Theme: BEE-eautiful puns.
Ah, the air is crisp, the sun warm and the joy of a Friday from one of the masters Jack Mac. We have a straightforward add a letter ("B") to a known word or phrase and get a new and amusing two word phrase; really a textbook example of how to create a witty presentation. I think Rich has decided to give us our holiday presents early, as this along with yesterday's is not too easy but very doable, especially with a reveal which is uncommon on Friday. You see the broad spectrum cluing from the 50's to to Clayton Kershaw. Not much in the way of long fill, but what is there is very good. INTEGER, ISOTOPE, LADYBUG, LATERAL, ROSTERS, TRICKLE, LOST A BET and TRAP DOOR. Let's see where Jack's mind wandered this time.
18A. Hipsters who prefer old-school programming languages? : COBOL CATS (9). Hipster = CAT. I learned computer programming with FORTRAN not COBOL.
23A. Tiny Timex? : BABY WATCH (9). Ah Baywatch, the use of slow motion for women running in a bathing suit was groundbreaking. Something for everyone. WATCH. (2:02)
35A. Golf club used as a dance pole? : LIMBO DRIVER (11). I LOVE this clue, though my first dance pole thought was not the Limbo stick we used to slide under.
50A. Furrier's assessment? : SABLES TAX (9). Like this one as well, as sales tax on Sable is usually significant.
57A. R2D2's bar order? : ROBOT BEER (9). Another very clever visual, though I see C3PO order a nice ale and R2 more of a mojito bot.
and the unifier:
59D. Busy one that has made its mark in this puzzle's five longest answers : BEE.
Across:
1. Hardly hardy : FRAIL.
6. Wind instrument : VANE.
10. Minute Rice instruction : STIR. We also have a quick clecho (hey Dennis, enjoying the lower humidity?) 20A. Minute Rice instruction : BOIL.
14. Caused : LED TO.
15. Title lover in a 1920s Broadway hit : ABIE. The Irish Rose returns; this clue/fill has been in puzzles since I saw my first Sunday NY Times in the 50's.
16. Cartoonist Peter : ARNO. He was very much part of the charm of the New Yorker magazine. LINK.
17. Camp Granada chronicler Sherman : ALLAN. Hello Muddah. Last week Mickey Katz, this week another blast from my past.
21. "Knots Landing" actress __ Park Lincoln : LAR. Not familiar with this actress, all perps. LINK.
22. Mythical transport : CARPET. The old flying carpet.
26. Challenger, for one : DODGE. Not the Space Shuttle, the car.
27. NFL gains : YDS.
28. One was written to Billie Joe : ODE. McAllister.
29. Bolted, say : ATE.
31. Not 'neath : O'ER.
32. Shot : TRY. You can finish a Friday unaided, give it a shot.
33. It's inspired : AIR.
34. British bombshell Diana : DORS. Pretty girl in the Marilyn era, once married to Richard Dawson. Be careful with her real last name. Diana Dors was an English actress, born Diana Mary Fluck in Swindon, Wiltshire. Considered the English equivalent of the blonde bombshells of Hollywood, Dors described herself as "the only sex symbol Britain has produced since Lady Godiva." Wikipedia
38. Literary __ : LION. Not my first choice here, but an accepted term by Webster. "a celebrity or idol who attracts much publicity and a large following." See also, beard the lion in his den to approach a feared or influential person, esp in order to ask a favor; the lion's share the largest portion.
40. Hikes : UPS. Like prices or skirts.
41. Scam : CON.
42. Pack animal : ASS.
43. Friday is one: Abbr. : SGT. Jack Webb, not Dan Aykroyd.
44. Boxers' org.? : AKC. Everyone loves mixing the dog with the fighters.
45. Memphis-to-Mobile dir. : SSE. Heading home. What musician, writer and entrepreneur spent his grade school years there? JB?
48. Register button : TOTAL.
53. Latin catchall : ET ALIA. We do not see this spelled out often.
55. Garden tool : HOE.
56. __ bene : NOTA. More Latin. Note well, an old common notation (NB).
59. Kind of acid : BORIC.
60. Mime : APER.
61. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT. And yet again, Latin.
62. "A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length" author : EBERT. Has anyone read this book?
63. "We should!" : LET'S.
