Theme: Smudge - What you may have had if you solved these rhymes using paper and pen.
17A. Tennis court official : LINE JUDGE
24A. Harbor long-term resentment : NURSE A GRUDGE
51A. Creamy confection : VANILLA FUDGE
64A. "Stay put!" : "DON'T BUDGE!"
11D. Political commentator with an Internet "Report" : MATT DRUDGE
29D. Push gently : GIVE A NUDGE
Argyle here. I can hardly wait to see what Owen does with this one. At first I thought, "Is that all there is, entries that end in a rhyme" but really, six entries with two crossings on a Monday! What more can I want?
Across:
1. Insect stage : LARVA
6. Sink down in the middle : SAG
9. Heavy haulers : SEMIs
14. Not quite spherical : OVOID
15. Single : ONE
16. Mild-mannered reporter Kent : CLARK
19. Overzealous type : ULTRA
20. Point after deuce : AD IN. Tennis.
21. More narcissistic : VAINER
23. Asian New Year : TET
27. Portuguese explorer Vasco : da GAMA. More.
30. Open court hearing, in law : OYER. (oyer and terminer)
31. News org. : UPI. (United Press International)
32. Construction zone cones : PYLONS
36. Earth-orbiting Gagarin : YURI. First human to make an orbital space flight (1961).
39. Birds that symbolize peace : DOVES
41. Right, vis-à-vis left: Abbr. : OPP.osite
42. Early PC interface : MS DOS
43. Glasses, in ads : SPEX. Adspeak.
44. More than mono : STEREO
46. Workout facility : GYM
47. Water, in Juárez : AGUA
49. Amazingly enough : NO LESS
56. End of a prof's URL : .EDU
57. Type of vegetable oil : CANOLA
58. Yucky muck : GOOP
62. Soup scoop : LADLE. Cute clue.
66. Partner of vim : VIGOR
67. Seventh Greek letter : ETA. (zeta, eta, theta)
68. Love, to Luciano : AMORE. Italian
69. Length-times-width calculations : AREAs
70. Opposite of NNW : SSE
71. Yankee shortstop Jeter who announced he will retire at the end of 2014 : DEREK
Down:
1. Whatever she wants, she gets : LOLA. "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets". From the 1955 musical, "Damn Yankees".
2. Zealous : AVID
3. Rice-A-__ : RONI
4. Capital of Austria : VIENNA
5. Wd. modifying a noun : ADJ.
6. Dr Pepper and Dr. Brown's : SODAs
7. 1973 Rolling Stones ballad : "ANGIE"
8. Davis of "A League of Their Own" : GEENA. Story of a female professional baseball league. (1992) Geena played the part of Dottie Hinson, their catcher.
9. Move like a squirrel : SCURRY
10. Right-angle bend : ELL
12. Discount rack abbr. : IRREG.
13. Glide on ice : SKATE
18. Sunlamp danger, briefly : UV RAY
22. Narcissists have big ones : EGOs
25. Men pocketing baseballs : UMPs
26. Sometimes-illegal turns, for short : UEYs. Aussie slang version.
27. Fizzling firecrackers : DUDs
28. Each : A POP
33. Valet's purview : LOT. The parking valet, not the gentleman's personal valet.
34. Not shut, poetically : OPE
35. "All Things Considered" airer : NPR. Formerly National Public Radio, changed to just NPR, 2010.
37. Rogers and Clark : ROYs. Both in the Country genre.
38. Beliefs : ISMs
40. WWII vet, say : EX GI
42. Synthesizer pioneer : MOOG
44. Room in una casa : SALA. Spanish
45. Conclude by : END AT
48. Stomach ailments : ULCERS
50. Lentil or pea : LEGUME
51. Aqua __: aftershave brand : VELVA
52. Firefighter Red : ADAIR. Famous for snuffing out oil rig fires. The John Wayne movie, "Hellfighters"(1968), was based loosely on the life of Red Adair.
