google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, May 15, 2014, James Sajdak

Advertisements

May 15, 2014

Thursday, May 15, 2014, James Sajdak

Theme: "Dog-gone good!"

20. Loser's hoped-for path : COMEBACK TRAIL. I wonder if Rory will find his path soon?

28. Significant dry spell? : SPEAKEASY ERA. (Apologies to Tinbeni.)

45. Disruptive occupation : SIT-IN PROTEST. Anyone run into the "Occupy" tents yet?  They seem to disappear in the winter here up north...

55. Telecommuter, perhaps : STAY-AT-HOME DAD. I think of STAY-AT-HOME DADs as non-working. But telecommuting works, too, I guess!

38. A good one follows the starts of the four longest puzzle answers : DOG. But a smart one can do all these things, too. (Thanks for the fun video from Tuesday, Argyle - it was just too good not to use on this puzzle!)

Pretty straightforward for a Thursday, don't you think? The clues seemed so as well. But I'll do my best to shed light on anything that might have tripped you up.


Across:

1. Quiets : CALMS. -

6. Fund-raising target : GOAL. -

10. Combat group : UNIT. -

14. Muslim deity : ALLAH. -

15. Tom Joad, e.g. : OKIE. -

16. Gp. for leather loathers : PETA. -

17. Quench : SLAKE. -

18. Moderate, with "down" : TONE. -

19. Piece of land : PLOT. -

23. __ standstill : AT A. -

24. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH. -

25. Comical routine : SHTICK. - (Love that word!)

31. Drift, as on the breeze : WAFT. -

34. Himalayan legend : YETI. -

35. Take a turn in the box : BAT. -Ah! Here's one that might have made you scratch your head.  All I could think of was my cats. But not just domestic cats. As it turns out, ALL cats just love a box! 2:47

36. Where surfers shop : E-MALL. Ack.

39. "Affliction" actor : NOLTE. Nick. 1997 film set in NH. Anyone see it?

41. Ex-Saudi ruler __ Saud : IBN. King Abdulaziz, first monarch of Saudi Arabia 1932-1953.

42. Such-is link : AS IT. - "Such as it is."

44. Pro votes : AYES.

50. Poem part : STANZA.

51. "Rumble in the Jungle" winner : ALI.

52. Botanist Gray : ASA.

59. "Lovely" girl of song : RITA. The Beatles' meter maid. 2:42

61. "Am __ late?" : I TOO.

62. Numbered hymn : PSALM.

63. Actor Estrada : ERIK. My only hesitation was having to remember if it was spelled with a "c" or a "K."

64. Zero : NONE.

65. Cocoon dweller : LARVA.

66. Watch part : FACE.

67. Tour stops : GIGS.

68. Whitehorse's territory : YUKONMap.


Down:

1. Brutus co-conspirator : CASCA.

2. Deal out : ALLOT.

3. South American carrier : LLAMA. Anyone else looking for an airline?

4. Rake in : MAKE.

5. Cyndi Lauper hit : SHEBOP. I already used my music link.

6. "Check" : GOTCHA.

7. "All right already" : OK OK. I said, "GOTCHA!!"

8. English class no-no : AIN'T.

9. Eyes rudely : LEERS AT.

10. Snobbish : UPPITY.

11. "Ten Days in a Mad-House" journalist, 1887 : NELLIE BLY. Pen name of Elizabeth Jane Cochrane. She faked insanity in order to report on mad-house conditions from within.

12. Judge in 1995 news : ITO. Lance ITO of the O.J. Simpson trial fame.

13. Art in a parlor : TAT.

21. Enzyme ending : ASE.

22. Twain/Harte play : AH SIN. "Ah Sin" is the name of the Chinese character in the play. No complete manuscript of this play survived. Its content can be derived from reviews of the time. The play ultimately failed, and the enmity between Harte and Twain began. (From C.C.: "Ah" is very common in Cantonese nicknames. It's often put in front the given name of a family member or close friend. For example, we can call Marti "Ah Marti". You can't use it for a stranger or your boss though. See here. Remember, Chinese put surnames first, hence his Ah-po nickname.)

