet” could be benign and so advanced they would have trouble communicating with inferior beings such as Earthlings. Like our trying to talk to an ant hill.
-Full Movie

Misty said...

A weird week with surprisingly tough puzzles on Monday and Tuesday and much easier ones yesterday and today. I'm not at all complaining though--it was fun to pretty much sail through this one. So, many thanks Matt and Patti, and I loved your intro, Marti!

It really helped to get OCCAM and CRATCHIT right off the bat. And somehow BOGGS popped into my head once I got WADE from the across answers. The things we have buried in our minds.

Wasn't Dorothy HAMILL on "Dancing with the Stars" last season? Sadly she had physical problems of some sort and had to leave early, if I remember correctly.

Hi Southern Belle. Are you new to the blog? From NAWLINS by any chance?

Anyway, I love a successful Thursday morning. Have a great day, everybody!

Anonymous said...

It's Mill avenue by the way!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Funny how pop "kultchuh" infiltrates us. Even though I have spent years working on and in different versions of "A Christmas Carol," I'm afraid I did think first of Tiny Tim (Khaury) of "Tulips" fame--before I saw that only CRATCHIT would fit.

This seemed easy for Thursday; there were so many crossword-ese fills: LOO, ORB, AAH, TEE, AORTA, and such gimmes as ALOHA, OCCAM, SEE, &c. made this a breeze.

The theme answers were pleasant enough--except of course for FALSE HOPE, which is always about as UNpleasant a notion as we mortals endure.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Cute theme, Matt & Patty. I even got it. Easier for me than most Thursdays.

I even got OCCAM for once. Marti, thanks for the explaination of "razor". I didn't know that. Great expo.

HOPE FLOATS is one of my favorite movies with Sandra Bullock. I've watched it several times.

All scientists & science teachers: you might enjoy checking out the Google Doodle today.

Weigh station clue a gimmee since I've ridden shotgun in the farm semis and had to stop there.

S.A. was too vague. I was thinking San Antonio, Texas, but had the "G" from BINGO so WAGd ARG.

Wonder how Tiny Tim Khaury would do in America's Got Talent? Some of the people who appear on that show are about the same calibur.

QOD: I'm not sure if I forgive. It's really hard to forget some assholes. And even harder to ever trust anyone again.

Yellowrocks said...

I guess we are pretty much under the Italian influence here. No one ever jokes about Eccola Bistro. It sorts rhymes with Ricola (Cough drops.) It is Italian for Here it is!
Link RI CO LA

Jane Doe, I hope you enjoyed your party.

CrossEyedDave said...

I thought America's sweetheart would be Sonya Henie, (or maybe Nancy kerrigan) I totally forgot Dorothy Hamill. Tx HeartRx, I must have missed that 1974 incident.

Here it is in it's entirety (8:09)

Yellowrocks@8:56 March 23rd? Nuts! I was all set to go!

False Start lane #4 @ 0:28

Elvis Presley False Start?

Deper-otto @7am I thought I got in trouble with pea shooters,,,, LMAO!

I will be incommunicado for a couple of days, going camping. A little nervous about it though, taking a friday puzzle into to woods with no Blog, or Google in case I get in trouble. Oh well, on the bright side, if it was a Saturday Silkie with no assistance, it would have driven me nuts!

9 things that will improve your life.

Tinbeni said...

Marti: Thank you for a very informative write-up.

My Apres-ski drink would be Pinch, but Brandy (neat!) would be nice also.

Got caught by the 'LTD' s/b LLC trap.

I was at the game when WADE BOGGS got his 3,000 Home Run hit.

Fave today was that BINGO shouted at Church.

Well ... "It's Five O'clock Somewhere!"
Cheers!!!

Mosse Knuckle said...

I wonder if any of her costumes ever revealed Hamill Camel Toe?

CrossEyedDave said...

Boy! I hope this doesn't happen again this weekend!

[urinual]???

Bill G. said...

CED, I enjoyed your Nine Things link.

I had to renew my driver's license about a year ago. I passed OK. Barbara's now had to be renewed also. She's been stressing out over the written test for a month now. She had her appointment this morning and passed with flying colors. However, the lady told her she needed an original copy of her birth certificate. That was a big surprise to Barbara. So she has a temporary license and I hunted around and found her birth certificate with a raised seal. But her new appointment is two weeks away. Oh well...