53. South American range : ANDES
54. Pays, as the bill : FOOTS
55. Radii-paralleling bones : ULNAE. (elbow to the wrist)
59. Skunk's defense : ODOR
60. Fairy tale fiend : OGRE
61. Eye on the sly : PEEK. The last of today's alliterations.
63. Hawaii's Mauna __ : LOA
65. Terrible : BAD
If you've got the time, hang on.
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
I'd like to share with you a few moving pictures from the Air Force retirement ceremony of Tom, Jazzbumpa's stepson. Jazzbumpa and his wife Gloria drove to Florida and attended the ceremony on March 21, 2014. Please click here for a couple more. Tom was deployed to Afghanistan a few times.
Entrance of the Color Guard
Flag presentation
Tom and Beth with Lauren, Josh and Abby
Now on to the next chapter of life
Now on to the next chapter of life
There once was a guy with a GRUDGE
ReplyDeleteAbout crosswords that just will not BUDGE.
"So often with clues
There's one that's a kludge,
And the whole grid ends up one big smudge!"
"I hate puzzles that make solving a DRUDGE,
They're not as much fun, I would JUDGE.
With a wag, you can NUDGE it,
With a perp, you can FUDGE it,
But with too many naticks, it's just sludge!"
[For anyone new here, wag is an acronym for "wild-assed guess", a natick is the crossing of two words that are complete unknowns (and also a small town in Maine), and a perp is a perpendicular crossing word.]
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteGreat Monday puzzle today. Loved the rhymes, and everything in the grid was smooth as silk. In fact, I entered the answers so fast I accidentally made a typo at 41 and entered PPP instead of OPP, which caused me a bit of grief at the end when I had to track it down...
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.
ReplyDeleteYou took the words right out of my mouth, Argyle - "…six entries with two crossings on a Monday!" Wow.
Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Fun puzzle with a few non-Monday words.
ReplyDeleteI liked how the EGOS crossed with VAINER.
Owen: Natick is a town in Massachusetts. Cape Neddick is in Maine.
The Azeleas are finally in full bloom. They are about a month late this year.
QOD: It’s a blessing to have work that feels fulfilling. ~ Al Gore (Mar. 31, 1948)
Argyle: Hope I didn't disappoint you with today's limericks. I even fit in the one word ending in *UDGE that doesn't rhyme with the rest.
ReplyDeleteHaht: Correction noted. Thank you!
A little crunchy for a Monday, more like Tuesday or Wednesday. ADIN (we've had it before, but it's still obscure), OVOID, OYER crossing the ever-controversial UEYS, SPEX, IRREG instead of the usual IRR, and a bunch of cute (in the sense of "don't get cute with me, young man!") clues.
Nice Puzzle for a Monday only one unknown which was spex. specs sure but not spex. great poems as per usual owen. Tomorrow is April fools Day have fun.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGood day to all,
Well, this was not a walk in the park for me, but ultimately managed to get it done. The theme entries were not much of a problem, but I had issues with some of the remaining fills.
For 27A I began with De Gama but 28D, APOP, corrected the error. 57A CANOLA & 30A OYER needed big time perp help. Can't recall ever seeing SPEX anywhere, but it made sense and the perps were solid.
Spring has officially sprung in CT today. We are experiencing a combination of snow, sleet, rain, and icing conditions. But, "whatever the elements, it's Opening Day. My predictions (hopes) are the Giants in the NL and the Yankees in the AL. Have no idea who I will root for in the World Series.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis was a nice Monday offering -- quick and cute.
MSDOS was an efficient operating system. The interface wasn't glitzy, but the programs were small and very fast.
Everyone in Houston was familiar with Red Adair, and also with Boots and Coots.
Yup, azaleas are in full bloom here, too, Hahtoolah. Yesterday the first hummingbirds showed up at our feeder. And within two hours one of 'em managed to suicide hizzseff by crashing into a family room window. Avatar was right there to enjoy the snack.
