Theme: It's another Wednesday, By Cracky! We are presented with beautifully common two-word phrases, beginning coincidentally with B and C. Is this a bold concept?
20 A. *Competition won by a knockout? : BEAUTY CONTEST. I have to admit I love this brilliant clue. In one sense, a knockout is physically incapacitating one's opponent in a combat sport. in another it's lady of beguiling charm.
36 A. *Certain cutlet : BONELESS CHICKEN. As the name suggests, this is a cut of chicken with the bones removed.
53 A. *Nonviolent revolution : BLOODLESS COUP. A Coup [d'état] is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually by a group of insiders. It's bloodless if done by non-violent means.
4 D. *Dressing with Buffalo wings : BLUE CHEESE. Blessedly cool to balance/contrast the heat of buffalo chicken.
31 D. *Arm-strengthening reps : BICEP CURLS. The barbell is curled upward from waist level to the chest.
31 D. *Arm-strengthening reps : BICEP CURLS. The barbell is curled upward from waist level to the chest.
Big contraction
And the unifier -- 66 A. Recently retired NCAA football ranking system, and, as a plural, a hint to the answers to starred clues : BCS. Acronym Finder lists 106 various things, from Bar Code Scanner to Bangladesh Civil Service that might be indicated by the abbreviation BCS. But, with the beginning of football season we have the somewhat more topical BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES. This was a system in place from 1998 through 2013 that used 5 Bowl games involving 10 of the top rated college football teams in a vain attempt to define a national champion. Whether this was worth doing is a topic I'll let remain undiscussed.
Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here - though with symphony season back in session perhaps I should be Classical Bumpa, at least for today. [Wait - that's backwards. Oh, well.] At any rate, we have five long horizontal and vertical two-word theme answers, one a grid spanner, with the initials B and C. We needn't go back to Old Testament times, nor will our excursion take us to British Columbia, Boston College, nor Baja California. Let's see if we can blithely conquer this puzzle, before conceding.
Across:
Across:
1. "Hardball" station : MSNBC. Chris Matthews hosts this politically oriented program. 'Nuff said.
6. McCain's org. : GOP. John and the Grand Old Party. 'Nuff said.
9. Mardi Gras mementos : BEADS. Mardi Gras will land on Feb 9 in 2016. Are you ready?
14. São __, Brazil : PAULO. The most populous city in Brazil, the Americas, the Western Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. It's named for Saul of Tarsus, who became St. Paul.
15. Body spray brand : AXE.
16. Baseball Hall of Famer Murray or Mathews : EDDIE. Steady Eddie Murray was a first baseman and designated hitter for the Baltimore Orioles, 1977-1988. He played until 1997 for several more teams. Eddie Matthews played 3rd base for the Braves as they were stationed in Boston, Milwaukee and then Atlanta from 1952 through 1966. After a partial year in Houston, he finished up with the Tigers in 1968.
17. Arrange ahead of time : SET UP.
18. Irish actor Stephen : REA. Best actor nominee for his performance in The Crying Game, and has been in many more films and TV series.
19. Jeans accent : RIVET.
23. Magazine fig. : CIRC. The abbrv'd figure is CIRCulation.
25. Easily led sorts : SHEEP. Figuratively speaking. We keep venturing dangerously close to politics.
26. Seminary subj. : REL. And now RELigion! What did I do to deserve this?
27. Kerfuffles : HOOHAS. Altercations, brouhahas, etc. This word also has other definitions, which you may discuss amongst yourselves.
29. Easily roused crowd : RABBLE. Sheep with teeth and claws?
32. Single : UNWED. Once wed, you are double, I suppose.
33. Highest North American peak, to natives : DENALI. And to everybody, now. [Well, almost] Formerly Mt. McKinley, so named in 1896 by a gold prospector who supported the then presidential candidate. This was made official by President Wilson in 1917. To be clear, pretty much everyone in Alaska has always called it by the Athabascan name, meaning great one. The Alaska Board of Geograhic Names changed it back to DENALI in 1975, and has been petitioning the Federal government to follow suit ever since.. It is located in a national park that has been named DENALI since 1980. {Reference}
41. Not quite boil : SIMMER. If you can't stand the heat . . .
42. Grammar class subject : TENSE. A verb characteristic expressing a time reference; Frex., past, present or future. Once in grammar class the teacher asked me, "What tense would it be if you said, 'I have money?'" My answer was, "Pretense."
