google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, October 16, 2017 ~ Frank Virzi

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Oct 16, 2017

Monday, October 16, 2017 ~ Frank Virzi

Theme: Splitter - Start the answer with the first part of the target word and end the answer with the last part.

17. Source of valuable metal: GOLD MINE

25. Early record player: GRAMOPHONE

37. Beatles song used as wake-up music on the last Space Shuttle mission: GOOD DAY SUNSHINE. Paul McCartney - Good Day Sunshine(2:05) The Beatles version unavailable.

45. Revolving blade sharpener: GRIND STONE

58. Extinct since way back when ... and, in a way, what each set of circles represents: LONG GONE

Argumentative style here. And for the sake of argument, this seems like a C.C. puzzle. The split is GO-NE or G-ONE, alternating. The circles seem superfluous.

Across:

1. Baseball putout, often: TAG

4. Digital readouts, for short: LCDs. (liquid crystal display)

8. No more than: AT MOST

14. 401(k) kin: Abbr.: IRA. (individual retirement account)

15. Settled on a rail: ALIT. Hope it's a fence rail and not a train rail.

16. Abs exercise: CRUNCH

19. Holy __: brat: TERROR

20. Isaac's eldest: ESAU

21. Golden State wine region: NAPA. Devastated.

23. One World Trade Center topper: SPIRE


24. Sales team: REPS

27. Give it __: make an effort: A TRY

29. Work's opposite: PLAY

30. Fibber or Molly of old radio: MCGEE

32. Rationale: BASIS

34. Repair: FIX

40. Mariner's "Help!": SOS

41. Tear to pieces: RIPUP

42. Makes, as money: EARNS

43. "Buona __": Gino's "Good evening": SERA

44. Former trans-Atl. fliers: SSTs. (supersonic transport)

50. Thing to scratch: ITCH

53. Cut again, as grass: REMOW

54. Bring into the firm: HIRE

55. About 66.5 degrees, for the Arctic Circle: N LAT. (north latitude)

56. Musician Keys: ALICIA



60. Poland Spring competitor: DASANI. H²O

61. Words to Brutus: "ET TU?"

62. Dist. you can see: VIS. DISTance/VISibility, usually in miles. Important for pilots.

63. The "S" in GPS: SYSTEM. (Global Positioning System)

64. Pest-control brand: d-CON

65. Md. summer hrs.: EDT. (Eastern Daylight Time)

Down:

1. Striped big cat: TIGER

2. Got up: AROSE

3. Islands visited by Darwin: GALÁPAGOS


4. On the __: at large: LAM

5. Like Saran wrap: CLINGY

6. Bahraini money: DINAR


7. Assembly instructions start: STEP A

8. Put-on: ACT

9. Violates a "private property" sign: TRESPASSES

10. Brown played by Candice Bergen: MURPHY. (TV Series 1988–1998)

11. "Blame It __": 1984 film set in Brazil: ON RIO

12. Disdain: SCORN

13. Little pigs number: THREE

18. Looked for prints: DUSTED

22. Intensifies: AMPS UP. 11

26. Actress Lena: OLIN


28. 1967 Neil Diamond song title line preceding "Go to my head": "RED, RED, WINE"



30. British sports cars: MGs

31. Pigeon sound: COO

32. Less-traveled way: BYPATH

33. Sch. with a Phoenix campus: ASU. (Arizona State University) Most students are on the Tempe campus.

34. Grade school crush, often: FIRST LOVE



35. Quaint quarters: INN

36. Kisses, in romantic letters: X'es

38. Hoity-toity manners: AIRS

39. Detesting: HATING

43. Polar expedition vehicle: SNO-CAT

44. Taken care of: SEEN TO

45. Mortarboard tossers: GRADS

46. Race with batons: RELAY

47. "What'd __?": returning traveler's query: I MISS

48. Lubricated: OILED

49. Campus midshipmen's prog.: NROTC. (Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps)

51. Dog or coyote: CANID

52. Nuclear trial, briefly: H-TEST

57. "Ready, __, fire!": AIM

59. Staple or nail driver: GUN

Argyle


Notes from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave & Blue Hen! Thank you for the endless joy you've brought to our life, Dave! Thank you for the tasty food hacks you've brought to our blog as well, Blue Hen!