64. Mates : LADS.
65. Two-part curves : ESSES. This way and then that way.
Down:
1. Carrying extra weight : FLABBY. More Bs.
2. Another round, perhaps : RELOAD. Sorry Tinman, not a drink, a gun.
3. Goes off script : AD LIBS.
4. 2006 World Cup champion : ITALY. I will never forget watching the final and THIS. (0:54).
5. Colleague of Boris : LON. Not Badenov, Karloff and Chaney.
6. Get out : VACATE. Same word as vacation but such different implications.
7. Options above "none of the above" : A, B OR C. I put in ABCDE first.
8. Pointed end : NIB. Anyone into calligraphy?
9. Org. created by the 1964 Civil Rights Act : EEOC. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
10. Iliac lead-in : SACRO. We are back to this old clue.
11. Magician's way out, maybe : TRAP DOOR. Not wanting to spoil magic tricks but they really do not disappear.
12. Whole number : INTEGER. A shout to all our math whizzes, Fermat, Bill G. etc.
13. Team lists : ROSTERS.
19. Fill the hold : LADE. Right next to the sound alike...
21. Aphid predator : LADYBUG. I loved the kitten with the ladybug on her nose. This is next to another bug...
24. Type of malware : WORM. They do not usually have...
25. Bristle : HAIR.
30. Slow flow : TRICKLE. Did you KNOW (3:47)?
32. Western star makeup : TIN. This was filled in before I saw the clue, is this for the badge or was Tinbeni a double for Hopalong Cassidy?
33. Pop-ups, e.g. : ADS.
34. Cozy retreat : DEN, Unless they are of iniquity.
35. Had to wear the winning team's jersey, say : LOST A BET.
36. Decides : OPTS.
37. Viva __ : VOCE. Really Latin intensive, maybe all the years I studied Latin made this puzzle seem easier than it is. Anyway, literally alive voice, we use it to mean by word of mouth.
38. Like some files : LATERAL. Very popular in some law offices as they make accessing files much easier.
39. Carbon-14, e.g. : ISOTOPE. Since Carbon is normally 12, this is a elemental variant. I will ask the chemists and physicists to go further.
43. Narrow cut : SLIT.
44. Scrubs : ABORTS. Think of a space mission, right HG?
45. Puts away : STORES.
46. Ricky Gervais' forte : SATIRE. Humor in general I would say.
47. Demands, as payment : EXACTS. He exacted a steep toll from his students.
49. "Zut __!": French exclamation : ALORS. Ah, mais Oui! LINK. (0:13)
51. In front : AHEAD.
52. Hoity-toity types : SNOBS. Interesting HISTORY.
54. "Great Expectations" convict Magwitch : ABEL. Such depth to this character, and his relationship with Pip. I reread the book a few years ago with my youngest. Great SATIRE by Dickens.
58. Stat for Clayton Kershaw : ERA. Earned Run Average. He led the league this year and his average is currently 0.00, though he lost a game 1 to 0. He is Dodgers' hope tonight.
Speaking of hope, I hope you enjoyed our time together. I am going to see Chicago at the Broward Center tonight with Mr. Peterman as Billy Flynn, so I am out of here. Thanks Jack and all of youse guys, Lemonade out.
57 comments:
A change of pace. Quatrains instead of limericks.
A busy bee went out one night, in tail coat and in spats
But fell in with bad companions, some vile alley rats.
He was redeemed by his hums, with lilting sharps and flats.
He was recruited by the band, a bunch of real COOL CATS!
A busy bee went to the beach, the weather was topnotch.
He wore all three new swimsuits (bees having more than just one crotch).
He partied at a clambake, got drunk from too much scotch,
From swimming needed rescue by some lifeguards from the BAY WATCH!
A busy bee went motoring in his chauffeured 95er.
He was followed by a hornet, an enemy conniver.
The mad wasp tried to ram him, brother bee is a survivor.
The fiend was outmaneuvered by bee's well-trained LIMO DRIVER!
A busy bee went to the store to buy some stylish slacks.
He took along the money that he earned from selling wax.
He tried on tans and grays, liked the yellows striped with blacks.
Alas, his could not buy them, his money didn't cover SALES TAX.
A busy bee went for a drink, flew to a tavern near.
A speakeasy with guarded door; he buzzed that he was here.
It was a very friendly place, a hive of warmth and cheer.
And now that booze was legal, they only served ROOT BEER.
