Theme: Race originally held in Kailua-Kona - The events of the race in the order in which they are held.
19A. Pool session for grown-ups : ADULT SWIM. 2.4-mile
39A. Motorcycle designed for acrobatic maneuvers : STUNT BIKE. 112-mile
58A. Baseball play that may be foiled by a pitchout : HIT AND RUN. 26.2-mile
20D. Ironman event comprised of the last words of 19-, 39- and 58-Across : TRIATHLON. You have to complete the race in 17 hours to be an Ironman.
Argyle here, no Ironman though. We do have a stunning Tuesday puzzle. Certainly a unique grid for any day of the week.
Across:
1. Fish often dipped in wasabi : SASHIMI. "Thin slices of raw fish", from Japanese.
8. Pasadena institute where most of "The Big Bang Theory" characters work : CALTECH. (California Institute of Technology in Pasadena)
15. Meeting expectations : UP TO PAR
16. Late : OVERDUE. A punch line, "And they're all overdue".
17. Florida NASCAR city : DAYTONA
18. "Absolutely!" : "NO DOUBT!"
21. "Well, hello there" : "OH, HI"
24. Land of the Incas : PERU
25. Hoops cable channel : NBA TV
29. Catch on : LEARN
31. Disgusting : VILE. and its anagram, 32D. Wicked : EVIL
33. Aunt Bee's charge : OPIE
34. Dishwasher cycle : DRY. Is "You wash, I'll dry" a thing of the past?
35. Operatic solo : ARIA
37. City with canals : VENICE
41. What flower girls toss : PETALS. For those women followed by a train.
44. In good health : HALE
45. Underwire garment : BRA. Love a healthy bra!
No wires here.
48. Mounted on : ATOP
49. Post-shower powder : TALC
51. More than just a good buy : STEAL
53. Local news hr. : TEN PM
55. Left dreamland : WOKE
57. Slight advantage : EDGE
61. Double-crosser : TRAITOR
64. Freeway entrances : ON RAMPS
68. Bump from behind : REAR END. What can happen if someone doesn't merge smoothly on the above.
69. Champions : WINNERS. What anybody that can complete a triathlon is, no matter in what time.
70. Sticks : ADHERES
71. Cuddles : NESTLES
Down:
1. South, at the Sorbonne : SUD. French and more French, 42D. Summer, at the Sorbonne : ÉTÉ
2. Org. for shrinks : APA. (American Psychological Association)
3. Barnyard pen : STY
4. Malarkey : HOT AIR
5. Shuffle or nano : iPOD
6. "Don't be a wuss!" : "MAN UP!"
7. "The Stepford Wives" novelist : IRA LEVIN
8. Foreign service officer : CONSUL
9. Declare to be true : AVOW
10. Showed the way : LED IN
11. Glenn Miller's instrument : TROMBONE
12. Prof's email suffix : .EDU
13. Baby bear : CUB
14. Riled (up) : HET
21. Passé : OLD. Yes, you don't hear "het up" much anymore.
22. That woman : HER
23. Stable diet? : HAY. Cute.
26. Bee: Pref. : API
27. Nervous mannerism : TIC
28. Crew neck alternative : VEE
30. Part of NIH: Abbr. : NATL. (National Institutes of Health)
36. Auto body concern : RUST. More so here in the NE. Related 46D. Car-cleaning cloth : RAG
38. Scratches (out) : EKEs
39. Deep blue gem : SAPPHIRE
40. Retreat : BACK DOWN
41. Gentle touch : PAT
43. Huge amount : TON
45. Resting place : BED
47. Bar brew : ALE
50. Medals and trophies : AWARDS
52. Rent payer : TENANT
54. Bishop's hat : MITER
56. "How to Build a Classic Golf Swing" author Els : ERNIE. He tied for 35th in the US Open.
59. Sound of music : TONE. TUNE was close but....
60. Footed vases : URNS
61. __-la-la : TRA
62. Color to stop at : RED
63. "That feels good!" : "AAH!"
65. "Spaceballs" director Brooks : MEL
66. Start to heat? : PRE
67. Cobra's warning : [SSS!]
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Below is my original skeletal grid. Rich suggested me to intersect theme entries. He made me look clever. Thanks, Rich!