26. Slatted box : CRATE.

27. Middleton and Spade : KATES.

28. Arch home: Abbr. : ST. L.ouis

29. Japan's second-oldest university : KYOTO.

30. Diagnostic test for epilepsy, for short : EEGElectroencephalogram.

31. Houdini's family name : WEISS.

32. Boundary : AMBIT.

33. Extraordinary : FANTASTIC.

37. Tenor who portrayed Caruso : LANZA. Mario is worthy of a second music link. 3:02

38. Ang Lee, e.g.: Abbr. : DIR.ector and Academy Award winner for "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi."

40. Healthy grain : OAT.

43. Fixing, in a way : SPAYING. (Shhh! Don't mention this one to the 38-Across!)

46. __ manifold: engine part : INTAKE.

47. Chevy SUVs : TAHOES.

48. "Strange Magic" gp. : ELO. Electric Light Orchestra.

49. Without complication : SIMPLY.

52. "... __ and stormy ..." : A DARK.



53. Series of shots : SALVO.

54. Marketing pro : AD MAN.

56. Yours, to Yvette : A TOI.

57. Half a bar tool : TONG. Ack!

58. Genesis brother : ESAU.

59. Flag thrower : REF.

60. Portfolio element : IRA. Individual Retirement Account. Nary a hint of abbr., so have IRAs become one of those acronyms that are now accepted as words in and of themselves?

So, how did you do?

Marti


Note from C.C.:

Misty commented yesterday: " Las Vegas "snow-covered"? Really? Not when I've been there."

JD emailed me with a few photos. She said "here is LV covered in snow (09) with the "asses". Click here for 2 more pictures.






56 comments:

OwenKL said...

AH SIN, a play by Harte and Twain,
Had a stagecoach that broke again and again.
Pulled by horses, like pets,
Taught not to shit on the sets;
One could say that the horses were stage trained!

A DOG is, we're told, man's best friend;
He'll COME, he'll fetch, and defend.
But that we rule them is pap,
Who picks up whose crap?
Why the DOG, on his slave, can depend!

He'll COME when that's what she'll demand.
He'll SIT quiet or SPEAK on her command.
If she wants him to STAY
He'll wait docile all day --
The perfect husband! (You did understand?)

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Definitely a Thursday level puzzle for me today. Nothing too hard, but I had to work at it.

Had a nice *AHA* moment when I got the theme halfway through. That helped me get STAY AT HOME DAD with almost no perps (not to be sexist, but since I am one I figured I'd try that before STAY AT HOME MOM).

Did not know AH SIN, had EARN before MAKE, went with ERIC instead of ERIK at first, tried to fit in NELLY instead of NELLIE, and wondered whether there actually is something called an EMALL and whether people actually ride on LLAMAs. All that slowed me down a bit but, as I said, nothing insurmountable.

thehondohurricane said...

Hello everyone,

This must be my lucky day because I got it done, but there were five wags that left me in doubt until checking them out.. The O & S in 24A crossing in 5D & 21D; The crossing H for 25A & 22D; The crossing B for 41A & 32D; and the crossing L for 51A & 48D.

Not too crazy about the theme. If I used DOG to get Riley to do something, he'd totally ignore me, but if i said Riley SIT, or Riley SPEAK, he would react. Yeah, and I get the constructor's intention.

Really liked 28A Significant dry spell/SPEAKEASY ERA & 35A Take a turn in the box/BAT.

That's it for today, lots of "stuff" on my plate.

Anonymous said...

LLama picture

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. Fun Thursday puzzle even without a DOG.

Fixing in a Way = SPAYING has got to be one of the best clues I've seen in a long time.

There are lots of 4-letter Genesis brothers - Cain and Abel, Seth, and Enos are just a few to come to mind, in addition to ESAU, who's brother was Jacob.

May 5th was the 150th Anniversary of Nellie Bly's birth.

IBN actually means "son."

She-Bop

QOD: Singing aloud leaves you with a sense of levity and contentedness. ~ Brian Eno (May 15, 1948)

buckeye bob said...

Good morning, everyone!

I thought this was easy for a Thursday, although I needed perp help in several places. And I thought the cluing for the theme answers was clever.

