google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday May 24 2018 David Poole

Advertisements

May 24, 2018

Thursday May 24 2018 David Poole

Theme: Fleet of Funnies -  Aquatic vessels clued unexpectedly:

17A. High-end eye makeup?: LUXURY LINER. I got this one right off the bat, I had a couple of crosses in place with the downs, and LUXURY pretty much filled itself in. LINER came naturally, then I was off to the races.

27A. One sterilizing Ping-Pong equipment?: PADDLE STEAMER. Proud Mary? Let's rock ...

48A. Squad car for soprano Kathleen?: BATTLE CRUISER. I chuckled at this one. Plus-sized divas in UK slang might be described as "having a bit of the battleship about her". Kathleen Battle, however, does not fit the description. Here with Wynton Marsalis:


64A. Worthless stuff from Beijing?: CHINESE JUNK. I saw many junks running local deliveries in Hong Kong harbor. Still highly practical.

Fun theme, some nice long downs, crisp fill, nice puzzle!

Across:

1. Outdated: PASSÉ

6. Calf-length dresses: MIDIS

11. Streaming alternative: DVD

14. Let up: ABATE

15. Hacienda material: ADOBE. I always want ADOBO - it's those smoked chipotle chilis in adobo sauce. Food!

16. Crew's control?: OAR. Some crew just use the oar for power, and leave it to the cox at the back to steer. I think the coxless four is probably the finest example of oarsmanship, power and control. Try to watch some events at the next Summer Olympic games.

19. Hollywood SFX: CGI. Movie Special Effects - SFX - Computer Generated Imagery - CGI.

20. Part of a process: STEP

21. "Pomp and Circumstance" composer: ELGAR. Edward. I thought he might get a quick cameo performance at last weekend's nuptuals.

22. Concert souvenir: STUB. Quick, where are my U2 stubs from last year? I swear just saw them.

23. First words of "Green Eggs and Ham": I AM. I'm at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas this week. It's my last chance to approach the Dr. Seuss booth with a witty sales pitch. Any ideas?

25. Creeps: TIPTOES. Ah, those find of creeps! I love noun/verb clue-play

32. Supermarket chain with a m ostly red oval logo: IGA. When I saw this and the crossing 28D I was already holding up my hands in a (personal) Natick defeat. But finally, the Ghosts of Puzzles Past bailed me out of a hole.

33. Con man?: ANTI. Pro - Con. Fer - Anti. Opposite sides of the voting spectrum.

34. Switches: SWAPS

37. Adorkable one: NERD. Clue of the day. I love it. Didn't take a second to latch on, but awesome world play.

39. Emcee duty: INTRO

42. Flute or reed, on an organ: STOP. Always wanted to have a crack at one of those huge church organs.

43. Tibetan legends: YETIS

45. Fireside stack: LOGS

47. Org. concerned with emissions: E.P.A.

52. Sign of fall: SCORPIO. Nice clue for this Zodiac sign. October 23rd - November 22nd.

54. Fish-eating eagle: ERN

55. Romp: PLAY

56. Old autocrats: TSARS

59. Historic times: AGES. The Age of .... Enlightenment/Aquarius/etc.

63. Place for a bud: EAR

66. It may be financial or legal: AID

67. Skin dye used in some wedding celebrations: HENNA. I henna'd my hair in my teens. Here is me, playing one of Winchester's "disaffected youth" occupying the historical Buttercross. Just like we did every weekend, it wasn't "Che" revolutionary, we just needed somewhere to sit when we were kicked out of the coffee shop above for not actually buying anything. I hemmed the jeans myself on my mom's Singer sewing machine


68. Overdue: TARDY

69. Measures for long-distance runners: Abbr.: KMS. One kilometer isn't even a warm-up for these folks. Coast-to-Coast - aim for 42 days to beat the record, and expect to run around 4,800 km give or take a few bathroom breaks or wrong turns.

70. Mystery award: EDGAR. Mr. Edgar Allan, and how apt it that?

71. Entertain: AMUSE

Down:

1. More than casual acquaintances: PALS

2. Touch on: ABUT

3. __-Coburg: former Bavarian duchy: SAXE

4. Idiotic: STUPID

5. "If __ I loved her, all that love is gone": Shakespeare: E'ER. Demetrius telling Lysander he's welcome to Hermia:

Lysander, keep thy Hermia. I will none.
If e'er I loved her, all that love is gone.
My heart to her but as guest-wise sojourned,
And now to Helen is it home returned,
There to remain.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III sc. ii

6. __ of America: MALL

7. "Got it, man": I DIG! Probably not been heard since the 60's, but I could be wrong.

8. Give: DONATE

9. Gibraltar's peninsula: IBERIA. Shared with Spain and Portugal. Maybe a slice of Andorra too.

10. Sun. delivery: SER. mon. The sermon at last weekend's "royal" wedding caused a little bit of a stir.

11. High degrees: DOCTORATES

12. Ill-defined: VAGUE

13. Small amounts: DRIBS

18. Aden native: YEMENI

22. Simmers: STEWS

24. Fashioned after: À LA

26. Canadian VIPs: PM'S. Prime Ministers.

27. Like some Christmas candles: PINY

28. Tommie of the Amazin' Mets: AGEE

29. They're stuck in pubs: DARTBOARDS. At some point in dim and distant history, the numbering sequence became accepted. I understand 1-20-5, risk/reward, but I've hit 17 aiming for 19. I won my first competitive darts match by hitting double-17. Happy days.