69 comments:
To be an ironman was never my dream.
Just the thought makes my muscles all scream.
When I SWIM I just splash,
On a BIKE I would crash,
But I'll RUN to the fridge for ice cream!
A couch potato I will be.
Changing channels is a workout for me.
Take your TRIATHLON
And hie -- go -- begone --
If I want strength, I'll add scotch to my tea!
C.C. never fails to amaze. Congratulations on hitting the "Daily Double" -- check out her puzzle in today's New York Times, her tenth at that venue.
As regular readers of this blog undoubtedly know, those of us who live and work in Minnesota are all very excited about our upcoming tournament, which is this coming Sunday (June 22, 2014). C.C. is one of a bakers dozen of NYT-published constructors (check the link for names of the others) who have contributed ten original puzzles to this event.
Finally, the sports fans among you might want to take a shot at "King James Version," a timely Sunday-sized offering that I constructed as a Father's Day project.
Morning, all!
Back up and running again. Turns out the power outage we had fried the FIOS optical network box thingy and it had to be totally replaced. As I always say, if it's not one thing, it's two things...
Nice to have a double dose of C.C. today, since she is also in today's NYT.
Fun puzzle overall. I struggled a bit in the NE corner after putting in TENOR SAX instead of TROMBONE. Oops. Similarly, I stumbled in the SW corner with OOH before TRA. Neither mistake was fatal, however, and the perps eventually came to my rescue.
Off for more fishing! Caught a bunch of smallmouth bass yesterday, but they were all to small to keep (except, of course, for the ones that got away -- those suckers can really leap out of the water!)
Good morning!
Fearless leader caused me to make a real mess of my grid this morning. "That woman" was SHE, I was BACKing AWAY before DOWN, and hand up for OOH as the "la la" companion. Messy, but correct now.
Argyle, are you sure that P isn't Psychiatric?
Now off to try the NYT...
Good morning all.
Thank you CC and thank you Argyle. Very quick and enjoyable. To that I AVOW. CC, Congratulations on your double play !
I think some of the Texans might understand why I was tempted to enter FEEDERS in place of ON RAMPS.
HIT AND RUN has a whole 'nother meaning in Chicago.
My dad never called me a nimrod. But he did tell me a number of times to not get so "HET up."
I saw TV coverage of the LA KINGS celebration after winning the Stanley Cup. It looked as if hundreds of fans showed up.
Terrible storm for Pilger, NE. A couple of tornadoes touched down in SW Wisconsin as well. Not as devastating.
The Fox River flows south from Wisconsin on it's way to the Illinois River, just to the west of the towns where Abejo and I live. They have numerous fests in each of the Fox Valley river towns throughout the summer.
Swedish Days, Geneva's Midsommar Festival, starts today. How Swede It Is ! I may go by later for some authentic Swedish Meatballs and Fried Herring, but I am staying away from the Lutfisk !
http://www.genevachamber.com/food_booth.php
Back to work. See y'all later !
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.
TTP: I will miss the Swedish Days Parade this year in Geneva. I am always with the Medinah Brass Band. However, being in New York City has nixed that. Have fun!
Puzzle theme was great. Got through it easily.
SASHIMI was not known to me. Perped it.
Now and then I have an OVERDUE library book. I now have a Queens, NY, library card. Needed a computer last night to write two newsletters. Went to the library and they signed me up for a Fin. Used their computer and came back to the church where we are staying. Piece of cake.
In Erie, the local news is at 11:00 PM. In Chicago, TEN PM.
No ALE for me this week. When I get back to Johnsonburg I will have a couple.
Yesterday we painted the interior of a whole house. Today we put in a new floor. Tonight going to Radio City Music Hall.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(2551)
Theme answers stacked next to the reveal in sequential order? Wow!
Gallery of pictures of what used to be Pilger, NE after yesterday’s tornado. It was well north of Joe and me.
Musings
-TRIATHLON is one of the words where a syllable is usually mistakenly added – like Tijuana
-My three events are getting up, eating breakfast and playing golf. Whew!
-Walk a block north of CAL TECH on a January First morning and guess what you’ll see
-I want to get DOWN TO PAR today
-Recent events in Iraq confirm that there truly is EVIL in the world
-We have floated on the canals of VENICE and Ft. Lauderdale
-How do you east coast peeps stay up to ELEVEN PM for news?
