google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

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Jul 19, 2017

Wednesday, July 19, 2017, Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

TITLE: Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Bruce and Gail have given us a fun and straightforward Wednesday exercise with five theme fills and no reveal necessary. As the title indicates their five themers were two-word phrases where the first syllable of the first word began with an N and a T for the third letter, In between Bruce and Gail have inserted the vowels in sequential order. Pretty cool!




Theme Answers


17. Innate talent : NATURAL APTITUDE - I'm gonna say Samuel Rashevsky had this when he played and beat these masters at eight-years-old in 1920




22. Broadcaster's transmission to affiliated stations : NETWORK FEED - Fewer and fewer people are taking the NETWORK FEED and are watching over the, uh,  NET




39. Sharp-smelling air pollutant : NITROGEN DIOXIDE - NO2 is a big contributor to this smog over Mexico City




49. Hardly any time at all : NOTHING FLAT - He was there quickly but Arriba means Hooray, so he must have gotten great joy in running. BTW, this is not a slogan for a plastic surgeon.




60. With "The," Tchaikovsky work that ends with "Waltz of the Flowers" : NUTCRACKER SUITE - So that's NUTCRACKER when it is danced in Milan




NAT asked, "Am I a NUT or will this fun puzzle NET NOT one NITHere is the balance of this just right Bruce and Gail puzzle.


Across


1. Lower in price : LESS - Are you really shopping for the lowest price for this?




5. Try : TASTE

10. Nutmeg spice : MACE - Different parts of the same seed (not a nut)




14. Actor La Salle : ERIQ


15. Crams, with "up" : BONES


16. Sea of __: Black Sea arm : AZOV


20. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK


21. Shuttle flight phase : REENTRY - Phase when the Columbia disaster occurred

25. "My gal" of song : SAL

26. Carpentry joints : MITERS


31. Barbecue accessory : SPIT - Ya couldn't think of a better name? 



35. "I Put a Spell on You" singer Simone : NINA


38. Full range : GAMUT - Bruce and Gail ran the GAMUT of vowels (okay, not Y but...)


42. Writer of tales with talking animals : AESOP 




43. Dental alternatives to pastes : GELS - Even for our 4-legged friends -->

44. Angers : IRES


45. Fireplace inserts : GRATES

47. Springfield presidential library nickname : ABE - Honestly!


56. Legendary Rhine siren : LORELEI - I have cruised on the Rhine but did not hear the Siren Song


59. Cruller coating : GLAZE


63. Physics particle : ATOM


64. French term of endearment : CHERE - Mon CHÈRE, 
passons à la suite de Casse-Noisette (My dear, let's go to the (same as in Italian above) Suite?

65. List component : ITEM


66. Tiny sound : PEEP


67. County near London : ESSEX - Home to Southend-on-Sea, Colchester and Chipping Ongar



68. Mil. medals : DSCS - 70 years later the country presented the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously to Lt. Donald Schwab of Hooper, NE. His son Dr. Terry Schwab accepted. 






 
 Down


1. Russian Revolution leader : LENIN - "I'll take Russian Leaders for $2,000, Alex." "The answer is, 'Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was referring to this when he chose Lenin as a pseudonym.'"  "What is the Lena River?" "Correct!"


2. Backspace, perhaps : ERASE


3. Occupy, as a desk : SIT AT - What I could never do when I taught.


4. __ Valley, Calif.: 1960 Winter Olympics site : SQUAW - At this Olympics, Jean Vuarnet became to first person to win gold on metal skis instead of traditional wood


5. Sched. uncertainty : TBA


6. Big name in ISPs : AOL - Didn't everyone in America get at least one of these free disks in the 90's?



7. Wolf (down) : SNARF


8. Conical shelter : TEPEE - I had a geography prof who had women in our class put up a TEPEE as was done by many Native-American cultures as seen in this depiction of Blackfeet. BTW, that wouldn't fly at this house 