Just missed completion -- ABorC crossing LAR totally stumped me. Even after I hit the uncle button, I was thinking A,B,O blood types with Rh factors. The theme also got me for a bit. The first ones I got were COBOL & ROBOT, so was trying to fit Or Best Offer into the remaining terms.
Morning, all!
ARNO, ALLAN, LAR, DORS, LON, ABEL... Ye gods! I actually liked the puzzle overall, but I felt like it was going out of its way to try and make me hate it. And then there was ABORC...
I did get the theme very early on, which helped immensely and is largely why this ended up being a positive experience overall.
Had STIR for 20A after getting __I_ and was amused when I realized it also fit for 10A and belonged there instead.
Also tried OBOE for 6A. Nice misdirection on the word "instrument."
[sogrand]
Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. A good Friday run. I needed the BEE to unify the rest of the theme answers.
Hand up for Oboe before VANE.
I also wanted an Inn to be the cozy retreat. The DEN in my house doesn't exactly meet the clued definition!
I initially had BOIL where the STIR should go. The perps corrected that, but I still got to use my initial answer later on.
QOD: You’re never a loser until you quit trying. ~ Mike Ditka (Oct. 18, 1939)
Howdy everyone,
No beating around the bush, a Friday DNF. The North Central section was my downfall. Had Oboe for 6A and refused to think it might be in error. Gave me B AND C for 7D. Was thinking MAME for 15A and had no clue for 21A. COBOL CATS looked good for 18A, but it wasn't working with my aforementioned goofs.
Everything else worked out. Liked 44A. I was thinking boxing organizations until TRICKLE appeared.
In spite of my failure, this was a fun puzzle to work on. Oh well, Monday will start a new week and I am looking forward to it.
JazzB, hope you have some magic you can use to keep the Tigers afloat.
Hahtoola, The QOD sounds like Ditka, buy 1939 dosen;t seem right. He would have been pre-teens in 1939.
Hondo: According to the Official Site of the Football Hall of Fame, Mike Ditka was born on October 18, 1939, in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. Maybe he lied about his age.
Good morning!
For once I got the theme early on, and it helped a lot as I buzzed through this one. Hand up for ABCDE, and BOIL started out as STIR -- I hadn't made it to Maine at that point. I totally missed the reveal at the bottom, because it was already filled in.
ET ALII/ET ALIA -- I wagged the A because ABEL looked more reasonable than IBEL.
I can never keep straight which cup goes with which sport. The only one I get immediately is the C-cup.
Lemon, interesting evolution of the word SNOB.
Hahtoolah,
Sorry, I thought it was the date of the quote. Still not back in form yet from my recent maladies.
Good morning all !
It is Friday, so we must expect some level of foolery. I didn't get fooled by either oboe or inn, but, did have ART for "It's inspired." In the end, I liked the intersection of (H) AIR and AIR smack dab in the middle, but that was my Waterloo.
Getting the unifier definitely helped the solve. I had BABY WATCH, LIMBO DRIVER and COBOL CATS by then, but only BABY WATCH seemed to make any sense for the clue. Getting BEE and seeing a B was thrown in was the aha moment and told me there had to be a B in SA---STA-. It also allowed me to fill in the second O in ROBOT which completed that unknown French exclamation.
At least twice I read 44D as Boxer's org, and could not figure anything out that ended in --ORTS when I finally realized that clue was 44A. (No coffee again this AM !). Backed into ABORTS by filling AKC and knowing I needed a B in that across word...
ALAS, it turned into a DNF as I could not exchange ART for AIR, so I had to turn on red letter assist. How was it that I did not see that I had HARR at 25D down ?
Oh well. Thank you Jack McInturff and thank you Lemonade.
Have to run and get ready for Perio visit # 2 of 2.
Lucina (from last night) I didn't get to read yesterday's blog until this AM, so thank you for answering PK's question.
See all y'all later n'at!
Fun add a letter puzzle. Clever mis-directions. I soon dropped to the bottom and worked upwards, so ROOT BEER and BEE set up the theme for me.From there on it was easier than a usual Friday. After what seemed to me an easier than normal week I am afraid Sat. will be my Waterloo.
None of the above reminded me of my round of "Teleephone H*LL" yesterday. None of the telephone tree or menu options ever fit and sometimes hitting * or O didsn't bring a live rep.
