What a nice treat as we get a collaboration between two of the millennial constructors, both of whom had their debuts here at the LAT. They along with many others have changed the landscape of puzzle publication by publishing their own work. Meet them LINK Andy; LINK Eric.
Back to this effort which, like last week, uses 'insert three letters' to make a new phrase. A very fair puzzle which may have a couple of curve balls, but it is Friday. They also introduce us to some new fill -AIDS WALK, MOON GODS, CORE ASSETS and WHAT CAN I DO. It is the aforementioned Z away from being a pangram. Guys, really?
19A. Watch a music-streaming app? : SEE SPOTIFY RUN (13). If you do not know Spotify you were born before 1970. You still might remember learning from seeing Spot run.
26A. Organize circus performers? : CLASSIFY CLOWNS (13). I wonder if either of these young men were class clowns?
46A. Rationalize one's need for duel assistance? : JUSTIFY A SECOND (14). Sly, the duelists need a second, why may take longer than just a second.
53A. Worship at the altar of buttercream? : DEIFY FROSTING (13). The outlier - Defrosting is one word, Also, Buttercream is not worth worship
Across:
1. Apples on a desk: iMacs. One office where I work uses lots of the 27" model.
6. Unattached: STAG.
10. Ruler meas. : CMS. Centimeters.
13. Two-sport Sanders: DEION. Neon Deion, Primetime is a Florida born product of FSU. During his most productive year in the majors, the 1992 season, he hit .304 for the team, stole 26 bases, and led the NL with 14 triples in 97 games. During the 1989 season, he hit a major league home run and scored a touchdown in the NFL in the same week, the only player ever to do so. Sanders is also the only man to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series.
14. Texas city: WACO. Home to Chip and Joanna Gaines.
15. Leave work: QUIT.
16. Braugher of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine": ANDRE. From serious police procedural TV - Homicide: Life on the Street - to deadpan comic, but still in the SQUAD ROOM.
17. Maker of Swift laptops: ACER.
18. Waiter at a stand: TAXI. Nice deception.
22. Garden State city: NEWARK. Ironic isn't it.
24. "__ be the judge of that": I'LL.
25. Make the call: OPT. In or out.
30. Afflicts: AILS.
31. Where Spike Lee earned his MFA: NYU.
32. Louisville Slugger wood: ASH. Ash is back for the second week in a row. Louisville sluggers were all we had playing baseball as kids.
33. Answered counterpart: ASKED. AAA.
35. Little devil: IMP. Tyrion started out as the Imp.
37. Brazilian music genre: SAMBA.
41. Up to, for short: TIL.
43. Blanc with "That's all folks" on his gravestone: MEL.
45. Punch or file: TOOL. Meh.
50. Actress Aniston, in tabloids: JEN. Have not had a gratuitous female form in a while.
51. Afternoon social: TEA.
52. "Mean Girls" actress Seyfried: AMANDA. Buy the magazine.
57. Declare openly: AVOW. Aver, avow, aver.
58. Streaming on Facebook: LIVE. We have friends who actually do this.
59. Tantalus' daughter: NIOBE. Moral: do not try and show up gods. LINK.
62. Manage: TEND.
63. Over: ANEW. Got me, anyone?
64. Further out there: ODDER.
65. Start of something? : ESS.
66. Gets some sun: TANS.
67. Sparkling wine choices: ROSES. The magic ending ess.
Down:
1. Mont. neighbor: IDA. Hey girl, weather better?
2. "White __ Can't Jump": MEN.
3. Charity fundraiser since 1985: AIDS WALK. Florida VERSION.
4. Vital business holdings: CORE ASSETS.
5. Villainous visages: SNEERS. I do love alliteration.
6. Exchange: SWAP.
7. Folded Mexican fare: TACO.
8. Vinegary, as acid: ACETIC. Didn't Moe explain about wine and acid?
9. Brute: GORILLA.
10. Oscar-winning "Gravity" director Alfonso: CUARON. LINK.
11. Mistakes: MIXUPS.
12. Stretch on the job: STINT.
15. Invoice abbr. : QTY.
20. Parchment source: SKIN. Not necessarily human.
21. Dental visit freebie: FLOSS.
22. Org. that fills bowls? : NCAA. More wit.
23. Bulldog fans: ELIS.
27. "Just an update" letters: FYI. Another version of the IFY inserted.