I could not remember Harry Houdini’s real name, although I read a book about him long ago, until 3 perps brought it back.

I fell for the misdirection at 3D South American carrier, until 3 perps gave me LLAMA.

I had SATIRE before SHTICK, and TAKE before RAKE, but the perps fixed them.

I didn’t know SHE BOP, NELLIE BLY, AH SIN, AMBIT, and A TOI, but the perps helped me get them. I’m not a Cyndi Lauper fan. I know the Nellie Bly name, but I don’t know why.

e-mall? Really?

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I was speeding through this one: "Combat group" -- ARMY,"Piece of land" -- ACRE, "Zero" -- NADA, "Tour Stops" -- INNS. And then I looked at the downs. D'oh! Still, it was one of my fastest Thursday solves.

I knew WEISS right off the bat. I read his biography in grade school. He grew up only 35 miles from my home.

I first became acquainted with Mario LANZA when older sister brought home the Student Prince soundtrack (on 45's, no less). That was sufficient to last a lifetime.

This was probably discussed last night -- haven't read that yet. Did you see the news clip of the cat rescuing the little kid from the vicious dog? That should have sparked some comments from the dog/cat contingent.

Yellowrocks said...

Take a turn in the box. I thought of baseball. Batter's box.
Gotta run.

Mari said...

Good morning everybody!

I had too many wrong answers / write overs to make this one count. But I did enjoy the dog theme and caught some cute clues:

- 16A: Gp. for leather loathers: PETA. (I read leather LOAFERS)
-28A: Significant dry spell: SPEAK EASY ERA
- 36A: Where surfers shop: EMALL

After a beautiful 90 degree day on Saturday we're back to winter in Chicago. Cold wind and rain. Yuck!

Al Cyone said...

The NE quadrant was looking grim until I changed TRACK to TRAIL and KATES made me change SKETCH to SHTICK. AH SIN was a complete unknown (I didn't even know that Twain and Harte collaborated).

[13:50]

HeartRx said...

d-otto, yes that cat saving the little boy video was unbelievable!

Mari, that's funny - I also read "leather loafers" at first!

Husker Gary said...

I thought I’d give the old ball point a whirl today ala Marti, but I have four cells with more occupants than a clown car.

Musings
-Loved your write-up and cat/box video, Marti!
-Are we sure those commands don’t apply to husbands?
-Dang, HALTS (quiets)/TAKE (rake in) worked and I thought I knew CASCA but put HASCA. Duh! Gotta get on the COMEBACK TRAIL tomorrow. I’ll have a side of fries with my DNFC
-Maybe if those SIT IN PROTESTORS “occupied” a job…
-My SIL is a big time architect but takes his turn as a STAY-AT-HOME dad for sick kids
-Most famous movie scene with WAFTING? (:49 post commercial)
-I have never failed to find what I want at the Amazon “E-MALL”
-Meter Maid is one of my 20 M___ M___ phrases I use with the kids but I could sure use some more
-23 is probably the most popular PSALM and NBA jersey number
-I have sub GIGS for the rest of the year!
-GOTCHA question, “When did you stop beating your wife?”
-My TCM movies from the 30’s take a girl from Ohio and make her talk UPPITY – Dahling, ad nauseum…
-Claustrophobia might preclude you from taking the car to the top of the ST L Arch
-Ah, the days when MTV SIMPLY played LEERING-appropriate videos like this “classic”
-What TV naïf claimed “I got SLAKED” after reading some poetry to a Mary Kay Place character?
-Yikes, somebody sent in some 5th graders!

C6D6 Peg said...

Cute theme.... got it half way through, too. Thanks, James.

Marti - Loved your animal links!

Thanks to all who brighten my day with your comments.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Hand up for seeing Leather Loafers first. Kept that corner blank for a while. Otherwise, a straightforward solve. Favorite clue has to be "significant dry spell".

Morning, Marti, loved the big kitties!

OwenKL said...

For Barry G., who wonders if it's a real word:

Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen
Dropped in to appear at a store that was sellin'
X-Men stuff for Xmas-time
Sold exclusively on-line --
"E-MALL and the knight visitors" is the story I'm tellin'!

kazie said...

