Today is National Geocaching Day. My first attempt at this sport was done using a similar GPS device and reading it while driving at 60 mph. My dippy partner from Omaha was about as useful as a screen door in a submarine.
We found our "cache" in a cemetery and it contained one playing card and then we found four other cards at four other sites to make our poker hand and compete for quickest time and best hand. When we got back to the classroom, a group of young ladies who did not even have to leave the campus had beaten us by one minute although our poker hand did beat theirs! Am I crying discrimination? Well maybe I'm just whispering 😇
Competitive? Me? Yeah, a little!
Today's constructors are Tracy Bennett and Erik Agard. I had a themeless Saturday puzzle from Erik on June 2 of this year and will repeat my link to Erik Agard interview with C.C.
Here is some bio info on Tracy - Tracy lives in Ann Arbor, Mich., where she manages a staff of 17 copy editors for Mathematic Reviews. Married to a jazz drummer, with a 12 -yr-old son she describes as "puzzling". Tracy started constructing crosswords after attending her first ACPT in 2011. She credits Patrick Berry's Crossword Puzzle Challenged for Dummies for teaching her the ropes.
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| Tracy Bennett Erik Agard |
Now let's see the eclectic fill supplied by this twosome:
Across:
1. Break away from the pack: PULL AHEAD - No matter how they come out of the blocks, he knows he can PULL AHEAD
10. Mixer setting: WHIP - Oster must have had someone in charge of assigning these verbs
14. One in a deli dozen: ONION BAGEL
16. Accent sound?: HONK - Car names like the one on this Hyundai allow much cluing mischief
17. Eligible voters: ELECTORATE - Not going there...
18. Bill nos.: AMTS - The Persian character for 1,000 is ۱۰۰۰. I assume Tracy and Erik did not mean AMTS on bills you pay
19. Strips on a tree: TINSEL - Besides adorning Christmas trees, metal strips can also scare away birds from orchards and vineyards
20. Under-the-bed figment, hopefully: MONSTER - I never looked!
22. "__ 281": film about the making of "Citizen Kane": RKO - 281 is the original production number of this RKO movie and this documentary tells the incredible story of the many difficulties in making what some consider to be the best American movie of all time. Want to know more?
23. Crest: APEX - ACME, we'll give you the next puzzle
25. Capital city that's home to the Garden of Babur: KABUL - Developed in 1528 and named for the first Mughai Emperor. Babur's burial site is here
27. "__ Blues": "White Album" track: YER - If you must - John singing Yer Blues with the Plastic Ono Band
29. Burrito filling word: ASADA - A Carne ASADA (literally "meat grilled") burrito
30. "Be right there": WAIT JUST A SEC - A "Leaving Mantra" for my wife and two daughters
34. Words dismissing the statement that preceded them: SAID NO ONE EVER - ... and yet they persist
36. "That's enough of that": WE'RE DONE HERE - Kitty in charge
37. "__ porridge hot ... ": PEASE - The original singular was pease, and the plural was peasen. Over the centuries, pease became used as the plural, peasen was dropped, pea was created as a new singular, and finally pease was respelled peas. You're welcome!
38. Cybertalk elements: IM'S - Grandkids want to came to see us for the last weekend before school. The event was set up with 10 Internet Messages
39. "Portlandia" network: IFC - Independent Film Channel owned by AMC Movie Corporation
42. Rhyme scheme for Edward Lear: AABBA - Our own Owen brilliantly utilizes this scheme at this electronic popsicle stand
43. Sounds from squeaky toys?: YIPS - Our neighbor's dog is a Toy Poodle and his YIP is annoying
45. Emulating: ALA.
46. "The Wiz" tune with the lyric "You're the bravest of them all": BE A LION - An inspirational song with a stellar cast!
48. Samples: TASTES.
51. Former?: MOLD - Shaking the Jell-O after it has been removed from the MOLD
52. Seriously sedate: PUT TO SLEEP - Two sad days when we did this to our first two Siamese kitties
54. Dictate: RULE.
55. Covert '50s-'70s federal flier: AIR AMERICA - The CIA's "airline" that flew out of these East Asian bases and was disbanded after the Vietnam War ended, so they say...56. Eminem-inspired word for a rabid supporter: STAN - A depressing song about an obsessed Eminem fan named STANley Mitchell and what happens to him. MTV censored some of the graphic lyrics and images. Google if you must
57. Wicked "stawm": NOR'EASTER - Neither Christmas NOR EASTER were at our house last year. Yeah, I'll keep my day job.
Down:
1. "The only thing that matters": cummings: POETRY - Whatever floats your boat, e.e.
