Today celebrates a dessert favorite of my wife of 51 years - The Strawberry Sundae. I think my lovely bride should buy stock in The Driscoll Strawberry Company of Watsonville, California as their products are in our fridge in perpetuity.
The worst job I ever had in my misspent youth was one my dad got for me without asking - picking strawberries in the hot sun for a dime a pint.
I last had one of Dr. Dolan's themeless wonders in May and this one was just as challenging and fun as that one. Doing puzzles on the computer early in order to get a blog ready lends itself to small errors and I had to correct a cell that would have been okay if I had been using paper and pencil.
Now let's see what innovative fill Kyle has for us that reflects his job description above.
Across:
1. Shiloh's parents, familiarly: BRANGELINA - Shiloh Pitt-Jolie is the eldest biological child of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie whose portmanteau is BRANGELINA; which ranks right up there with ELHI for me
11. With 15-Across, kind of vehicle: OFF and 15. See 11-Across: ROAD - Hmmm, there's a reason to stay ON ROAD!
14. Regional charm: LOCAL COLOR - We attended a wedding in a vineyard near Venice, Italy where we got a lot of LOCAL COLOR and plenty of a clear liquor that resembled ouzo.
17. 2005 Cusack/Thornton thriller/comedy, with "The": ICE HARVEST - Rotten Tomatoes says, "Meh"
18. Caramel-filled candy: ROLO
19. Puckish group?: Abbr.: NHL - A wonderful puckish story
20. The Righteous Brothers' "Ebb Tide" wasn't one: DUET - Bobby Hatfield blew the doors off that song alone! It's worth a YouTube visit and so is 34. "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE - Sha DAY and so is 8. Ellington's "__ Song Go Out of My Heart": I LET A.
23. Demise: DEATH - The actual quote and 21. "Really?": IS IT SO? Uh, no, IT was not SO.
25. English house symbolized by a red rose: LANCASTER and 50. Any of the 25-Across kings: HENRY - they ruled for 60 years with Henry IV, V and VI
29. The Jungfrau, e.g.: ALP.
30. Cocktail salt site: RIM - Hey a soldier can just make so many sacrifices
31. Not abundant: SCANT - Civility in today's political discourse on both sides
33. Put away: ATE - If you ATE one of these 28" pepperoni pizzas in less than an hour, you won $100 and a $100 gift certificate to LW Pizza in Long Beach, CA. Oh yeah, the big pizza would also be free.
35. Great reception: STANDING OVATION
38. Besmirches: TARS
39. Asian language: LAO - ສະບາຍດີ, ເຈົ້າສະບາຍດີບໍ່ sa bai di chao sa bai di bo (Hello, how are you?)
40. As a whole: IN ALL.
41. Type of port: USB - Reading left to right on my MacBook Pro you have a charging port, two thunderbolt ports, a USB port and a port for headphones
42. Thrust producer: FIN - Here's a good caudal fin
43. Some code taps: DITS - Go to this Morse Code Translator site, type in your name in the input section, hit the play button to the right of the Translate box. You'll get visual and audio version of your name in DITS and DOTS!
44. Shell-shaped dessert brand: CHOCO TACO and 48. Ice cream alternative, familiarly: FROYO both look good this time of year
47. A bit less than a quart: FIFTH
51. Stoolie: CANARY - Not all of them are feathered but can still "sing like a CANARY"
52. Ancient Cuzco resident: INCA.
54. Sushi topper: ROE.
55. Shel Silverstein poem "Hug __": O'WAR - A lovely sentiment
59. Bob Dylan's musical tribute to his wife: SARA - Okay
60. Company with Wienermobiles: OSCAR MAYER
62. Chilling account: GHOST STORY- The prefect atmosphere
Down:
1. Obligatory poker bet: BLIND - In "flop style" poker, the obligatory BLINDS move around the table with The Button from hand to hand
2. Tamiflu manufacturer: ROCHE.
3. Boston-D.C. service: ACELA - High speed rail
4. "Sorry": NAH - Sorry is in quotes indicating sarcasm
5. Feigned enthusiastic greeting: GLAD HAND - Also called "pressing the flesh" or "working the rope line"
6. Brown family shade: ECRU.
7. Apollo 13 astronaut: LOVELL - In the final scene of the movie Apollo 13, Tom Hanks plays Jim LOVELL and Jim LOVELL as seen here is playing the part of an admiral welcoming the astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima
 |
| Jim Lovell and Tom Hanks in Apollo XIII |
10. Constitution's ratification section: ARTICLE VII.
11. Root in perfumery: ORRIS - Into each puzzle, a little learning must fall. This root is used in some perfumes, incense and gin
12. Track through the woods: FOOT TRAIL - This FOOT TRAIL in Yosemite includes this bridge over Kings River13. Its worship is often forbidden: FALSE IDOL - A FALSE IDOL is in the zealotry of the worshipper
16. Uniformed greeters: DOORMEN - I don't know if you should be proud or ashamed that you remember the TV series that featured Carlton the DOORMAN
22. Easy mark: SAP.
24. Prefix with gender: TRANS.
26. 29-member org.: NATO.