28. Delish: YUMMY.
29. "Need my help?" : WHAT CAN I DO.
34. Catchy tune: DITTY.
36. Edible orb: PEA.
38. Selene and Luna: MOON GODS. Greek and Roman - the same goddess. LINK.
39. No foe: BOND. Dr. No, nice clue.
40. Only actor to appear in every episode of "M*A*S*H": ALDA. I really enjoyed him in Blacklist.
42. Become prostrate: LIE FLAT.
44. Future atty.'s exam: LSAT.
46. Valet in Wodehouse stories: JEEVES.
47. Labor parties? : UNIONS.
48. Oatmeal alternative: FARINA.
49. Key of Dvorák's New World Symphony: E MINOR.
50. Singles network logo with a partly outlined Star of David: JDATE. Do they still use this?
54. Chain email abbr. : FWD.
55. It may be self-cleaning: OVEN.
56. Works with threads: SEWS.
60. Pollen carrier: BEE.
61. Hectic hosp. zones: ERS.
Thanks for the help all see later. Thank you gentleman for a fun puzzle. Lemonade out.
51 comments:
Good morning!
Overslept today, but still managed to knock this one out in good time. Wanted SALSA for SAMBA. I thought the plethora of names (DEION [really?], ANDRE, CUARON [really?], JEN, AMANDA, BOND, JEEVES, NIOBE, I'm lookin' at you!) was just cruel -- especially the natick of DEION atop ANDRE. That turned the NW into a WAGfest, but it all worked out. Thanx, Andy, Erik and Lemonade.
Visited my dentist this past Tuesday. No free FLOSS. Ever since I "fired" my periodontist, I've been in a period of benevolent neglect.
Thought mMS/mUARON vs CMS/CUARON was more a Natick than DEION and ANDRE
ROSÉ a "sparkling wine"? Maybe in Romania . . . .
Over / Anew: As in, "do over", "do anew".
DO, I agree about the plethora of names. I knew most of them, WAGged Andre and CUARON, but missed the I in DEION. I thought the charity walk was an unknown alphabet soup. A-DSWALK. The fact the the fill was vertical made it harder to see. I should have copied out the vertical clue horizontally, as I do sometimes, to suss the missing letter. Also, An ABC run would have worked. Duh! I hate when I omit the ABC run on an easy clue like AIDS WALK.
I enjoyed the puzzle and the expo.
Wikipedia: "Rosé wines can be made still, semi-sparkling or sparkling and with a wide range of sweetness levels from highly dry Provençal rosé to sweet White Zinfandels and blushes."
Sparkling rosé wines are available in every liquor store here. I like them for an occasional change of pace.
Salsa before samba.
I get so many dental freebies I can't use them all. I demur, but are given them regardless.
This afternoon Alan and I were going for our annual leaf peeping ride to the Delaware Water Gap and then have an early dinner at a diner up there, but Alan is sick in bed again, 32 days out of the last 57. Two doctors visits this week came up dry.
The fall foliage is not as brilliant this year and the leaves are falling quickly. It has been too warm.
DRAT! FIW, with SAlsA for SAMBA. I thought lOON GODS was feasible because of Celene in the clue, and wasn't on the BOND, James BOND wavelength at all.
The REAL Bulldogs play home games at Athens and have a mascot named Uga.
When I filled DITTY, I thought About Jack and Diane.
Tx ms (from yesterday) - I think that baseball is also the only American sport where the manager wears the team uniform (not often a good thing), and where the defense controls the ball.