43. Slide subject : AMOEBA. Tiny critter on a microscope slide. This has nothing to do with baseball, nor trombones. I hope.
46. Common motel prohibition : NO PETS. This refers to your animal friends, and presumably does not extend to physical contact.
47. Turned on : LIT. As a light bulb.
48. With no affection : ICILY. As, for example, when encountering one's ex.
52. Corp. bigwigs : CEOS. Chief Executive OfficerS.
57. First name on a 1945 bomber : ENOLA Gay. Delivered a nuke.
58. SoCal team, on scoreboards : LAA. Los Angeles Angels. Long shot for a wild card this year.
59. Athenian with harsh laws : DRACO. In the 7th century B. C. he replaced oral laws that could be arbitrarily applied and interpreted with a written constitution that was publicly displayed. These laws led to the death penalty for even minor offenses, and were more lenient to the upper classes.
62. Race with batons : RELAY. The baton is passed from runner to runner on a team, at set distance intervals.
63. Clean one's plate : EAT. Figuratively, except for the Sprats, of course.
64. Respected church member : ELDER.
65. Deuce beaters : TREYS. Twos and threes in a deck of cards.
67. Pitcher's arm, say : ASSET. But only if he can get a grip.
Down
1. U.S. Army cops :. Military Police (plural S.)
Well, that wraps it up for today. Lots of themeage, and some clever cluing but also a lot of 3-letter verticals, many of which were abbrvs. There's always a trade-off. And thus end my blog comments.
Big Cool Regards!
Jz[&C]B
Down
1. U.S. Army cops :. Military Police (plural S.)
2. Encl. with a manuscript : SAE. Self Addressed Envelope.
3. Type of ale : NUT BROWN.
5. Nightclub of song : COPA. A Barry Manilow song that I will not link.
6. Brooks of C&W : GARTH. A County singer who I will not link.
7. Daisy variety : OX EYE. So prolific it is now considered to be a noxious weed.
8. Flower child's parting word : PEACE.
9. Swiss capital : BERN. Neither Francs nor Euros; instead the capital city.
10. Revise text : EDIT.
11. Sooner or later : ADVERB. Self-referential clue.
12. Semi-filling liquid : DIESEL. Fuel for semi tractor trailer rigs, not light beer.
13. Come to terms : SETTLE. Reach an agreement.
21. Pearl Harbor's __ Arizona Memorial : USS. United States Ship, a prefix applied to a commissioned ship of the U. S. Navy. This is only used during the time that the ship is commissioned.
22. Personality with an online book club : OPRAH. Winfrey (b. January 29, 1954.)
23. Carp family fish : CHUB. A common fish name applied to a variety of families and genera.
24. Prefix with sphere : IONO-. The upper region of the atmosphere, from about 40 to over 600 miles of altitude, where the molecules of the atmosphere are ionized by solar radiation and cosmic rays.
28. Go off-script : AD LIB.
30. 2005 Bush Supreme Court nominee : ALITO. Samuel (b. April 1, 1950)
33. Mil. award : DSM. Distinguished Service Medal. British, awarded from 1914 to 1993.
34. L.A.-to-Tucson dir. : ESE. East-SouthEast.
35. ATM giant : NCR. National Cash Register.
37. Phishing medium : EMAIL.
38. Rollerblading safety gear : KNEE PADS. So they don't get skinned.
39. José's "this" : ESTO. Spanish.
40. Loch near Inverness : NESS. Scottish Lake with a mythical monster.
43. Angels' slugger Pujols : ALBERT. He was more of a slugger, and hit for higher average with the Cardinals from 2001 through 2011. Things fell off dramatically when he changed uniforms in 2012. This year the HR's are back on track, but the average is still slipping.
44. Martin of "Adam-12" : MILNER. Sadly, passed away on Monday.
45. "Lawrence of Arabia" Oscar nominee : O'TOOLE. Irish stage and screen actor ((2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013)
46. 1785-'90 U.S. capital : NYC. New York City.