28. Dalmatian, say, to a Brit: UTILITY DOG - Here is a Dalmatian serving a UTILITARIAN role in a famous venue
31. Store safely: STASH AWAY - I did STASH AWAY my 1950's baseball cards but when mom and dad moved...
32. Rich pasta dish: CARBONARA - How 'bout some shrimp CARBONARA? 61. "Woo-hoo!": YAY.
33. Long __: AGO.
34. GDR spy group: STASI - The former headquarters of this brutal and repressive organization is now a museum in Berlin
35. Applies plaster to: STUCCOS.
36. Darling pooch: NANA - A picture of NANA the dog with the Darling children in an illustration by an unknown artist for Scottish author J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan
37. Formicaria: ANT FARMS - ...and the learning just keeps on happening
42. Supporting: FOR.
43. Prima __: DONNAS - (Prima Doggies)
45. Longtime name in baseball broadcasting: CARAY - A truly iconic, if not always accurate (or some say sober), broadcaster who was famous for this musical interlude
46. Half of diez: CINCO - La mitad de las diez es CINCO (1/2 of ten is five)
49. Lookout position: TOWER - Testing what can be seen from the guard towers
53. Dead __: very likely thing, to a Brit: CERT - Couldn't find it in here:
57. Sorta relative: ISH.
58. Noir weapon: GAT - Pistol also Rod, Roscoe or Heater
Make a comment and then get out the ice cream, strawberries, whipped cream (Cool Whip at our house) and a cherry
DA GRID:
69 comments:
Dear Cornerites,
The Chairman is with us no Moe.
What shall we do
No more Mo-kus for you
Would that life were still like befoe
I will miss your wit and wisdom. Hurry back.
Thank you Mr. Kyle Dolan for this monster CWP. I had to BAIL many times. I started in the NW, and was pleased when I filled 14A, 10 letters to build on.
The groan award goes to 19A, and it's NATICK with 3D. I got 10 more letters with 28D. I couldn't put the "A" in 60A. How many rimes have I heard it sung?
Thank you Husker Gary for you informative review, especially for showing me that 44A is made by Klondike. I had never heard of them.
____
JC
____
Ðave
DNF/FIW. Red letters told me I was wrong with MND (Midsummer Night's Dream) > NHL as ""Puckish group". That let me get the NW, but I had to resort to red a few more times to get the SW quarter. Tried AIR and SEA > USB port., had SpaCklS > STUCCOS, heY > YAY. Didn't know/guess CARBONARA, TARS, O'WAR, SARA.
BTW, Wiki says ORRIS smells like violets, but tastes like raspberries.
The root of an iris is known as ORRIS.
Perfumers use it to make scents for us.
It would make SCANT sense
To use false scents --
Even B.O. flees from Chuck Norris!
There's a company analysts keep an eye on
An electronic audio maker named Ion.
There was a STANDING OVATION
At their new plant dedication --
The lieutenant governor was STAND-IN GOV AT ION.
{A-, B+.}
A nice challenge, but finished in the end. HG, I agree there was much learning today.
I did not know the root of an Iris was called Orris. Do other flowers have names for their roots? Yes! Lily root- Yurine! White Peony - Bai Shao. Anyway, more knowledge.
Then, despite many years of studying Latin, I had no memory that their word for Ant was FORMICA which made me wonder how the covering got its name. Etymology. Coined in 1913 as a brand name for the material and the company producing it. Formica was originally intended as a replacement “for mica”, which was then commonly used for electrical insulation. Damn, I should have known all this from formic acid and formaldehyde.
But my biggest learning came from HG explaining the thunderbolt port. It is awesome how much I do not know.
Thank you Dr. K and HG
Good morning!
Managed to change FALSE GODS into IDOL, but I was done in by CHICOTACO and CARBINARA. Bzzzzzt! DNF. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln thought the play was delightful. Thanx, Kyle and Husker.
ROCHE: Would be a good name for the maker of D-Con.
Lemon: Yurine? Really? Is it yellow?
Husker: A similar job of my ute was picking beans for 2¢/lb. Guess I lived in the valley of the ho-ho-ho Green Giant.
Far too obscure for me, so I quit early. I don't often FIR on Saturday, but I commonly get strung along and struggle off and on all day. Thanks to Kyle for allowing me to see right away that I wouldn't be up for this one. I'm glad that our advanced Cornerites got one that stretches their abilities. That's what Saturdays are for.
I miss Moe already.
35D Disagree with using equating plaster with stucco.
NAH? NAH.
Tough. Sunday time on a Saturday. Many unknowns, tried hAn for Asian language and was thinking of a turbo FaN providing thrust.
How many prima DONNAS does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Just one, she holds the bulb and expects the world to revolve around her.
Hi Y'all! Really tough one, but interesting, Dr. Kyle.
Get thee behind me, Husker, you tempter with your ICE cream sundae. I've had my allotment of ICE cream for the month already. SOB! Didn't know FROYO. Less calories? Otherwise, great expo, as usual, Gary. Thanks.
Also didn't know FORMICARIA, SADE/STASI, CHOCOTACO (sob!), SARA,"Hug O'WAR" (loved the poem), HENRY.