9. Regard highly : ESTEEM


10. Damon of "We Bought a Zoo" : MATT




11. Blue sky color, in Calais : AZUR


12. Showman Buffalo Bill : CODY - He built a great house in North Platte, Nebraska called Scout's Rest Ranch


13. Morn's counterpart : EVE

18. Bygone theaters : RKOS - Can you find the RKO symbol on this poster for what is called "America's greatest movie"?

19. Spectrum shade : INDIGO - ROY G BIV

23. Jingled : RANG


24. __ light: filming tool : KLIEG


27. Roll along the runway : TAXI - Returning to the gate after TAXIING is disheartening 


28. Qatari ruler : EMIR


29. Far from polite : RUDE


30. Some Fr. martyrs : STES - Women should be eligible to be priests, cardinals and popes not just STES (Saints)


31. Unexpected obstacle : SNAG

32. Harbor sight : PIER

33. "__ deal!" : IT'S A



34. Run leisurely : TROT

36. Storm direction: Abbr. : NNE - Nor'easter!

37. Dwight's opponent : ADLAI - I loved when ADLAI, as JFK's U.N. Ambassador, told the Russians he was willing to wait "until hell freezes over" for their answer on misses in Cuba.

40. Swiss army knife tool : OPENER - Wait a minute, oh, there it is!



41. Copyright pg. ID : ISBN - The International Standard Book Number for this book by our talented editor Rich Norris is 1402775806



46. Comfort in grief : SOLACE

48. Flan ingredients : EGGS

50. Computer repair experts : TECHS - Remember those guys you made fun of in school? 

51. Backpacking activities : HIKES

52. Transmission lubricant : FLUID


53. Milks, in Marseilles : LAITS - Quatre grandes bouteilles de LAIT (Four large bottles of milk)

54. Tenochtitlán native : AZTEC

55. Abounds (with) : TEEMS

56. Minstrel's instrument : LUTE

57. Plains native : OTOE

58. Law gp. that now only uses horses for ceremonial events : RCMP - RCMP member Dudley Do-Right's horse was named, uh, Horse

60. Go out for a bit? : NAP

61. Ode preposition : ERE

62. "Toy Story" dinosaur : REX

The Grid:



Comment at wall, I mean well, I mean will:









40 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Bruce, Gail and Gary!

Cool puzzle. Love a big long gimme, like the NUTCRACKER SUITE!

LORELEI needed a few perps.

Had Milne before AESOP. Drat.

ESSEX filled from a few letters.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

OwenKL said...

{B, C+.}

Lance was an AZTEC from Tenochtitlan
Who will play cards whenever he can.
But he felt like a foggy
When card suits were emoji.
He had to be told, "That's the ten o' sh💩t, Lan!"

A sailor on leave on the SEA OF AZOV
Got a TASTE of local theater improv.
They ran a GAMUT
From Homer to Hamlet,
And even skit by ISAAK Asimov*!

*Isaak was their auteur-in-residence from Rostov, where Asimov is a common name.

Argyle said...

RKO symbol is by her left breast, I mean lower right corner. LINK Unusual black on white background.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! This seemed easier for me than usually Bruce & Gale puzzles go, but still a challenge. Maybe it was the 12 hours sleep I had just prior to solve. Thanks, B & G! Thanks for a delightful expo as usual, Gary.

Last to fill was TBA (not etA) and BO of BONES/AOL. Had to red-letter run. Also "Z" in AZUR/AZOV cross. Forgot it after trying AqUa on the first pass. Didn't know the sea.

Misty, I can co-misserate with you on the anniversary of the death of your husband yesterday. My husband of 33 years died suddenly 21 years ago today. It gets better, honey, then it gets worse, then it gets better, then... This week has been a "worse" week. My husband could fix anything from a clock to a bulldozer. Suddenly I have a lot of broken things. I need my Mr. Fix-it! 'Nuff said. I plan to give SOLACE to myself with cake then hop back on my diet.