Anonymous said...

Fascinating.

PK said...

CED: If the puzzle defeats you in the woods, at least having the paper along could be very handy as a fire starter, mosquito swatter, windshield wiper, T.P.

Really funny links. I did see one that would be good to know if I ever have chronic back pains again: the frozen sponge in a bag. I ruined a very good mattress because my ice packs leaked years ago.

RIP Helen Thomas, front-row reporter to the presidents. An inspiration to all female journalists.

Pookie said...

Fun puzzle. Some too obvious clues, some puzzling clues. WAG for OCCAM/COBOL. I too thought RTE was some bizarre abbr. for Return Envelope.
Marti, I guess by now our "bad boys" have hipped you to "pea shooter".
You don't toss 'em (cooked peas), you shoot 'em (dried peas)through a straw-like thingy.
Anon Doe family stuff had me
L-ing O L.
YR, Thanks for the Ricola ads, and the pineapple link.
CED, Very funny stuff, as always.
Thanks for the 9 things. Very interesting!
Bill G, why does Barbara have to show original birth certificate?
I'm in CA and DH didn't have to show provide anything when he took the written test on a significant birthday.(?)

Pookie said...

Marti, forgot to include how much I enjoy your humor and the ability to weave the clues and answers into a theme. Too funny about the "bun in the oven" story!
Also, I worked one night in Lunenburg, MA playing piano for Tiny Tim.
It was HORRIBLE and the audience booed him.

Bill G. said...

Pas, I don't know about the requirement for a birth certificate. It didn't come up when I took my test and had an eye exam a few months back. But they seemed surprised that Barbara didn't know about that requirement. Maybe they changed things recently? Or, it could be her extensive criminal record... :>)

Maybe I'll try calling the DMV later today. Oops, I just tried that and they said the hold time was approximately an hour. They also said I could request for them to call me back in about a half hour. So I'll try that after coming back from lunch at a local Cuban restaurant.

I was just reading a sports column about a basketball player and they twice mentioned that he often seemed 'disinterested' about the fans and the game. It's nice to have an impartial player don't you think? I would think a person hired to be a writer and his editors would be more on top of their usage skills.

HeartRx said...

CED, thanks for the 9 things to improve my life. I am starting with the cinnabun waffles and bacon pancakes tomorrow morning. (It may make my life shorter, but at least I will enjoy the time that's left, LOL!)

Vidwan827 said...

Bill. G. --- I happen to be reading some time back, that the Administration has decided that Driver's licenses, will be something like temp-substitutes for your passports, and legal status, as citizens etc.

So, it is possible that, all of a sudden, the state authorities, want to check your birth certificate or your naturalization cert., because the driver ID is now going to carry so more authentication status. You, personally, might have just passed, 'under the wire', before they decided to enforce this statute. So keep you birth cert. handy, for the next time when you renew.

Of course, it may also be that "Barbara" does not quite 'sound' like an American name - but what would I know ? lol.

I'm sure you would rather that they check your proficiency in mathematics, as a condition for a driver's license, but some may consider that ..... sexist, racist and elitist.... and anti-American. lol.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A good Thursday run for my money. It wasn't too easy, but not too hard, either. Thanks Marti for your usual erudite write up.

I had to look up Hope Floats, and some of the ball club clues were unknowns. The perps took care of most of those. Thank goodness, because my sports knowledge is very lacking. Doha Doc, I read the same info about the two colors for the Mets. Very interesting as both the Giants and Dodgers moved to the west coast and the Mets took up the slack.

Southern Belle, It is good to see you posting again. We missed you.

Barry, I had the same question about RTE being included in an invitation. A map yes, (which I tried to put in at first), but not a RTE.

Have a great afternoon, everyone.

Chickie said...

In crossing the Benicia bridge in the Bay area, a whole fleet of mothballed ships were anchored in the bay to the right of the bridge. Over the years they got rustier and rustier. A true ship graveyard. I see that they are finally being hauled away one by one and scrapped. What a job that has been.

Our small company is an LLC.

N'awlins is what our foster daughter calls her city of residence. She has become a true NOLA person.

Yellowrocks, your post for Rte caused quite a stir among the lurkers out there!! Or Anons or whatever they are called. I had to laugh as I read the responses.

Lucina said...