I'm ashamed I didn't know ARTICLE VII. Hope they don't take my citizenship away for not knowing the Constitution.
NW was the last to fill. First pass I had only A & ECRU. No idea who SHILOH was until I got some perps that were hard to come by. Never heard of a BLIND bet. Aren't all bets BLIND? No sure bets. Sorry = NAH? NAH, not in my mind. The NE section filled easily and backed over into the NW which helped some. The bottom was WAGtime IN ALL. Red-letter time too.
Thrust producer = FIN not "gas". Took a minute to sink in. "A bit less than a quart" = not liter but FIFTH. Teetotalers are at a disadvantage on some puzzles.
Bob Niles: my guess was one plasters on the STUCCO. I was hung up on that too. I don't know if the consistency is different on inside plaster and outside STUCCO. I didn't know how to spell it either. Only heard it said.
The acid produced by ants is called formic acid.
"Nah...."
Way above my pay grade today, but lots of learning moments. Thanks Kyle for the learning and the fun.
I loved the fresh clue for our old friend ECRU, and the Darling Pooch misdirection for NANA. I don’t think a Ball Gown is the same as a DINNER GOWN. They are different styles, but that’s a technicality and just a nit.
Gary, thanks for the photo of the real Jim Lovell from APOLLO 13 and the reminder that he was in the movie that honored him.
This was an hour well spent! Thank you, Dr. Kyle Dolan and now I understand why some Britishisms appeared in the puzzle. Well done.
Solving required much guessing and erasing today. BRANGELINA immediately popped out for some reason then it all slowed to a snail's pace. The bottom yielded its secrets first with GHOST STORY then OSCAR MAYER which I misspelled as meyer. FROYO? Never heard of it. CHOCOTACO? Also never heard of it. Luckily everything around it filled. As Gary said, this was a learning experience.
As PK asked, will not knowing the Constitution cost us citizenship? ARTICLE VII was further detained by having STATION where OVATION eventually took over. I liked STANDING OVATION as fill.
CSO to Misty at Woo hoo!
Knowing formic acid from ants helped with formicaria, ANT FARM. As I said, guessing.
ORRIS is new for me, too, and once ATV was erased and OFF ROAD emerged, so did ORRIS. That SARA is Bob Dylan's wife
I'm really embarrassed to say how long it took for LANCASTER to appear; I've read just about all there is to read about British history and royalty but my brain refused to yield it for a long time.
I also learned about a movie named ICE HARVEST. Who knew? I really like John Cusack, too, but never saw that movie. My favorite with him is Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
Gary, thank you for the photo of Bill Clinton. I would vote for him again. Anytime.
Thanks to Gary and Kyle Dolan for this entertaining time.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
Well, I expect Saturday puzzles to be bears, although this one had a promising beginning for me. I got LANCASTER, because I lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in my teens. Then OSCAR MAYER fell into place because I've had wienerdogs for so many years. And that even helped me get GHOST STORY. Woohoo! Yay! (Thank you, Lucina, although I didn't get these until a bit later, and thank you, Kyle). Anyway, it all took a bit of cheating to get through the rest, but lots of fun--many thanks, Kyle. And enjoyed your write-up, Husker Gary.
Fun poems, Owen.
Your light bulb joke cracked me up, billcohoes.
Tough day for me yesterday, with almost unbearably hot weather here. My dachshund Dusty cowered under the sofa, even with three fans on. Finally went down to the Laguna clinic to get my troublesome eyes checked and learned I have acute viral conjunctivitis. Aaarrghh.
Then woke up in the middle of the night distinctly smelling smoke and had trouble getting back to sleep. Learned in the morning that it was caused by fires in Camp Pendleton, and that we're not yet in any danger. But still worrying.
Anyway, this puzzle got the morning off to a good start. Have a good day, everybody.
Took me half a day off and on but I succeeded even though I have never heard or or enjoyed a Froyo...poor me.
Fare well, C-Moe… we’ll miss you.
You near done me in, Dr D. As it turns out, I should have started at the bottom and worked my way up; just as I started to think this would be a DNF for the first time in nearly ever, everything clicked and the south side filled easily. After that, the north seemed to be easier. Don’t know why that happens; it just does. Total time was just under half an hour, much more like my usual Sunday times. HG, thanks for the (as usual) excellent writeup.
No Cruciverb again today and I did the puzzle at about 0300 this morning on the LA Times site so there’s nothing for me to look at to refresh my memory. I wish they’d at least explain what’s happening when the site goes down. This seems to happen two or three times per year; very frustrating.
Oh well… time to go spend some time with the grandkids!
Have a great day, all.
Tough tough tough! Having LITER and also trying LITRE at 45A, and EEL then AHI at 54A stymied me in that area. Turning red letters on revealed both of those answers were totally wrong (well, the "I" in LITER and FIFTH was right anyway). I left red letters on because I could not solve the SW corner without them. I had to look up Bob Dylan's wife and the Shel Silverstein poem. A really fun and edifying 45 minutes this morning.
Done me in right off the bat. I was totally out of my league with this beast.