More wags than perp help today, since many unknowns crossed each other. Fun theme answers though.

I had HALTS before CALMS, TAKE/MAKE, SATIRE/SHTICK. Still not sure about AMBIT--have never heard it.

Interesting explanation of the Chinese "ah" prefix. Also wonderful dog Beneful video! I also like this one from Land Rover.

JJM said...

A DNF for me as I could not get the "B" in either 32D or 41A. Other than that a good puzzle. My favorite clue was "Fixing, in a way". Great tie in with Dog theme.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I thought this had some crunch, but perps saved the day. Cute theme with some nice, fresh fill. Did not like emall. Thought of CED at stay at home dad.

Nice work, Mr. Sajdak, and great expo, Marti. Enjoyed the links of good dogs and bad dogs, big cats and little cats.

Owen, your poem at 10:10 is priceless.

Have a great day.

Misty said...

Not a speed run, for sure--I had to work on this one pretty patiently before it all fell into place. But very satisfying--many thanks, James. And you too, Marti, especially for explaining AH SIN to us. I, of course, assumed it had to do with SIN as misdeeds--I guess that's the Catholic school training still at work.

Why did I think Brutus's pal was Cassius rather then CASCA? It's been a while since I read "Julius Caesar."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's never heard of AMBIT.

I'm going to remember that Houdini's name was WEISS. This comes up pretty often in puzzles, and I never remember it.

Finally, JD, thanks for confirming that Las Vegas could actually have a white Christmas some year!

Have a great Thursday, everybody!

Lucina said...

Hello, Super Solvers! Thanks, Marti, for your excellent commentary.

I found this a bit crunchy, especially at the North Pole. The NW corner did fill quickly but then got stuck at 20A and my hand is up for reading "loafers" so I slid downward. Seeing ERIK perked up my spirits and LANZA, too.

Loved, significant dry spell!

Finally, it took a while to suss out WEISS which I also should commit to memory. But, drat, EMAIL/EMALL beat me though I knew it seemed wrong.

Once I had UPPITY, PETA emerged and it was done.

Thank you, James Sajdak.

Have a FANTASTIC Thursday, everyone!

Steve said...

Thanks for the write-up, Marti!

Hand up for wanting an airline for LLAMA. I have to look askance at E-MALL, it seems a wee bit contrived.

Maybe I'm just grumpy because I'd never heard of Nellie Bly nor Ahsin, and with not being able to see an actor's name in the cross I had to wave the white flag.

Next!

HeartRx said...

I think AMBIT is one of those words that you would hear more commonly in certain fields, like law:
"Certain practices do not fall under the AMBIT of the Labor Law..."


desper-otto said...

I knew that AMBIT was correct -- don't ask me why. I take it that it isn't the root of AMBITious.

Tinbeni said...

Marti: Wonderful write-up & links.

Learning moments, that I'll soon forget (and needed "every-single-perp"):
CASCA, AH-SIN, LANZA and AMBIT (isn't that the "Morning" boundary?).

Faves, of course, was SLAKE ... I like my thirst Quenched.

Also SPEAK-EASY ERA, I can assure you, had I lived in that time, I would have known the location of every Speak-Easy within 5 miles.

My bar doesn't have, or need, TONGs.

Cheers!

Argyle said...

Tinbeni, this one's for you.

Dark and Stormy.

My drink of late (sans that word).

Tinbeni said...

Argyle
That looks delicious ... even with those things added by the TONG. lol

JD said...

Good morning all,

Enjoyed today's CW because the theme filled easily after come/speak.Loved the Beneful ad. Here's another dog tribute.

Besides the names I did not know,I had to perp casca,and ambit.

Fun write up Marti..thanks

Ol' Man Keith said...

I feel GREAT!
I am a GENIUS! -- and I feel just WONDERFUL! What a TERRIFIC morning this is! All thanks to my 100% successful solution to Mr Sajdak's Xwd pzl!
Isn't that the way most of us feel when we get all the squares filled in - correctly - without any look-ups? Whether we deserve to gloat, and whether or not we've had any higher moments of success in our lives, this vaults us to the winner's circle.
This is one of those pzls that looked to be tough, and it was hard to a degree, but in the end it yielded up all its secrets, with many "AHA!" moments along the way.
Favorite answer: LLAMA This was super easy for me because I have the photo I took of a baby LLAMA looking back at me as my screen saver.
~ Kf
PS. Not without re-writes. I had CROWE before NOLTE-- a natural slip I think.