30. RR depot: STN. 

31. IMDb search category: TITLE

35. Bishop of Rome: POPE

36. Sail support: SPAR

38. Private account: DIARY

40. Mythical bird: ROC

41. Fiona, after Shrek's kiss: OGRESS

44. Auto additive with a mostly red oval logo: STP

46. __ La Table: Williams-Sonoma rival: SUR. Ignore all these guys, find a restaurant supply store near you and get everything you need at one-tenth of the price.

49. Gave religiously: TITHED

50. Dieting successfully: LOSING

51. Stuck: IN A JAM

52. Command to Fido: SPEAK

53. GEICO submission: CLAIM

57. "Mom" co-star Faris: ANNA

58. Stern: REAR. Aft, Abaft, so many nautical terms for the blunt end.

60. Wise adviser: GURU. It's an honorific of respect in India. I've been addressed as "Steve Guru", which made me awkwardly uncomfortable until I realized it was a show of manners, and one I could embrace. I love Indian culture.

61. Objectives: ENDS

62. Inner Hebrides isle: SKYE.

"Speed, bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward! the sailors cry;
Carry the lad that's born to be King
Over the sea to Skye."

64. "The Motorcycle Diaries" revolutionary: CHE. One of my friends named her cat after the motorcycle - Fuser. Who knew that Marxists were so fond of their bikes that they gave them a name?

65. In-flight update: ETA. Did you know that an on-time departure mean that as long you push back from the gate on the appointed minute, regardless of whether you spend two hours on the tarmac fixing the fuel pump, waiting for the lightning to clear or holding in line behind 30 other planes? Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics!

Steve



61 comments:

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Greetings!

Thanks to David and Steve!

Easy puzzle!

Late for teddy!

Have a great day!

Bluehen said...

No Chinese Junk in this corner!

D4E4H said...

One can tell it's Thursday, but one can't tell it much. Good Day mates.

- - Much grass to Mr. David Poole for this Thursday worthy CW. It is 108A EDT as I write so I will look forward to Steve, where ever you are.

FLN:

Pat at 7:57 PM
- - Wrote "Misty, I hope your eyes continue to improve daily." - Misty, I second that emotion.

Misty just under the wire at 11:51 PM
- - Wrote "Thank you, Pat--they are improving, and your good wishes help!" - I'm glad to hear it. Hear, Hear!

Young Man Keith at 12:55 AM
- - Please accept my condolences on the death of Philip Roth.

Today:

21A - “Pomp and Circumstance” composer : ELGAR - In the UK, what we use in Canada and the US as a processional, has words, and is considered to be the second National Anthem.
- - Note: 70D - Mystery award : EDGAR - Another of the GAR bros.

6D - ___ of America: MALL
- - Boomer, From Mon. 5-21, "At 58D you mentioned Mall of America. Does it seem to be losing business like other retail outlets?"

At 27A I caught the theme with an appropriate groan.

The NE was the hardest. Once I put it in "Crew's control", I rowed my way out. I FIR in 41:19.

Now to thank Sri "Steve Guru" for the 'splanations. Mas grass to you also.

Ðave

OwenKL said...

DNF¡ The NE flummoxed me¡ cds>DVD, snIpS>DRIBS, expected 2 words c_C_O RATES > DOCTORATES, and blanks for OAR, STUB, VAGUE. Once reds told me which entries were wrong, I got the rest of it without further help on my second try.

There once was an ERN fell in love with a tern.
The heart of the eagle for the gull did burn!
His ardor to ABATE,
She demanded a vase --
She did it to see an ern earn an urn!

Couplets:

Edward ELGAR wrote Enigma Variations.
EDGAR A. Poe on enigmas, wrote variations.

A crush may be a teener's DIARY entry,
A crash may be a STEAMER'S last LOG entry!

Don't be TARDY, but strike while the iron is hot,
Today's fad on the morrow may be PASSÉ and shot!

{B-, bbc.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Got the theme. Yay! This was a quick romp for a Thursday. I only needed Wite-Out to change COX to OAR. ("Coxless Four," Steve? Sounds like an all-girl rock band.) Thanx, David Poole. You, too, Steve for acting as our henna-haired tour guide. You're a brave man for posting that one.

LUXURY LINER: Title of an early Emmylou Harris album -- one of her best.

CHINESE JUNK: I also remember them from Hong Kong harbor. They swarmed around our aircraft carrier, collecting the trash and selling trinkets for the few days we were there.

Got a phone call yesterday asking if I'd be willing to change an upcoming medical appt, because the Dr. would be out of town on the original date. OK. I immediately got an email that there was a new entry at my online medical portal. Yup, there it was. Reason for the change: Patient. He's gonna get an earful (well, emailful) about that.

Lemonade714 said...

What a nice puzzle and write-up. I am so bad with opera I did not know Kathleen Battle who apparently as her name suggests did like CONFLICT .