Ta Dah
Hand up this was tough. Last to fall was FIN/NANA/FOR. NANA unknown. Thanks Husker Gary for the graphic display of FIN as a thruster. I was thinking rocket FINs or car tail FINs. And thanks for the HUG O WAR poem. Never heard of it, but I like it.
By international definitions, ACELA is technically not high speed rail. No high speed rail at all in the US.
As you know, we have plenty of LOCAL COLOR here. Here is our I Madonnari Chalk Festival 2016.
Here at that LOCAL COLOR event was a local TRANSgender woman painting herself.
I visited the Spy Museum in DC which had plenty of STASI memorabilia.
Not as much as the one in Berlin, of course.
These are probably the most interesting OFF ROAD vehicles I have ever seen.
These are from the Kinetic Sculpture Race which is held in many places. This one was in Ventura, California about 50 miles from here. Way cool! Innovative and artistic!
From yesterday
Wilbur Charles: Yes, I have never understood the fascination with team sports. Tens of thousands of people will get themselves into a frenzy rooting for "their" team. As if the corporation that owns the team has any loyalty to their town. They will get their city to spend a billion dollars for a sports stadium and have that loyalty betrayed.
I do appreciate the chance through the puzzles to learn a bit of this and other popular culture. I just wish people could give a small fraction of that interest and energy to things that have enduring importance for progress and understanding.
Thanks, HG, for the expo - loved the Caray comment/clip. Got the bottom half easily, but had to change FAN>FIN and DATS(what?>DITS. Perps all the way for LANCASTER. NW was the last to fill - not a movie buff, and forgot who Shiloh is. NHL and DEATH easily filled, but I've never heard of BLIND as a poker bet. Have to agree about BRANGELINA/ELHI. Kinda remember GLADHAND, but was thinking LIMP HAND. Great Saturday cw.
HI Everyone:
Late to the dance due to lots of errands, the most important of which was to the farm stand for the first sweet corn 🌽 of the season! Yay, Woo Hoo, yippee! I had some hiccups with certain areas but P an P paid off and I finished in 21 minutes, faster than I would have guessed. I don't pay attention to the time, but the App lets you know, whether you care or not. Some unknowns were Orris, Choco Taco, Roche, Sade, and O War, as clued. I also never heard of that Ellington song. I knew Dead Cert, as that was the title of a Dick Francis novel from many years ago. I had Naw before Nah and Lowell before Lovell which made the Cusack "Ice War West" which looked very strange, indeed.
Thanks, Dr. Dolan, for a crunchy Saturday and thanks, HG, for your sparkling and edifying expo. I especially liked the Prima Doggies and the Shel Silverstein poem: such simple words, yet so meaningful.
We have a beautiful day here with little or no humidity, sunny, 80 something degrees, and a light breeze. What more could one ask for?
Moe, try to drop in every once and awhile. Your daily witticisms will be greatly missed.
Have a great day.
Husker: Nice write-up ...
I actually "solved" this Saturday puzzle while watching England win their World Cup game.
OK ... there were three (count'em 3) blank spaces since I will NEVER fill in (nor will there ever be) an *** HARVEST at Villa Incognito.
GO Croatia ... beat Russia!
Cheers!
Just read yesterday's comments after today's re Moe. Where did Moe go? Hope on vacation? - No, it sounded so final. Only the best for you, Moe. I've always enjoyed your humor. Take care of yourself.
TX MS: Moe bid us goodbye yesterday because his work etc. is needing him to shed something in his life. It's the Corner.
Misty: Hope your eyes get well fast. You are really having a time of it with those eyes this year. Don't you think the heat and smoke in the air exacerbates the problem.
I can't remember who recommended Noah Gordon's "The Physician", Cole Trilogy. Whoever it was, thank you. I got it on Kindle and am fascinated with it.
My poor "baby brother" is in the hospital. He has Parkinson's and had pneumonia the first of May. He retired from his professorship the end of May. The other night he fell and broke four ribs, punctured a lung and developed a pneumo thorax that collapsed the lung. They intubated it and kept him hospitalized. Yesterday he was overmedicated, hallucinating & demented. Scared his poor wife. I guess he's better today with reduced meds. Doctors & I have assured her this is common though scary. He's only 62.
Oops .times for church . I'll post what I got
I call your strawberries and raise you shucking lobsters by the bin
I was really slow. I knew York but I just couldn't come up with LANCASTER. Until I did. Incredibly, I FIR, after a long slog. I had a McDonald's ICE tea, and that little bit of caffeine eventually straightened me out. Fe GOWDY <CARAY* , SNL < NHL. Astronaut? The answers were so obvious in hind site. I even took a walk through Publix to see if I'd accidently spot a pharmeceutical name. Yes, I was desperate.
RIM, SCANT.. V8 Material.
CANARY,USB. ". "
Oh Lord. FIW, it's CHOCO not CHICO. Erase that FIR. I did come up with NANA. For the longest time I had nutt'n
WC
* GOWDY was in Boston before he did the afl
PK:
I'm so sorry to hear about your brother's health problems! I hope he will recover.
Picard:
You always post fascinating photos!
I agree with your opinion on sports and though I respect everyone's beliefs and loyalties I have never understood the possessiveness toward a sports team.