May you all experience cool, dry weather today!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Thought the theme might be unusually spelled names when ERIQ and ISAAK appeared. Nope. Had to morph ARAL into AZOV, otherwise my grid is clean. Thanx, BV and GG and HG.

A MITRE joint is used solely for decorative purposes It isn't very strong. Think picture frame.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I got aggravated by the puzzle and myself today. Didn't erase anything, but missed the theme, and let KLeEG and AsURE slip past me. I spent a LOT of time adjusting genuine KLIEG studio lights during my time as an engineer with a PBS NETWORK affiliate - can't believe I misspelled it. I'm gonna start a movement - BAD SPELLERS UNTIE! I sorta knew ERIQ from here, but had no idea of ISSAK or NINA.

I did, however, greatly enjoy Gary's reveal. He really outdid himself this time. Thanks, HG.

thehondohurricane said...

I was sure BONES was right, but I wasn't sure about SNARF. Maybe it's my poor memory, but I swear at the school dining table the expression was always Scarf down.

The Z for AZUR/AZOV was my only wag today.

Thought it was Issac, not IZAAK, but I remember RKO theaters. Roc's did not register at all.

I'm a donut freak, but GLAZE took a long time to appear. Actually AZTEC woke me up.

Hg, thanks for your usual excellent expo. Now it's time to head out to the first tee?

If I delay a few more days my lawn will qualify as a hayfield, so I am about to saunter out to my tractor and endure a day of HH &H.

Yellowrocks said...

Having SUITE and FLAT, I thought the theme might be dwellings, but there were only two. I found the gimmick after I had the puzzle completed.
Glazed French crullers are my favorite donut, airy and eggy.
SCARF before SNARF. I know both and was surprised that neither word was slang. I needed the -ZOV to get AZOV. It rings a bell.
ISAAC before ISAAK. The name means he laughs. Isaak Walton, "the Compleat Angler" also spells his name this way. A female author, ISAK Dinesen, wrote "Out of Africa," an autobiographical novel which was the basis for the movie of the same name, starring Redford and Streep.
Thanks for the puzzle, Bruce and Gail, and thanks for the interesting blog, Gary.
Misty and and PK, my thoughts are with you on the anniversaries of the deaths of your husbands.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning,

Had some errands to do yesterday; venturing out was wild with all the impassible roads surrounding the Des Plaines River flooding. Mother Nature doesn't much care how much flood control has been enabled since the 80's. I've heard the Fox River isn't due to crest until today sometime.

Thanks, Bruce and Gail for a nicely executed theme. This was a pretty smooth Wednesday for me. I could not recall LORELEI until I had the L, despite the fact that my mind's eye could see her.

Thanks for the tour, Gary. Very informative as always.

Anon T: FTON, I did know Elsie and Elmer were married. I was shocked to learn that my childhood suspicion was true: Elmer's Glue was milk based. Well, it makes sense. What I learn from hanging out on this corner!!

Have a fine day everyone. I am staying in today. I don't want to risk venturing to
Whole Foods where I can buy one slice of cake. I still haven't recovered from yesterday's PIECE OF CAKE!! Mmmm. That was a yummy puzzle.

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!

Nice puzzle from Bruce and Gail although I missed the sequential use of vowels in the themers and their place between N and T. So thanks to Husker Gary for explaining ( and yes, I do feel like a NUT for not seeing it) and for a wonderful tour, as always.