Lemonade, Very interesting SNOB link. Words and usage do change over time. That's why I am not a language or grammar purist.
Bill G. from last night. I had the same experience tutoring math. Also, even if my way was simpler and understood by the student, it was verbotten. When I was a teacher I accepted any method that was logical and could always produce a correct result. If not, they had to use my way.
I loved when students thought outside the box in any subject.
Good morning everyone. Good write-up, Lemon.
I was INSPIREd by this cw but started with a SEA of white across the top. So I TRICKLEd down to the bottom and the corners and the solve caught fire. ROBOT BEER got me on to the puzzle theme, and then followed through as the unifier hinted. After a "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" at 49d, Zut____, I sussed ALORS from the perps and a little WAGging. No lookups or white-outs were needed.
Thanks, Jack, for a fun solve.
Have a great day.
The theme definitely helped me get COBOL. But I screwed up ABIE by having NUB, and LADS with WEDS. I can't see LADS as an equivalent for mates. Even if you think mates is Oz for pal, LAD is very British and not related to mateship.
Most of the names were complete unknowns, and those that weren't took a lot of poking around the edges to suss out. Perps to the rescue all over this one.
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Good morning all!
Thanks for the cool links and write-up, Lemony. I also was surprised about the origins of the word SNOB.
I also fell into the ABCDE trap, and couldn't make heads nor tails out of *CB*LCATS. When BABY WATCH appeared, I caught onto the theme and went back and changed 7D to ABORC. Nicely executed. Fav entry was ROBOT BEER, but the clue for LIMBO DRIVER evoked way more than just a beach party dance.
d-otto, LOL about trying to remember sports cups.
TGIF - have a great day, everyone!
Latin crossing French? (I didn't have a chance...)
Did like the theme though, but it evoked some strange images...
Cobol Cat
Baby Watch
Limbo Driver ( I think he's cheating!)
Sable Tax? (there are too many taxes already!)
Robot Beer?
Ok it's not really a Bee, (I think it's a wasp)
Hello Puzzlers -
Coming to you from Pittsburgh today, another business trip - howdy Abejo!
Enjoyed today's clever Jack Mac. COBOL gave away the theme, and it was off to the races.
My first thought for a sexy Diana was Rigg, which, even though it was wrong, was so right.
Cheers All
CED, the Cobol Cat and the Budweiser robot are amazing finds.
I am willing to bet everyone had OBOE for VANE, first pass...the BOIL/STIR was also fun
I had CHUBBY for FLABBY which meant I was nursing a HAD TO instead of a LED TO. I figured it HAD TO be right because CHUBBY fit.
I also wanted OBOE for VANE. Wrong type of instrument. I've never heard of ABIE so I wanted ANNA but then I got COBOL CATS and I knew ANNA couldn't be right.
COBOL stands for COmon Business Oriented Language. I never learned COBOL and it is not used anymore. I learned FORTRAN and went on to program computers at McGill University for six years until I got my Phd.
I also thought of a stripper pole instead of a LIMBO pole. As much as I tried I couldn't get the image of that stripper out of my head.
I wanted SEEPAGE for TRICKLE but when I got CON and SABLE I knew that was wrong. All in all I got four out of five of the theme answers which is pretty good for a Friday but disappointing after yesterday's easy puzzle.
Hi gang -
The theme might seem simple, but how do you find these things, Jack?
Had to google LAR, then the rest of it came together.
Eventually. About a 25 minute effort for me.
Had to give up on OBOE. VANE was a V8 moment.
"What musician, writer and entrepreneur spent his grade school years there? JB?"
Sorry, no clue.
Hello Muddah, etc is based on the Dance of the Hours, from the opera La Giaconda by Amilcare Ponchielli. It is the worst piece of classical music ever written, suitable only for parody. We played this several years ago and nobody in the orchestra could keep a straight face. Probably the low point of all my musical experiences.
Concert tonight. We're doing some good stuff. Bet you've never heard that one before.
Cool Regards!
JzB [not a COBOL CAT]
Good Morning Everybody, and Happy Friday!
Count me among the DNFs today. I got the unifier early on but didn't catch where the Bs were going until late. I had a lot of write overs, most of which were mentoned by others above.
Some clues I needed help with included: ABIE, ARNO, DORS, SACRO, VOCE and ALORES.
I guess they can't all be mid-week level puzzles. I had fun anyway.
