google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, August 25, 2014 Steve Marron and C.C. Burnikel

Gary's Blog Map

Aug 25, 2014

Monday, August 25, 2014 Steve Marron and C.C. Burnikel

Theme: No lyin' - but lots of other entertainment from under the Big Top.

17A. Schoolroom cutup : CLASS CLOWN

27A. Pachyderm in stereotypical hallucinations : PINK ELEPHANT

47A. PDF file creation program : ADOBE ACROBAT

61A. Performances in a big tent, where you'd see the ends of 17-, 27- and 47-Across : CIRCUS ACTS

Argyle here with the latest Dynamic Duo. Well done.

Across:

1. "Around the World in 80 Days" navigator Phileas : FOGG

5. Lou of soul music : RAWLS



10. Immediately, in memos : ASAP

14. Folk singer Guthrie : ARLO

15. "Such a tease!" : "OH YOU!"

16. Lecture location : HALL

19. Concerning : AS TO

20. Often sculpted anatomy parts : TORSOs

21. Campus email suffix : .EDU

23. Logician's abbr. : QED. (quod erat demonstrandum)

24. First African-American major-league coach Buck : O'NEIL. (1962) It would be almost ten more years before the first black major league manager.

25. Condé Nast fashion monthly : GLAMOUR

31. Yale student : ELI

34. Membership fees : DUES

35. Ravi Shankar's instrument : SITAR

36. French peak : MONT

38. Volga region native : TATAR. We read the Tatar Paper yesterday.

41. Two times tetra- : OCTA. Greek prefixes for 4 and 8

42. Nickname for Wrigley Field hero Ernie Banks : MR. CUB

44. Condo division : UNIT

46. The Beatles' "__ Jude" : HEY

51. System for blind readers : BRAILLE

52. Peeled : PARED

56. Leb. neighbor : SYR. Lebanon/Syria

57. Actress Peeples : NIA
58. "Marry me!" : "BE MINE!"

59. Dunked cookie : OREO

64. One often lost in the laundry : SOCK

65. "That's it for me" : "I'M OUT". The poker table would be one spot you might hear this.

66. Vichyssoise veggie : LEEK. The soup is traditionally served cold but can be eaten hot.

67. Pantry pests : ANTS

68. So far : AS YET

69. Misses the mark : ERRS

Down:

1. Ex post __: retroactively : FACTO

2. Lightweight synthetic : ORLON

3. Blinding light : GLARE

4. Talk around the water cooler : GOSSIP

5. Giant birds of myth : ROCs. They were so big, they could have carried of our circus elephant.

6. Minor league rink org. : AHL. (American Hockey League)

7. St. in which most of Yellowstone is located : WYO. (Wyoming)

8. Poet Amy : LOWELL

9. Cherry-topped treat : SUNDAE

10. ''Now I get it!'' : "A-HA!"

11. Bigfoot's other name : SASQUATCH

12. Take turns : ALTERNATE

13. Walk heavily : PLOD

18. State of matter : SOLID

22. Calls the game : UMPS. Verb.

25. Fist pump or high-five, e.g. : GESTURE

26. Cleveland's state : OHIO

28. Cashew or pecan : NUT

29. Mauna __ : KEA

30. Waiter's carrier : TRAY

31. Actress Stone of "The Help" : EMMA

32. "She Walks in Beauty" poet : LORD BYRON

33. Wrong : INCORRECT

37. Brass band bass : TUBA

39. 2014, por ejemplo : ANO. All Spanich.

40. "Spare" cut of meat : RIB

43. '60s hippie gathering : BE IN

45. VCR inserts : TAPES

48. "The Good Wife" attorney Florrick : ALICIA

49. Says assuredly : CLAIMS

50. Mexican food in a corn-husk wrap : TAMALE

53. Potato press : RICER. Old timer.

54. "Come on in!" : "ENTER!"

55. Many talk show hosts sit at them : DESKS

56. Slugger Sammy : SOSA

58. Cigar remains : BUTT. Remains are something that is left like the butt of a cigar.

60. Brief approvals : OKs

62. Cowboy Rogers : ROY

63. Signal to an actor : CUE


Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Steve Marron is our Wednesday Sherpa Steve. Congratulations on your debut, Steve! Read the first sentence in TTP's comment when Jazzbumpa (Ron) had his puzzle published.