Bill G. said...

Hi everybody. It's still really hot and dry here so I'm not a happy camper. Still, no fires in the close proximity...

I enjoyed the puzzle and the write up very much. I found it pretty smooth sailing except for AMBIT. I don't think I've ever read or heard the word before. I didn't know AH SIN either. I need to get out more I guess...

Irish Miss said...

JD @ 12:35 - Thank you for the doggie "Treat."

Keith @ 12:59 - Thank you for the lovable llama. Too cute!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Speedy solve for a Thursday. Thanks, James & Marti. I got the theme of DOG commands. OKOK so we're also SPAYING her. She sleeps in a CRATE on A DARK...

I remember seeing the movie "The Great Caruso" when I was a kid so I could see the face in my mind but had to have LA to come up with Mario LANZA. My music teacher mother was enraptured by him.

KYOTO was a gimmee since I'm reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" which was recommended by some of you. Thanks. I'm finding it fascinating enough to forget to go to bed.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wow! I had a tough time with this puzzle. About half way through I had to recopy what I had from ink to the Mensa site to find out what was red letters.

Lots of stuff I did not know, Ambit, Casca, (slatted box?) I did not understand the theme until I put in the last letter, D, as in Dog.

Hmm, I wonder if there is a way "I" could Grok this puzzle...

(I know, it's a stretch,,, but...)

if we change 30D to Time Zone of Bulgaria = EET

29D City in Uganda = Kyato

38D, John Koskinens Job Description Abbr. = CIR

& change 38A clue to: One does NOT follow the starts of the four longest puzzle answers=???

There, now the puzzle makes perfect sense to me...

HG@8:50 LOL at you "clown Car."

I did not know the St. Louis Arch was hollow???

Lucina said...

PK:
I'm glad you're enjoying Memoirs of a Geisha. It's one of my favorites.

Lately I've decided to reread some of my fav books and at the moment that is The Red Tent which is about Jacob and ESAU. Great reading!

Bill G. said...

CED and others, yes the arch is hollow with those little elevator cars providing the transportation up and back. As the car goes up, the angle of the arch changes and the car is no longer aligned with gravity. So it ratchets back to perpendicular with a thump. It's a little scary if you don't know to expect it.

The arch was built from both sides from the bottom to the top. When the two sides of the arch were almost finished, there was one piece left at the very top. They lined everything up with lasers and used jacks to pry the sides of the arch apart so a huge crane could drop in the last central piece.

Blue Iris said...

I just watched a bio on Houdini, so I knew WEISS.

We rode the tram car in the STL arch many years ago. My husband has grown increasingly claustrophobic as he's gotten older, so I don't think we will be experiencing it again. He will be 60 yrs old next Sunday.

Our dog, an American Eskimo, was very well trained by my kids but I wish we would have taught her to fetch the newspaper( now that I can't get it by myself).

I didn't think of cat for BAT in the box... LOL. Our cat has played with a grocery sack for awhile now. Our dog is very happy with an empty 2 liter bottle.

The COME BACK TRAIL seems to hit snags for me. I want to thank all of you for brightening my days with poems, jokes, links, muses,etc. I am still lurking even though most days I don't feel like commenting.

buckeye bob said...

Blue Iris at 3:58 PM --

I think you are misinterpreting 35A Take a turn in the box: BAT.

In baseball, when you BAT, you take your turn in the BATter's box. So to get 35A, you have to think baseball.

Marti's comment about cats related her misdirected thinking.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Barked up the wrong tree with TAKE for MAKE, gaving me HALTS for 1A, which didn't make a lot of sense, and HASCA for 1D - who knew?

Challenging puzzle today. Almost got it.

Re: Nevada, The reference is to the SIERRA NEVADA - "Snow covered Mountains." Las Vegas is way to the South.