Misty:
I'm sorry you are still experiencing eye problems and hope you have some relief soon.
My family will be here soon for the family birthdays and I need to get ready.
"Challenging and fun"
in HuskerG's apt summation of Dr. Dolan's cool Saturday pzl.
This was a rough ride, but a doable one. I admit to a couple of "confirmations" but overall believe I earned my Ta- DA! today.
Yesterday's Xwd seemed much tougher, but of course it's all relative...
Misty, sorry to read about your eye problem. Here's hoping you get relief quickly!
And yes, the heat was truly something here yesterday, and looks to be about as rough today. Our three mutts keep whining to go out and then turn right around and beg to come back in. The littlest doesn't venture beyond a foot outside the patio door.
At least it's a dry heat.
Nice to see your "Woo-Hoo" honored as the clue for 61A!
PK - That is very sad news about your brother. I feel for him, and for his family. I lost my "baby brother" only a couple of months ago (and our "baby sis" before that), so I appreciate how tenuous our long-reliable connections can become. May he (and you) reach a calm, comfortable place - and thrive!
I join with others in feeling the absence of Chairman Moe & wishing him well!
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: No diagonals today.
PK, Lucina, and Ol'Man Keith--thank you for the kind wishes about my eyes. Yes, I'm sure that the dryness we've had for some weeks now has contributed to my dry eye problem.
My goodness, PK, what a terrible ordeal your poor brother is going through, and he's still so relatively young. My heart goes out to him and your family.
And like others, I miss Chairman Moe too, and hope he checks in with us every so often.
PK, I don't know how far along your brother is, but hallucinations are an effect of Parkinson's. My mom's got pretty bad the last two months before she passed last December, but then she was 93.
Seinfeld did a bit on sports heroes becoming villains when they change teams ("so basically we're rooting for laundry") and it's true about franchises extorting money and then moving, so except for the Red Sox I prefer non-major college sports - they can only extort money from alumni, and they're not going anywhere.
Greetings!
Thanks to Kyle and Husker. Had natick in upper left corner. Other than that, managed to slog through.
Misty: hope your eyes are better soon. I have eye problems also. Macular degeneration has gotten worse.
PK: hope your brother is better soon!
Still horribly hot here. But down from 117 to 111 degrees.
Have a great day!
Ciao, Mr. Chairman.
Super tough today. I agree with the poster who disputed STUCCO/PLASTER. Really not the same thing. But a nit, I suppose.
Enjoy the weekend.
Picard and Lucina:
The "team sports thing" is simple. It's part of our DNA.
I was listening to NPR over the holiday and they had an expert on human behavior explain part of it. Going back to when humans dwelled in small groups, the community relied on group behavior to survive. Stray from the group and you perished. That DNA was weaker and did not propagate. Group behavior was and still is necessary for survival. Emotional well being as well as physical(safety, food etc) is much stronger as a group. This has been true from the beginning of human existence through the present. Native Americans formed tribes to maintain survival. City states of Europe. Armadas. On and on. It is why when one yawns others around yawn. Someone takes a sip of water, others nearby feel the need for a sip. It's why people wave flags at the World Cup. The reason citizens cry when their nation's anthem is played? Yup, group bonding. The examples are endless and undeniable.
Team sports bring groups together also. Individual sports do also when a state, country or school is attached to that athlete. We bond through this because our DNA tells us to. We feel safer, more connected and therefore happier. We celebrate as one. We mourn as on, leaning on each other and content to be feeling the same as our neighbors.
There is no denying the Yankees and the President helped us heal after 9/11. New Orleans and even the nation used the Saints to move on from Katrina. Ask Tony if he felt civic pride after the Astros showed Houston all is not lost. Generations of father and sons share their love for there local team even if they are opposite ends of the political/religious/social spectrums.
Plus it's just fun to hang with.your peeps, drink, eat and act a fool for a few hours. It's a release.
It gives a warm feeling that is hard to explain if you dont partake. This is the human nature part. You walk down the street not knowing a soul around you and you see someone wearing your team's colors and you say: Gueax tigers! Or Roll tide! Or O H! and they reply I O! Or Go Cubs! Its gives you a sense of comfort and always puts a smile on your face.
P.S. your nose is itchy. Haha. Same thing!
I think 45D refers to the whole CARAY family, and not just Harry. He had at least two sons, and maybe a grandson, who also were broadcasters. Nice challenging Saturday puzzle. BRANGELINA and CHOCOTACO are new to me, but nice fillers!
Yes billocohoes, the money side of team sports is ugly. And if you think non-major college sports is exempt from this you are fooling yourself. Money is the root of all evil, whether its sports, politics, Hollywood, broadway, network news, medicine, business etc. Etc. Etc.
Non major sports wouldn't exist or have decent facilities if it weren't for the major sports bringing in millions in TV and advertising revenue. Major sports subsidizes minor sports' facilities, travel expenses, coaches payroll and players education. And it's not just major sports' revenues, taxpayers foot the bill at all public Unis as well.
I like to think the positives outweigh the negatives is so many subtle ways.