AZOV, RCMP, DSCS and KLIEG were perps ( I did remember Klieg after it appeared)

I also tried Scarf/SNARF and misspelled ISAAK as Isaac until RKOS cleared it up. I know who Chris ISAAK is and love "Wicked Game" but can never remember the correct spelling. Isaac, Isaak, Izaak always get mixed up in my head.
YR's comment about Izaak Walton reminds me of two things- we have an Izaak Walton League at the end of our street. They host Turkey Shoots every Sunday in the Fall and some Winter months. Quite noisy. There is a nice sized pond there and the neighborhood kids can often be seen walking up our street with fishing rods over their shoulders :)
DH and I had our wedding reception at another Izaak Walton location as my father-in-law is a member ( our nuptials were low key and very budget conscious with lots of help from various family members. FIL also had it catered and was our DJ. He had the equipment sine that used to be a side job for him) I was quite embarrassed when he pointed out that Izaak has been misspelled as Isaac on our invitations. Oops! Too late at that point as they'd been printed and mailed to guests. That's the only Izaak I ever remember the proper spelling of, lol ;)

Trying to catch up as I've missed the blog for several days...
CanadianEh- congratulations on the arrival of your new grandchild! How exciting :)

Misty and PK - my heart goes out to you on the anniversaries of your husbands deaths. I can't imagine losing mine. May you find continued SOLACE in your many wonderful memories.

We've definitely been experiencing the "three H's" as Irish Miss says! Yesterday was almost unbearable, even in the early morning and late evening. But it is July and I prefer heat over cold . However this is almost too much even for me. I'm often asked how I can stand it in Mexico. The answer is simple- there's a lovely ocean to jump into and almost always a constant breeze! There is a reason though for the ritual of an afternoon siesta. The heat midday is like an oven and we retreat to the A/C.

Speaking of which "Go out for a bit" /NAP was my favorite clue/fill today.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy enough solve today. Didn't realize ERIQ LaSalle's name had a Q in it.
DSC- Is the Army equivalent of the Navy Cross.
LORELEI - My Mom would sometimes break into that song when she would wax melodic.
SNARF - Got the n from perps. "Scarf down" has the same meaning and is in my wheelhouse.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.

Once i got started it went pretty smoothly. Getting started was a little slow. I had to head South and work up.

Got all the theme words easily, but did not get the theme. Makes sense now.

SQUAW Valley was slow in coming. Once I got the "U" I had it. Then I had ERIQ.

Was not sure how to spell KLIEG, but perps fixed that.

NITROGEN DIOXIDE was easy once I had about 10 perps.

LAITS was all perps except for the "S"

Got AZTEC easily. Amazing.

Off to my day. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Anonymous said...

Small point on your picture to illustrate DSCs. That is actually the Medal of Honor being presented. The MoH (often referred to as the Congressional MoH, incorrectly)is the highest award for valor presented by the US to military personnel. The Distinguished Service Cross is a lesser award for valor that doesn't meet MoH standards.

CanadianEh! said...

Like BunnyM, I feel like a NUT today because I missed the theme. Thanks for the fun Bruce and Gail, and Husker Gary.
I saw NATURAL in 17A and FLAT in 49A and thought we had a musical theme. But Sharp was in the clue for 39A! Totally missed the N_T progression.

I did this CW in the newspaper and had no red letter or Tada correction help. When I arrived here, I see that I had several FIWs.
I did get ERIQ (Q from perps) but I did not know RKOS and used the more common spelling ISAAC.
But my big mistake was having ETA instead of TBA (hey ETAs can be uncertain!) and SKarf instead of SNARF which I have never heard. That gave me Tokes instead of BONES for 15A (Crams with "up") which I thought was a little risqué for Rich. But maybe not nowadays. Canada is supposed to get legalization next year.

I'll take a CSO at RCMP. If you get a chance to see the Musical Ride, it is wonderful.

I had NOTHING To It before FLAT, and waited for perps to decide if my computer repair experts were Geeks, Nerds or the kinder TECHS.

I echo the sentiments of others in wishing Misty and PK SOLACE in the memories of their husbands. PK, my DH is a Mr. Fix-it too.