Hi Everyone ~~
ReplyDeleteFast and fun today ~ thanks, Ed Sessa. No slow-downs and no write-overs except for erasing a couple of places where I entered letters in the wrong places - I seem to do that often. So yes, Argyle, I did indeed have a SMUDGE here and there! Thanks for a great write-up, including VANILLA FUDGE.
Beautiful pics, JazzB ~ congrats to Tom!
Awoke to heavy snow falling...sigh. C'mon Mother Nature, It's Opening Day! I'm off to an appointment for my yearly physical and then at 3:05 it's BASEBALL! :-
The puzzle was a walk in the park today, as Barry said, smooth as silk. Actually, today will be warmer and clear,a good day for a literal walk in the park. Azaleas are expected to bloom here any time between mid April and mid May. I am jealous of you early bloomers. At least the daffodils have sprouted and are about six inches high. So sorry to hear you have snow HH and LaLa Linda.
ReplyDeleteMy only write over was spelling Adair wrong.
My son knocked over the pickle jar and tried to mop up the juice. The liquid was wiped up, but the stickiness is spread everywhere. I guess this is a good day to clean the entire kitchen.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteNo FUDGing needed today. Got most of the solve on the 1st pass. Only slightly crunchy in the SPEX AREA. But perps were generous.
I use the DRUDGE report for a news portal; not for the political views.
I remember Red ADAIR news stories when I was growing up. The media would be all agog every time he snuffed out an oil well fire.
Some of my favorite LEGUMES:
Locust - a stately tree with very hard wood.
Alfalfa - a field of blooms has a delightful fragrance.
Peas and most beans - great food
Fava - goes good with beer.
Can't tolerate lentil - generates heartburn
JazzB - Nice retirement pictures; thanks for sharing.
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A 67°F day today with a 35 mph wind. For a golfer, that’s like having a great cabin on the Titanic.
-An upper end Monday puzzle with many interesting components
-If you can drive a SEMI, there is work for you anywhere in the country
-Ah spring! I’ve just sighted the first robin and road work PYLON
-JD sent me this picture of a car covered in ONES
-Russian firsts – object (Sputnik) in orbit, living being (Laika the dog) in orbit, object (Luna I) to hit the Moon, first man (YURI) in orbit, first woman (Valentina) in orbit. American first – oh yeah, men on the Moon. It’s where you finish baby!
-I would drink the AGUA out of a bottle and not the tap in Juarez
-Besides all that oil, North Dakota has huge CANOLA fields
-JETER’s huge 2014 salary is for what he has done not what he can do. In the NFL, it’s “thanks for the memories” but we’ve got a 22-year-old kid who can do your job better so I hope you kept your day job
-I still think diagramming sentences shows ADJ’s, adv’s, prep’s, etc. best
-Kookie was a val ay’ and Bates is a val’ ette
-I’ll take GUI (Graphic User Interface) over MSDOS any day!
-Jazz, please thank Tom for his service from those of us at the Corner. What a lovely family.
Very fun puzzle today especially after Friday's and Saturday's.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I worked on the CW in the morning then helped move my Daughter to San Francisco, so I didn't read the comments until late last night.
I'm glad some of you took issue with 42 D "peon". Both of my children came of working age during the recession. We encouraged them to get part time jobs so they could learn work ethics. The only jobs available for them was at McD. Of course they complained about the management and abusive customers.
It was tough to keep their moral up, but if they thought adults considered them "peons", that's just not right.
I agree with thehondohurricane Giants in the World Series.
Good morning all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ed Sessa and Argyle.
Did this Monday puzzle you misjudge ?
Plod and slog did you trudge ?
A constructor with your head can messa
Especially when the creator is Mr Sessa
And his skill level you shouldn't begrudge.
Ron, your son's service to our country is appreciated.
Having a job at Mc Donald’s is not insulting or demeaning. The term McJob is insulting, so equating it with peon is about right. The workers should not be subjected to either term.
ReplyDeleteLink McJob is insulting
Around here calling a huge house on a small lot a McMansion is also insulting
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteOverall, a typical Monday offering but with a few crunches. Fun theme, fun solve. Thanks, Ed Sessa, and thanks, Argyle.