-Doesn’t it irk you when an idiot pulls up on your left when someone else is merging from an ON RAMP on your right?
-Those baby bears are in last place, again
-RUST was a much bigger problem in cars of my ute
-Should you BACK DOWN? Kenny Roger’s sage advice (3:31)
-All kids today are WINNERS and get trophies no matter what their team does
-When mom’s face turned RED, I knew that was the color to stop at
-What lovely Willie Nelson song begins with “Well Hello There”
Husker, that'd be Funny How The TIme Slips Away. Willie wrote it, but Jimmy Elledge had the bigger hit.
I'm surprised that Rich would suggest a grid with 26 3-letter words over one with 13.
So many 3-letter words do not make for an enjoyable solve, no matter how unique the grid is.
Loved the puzzle, C.C. Nice job, and full of sparkly fill!
Argyle, great write-up, including links to yesterdays!
All of you are amazing!
Good Morning:
It's always a pleasant surprise when CC's name pops up as the constructor. Today's offering is another fine example of CC's creativity and craftsmanship. Three cheers to CC and ditto to Argyle. Also, congrats to CC on the double header with the NY times today.
Had aver before avow and rose before woke. Fav clue was stable diet=hay.
One of my nieces is training for a triathlon to be held in the fall.
Glad Avg Joe and HG are safe and sound. Abejo, what is playing at Radio City?
Have a great day.
Argyle: Nice write-up & links.
C.C. Thank you for a FUN, easy-peasy, Tuesday puzzle.
I wanted to feed my Stable animals OAT before HAY appeared. Hay as a food source sounds like a lousy "diet",
Liked the CSO to Jazz with TROMBONE.
Fave today, of course, was ALE. I abhor puzzle prohibition but would prefer seeing something else in my grid.
Hmm, maybe a PINCH of scotch ... lol
Cheers!!!
Wonderful double dip for C.C. today. Had to find time to do both before commenting.
The intersecting theme suggested by Rich was perfect and I too appreciated the skill of all the 7 letter stacks. These greatly out weigh the 3 letter fill, and achieve the right balance for an early week puzzle doable by all and fun for all.
Nice to see the JzB shout out and the EVIL/VILE intersect.
Awesome
Breezed right through the puzzle today, so fast that I forgot to look for the theme.
The only thing that slowed me down (besides French down under) was Cobras' warning. I don't know why, but I thought they had a rattle... So I went to YouTube...
If you are afraid of snakes, do not clink on these links!
The picture made me stop & wonder...
This made me click on a side link, Indian kids playing with Cobras.
Ack! That's it! Puppies notwithstanding, How can you let kids play with snakes?
(Maybe they were defanged?)
Greetings to all!
C.C., you are a WINNER! It's a nice surprise to see your byline on the puzzle.
It all filled well and easily and though SASHIMI has been mentioned many times here, I still can't remember it. It perped out quickly, though.
On our trips to Hawaii we often saw the IRON MAN competitors running or bicycling. That is rough terrain, too.
Have a lovely Tuesday, everyone!
WEES Easy today. I liked the intersecting theme entries. Although Rich suggested it, executing it took great skill.
HG said, -All kids today are WINNERS and get trophies no matter what their team does.
How true. My dental hygienist's kids attend the school where I used to teach. On field day, there were only two teams. The teachers kept score and in the end declared a tie. Funny, they had ordered enough blue ribbons for all, not half red and half blue. The hygienist's fifth grade son knew that his team was way ahead in points. The older kids with the most points were incensed. The mothers defended it by saying, if one of their kids won and the other lost there would be trouble in the family. My down to earth hygienist didn't agree with them.
Even before I retired 14 years ago, many of the losers would throw their red ribbons in the trash. Others would cry. Spoiled kids with helicopter parents.
Good morning Everyone!
As is typical for me, I started today's puzzle without looking at the name of the constructor. But with SASHIMI at 1-Across, I immediately guessed it might be our C.C. Sure enough!
I did enjoy seeing TRIATHLON crossing the other theme answers. I finally constructed an early week puzzle with six theme entries and got four of them to intersect each other, so I know how difficult it is. (But who knows if it will ever see the light of day...)