53 comments:

  1. Bah¡ FIW on a Monday¡ GRAMaPHONE + aLIN. Was suspicious of it for the wrong reason -- thought it had a double M like the Grammies. The actress was a complete unknown. The theme was pretty obvious, but the reveal was cute.

    Here's one I wrote ages ago:

    Fibber Magee and Molly (ring)
    Were a couple oh, so jolly. (ding)
    As a radio team
    Their life was a dream,
    But to open their closet was folly! (ting)

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  2. Good morning!

    Forgot to look at the circles, but didn't need the theme to finish this one. Frank must be of a "certain age" if he remembers Fibber McGee (Don't open the closet!). Thanx, Frank and Argyle.

    Coincidence: I watched Lena OLIN in a DVD movie yesterday afternoon -- The Ninth Gate. Saw a whole lot of her.

    Happy birthday CED and BlueHen! Celebrate wisely.

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  3. Theme helped me speed through this one. Just enough crunch to keep me on my toes.

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  4. VIS? DIST? Nyet, nyet.

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  5. Good morning everyone.

    Happy Birthdays to CED and Blue Hen. Hope you both have a great day.

    Thanks Argyle for your sterling intro. After the 2nd split GONE, I went and pre-filled in the remaining circles.
    Easy Monday solve - no issues. Did have to take pause on how to spell GRAMOPHONE, since I didn't have to do it lo these many years.
    Saw Doc on Friday following up on the eye surgery. He was very satisfied on the outcome thus far. Just have to stay on a "drops" regimen for the next five weeks and wear the eye protector at night for a week.

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  6. It has been a while since we had a puzzle by Mr. Virzi - more than two years. He was active in 2014-5, with 5 of those being Friday puzzles. I did like the theme as being so appropriate as we progress towards the World Series.

    I did not know that the DINAR was the currency of BAHRAIN; I did not remember Darwin went to the Galapagos and that Murphy Brown last so long on tv.

    Thanks for all the music Argyle.

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  7. Like Owen, my lone bad cell was GRAMaPHONE x aLIN. Two Monday FIWs in a row. Erased aTEST for HTEST.

    I lived in Phoenix for a few years, but didn't know that ASU had a Phoenix campus (or one in Glendale, either). I lived in Phoenix but my mailing address was Glendale. I had a hard time getting cable, because the Phoenix franchise holder said they don't service Glendale, and the Glendale franchise holder said they don't serve my street address.

    We saw a whole lot of Demi Moore as a juvenile in Blame it ON RIO. Harvey Weinstein should have produced it. Creepy movie made cute by the skills of Sir Michael Caine.

    Interesting to have PLAY as the opposite of work during the baseball playoffs. When those guys go to work they hear "PLAY ball". Great game yesterday, whether you are a Cubs or Dodgers fan. I may have to rescind my divorce from MLB.

    BYPATH? Learn something new every day. I only knew bypass until now.

    HBD to Blue Hen and to Crosseyed Dave.

    Thanks to Frank for a challenging Monday puzzle, and to Santa for your usual terrific explanation.

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  8. Easy, pleasant puzzle. The circles weren't needed. Argyle, I always enjoy your expos.
    I waited for the cross to get the O in gramophone. We have had Lena Olin before.
    We kids were fascinated with my grandma's ancient gramophone.
    When I was a kid the whole family used to sit looking at the radio to hear Fiber McGee. Seems strange now when I realize there was nothing to see.
    I knew there was a DINAR in that area, but not which country it is from. The D made it a gimmee.
    Byways and bypaths are less traveled. Saturday I used a bypass that takes a major highway around a small town business district. The bypass was surely more traveled.
    I liked watching Murphy Brown. In 1992 it became controversial because Murphy Brown chose to be a single mother. This fact was negatively referred to by vice presidential candidate, Dan Quayle. That show was tame by today's standards, or lack thereof.
    A very happy birthday, Dave. Thanks for all the humor you give us daily. Happy birthday, Blue Hen. I have been missing you. I hope we hear from you today. I love your cake.