2) Husker Gary also took a few pictures of our gathering last week. He also treated me my very first Earl Grey tea, Abejo!


Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann

   I feel like a Huskers' first round draft pick.


3) Spitzboov (Al) met with Argyle last Saturday at the Washington County Fair. Al mentioned that this was his first visit to the fair in 40 years. He said "I was pleasantly surprised by how much the fair has grown over 4 decades." 


Spitzboov, Betty & Argyle 
(In case you wonder, it's Bloomin' Onion with horseradish & Ranch dipping sauces)
 

 Spitzboov and Argyle with John (Deere)

Please click here for more. I'm so pleased that they finally met each other. Spitzboov's family from Virginia, Massachusetts & Delaware had a big gathering at the fair.


55 comments:

  1. What a nice wake-up to solve this delightful debut puzzle by Sherpa Steve, in collaboration with our prolific hostess C.C., and then to revisit it via Argyle's analysis and explanations. At first, I thought it might be a "back to school" theme, but as the circus acts emerged, I realized ... not all that different!

    It should come as no surprise to regular visitors to this blog that many of us in the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes feel rather passionately about sports. In this regard, I submit to you another puzzle, constructed in collaboration with another crossword friend and neighbor, Steve Bachman: Hello Loneliness .... We hope you like it, including the "midrash."

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  2. I beg your indulgence for one that's a leeettle bit long, I'm working with a classic here! The Animal Fair is an old limerick, so let's make an ALTERNATE LATXW version:

    I went to the CIRCUS fair,
    There were CLOWNs and ACROBATs there.
    The old SASQUATCH
    Was combing his thatch,
    And the bear CUB sat on a chair!

    The monkey got drunk as a skunk,
    Made a bunk on the ELEPHANT's trunk.
    The ELEPHANT coughed
    The monkey fell off,
    Or that's what everyone thunk!

    The monkey got sucked up his nose
    He went as far as his toes
    Then his BUTT got stuck,
    Just the ELEPHANT's luck
    When he sneezes, then everything blows!

    The monkey shot out of his trunk,
    He landed up there with a thunk.
    He went to the moon
    In a snotty cocoon,
    And that was the end of the monk!
    The monk! The monk! The monk!

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  3. Morning, all!

    Congrats to Steve on his debut! Mostly smooth Monday solve for me, but I was surprised at the number of unknowns I ran into today, at least as clued (ALICIA, EMMA, LOWELL, ONEIL, MRCUB). Funny how they are all proper nouns... The perps took care of all of them in short order, however, so no harm, no foul. I knew LORD BYRON, but that also needed a lot of perp help before I could think of it.

    Monday after a long vacation and I have to go back to work. Yuck.

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  4. Congrats on your debut, Steve. Great puzzle Steve and CC. After clown and elephant, I suspected a circus theme, and that's "no lyin'." Cute title, Argyle. I, too, thought of those little candy hearts for BE MINE.
    Owen, fun limericks.
    We have a laundromat named Odd Sock. I go there just to wash my comforters.
    At home the mate to any odd sock usually turns up on the next laundry day.
    Last week was full of hassles and snafus. The icing on the cake came when I heard a loud POP and the TV turned off. Although the power button lit up red, the TV won't turn on again.

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  5. She Walks In Beauty by Lord Byron

    She walks in beauty, like the night
    Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
    And all that's best of dark and bright
    Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
    Thus mellowed to that tender light
    Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

    One shade the more, one ray the less,
    Had half impaired the nameless grace
    Which waves in every raven tress,
    Or softly lightens o'er her face;
    Where thoughts serenely sweet express
    How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

    And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
    So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
    The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
    But tell of days in goodness spent,
    A mind at peace with all below,
    A heart whose love is innocent!

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  6. Welcome Steve, really fun Monday that flowed really quickly. The proper names were all known to me, and Ernie Banks has always been a wonderful inspiration and class act. Mr. Cub is also Mr. Baseball

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  7. Good morning!

    Congrats, Steve, on your debut effort. I had all the same unknowns as BARRY, but they all perped out OK. My only inkblot was ALPE where MONT needed to be.

    YR, check for a reset button on your TV. Some TV's have their own internal breaker that'll "pop" to avoid damaging the innards.

    Nice photos, guys! Husker, looks like you got the right size on that Nebraska Tee.