Steve, you are a confident man to tell your henna stories, but the picture does bring back memories of that time in my history. A perfect TBT pic. Henna tattoos are big business in Key West. Get crazy, get a tattoo but make sure it does not last.

Oas said...

Thank you David Poole and Steve for an enjoyabe thursday morning puzzle.
Not too difficult but needed a few changes to FIR
Mast became SPAR , Sta -STN , pink - PINY , Aims- ENDS.
The most helpful fill was DOCTORATES.
First thought of Sic em for fido’s command but PLAY nixed that and gave me SPEAK.
Maybe a little more rain today.
Cheers to all.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Smooth sailing on this seaworthy puzzle, thanks, David. You captain our CREW beautifully, Steve, coxless or not.

D-O, you naughty boy! LOL! My niece wanted to be on a rowing team in college but gave it up after the female rowing coach made inappropriate advances.

Did not know the Soprano named BATTLE or ANNA Faris or SUR La Table & their rival.

With the nautical theme, we also had OAR & SPAR. I looked in vain for other ship terms.

Both ELGAR & EDGAR. Hmmm!

The SERmon at that wedding got a bit too long & dramatic & slightly off-subject IMHO. I can imagine what the staid British thought of it. At least the cathedral didn't collapse in the shock waves.

BlueHen: long time no see. Welcome back.

I watched the finale of "Survivor" last night then dreamed I was engaged in competition with the winner. We were doing a crossword puzzle. He beat me because I had one bad square and we discussed the puzzle at length. That was the craziest dream in a long time.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

PK - There's also the clue for REAR - stern; and LOGS (ship's LOG, deck LOG.)

Beginning to like DP's puzzles. Not so hard for a Thursday. Had to hold the NE in abeyance 'til most of the rest was done. Broke through with DOCTORATES and DRIBS and romped home. Had eras before AGES. Big CSO to CC with MALL of America. (We visited it in 2001). CGI was a WAG, but no searches were needed. Thought the NERD clue was clever.

Have a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

Walk in the park with a slight hill to climb at TIPTOE,CGI and VAGUE. Easy, fun theme. Thanks for your interesting tour, Steve.
I think henna tattoos are an excellent idea which give rise to no long lasting regrets.
When I returned from my educators' fellowship tour of Japan, I taught a unit on Japanese customs and culture. It emboldened my students of Asian ancestry to discuss their own customs. A Chinese American told us about his home altar and about this ancestors. A girl who had just returned from India discussed her sister's wedding in fascinating detail. They had a henna ceremony the night before the wedding.
I remember hiking on the beautiful Isle of Skye.
I love Kathleen Battle's singing and Winton Marsalis's playing. Apparently, Ms. Battle is a battle axe. I loved the reference to I SURVIVED THE BATTLE shirts worn by fellow cast members.
I misread ADORKABLE for a while. Are NERDs adorable? Then the light dawned.

My brother-in-law is in the hospital with a collapsed lung that up until now won't stay inflated. He had lung problems for years, and in the last few years this has greatly restricted his activity level. We are quite concerned.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning, everyone.

Thanks, David and Steve. That was fun. My fave today was Crew's control: OAR.

Busy day today, but it's sunny so I'm all good with that. Enjoy your day.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Fun puzzle. I too erased wood for LOGS, aims for ENDS and eras for AGES.

Are ticket stubs becoming quaint? Most events I go to have an attendant that just scans the barcode. Holds down counterfeiting and eliminates double-usage.

When cellular 5G networks are deployed here, we'll become a Cox-less household. Prices keep going up and up, and if I have a problem I am resigned to troubleshoot it myself. 4G isn't fast enough for the occasional live e-presentation I attend.

Masts are spars. So are booms and sprits.

Do we have any Cornerites from Colorado? If so, they are probably confused by "place for a bud". Oh wow, man. Pipe, paper and brownie all have too many letters. Too much. Dude, let's eat and take a nap.

Thanks to David Poole for the easy Thursday. I especially liked the fresh cluing for STP. And thanks to Steve for another fine review. I'll bet you were a real heartbreaker back in the day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-What well-coiffed Steve said in his great review!
-My Bluetooth enabled hearing aids preclude the use of ear BUDS. Cool!
-I AMUSE you?(1:31) If f-bombs offend you, skip
-Tennessee and Missouri both ABUT 8 other states
-Queen Victoria’s British Royal House was SAXE-Coburg-Gotha and German was often spoken in Buckingham Castle. However, during WWI George V changed the name to Windsor for obvious reasons
-The DONATIONS to Goodwill dropped dramatically when the Omaha World Herald revealed - Goodwill director McGree and his eight top managers last year received $1.8 million in total compensation. In all, 14 executives and managers were paid $100,000 or more, including McGree’s daughter and the daughter-in-law of a board member.
-I learned a lot from both people with DOCTORATES and bricklayers
-The ballplayer AGEE leaps to my mind much faster than the playwright.
-Is there another game besides DARTS where hitting the bullseye does not result in the best score
-The STERN went down last

Jay Green said...

64 Down. Actually, Motorcycles pick their own names. Mine rejected several names during it's first year, both masculine and feminin. It finally told me it's name was just Harley.😉

SwampCat said...