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  9. Good Morning:

    This was an easy, breezy Monday with an obvious theme but an Aha reveal. I had the gramophone quandry but was saved by knowing Olin, a crossword staple. I do, however, always need perps for Olin or Olen. The only other mishap was Step l before Step A. Seeing the Neil Diamond clue reminds me of the car commercial with the guy singing Sweet Caroline to the top of his lungs while stuck in traffic. The looks on the faces of the other drivers are priceless. It's one of the (very) few commercials that don't annoy me or insult my intelligence.

    Thanks, Frank V., for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Argyle, for being such a reliable and informative explainer-in chief.

    Happy Birthday, CED; hope your special day is a blend of the Cat's Meow 🐱 and the Cat's Pajamas! 🐱 (How's that for being of a "certain age," DO?) Happy Birthday to Bluehen; hope your special day Fun, Frolic, and FOOD. Best wishes to you both: 🎂🎉🎁🍾💕 🎉

    Our blog hostess had Sunday's LA Times puzzle on the heels of last Wednesday's LA Times, and Friday's NY Times and Friday's Wall Street Journal. Congratulations, CC, you are awesome!

    Have a great day.

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  10. Drat!

    Trying to work as I posted and I forgot Happy, happy birthday to both CED and Bluehen and many more!

    Bypath? Sounds like Sylvester taking a bypass.

    Loved your subtlety D-O

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  11. CED, since you're unlikely to link a cake for yourself, here's a chocolate cake you may like: CED Cake

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  12. Sorry, Bluehen: I hope your special day IS FILLED FULL OF Fun, Frolic, and Food!

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  13. Fun puzzle, easy for the most part. I slowed down over Fibber and Molly because I always thought it was spelled MAGEE, as did Owen in his great lick. COO enlightened me but I'm not sure it's right.

    My other hiccup was BYPATH. Loved the comment about Sylvester! I've never of a bypath. NAPA at 21a. seems sadly appropriate to me with all the fires.

    Thanks Argyle for walking us through it.

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  14. Musings
    -GONE crazy didn’t quite cut it
    -Husker FB glory days are LONG GONE (20 yrs) but hope springs eternal
    -Alt. cluing for GRIND STONE? Hard worker’s nose locale?
    -Many grackles have ALIT here
    -Men like Darwin and Copernicus really shook up the church and the world
    -Google the vulgar “Sales Reps” scene from The Wolf Of Wall Street at your own risk.
    -Reading the instructions is a last resort!
    -As a kid we forgave debtors while across the street they were doing the same for TRESPASSERS
    -You’re a true Everly Brothers fan if you know the song with this lyric “She's in love with herself; you know the kind, Always puttin' on AIRS!”
    -Here’s the Everly Brothers answer with a VERY surprising video (1:50)
    -A glass of RED, RED WINE on an empty stomach went right to my head last Christmas. Yikes!
    -The only fat person in North Korea seems intent on staying in power with H-TESTs
    -Happy Birthday to Dave and Blue Hen!

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  15. Hi Y'all! Thanks, Frank. Argyle, you outdid himself today.

    No circles and I didn't quite get the LONG GONE reveal. Oh well!

    Learning moment was seeing on the good map Argyle provided that the GALAPAGOS Islands are just south of the equator. For some reason, I thought they were way down on the tip of South America.