Cool and wet here this week.

Cheers!
JzB

Ol' Man Keith said...

Irish Miss @ 1:27,

The critter was two hours old. We first spotted him lying in the middle of the open field at Machu Picchu. He and mom were lying side by side. He got to his feet for the first time as we watched - & several visitors cheered.

Back to the pzl: This was the first time that a theme actually helped me. As a dog lover, I've been through many training classes, and those command words hit most of the basics. I missed seeing "DOWN" and, of course, "SIC 'EM, CUJO!"

HeartRx said...

Argyle @ 12:15, it was mean of you to post such a delicious looking drink without the recipe

PK @ 1:47, our book club read MOAG one time, and for our meeting we went to a showing of the film, then went for sushi afterwards. It was one of the best book clubs ever! The movie does not go into the emotional details of the book as much, but the scenery was breathtaking.

And Lucina, I totally agree about "The Red Tent." Wonderful book! Right now we are reading "Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" Have your read that one? I know you would love it!

Blue Iris, so nice to hear from you! Even if you don't comment every day, I'm happy to know you do keep in touch on the sidelines. And Buckeye Bob @ 3:10, thanks for clarifying my misdirected thinking. I must remember to clarify what my tired brain was thinking vs. the correct answer!!

Ol' Man Keith ! 5:09, shudderrrrrr at Cujo!! Creepy movie I could never watch to the end.

Argyle said...

Here is the proper Dark-n-Stormy recipe.

Link

As the video shows, to do it right, the rum is on top. All I do is put a squirt of lime juice in my mason jar, add a bottle of Goya ginger beer and top off with the dark rum. I pour the rum straight in from a little height so the top half is a dark storm.

Lucina said...

Marti:
That recipe for Dark & Stormy looks yummy. Most of my book club readers are teetotalers or I'd be tempted to make it for them. Ginger beer? I'm sure it's available somewhere.

And thank you for the book suggestions. I'm always looking for titles to recommend to the Book Club. Your meetings sound so much more exciting than ours!

Unknown said...

I thought this was an easier than usual Thursday puzzle. There were a couple of words that were solved by perps: CASCA, AMBIT, and AH SIN.

I really liked the DOG theme! I also loved the big kitty link.

HeartRx said...

Argyle @ 5:57, hmmm…one recipe says to put in the rum first, the other says to put in the ginger beer, then top with rum. I think I will have to try both recipes (several times) before I can give you my "final answer!!"

Lucina, we have a great group of gals in our book club, and we are almost like a family. We have a regular feature of our meetings called "What Up Wit' U?" where each one gets special time devoted to her to talk about her life, challenges, triumphs, despairs, or whatever comes to mind. Right now, we are planning our 10th anniversary excursion. It's between Scandinavian fjords and St. Petersburg, Machu Picchu, or New Zealand. (We have three members who are travel consultants, and can get us really great deals on trips!!)

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks James and Marti!

Never heard the expression EMALL, and did not know AHSIN.

Was very tired. A DNF for me as I googled up WEISS
and SHEBOP. (Actually, web says WEISz.)

Keith: your demon-face is most disheartening!!!
(BTW, we are about 3 months apart in age!)

Fun poems, Owen!

Cheers!

Anonymous T said...

HI all!

:-( DNF. Well, I did finish, but it took 5 visits to the UNIVAC.*

My GOAL was to FACE a Thurs. and BAT it out of the DOG park. I finished everything north (including) of 28a, but so many names in the middle.

Did no one else get eArn for MAKE @4a? I rake it in, but damn, I earn it.

Though I've been to the top of the Arch, it took me a bit to understand "home" in the clue.

Fermat - I googled & found WEISZ too. Talk about an odd zTANSZA. Owen - I enjoyed your STANZAs.

SPAYING was one fav. Seeing my last name in a puzzle was another. Though I don't know who the imposter is portraying me.

Other Fav was UPPITY. Every time I hear that word I think of Blazing Saddles. I'm not going to link - many would find it offensive. It's a loaded word in some circles.

Thanks to James, Marti, and all the comments. Though a DNF I did enjoy the puzzle.**

CED - Speaking of time.... After 4 years, Egypt reinstated DST today. Talk about f***ing up our computers! It was only announced last week!