CEDave:
I really chuckled at some of those 9 things to improve life! I actually do a couple of them, the ring in the center when microwaving and storing my clothes vertically. I have done that for many years and it's really easy to find whatever I'm looking for.

CrossEyedDave said...

Glad everyone liked the "life improvement" link, I want to try out the headlight restorer, but all my toothpaste is gel. (I think I will try it on my neighbors car 1st...)

My camping buddy always blows my mind at breakfast because he always brings scrambled eggs in a carton! I wanted to surprise him with the bacon pancakes, but I think that pic is deceptive! My bacon always wrinkles up on me...

Anyway, we are trying to perfect "pizza in the woods"... meaning making it from scratch with flour, oil, yeast, tomato, & mozzarella. (I tried using pre-made pizza sauce, but I think Pizza Margarita would work well. The problem is building an oven. We are still working on it,,, which makes me look at that Indian Nan Bread oven with a jealous eye.... Our best pizza so far was when I lugged a 20 pound cast iron dutch oven into the woods with me... ( I don't think I can do that again...)

Pookie said...

CED I make pizza dough from scratch AT HOME!! Not in the woods. :-)
On occasion I have used packaged naan to make a quick pizza. It's better than pita and much closer to pizza dough consistency.
Just sayin'

Avg Joe said...

CED, pizza dough from scratch at the campsite? I'm impressed. I think you're nuts, but nonetheless impressed.

The most ambitious thing I ever did while camping was smoking a turkey. Not a good plan on a windy day, it took over 15 hours. And it's also very hard to find Big Bambus these days :-)

Spitzboov said...

D-Otto @ 0700 - So you served aboard a bird farm, then?

I've seen the mothballed planes at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson. Quite impressive in its own unique way.

desper-otto said...

Spitz, yes I had a tour aboard the illustrious "Bon Homme Richard" which had a mostly-American pronunciation -- Bahn Hahm Reeshard. I escaped several donnybrooks in foreign ports when other American sailors would refer to our ship as an old rust bucket. I would simply reply, "I'll drink to that!" Perhaps that's why my ship-over lecture consisted of only one question:
You don't want to re-up, do you?
No.
Didn't think so.

Emily P. said...

"Come One, Come All,
Come to the Ball!
Come You, Come Me,
Come RTE!"

It means - don't stop for a Big Mac on the way.

Anonymous T said...

G'Eve All:

The above deletes are me testing the avatar association and look. Meh, but it will do. It aint no SothernBell! After someone used -T last night w/ some snarkyness, I spent a few more minutes in photoshop today. Bill G - I do like the math teasers, but that wasn't me calling you the lesser. Not cool.

Matt & Patti - I don't know how this went out on a Thursday, but Yippie!, no Googles needed (though 49a was pushing me). Thanks for the writeup Marti.

Everyone's covered most hands up, but did anyone spell it Cratchet? I'm sitting there thinking MINe BAR - I don't charge for water.... D-O turning Doah's phrase was really cute.

Also had TIC at 61d, and Coddy didn't seem right. Then I changed the C->T. Um, we already had BUSTS...

Liked peas == AMMO and BINGO at church.

SE was last to fall - I don't see many movies (two hours seems like a lot of commitment), so HOPEFLOATS didn't pop. Does A&W serve these?

Pizza! My kid's will not eat out NOR order in pizza after I spoiled them with fresh dough, homemade sauce, and a plethera (sp?) of toppings. I now have two pizza stones to keep pace...

CED - In Boy Scouts, I so wanted to dazzle with my troop with peach cobbler that I hiked a dutch oven up the mountain and back (ouch!) out. Basic training's rucks were easy after that. Good luck with that pizza and enjoy the outdoors.

I've got to try the Mountain Dew glow-stick. The kids will love it (and never drink it).

Cheers,

_THE_
-T

Jayce said...

Hello folks. Good to work the puzzles and read your comments this week. Bye folks.

Pookie said...

Anonymous T: Congrats on going blue with an avatar!!!!
YES!! I spelled it CRATCHeT too.
Jayce: Hi! Bye!
Where's Manac?
Hi Sallie, hope all is well.
BillG: What did DMV say?

Bill G. said...

Pas, they called back and talked to Barbara for over half an hour. They even got some supervisor in Sacramento involved. It has something to do with a clerical error from years ago. Apparently, the only way they see to correct it is to start again and have her birth certificate and something else (like a passport) on record. Luckily, we found all of that stuff and she has another appointment in three weeks or so. Geez...