    I knew ALICIA but never had heard her song "In Common" or Neil's "RED RED WINE" or that Everly Bros. song or that Beatles song. I did know "Puppy Love", although when you are a teenager, love seems like a real big dog. Many of the 50 & 60 year anniversaries celebrated in the paper were by folks who say they were high school sweethearts.

    CANIn before CANID.

    My MIL used a rose thorn to play her old GRAMOPHONE after the original needle was LONG GONE.

    Happy Birthday, CE Dave and Blue Hen. Dave, did you get all the clean-up done on your Florida home?

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  16. Hmm, my 1st thought at Desper-otto's post @ 6:35 was "he doesn't know me very well..."
    "celebrate wisely?"

    Enjoyed the Fibber Mcgee out of the closet link!
    Enjoyed the attached sidelink even more! (it was 2 links down from Fibber...)
    Talk about out of the closet! Sheesh, I have never given Opera a decent chance!
    (Maybe I should give it a second look...)

    PK, Thanks, almost all fixed up down in florida, just cannot get a rental car.
    (they are all rented out to insurance claimants...)
    New pool pump
    new airconditioner ($7500- Ouch!)
    new pool screens (except a small hole that would have cost $400- to fix)
    (I also found a small pebble imbedded half way thru the screen, as long as I don't touch it, the bugs cannot get in...)
    And, I borrowed the AC guys ladder. DW held the ladder while I went up on the roof
    and use cement repair sealant to replace the terra cotta tiles. I don't know how those guys walk around on those roofs, very scarey... (terra cotta was not meant to be walked on...)

    Happy birthday Blue Hen! I think I was the one that linked that cake years ago,
    and I would link another one, but I don't think I can top it!

    And finally, in retrospect, I have come to realize that Desper-otto, knows me too well....

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  17. On this day, 1987,
    a 58-1/2 hour drama in Midland, Texas, ended happily as rescuers feed Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old girl trapped in a narrow abandoned well.

    Thought for Today:
    "What is time? The shadow on the dial, the striking of the clock, the running of the sand, day and night, summer and winter, months, years, centuries -- these are but arbitrary and outward signs, the measure of time, not Time itself.
    Time is the life of the soul." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (1807-1882)

    P.S. to Desper=otto,

    I am too old now to celebrate the way I used to,
    just a few beers to ease the pain... (and keep the kidneys flushed...)
    but I do have my long gone memories...
    P.P.S. I don't do drugs, and I can't remember what I had for breakfast, but I did like that picture of the cat...

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  18. To many who have commented on the illogic of English, here is an interesting article from A.Word.A.Day. We can accept and come to love the inconsistencies in our language.

    "If it’s wire/wiry, why isn’t it fire/firy? Or at least firey? Where does fiery come from? Readers often ask questions like this and the answer to such questions often is: Because English is a human language, not a computer language. A human language takes shape organically and comes with its own poetry, warts, and idioms.

    Like any human language spoken on this earth, English has its own gaps, quirks, and illogic. Because its words are not coined in a precision laboratory, we do not have someone making sure things are consistent. Back when language was primarily a spoken thing, the word “fire” was spelled in dozens of different ways, including “fier”. Eventually, the noun form took one spelling while the adjectival form took another."

    One of the Cornerites, I think maybe Anonymous T, recommended the excellent book, Word by Word by Kory Stamper, to me. It is a fascinating account of how the words for dictionaries are chosen and defined. It is very readable, not at all dry. Seeing the reasoning and hard work that goes into writing dictionaries, it is easy to see why I have such huge respect for them. I highly recommend this book to all logophiles,

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  19. FIW.......dinar, canid and alit through me. But I got alit and canid through perps and googled dinar. Nice puzzle Frank and great expo Argyle.

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  20. Netflix has very interesting series Mindhunter

    Cheers

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  21. Very late to the party because I overslept until 9:45! It felt good, though.

    Thanks to Frank Virzi for a good start to my Monday. This had a little CRUNCH and I recall Lena OLIN very well mostly from Chocolat, a wonderful movie. I have a version of RED RED WINE by Bob Marley which I like even better than Neil's.