49. Star : CELEBrity. O'Toole, not Milner.
50. Newton associated with apples, not figs : ISAAC. (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726) English physicist and mathematician. Very clever clue, too.
51. Exams for future J.D.s : LSATS. Law School Admission TestS.
54. Nivea rival : OLAY. Skin care products.
55. Diary pages : DAYS.
56. Old Greek theaters : ODEA. Plural of ODEON. Ancient Greek or Roman structures used for performances in singing, poetry, and theater. I imagine some of the performances were odious.
60. Average grade : CEE. Spelt out letter name.
61. Food scrap : ORT. From Middle English, with cognates in German and Dutch; evidently derived from ǣt, Old English for food.
61. Food scrap : ORT. From Middle English, with cognates in German and Dutch; evidently derived from ǣt, Old English for food.
Well, that wraps it up for today. Lots of themeage, and some clever cluing but also a lot of 3-letter verticals, many of which were abbrvs. There's always a trade-off. And thus end my blog comments.
Big Cool Regards!
Jz[&C]B
50 comments:
A pretty young miss in a BEAUTY CONTEST
Thinks she's a KNOCKOUT, above all the rest.
Her talent is boxing
Her rivals she's clocking,
This BLOODLESS COUP leads to her crowning as best!
You're watching a porno, and find it distressing;
Their BICEPS are bulging, while yours are depressing!
They have CURLS in their hair
While you're balding up there,
Skip the cheesecake disrobing, watch a BLUE CHEESE dressing!
The diner was disgruntled, claimed his coffee was dregs,
Insulted the waiters, threatened board of health regs.
Found a bone in his CHICKEN,
Sent it back to the kitchen,
Chef himself brought BONELESS CHICKEN -- a plate of poached eggs!
A nice midweek puzzle and an unbelievable write up by JzB. The new season must have you really amped.
Poor Draco, he only gets mention when things are overdone.
Marty Milner RIP
Morning, all!
Mostly smooth sailing for me today. I got hung up in the NE for awhile for no good reason, however. Didn't know EDDIE, misspelled RIVET as RIVIT, couldn't see ADVERB without a "for example" in the clue and was completely fooled by the tricky cluing on DIESEL. I did eventually get it all settled, though, once I finally got the clue for DIESEL and realized that DIISEL just wasn't right...
Other unknowns today included NUT BROWN, ALBERT (as clued) and MILNER (RIP). The perps took care of all of them easily enough, however.
Got hung up here and there but eventually got 'er done. Fun puzzle and super write-up, thanks Pawel, Amy and JzB!! Thanks, Owen, too, for the limericks.
Good morning!
Ah, senility sets in. I managed a DNF on what should've been a breezy Wednesday puzzle. I used SEW UP to arrange things ahead of time. That gave me NUW which had to be wrong. Therefore it must not be PAULO, but PAOLO. NOW BROWN, how cow?
JzB, thanks for the brilliant exposition. Pawel and Amy, thanks for the humbling experience. I am not gruntled this morning.
I see our constructors have ESP, forecasting the Mt. McKinley name change and death of Martin MILNER, a fill I would have never done if his name had not in the newspaper yesterday. He and DRACO were the only unknowns on this very easy speed run. Now I know where the term "Draconian" originated. I noticed the BC after BEAUTY CONTEST and BLUE CHEESE.
'Hardball' should change the name to 'Softball'- Chris Matthews- completely biased and makes Larry King look like a hard-edged reporter. Good reason nobody watches him or his station.
60A-'Average Grade'- the real answer should be 'C'. Everybody gets Straight A's today.
Favorite Clue- 'Easily roused crowd'- RABBLE
Terrific write up Jazz. Many thanks.
Almost had D-O's PAoLO, but NoT BROWN didn't look right, so I ran the string of 5 vowels and decided the U was more appropriate.
Wanted hangover for 9A, but couldn't make it fit.
11D Sooner or later/ADVERB was a favorite.
Could not remember ALITO, needed perp help.
I always liked Marty Milner, especially the RTE 66 series. RIP Marty.
I was going to rant about DENALI, but it probably would have been too political. No sense in violating the rules.
My first thought for 1A was mound...a hardball pitchers turf. Down clues quickly erased that thought.