I thought the Dodgers wouldn't give up 7 runs in the whole Series. I think it was Yogi who said "Great pitching stops great hitting, and vice versa".
Thanks Andy and Erik for a fine riday puzzle, and Lemonade for a nice write-up.
Seemed like mMS is the more likely abbriviation on a ruler. No idea who the director of “Gravity” was. Trivia rules again. It should be about wordplay. Proper names should be outlawed in crossword puzzles. I thought the theme was great and the puzzle sucked.
Slept late here as well. Couldn't get the puzzle to load at the MENSA site, so I opened it at the LA Times site.
A few unknowns today, like CUARON, JDATE and AMANDA. Others had to be sussed, like MOON GODS, JEEVES and NIOBE.
Seeing the theme at SEE SPOT (ify) RUN helped with the other theme answers and in solving the puzzle without any errors or MIXUPS in 20 minutes and 13 SECONDs. Still not fast enough for the Minnesota Crossword Tournament, but I'll take it on a Friday.
Jinx, if Tawnya were here, she'd probably link that great song, but she has been noticeably absent as the playoffs progressed. Maybe it's her schedule...
Here's some baseball uniform trivia for you:
1970: The Pirates became the first major league club to adopt the new double-knit fabric uniforms, which they debuted at the first game at the new Three Rivers Stadium. The jersey became a pullover with no button or zipper. The pants contained a built-in sash belt. The cap crown was mustard yellow with a black bill. Within two years, nearly every other club was wearing a double-knit uniform.
Thanks for all the kind welcomes and for letting me in on the secret about the title. This am I worked it in 33 minutes, but had to look up proper names. I would never have come up with them esp. after I couldn't get AIDSWALK. I kept thinking AVONWALK, a breast cancer 2-day march here in DC area. Also, a relative newcomer to baseball, since we have only had a team for 10 years.
I took 10A "ruler meas" to mean any type of measurement on a ruler, not the abbreviations.None of my rulers has any abbreviation printed on them, neither in. ft. yd. mm, nor cm. They have lines to indicate these measurements. CM is a ruler measurement, as well as MM. I agree guessing m or c was a Natick.
Mensa today was still displaying the Thur. puzzle.
Good Morning:
My lack of an observant eye is proven once again; the numerous proper names went right over my head. Deion was a gimme as he was from Ft. Myers and we wintered in that area during his hey day. His athletic talent was only superseded by his ego. Another lesser known and far more modest sports figure from that area was Nolan Henke, a moderately successful PGA tour member. I got the C in Cuaron because I remembered him from a Charlie Rose interview. Acer was also a gimme as I have their laptop. I knew Farina but it took awhile to dredge it up. W/o's were Ump/Opt, Atop/Anew, and Ultra/Odder.i thought the them was very clever and it did help with the solve.
Thanks, Andy and Eric, you are a dynamic duo and thanks, Lemony, you are a singular sensation!
YR, I'm sorry to hear that Alan is still ailing. Stay strong.
DO, if you overslept and still managed to post at 6:54, what time do you normally get up? To this little Miss Sleepyhead, 6:54 EDT, no less, is still the middle of the night! 😳
Have a great day.
Musings
-What a wonderful puzzle and clever themeage. It took a while to see fun DR. NO/BOND
-SPOTIFY, et al, can supply an incredible variety of engaging content such as this
-CLASS CLOWNS have to be dealt with immediately. They don’t get better.
-Give ‘em a CM and they’ll take a KM!
-DEION was one the first to “emphasize the name of the back of the uniform (his) and not the one on the front (the team’s)”
-ASKED and answered – “I’ll say the same thing no matter how you change the question”
-Is trying loose TEA over bag TEA worth the effort?
-Kids at the state SB tournament were streaming LIVE back to us at school last week
-A Seinfeld faux pas (:03)
-UNIONS used to rule this Hormel town but were “busted” years ago.
Proper names are ok with me as long as I know them.