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  8. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Steve Marron and C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

    Liked the pictures of our friends.

    How was that Earl Grey tea, C.C.? I have a cup going right now.

    Argyle: Great looking bloomin' onion. I love those! Get them at Outback.

    Nice seeing you, Spitzboov. Some day we will meet.

    Nice photos Husker Gary. Looks like all are having fun.

    I could not sleep, so I got up and the paper was there. Did the puzzle.

    Theme appeared easily. Circuses are fun.

    A couple tough ones: FOGG, LOWELL, BE IN

    Liked TUBA. My instrument. The one I usually play is 89 years old.

    Liked seeing QED. One of my favorite Latin expressions. I think I mentioned before that I saw that in a book once. "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London.

    If you ever see the movie "The Book of Eli" BRAILLE will hit you in the head.

    TATAR two days in a row? Spooky!

    Liked the two poems today, OwenKL's and Yellowrocks' Lord Byron poem.

    As soon as it hits 8:00 I am cutting the grass. One hour to go.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (508)

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  9. Good Morning Everyone1

    Congratulations on a fun debut puzzle, Steve! You picked the hardest day of the week for constructors, but made it look so easy.

    I had the same slow downs as BarryG at the proper names, but also found that the perps helped jog my memory on each one. At 50-Down, I thought of Lucina and her big family gatherings making TAMALEs.

    Thanks for posting all the pictures of our corner "family," C.C. Everyone looks like they had a great time. Bloomin' onion, yummm! Did you share, Argyle??

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  10. Excellent debut puzzle Steve and C.C.! I recognized the name immediately, and thought it was everything a Monday puzzle could hope to be. Relatively easy, but with plenty of crunch. And like Marti, I realized it's the hardest day to construct. Bravo!

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  11. Good morning everybody.

    Nice Monday level puzzle today. I scratched my head at 24D and 43D, but everything filled in nicely.

    I had heard of sit-ins but never heard of a be in.

    It's nice to see some of the Corner folks getting together in person. I enjoy the photos - keep them coming!

    Have a great day.

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  12. Thanks, Steve & CC! and for a fun write-up Argyle-- my husband was wondering why Lou Rawls was singing so early in the morning

    I'm with Mari-- I've heard of sit-ins and live-ins, but no be-ins, except human bein's

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  13. Musings
    -A nice Monday puzzle for Steve’s coming out party with our venerable hostess!
    -You must be nominated for good works to sit in the Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat at KC Royals Stadium
    -GLAMOUR magazine @:56 (3:26) in most famous Seinfeld episode.
    -Kramer: I’M OUT (:35) in same episode
    -AS YET, I haven’t played golf since getting home from Minneapolis. I’ll fix that in an hour
    -EX POST FACTO – You’re doing 50mph legally on Monday. Speed limit is lowered to 40mph on Tuesday. Cop gives you a ticket on Wednesday for speeding two days ago. Article 1, Section 10, Clause 1 says ”Ain’t no way!”
    -I’m more receptive to AMY LOWELL’S advice at this stage of my life
    -The Help showed some of what MR CUB had to tolerate
    -We can all find the TUBA in this picture, can’t we?
    -It’s great to see pix of Spitz and Argyle but C.C. is rockin’ that Husker shirt!;-)
    -In what movie does Walter Matthau irk George Burns by saying “ENTER” and not “Come in”?

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  14. Musings on C.C.
    -Her background, encyclopedic knowledge and genuine concern for others make her a very unique person.
    -It was fun to learn of her Chinese past and the work she did there pre-Boomer
    -We had some very interesting conversations about the denizens of this electronic neighborhood. Once again, her sweet personality made her comments overwhelmingly positive. Now if you ask me… ;-)
    -She drank tea and chose a variety that was new to her from a box of choices. I’ll know it when she puts it in her next puzzle!
    -I called her house after she and Boomer had left for the hotel and found it interesting to hear Boomer’s message on the answering machine pronounce C.C.’s actual name.
    -She did take English in school in China and so had some western knowledge when she got here
    -A big thing she likes about Minneapolis is that living there is so much quieter than doing so among the 8,000,000 people of Guangzhou
    -I got a good rundown on her house and neighborhood in Minneapolis and how it is changed over the years. Talk about your candor!
    -Being the ultimate arbiter of the site, she is very flexible but can’t tolerate meanness.
    -She was very gracious to Joann and engaged her extensively about gardening skills.
    -Joann (and I) chided her good-naturedly about excessive pickle eating
    -Talking to Boomer was fun as well. It was easy to get a sense of his knowledge and sense of humor that infuses his blogging.