Weather here still stinks, but change is supposedly on the way beginning Friday. We'll see.
Happy hump day
How ironic. Marty waited his entire life to see his name in a crossword puzzle. RIP, partner.
Good Morning, everyone.
Thanks Pawel and Amy for a delightful midweek challenge. Came to the theme with the unifier, BCS, and then I looked up to see I was almost there. JazzB, your write up was first class--and a little foxy. ;) I especially noticed your closing sentence with the two grammar stops: perfect execution of TENSE and an ADVERB!
Funny to see DENALI this week, and we just watched Jack Cassidy kill Martin MILNER on an old Columbo. MILNER always seemed like a nice guy.
Big Easy: you got that right! Everyone gets an A--don't want them to feel bad about themselves! The new SAT scores show a great number of students are not college ready. I guess all those test prep classes, in lieu of developing critical thinking skills, are not working.
Also, at the end of my teaching career, classrooms and the hall were redolent with AXE. Powerful stuff--either the boys thought it would attract the gals, or they found it a substitute for showers. ;)
Enjoy the day.
Jazz: Thanks for another outstanding write-up & links.
(Once again, it took me longer to enjoy the write-up than to solve the puzzle).
Only needed ESP to get NUT BROWN ... obviously not a favorite "Type of ale" for me.
ALBERT was a gimmie (AS CLUED!) for any real baseball fan.
He plays for LAA (the L.A. Angels).
PEACE
Great write up! Thanks, JazzB! And a really clever puzzle.
Some of my favorite clues: Compitition won by a knock out, Slide Subject, Sooner or later.
Mardi Gras mementos seemed too obvious to me, but that's probably just proximity. I was looking for something like hangover, too, or maybe tired feet.
Owen, the poems were spot on today!
Enjoyable puzzle though I had a few slow downs when I put the Italian Paolo instead of the Portuguese PAULO in - NOT BROWN seemed more of a descriptor than a type of ale- but I didn't know NUT BROWN either.
I would love to deep six all the Old Spice, Brut and AXE (depending on the generation of the man) - not sure why they feel a need to bathe in it -- I often have to air out a room after someone using those items has been in it for any length of time, just bathe with soap and water please!
Great write up JazzB, and puzzle Pawel and Amy!
This was a very doable puzzle with perps. All of the ones fell from perps except OXEYE and AXE which were naticks for me. [well, I went duh when I saw the answers]
After a long series of lessons, Leonard teaches Penny what physics is and clears up the Fig vs ISAAC Newton issue. Those with limited time can skip to FINAL. Those who want the whole bit should start with PART1.
PART1
PART2
FINAL
VS
Like AARP, NCR is no longer a shortened version. It's just the name.
Even I got this theme! I used it to change CHAD to CHUB.
Musings
-With 128 schools in D1 football, a foolproof championship system is impossible
-I doubt the lovely Miss Michigan could wear that in the Arab world
-We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings and got bad service, a limited menu and mediocre food
-Chris Matthews’ “thrill up his leg” comment (:31).
-Another Brazillian PAULO
-Have you ever been on a SET UP date?
-Hitler’s Luftwaffe never got to deliver what the ENOLA GAY did
-The anguish of dropping the baton in a RELAY
-That SAE will facilitate your rejection letter
-BERN is a capital few people know like Canberra and Ottawa
-Big news in DIESEL fuel consumption
-We were over the USS Arizona on a December Sunday morning 30 yrs ago
-When pols AD LIB, a real opinion might slip out
-The Cardinals took the heat and got out of ALBERT’s contract in time
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pawel Fludzinski, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
Got a slow start to this puzzle, but as I was able to get a word here and there, it started to fill in with perp help. Turned out to be quite easy.
Never caught the theme until I finished and then saw the BCs. OK.
Wanted SEN for 6A, but held off for a cross. GOP appeared after GARTH. I have no inkblots today. Wow!
Peter O'Toole was a great actor.
ADVERB was a tricky one. I had all the letters except the E. Then it hit me in the head.
I was looking for a person for 23A. Then realized CIRC was the answer. Almost wrote EDIT for Editor. Held off.
We had big time rain yesterday and now cool weather in Chicagoland. Once the lawn dries up I will cut it.