Don
-MIXUP – During the 1989 Oscars, Bob Hope and Lucille Ball introduced a production number with these “sure fire” future Oscar winners - Blair Underwood, Patrick Dempsey, Ricki Lake, Chad Lowe, Tracy Nelson, Keith Coogan, Corey Feldman, Corey Parker, Christian Slater, Joely Fisher, Savion Glover, Carrie Hamilton, Page Hannah, Matt Lattanzi, Tricia Leigh Fisher, Patrick O'Neal, D.A. Pawley, Tyrone Power Jr. and Holly Robinson. I couldn’t find any future winners but did see some famous last names.
WEES CUARON/CMS a Natick and likewise the NW rather unfair with unknowns DEION and ANDRE. But I did WAG these correctly to FIR.
I enjoyed the theme and the rest of the puzzle, though! Any special significance to the IFY? I always appreciate your take on these things, Argyle!
Here is my photo of the MEL Blanc gravestone which made me laugh out loud
My then (February 1994) girlfriend had a friend working for Paramount who managed to get us onto the Star Trek TV set. That is a special treat that cannot be bought for any amount of money. Our guide told us not to miss the Hollywood Cemetery behind the Paramount lots. And there we found the MEL Blanc farewell humor and some other notables, too.
I have some other photos to share inspired by the puzzle but I gotta run for now!
I enjoyed that. Hard but not too hard. Thanks Andy, Erik, Lemon, Rich and CC.
While riding along the beach the last few days, the surf looks normal but sounds quite loud. The weather has been very hot due to a high pressure system. This phenomenon (high pressure weather system/loud surf) has occurred many times before when the conditions were similar. My riding buddy and I have a theory that the high atmospheric pressure pushes the air molecules closer together and the more dense air conducts sound better. What do you think?
You beat me up, Andy and Erik, but thank you, anyway. Some of the proper names I know or managed to suss, e.g., AMANDA Seyfried from Mamma Mia and I vaguely recall ANDRE Braugher but DEION was a total WAG and CUARON had to be Googled. Dr. NO never occurred to me though BOND was well ensconced between SAMBA and AMANDA.
NIOBE was an easy WAG but didn't realize she was the daughter of Tantalus. Is that why she cried? Luckily the theme answers followed a recognizable pattern and could be grokked. JDATE? No idea.
In the NE ERROR held me hostage for a while until it became obvious it was a MIXUP.
Thank you, Lemonade, for your thorough expo as always and who are Chip and Joanna Gaines?
Have a superb day, everyone!
Aren' those moon goddesses?
I found this puzzle easier than yesterday’s. Unknowns Amanda, Niobe, Cuaron. Odder was via perps. Loved clues waiter at a stand, and start of something. Remembered a lot of answers from previous puzzles like avow, opt and ash. Also loved apples on a desk.
Didn’t think samba is a music genre. Thanks for a good puzzle Andy and Erik. Am commenting before reading other bloggers comments, which I will read later.o
IM, the sound of the coffeemaker usually wakes me when it finishes up about 5:45. I didn't hear it this morning, and slept in until 6:15.
Lucina, Chip and Joanna Gaines are a married couple who have a home remodeling show, Fixer Upper, on HGTV. They announced a few weeks ago that they're taking a break from the show.
Husker, I've noticed during March Madness that my alma mater is apparently the only school that doesn't put the player's name on the jersey. Now that Bo Ryan has retired, that may change.
When I came up with "moon gods," I thought shouldn't that be goddesses Then I remember seeing articles and charts about the Roman gods, which included male and female. Although "goddess" is much more common for Selene and Luna, I think these charts used the generic "god" in the way we have used MAN for all of the human race, men, women and children.
This use of MAN is sort of dying out, as we try to use more inclusive language. Many of the hymns have changed because of this.
"Good Christian Men, Rejoice" became "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice".
Stanza two of Wesley's "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" (no. 240) was changed from "pleased as man with men to dwell" to "pleased with us in flesh to dwell."