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  15. Although I was a traditional, twenty-something mother of two young sons in the 60's, I remember well the counterculture movement of that era.
    From wiki:"In the 1960s, several "be-ins" were held in Central Park to protest against various issues such as US involvement in the Vietnam War and racism. This park was a place where all of the different types of people that New York contained could mingle."

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  16. Congrats on the new duo's debut! It was an enjoyable solve, despite the nattick at RAWLS/LOWELL, which perps helped me guess.

    Thanks too for the nice photo collection. It really is nice to see so many collected together.

    In all, a great start to the week!

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  17. Good Morning:

    What a terrific start to the week: A debut puzzle by Steve, the Foodie, in collaboration with our cool and charming CC: A nifty review by our resident Santa in shorts: more pictures of the Minneapolis meeting members: and new, delightful pictures of the Fair contingent. Thank you all for sharing.

    Enjoyed the puzzle very much, even with a little extra crunch for a Monday. Cute theme and lots of fresh fill. I, too, thought of Lucina at tamales and liked seeing Alicia, as The Good Wife is one of my favorite shows. (Julianna Margulies is up for an Emmy tonight, but I doubt she'll win. OTO hand, she was excellent in the episode where Will died. We'll see.)

    Warm and sunny today as we head into the end of August. Did anyone see the photo finish at the Travers on Saturday?

    Have a great day.

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  18. Congrats, Steve, on your debut. WBS about the unknowns and perp solves.

    I had INRE before ASTO, Flash before Flare before GLARE,and I would have entered Mauna Loa if KEA had not already been filled in. I use a potato Masher not RICER.

    I must have forgotten my 60's vernacular because I do not get BE IN even after Argyle showed me that it was two words!

    We had Beatlemania Revisited in the town park last week and they ended a fabulous performance with HEY Jude!

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  19. Thanks YR for the LORD Byron poem and the explanation of BE IN.
    I wish the mates to the odd Socks would appear the next laundry day. I have such a collection on top of my dryer - perhaps I can start a new fashion trend to wear mismatched socks. LOL.

    Great photos. DH retired from John Deere and enjoyed the one of Spitzboov & Argyle.

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  20. Good morning, everyone! What a great start to a week with a puzzle by Corner friends.

    Although I moved quickly through the puzzle at first, I ended up needing to WAG the N in BEIN and NIA. I didn't see BE IN until Argyle explained it.

    I subscribe online to my state newspaper and it carries the LA Times puzzle, so when Cruciverb is down I can print the puzzle out. However, I need to have ink in my printer for that. SInce I have retired I find I rarely print anything anymore.

    Furnace on here for third day in a row, but weatherman predicts we will need A/C on Thursday. Hope so.

    Have a good day,
    Montana

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  21. CandianEh! In the 50's and 60's sit-ins were an act of non violent civil disobedience often protesting segregation or the Viet Nam War. In sit-ins, protesters usually seated themselves at a strategic location (inside a restaurant, in a street to block it, in a government or corporate office, and so on). They remained until they were evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests had been met. These morphed into other protest gatherings called lie-ins, teach-ins, or be-ins. Today's version of a be-in would be the recent Occupy Wall Street, etc. protests. They were just large protest movements occupying space and usually disrupting the daily flow of business as usual in order to bring about a change in society.

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  22. Good morning, all
    Fun debut, Steve and CC, and an entertaining expo, Argyle. I didn't find the puzzle to be as crunchy as some did, just entertaining.
    As soon as I saw the clue for 5a I thought "Oh, please let it be RAWLS and let someone link 'You'll never find. . . "' Thanks Argyle. I never get tired of that song. LR is such a class act.
    OwenKL: Hilarious! After singing it to DW, she just shook her head and said, "That guy is warped. Very funny, but warped." I don't agree with the warped part, but the rest her assessment is spot on.
    I always enjoy seeing pictures of the bloggers. After reading this blog for a few years, it's no surprise that most are contemporaries.
    Have a nice rest of the week, folks.