Now to go do the NYT!!
CED@10:07 -- if you look closely at the video you can see that the kids have teeth. There were not de-fanged.
I love a C.C. speed run on a Tuesday morning--makes me feel like a WINNER! What a delightful puzzle, many thanks C.C. I also enjoyed seeing the original grid. And fun expo, as always, Argyle. The blue SAPPHIRE photo is stunning.
Fun poems, too, Owen. Along with a sunny morning, this is going to be a great day!
Great job, C.C.!
No problems for me today.
I thought I'd add a new photo of Lea for my avatar. She was getting ready for the day and apparently had a problem deciding on footware.
As usual, I had fun with this puzzle. Thanks CC and Argyle.
I ran the LA Marathon once. The training and race were overwhelmingly difficult for me. I would never consider a triathlon. I'd drown in the first leg.
Gary, thanks for the update. I'm glad you and Joe are OK. Best wishes for all of the families who aren't OK.
I'm guessing if you do the NYT crosswords, you have to subscribe? How do you do that? Are they worth it? The few I've tried from the NYT were very hard and not as much fun as the LAT. I'd appreciate your feedback.
Kazie, Lea looks like a cutie.
Hmm, two golf references,,, one possible basketball reference...
Hey! Wait a sec! This doesn't qualify as a CC puzzle! There are no Baseball Clues!?
In looking for funny Triathlon pics, I came across This Websites' question, & for the life of me, I just don't see it!
Other than the bike pickup was all odd, & she's an even 50, I don't see anything wrong with this pic?
What another sec,,, What are you supposed to do during the other 2 segments???
Hi Y'all! Really fun puzzle, C.C.! Doing this puzzle is the only way I'll ever finish a TRIATHLON! Thanks.
Owen, my sentiments exactly. LOL! Thanks, Argyle!
No unknowns today except the first vowel in SASHIMI and the last vowel in CONSUL. I wanted an "I" and "e".
I was thinking Glenn MIller played clarinet until it turned red, then realized Benny Goodman played that. Duh! Little before my time, but not much.
HG: Did the kid on the stretcher at Pilger survive? He'll have nightmares for awhile. Glad you and Joe are all right.
Contestant number 50 has her bicycle helmet on backwards.
CED, My guess is they sweat so much during the other two events that they have no moisture left for anything else.
CED: re: "There are no Baseball Clues!?"
What about 58-a, "Baseball play that may be foiled by a pitchout" for HIT-AND-RUN ...
Well Hello There.
Thanks for the expo, Argyle - congrats on the double-header, C.C!
I liked the theme. It was 25 years ago, but it does give me an excuse to link this pic. It wasn't Hawaii either, but it was still hard work! And PK is right - it's tough to stay hydrated throughout the event.
Back to watching the soccer!
Good morning all,
Stunning is right! So much fun to find a C.C. CW on a Tuesday.I always know it will have some teeth and a lot of creativity. getting started in the NW corner was slow, so I went back and the cobwebs had cleared. Only hang up for me was the intersection of the Bees.
Felt guilty not readily remembering Glenn Miller's instrument until I saw I wasn't alone.
My hubs has been calling me Sapphire since we celebrated our 45th....funny, no gems, just a new name. I do tell him on every occasion, NO MORE Jewelry.Changing baubels is not my thing.
Kazie, Lea is a doll! Fun to see all the grand blog kids grow up.
Owen, loved your rhymes today.
And, most of all, thank you Argyle.
Wow, I suddenly feel like our resident link researcher, CED.
A little Googling about Willie Nelson's guitar, Trigger, led to this rather detailed article about it's/his history.
Then the article had me searching for this video which I had never seen before. Enjoy.
It's rare when I respond to an anon but sometimes a fool's remarks should be answered.
Rich and C.C. went with this grid because it's supremely elegant and clever. Not only that, it's a very, very difficult grid to design and fill. They took the hard road and in exchange created a puzzle that not only deserves a "WOW!", but will greatly enhance the solving experience for most people.
That the puzzle has a lot of three letter words is meaningless when compared to the fact that it has a whopping sixteen entries of seven letters or more! That alone is a feat of construction.
Hear, hear!