Wikipedia: "Samba is a Brazilian musical genre and dance style, with its roots in Africa..."
I'm with Don: "Proper names are ok with me as long as I know them." Did not know Cuaron, Andre or Deion which caused inkblots in the NW and NE; the others were either guessable or known.
Lemon, thanks for the great review, and thanks AK and EA, for the head-scratcher. Fav clue was "No foe;" never associated it with Dr. until coming here although BOND filled in - duh!
Was going to google Deion Sanders (wow! I thought) until reading some of the comments. Might be really disappointed.
Woohoo! Woohoo! No, no, I didn't get more than half-to-three-quarters of this fun Andy and Erik puzzle, but I actually got a Diabolical Sudoku for the first time in my life this morning. And a perfect Kenken and Jumble. Even with the cheating on the crossword, this amounted to a great Friday morning for me--Yay! Many thanks, Andy and Erik. It was fun to see JEEVES in a puzzle again.
So sorry that Alan not feeling well made you miss out on a lovely excursion, Yellowrocks.
Our weather is beginning to cool down a little, which is really nice.
Have a great day, everybody!
Hi all!
TTP is correct that my schedule has been packed, blame it on the hectic hosp zone. I was off yesterday and did the whole week worth of puzzles starting with Sunday! I enjoyed today's offering, although I agree with WES re: proper names.
Here's A Little Ditty, as requested :)
I did not know that John Mellencamp is quite the artist. When we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in May, we saw his installation and it was very impressive!
YR - keeping good thoughts for you and Alan. I have no doubt this is a difficult time for you and am always in awe of your strength, perseverance, and positivity.
Gotta run, here's hoping its a quiet Friday night in the ER (hahahahahahaha!)
Happy Friday! Go DODGERS!!!
t.
Deion is on an NFL commentary show, it uses his nickname"Prime"(time). fwiw
I never thought I could grok the NE. I couldn't use MISCUEs, I tried MISDOS but didn't think Rich allowed MIS in answer and clue much like Sunday where DARE couldn't be used for two answers (LARK)/ was the other).
Then I said"Wilbur old bean, why don't you check out the theme. Maybe it'll make sense.". And of course drop IFY and you get SPOT RUN.
I had to resist googling for CUERON which was an ESP. Mark, that's Every Single Perp.
And I guess you SEE the App by RUNning it.
I only caught Dr No from Lemonade's write-up. Your usual great job L.
20 minutes? Maybe to the point where the ENTIRE NE was white. Btw. YR I identify completely on your writing the downs across and RUE*ing not doing the ABC.
I'm sorry Alan (and you) are going through this rough patch.
I did manage the FIR. The X was the key.
WC
* We get RUE so often it's a permanent Caps.
PS. Where's Owen and C-Moe. Do I have to sub today (groan)
Ok. I see you're all waiting patiently. Owen let slip that my l'icks weren't ENTIRELY awful. So...
Here's a little ditty 'bout Jack and NIOBE
Two kids from NEWARK. Careless and free.
NIOBE says Jack, I've something to say-yea
We had a MIXUP, last time in the hay
Now I've got something in the OVEN, I didn't foresee
C- ?
Anonymous
Hm. So, that's what Spotify is! Never knew until solving for it here - thanks to the Kravis/Agard team!
Ah, nostalgia time. SEE SPOT-IFY RUN reminds me of Spot the Dog & how I learned to read at St. Vincent's school with those sweet tales featuring Dick & Jane characters. Mother and Father were mere plot accessories, but Spot the Dog and Puff the Kitten were front and center. (I really don't remember Tim or those neighbor kids.)
Today's pzl made me think once or twice about cheating. But it yielded to a little double-P. Ta- DA!
Misty, good for you on that devilish Sudoku - and the other challenges!
I haven't found my way into them myself, but I congratulate you on your success on those foreign shores. Hoo-yah!