Now I will go back in time and enter my comments for Tuesday, Monday, and Sunday puzzles. Did them all but no time to log in.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Hello Puzzlers -
Hand up for needing Adverb to reveal itself. Otherwise, a straight shot.
Good Morning:
When I didn't get the expected tada, I was bewildered, thinking I had a typo or some sort of error, so I rechecked all my entries and found nothing amiss. I then asked for removal of any errors and, lol and behold, I made the same mistake as Inane Hiker did with Paolo and Not Brown, instead of Paulo and Nut Brown! So, a big, fat FIW which, on a Wednesday, is quite humbling!
Errors aside, I liked the puzzle a lot and caught the theme early on. The clue for Beauty Contest was my fav. I bet Tin had no affection for 48A! Thank you, Amy and Pawel, for a pleasant mid-week solve, even though I tripped over my own feet. And, thank you, JzB, for one of the most entertaining write-ups ever! If you lived a previous life, I'm convinced it was one of a stand-up comedian. Bravo!
A couple more days of the 3 H's and then some much-needed cooling off. 94 yesterday and 93 Monday. Way too hot for September.
Have a great day.
FIW. Like others, put in Sao PAOLO, and got "Not Brown". Didn't make any sense, but ok, I accept the Nut Brown.
Thanks Amy and Pawel for a fun puzzle.
JzB - Great write-up, as usual.
Good morning everyone.
Nice newsy intro, JazB. Thank you.
Thanks Pawel and Amy for a not-so difficult but somewhat chewy puzzle.
Shout-out to Pawel with PAULO. Perps were helpful to getting the starred fill. A few pauses here and there, but got it all without help. CELEB was final entry. Favorite clue was for DIESEL. 'Semi-filling suggested a liquid that, regardless of how much you put in, it would only fill half. Ha ha.
Favorite fill was probably OXEYE.
HOOHAS - Reminds me of Henry Blake being asked to vaccinate the little tushes of Radar's pets in MASH.
This felt more like a challenging Thursday than a Wednesday to me, with lots of unknowns. And yet surprisingly doable and a lot of fun. And JazzB, I couldn't believe all those great pics you posted. So, thanks, all, for a good way to start a busy day. Rowland's memorial service is tomorrow.
Another day of clever limericks, Owen--thanks.
Have a good day, everybody!
Thanks for not posting the Manilow link.....ewwww.
Nice one, Pawel and JzB!
I thought DENALI was recently adopted as the official name? The Nepalese and Tibetans have it worse though - Everest is named after a retired Surveyor General of India who was not even in office when Everest's height was first officially measured in 1856. To add insult to injury, the survey team were actually more than 200 miles away in India when the measurement was taken. That in itself was quite an amazing achievement considering that the height was only revised (upwards) 28 feet almost 100 years later.
If you want to try a superb NUT BROWN ale look for English brewer Samuel Smith's version.
@inanehiker - one of my pet peeves are those people who put on cologne to go hiking or swimming. I was hiking behind a couple of girls this morning who were guilty of that sin.
I thought the rule was no politics. I happen to like Matthews.
Inanehiker- Speaking of stinkers, you left out English Leather and the worst, Hai Karate, which was made by PFIZER. I guess it didn't work for the men so they came out with Viagra.
FIW due to a bonehead mistake!
I misread 46D as the clue from 35D (NCR which was already filled in)
with only N - C I WAG'd an E (NEC) as an ATM Giant, totally messing up Icily.
(I WAG'd an N (Icine) crossing Nsats because I had no idea what a J.D. is. (Junior Detective?)
Notes:
HeartRx writeups (Thurs) link below the pic is usually just a link to the picture.
However you should know that Jzb's link below the pic takes you to the website the pic came from. Jzb, I spent hours roaming those websites. like this...
CC: Did you know that the Blog on an Iphone is missing the entire right side, including the Olio?
Still looking for a funny BC, This is all I have got so far...
Hello, friends!
Thanks to Pawel and Amy. This was a bit of a challenge with sports names and a team. Luckily the perps knew and filled them all correctly. As a teacher of grammar, I liked seeing ADVERB and TENSE. Sadly, it seems that ADVERBs are being ignored and yet they add a certain richness to writing.