My wife was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and will beat it thanks to all the fine people at the Stephanie Spielman Breast Cancer Center at Ohio State University. In a roundabout way football is helping us through this difficult time, thanks to Chris and Stephanie. Google it if you care to. This is just a tiny example of countless around the country.
I think if you want to dislike sports it's easy to focus on the ugly underbelly. Just as you can with Hollywood and Washington. Or you can choose to be positive and recognize all the ways these institutions contribute to society.
Misty, best wishes for some relief from your eye ordeal. Our eyes are so precious.
Ferm, I sympathize with your macular problem. I see the retina specialist in August and am hoping for a good report. Inexplicably, but thankfully, my MD hasn't progressed over the last three years. I consider myself so fortunate.
PK, so sorry to hear of your brother's health problems. I hope he has a speedy recovery. Broken ribs are no fun.
billocohoes ~ As a lifelong Yankees fan, I was taken aback to see that a fellow New Yorker would root for "that" team. 😔 Actually, I shouldn't be all that surprised because one of my brothers defected to "that" team many years ago. We didn't disown him. Yet! 😈
Anonymous @ 4:08 ~ Very interesting analysis.
I remember that Dick Francis novel. I liked him, 80s I think.
Yes, I was thinking of messaging Misty for that 3-ltr WOOHOO. Mine was premature. I keep missing a box. *
Re. Xword IN ALL. This was as hopeless as I've encountered in awhile. Partly my brain being dead to start. Lot of V8 material (Puckish-NHL).
The key for me is to keep slogging despite no hope. Reminds me of Frodo in Mordor.
CHICO. Remember Cisco and Pancho?
WC
* Misty, hope the eyes improve.
What Jinx @7:24a said.... I didn't stand a Strawberry Sundae's chance in Hades on this one. Thanks for the big-time learning day Kyle.
Thanks HG for stopping the bleeding early.* I thought if I cribbed 1a, I could get going in the North. I was surprised by the answer: @NO 1a, Shiloh's parent's, has nothing to do with Genesis (The Old Book nor the band).
OKL - Yep, I was there with you on Midsummer Night's Dream at Puckish. Eventually, the ICE cleared. [has anyone seen @17a? - Lucina, I like Cusack from movies like Being John Malkovich and Better OFF DEAd.]
Jayce - Yep, I was with you on LITRE until the TOWER fell.
CHOCO TACO? - that looks messy and fun.
Fav: I'll go with OSCAR MAYER. Want to drive the Wiener Mobile?
CARBONARA is runner-up. Hard to find a chef that can do it right; DW's spry 80yro aunt in SFO made it perfectly! (And the bar was raised).
{A-, A-} {AWOL}
Misty sorry to hear vision issues persist. PK your 'baby-brother' is in my thoughts.
Team sports: @4:08 Anon (Ave Joe?) put it well [I heard the same NPR program]. I don't even like soccer but it was nice to watch (on and off) Croatia beat Russia today. [I had to phone a friend to know if Black or Red was Croatia].
And Yes! Go 'Stros! That was much needed after Harvey. To see images of folks in gutted homes with only a cooler and TV rootin' on the Hometown... Priceless..
//I will say, I still have a soft spot in my heart of the Cubbies I grew up with (and listened to CARAY with Grandparents).
Cheers, -T
*OK, I spent ++hours on trying to fill this grid; how y'all complete a late-week grid in less than 30min is beyond me. I spent >1.5 hours yesterday; with at least 15 minutes solely focused on the solve.
Not to speak of Chico Carasquel , the old Whitesox SS .
One son and a grandson. Broadcasting dynasty!
billo: LOL rooting for laundry.... Carlo$ Beltran fit that bill when he left and then showed back up at Minute Maid in 2005 as a MET (blame Scott Bezos).
He (Carlos) finally regained his senses in late '16 and returned to H-Town for the ALCS hit that got '17 Astros to the World Champ game again. This time, we won! -T
Anonymous, so sorry to hear about your wife's diagnosis and hope she gets good treatment and has a full recovery.
Oh dear, Fermatprime--macular degeneration is much more serious than my little eye problem. Take good care of yourself and I hope it progresses only very slowly (my mother had it too).
And thank you for the kind wishes, Irish Miss, Anon T, and Wilbur. What a caring community we have on this blog.
Thanks Anon @ 4:08 for the explanation of sports fandom. I never though about it. It’s just fun.
I have been a rabid Saints fan since 1967 when that first kickoff was returned for a score. Of course, nothing much happened after that until 2005... but I remained a rabid fan. Why?? I guess Anon’s thesis is as good as any.
But there are also obvious reasons for fanaticism. My grand kids go to Miss State . ( the rest of that side of the family were Ole Miss folks for generations. But that’s another story!)
Dak was a hero at Miss State. He ended up as a Cowboys QB. Horrors! Now I have to root for the dreaded Cowboys!!?? Tony, forgive me. What can I do??
All of this is to say sports stuff has no rational cause. Go read Anon’s explanation. It make more sense than most.
Misty, I’m so sorry you’re still having eye problems. I have very minor problems and it’s no fun. Good wishes from here.