YR, prayers and good wishes for your BIL.

David, thanks for the enjoyable challenge. I got the theme answers but struggled with some of the easier ones because I was too stubborn to give up aims for ENDS and eras for AGES. And "places for buds" had to be bars didn't it? Maybe Tinbini is infecting us all!

I loved the nautical sub-theme and the obvious CSOs.

Steve, I appreciate your tour and setting me straight. I thought you were adorable with all that hair.

Owen, you always undervalue yourself. They were all fun!

oc4beach said...


It took a while to get through David's excellent puzzle. The NE was the last to fall. After looking at the finished puzzle and I saw that everything made sense, I was asking myself why it seemed harder than it actually was.

Steve's tour through the grid was entertaining and explained a few things that I didn't know. For instance, I didn't know the story behind BATTLE CRUISER.

The reason the NE took so long is I put MOV in 11 across and stuck with it too long. I did have CGI and when I finally sussed STUB, the NE fell into place.

Like others, I had ERAS before AGES, WOOD before LOGS, wanted EASED before ABATES and I misread the Adorkable clue as Adorable and put in BABY. After I reread it, I realized my mistake and had a good chuckle over it

Well, the puzzle is done and I can't go anywhere because I'm sitting here waiting for the plumber to show up to replace my water heater that sprung a major leak late yesterday afternoon. I believe the heater has a 6 year warranty and yesterday was 6 years and 11 days since it was installed. Now that is what I call obsolescence engineering at its best.

Have a great day everyone.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

I was all ready to pat myself on the back for finishing a Thurs puzzle in record time, and with just one WO (ROK > ROC), until I read Steve's recap, and realized I FIW; I had DRABS instead of DRIBS in 13d, and its Natick was 19a, CGA instead of CGI. Guess I can't CLAIM a victory today ... but I would've needed either ESP (every single perp) or a WAG to solve those, as the 19a clue was rather VAGUE. Oh well, LOSING at xwords isn't the end of the world ...

The clue for DART BOARDS was pretty clever

Was this the first time OGRESS was used in a puzzle? We've seen the "male" version of this quite often

Another way to define STP. For my buddy -T ...

Lots of cannon fodder for punnies today:

#1:
The anagramist
Was grasping at straws. He thought,
"This is for the DRIBS"

#2:
A group of former
Down-hillers like drinking Scotch;
Formed the SKYE Patrol

Lucina said...

Thank you, David Poole and Steve! What a LUXURY to have a quick and easy Thursday puzzle!

CSO to all the DOCTORATE holders on this Blog!

I also recall all the CHINESE JUNKs in Hong Kong harbor. Many people live on them.

Clever cluing for SCORPIO, OAR, and of course NERD. For a long time I misread it as adorable one then peered more closely to see adorkable. Oh, right. It was my last fill since AGEE as clued is unknown to me and I find PINEY dubious.

Many of my Somali ESL students would have HENNA nails on Monday after weekend rituals.


YR:
I'm sorry to hear of your BIL's illness. I send prayers for him and the family.

Have a fabulous day, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

I found this on the easy side for a Thursday but quite enjoyable all the same. My only w/o was Eras/Ages and I missed many of the down clues until reading the write-up. I've certainly heard of Kathleen Battle but I don't think I've ever seen her in person, or even in a picture up until now. I had her pictured more "zaftig". I liked the Edgar ~ Elgar duo and I chuckled at the Adorkable clue. Apparently, Adorbs is a commonly used "in" word these days, according to that other paper's comment section.

Thanks, David, for a Thursday treat and thanks, Steve, for a fun and interesting tour.

YR, best wishes to your BIL.

Bluehen, I miss your presence on the blog. I always enjoyed hearing about your culinary capers, no pun intended! Don't be a stranger, please.

PK, I agree with your comments about the royal wedding sermon. It was too long and, IMO, took the focus away from the ceremony itself. The message was clear and on target but could have been more concise.

I got a good report from my eye doc yesterday which is always a relief. I do have to continue to see the retina specialist, however. That appointment is in August. Another highlight of the day was getting an apology and correction from the New York State Taxation and Finance Dept. for sending me a bill for $725.00 for income tax owed. Their error was acknowledged but no explanation offered why the error was made. Anyway, I'm happy with the outcome. I celebrated the day's good news by treating myself to a lobster dinner!

Have a great day.

Chairman Moe said...

IM @ 12:01 ---> I hope that the $725 lobster dinner includes taxes and gratuity! 😜

I almost gave a SO to you and Tin with the "SKYE" solve; I think Mr Dewar blends a few whiskies from that region into his White Label. I have a bottle of Isle of Skye 12yo in my liquor cabinet - nice Scotch. I drink mine "neat", with a single ice cube ...

Picard said...

Hand up this seemed like a relatively smooth easy ride for a Thursday. Fun theme!
One gripe: Regional Natick IGA crossing unknown AGEE. Did WAG it correctly to FIR. Learning moment about CHE and motorcycles. Had forgotten ELGAR. ANNA unknown.

Somewhere I have photos of more than one PADDLE STEAMER. Sacramento has its own version of the Bayou with its Delta. Crawfish and PADDLE STEAMERs.