SoCal TV commercials used to feature "Cal Worthington and his dog Spot". Spot might be an elephant, tiger, emu or some other creature, but never a canine. Lots of movies included snippets of those commercials for local flavor. I liked it.
Misty, WC, and Tawnya, thanks for the encouragement. The leaf peeping excursion is one of Alan's favorites. He has talked about it for weeks. Also he was sad today to receive his direct deposit paycheck for only $4. The very hardest part for me is seeing the loss of his quality of life and hoping it is not permanent. The scope of his activities has greatly narrowed. He is not up to doing his favorite things. So sad to watch and not be able to help.
Lord Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I am not an alcoholic, but I find this prayer wise. Do I have the wisdom to know the difference? My big problem is I have a "can do" personality. Never give up. The doctors advise me to keep searching, so I cannot accept this as permanent.
My early reading was Uncle Wiggly. There was a villain called the Skeezix. I was past Dick and Jane before I ever saw the book.
WC
NW Corner names did me in...
16a Braugher WAG was "Annie." Never heard of Deion?
Even knowing the answers, when I look my uncompleted puzzles empty
spaces, like 4d C_Ieassets, I still cannot come up with "Core."
Buttercream not worthy of Worship? I have friends who would disagree...
39d Bond was filled by Perps, and I puzzled and puzzled
as to how the clue could possibly be "No foe???"
Reading the Blog was not only a V8 can to the head,
I let out an audible groan that echoed thru the house...
I liked this puzzle and the imaginative theme, but was almost brought to my knees by the proper names. For some reason I knew DEION and even how to spell it; very odd since I know so few sports figures. I guess to my mind he is somehow memorable. Also knew AMANDA Seyfried. Good ole "Key of [piece of music]" _M__OR. "No foe" wasn't ALLY after all. Good clue! "Mistakes" wasn't ERRORS, either. I smiled at TACO folded over WACO. Sometimes, when my wife asks me the same question again and again I'll say "Asked and answered." She seems okay with it but when I did that when our son was present he took great offense at it: "Dad, this isn't a court of law!"
desper-otto, years ago I "fired" my dental hygienist and suddenly I no longer got reminders to make an appointment. After a year and a half of benign neglect I called the dental office to make an appointment and "get back in the system." FYI, I have a different hygienist.
Best wishes to you all.
Thank you for your always kind and supportive words, Ol'Man Keith.
And, Yellowrocks, your generosity and courage are truly inspiring to all of us. Just know, that we are with you in our thoughts, prayers, and good wishes, and will hope that you and Alan will have a good period ahead.
Benign...that was the word! Thanx, Jayce. Reminds me of the old joke about the two guys in the hospital room: "What were you here for?" "Castration, how 'bout you?" "Circumcision." "Oh...that was the word."
Whoot! I got a Friday w/ no lookups or outside help - in ink!
Wait, no I didn't... Crap, CMs [hi billo!].
I just Googled Muaron - he's a top World of Warcraft player and there's no indication that his other name is Alfonso. Oh, well... May the Astros win tonight will make up for it :-)
Hi Puzzle Pals!
Thanks Andy & Erik for a fun Friday puzzle that, by my standards, I can still feel good about filling; the solve seemed IFY for a while...
The theme helped. I saw the IFY's together in 26a & 46a. Filling IFY into the other clues near the I, F, or Y help'd crack the SW & NE corners.
Thanks for the expo Lem. No idea if that's still JDATE's logo; Gentiles need not apply.
WOs: I was going for SDAK @1d until the penny dropped and iComputed. The NE (last to fall) was a huge MIXUP 'cuz I put 'error' there. The theme's Y finally gave me QTY which led to TAXI, et.al.
PWAGs*: all the darn names
ESPs: mUARON, ACETIC, FARINA
Fav: c/a for BOND. I had BO-D(?) and thought BOND? I looked at the clue and had that wonderful Aha! moment.
Giggles:
c/a @ TOOL
DEION - Total WAG AND I spelt it right though I kept second guessing if it should be Deone.