Stay safe, Madame DeFarge.
We have the 3Hs today.
Enjoy your day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-How was your day today, Gary? Well I couldn’t do the puzzle (again) but my write-up was a labor of love as it always is and I received praise from people I really respect. Pretty cool!
-Heat index of 110˚F+ will keep me off the fairways. My teacher’s group is planning on teeing off tomorrow at noon. I told them I would not be attending.
-The humidity is so high that damage to crops is minimal.
-I had to look up that 3rd H in the “3 H’s of weather” that is spoken of so often here. We just have the Heat and Humidity but not the 3rd one.
-Anon, thanks for the gentle lesson on medals. The Lincoln Star Journal: Lt. Schwab’s Medal of Honor will be added to his already long list of military honors, which include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts during his tour of duty in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and France.
-Thinking of PK and Misty today. My MIL has been alone for 33 years.

CrossEyedDave said...

Whatta WAGfest!
(But I Gottem all!)
WAG#1 "Z" in Azur/Azov

#2 Got the Q in Squaw (4d) but the Q in Eriq (14a) is still classified as a WAG...

#3&#4 Not sure why I listed these as WAGS, other than I must have put something
in ahead of completing the word... 68a the "S" in DSC/53d Laits (seems obvious now...)
& 58d "R" in RCMP/56a Lo"r"elei. I guess it must have been when the area was a sea of white...

What made this into an FIW, was 24d Klieg. (spellcheck doesn't like it either...)
I had Kleeg, (I said it was a WAG!)
37d, not sure if it was Adlai/Edlai.
(Could 35a Singer Simone be some kind of Nene? A Hawaiian Goose?
So I went with "A" Wagging Adlai right, and Nena wrong. Rats!

Tried to link my introduction to "The Waltz of the Flowers" via Fantasia,
but being Disney, it is copyrighted. What is on the Internet is the visual combined with some terrible impersonations of the music.

PK & Misty, sorry if I did not chime in with the condolences,
it is just that these things get me so down, I would have to up my Meds...
(why do you think I am always posting cakes!)
Anyway, on the upside, I found a local (expensive) supermarket that
carries fresh Baba Ganoush! (A fav of mine) plus some cheaper Brie!
(On the downside, I think I have gained 3 pounds...)

MJ said...

Good day to all!

Cool vowel progression today from Bruce and Gail. Needed perps for NINA Simone and Chris ISAAK. Hand up for ScARF before SNARF. Favorite clue/answer was "Go out for a bit?" for NAP. Thanks for the expo and links, Husker Gary.

Misty and PK, my thoughts are with you as you observe the anniversaries of the loss of your dear husbands.

Enjoy the day!

AnonymousPVX said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle, well clued, the gimmick was harmless.

I thought I'd read where INDIGO (ROY G BIV) was out...it isn't actually a distinct color or something like that, now nothing between Blue and Violet.

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks Bruce, Gail & Gary for an enjoyable Wed am. Knew several right off the bat (NUTCRACKERSUITE, ERIQ, ISAAK), but still had some work throughout the puzzle.

It's 2 of the 3 H's here as well. Wish we could get rid of the humidity, but this close to the Gulf, it's not going to happen!

Trubrit said...

Just couldn't get Nutcracker to fit. I see it every year but it's always "The Nutcracker" not Nutcracker Suite. also got stuck on 'snarf' which I've never heard of, I had 'scoff' so re-entry and network feed gave me some trouble.

PK said...

Thank for your support today. It means a lot. However, it has been a long time and only occasionally do I get self-indulgent about it. I probably wouldn't have said anything except for wanting Misty to know we shared an experience. My out-of-state son called me for a nice chat and two other of my children have emailed me several times today, so I am doing okay.

I got pretty down this year because my sewer installers finished their project and pulled out with the two big machines that have been parked in my back yard for six weeks. The other five houses along the line have only a narrow strip torn up. 2/3 of my backyard is destroyed because it was used as a staging area and materials dump. As he was loading, I went out and asked if he was just leaving things in a mess. He said when it dried out, he would be back. I let him know I was very upset, so he came back that afternoon with a roto-tiller on a track set-up and worked it down better. But it is far from acceptable. I can't walk across it. I needed my "daddy" to fix it. But I have a fix-it son. And I know the mayor.