The original Star Trek did not have the benefit of CGI. All of that was done with models and a lot of creativity. Somewhere I have a photo of one of the original Enterprise models.

Our huge Arlington Theater has a real pipe ORGAN with lots of STOPs. It was assembled and installed by hundreds of community volunteers. Somewhere I have photos of the innards.

Here is my article about our recent 42nd Annual Isla Vista Juggling Festival. Longest running juggling festival in the world! Designed to AMUSE one and all!

Here are photos at our college reunion. If you scroll near the bottom you will see our reunion CREW race with lots of OARs in the water.

My friend Genie with me in the photos was one of the star CREW members in our day.

From yesterday:
Ol' Man Keith: Thank you for the kind words about my Panmunjom DMZ KORea photos. That area is in the news a lot lately!

D4E4H: Thank you for the Alicia Mae Webb at the Banaue Rice Terraces video. She was going at a much more luxurious level than I did. I travel by using the Lonely Planet Guide. I use local public transit, local cheap lodging and local guides.

AnonT: That worked once, but probably not again! "I would love to see those photos" is more along the lines of what is needed!

AnonymousPVX said...

A pretty easy puzzle for a Thursday, no complaints other than Friday will more than likely seem all the harder.

What’s it called when Shrek’s wife leaves the room?

Ogress Egress.

So sorry.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. What you all have already said pretty well sums up my feelings and experiences. I'm happy to report I didn't STUB my TIPTOES today. Owen, your ERN verse is outstanding. Steve, your write-up was a pleasure to read. Sheesh, oc4beach, 6 years and 11 days. Chairman Moe, interesting; I also like my Scotch with just one ice cube.
Gonna go rack up 4 hours of consulting work now, so I bid you all a farewell.

Jayce said...

AnonymousPVX, argh! Good one!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta- DA!
Seemed like easy coasting for a Thursday pzl. Thanks, Mr. Poole, for this morning's tasty chew!
And thanks, Steve, for a very personal account (incl your King Charles Spaniel hair-do!), not holding anything back!

My early gimmes were in the NW corner with SAXE and E'ER.
SAXE came to me because of a slight familiarity with Queen Victoria's family line (incidental to grad school research into the history of the Old Vic theater).

And E'ER?
Because, well, I once played Lysander in a grad school production, so naturally heard Demetrius fling those words at me night after night.

What's all this about Marxists naming their motorcycles? I was a late-blooming biker myself, owning a couple of them in my 40s and 50s. First a little Suzuki chopper, then a big BMW. I never thought to name them, never ever.
I guess I am not a Marxist.

D4E4H, condolences gratefully accepted.
I think you and I may be the only ones (in our Corner) to note the passing of Mr. Roth.
Even in his waning years, as the novels grew slimmer and less adventurous, I would pounce on each new book for his marvelous understanding of the American psyche. It was a sad time when he announced his finish. From that point to his actual death was just a short interval.
He was one of the few writers I refused to read on Kindle. I needed to hold them in my hands.
I am lining up his titles on my bookshelf in the order I plan to re-read them.

~ OMK


____________
Diagonal Report:
Just one diagonal today. No hidden message.

Big Easy said...

Late to the party today but it's ironical that local trumpeter Wynton Marsalis's photo would show with the unknown Kathleen BATTLE. Here's what he said just yesterday about rap music:

"In a fiery podcast interview with Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post, New Orleans-born trumpet maestro Wynton Marsalis expressed his utter disdain for rap music, calling the style a "conduit of filth." Furthermore, the 56-year-old said that the musical style was more hurtful than the statue of Robert E. Lee that was recently removed in New Orleans"

Wilbur Charles said...

OAS, I thought of SIC EM too. I missed the K and wondered how NERDs were adorable. And where the E was ini PIN_Y.
YR will show us that PINY is ok.

PK, I agree. One crazy dream . And I have some beauts too.

I too had ERAS/AIMS which just wouldn't fit, nor IN A RUT.

Ok, I did the LIU. PINY is correct. I don't know why the E is dropped. Like Smoky I guess.
Steve, Owen and C-Moe were at the top of their game.

WC

Ol' Man Keith said...

Big Easy,
I might have agreed with Mr. Marsalis until a short while ago. But Rap music has always seemed outside my orbit, so I couldn't offer a personal judgment.

Then Lin-Manuel Miranda came along and gave us the award-winning Broadway show, Hamilton, showing what hip-hop could be at its best.

I suppose this is an example of how genius can take any form at all and transform it to serve the high aims of art.

~ OMK

Big Easy said...

The ship puzzle was too easy (IMHO) for a Thursday. SUR, BATTLE, and ANNA Faris were my only unknowns. My wife says that I should have multiple DOCTORATES in 'useless knowledge', which serves me well filling out crossword puzzles. ERE before EER was corrected by ABATE.

PINY woods, yes. Candles? I hope not. Just clean you floor with Pine Sol.
'Hacienda material'- ADOBE- maybe in NM or AZ. Your hacienda is what you call 'home'.

STOP- my mother was a church organist and I grew up with TWO organs and a piano in my house. One of the organs was antique; you had to pump with your feet and volume was controlled using your knees.