Very nice pictures, JazzB, Congratulations and many thanks to Tom for his service.
Cloudy and gloomy on this last day of one of the coldest March's (?) on record.
Have a great day.
P.S. The Good Wife had me in tears last night.
Tough Judge
ReplyDeleteGrudge...
Fudge?
Budge got me a little distracted, apparently it means something else in Australia, so I went looking, but only found something called Budgie Smugglers? If you don't have time to go over the whole list, here's a shortcut.
I tried to find something funny for Drudge, but it got very boring...
Classic Nudge.
Thank you Mr. Sessa for my easiest puzzle ever. Only 36 minutes ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Argyle, for your lovely blog, and gentle humor.
Thank you JazzB for the pictures of the successful service of your stepson Tom. Very impressive credentials and very impressive ceremony. Good luck for his future.
Thank you OwenKL for your lovely limericks and poems. Your prolific output is very admirable and noteworthy. IMHO.
Thank you YellowRocks for being the unofficial researcher and etymologist on the blog. I always learn a lot from you.
Hahtoolah, nice to know that flowers are actually sprouting ... somewhere. I thought I saw flowers, at a distance - but unfortunately, it was only yellow snow...
Have a nice day, all.
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteTypical Monday ease, but an impressive grid!
I got curious about Canola oil one day, and read up on it. I gather the name was invented as a way of bypassing the name Rapeseed Oil, which must have been tougher to sell to consumers. It's a contraction of Canada and ola (oil) - much of the crop is cultivated in the big fields of Canada.
Clue 44 ( Room in una casa : SALA.)
ReplyDeleteNice clue I guess, but I speak English.
Enjoyable Monday level puzzle but unfortunately Natick of MATT DRUDGE and OYER meant I had to resort to red letters to get the R.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem today OWENKL! And the blog newcomers will appreciate your definitions.
Had SPEC before SPEX but ECGI didn't make any sense. AHA!
YURI was in space long before Chris.
Loved Vienna. Have any of you eaten at Marchfelderhof just outside of Vienna. It was a tour extra - lots of fun and the food was OK also.
Marchfelderhof
We had more snow on the weekend but the tulips are pushing through the ground so spring cannot be far behind!
CanadianEh - can't say I've been to Marchfelderhof, but it looks appealing. I love the city of Vienna and have long held the belief it would be a pretty nice place to live. They certainly have perfected the coffee shop culture!
ReplyDeleteYears before the changes from 9/11, I was able to visit the air traffic control tower at the Vienna airport. Nice view from there!
Good day, friends!
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference a day makes! After Ed Sessa beat me up with a weekend puzzle, he comes along with an easy Monday one.
It filled as quickly as I could write and sailed along smoothely until the Natick, like CanadianEh, at OYER/DRUDGE. I only know OYEZ but clearly that wasn't it so had to research MATT DRUDGE.
Thank you, Argyle and Ed.
Have a marvelous Monday, everyone!
Clever, clever puzzle, Ed--many thanks! Goofed up only because I had SPEC and forgot to double-check the down to make sure it would work. But I still loved doing this puzzle, and enjoyed your expo, Argyle.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to your family, JazzB.
Our Gourmet Club enjoyed a Brasilian dinner last night. The food was simply fabulous, but a lot of work to prepare.
I miss Vienna, but at least it's fun to hear about it.
Have a great Monday, everybody!
And now for something completely different: while my better half was selecting an online birthday card, I got to wondering whether the song "Happy Birthday" is still under copyright protection, and who might hold that copyright.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's a thorny issue. The Wiki entry on the topic makes it look as though the song was pretty well in the public consciousness for 40 years or so, uncopyrighted, when in 1935 a company laid claim to it. The royalties paid thereafter have run well into the millions. However, in-depth research has called into question whether the copyright is valid. I believe there is a legal case pending - could be interesting!
Hi gang -
ReplyDeleteFun puzzle - very rich themeage.