    In Spanish money is dinero and that's closely related to DINAR so I remember it. In Morocco we paid with DINARs.

    I agree, dis. and VIS are certainly a stretch. NAPA brings tears to my eyes.

    YR, thank you for the book recommendation. Next time I'm at B&N I'll look for it.

    Happy birthday, CEDave! Happy birthday, BlueHen! I hope you both enjoy a wonderful celebration.

    Enjoy your day, everyone!

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  22. Argyle, thank you. I especially liked seeing all those tall buildings. Amazing that most of them are in the middle or far east.

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  23. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CED & Blue Hen ... My "first" Sunset Toast are to you two!

    Though I've been there, I always need a few perps to spell GALAPAGOS correctly.

    Also needed ESP (Every-Single-Perp) to get that Polar expedition vehicle, SNO-CAT.
    (Geez, living in Florida all my life ... I've never had a use for one.)

    Cheers!

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  24. Thank you, Mr. Virzi, for the pzl and for the inclusion of GOOD DAY SUNSHINE. Thanks too to Argyle for the link to one of my favorite Beatles songs on a favorite LP, Revolver, one that I played over and over and over while laboring in a drafty attic on the first draft of my doctoral thesis so many years ago...

    Chewy and crunchy today, unusual for a Monday pzl. A nice Ta- DA! to start the week!

    Hurrying to get ready this morning. Need to check into Hoag Irvine for an MRI. We used to do an endoscopy this time of the year, but now my doc has decided I am too old to have a tube shoved in me (at lest from the upper end), so we'll do the MRI instead.

    Toodles!

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  25. Hi all!

    Took my time going through this one and I'm glad I did! Very enjoyable with the perfect amount of Monday Crunch IMO. The ones I didn't know on my first pass across were easily filled in with the downs. WES re: BYPATH, VIS, and the correct spelling of GRAMOPHONE.

    My friends in the NAPA area are safe and able to return home, albeit without gas or power. So many were not so lucky.

    The source of the quote in CED's adorable cat meme is Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. A timeless classic for our generation ;)

    @IM - that commercial makes me laugh too! I am that guy singing at the top of my lungs while driving :)

    It wasn't until I got my Hot August Nights album that I realized UB40 didn't write Red Red Wine

    AMAZING game last night!! Pretty sure the whole city heard me screaming when Justin Turner hit a walk-off HOME RUN! Go Dodgers!!!

    I agree with Mark S, the new show Mindhunter is very good! For Criminal Minds fans, it's essentially the story of how the BAU got started. The main characters are fictional but based on the real people. The interviews with the serial killers are chilling.

    Happy Birthday BlueHen and CED!!!

    t.

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  26. Well, like Ol'Man Keith, I found this Monday puzzle a bit crunchy, but at least I got the whole thing without any cheating. So, many thanks, Frank! Argyle, and others, some of us need and love circles whenever we can have them, so I hope they don't stop coming.

    Proud of myself for getting GALAPAGOS--I know my Darwin (wrote a book about animals many years ago with Darwin, Nietzsche, Kafka, D.H. Lawrence and others in the subtitle). However, even so, I never heard a dog called a CANID. And I got DASANI only thanks to perps.

    Happy Birthdays, CED and Blue Hen--I wish you both lovely celebrations.

    Good luck with the MRI, OMK.

    Have a great week, everybody!

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  27. I don’t get this one from a NYT— -clue : having four sharps, answer: INE

    Any help will be appreciated.

    Cheers

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  28. Quick and fun solve! I enjoy the puzzles with circles now that I get mine at the LA Times site: http://games.latimes.com/games/daily-crossword/

    OLIN needed ESP. Fortunately I did know the spelling of GRAMOPHONE. I just learned why Edison invented it. He was hard of hearing and had little interest in music. He thought that the telephone would be too expensive for individuals to own. The idea was that you would go to a telegraph office and record your message on a GRAMOPHONE and the telegraph office would send the recording. At the other end the message would be recorded and the receiver would come to hear the recorded message. This never really came to pass, but it is an interesting bit of history!