I love that song "Nuages" though I thought Django Reinhardt had the patent for it. I even have a Django Reinhardt Pandora station right above my Chet Atkins station. :>)
Willie's guitar was a quality instrument. I hate to see how it has been treated. You can make beautiful music on a guitar while still taking care of it. It would be sorta like getting a new car (or a restored classic car) and letting your kids play on the hood while wearing their baseball cleats. Years ago I had a guitar that I played and took care of. Some people came by as guests of some other friends. When I mentioned something about taking guitar lessons, one of the other people said what a great guitar player his buddy was and could he play my guitar? After about a minute, I politely took it back and was sad to see his fingernail dings all over the front. Geez...
Well, as it turns out, my life did not escape the ravages of yesterday’s tornado after all. A very nice man with whom I play golf had a twice-a-week route that takes an afternoon to run and finishes just outside Pilger, NE which is the town that got destroyed as you saw in the pix to which I linked above. Dave saw the huge F4 tornado coming and it is speculated he got out of his van and hid under it. The tornado picked up the van and dropped it on top of him. His boss called Dave to see if he was all right and the cell phone was answered by a state patrolman on the site of the wreck.
Dave was a large, gentle man who listened to first and second graders read to him three times per week and was very active in his church. He was the first to praise any good shot made by those of us golfing with him and to dismiss his own good shots as pure luck. His camaraderie and gentle soul will be missed by all of us.
Gary, I'm sure sorry to hear about your friend. Condolences for you and best wishes for his family. What a terrible storm...
Thank you for your insight Jerome. One of the reasons I seldom am very harsh in criticizing a puzzle is I know how hard it the creation is and how silly it is to nitpick when the overall result is pleasing. Like complaining about Cindy Crawford's mole
I'm very sorry to hear about your friend Gary. To my knowledge no one that I know was affected, and I've heard from the one relative I have in the area to know she is safe.
Enough of these storms already! It's been a tough year.
HG, that is awful, thoughts and prayers.
Tinbeni, Aw nuts! I thought I had a nit... (I should have known...)
Trigger/Less than said said, Whoa! I never knew about Willies guitar, I am only 1/3 the way thru the article, & have to pause to do a Mr Mom Taxi Run.
Bill G. That guitar,,, 43 years & 10,000 shows! Unbelievable! Here is a quote from the article:
Some guitarists are careful about every note; they handle their instruments as carefully as a landscape artist handles a brush. Willie treats Trigger like a horse, and he rides him hard.
HG, I am very sorry to hear about your friend. Sounds like a good guy...
Thanks, C.C. and Argyle, for the Tuesday work-out and expo. I could so easily be a couch potato!
One of my sisters has competed in Iron Man Triathlons. Her goal was to compete in the Kona World Championships last year but she didn't qualify. She was just happy that she finished the qualifying event. What an accomplishment! She and my daughter are competing in the Cincinnati Triathlon the end of the month. I'm happy to watch and cheer them on.
My dad was killed in a HIT AND RUN accident. 10 years later we still don't know who did it.
Kazie: adorable picture!
HG and AvgJ, I'm glad to hear that you weathered the storm OK.
Belated anniversary best wishes to JD and BillG. May you enjoy many more.
Have a great rest of your Tuesday.
Pat
Good afternoon everyone.
What a pleasant surprise to open this morning's paper and see that we had a C,C, puzzle awaiting us. Initially skipped the NW and got most of the CW OK. SUD and STY confirmed that 1a was probably SASHIMI. HET seemed a little odd but OVERDUE was solid. Wasn't sure about NBA TV but left it in.
And, voilà!, it was done with no lookups or strikethroughs. Was awestruck that not only did TRIATHLON go through each of the theme phrases, but skewered them dead center. Also, STUNT BIKE passed through the center of TRIATHLON. Maybe Rich helped but I see it as a real tour de force. BZ.
Husker Gary,
So sorry to hear about your friend.
HG
A most sincere condolence at the loss of your friend David A. Herout, 74, of Clarkson, Nebraska.
@HG - so sorry, my condolences.
@CED - it looks like triathletes might have as odd a sense of what's funny as the French. #50 is wearing her helmet backwards.
HuskerGary: I'm very sorry to hear about your friend. My condolences to you and his family.