Thanks for the nice comments. I've lost count of Tom's deployments to Afghanistan, Qatar, and a variety of other places. A lot of his ribbons come from those tours. His mom is very happy that it's all over.
His kids a great. Six-yr-old Josh beats me at one on one basketball.
Owen - I always appreciate your verses. Keep it up.
Cool regards!
JzB
I was hoping for a DEREK link, but no dice. After all these years, still getting it done. Bravo DEREK!!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteDudley, regarding copyrights ... and patents.
Whereas (!), this past weekend I was researching the patents on the wonder drug (!) Viagra - Sildenafil and the competitive drugs Cialis and Levitra, which are related compounds...
Patents in the USA, generally run for 20 years ... it used be 14, then 17, now 20. The main patent on Viagra is valid till ~ 2020. But defending those patents is very tenuous business. And other countries have an entirely different story ...
China does not recognize the patents on Sildenafil, so there are many, many 'viagra' pills and 'herbal supplements', manufacturers in China.
And India only recognizes, a very limited area of that patent, hence a lot of competitors, ... among them Kamagra ( after Kama-sutra ! )
And Canada, our neighbor to the north ... by a Supreme Court of Canada decision, in 2013 ... threw out the Pfizer patent on Viagra, from the beginning, from day one, for all time, irrevocably and with prejudice ... for misrepresentation, and not listing all the facts (!).
The European Union has kicked out the Viagra patent, from 2010, and Boots, a british pharmacist is selling the drug - get this - over the counter, in consultation with the pharmacist ***
If this is how we treat patents ... what hopes do copyrights have ?
However, all is not lost, Wiki says Viagra in small quantities has been found as a miraculous cure to prevent sagging .... in cut flowers (!) and some Argentinians have found it useful in reducing jet lag .... in hamsters. ( Sorry, L)
Link Viagra Sildeafil Wiki
Vegetable Oils is the Industry I worked in nearly all of my career.
ReplyDeleteDuring that time the Canadian Grain Commission entered into a research project to develop a rapeseed that produced an oil that reduced the concentration of euricic acid. This fatty acid delivers a bitter-like taste to the oil and has been associated with heart disease. In addition, rapeseed meal contains glucosinolates which is detrimental to animals when used in their feed.
At the time that CGC was working on this problem,I think in the 80s, genetic modification was not very developed. The normal way to develop such a low euricic acid seed also low in glucosinolates was to keep testing seeds until a mutant was found that lowered these two factors and then grow many plants with those characteristics and then do that again over and over until there were sufficient seeds to commercialize the seed.
This was a very successful endeavor by the CGC and they named in Canola as in CANadian OiL.
Jzb:
ReplyDeleteI forgot to thank you for sharing the photos of your stepson. What a wonderful occasion! I also wish to thank him for his service.
Dudley:
That is interesting about Happy Birthday. I had heard that it couldn't be sung over the airwaves for reasons of copyright and even some restaurants didn't use it but created their own versions.
@Dudley - to add to the confusion, the "Happy Birthday" copyright is also region-specific - I believe it only applies to the USA.
ReplyDeleteIf you've seen the animation "The Wrong Trousers" with Wallace and Gromit, in one scene Gromit is shown opening a musical birthday card. In the UK version, it plays "Happy Birthday", in the USA release it plays "Jolly Good Fellow".
Like Misty, I started with SPEC, but I caught it before finishing, so it was just a re-write.
ReplyDeleteThis was a pleasant, even refreshing easy-peasy Monday pzl. Nice to start the week with steady fill-ins and little to no strain. Especially after all the gripes we suffered and whining we indulged on Saturday.
Dudley's note about the contesting of the copyright on "Happy Birthday" makes me wonder how, if the CR is found to be invalid, those millions of singers will ever be reimbursed. Maybe a credit toward their next shower song or "Auld lang syne"? I imagine many infractions are subject to the statute of limitations.
And what if the CR is upheld? Imagine checking all those home movies and videos to see who hasn't paid up -- yet!
Enjoyable puzzle and writeup. Thanks Ed and Argyle.