    I was very fortunate to travel in the GALAPAGOS in 2012. I had dreamed of going there since I was a child and saw Jacques Cousteau and National Geographic TV shows from there. It is so magical to be able to get close to wildlife that has little or no fear of humans.

    One of many highlights for me? A pair of boobies doing a Booby Dance right in front of me!

    Here is my video of the Booby Dance!

    And And here I am up close with a booby parent and big fluffy chick on the nest!

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  29. Mark S: INE means IN E as in "In the key of E"
    The key of E has four sharps. Not an easy key on some instruments!

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  30. Hello, everyone. I'm baaaack! Never been away actually. I read this blog everyday, But I don't post because I never have anything cogent to add to the erudite conversation. I found this puzzle a little crunchier since it took me more time than most Mondays, but OTOH I got the TADA with one pass using across clues only. A tale of two puzzles. Thanks Frank and Argyle

    Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. Sound advice, DO. It's going to be a quiet celebration at the Bluehen Ponderosa. Youngest son is going to grill steaks on what may be the last good day to do so of this season. It's getting colder and windier by the hour, with a frost warning tonight. Lord, what yoyo weather this year. Anyway, steaks w/sautĂŠed mushrooms, baked, and a salad. That and an award winning old vine Napa Valley (sniff,sob)Zinfandel and I'm a happy man.

    That's enough for now. Go Bluehens! Things are looking up this year after several in the doldrums. A new coach has brought in a new attitude, and you can just see that the players believe in his system and are beginning to believe in themselves. Can't wait.

    Cya!





    Youngest son won't be with us this year. He married his old sweetheart yesterday and is on his honeymoon. For those who don't remember, he is the reason that I do the Polar Bear Plunge each year to support Special Olympics. He was beginning to despair of ever getting married, settling down, raising a family, and living a "normal life"(will someone tell me what that is?). He thought he would spend his days in a group home. Very proud of the way he held on to his dreams, and how he conducted himself during the ceremony and reception. Made an old man's heart swell.

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  31. Oh the irony! Blue Hen grilled for the last time and we just started the grilling season yesterday since the temps are moderately down. Still in the 90s, though.

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  32. HG. I get your saying "A glass of RED, RED WINE on an empty stomach went right to my head last Christmas. Yikes!" On Saturday, after a three hour trip one way to help my PA sister move, I had a glass of red wine upon returning home, very tired and having skipped dinner. Then I picked up the Saturday LAT. Yikes, I was not even up to solving a Monday LAT. These last two days have been busy, but I hope I get back to the Saturday puzzle soon.
    The foliage in the northern half of the trip is usually outstanding in mid-October, but it is very late in developing this year. This has been an unusually warm October. Our leaves here are turning brown and dropping. How disappointing for this leaf peeper. I hope the season is just delayed.
    Great to hear from you Blue Hen. Your celebration sounds delightful. Congratulations to your son on his marriage.

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  33. Mark S - 4 sharps is the key of E Major; ergo, IN E.

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  34. Of course....Thanks Spitzboov and Picard.

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  35. Happy Birthday, CrossEyedDave! Happy Birthday, Blue Hen!

    Not a bad puzzle. Like Spitzboov, once I got the GONE gimmick I pre-filled in the remaining circles. Some nifty fill, such as GALAPAGOS and TRESPASSES. Also some stinky fill, such as VIS and NLAT. Lemonade, your comment about Sylvester was funny.

    Good wishes to you all.

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  36. 4 sharps = ine?

    I believe it was a typo...

    Any musician (except a piano player) will tell you that
    4 sharps = PIA
    (Pain In the Ass)

    P.S. I only posted to keep my place as to how much I read so far...