Have a nice day and a great weekend!
Good Morning:
I started this late last night when I was half asleep, soI didn't get very far and had no clue about the theme. This morning, however, I made great progress and finished w/ o help, albeit slowly.
Hand up for ABCDE first but wasn't fooled bt the clues for AKC or vane. Did have note before nota but perps corrected that soon enough. Nice shout-out to Tin!
Thanks, Jack Mack, for a fun Friday and thanks, Lemon, for the outstanding expo.
Owen, just loved all of your "Bee's" adventures!
I sat next to Mike Ditka once and couldn't take my eyes off of his hands; they were huge. (So was he!)
Have a great Friday.
JzB, the musical question was not directed solely at you, I was giving the initials of the person; you will always get your z with me.
I was unaware of the back history of the music to Hello Muddah. Thank you.
Irish Miss, the size of pro football men is amazing, you get no sense until you see them in person. I have been to training camps etc.
COBOL? Old-School? Pah! I laid down my last line of COBOL code in 1995; it doesn't feel like that long ago!
Great expo, Lemonade. Apparently Zidane's headbutt was a reaction to some unpleasant inferences about his mother.
Thank goodness for Latin classes all those years ago - now that's "old school".
HI Y'all! This was an audible groaner for me as it came together. I managed to fill all the squares, but would not have without the little red "you're wrong" helper. I
enjoyed it though, Jack Mac.
Lemonade's expo was necessary for me understand the theme. I did the puzzle this morning when I am usually more dense. Went to bed too early last night.
We watched "Knott's Landing" lo those many years ago. However, neither the name Lar Park-Lincoln nor the face seemed familiar. I wish it had said what part she allegedly played.
Many unknowns, WEES. I did know DORS & AKC.
Gervais: comedy fit before SATIRE perped in.
Does anyone but me wonder if hackers working for Obamacare opponents are sabotaging the sign-up? Okay, that's probably almost politics.
I can't believe I actually got this because it seemed so hopeless at first, especially that North Middle section. But I did, yay! So, many thanks, Jack Mac, and you too, Lemonade, for explaining COBOL. Never heard of it, and I thought I knew my languages. Great Friday fun!
Not only did I first want OBOE, but I even toyed with VIOL until I firmly said, no, that's string, not wind.
My favorite clue: IT'S INSPIRED for AIR.
JazzB thanks for reminding us about the source of "Hello Muddah." But surely it's not really all that bad!
Owen, if I wore a hat, or even had one, I'd doff it to you this morning.
Have a great day, everybody!
Hello, friendly puzzlers! It's always good to read your commentary, Lemonade; it's amusing and I learn something.
What a fun time with Jack McInturff today! I'm in the OBOE/VANE camp but VACATE and ABIE altered that notion.
NIB is very familiar to me as I do calligraphy and usually I was responsible for printing the names on graduation certificates. It was the most useful elective I ever took in college.
Re: BOIL/STIR. I was sure that both would be used but waited until I had a hint about which went where. That happened quickly enough.
BEE helped immensely with COBOLCATS and LIMBODRIVER. The clever theme just blew me away!
Alas, however, ABEL/LADS escaped me. After all those almost Naticks with LAR, ABIE, ABORC, I can't believe I missed that one.
Western star makeup, TIN, was my favorite clue/fill. Hi, there, TIN!
LION jumped out at me because LIONize is often used to mean idolize.
Thank you, Jack and Lemon. You're very welcome, TTP.
Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!
Blue Iris from last night.
I hope your new pain treatment plan works. It is debilitating to be in constant pain. Congrats on your granddaughter's graduation and achievements. You have a right to be proud. Please keep us posted on her progress.
Diana DORS was a gimmie, so I tried to find some show or movie of hers that I might remember. I can’t find any. With the L, LION was also a gimme, but LATERAL was all perps.
The title of Ebert’s book comes from his scathing review of “Transformers. . . ." and includes more reviews like it.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a dog-like robot humping the leg of the heroine. Such are the meager joys. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.
Hondo -
This series is not impossible for the Tigers, but a very long shot at this time. They stopped scoring weeks ago. Miggy is one hurtin' unit. Prince is an absolute bust in the post season - every year. Peralta can only do so much. Out of 4 stellar starts, they got two only two wins.
Scherzer tomorrow, and JV if it gets to game 7. You can't hope for better pitching than that, but they have to score some runs.