OMK- garbage and filth will ALWAYS be garbage and filth. 'Hamilton is only 'award winning' for political expediency.
I've never played darts and certainly don't understand the rules but I've been watching the BBCAmerica channel and there must be 5,000 people in the stands watching two guys play.


CHE- why do crossword editors allow killers like him and MAO even the puzzles? I've never seen STALIN, HITLER, POL POT; too many letters. I guess we might be seeing KIM soon. His name is only three letters.

Misty said...

Totally delightful David Poole puzzle this morning--I got the whole thing without any cheating, and that's on a Thursday! Many thanks, David. I loved seeing LUXURY LINER fill in and that gave me a bit of a heads-up on the theme. Made me laugh when I got to CHINESE JUNK. My only challenge was the southwest corner, but once I got SCORPIO the rest was okay. Anyway, lots of fun and Steve, I loved your poem and bit of Shakespeare--always makes me cheerful.

Irish Miss, so glad your eyes are okay for now.
Hope your brother-in-in law will be okay, Yellowrocks.
And thank you, Dave.

Have a great day, everybody!

Yellowrocks said...

I am surprised that Kathleen Battle is unknown by almost all of you. Videos of her operas at the MET are shown on the educational TV station from time to time.
Here is Kathleen and Placido Domingo.

Kathleen Battle

Yellowrocks said...

I buy pine scented candles at Christmas time. I would say they smell piney.

Big Easy said...

PK said: "Did not know the Soprano named BATTLE or ANNA Faris or SUR La Table & their rival."
Neither did I.

Jinx- I became 'Cox-less' four years ago. Worst customer service in the world and the internet was always going down. Getting them on the phone and listening to their explanations of how to restore the internet connection were pathetic. I don't know who they hired but they must have been fired from every job that they ever had. I was a Cox Customer for 35 years and jumped to U-Verse by ATT the first day it was offered.

oc4beach said...


The plumbers just left after replacing the hot water heater. As it turned out, the warranty runs out on the last day of May. 7 more days, so, all I have to pay for is the cost of the labor to install it. Apparently, the warranty goes by months, not the date. One thing though, the warranty on the new one expires in 7 days at the end of the month. But I still have a new water heater that hopefully will last at least 6 years.

The last time around the water heater lasted for 7 years and was outside of the warranty. This time it's "One Small Victory."

Mark S said...

David Chen has a very challenging Thursday puzzle in today’s WSJ with a great reveal.

Mark S

Michael said...

Your Chairmanship: "Another way to define STP. For my buddy -T ..."

Don't forget the third way to do so, Standard Temperature and Pressure in chemistry: "Note the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) applies a more stringent standard of STP as a temperature of 273.15 K (0 °C, 32 °F) and an absolute pressure of exactly 100,000 Pa (1 bar, 14.5 psi, 0.98692 atm). This is a change from their earlier standard (changed in 1982) of 0 °C and 101.325 kPa (1 atm)."

Michael said...

"The last time around the water heater lasted for 7 years and was outside of the warranty. This time it's "One Small Victory."

Must be some mistake here ... it's against company policy for consumers to have any 'small victory.'

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Thursday, easier than yesterday IMO. Thanks for the fun, David and Steve.
I got the shipping theme with LUXURY LINER which helped the solve immensely. I also smiled at OAR, MAST, STERN but missed LOG (thanks Spitzboov).

Hand up for Eras before AGES, Wood before LOGS, Sta before STN and Aims before ENDS.
I had to come here to see Adorkable. I was trying to decide whether AnonT was adorable. LOL!
The centre was the last to fill.

This Canadian smiled at PMS. 69A could also have been clued as "measures for Canadian Hwys.".
PINY seemed to be missing the E and meh! Gluey fill.
Did anyone else notice the "mostly red oval logo" for both IGA and STP.
I also noticed STUB, STEP, STOP, STEWS and the outlier SWAPS.

YR - Thoughts and prayers for your BIL.
Misty - Glad the eyes are improving daily. Lucina - glad your eyes are OK.
OMK - I saw the obit for Roth but am not familiar with his work. You inspire me to read some of his books. Which one would be best?

Enjoy the rest of the day. We have another beautiful one.

CanadianEh! said...

I recall now that David Poole is a Canadian.
This CW was multicultural with Canadian PMS , CHINESE JUNKS, Tibetan YETIS, Indian HENNA, Russian TSARS, Bavarian Duchy SAXE, British composer ELGAR and game with DARTBOARDS, Aden native YEMENI, Gibraltar's peninsula IBERIA, bishop of Rome POPE, and inner Hebrides isle SKYE.

Anonymous T said...

These were in the office's kitchen today: All I could think was two new clues for OREO.

Play later, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

CanadianEh!,
It is hard to say where to start reading Philip Roth, as his work evolved over time, from a fairly straight-forward comic narrative style about a smouldering Jewish youth (Goodbye, Columbus, Portnoy's Complaint [considered scandalous in its time]) to the complexity of his "Zuckerman" novels. Zuckerman was his near stand-in, and he is in many of the richest books, including American Pastoral, The Ghost Writer, and The Human Stain.