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  37. HBD to Bluehen and of course
    Happy Birthday to Dave.
    No cake but Dave..., The early years

    (The long time regulars will get this)

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  38. BlueHen @ 2:16 ~ Your birthday dinner menu sounds yummy. Congratulations to the newlyweds! What a special birthday gift for you to see him realize his dreams.

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  39. CED - having to play in the key of E (or C# min.) is a PIA on any instrument only if one fails (as most of us do) to practice scales, chords and arpeggios. It may actually be harder on piano because of having to tangle up the fingers shifting to all those black keys, and may be a bit easier on guitar due to the tuning.

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  40. Back from my MRI.
    They offered me a choice of a music track, supposedly to muffle the magnetic knocks and pings of the machine. Again I asked for "classical," and again they gave me a little Chopin and some soft Mozart, barely audible.
    I don't get it. If they want to drown out the machinery, why don't they program Mahler's Fifth or some heroic Ludwig Van ...?
    Ah, well, it's over. For another year ...

    I enjoy Mindhunter too, although most of the arguments (bureau rigidity vs. innovation, gender typing vs. fluidity) are stacked with straw targets, and they're terribly vague about how the "new" ways of comprehending criminals improve on old practices.
    Still, it's fun to see the interaction of character, and sometimes we don't mind seeing set-up targets knocked down.
    We're in the choir. So preach away!

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  41. Late to the party today. I was Long GONE this morning but then got side-tracked and didn't get here. Thanks for the fun Frank and Argyle.

    I thought it was a little crunchy for a Monday. Hand up for waiting for OLIN to correct the spelling of GRAMOPHONE. It took some thinking to get the A's and O's in GALAPAGOS correct too.
    Like Jinx, my Bypass changed to BYPATH. VIS was a stretch for me too.
    My Ab exercise was a Situp before a CRUNCH.
    I thought of PK's sister and others affected by the fire with NAPA.

    Happy Birthday CED and Blue Hen.

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  42. Enjoyed the puzzle. Mama for some reason mentioned listening to Fibber McGee years before on the radio when I was growing up, and the name stuck in my memory – as a four-yr-old, I thought the name was hilarious.

    Special day greetings sent to Blue Hen and CED. And congratulations to Blue Hen and son – a very happy time indeed for your family.

    Thanks, Argyle, for all the musical links – enjoyed them. But, like Tawnya, I’ll always associate Red, Red, Wine with UB40 - I have their cassette (yeah, it’s that old). IM, didn’t know Marley was the original.

    Picard, I loved your video of the blue-footed boobies – brought back absolutely wonderful, carefree memories! I have a picture of a nesting pair, beak to beak, as if “she’s” getting the upper hand in the “argument.” At their blue feet, a single egg. Curious, your video showed a sandy trail with dense underbrush – that is exactly the background in my treasured pic! Were you by any chance on Daphne Island?

    Cool weather/low humidity for the next two days – yay!

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  43. Hmm, Manac,,
    That pic is intriguing!
    (& yes, i get it...)
    But it looks more like me in my sleeping bag,
    It's a mummy bag, and I hate it!
    trying to turn over in the dang thingie makes me look
    like that pic every time I go camping...

    I would love to sleep in the hammock, but I cannot get to sleep on my back.
    You may have solved my problem!
    Now, if only I could recreate that pic in the woods, I might get a decent nights sleep!

    Mike Sherline @ 5:58

    You are absolutely right!
    I was just trying to be silly by turning an INE into a PIA.
    E Major on guitar is quite simple once you know your chords.
    But better yet, you have given me a chance to link more cat videos!

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  44. Happy Birthday Guys! ----> CED & Bluehen

    Got the puzzle - no CWE's

    No limerick or "high COO" today

    Busy busy busy

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  45. Some good news today. My daughter had taken one of those home bowel tests you send in and it came back showing positive for cancer. Today she had a colonoscopy and got a clean bill of health. They think it may have been positive because she takes a blood thinner. Not exactly sure what that has to do with anything. But we are relieved.