ReplyDeleteJzB, Thanks and congratulations for your son.
Steve, I LOVE "The Wrong Trousers." I like all of the Wallace and Gromit movies but that one is a classic.
Try the following simple little multiplication problem. Anything interesting about the answer?
(259) x (your age) x (39) = ?
Sorry, I spelled erucic acid wrong.
ReplyDeleteBillG:
ReplyDeleteVery tricky! Math magic, I presume.
ReplyDeleteOle Man Keith, the payment of fees involved for royalties for a copyrighted song - only come into play for a public performance(s), for profit. Thus plays, movies, public talks, broadcasting and such. So you don't have to pay a fee to sing 'Happy Birthday', to your family and friends - even in a public restaurant like Olive Garden. Or in your home movies / video.
Bill G.,
ReplyDeleteI ran the numbers. I got my age plus zero spread in alternating numbers over six spaces --same as if you just take your age and multiply it by 10101. Funny how that figure is the product of 259 X 39! Ain't math grand?
John28man, is it possible that Canola was coined to mean 'Canada (-ian) Oil - Low Acid' ?
ReplyDeleteHello everybody. Fun puzzle today. Once I got the theme, I entered UDGE for the last letters of all the theme entries.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Owen, for your verses.
Congratulations, Jazzb, to your stepson.
Best wishes to you all.
adThank you Ed Sessa, and thank you Argyle for the writeup. This was a fun cw and a typical Monday offering. Very easy.
ReplyDeleteOwenKL: Loved your poem. You amaze me with your quick wit and talent.
Nancy
Hi Y'all! A relaxing speed run with a little bite. Thanks, Ed! Thanks, Argyle!
ReplyDeleteThis theme wasn't hard to get, it NUDGEd you in the ULNAE.
Didn't know ADIN, ANGIE or MATT DRUDG, but they perped up.
I thought Vasco DA GAMA was "De". Guess the difference is Portugese not Spanish. I also thought he came to the Americas. Live and learn.
Do all Asians celebrate TET or is that just in Vietnam?
JZB: How many years did Tom have in the service and what was his rank? My Air Force Major son applied for early retirement and was denied. He's just back a month from deployment to UAE. Thank Tom's family for their sacrifices. The wives serve hazardous duty too.
Good afternoon everyone.
ReplyDeleteBill G. Yes it repeats my age 3 times. How does that work?
JazzB. Thanks for the pix of your stepson and thanks to him for his service.
Missed some answers on this very enjoyable puzzle: couldn't figure out what to do with GRUDGE, and missed SPEX _wanted spec but couldn't work it out with --GI.
But figuring out the UDGE helped at lot with the other answers.
Cheers
ReplyDeleteThe word, 'rape', as in rapeseed, comes from the Latin word for turnip ; rapa or rapum.
Of the botanical family Brassicaceae ... mustard or cabbage family, and long rooted.
Just an unfortunate coincidence of the name to a hideous crime ....
Am I the only silly one who entered poop instead of goop?
ReplyDeleteGood afternoon, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Jazzbumpa, to your stepson and his family. I am sure he has seen a lot of the world.
Great poem, OwenKL. Keep 'em coming!
Hahtoolah: I assume you are referring to Albert Gore, Senior, in that quote. He was quite a guy.
Puzzle was fine. Easy as it is a Monday. Got through most of it quickly while at the eye doctor. I guess I was proving to them I could still see well enough to do a puzzle.
Liked the theme. The only tough one was MATT DRUDGE.
While writing in FOOTS for 54D, I was thinking of FEET. Can you FEET the bill?
SCURRY reminded me of the 7 squirrels that visit us daily. I put lots of seeds out and they scarf it up.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(55986562 210)
Clarifier @ 1345 - re: turnips. Latin and Germanic languages are both descended from the ancient Indo-European. Turnips/cabbages have been cultured for several thousand years in Europe; potatoes and corn are recent foods. So unless they are recent borrowings, the word for turnip may have similarities:
ReplyDeleteLatin - rapa
German - Rübe
Low German - Rööv
PK @ 1335 - 20 years is the normal minimum service for retirement from a military service. If the officer had prior enlisted time, some additional service may be required to retire at the highest rank.