WHAT CAN I DO - as clue'd, helpful; said with another intonation, helpless.
{[A-]} //I'm running out of ways to notate - that's for you WC.
YR - Sorry to hear about Alan's AILs returning. We're all in your corner.
Hi tawnya! Glad you got a day off(ish). Thanks for linking JC for Jinx but, really?, the Dodgers? Go sit with Bill G.
Bill G - makes sense re: dense-air; no air in space == no sound.
Jayce - sounds like we had a very similar solving experience. Funny, TACO folded over WACO.
Picard - so cool to be on a Trek set. I assume by your Avatar you're somewhat an ARDENT FAN. Thx for the pic of MEL's final resting SPOT.
CED - No, I can't top that the so I'LL just QUIT.
Cheers, -T
PWAG - enough perps to make a decent guess, eg. AMA--A == AMANDA
Whereas WAG: Ya' see Sanders & Sport and guess DEION(?) off the bat. No idea who he is or what sports (badminton & croquet?) but it seems to go together.
I have to agree with the Natick called at 10A/D. Totally unfair. I got it cuz I guessed C.
Otherwise a nice Friday puzzle with an unobtrusive theme and some clever clueing. But that Natick....
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Andy & Erick! Thanks, Lemonade! Thanks all ye other contributors for sweetening the trial.
I usually do the puzzle just after midnight then crawl into bed with my brain depleted. Mensa did not post the Friday puzzle last night. Surfed around YouTube, going back every little bit. Tried LA Times site which is not going to let me in under my terms. Had the icon telling me I needed to update. So did that and went to bed. Something woke me at 3 a.m. so I went to Mensa again. Nope. Finally got Merriam Webster to let me have it, but that puzzle format is small & won't let me enlarge it to a comfortable level. Then the puzzle was hard enough, I wondered why I went to all the bother.
SPOTIFY? Never heard of it. (frustration increases)
Knew Deion but not how to spell it. ANDRE & What's 'is name with a "C" never heard of. Knew AMANDA since "MAMA MIA" is my favorite movie. Knew Chip & Joanna, but I usually like the houses better before they remodel. NIOBE, you're kidding?
Parchment: tried "lamb" & "hide" before SKIN. Knew it from the term "sheepskin" for diplomas.
Surprised to see the MEL died in 1989. Seems like I heard his voice just yesterday. It lives on.
I do another puzzle in the paper I used to edit. It's usually easier than LA Times. Today it wanted the capital cities of four obscure countries crossing naticks. Man, it wasn't my day.
I see it. I do.
I see the "Totally unfair" problem that some had with 10A/D.
Obviously MMS could work as well as CMS for "Ruler meas."
As for the perp, the "Oscar-winning 'Gravity' director Alfonso" ...
I guess one had to know the answer.
desper:
Thank you for the information on the Gaineses whom I don't know because I never watch reality TV. Give me fantasy and fiction anytime!
YR:
How very difficult it must for you to see Alan in that chronically ill state and feeling helplessly unable to do anything for him. As others have said, we are here for you and hope that you might comfort in that.
AnonT:
You are so funny!
Thank you for the kind words about my Sierra Club hike photos yesterday, Ol' Man Keith, CrossEyedDave and Lucina.
Yes, AnonymousT, it was a very special thrill for this ARDENT SUPPORTER of the Star Trek vision to be on the Star Trek set. Unfortunately, we were there during the final filming of the Next Generation and that was off limits even for us. So, we were taken to the Deep Space Nine set as they were filming.
That was still a treat! Gul Dukat looked me right in the eyes from a few feet away and smiled. I was impressed that this Titanic character was exactly my height (5'10"). Amazing what filming angles can do. I have never gotten to meet the Picard actor Patrick Stewart formally, but I have had the pleasure of seeing him perform up close on more than one occasion.
OK... As promised earlier...