I like American Pastoral a lot, a tale of how a high school sports star's family is affected when a daughter becomes a domestic terrorist - against a Watergate background. You might go for The Plot Against America in which he imagines Lindbergh becoming president instead of FDR. The Ghost Writer explores the impact of Ann Frank's diary and the idea that maybe she didn't die in a Nazi camp after all.

As you can see, I am not sure where to "start" you. I came to Roth like many others, first reading Portnoy because it was controversial & in the news. I had a so-so response to it, but it was solid enough to keep me interested. By the time of the Zuckerman books I found him to be deeper and funnier than in the early work, so you can say I grew to him.
I think there's a good chance you will too, if you just begin to read him at any point.

~ OMK

Spitzboov said...

Michael @ 1541 - And don't forget 29.92 " Hg. Seems to me Earth has exactly one atmosphere; not .98692. Are we not using part of it?

BTW - For blood pressure, my doctor uses an HG manometer linked cuff, and takes the reading manually, himself. He feels it's more accurate than the automated cuffs one sees all over today. Most read high on me. Lately, on other doctor's visits, I have asked the nurse not to take an automated reading since it would be wrong anyway, and I don't want my medical files brimming with erroneous data.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Abejo and I know about another STP, once which touches nearly every Cornerite every day. The phone network's Signalling Transfer Points enable calling number delivery. Since most of us are wizened citizens, most probably remember when there was a long (several seconds) delay between the time we finished dialing or punching in a number and the call actually completing and ringing on the other end. Signalling System 7 (SS7) put an end to the delay, and STPs empower the SS7 network.

Picard, we just had the IGA discussion a few months ago. They aren't at all regional, but they are mainly rural. They are located from California to Maine, from Florida to Washington, and in several countries.

OC4, DW makes fun of me when I say "hot water heater". She says it heats COLD water. Guess it's a country thing.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Big Easy,
Well, I take exception to your cavalier dismissal of Hamilton.
Have you listened to the score? I wonder how "political expediency" enters into your assessment of it.
Granted, it makes a caricature of poor King George, but - damme! - 'twas the mood of the land back then.

~ OMK

Mike Sherline said...

Big Easy @1419:
No reason Wynton wouldn't be pictured with Kathleen Battle or any number of other so-called "classical" musicians with whom he recorded. In addition to being one of our greatest players, band/orchestra leaders, historians and composers in jazz, he has always been a fabulous (what musicians call) "legit" trumpet player. Wiki says that he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic at age 14, and that while attending Benjamin Franklin HS and the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts "he performed with the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony. At age 17, he was the youngest musician admitted to the Tanglewood Music Center, where he won the Harvey Shapiro Award for outstanding brass student. He moved to New York City to attend Juilliard in 1979."
I was pretty sure I remembered first hearing of his early jazz output, but shortly after that also becoming aware that he'd recorded a baroque trumpet concerto with Michael Tilson Thomas and, I think, the Seattle Symphony, to great acclaim. I heard a bit in a broadcast at the time and was amazed that the young man I'd heard playing gritty, down and dirty New Orleans jazz could also sound so bright, clear and beautiful on the Haydn Concerto. I looked up his discography and couldn't find any reference to that one, but the 3rd listing is Haydn, Hummel, L.Mozart Trumpet Concertos with National Philharmonic Orchestra (1983). There are more Baroque and early Classical trumpet works on recordings from '84, '86, '88, 90. I'm pretty sure the one from '83 or '84 won a grammy. The picture is probably from his 1992 album Baroque Duet, with Kathleen Battle and Orchestra of St. Luke's. These are interspersed with his great jazz recordings throughout. Later he also recorded with Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Quite the ambidextrous virtuoso.

Misty said...

Thank you, CanadianEh.

D4E4H said...

Yellowrocks at 8:04 AM
- - My prayers for your BIL, and you.

PK at 7:13 AM and Big Easy at 2:50 PM
- - I was introduced to ANNA Faris in the 2008 blockbuster "The House Bunny." It is available on You Tube.

Wilbur Charles at 2:33 PM and CanadianEh! at 4:11 PM
- - On behalf of NERDs everywhere, I state categorically that we definitely are adorable, even Anonymous T who is also adorkable.

Young Man Keith at 2:35 PM
- - My favorite is the Australian rapper Iggy Azaelia.

Yellowrocks at 2:46 PM
- - When it came time to fill in 48A, I had CRUISER. Some how I knew BATTLE even though I do not remember ever hearing her voice. Thank you for the link. Placido and she harmonized beautifully. But wait, they are singing in English. The last three words are "I love you."

Anonymous T at 4:48 PM
- - Is nothing sacred?

Mike Sherline at 5:19 PM
- - it's a shame you don't like Wynton Marsalis.

Stop the Blog, I want to get off.

Ðave

SwampCat said...

Mike Sherline, thanks for the defense of Wynton, a legit musician....as you so eloquently pointed out.

CanadianEh! said...

Thanks OMK. I have added American Pastoral and The Plot against America to my Recommended List.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Yeah, Big Easy. Just because the "Hamilton" cast did its premeditated best to humiliate our VP from the stage for crass political purpose is no excuse not to love it. That attitude is NOT ALLOWED. You WILL honor and embrace political statements from the arts, sports, Silicon Valley, Hollywood and Starbucks. AND GET OFF MY YARD!