See :
Age and Service Requirements
and
Commissioned officers: general rule; exceptions
Sallie and Lucina: Yes, there is quite a bit of real magic involved, much better than the big illusions by David Copperfield in Las Vegas. Say your age is 54. If you multiply it by 1, you get 54. If you multiply it by 100, you get 5400. If you multiply it by 10000, you get 540000. If you add them all up, you get 545454, the same as multiplying 54 by 101010 which equals 100000 + 1000 + 100 + 1. As Keith cleverly noticed, 259 x 39 just happens to be 101010. So you are multiplying your age by 101010 in disguise. Try it on your relatives.
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov, as I understand it, because of the currant military downsizing, they were or are offering an early retirement bonus package, if approved by the powers that be. This is why I asked. With the Russian situation, one wonders whether the military downsize will continue.
ReplyDeleteSpring has sprung here. Over 70* the past two days with daffodils and forsythia blooming. However, the wind is so strong, some of the forsythia blooms are blowing off after only a day.
Hi all!
ReplyDeleteOut with a bad back today - dear daughter and I worked all weekend to get the garden in* and my back NURSES A GRUDGE. DD didn't miss a step this AM bouncing down the stairs. Perhaps I should hit the GYM.
I liked how the firecracker DUDS were next those that went APOP!
Thanks to Ed for the fun run; Argyle for the VANILLA FUDGE link (and write-up); and OwenKL - the second poem is perfect for x-words.
Hand up for SPEc and not looking back Misty.
D-O beat me to Red ADAIR's Boots & Coots. Last time they were in the national news was post Iraq oil fires. Tough guys playing in the GOOP.
MSDOS was cool for us that could HIGHMEM, but it still wasn't UNIX. Windows 3.0 wasn't MAC and MAC wasn't DOS. I'm on win 7 now and still prefer cmd (with a non-MS shell).
CED - Python! Steve re: W&G Trousers - Now I feel cheated ;---
Bill G. 259 x 39 = 10101. Ah, forever 21....
Cheers, -T
*Basil, Tomatoes (San Marizano, Roma, slicers), Peppers (bells & bananas (mild & hot)), Cukes, & Zukes! Can you tell my heritage?
Doh! JzB - Congratulations to Tom! Salute.
ReplyDeleteHG - I'm a little disappointed in one your Musings today:
ReplyDelete"A 67°F day today with a 35 mph wind. For a golfer, that’s like having a great cabin on the Titanic."
I would hazard to say that equating a rough day of golf with such a death trap disaster is a bit coarse, even if the results of both end up in the drink.
Hola Everyone, A fun Monday puzzle. After the first two theme entries were in, I was looking for words that would rhyme with Judge and Fudge, so that made the rest of the theme entries a bit easier. Six for a Monday is a bit unusual.
ReplyDeleteA smooth puzzle for a Monday.
Thanks Argyle for the write up and Ownen, the rhymes were great today.
It is raining hard here and so the opening day for the A's looks like it will be rained out. This is a rare occurrence here in our neck of the woods. But we need the rain so badly, that I don't think many will be upset at the BB rainout.
Jazz B. Congratulations to your
son on his retirement and a big thank you for his service to our country.
Have a great rest of the day, everyone.
A friend sent me this sad tale:
ReplyDeleteLast week was my birthday and I didn't feel very well waking up on that morning.
I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my husband would be pleasant and say, 'Happy Birthday!', and possibly have a small present for me.
As it turned out, he barely said good morning, let alone ' Happy Birthday.'
I thought...... well, that's marriage for you, but the kids.... they will remember.
My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfasts and didn't say a word..
So when I left for the office, I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.
As I walked into my office, my handsome Boss Rick, said, 'Good Morning, lady, and by the way Happy Birthday! '
It felt a little better that at least someone had remembered.