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  23. Good morning everyone.

    Congratulations, Steve, on your puzzle debut. Also delighted to see that C.C. had input. Puzzles with her fingerprints on them are always fun.

    Felt this morning's solve was right for a Monday; easy enough, but with a lot of crunch as others have said. making it more interesting. Probably not an easy job to "tune" it just right.
    Wanted alpe before MONT, but 32d wouldn't permit it. No lookups, no strikethroughs were needed.

    Meeting up with Argyle was a hoot and an extreme pleasure for me. The Blog is lucky to have his service and camaraderie. The visit wasn't long enough but they usually aren't. I told him I was having withdrawal pangs from puzzle solving for the weekend, and he mentioned I was missing out on a Saturday Silkie. Sigh.
    Hopefully we can touch base again before too long.
    All the grandkids enjoyed the day at the Fair. Well worth it.

    Have a nice day.

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  24. I had a hard time remembering Be In, but it did pop up after Sit In obviously wouldn't fit.

    John Lennon took a page from that book when he and Yoko staged a Bed In after their wedding. It's most notably chronicled in The Ballad of John and Yoko

    Also enjoyed all the pics today. Gary? Have you no shame? Forcing that Huskers tee on C.C. :-)

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  25. What a great way to start the week, with a C.C. and a debut by our very own Steve! Yay! Speed run with just enough crunch--wonderful! Of course, I got EDU right away, given my e-mail address. And LORD BYRON--many thanks for printing the whole poem, Yellowrocks. (The dude wasn't a realist, was he?). And I loved the movie of "Around the World in 80 Days" with David Niven. The big surprise: I somehow got Lou RAWLS even though I don't have a clue who he is--only the name was stuck there in my back memory somewhere.

    Delightful photos, C.C., thanks so much for posting them. And loved your filling in more about the visit, Husker. Final question: what is Boomer's blog name?

    As I said, great way to start the week. Have a good one, everybody!

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  26. Congratulations Steve and CC. Thanks Argyle. That was a very pleasant puzzle. I enjoyed all of the photos.

    We are getting the first part of the installation of solar panels on our roof today. (It's a two-day process.) It will save a little bit on our electric bill and will be doing a small part to cut overall energy consumption.

    I am a big fan of Emma Stone. Very cute looking with a personality to match. But then I saw her on a talk show where they got her talking about her belief in unexplained phenomena such as ghosts. It took a little bit of the bloom off of the rose. Shazbot...

    I like Julianna Margulies too. Pretty, smart, appealing but maybe not as cute as Emma Stone.

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  27. Steve, congratulations on your debut puzzle with C.C. Good job, lots of food!

    Husker & Spitz, Thank you for sharing those photo's.

    Argyle: Wonderful write-up of this FUN Monday offering.

    YR: Thanks for the BE-IN info. I always thought it was "what a guy wants to be with his gal."

    Many thanks for the Birthday wishes on Saturday.
    CED, Scotch (even w/ice), Bacon & Cake is the perfect meal!
    Gal-Pal and I were enjoying Sanibel ... 3 days without a newspaper or computer is soothing!

    A hearty "toast" to ALL at Sunset.
    Cheers!!!

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  28. I live in Chicago and have never heard of Ernie Banks referred to as Mr. Baseball. Me thinks Mr. Lemony is wrong.

    Besides our old friend Johnny Carson always called Bob Uecker "Mr. Baseball".

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  29. A little research shows that Buck O'NEAL and MR. CUB were teammates on the 1950 Kansas City Monarch's 1950 team.

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  30. Husker Chuck (a.k.a. Ergo)August 25, 2014 at 12:30 PM

    Good morning puzzlers,

    Congratulations to Steve with an assist to C.C. Though I may only know those here by screen name, I feel I am being embraced as family.

    TATAR two days in a row saved my bacon. I must confess though that the confluence of BEIN and NIA exposed my generation gap.

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  31. By the way, the year that Ernie and Buck played together for the Kansas City Monarchs was 1950. :)

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  32. Zook, I agree with you.
    per wiki:
    "Ernest "Ernie" Banks (born January 31, 1931), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", is a retired American professional baseball player.
    He was a Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop and first baseman for 19 seasons, 1953 through 1971.
    He spent his entire MLB career with the Chicago Cubs.
    He was a National League (NL) All-Star for 11 seasons, playing in 14 All-Star Games."