Here are my photos of the extraordinary SAMBA parade at Carnival in Rio
The parade runs each night from sunset to sunrise. The scale is unimaginably huge.
I have a pair of precision rulers among the many tools. One in inches, and the other in centimeters, with their respective graduations. As a typical American, I would say that they are both about six inches long. :>)
Tawnya, Thanks for linking. Hope you get to catch some of the game, or better yet, that your shift doesn't start until afterwards.
Hi everybody. There is a big, long hill between our house and the bike path along the Pacific. I have a bike rack on the trunk of my old Camry so I can get back up the hill without too much of a struggle. It's a bit of effort to lift my bike up onto the bike rack but nothing I can't manage. Several times someone was nearby as I was in the process of lifting my bike onto the bike rack and they offered to help out. I said "Thanks" but that I could manage OK. I've rethought that response. Next time I will accept their kind offer of help. My thinking is that their helping me will be a little easier for me and it will give them the warm feeling of satisfaction from helping someone else.
I agree PK re: Mel Blanc's voice still being heard. Well I just heard it recently on a Southwest Airlines flight. Google it. A friend has footage of this posted on YouTube.
Elmer - This CHI SWA Flt? -T
Picard @ 5:02 - Wow - them's thar some pictures! Carnival' in Rio - Bacchus revelry! Enjoyed the pics - they were, uh, spectacular and surprising! Is that really you in the blue-beaded upside-down tiara thingamajig?
Thanks for the appreciation, TX Ms! Yes, that is me. Not sure what happened to that beaded thing.
In some ways it was more tame than I expected. Ten years earlier I was in New Orleans at the Mardi Gras workshop. I met one of the artist craftsmen who was from Brazil. He spends half the year at the Rio workshop and half the year in New Orleans. He sent me a video tape of Carnival and invited me to come down.
His tape had a lot of nudity. Apparently, that is no longer happening. Except for the huge nude characters on the float.
One of the people who posed for a photo calmly told me that if I posted it on line he would track me down and kill me. That kind of changed the feel of the thing for me. I like our Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Festival which is similarly festive, but without the death threats.
Did anyone notice my MEL BLANC gravestone photo above?
Picard - yes re: Blanc and I thank'd you (I know, you saw Trek & Squirrel!). Mardi Gras is a hoot. I've been 2x for Bacchus (buddy's on the Krewe) and what fun. I can't imagine the big show in Rio.
BillG - Good game. I finally exhaled... SEE ya' tomorrow.
TXMs - you can look now.
Cheers, -T
Picard, I saw the stone and commented on the death date earlier. Your Carnivale pictures were very colorful and enjoyable. Thank you for sharing. I wasn't sure what to expect when I clicked on your link. I was once handed a big batch of pictures of the Nawlins Mardi Gras by a man who had just gotten them back in the drug store, back in the days when the public had to send film off to be developed. I didn't know the man but he recognized me and thought he'd have some fun. Those were also the days when porn was not readily available. The pictures were definitely XX-rated. I should have known by the deep scarlet blush on the girl behind the counter who had waited on him and had been "treated" to the pictures. I looked at every single picture and commented on the costumes -- what little there were, thanked him for sharing and calmly went on my way. The disappointed look on the man's face when I didn't pitch a fit over the nudity was priceless. Since this was tame old Kansas in the '80's, I was mostly shocked that the photo development lab printed them out.
Picard:
Thank you for those photos of the parade in Rio. It gives a fresh meaning to the word, "spectacular" and it seems incredible that it's repeated over many nights!
I saw the Mel Blanc stone and recall having read the epitaph somewhere else though not the stone itself. Thank you.
Y'all can blame Elmer for this... The side links for funny SWA lead me down a (post Astros Win!) rabbit hole... Look what I found - a Carson & Rickles pair on a flt from Vegas. Cute.
Lucina - from earlier: funny peculiar or funny haha? If the latter, glad to give a chuckle.
If the former, you can queue your groans up behind DW's :-) -T
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