Thank you, JzB for posting Stephen REA's photo. Though he appears often in puzzles I had no idea what he looked like.
When visiting Alaska about 10-12 years ago our guide point out Mt. Denali by that name.
Again, thank you to Pawel and Amy and to JazzBumpa for a delightful review.
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
Good late morning or early afternoon to all, and good grief Brown, Charlie ! A FIW !
Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, and ruined your black tie affair...
Nearly messed up the midwest. Initially had CHad and IONa. Caught that with the BC(S) theme.
Swiss capital really was the Swiss capital. Reverse misdirection ?
Hand up for favorite clue as "Semi-filling liquid"
But in the end, it was entering BEAnS instead of BEADS. At least the answer Hondo wanted - but could not make fit - made more sense than beans.
Thank you Pawel, Amy, and JzB !
Handup for spending more time with the engaging write up than with the fine puzzle. JzB, are you aka Mr Google ?
OK, no Brooks, but how about some McDaniel ? or Twitty ? or
McCreery ?
How about Bell Bottom Blues ?
CED said..."I had no idea what a J.D. is. (Junior Detective?)"
J.D. = Juris Doctor.
Oops. That should be "pointed out".
Lucina said..."our guide pointed out Mt. Denali by that name"
Your guide misspoke. It's Denali, not "Mt. Denali".
Just a cryptic morsel:
Mountain some are in denial about? = DENALI
["denial about" means "make an anagram of denial" => Denali]
NC -
Another possible cryptic clue would be "Mountain involved in deal".
Nice midweek entry.
The theme came to me after the second BC fill. Had to wait for perps on the reveal. Football...no clue.
Had PAOLO/PAULO and NOTBROWN/NUTBROWN
as well.
Laughed when I saw the word KERFUFFLES. It is a favorite word of Judge Judy.
What is the the less than kind reference to Barry Manilow? He is a very talented songwriter and singer. I hope it has nothing to do with his lifestyle. Just saying....
My stepson used AXE products(or should I say he bathed in it) The smell was overpowering. I finally told him no more. I couldn't breathe from the stench.
Speaking of a BEAUTY CONTEST, after being forced to relinquish her 1984 Miss America title, Vanessa Williams is going to be a judge in the 2016 competition. She is such a beautiful woman. Her singing and acting are A+.
DINGUS and NIELSBOHR gotten with perp help.
All in all a good challenge. A small error caused a FIW, but it was still enjoyable.
Happy Hump Day.
coneyro said..."DINGUS and NIELSBOHR gotten with perp help."
I didn't get those at all.
With MARDI GRAS being that early Easter ic gonna fall early too. Easter almost fell on my birthday this year and 2 times in my life so far but not again in my future.
Had with 4 letters in the central west. Had ROWED for UNWED. and ALOHAS for HOOLAS. After turning on red letters I finally got it !!!
Bon Apres Midi from Cajun Country !!!
Mr. Google@12:29
He might have said DENALI and I have forgotten.
BTW;
I also like Chris Matthews
Ooh, ooh, ooh! Guess what I came across on a cable channel? Reruns of Boston Legal, that's what! I loved that David E. Kelley show. Now if I could only find some reruns of Picket Fences...
The weather is hot, humid and unpleasant. The TV got interrupted for a flash flood warning in the mountains in this area north of Pasadena and San Bernardino. I looked out my window and I can see some giant thunderheads off that way. Very impressive though they won't affect us I'm sure.
Did you watch America's Got Talent? They've got a bunch of really good acts left. I love the comedy/magician Piff and the ventriloquist. But almost all of the remaining acts are really excellent. I don't care for the regurgitator though; too weird. Not my style.
Spitz, that was my favorite clue too.
Lucina and Anon (12:00), me too as well as most of the rest of their pals.
Greetings!
Thanks, Amy and Pawel! Thanks, Jazz! Thanks, Owen!
Had to change "O" in the ale. Albert was perped.
No cheats, though.
Doctor's appt. soon.
Cheers!
So what was the super favorite clue, Bill?
Cool puzzle. Lots of 3-letter abbreviations! Some good clues and fill, already enumerated by several of you.
Steve, I also like Newcastle Brown Ale.
Recently tried Asahi Black beer. To me it tasted like water that had been pumped through an active-charcoal filter.