    "Mr. Baseball" was a semi-funny 1992 Tom Selleck movie.

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  33. Happy Monday everybody!

    Don't usually post on Mondays - by the time I get to the puzzle at lunch time I don't have a lot to contribute to the blog that hasn't already been said - but I did want to congratulate Steve on his debut!

    Good on ya, mate!

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  34. Re Ernie Banks: Does anyone remember the 1954 Cubbies double play combo? Very alliterative. Extra credit for the nickname announcer Bert Wilson gave them.

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  35. Abejo,
    Very pleasant. Mine was pretty mild as I went for a quick dipping.

    Misty,
    Boomer blogged under "Boomer". He had not blogged for a long time.

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  36. Any LOWELL's advice has GOT to be ironic-- right?! Or sarcastic. As a somewhat normal human being, I gotta answer, "Yah! If only...!"

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  37. iBlue Hen @2:15

    2nd baseman was Gene Baker. Never heard their gimmick name. I have a good friend who is a Cubs historian. Have to ask him.

    Tin,

    BE IN definition,,,. TOO FUNNY!

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  38. Well, C.C., tell Boomer we said Hi and we miss him!

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  39. Way to go, Steve! And two thumbs up for the stupendous fill, LORD BYRON and SASQUATCH!

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  40. Hondo, very good. The first baseman was Steve Bilko, hence "Banks to Baker to Bilko", or as the announcer said it, "Bingo to Bango to Bilko". Stupid me, in my 'ute I thought that Gene Baker was going to be a bigger star than Banks, but then again, I thought Turk Lown (sp?) was a good pitcher. Oh, well.

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  41. Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, Steve & C.C.! Harder than some Mondays. WBS.

    I knew FOGG & RAWLS but needed perps for the spelling.

    Tin, your type of BE-IN was called a Love-In. Who could forget those? LOL!

    My odd SOCKs usually turn up in the sleeve or pant leg of my sweats. My granddaughter was going to a private school with a dress code of khaki pants or skirt and white golf shirt with school crest. Nothing in the code specified socks so she & some of her friends wore miss-matched wildly-colored striped knee socks to liven things up.

    YR: All my electronics have been doing crazy things this past week. I couldn't get on Google for two days. Sometimes my TV turns on with the remote and sometimes it doesn't. Maybe its the electro-magnetic fields in this hot weather?

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  42. Greetings!

    Swell offering, Steve and CC! Great expo, Santa!

    Enjoyed the photos. Thanks, CC!

    Only hangup was BE IN. Never heard the term before.

    Owen, great work!

    Thanks for poem, YR!

    Happy belated birthday, Tinbeni! Sorry, failed to look at Saturday Silkie. Didn't need three disappointments in a row.

    Caretaker did not come yesterday as she took trip. Did not bother to leave protein drink in thermoses in fridge. Nearly starved to death.

    Cheers!

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  43. Hello Puzzlers -

    Late, obviously. I still can't get today's puzzle on Cruciverb, so I while I can't comment on the puzzle itself, I'd like to congratulate the new duo!

    Argyle and Spitz, glad to see you could make the link-up. I still hope to have an autumn gathering if it fits. Montana, you have plans yet?

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  44. PK, I forgot about those love-ins during the sexual revolution. The slogans was, "Make love, not war,"

    D/O thanks for the TV advice. I have no reset button on my TV or remote. I am told by the Internet to check voltages, capacitors, install a repair kit,etc. Way above my pay grade! I am a "wordie," not a techie. My plasma TV is only 26 inches and at least seven years old, as expensive to have repaired as to replace. PK, better luck with your electronics.

    This past year I have made a casual male friend who is open to going with me to any square dance any time. How lovely. Alas, my knees are so bad that I rarely attend more than our weekly dance and class night, dancing only every other set or tip with considerable pain. Because I dance both the lead and the lady's part I can find a loose male or female partner for every set, but having a steady partner is better. Also, I don't like to travel to new places alone at night. I can't wait to have my knee replacement which has been delayed due to my son's ill health. My new friend can no longer drive so he will probably wait for me.

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  45. HEY All!

    Very nice debut Steve, nice job C.C. bringing up another constructor. Argyle - as always...