    No word from my sis in Santa Rosa for three days now.

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  46. Sweet Caroline is the theme song of the Boston Redsox. It is de rigueur to "add" to the song with gestures, kicks, pointing and the repetitions used by the ad.

    I found this xword sticky going at first then it perped in nicely. Had no idea about Dist=>VIS. Doing it with just the horizontals would have been a challenge.

    Wow, Owen. You had a Fibber McGee in your l'ick-book waiting for the occasion. I have Radio Classics on my Sirius dial. The old comedy has seen its day but I like stuff like Johnny Dollar.

    Misty, were those animals Beasts?

    HBD CED. And Bluehen. I'm trying to think of the team called the Bluehens. CSU?

    I'm bummed because I haven't had a crack at CC's Sunday xword.

    WC

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  47. Glad your MRI went well, Ol'Man Keith.

    Yes, Wilbur, those animals were "Beasts of the Modern Imagination"!

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  48. Hi All!

    Quite under the allergies today. I played Frank's offering earlier and made the same error as OKL - GRAMaPHONE. Oh well - cute puzzle with interesting cluing (see: VIS).

    Thanks Argyle for the musical interludes and leading us out on a new week. I wouldn't know what to do w/o my crossword-FIX (I PLAY everyday sans SUNday).

    WOs: I'm going to blame the allergies - Clear b/f CLINGY & just random letters that I can't read now. //sees to @44d I can kinda make out.
    ESPs: OLIN woulda been one.

    Fav: GOOD DAY SUN SHINE. That goes for both CED & Blue Hen.

    Bluehen - that is so wonderful for your son.

    CED - I don't have a cake or a funny picture for you (you shoulda given me a heads up! - I'll write it down... 364 more days to find something LOL Catz)... Happy Birthday. You bring so much fun to the Corner. Keep playful my eFriend.

    Cheers, -T

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  49. CED - Brilliant! Thanks for that. At 1st I thought maybe they'd do Fats' "Kitten on the Keys" but what they did was great - and a good lesson too on how to breathe properly when singing and the importance of practicing. I really enjoyed the next video that came up, too - with the jazz cats.

    Happy birthday.

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  50. Thank you TX Ms for taking the time to look at my Booby Dance video! Glad it brought back happy memories.

    My notes show I was at Darwin Bay on the small GALAPAGOS island of Genovesa when I saw this amazing performance. What is cool is that the male and the female each perform for each other. They are already a pair. They are just showing their love for each other.

    Here again is my video of the Booby Dance on the GALAPAGOS

    And here I am up close with a booby parent and big fluffy chick on the nest

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  51. Picard, I count myself so very fortunate in that I visited some of the “exotic” countries featured in the National Geographic magazines I loved while growing up (my bucket list, the new term now). Daddy was so frugal that NG was the only magazine we got other than the free Texas Farm Journal. My three-week eco-tour to the Andes, Amazon, and Galapagos Islands was my very fav. Way back then, Genovesa Island was not even offered - maybe one day I’ll go back.

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  52. Picard:
    Thank you for sharing your photos with us. Those boobys are lovely, interesting birds and I'm surprised they continued with the mating dance with people around them. I guess instinct and love takes over.

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  53. TX Ms if you want to go back to the GALAPAGOS I highly recommend the group I went with. They are called Ecoventura. Their guides are all natives to the islands and they are trained in biology. Quite a special combination. Also, their boats are small with just 20 passengers. Just ten passengers per guide on shore which is way better than being on a big ship.

    Here is the Ecoventura web site and I recommend them to anyone who wants the best possible GALAPAGOS experience

    And thank you for the kind words, Lucina. Apparently, animals are naturally tolerant of disturbances unless they have been pushed to fear by predators or bad human behavior. It takes extra energy to do fight or flight. The GALAPAGOS Islands are one of the few places left to see this natural tolerance. You can also see something like this if you dive underwater in most places.

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