Manac said...

Bill, Funny you should mention the DMV today. My first stop today was the district court to answer a charge of driving with an expired license. To renew here you just have to pass an eye test here ( I cheated on that )but completely forgot to do it. The Prosecutor Just gave me a form titled Conditional"Nolle Prosequi" Agreement before trial and sent me on my way. Why the hell can't lawyers speak english!! Anyway he said no infractions for six months and all is forgiven( layman terms ) So I forgot.. Sucks getting older.

CED One Word... DOMINOS, they deliver.

Pas Thanks for the concern but I stated earlier that I haven't had much time for the puzzle or blog but do try to chime in when I can. Today was well worth checking in.

CrossEyedDave said...

Manac is probably chopping wood so it is seasoned in time for winter.

Avg Joe, I have been making pizza in the woods for over 40 years, It all started when I saw a little box next to the macaroni & cheese that was everything you need to make pizza except water made by chef boy R dee. (I haven't seen it in years) but using a standard mess kit, fry pan on the bottom, & bowl on top, it made a nifty little oven to cook about 3 five inch pizzas!

These days I have been trying to duplicate Papa Johns Pizza crust. I was sure if I substituted milk & cream for water, & butter for oil it would match the taste,but it still wasn't fluffy enough. So I added a little baking powder... The kids loved it, but I thought it came out tasting like biscuits.

Anybody got any ideas for the best pizza crust???

I have found oiling the crust helps for crisping, but I need to make the dough, a little more chewy. (it's a New York thing, everywhere else the crust tastes like cardboard.)

I have found that introducing steam to the oven is wonderful for creating crisp crusts, but difficult to do in the woods...

Now what to make for dinner tomorrow if I don't catch a fish,,, Hmm,, Shrimp scampi, or linguine & clams....

Manac said...

CED, Every one of my kids movie nights, party, sleep over or any other gathering required my home made pizza. Sorry... Trade Secret!

And you were right about the wood today. Perfect day for it!

CrossEyedDave said...

Manac,,,

Would you consider a trade for the Chili's Salsa recipe?

Papa John said...

@CED
Use one or a combination of any:
1) sourdough
2) or any other bread flour
3) substitute beer for half your water

It may be too late, but the dough needs to chill for 24 hours before baking (or in your case, open flaming. On the other hand, maybe it's not too late. Party on.). Keep the crust moist as you "bake" it.

Smaller pies won't be as chewy, either. You need a thicker, I mean bigger, diameter...

Just enjoy that wood (but watch that sauce)!

Abejo said...

Hahtoolah: I was just in New Orleans in June, for a week. They knew I was a stranger. I made sure.

Found this great italian Ice Cream place downtown. Cannot remember the name of it. Very old.

Abejo

(hodyque)

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Fell asleep trying to blog earlier. Haven't had time to read comments above.

No problems with puzzle. No cheats.

Dog pretty miserable. Waiting for results of biopsy and other tests.

Cheers!

Anonymous T said...

CED - not sure how you are going to manage this in the woods, but I'll share...

Microwave 1.5c water to 110F. Dump to large bowl.
Add 1/2 tsp brown sugar + dry yeast. Let stand for 10 min to activate.

1tsp salt + 2T olive oil

Add 2.5c flour and begin working.

Keep adding up to 3.5c of flour while working until its not sticky. Dump into olive-oil coated bowl & cover w/ a warm towl for an hour or so (enough for two glasses of vino).

Beat the crap out of it; cut into bits for each pie, coat with olive oil and fav. toppings. Drop in 450 oven for 8 min.

Sauce:
8oz tomato sauce
6oz tomato paste
1t each oregano, basil, garlic powder, paprika, sugar, white vinegar
1/2t onion powder & salt
2T olive oil
wisk

Though after a day of hiking, sardines on a cracker will be the best meal ever!

Cheers,

-T

Anonymous T said...

Anon Papa John...

I'll try the beer next time. Any particular flavor? I would assume something like Bass or Guinness would be best...

-T

Lucina said...

anonymous T:
Congratulations on going blue and posting your Avatar!

Pookie said...

Going to sleep, but Manac checked in, so I'm good for now... Thanks Kid