Neal Boortz (retired Atlanta lawyer / radio gasbag) used to opine that if sports weren't already there, politicians would have to invent them. Takes A LOT of attention of the average Joey Bagadonuts, who otherwise might actually pay attention to what the elected officials were doing. Currently very few people (percentage-wise) pay attention until a month or two before national elections. At the time, more people got their news from Entertainment Tonight than the news shows by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Fox combined. Probably still true.
Neal also decried "the cult if the athlete" which results in stars not being held accountable for a lot of misdeeds that would get non-stars in big trouble. His point was that it shouldn't surprise anyone that these men and women feel like they are above it all at the college and professional levels, because they have been coddled since high school (and maybe earlier). I suspect that Atlanta isn't unique in that arena.
Jinx, I think you have hit on the nasty undetbelly of sports someone else mentioned. Like our blindness to politics, we are mostly blind to the “business “ of sports.
I do think the good outweighes the bad. In a sports arena, we are all equal... black, white, rich, poor. We are all just yelling for our team. Maybe that’s the ultimate equality.
Jinx, it goes both ways. How about the athletes who lose careers and millions for a bad decision. I've known many people in my career who have had dui's or domestic violence without much affect on their lives and without any publicity. I also have seen more than one executive lose his job and take a huge step backwards in their careers for doing exactly what Bill Clinton finally admitting to what he did with Monica. You do that to an intern on company property in corporate America and you are toast. We still admire Bill and many would still vote for him. The cult of personality cuts both ways. Doesn't seem fair to pick one side and praise or demonize it.
Lucina: Thank you for the kind words about my photos. I posted a lot this past week and was ready to stop. Thanks for the encouragement to continue!
As for the comments about sports from Anonymous and others, I agree with the non-blue "billocohoes" (was that really you?). Yes, I am very aware of the evolutionary drive to group bonding. But there are other evolutionary drives that we have learned to overcome to live better lives.
Sports is mostly subsidized rather than the other way around. Every product advertised at the Superbowl costs more to pay for the Superbowl. Every city that builds a sports stadium pays taxes to subsidize that team. And when the team moves away, the taxpayers don't get their money back.
Team bonding is a microcosm of the drive that gets young men to kill and die for their country/team, regardless of whether that country/team is England, North Korea or ISIS.
I can appreciate the excellence of Olympic athletes doing gymnastics, skating, skiing, etc. I might even admire a society that has provided for all the needs of their people and they have enough left over to fund such excellence. And if neighborhood kids want to play sand lot baseball that is fine, too. But most sports that people go wild for is not like that.
More positively, I would love to see that collective energy going to science, medical research and pure exploration. The Hubble Space Telescope cost about the same as a single new sports stadium. I know where I would rather put my tax money.
Misty: I am very sorry to hear about your conjunctivitis. One of my best friends had this a few weeks ago. He had to avoid socializing for a couple of weeks. But he did get over it just with time. I do hope you feel better soon.
PK: I am very sorry to hear about your younger brother. I also had a pneumothorax after being hit by a car. I had the same thing happen with delusions from narcotic overdose in the hospital. As far as I know there were no lasting ill effects from the drug overdose. It was a very memorably interesting experience. Travels to other dimensions of reality. I made some notes about it afterwards.
It will be a painful recovery for about six weeks. But at age 62 I am sure he will be OK. I do wish him the best.
PK and Fermatprime, my thoughts and prayers are with you both also .
Ok mr wet blanket. Are you above this group mentality anchoring the human race in the gutter? I used to glance at your obsession with showing yourself in group bonding exercises wearing loud shirts to draw attention to yourself in a bid to appear more desirable to others(another evolutionary drive that I have overcome to lead a better life). The human race needs diversity to achieve a higher existence. Yes we need space exploration and medical breakthroughs but we also need group bonding whether through sports, music, ballet(ick), parades, burning man, etc. Have you ever watched a group of teenage girls bond around the latest boy band craze. You wanna take that away from them. My buddies can spend hours debating who is better, Jordan or lebron. I vote for Bill Russell. My point is who are you to say or deem what is more important to society or me? Seems somewhat(extremely) elitist to me.
P.s. diversity is the key to a great society
Ok, Anon!! Enough! Who the heck are you??? Obviously you are One Of Us!! You know too much about us! Come clean..,
I am Batman.
And I am out of posts...
..,and I’m Cinderella!
Damnit Swamp! You were Cinderella last week - I wanna be Cinderella this time.
Hehehehe. Okay! I’ll concede. You can be Cinderella . And I’ll be nobody.
Thanks, Anon, for your interesting NPR analysis summary.
Swampcat @ 6:42, I'll let Tony speak for himself re Dak Prescott/Cowboys. I was also saddened that he was drafted by the Cowboys - great guy. As you know, these talented boys gotta go to whatever team drafts them for their chance in the NFL - that's what they've worked so hard for so many years. Grew up on a farm southeast of Houston - NEVER will be a Cowboys fan. My Toronto friends (rabid Jays fans) get riled when "your boys [Rangers]" beat them. Have to correct them that almost all Houstonians don't like Dallas teams, FB or BB, and tell them the rivalry started with civic pride: Dallas = cosmopolitan; Houston = yokels.