Michael said...

I'm with many of you on "Isaac" vs. Isaak" ... if those creatures in Washington would do something useful, spelling reform is right up there on the list. Any time we can spell 'fish' using the letters 'ghoti', we are deep in the kimchee.

And, 'snarf'?? Really? In the Army, long ago when the world -- and I -- was younger, 'scarf' was the verb of choice, as in 'scarf up the bennies' (slurping up all the BENEFITS the Army supplies, mostly said with irony). Given that, there was just no way 'snarf' could pop up. Sometimes we've lost, even before we've started!

Jayce said...

Nice puzzle. I didn't get the letter progression but that didn't decrease my enjoyment.

When color codes were applied to electronic components such as resistors, there was no indigo. The colors still go straight from blue to violet.

Best wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta-DA!
Cool pzl!
And great visuals in the blog by HuskerG!
Hm. What's the one thing I learned today? If I am a chess Grand Master, Never to sit opposite a board with an 8-year old. I mean, what am I to expect?!

Yellowrocks said...

Obstacles to spelling reform: Imagine the millions and millions of English speaking readers, both native and ESL, here and around the world, learning to read words spelled in a new way. Many readers would give up. Imagine trying to decipher the great volume of English writing handed down to us if the new spelling caught on. This writing would become as difficult to read as Beowulf is today. Everything we find on the Internet, for instance, would not match the new spelling.We would essentially end up with two sets of spellings, making things even more complicated than they are now.
Link spelling reform

billocohoes said...

I always wait for crosses on the military medal in case it's the British Distinguished Service Order DSO.

AnonPVX, modern color scientists don't bother with INDIGO because most people can't distinguish it from blue or violet, but if it was good enough for Isaac Newton it's OK by me.

KLIEG lights were so bright they caused conjunctivitis and blindness in actors after too much exposure.

The Nutcracker Suite was released before the ballet and was always popular, but the full ballet wasn't often performed until Balanchine put it into the NYCB repertoire in the 1950s.

Unknown said...

No Tada even after getting all the theme clues. North Central got me as I couldn't get off scarf down. The only time the "word" snarf was ever used in my life was as a part of a dirty joke. Even as I type snarf now I get the red underline for a misspelling. What am I missing ? Is snarf really a word and my computer is stupid ? Does snarf appear anywhere in literature?
never heard of mace as a spice or the sea of Azov but they just appeared from the perps.

PS...I think my computer is stupid. It red underlined perps too and I know perp works in scrabble ! Shhh...don't tell my 'puter I called it stupid, it's been temperamental since the last Windows update.

Yellowrocks said...

I think snarf is more recent, not from the days of our youth. I mostly find it in written work. I have read it frequently enough that it came to mind easily.
"I'd totally snarf Italian meatballs from a place called Saucy Balls." America's Next Great Restaurant: Will Joey Stick with Saucy Balls? Should He?
"When he was senator, he watched the state snarf up billions in post 9/11 defense dollars, especially in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads." Rough Waters for George Allen
"Just this morning I found myself going through the drive thru at McDonald's so my son could snarf down a sandwich in the two minutes we had left to get him to work." More Frugal Ideas

My totally proper mother used to talk about boning up on subjects. I never looked at it as risque, probably now I always will.

CanadianEh! said...

Chuck@4:04. My recipe for pumpkin pie requires MACE.

YR @5:13 It was my mistaken fill of TOKES that I thought was risqué. LOL! But now that I think about it, perhaps BONE. . . .

Anonymous said...

And another one is in the history books! A bit more crunchy than yesterday, but doable. Of course I didn't get the theme but what else is new. Thanks, GG, BV and HG.

ScARF/SNARF, sugar/GLAZE and a couple more write-overs. Not too bad.