And hope the bull pen doesn't explode.
Lemonade - Alas, the JB does not help, unless it's Jimmy Buffett, the only JB I can come up with.
Misty - Yes, it is really THAT bad.
Here's another of tonight's selections. Lots of fun to play.
Copeland - Outdoor Overture
Cheers!
JzB [who will be playing indoors]
Lemon: Wonderful write-up & informative links explaining my Ink-Blot DNF.
Just curious, aren't A-BORC some kind of cybernetic organisms from Star Trek?
Hmmm, when I have a second Pinch at Sunset (as if THAT would EVER happen) I refer to it as a RELOAD ...
I do enjoy the way it TRICKLEs down my throat.
Well, the Sun is close enough to being over the yardarm ...
Cheers!!!
Jimmy Buffet it is, JzB.
Lar played (allegedly?) Linda Fairgate in 48 episodes of Knot's.
No TBBT reviews today?
Lemon, thanks for the name of Lar's character. However, it didn't ring a bell either. I said "allegedly" as a joke because I couldn't believe she was on that show and didn't look familiar. Maybe it is the picture. Sometimes I have seen pictures of people I know well and don't recognize them from that likeness.
Dreary dark and raining hard here. I swear there are some snowflakes in it hitting the ground. Cat deigned to come in last night, the third night I opened the door in invitation. First two nights he ignored it. He came out for breakfast this morning then begged to come back in awhile ago. Is he forecasting worse weather?
G'Afternoon All...
Hand in the (un-inspired) AIR for oboe. VANE evenutally fell, but only when it hit me spinning to the SSE...
Jack Mac- another goodie. Just enough "easy" clues to perp most things out. I still needed Googles (3) and 16a's A never showed; so one blank square. Thanks LEM for clearing that up.
LEM - re: your 30d link. What a tragic, in more ways than one, name.
Anon: COBOL is still used. My old neighbor (in both senses of the word) still writes COBOL from home for IBM. My 1st language was Apple Basic. Then Fortran, PL/I, ASSemBly, C (not A OR B), and finally my favorite hammer, Perl.
LOSTABET was my fav. We have a standing office bet on the OU-TX game. We Sooner grads had to wear orange ties way to much in the early '00s (and this year too /sigh).
Owen, you out-did yourself...
Cheers, -T
Oh, and CED - I'm already trying to find that onesie for my new niece... Priceless...
PK:
Yes
Hi everybody! That was a fun; a hard but fair Friday puzzle. I got the theme about halfway through and it helped. Otherwise, WEES.
Lucina, western star makeup (TIN) was my favorite clue too.
I am an old fogy when it comes to pop music these days. It doesn't offend me but I almost never enjoy it. I was riding in the car this morning coming back from watching Jordan get an award at school for good writing. The CD player cranked out a duet between Willy Nelson and Ray Price doing "Faded Love." That would be an example of what I enjoy in music. Also, yesterday, Ellen had Jimmy Buffett on her show singing one of his new songs. When he switched to Margaritaville, the audience was standing up, swaying back and forth, and singing along at the top of their lungs. It made me feel there are still a lot of younger fogys around who like the same kind of music that I do.
OwenKL:
Congratulations on another super opus. You are amazing! I now look forward even more eagerly to seeing the top of the blog.
YR:
I have been wanting to tell you how much I admire you for the care and concern you show for your son. Yes, it's a mother's duty but not every mother, I believe, would go to the lengths you do. Such is a mother's love and an example for us all.
I wish I could share our current weather with you. This is the best time of the year here in the desert. Temps are in the mid to high 80s with an occasional breeze passing through. It's heavenly and makes it worthwhile to suffer through the sweltering summer. Winter grass is greening and that lends even more appeal to the outdoors.
PK
Here is a scene with Linda and Karen; now you remember her? Lar.
Lucina and many others, thanks for your support. Alan hasn’t smiled much in the last few years. My screen saver is a random montage of my personal pics. Alan is smiling only in the earlier ones. Today and on many other recent days Alan left work with a bright smile on his face. It did my heart good. Clients were saying, Bye, Alan. Have a nice weekend, Alan. This work experience provides him with friends he can relate to, his real peers. In the outside world it is difficult for him to relate to people and for them to relate to him. No wonder he wanted to add a fourth day of work.