    WEES. WAGS at RAWLS/LOWELL and I had MR. CUt for a loooong time before the V8 whack. But, alas, wrong WAG at 57a It was 33.3...% guess between R/M/N. Bzzzt. I broke the theme early on and loved it. Who doesn't like a CIRCUS? OH YOU?

    Fav was SASQUATCH - plenty of stories about that yeti on the crazy people channel (coast2coastam). I also liked QED.

    Great pix guys. I'd love the opportunity to meet some of you. Big Easy never showed at Cafe du Monde :-)

    C Eh! - Good idea. I've got so many unmatchable SOCKs... I'm going to do it. If I get called out on a mismatched pair, I will say I remarried 'em after their mate just up and left 'em.

    YR - thanks for the BE IN expo. I recall the other INs, but not that.

    Did anyone see the story about 7 oz of cocaine being smuggled in TAMALES at IAH last week?

    Speaking of TAMALES, there's a food truck here that infused Tai and Mexican. It was called TaiMales. Great name and food, but if you want to know where they will be next don't Google TAI MALES to find out!*

    I'M OUT!
    Cheers, -T
    *true story - a buddy did it not realizing how it parsed :-)

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  46. For giggles I went and found UFO Phil's Coast to Coast song that mentions SASQUATCH. It sums up the show and the crazy conspiracy theories tongue firmly planted in cheek. It's a fun little ditty too.

    It's best to listen to the program rafter the PINK ELEPHANT joins you for a pint ;-)

    C, -T

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  47. Dudley, I got today and tomorrow's puzzle on Cruciverb about 15 minutes ago.

    Montana

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  48. Doh! Dudley - you may know this, but I always find Mensa's site has the puzzle and I can print it. It's handy when I'm out of town / country. I've never checked if they get the puzzle early, but it's better than ANTS* at your picnic. C, -T

    *whew - almost didn't reference puzzle :-)

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  49. AnonT, I like the Mensa site also. Their format suits me better than the LAT website or Cruciverb. They have the new puzzle at 10 pm Pacific time, midnight Central time or 1 am Eastern time. Thanks for the reminder. I think I'll get a head start now.

    Do you crank up Pandora while solving? I do. I've got stations featuring Chet Atkins, classical guitar music, western swing, Django Reinhardt, The Ink Spots, Butch Thompson, Josh White, Leon Redbone and The Manhattan Transfer.

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  50. Bill G - I've got the Mensa site almost down pat... I'll hit the hotel computer, google la times crossword mensa, click, wait, select the day's puzzle, wait, hit expert, hit second tab, ADOBE presents it... Print! Wait, wait, wait, ahhh - like heroin through the veins :-) It's a Marti or a C.C. Whoot! :-)

    I listen to NPR while I solve (SiriusXM is almost always tuned to it) unless I get to it after midnight then it's the crazy people! I'll rock out (or even listen to old House) when I need to write a paper or code.

    Did you get any quake damage or are you too far south? DW's aunt lives in North SF Bay. She's fine, but shaken up a bit.

    Cheers, -T

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  51. AnonT, thanks for asking. We are way too far south to have even felt the Napa earthquake, about 400 miles away. We get our share but not this time. We have experienced two 'big' quakes since we've lived here. They were scary with everything shaking and rattling for 15 or more seconds. Only minor damage though with a few things broken from falling off of shelves. We have earthquake insurance but there is a huge deductible. Your house has to pretty much fall down before they will start to pay off. I don't think it's a good expenditure but it seems to make Barbara feel more secure.

    Tomorrow is our Back-To-School brunch for the local retired teachers.

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  52. Um, not literally "in" the Bay. No mermaids on her side of the family. Stupid modifiers... C, -T

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  53. Bill G - we must have posted at nearly the same time. So glad to hear that you were unaffected. BTW, I heard it was a great test of the early-earthquake-warning system and it worked! It only gives you a moment's notice, but I suppose it's enough to jump under a table or something. We get 5 days notice with a hurricane.

    Someone really sells earthquake insurance as a separate rider? We have to pay extra for mould & rising water; but hurricanes are (mostly) covered.

    Well, that's 5 so I'M OUT.

    Cheers, -T

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  54. Spitzboov,
    You're so right about how lucky this blog is to have Argyle. He's the best thing that happened to me in America.

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  55. Now that's a bit extreme. I'm blushing behind my beard.

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