Tony, thanks for the Seinfeld/Letterman clip - was wondering about billocohoes' comment.
Does no one want to debate BALL GOWNS as opposed to Dinnet Gowns?? Ball gowns are froofroo confections with billowing skirts and bare shoulders. Dinner gowns are slim skirted long dresses with coveted shoulders a or jackets. Debs wear Ballgowns with as much skin showing as their moms allow.. grandmothers wear Dinner dresses and retire home to change into something more comfortable as soon as possible.
Tx Ms, I forgot to apologize to you!! Yes, it really is a business and these good guys have to go where they are offered. Dak was a positive presence at Miss State. My granddaughter knew him and liked him.
But .... Cowboys????? Horrors!!! Hehehehe
SwampCat, have to agree with you on dinner gowns - what the heck? My nit, but forgot to mention it. Dak had a great showing after Tony was injured/benched. I don't know how long his contract is (don't follow Cowboy news), but I'm thinking he won't be their franchise QB. Disclaimer: Newbie sports nut, so my opinions don't reflect experts' views.
TxMs: I know just slightly more about football than I do soccer... Dak means nothing to me.
Swamp said..."Horrors! Now I have to root for the dreaded Cowboys!!?? Tony, forgive me. What can I do??"
10 Hail Marry's and 2 Our Fathers. :-)
Re: Dallas - the city Houston loves to hate. In reality, Dallas has nothing on Houston except The Book Depository and, maybe, worse traffic (except 290, we win there but traffic in general is worse in Dallas) on which to bitch; not much to crow about really.
Our BBQ is better, you can get pho for breakfast, and Niko's (Greek) for lunch. We have Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Mattress Mac. And don't forget the Johnson Space Center that LOVELL called down to - Houston, we have a problem. [actually, it was crew mate Swigert who said "Houston, we've had a problem here."]
The best thing I can say about Dallas? At least they're not, um, no... it's Dallas. :-)
Cheers, -T
Oh, wait, MdF's grands are in Dallas; that's a plus.
Actually, today it looks like athletes get notoriety for acts that would be overlooked if Joe Shmoe committed them.
Then again. I'm a 70 year Redsox fan
I don't think insults to a true gentleman like Picard(Mr Bronstein) is called for. I like the shirts and I've told him. You would have scored points for the position (positive side of team sports) without the acrimony.
However, the Bill Russell remark saves you for another day.
You have to have been around the corner long enough to know we don't behave like that in here.
WC
Having said that I was in a Sports blog that embraced bad behavior and got thrown out. We'd meet socially and they'd say "Wow, in person you're not such a thune".
SwampCat re my comment "but I'm thinking he won't be their franchise QB." I'm sure Prescott will build on his "rookie" (2nd year) performance, and when his contract is over and MAYBE become a free agent, he will leave the Cowboys. We can only hope.
Anon-T - LOL, re rosary Rx! (maybe Methodist - but always an Italian!) But you're so right - we're fighting back. Houstonians have always been regarded as red-headed step-children to the snooty Dallasites. Been racking my brain to translate acronyms... "MdF's grands"?? I cry "uncle". Thanks, Tony
Fermatprime:
I'm sorry to hear you have MD; it's quite limiting. My mother's sister had that and could hardly see. I hope yours is a slow progression.
Anonymous@7:19
I don't know how many people recall it since Monica is labeling herself a victim, but according to a Time mag article I read at the time, she moved to DC with the express purpose of seducing the President! I have been looking for that article but so far have not found it. I subscribed to Time then and distinctly recall reading that interview. I'm not condoning Bill's behavior since he is not without fault, but she was the instigator.
Our family party was a huge success, I'm happy to say. Most of us stayed in the pool the major part of the afternoon which made the temperature bearable.
TxMs - MdF* == Madame Defarge. Her Grandchildren are in Dallas. MdF was complaining about folks doing 70mph (only 70mph?) on the LBJ freeway a few months back when she visited the Grands in Dallas.
Cheers, [and nice that you're chiming in more] -T
//MdF - someone else coined that and I liked it because I'm an idiot and always spelled her handle wrong/get the French abbr. askew. Kinda like I just did with 'Marry' in my earlier post.
Well then, I guess that makes it ok. It was her fault.
#metoobutihaditcoming
Anon-T - ah, OK, Mme DF? Madame Defarge. Got it. I remember now Mme DF's comment re the speed on Texas freeways, and you posted a video (scary even to me, a 46-yr resident of Houston) driving around Loop 610! Thank you, Tony, you confirmed my paranoia. Can you post it again? I thought I saved it to send to my Toronto friends. Desper-Otto, no need to view - you're all over the map as is Tony!
Anon-T @ 5:09 .... I didn't even get to the Bible for 'Shiloh' ... it began with Civil War battles (who'd be the parents? CSA? Jeff Davis??), and the whole puzzle went straight downhill from there. Sometimes you just can't shake off that first stab-in-the-dark!
Anonymous:
I did not say that and if you read my post you will see it. It's that Monica has herself pictured as being the victim when she was the aggressor. Both were wrong.
But I would still vote for Bill. He was a good President.
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