The state of NJ, in its great wisdom, is pushing to close workshops like ours to all those for whom the workshop cannot find supported work at the minimum wage in the neighboring community. We are fighting them. It says the clients are being exploited and need to be part of the community. There are not sufficient minimum wage jobs for all those who are eminently qualified, so those who have deficits wouldn’t stand a chance. Alan works so slowly no one would pay him the minimum wage.
They say that the clients should not be cut off from the community. This workshop community is exactly whom Alan can relate to, not the larger community. The other choice is to vegetate in a day care facility or, somewhat better, vegetate at home. It blows my mind.
I think we have a good chance of winning. One day at a time. Yay, today we are happy and smiling!
Lemon, I get a broken pic/page icon at Tins picture (32D on the write up.) I remember from the Blog a couple of weeks ago that its caused by outdated prefetch info in ones PC Temp files, so i deleted my browsing history, but the pic is still broken. (Anyone else having this problem?)
Should I be deleting my cookies also?
( I really hate to do that...)
Also, my favorite Lost A Bet.
Hola Everyone, Too many unknowns for me to finish without Mr. G. today. What Barry and others said about those obscure names and miss-directions.
I did finish up, but consider this puzzle a real learning experience.
I haven't made Minute Rice for many years. I had to really reach for the directions I used to use.
There is an Indian wind instrument (per Google) called a Venu. So Vane was almost there when I started to put in the perps.
I worked on the puzzle while baking my almond biscotti. These will go in the freezer for the first of the holiday cookies.
Zut Alores I had a hard time with the puzzle today.
Have a great rest of the day everyone and a wonderful weekend.
Lemonade, LAR still doesn't look familiar to me. Nor were those particular scenes or "Karen's" sons. I may have been otherwise engage during KL TV nights in later years. Michelle Lee & most of the other faces, I remember.
Vidwan: From yesterday, about yard men. They may be making more money than you think. My guy & his helper spend half an hour mowing for me and get $30 cash about once a week. At one time he said they did 37 lawns a week and mine is among the smallest. They charge by size of yard and have minimal overhead.
He used to be a department manager for a large retail chain store. He makes more money now. He had set hours, more stress and bad-tempered bosses in retail. He loves the freedom he now has to set his own hours. A lot of his customers are old ladies who really appreciate him. He does odd jobs for his customers when he has time and does snow removal winters.
Chickie: Biscotti?!? The next knock on the door will be me. :-). Cheers, -T
Chickie:
I'll be right behind him!
SABLESTAX was the last step in a pleasurable journey. Posting late due to working today and looking at a gazillion treadmills.
Musings
-Today a really good jumper has “UPS” as in “That Olivia really has some UPS!
-What the heck did she and Billie Joe drop off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
-Everybody knows the LADS from Liverpool
-Remember Tootsie when the Dustin Hoffman male/female character kept AD LIBBING?
-After you commit to OBOE and not VANE, B AND C seemed reasonable at 7 down
-What movie has a climactic scene where Walter Matthau falls through a stage TRAP DOOR opened by Cary Grant?
-While I’m writing questions no one will probably will see, what fold group sang about the LADYBUG’s house being on fire?
-Carbon ISOTOPE dating is not popular with creationists
-I was at a launch at 3 am and was afraid they might ABORT, Lemon. They didn’t and it was spectacular
Jimmy Buffett grew up in Mobile. I had lunch today at the Dew Drop Inn whose burger is said to be the original "Cheeseburger in Paradise."
An easy one for a Friday. It certainly helped to crack the theme by seeing BEE emerge early on.
I too was thrown by the dance pole clue. I hardly envisioned one of those "how-low-can-you-go" poles. But not much time was lost, and the answers were all amusing. Nice job.
BOOK REPORT: I found "The Signature of All Things" immensely engaging. Elizabeth Gilbert (whose "Eat, Pray, Love." I'd skipped) is a fine writer, and I recommend this one most highly. If you like historical fiction --and would like to meet the woman who discovered evolution, this is for you.
Greetings!
I was so tired, it was a DNF for me. But amusing puzzle and great write-up. Laughed at COBOL. This caused the millennium bug, which did not bother Apple computers, as they thought ahead. I never learned COBOL. Many other programming languages though, beginning with machine language on an IBM 1620.
Thanks for asking about Charlie. I give her a pain pill if she "asks" for one. She is rapidly nearing the end.