Pat
My goodness, Husker Gary, what a desperately sad event involving your friend who sounds like such a nice person. It's so difficult to handle news like this, even when we don't know the person. My heart goes out to you and to his family and friends.
@BillG re: Trigger
Sorry Bill, I couldn't disagree with you more. The way Willie's guitar has been "treated" is what makes the guitar so special. From his hard playing to get everything out of it to the tender loving care he and it's two other caretakers provide it so it can sustain the five decades of producing it's distinctive Beautiful sounds. It is the living embodiment of Willie's career. It has stories to tell and scars to prove they're all true. What great article and thanks to whomever linked it.
My one question is, where will it end up? With family? It's caretaker? With Willie six feet under? Or in a museum? Maybe the Smithsonian.
I've got to cast my vote on the Trigger question with Anon@4:55. Tools of any type should NEVER be abused. But they're tools, not shrines....and patina isn't a bad thing. Willie has done everything humanly possible to keep that guitar in playable condition, and at considerable expense, while not trying to make it pretty...something it never will be. It simply is what it is.
Can't think of an appropriate tune from Willie for this sentiment, but Jimmy Buffet covered it nicely.
HG, sorry to hear about your friend. On the other hand, if I had to pick a way to go, having a truck dropped on top of me isn't all that bad. My fear is some wasting disease that goes on and on.
HG,
Sincere condolences for the loss of your friend and member of your golfing group.
Skip
Husker Gary,
My deepest sympathy to you in this very sad time.... my thoughts and prayers to you and to his family...
thelma
Detour Girl
Which bike would you rather ride in a TRIATHLON, this bike or this bike?
HG - Sincere condolences on the loss of your friend.
HG and Avg Joe, glad to hear that you escaped unscathed from those devastating tornadoes yesterday. But it was so sad to hear about your golfing buddy, HG. I can only imagine how difficult such a loss must be to his family.
HGary:
I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend who sounds like a genuinely nice man.
Greetings!
Swell offering, CC! Nice expo, Santa!
My two sons do the TRIATHLON thing. (I will omit the extra A after this.)
CALTECH and EDU were CSOs to me!
HG: So sorry about your friend.
Will have to try the NYT puzzle. Yes, a subscription to their puzzles is pricey!
Waiting for the returns of Rizzoli & Isles and Perception tonight!
Cheers!
Talk about the ultimate bad lie for a golfer.
HG,
Don't post often, but wanted you to know that my sympathy is with you in the loss of your friend.
G
HG - While I agree w/ D-O on how I want to go, I am sorry to hear you lost what sounds like a great buddy like Dave. Good friends don't come often enough in life...
I am glad to hear that both you and Joe & your families are OK. Man, now I don't feel like posting.... I'll have a beer and try again later.
Thanks C.C. & Argyle! I did really enjoy this puzzle.
Tears, -T
HG, sorry to hear about the death of your buddy. Condolences. Glad to know both of you and families are OK.
CED - whats wrong with this picture - person number 4 is a man (with a beard).
also person number 3 doesn't have a hell-met and is missing his/her inmate number on 3 limbs. Also wearing her leg band on the wrong foot, and didn't shave her underarms.
Person no 2 is wearing goth (black) lipstick - not allowed.
Side entrants do not have legible number tattoos on most limbs. Also helmet number 5 dropped her menstrual pad, and is searching for it. ( I think.)
Enough misteaks to disqualify everyone.
H-eyed-P. Thanks. That got the tears out of my beer!
I started this before taking eldest to choir this am and was almost done when it was time to go. After 1a, I looked down and saw C.C. Yes! And then Argyle's write-up & everyone's comments to look forward to tonight (after work & Cantina-Catch-Up with DW)...
WEES re: sparkle. Very nice (read doable) puzzle C.C. I'd get NYT, but I'm sure the CC (convenience store) is out by now.
I started quickly in the NE, Oregon & N. CAL fell quickly. Only in the NW (sorry Bill G, only saw 1 TBBT) & S. CAL did I have stumbles 'cuz I spelled MITER like the quasi-gov't MITRE Corp. REARrND?
I like SASHIMI and sushi, but can never remember the difference when ordering. With seven letters, I can tell the difference :-)
TTP - I almost put in feeders too, but quick perp-check w/ (65d) MEL put brain into ute - ONRAMPS.