Dear Misty and PK, positive thoughts going your way as you remember your late spouses.

Have a nice evening.

Misty said...

I'm very moved by the kind and caring condolences so many of you expressed to PK and me today. Thank you, BunnyM, CanadianEh, Cross-eyed Dave, Pat, and MJ--I really appreciate this. And PK, I send thanks both for the kind thoughts and your helpful reminder of the realism that comes with our situations.

Wonderful Bruce and Gail puzzle--I loved it and got it perfectly, which makes me feel great! Thank you so much, and you too, Gary, for the always great write-up.

Hope everyone had a really good day!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

NUTtin' to it! With the exception of a few oddly spelt names (ERIQ, ISAAK, AZOV) NOT much too tricky. Thanks Bruce & Gail! Thanks too HG for a fun, .JPG laden, expo.

WOs: ERIc b/f SQUAW, ISAAc b/f RKO, DSM b/f DEC; I read 32d's clue at 31d, and w/ SPIT for 31a, I put in SeAl.
ESPs: AZOV, LORELEI, NINA

Fav: c/a for NAP.

Misty & PK - My thoughts are with you. I see MIL have a hard time too, so I can imagine.

TTP (FLN) - is it my typos, phrasing, or (and?) rambling that's hard to un-pack? :-)

With two girls in ballet, I've seen The NUTCRACKER at least 16 times. Tx MS & D-O, if you've not seen the new production The Houston Ballet puts on, do. A new director changed it last year and it was WOW!

RCMP made me think of C, Eh!

Last night and tonight, I'm playing TECH support for DW's friend / our dentist. Win10 IRES me.

Cheers, -T

Misty said...

Thank you, Anon T, for the kind, understanding comment.

Bill G said...

In addition ro being an excellent MC and long-running host, Alex Trebek can be annoying at times; as when he corrects a contestant's pronunciation, but especially when a contestant gives a wrong answer and he interjects, "Oh no!" as if the right answer were obvious to everybody else. Annoying...

TX Ms said...

Anon-T - thanks for the recommendation. I've loved ballet since childhood, only seeing it first on television in the 50's - what a different world from farm life from a child's eyes - mesmerizing. Unfortunately, I've never been (bucket list item). But I read the Chronicle's reviews, and I remember something about the new director's innovative interpretation re The Nutcracker Suite. Can you please 'splain, Tony? Thanks.

Misty and PK, I echo what our Cornerite friends have said. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain in losing a spouse/soulmate after decades.

Misty said...

Thank you very much, TxMs.

Anonymous T said...

Gosh TxMS. The whole thing was so mesmerizing - I can't recall the exact bits. I do remember when the house just split open as everything "shrank." And the live orchestra (including a choir [which Eldest was part] at the end of Act I). The production was quite different (in a good way) from the Fort Bend Accadamy of Dance productions I watch'd Youngest in all those years [or those I've seen on TV].
Email me [and then remind me to check gMail] off-line for kicking that bucket.

Wilbur Charles said...

I never quite got to post yesterday. Smooth, fast going except I never got back to fix CONES crossing SNARF.

Gary, thanks for the detailed write-up. I think that's the Milan Ballet Co. putting on Nutcracker in Marseilles.

Gail and Bruce construct very clever, doable early week puzzles.

Well let's see what Thursday has in store

WC in the morning

PS. I did my laps in the wading pool. I kept a 40 second pace but when I completed my mile, I had ten seconds to spare

WC

Picard said...

Got the N - Vowel Progression - T theme. But I am wondering if we are missing anything else in the theme? The theme answers all have a similar sound at the end with either D or T. Is that significant?

Thanks Husker Gary for the learning moment about LENIN's name.

Those weird name spellings of ISAAK and ERIQ gave me pause. Never heard of either. AZOV also weird and unknown.

Fun puzzle!

Unknown said...

thanks yellow rocks...but my 'puter still thinks its in the 70's. ;)