Why is expressing a like or dislike for Chris Matthews considered talking about politics? Heck, I like John Oliver, but I certainly don't consider my saying so to be political. Heck, I like Scarlett Johansson, too. And my neighbor's dog. And Newcastle Brown Ale. And hybrid cars. And dim sum.
Thanks for your informative, interesting, and humorous writeup, CBumpa. And best wishes to you all.
Please reread Big Easy's second paragraph @7:01. Quite pejorative.
Re: Bill G @ 4:11, for those who may not have seen Piff the Magic Dragon...
Jzb, that boneless chicken pic on the Blog is going to be hard to beat...
Beauty Contest?
Actually, I am very impressed with what makeup can do. Here is the same actress:
as a Klingon.
as a Vulcan.
& the many other faces of Suzie Plakson!
Finally, The perfect thing for a bloodless coup...
Anon @ 6:17 Amen brother with your and Big Easy comments.
PEACE friends \/
A fun mid-week puzzle with only a few EDITs on my part needed on the way through. Thanks Pawel & Amy!
JzB - You never SETTLE; your write-ups are over the top. The REL & Pol comment was LOL and your 1st pic doesn't have me a-Carp'n (CHUB'n?). I liked the Larson cartoon too.
33a still needed 2 perps, but I'd have never known had I not read it the other day.
W/os - USC b/f LAA @58a (I can never remember if it's two As or Ss in ISSAAC (there, fixed)). NEC b/f NCR and just the m->N in BEAUTY COm(ooops)petition.
ESPs - 14a, 9d, 44d, & 56d.
Fav - Tied today: 20a & BillG's 12d. Both fresh and humorous.
HG - I was kinda SETUP. DW's friends warned her I was a nerd, but she insisted. Her friend SET us UP the next weekend. We WED 6 mo later.
Bill G & CED, thanks for the Piff intro.
I couldn't find the rockin' updated '90s version performed by Buffalo Tom, so here's the original way I learned my ADVERBs.
Cheers, -T
Adverbs and adjectives sure are sticky little suckers.
All the talk about AXE and other stinky-stuff... Eddie Murphy (MA-L) (you only need the 1st minute).
Cheers, -T
Ny super-favorite clue was the one about DIESEL. I had a couple of crossing letters and then the answer popped into my brain. I was very pleased with myself and then had a good chuckle about how I had been misled.
Yep, Piff continues to be very entertaining. I mostly enjoy magic that has a sense of humor about itself. I don't like the big illusions where it feels as if they are trying to show that they are smarter than we are.
Bill G. I agree w/ you re: 'magic' acts that don't try to make it supernatural or some other bunk. We know it's a trick!!! I am impressed by the slight-of-hand, misdirection, and showmanship. If one adds humour, well there's the ICIng.
Quick story - DW, kids & I were in NOLA. There's a guy doing card tricks on the corner. Since Eldest & I had been practicing throwing cards (your video started it!), we stopped to watch. The magician picked me from the crowd to choose a card, write my name on it, and return it to the deck. Then, after a shuffle, had DW do the same. When the trick finished, we had our names on the same card! He said something about lasting marriage and onlookers clapped.
It took me two beers to figure it out, I'd been presented suite-up, DW was presented face-down, and he kept it's place on the top of the deck. Great trick! I still have said card in my wallet.
Cheers, -T
AnonT, good story. We were in San Francisco years ago and I was watching a street magician. He was able to write down stuff about people that he couldn't possible know. I watched him a few minutes and tumbled to his trickery. He had a little pad of paper. He'd start talking to someone and chat about a bunch of stuff. While he was continuing to talk, he would have a small piece of pencil lead secreted between his index finger and his finger nail. Without looking, he could scribble the name or word down secretly while continuing to talk. Then he would hand the folded up scrap of paper to the person and their secret person or word would be scribbled, much to their surprise.
Then, another time in SF, a young boy offered to bet me where I got my shoes. Since I wasn't from the area, I was sure he couldn't and told him so. He said, "OK, mister. I'll bet you five dollars I can tell you exactly where you got them shoes." I smugly took him up on his bet. He said, "You gots 'em on your feet! Pay up!" Aargh!
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