My old boss did TRIATHLONS and Ironmans. I still can't figure out why.
CED - Are cobras just not as deadly as we think? Holy WTF is all I could say watching that.
D-O@10:53a - Priceless. LOL!
Re: every kid's a WINNER. Not at our SWIM meets. Sure they all got ribbons, but Blue was the prize; RED, sweet, and white (I think) OK. You even got a Purple for a DQ (disqualified - wrong stroke).
Youngest's goal? Collect them all! She finally got a Blue when she was dropped to Third Heat. The kid's a fish in our pool, but not UPTOPAR w/ her peers I guess.
A HIT AND RUN and a squeeze are two of my fav's in baseball.
Cheers, -T
And God gave the cobra fangs and venom so that they could defend their own and feed themselves and be feared and respected. And be left alone and not messed around with.
And man defanged them and turned them into defenseless pieces of jelly to be abused and toyed around by little children.
I love Willie Nelson's early songwriting; Crazy, Funny How Time Skips Away, Good-Hearted Woman, Night Life, On the Road Again and others.
Barbara and I saw Willie Nelson in concert about 25 years ago. We were both disappointed. He sang and played fine but went through the whole concert mechanically without talking to the audience at all. We could have saved a lot of money listening to a record. I think he is insecure about interacting with an audience and doesn't like to do it. Why give concerts then? Dunno... Maybe he needed the money.
Re. Willie's guitar, I think how we feel is a little like religion. So I don't want to argue because I understand and partially agree with opposing POVs. Here are a few more thoughts. Martin makes great guitars though they are not known for their nylon string classical guitars; the maker of choice is Ramirez from Spain. Ramirez, Martin and others spend a lot of time researching the best wood for the front as well as the special bracing on the back of the front face. If any manufacturer thought the tone could be improved with jagged holes in the face, they would try it out I'm sure. Also, the tone of Willie's guitar is modified and amplified by a special electronic microphone installed inside the guitar.
These days, he tries to keep his guitar in one piece, the price to be paid for playing it in such a rough way. They said in the article, "Willie treats Trigger like a horse, and he rides him hard." Right, but most horsemen treat their horses with lots of well-deserved care so they will last long and be as healthy as possible. I don't thinking taking good care of his guitar was a priority for him when he started out though it is certainly possible to do so while still making good music. Other excellent guitar players (Chet Atkins, Segovia, Jerry Reed, Mark Knopfler, etc.) manage to make a lot of beautiful music without beating up their guitars. It's not either/or. Your mileage may differ.
ATVAYB : If man is smart enough to defang or declaw to have a pet, it's man's responsibility to feed and care...
Bill G. I'm of split minds too. Ave Joe said we use and take care of our tools. Sometimes I have to take a tool over the EDGE, but usually I do my best to get a stronger one. Grandpa's hammer gets special treatment.
Owen - Thanks for the poetry and the barbed-wire bike seat pic. I do the MS 150 (BIKE ride Houston to Austin). It's 100 miles on Sat & 80 miles (hills!) Sun.
Sunday morning the seat feels just like that!
C, -T
Bill G...if you don't want anyone messing with your guitar, don't hand it over. Most people would respect you for not letting someone play it, than doing so and whining about it.
It's OK to be selfish and possessive. Just man-up and own it.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
BillG, Given Willie's reputation, is it possible he was stoned at the concert you and Barbara went to? I've been really shocked seeing Willie's guitar condition. Most entertainers have several beautiful instruments. While I like his songs, I've not been impressed with his careless lifestyle, including getting in so much trouble with IRS.
PK - I'd put .01 BitCoin down that Willie was stoned. I like most of his music and his persona in different cameos such as Half Baked and Colbert's Christmas Special (re-mixed for pot-heads).
Re: the IRS troubles though, I've noticed creatives (like DW) have no concept of money nor the taxes they must pay. I think that goes doubly so so for those with "people" around them. See: Snipes, et.al. C, -T
I love this blog! When solving this puzzle, I never thought I would be discussing Trigger, the guitar, later in the day. And, NEVER, NEVER, did I think I would find out that there are people who are upset with Willie for the way he treated his guitar!! Shocker!
I think I am better for reading BillG's diatribe...so late at night.
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