HG - Clown car! LOL...

Glad to see you COMEBACK BlueIris.

Cheers, -T
*Google is bigger than Asimov could ever imagine
**I'll thumper on EMALL

Bill G. said...

Blue Iris, I forgot to say how much I enjoyed seeing your blue name again. Come back as often as possible, check out the links and say hi. I enjoy your company.

Jeopardy was a bit of a surprise for me tonight.

I found a couple of Castle repeats tonight. I'm anxious to give them another try.

Barbara Walters last days on The View. She has never driven. When I saw her trying to navigate a golf cart around in the parking lot, it's clear that avoiding driving was and still is a wise decision.

Mari, I'd be happy to trade weather with you for a few days if you'd like...

Ol' Man Keith said...

Sorry my mask doesn't inspire. As the Noh demon who seeks revenge, she exists to tell the story that hasn't been heard--to right the record, redress the wrong, & get the story out.
As far as mortal luck fares, well, I look at this as I do most theater totems and tokens: everything in reverse. The scarier she looks to you, the better your day should be.

Argyle said...

Under the Dome is set to make a second season. Did anyone watch all of the first season and what did they think of it? I gave up about the third episode.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, James Sajdak, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for a fine review.

Marti: Our Club read "Where'd You Go Bernadette?" a couple months ago. Started kind of weird, but had a good finish. We had a lively discussion about it. We are reading "The Girls of Atomic City" for this month.

Puzzle was fine. Good theme. Got them all easily.

AMBIT was unknown. Thank goodness I knew IBN.

CASCA was easy once I had a couple letters.

Thought TAT was a good one.

All of our hymns are numbered in our Service Books at church. But, I figured it out and put in PSALM anyway.

SPAYING was clever.

YETI was easy. Read a book recently about them, entitled "Esau." It was a novel. Pretty good story. A mystery and adventure.

Had dinner tonight at Texas de Brazil. Delicious and really different.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(419 93252442)

Lucina said...

Marti:
Now I do want to join your book club! That is fabulous. Do let us know when you decide the destination.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina / Marti:

Do you guys do just fiction? Just curious - I enjoy non-fiction, but only Flash Boys sits in my queue. Any suggestions? [I've read all of Gladwell, Roach, et.al.]

The only fiction I read recently (which wasn't really fiction; just life observations (i.e. poetry) was Collins' Aimless Love))

Right now I've turned to this quarter's Foreign Affairs, but being in the industry, it feels like work.

What non-fiction is on the list?

Cheers, -T

Blue Iris said...

Buckeye Bob & Marti, I understood the misdirected thinking concerning cat and BAT and that is why I put LOL! I don't always get my thought processes in print. I put BAT first time thru, but found it funny that Marti's mind wondered over to cats, just for a sec.

Bill G. said...

Argyle, Under the Dome is not my cup of tea either. I find shows like that to be unpleasant and suffocating.

Steve said...

@Anonymous T ...

A couple of suggestions for non-fiction - you mentioned "Roach", I'm assuming it's "Mary" so I think I'm on your wavelength ...

Firstly "Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea" by Gary Kinder about finding a 150-yo shipwreck off the Carolinas.

Secondly "Tubes" by Andrew Blum - my internet is out! Wait, what is the internet? Where is it? Fun exploration.

Fiction - the one that blew me away last year was "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It's very rarely I get goosebumps reading a book. On a long flight to Rio I got lots of them.

So many books, so little time.

Anonymous T said...

Steve:

Yes, Mary Roach. She has the sense of humour of a 12 year-old boy (or my 11 year old daughter. When discussing my upcoming flight to Scotland "what do they do with all the poop?" was her 2nd question).

Thanks! Tubes is certainly on the list (it sounds like a reference to Stevens' (IIRC) take on the Internet) and Blue sounds exciting.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

Steve:
The Shadow of the Wind was not a book club selection but I read it on a whim and was blown away, no pun intended.

AnonT:
We mostly read fiction but non fiction slips in sometimes. This round for example we are reading I Am Malala which is by the Pakistani student who was shot for attending school.