Mike Sherline said...

Yellowrocks, thank you so much for the link @1439. It took me to Kathleen Battle singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" w/chamber orchestra, no Luciano. But there are lots more below the one that's playing, including "Let the Bright Seraphim" from Handel's oratorio "Sampson", with Wynton Marsalis playing what looks like an A piccolo trumpet. Beautiful! And while that's playing, there are quite a few other links below to other selections from their Baroque Duet album. Heavenly.

Mike Sherline said...

Wow! What a find! That appears to have been a live recording, with the orchestra on stage and everyone in concert dress, and there's not a single note in any of the pieces that isn't absolutely gorgeous!. As the videos play automatically, there's one in between the baroque duets of Wynton working up a tune with a jazz piano player in a club called Snog Harbor in New Orleans. He's HUMAN - has a bit of trouble remembering some parts of the tune. But they're all so COOL about it. Thanks again, Yellowrocks - this is really a gem!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All! TARDY -T here...

Thanks David for this pun-puzzle. Cute. Thanks Steve (that hair-cut deserves a Steve-O, you DIG? :-)) for the fine expo. LOL at coxless four and what D-O did with it.

WOs: ErE b/f EER (Hi BigE!), MPS b/f PMS and PINe at 1st (thanks for looking that up WC)
ESPs: ANNA, SUR, SPAR, SKYE, SAXE, AGEE (probably more)
Fav: clue for NERD.

I echo what Lucina said re: the rest of the sparkle in the grid.

YR asked "Are NERDs adorable?" DW seems to think so...
YR - I've never heard of BATTLE until today; I'm sure Eldest knows her though.

I needed the theme to finish the NW (final to fall) and fix ErE; ABATE, ABUT to finally perp SAXE.

{B+, cute couplets} {LOL; Oh, SKYE has scotch. I didn't know #ifYouHavtaExplainAJoke}

Misty: FLN and today - I'm glad to read the eyes are healing.
D4 listened to more than just the INTRO to my Blues Brother's link last week.

OC4 - only good for 7 years?... I guess I better check mine. Glad you got a break on it.
Jinx - I've finally started just saying water-heater...

Picard - "I would love to see some more KOR photos when you have the time." How's that :-)

Thanks for the STP C. Moe! I have the Core album (rip'd to mp3 on my laptop) - Your link made me listen to all of it (cranked) while doing some REST coding)

OMK! Oh, Portnoy; that Roth. I never heard of him until an interview yesterday with his to-be biographer. I didn't catch his name was Roth but they discussed that book. I was wondering why he was being interviewed before the biography was done [I obviously wasn't listening closely].

Hip-hop > Rap > Gangsta-rap. I only like (some of the) former; the latter is trash IMHO.

C, Eh! - re: my MP b/f PM; don'tcha'll have MPs too or is that just UK?

Re - the OREO pic. I think they are having a contest for new flavours. I couldn't believe Pina-Colada thins (actually it was quite good).

I gave Youngest a DART BOARD for Christmas (she asked for it). I bought an electronic soft-tipped-dart one b/c I didn't want holes in the drywall. She discovered it had an "insult mode" and then challenged me...
Swell, a DART BOARD abasing me in front of my kids.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

OMK - Synchronicity... NPR's Fresh Air's interview with Roth just came on Sat.-radio. -T

CanadianEh! said...

AnonT- you are correct. We have MPs (Members of Parliament) representing each riding in Canada in the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. The Prime Minister is the head.

Each province has MPPs (Members of Provincial Parliament) for each riding in the province. The Premier is the head.

Then we have a Governor General representing the Queen in Ottaw, and Lieutenant Governors with that duty for each province.

Thus endeth the Civics lesson! (I believe I gave a lesson previously about the Senate which is appointed, not elected.)

Anonymous T said...

Thanks C, Eh! And yes, we did discuss appointed Senators which I actually remembered. Have a great night. -T

Misty said...

Thank you, AnonT. (I'm a little embarrassed to ask--what does FLN stand for? You can tell I'm still back in the 20th century).

OwenKL said...

FLN = From Last Night

Is a riding the Canadian equivalent of a county and shire?

Anonymous T said...

Misty - FLN == From Last Night. More specifically, it's pertaining to any of yesterday's posts. It's just a little short-hand sometimes used at the Corner [ok, mostly by me :-)].

So, have the eye-drops stopped burning yet? Have you got the program down-pat on which eye when? Cheers, -T

Michael said...

Dear Spitzboov:

"Michael @ 1541 - And don't forget 29.92 " Hg. Seems to me Earth has exactly one atmosphere; not .98692. Are we not using part of it?"

You're right, of course ... but don't forget that the metrifiers, the SI people, have taken over, so inches aren't allowed anymore. (They claim that it's better than the CGS way, but 100,000 Pascals just doesn't have the flavor of 1 atmosphere.)

CanadianEh! said...

OwenKL- a riding is an electoral district in Canada.
http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=cir/list&document=index338&lang=e