I worked until one o'clock , when Rick knocked on my door and said, 'You know, it's such a beautiful day outside, and it is your birthday, what do you say we go out to lunch, just you and me….'
I said, 'Thanks, Rick, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go!'
ReplyDeleteWe went to lunch.
But we didn't go where we normally would go.
He chose instead a quiet bistro with a private table.
We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.
On the way back to the office, Rick said, 'You know, it's such a beautiful day... we don't need to go straight back to the office, do we?'
I responded, 'I guess not.
What do you have in mind?'
He said, 'Let's drop by my place, it's just around the corner.'
After arriving at his house, Rick turned to me and said, If you don't mind,
I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment.
I'll be right back.'
'Ok.' I nervously replied.
He went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes, he came out
carrying a huge birthday cake .... followed by my husband
my kids, and dozens of my friends and co-workers, all singing 'Happy Birthday'.
And I just sat there....
On the couch......
Naked.
…and that is why she is now divorced.
ReplyDeleteFinished the hard copy puzzle, but with errors. SPEC should've been SPEX, misspelled UEYS and OYER.
ReplyDeleteLoved the math puzzle, thanks, Bill G.
Congrats, JazzBumpa, for your sons' service. Job well done!
My sisters said the azaleas in City Park in New Orleans are in full bloom. She was there for Dog Day Afternoon.
HeartRx:
ReplyDeleteIs that a true story?
Abejo
ReplyDeleteMarti...... funny. LMAO>
Bill G... does that mean I am older by a factor of 3? If so, I,m in deep weeds.
JzB... My sincere thanks to Tom for his service.
Marti ~ That's the best "sad tale" I've heard in a while! LOL
ReplyDeleteAbejo@5:33: "Is that a true story?"
ReplyDeleteNo, it's Internet junk.
JzB, Please tell your stepson and wife how much we appreciate their sacrifice and service to our country. I'm glad his children get to have him home now (with "no good-byes" until they leave the nest.)
ReplyDeleteCED, the baby JUDGE that got his nose stolen brightened my day.
Husker Gary, I'm actually thinking about covering an end table top with pennies. There is a "how-to" online on epbot.com.
PK, thought your comment " speed run with a little bite" described today's puzzle well.
I just finished reading "The Harbinger." My daughter gave it to me for Christmas. Very thought provoking. Has anybody else here read it? If so, e-mail with your thoughts.
Thanks john28man @12:42. I have seen the beautiful yellow fields of canola in Saskatchewan but didn't realize it was a uniquely Canadian product.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful day today and reached 12C. DH and I had afternoon tea on the patio in the sun!
Abejo, no, it's just a funny story that I got in my emails today (from a REAL friend). But I laughed so hard when I read the punchline, I just had to share.
ReplyDeleteAl Cyone, life is too short - everyone needs to laugh once in a while, no matter what the source, right???
Good evening, folks. Raining day session here in the bay area. YAY!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey are saying the A's baseball opener will go on, for all of you who keep track of that sort of thing.
Yellowrocks I feel your pain. I knocked over a bottle of Balsamic vinegar on my kitchen counter. To make matters worse one of the drawers below was sightly ajar...counter, drawer, floor......sticky mess!
Tuesday - lunch with the California coven, long over due I might add.
Great photos, JazzB. Thank you to your son and family for all their sacrifices.
Batter up, ya'll.
@BillG - I'm not sure how many times I've lost it over Wallace and Gromit. The train-chase scene from "The Wrong Trousers" is my all-time funniest two minutes in film. Good job, Lad!
ReplyDeleteComcast in the crapper, so very late today. Thanks Ed and Scott and for all the info on Canola.
ReplyDeleteJzB well done
Guess what I just found at the floral department of my local supermarket? A branch of forsythia and another of cherry blossoms, that's what. They bring back fond memories of Spring back in Virginia. They are now sitting in a large vase of water in the corner of our kitchen.
ReplyDeleteSteve, you've got me convinced that I need to watch "The Wrong Trousers" again, probably for the seventh time.