No, house guest does not drink. He is, however, a little unbalanced, I think. He saw a shrink where he usually lives, but does not think that he needs one here.
Thanks for tip about Savella, Blue Iris!
Fantasia did a swell take on Dance of the Hours.
Elementary very disappointing last night.
Noticed that Argo is on (non-pay) cable now. Have it set to record.
Owen: You do not cease to amaze!
Happy weekend, all!
Hi everyone,
I usually just lurk & read the blog when I can, but felt compelled to add a couple or 2 cent's worth.
OwenKL, keep the witty poetry coming, no matter the form!
And YR, so happy to hear about your son! Seems like NJ is going for a "one size fits all" approach without regard to the individual. Keep fighting for him & his placement! Sometimes it feels like we're in a never-ending sparring match with an opponent who keeps changing the rules. Keep on being that pebble in their shoe, though you may switch to a more irritating object as you see fit!
And HG, I read the late comments! So, who was the folk group?
Crispy
Husker re: Ode to Billie Joe (4:52)
Per Wiki ... As to what she and Billie Joe drop off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
Bobbie Gentry said in a November 1967 interview that it was the question most asked of her by everyone she met.
She named flowers, a ring, a draft card, a bottle of LSD pills, and an aborted baby as the most often guessed items.
Although she knew definitely what the item was, she would not reveal it, saying only "Suppose it was a wedding ring."
"It's in there for two reasons," she said. "First, it locks up a definite relationship between Billie Joe and the girl telling the story, the girl at the table. Second, the fact that Billie Joe was seen throwing something off the bridge – no matter what it was – provides a possible motivation as to why he jumped off the bridge the next day.
On a side note: The Tallahatchie Bridge is only about 20 feet above the river.
The river is 50 feet deep with very sharp rocks that would impale you upon impact.
OwenKL:
How did that Busy Bee get drunk from too much scotch?
You can't HAVE too much scotch ...
(just sayin')
Cheers!!!
Happy Friday everybody!
Unfortunately, it was a DNF today, but not by much. ENACTS for EXACTS and no friggin clue on ALORS....
ROBOT BEER was the first theme answer to fall - at first I thought all answers would have a BEE imbedded....
Favorite answer = A B OR C....
BAYWATCH was also known in some circles as BABE WATCH....
Clayton Kershaw's ERA is not looking so good tonight for the DODGErs. More like Ker-Plunk (sorry Bill G....)
Well, that isn't going well...
I just got two calls in a row for algebra tutoring. They just got back their first test on word problems. Coincidence? I think not.
Crispy, Here’s your answer
Tin, I too have an idea what they were throwing.
Husker:
I remember all the conjecture when the song came out.
And enjoyed the Wiki research tonight, and listening to the song a couple of times ...
(OK, I got bored watching the baseball game.)
What I found interesting is that Billy Joe McAllister jumped off a bridge (that was a whopping 20 feet over the river) to commit suicide ...
C'mon, 20 feet to the river did him in?
I guess he couldn't swim very well.
Tinman he hit the rocks.
HG you link did not work, so what was the answer?
Mary: The Dew Drop Inn is still going in Mobile? I worked there as a counterman during my sophomore year at UofSA! Cheeseburger? I don't even recall if we served burgers back then -- we were famous for our hot dogs then. The buns were steamed in what looked like a dry-cleaner's pants press. That was 40+ years ago, though.
HG: I've had intermittent troubles of the same sort you described. Sometimes just refreshing the page will solve it.
BTW, did you see the math limerick at the end of the day's comments yesterday?
fermat: Y2K was a misunderstanding. 2K = 2048, not 2000! We're going to have to go thru it all over again in 35 more years!
Y2K was real (it was two digit date-representation issue). We stayed up all night and missed the cork-pop'n with our families, but made sure all the stuff worked into 1 Jan 00.
But, yes, we will see the same problem in '38 when 32 bits aint enough for epoc representation*. Even as we move to 64 bits, the DB still does 32b dates... /sigh. Do we ever learn?
Bill G. Kershaw should have been pulled after going >30 pitches in 1 inning, His post-season ERA is way up. I was rooting for the Cards, but wanted to see a better NL game. Friends? :-)
Cheers -T
*number of seconds since Jan 1, 1970.
And LEM - don't say rocks to TIN. He likes it neat. -T
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