2. Not typical of: UNLIKE - UNLIKE most, e.e. often used lower case letters for his name
3. Property claimant: LIENOR - I suppose
4. Loans drawn as needed: Abbr.: LOCS - Our potential Line Of Credit is very high but will never be used
5. Stud stake: ANTE - a way to answer the poker question 43. "Coming along?": YOU IN?
6. Spanish cable network: HBO LATINO - It is on channels 517 (E) and 524 (W) in our town
7. Audition user?: EAR - Used here as a synonym for hearing
9. Cleanse goal: DETOX - My dad went through this in 1971
10. Hockey announcer's "Great stop!": WHAT A SAVE - Certainly applies here
11. Principal place of operations: HOME BASE - Union Pacific RR's is in Omaha
12. One breaking in: INTRUDER.
13. World Cup tiebreakers, for short: PKS - On Penalty KickS, the goalie has to guess, left/right/middle, high/low
15. Dance judge Goodman: LEN - Okay
21. Camel performers: SKATERS - Here is a SKATER doing a Flying CAMEL SPIN. The origin of the CAMEL name is up for debate (Hmmm..., three sports GIF's in a row)
24. Deceive: PUT ON
26. Wisconsin's Fond du __: LAC - It means "bottom of the lake". In this case it's Lake Winnebago
28. Agreement with Satan, by most accounts: BAD DEAL - A trailer for a wonderful musical about Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter) selling his soul to Satan (Ray Walston) to become a great ball player in exchange for his soul
30. Capital of Hesse: WIESBADEN - This central German town's name literally means "Meadow Bath" for its hot springs, 14 of which are still active
31. Average __: JOE - See Joe Hardy above and our own Average Joe who rarely shows up any more at our electronic popsicle stand and is sorely missed
32. Not cool: UNHIP - 33. "I'd say ... ": SEEMS TO ME to me Grandpa that the chains and backward ball cap on you is UNHIP
34. Check into: SEE ABOUT - Last week I posted the 1964 Beatles appearance on Ed Sullvan. Here's another trip in Mr. Peabody's Wayback Machine to see this super group on Shindig in 1964 singing this fill
35. Strauss opera: ARABELLA - A choice between this Strauss Opera or Damn Yankees? With my plebeian taste, it's not even close
36. New Deal agcy.: WPA - The Works Progress Administration built the Oak Ballroom in Schuyler, NE using oaks from the nearby Platte River
40. Cool-weather material: FLEECE.
41. Reagan defense secretary Weinberger: CASPAR - A Republican workhorse
44. Opening: INTRO - I try to use a "holiday" and some public domain bio info on our constructors
47. Hoppy initials: IPA - India Pale Ale - A British brew named for it popularity with British soldiers in India49. On the water: ASEA might be a 53. One on the water: TAR - Just add an "e" to "On"
50. Shutterbugs' buys: SLR'S - My iPhone camera is great and always handy but there are times I wish I had a Single Lens Reflex camera
51. Woolf's "__ Dalloway": MRS - I like to compare how different publishers present a book
Now I hope you can find your way to cache your comments without needing a GPS device:
DA GRID:
DNF. Got everything except the NW section, which was mostly white, and what wasn't turned red when I threw in the towel and hit the check button. oddIty>UNLIKE, priME> A-GAME, daN>LEN, nail>ANTE. The only things I got right in that corner were DETOX, TINSEL and ___LATINO. I sorta got LIENOR except I misspelt it LeiNeR. A couple of false starts were beans>salsA>ASADA, and sir-LION>BE A LION.
ReplyDeleteBABUR and Bubba came to KABUL
Laid out a GARDEN with room for a pool.
Water was just a drip,
So they used Miracle WHIP --
That's why they were run out of Kabul!
I could write POETRY all of the day
With a rhyme scheme of A, A, B-B, A!
But to keep fresh,
Sometimes, just for heck,
I scheme with a rhyme of A, A, B-B, C!
"WAIT JUST A SEC, my dear!
This comment I'm sure will strike fear
Into all those unsightly
Trolls who UNLIKE me,
Hit send, and now WE'RE DONE HERE!"
{C, B-, B+.}
Hi Y"all! Fun puzzle, thanks, Tracy & Erik, but it took work. Great expo, Gary, and I could see all the links for a change. I just updated my browser...
ReplyDeleteThe NW block had only ONION BAGEL for a while. Got most of NE then backed over to the start. I was surprised that my "name" appeared with perps at 13D. However, Penalty KickS wasn't what I thought it stood for. I've had some KickS lately for which I am considering a proper penalty.
SAID NO ONE EVER: I have a naive niece who got hooked on one anonymous political blogger who scares me. Her viewpoint has changed drastically. She keeps wanting me to engage in cyber debate with her on his writings. I can't even read his stuff. 90 degrees off my viewpoint. TILT!
DNK: "Portlandia" or IFC, ARABELLA.
Never heard LIENOR used -- WAG. I knew of LOCS, but couldn't think of it: LINE OF ____ Oh, Credit. Thanks, Gary. When I was remodeling and writing about it for publication, my banker called up "out of the blue" and offered me a LOC. Didn't even ask how much I'd need. I was surprised because I expected everyone had to go in, beg and apply. I used his offer.
LEN Goodman is one judge on Dancing With The Stars, as any devotee of the show would know. Famous for saying, "From LEN, a ten." (Rating, that is.)
Hi, Average Joe. See, you got a shout out. You're missed!
Good morning Cornies.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ms. Tracy Bennett and Mr. Erik Agard for this extremely difficult Saturday masterpiece. I am pausing after my first pass to report how white is the grid. I see lots of BAILing today.
- - The "P" at 1 gave me 1 A. I finally completed it in 47:31 min.
Thank you Husker Gary for your educational review.
PKFLN at 10:23 PM
- - The suspect is 98 and has lived here for 14 years. She previously complained that a man was "coming on to her". She dresses for lunch and supper like she is going out on the town so I can see how she could naturally hate me in my shorts and white T shirt. To aggravate the issue, she sits at the table next to me.
Wilbur Charles FLN at 10:33 PM
- - Thanks for attempting to lighten my mood. I'll recover with a new set of claw marks.
Ðave
D4: Sorry you are subjected to the scrutiny of the matriarch. Some people just have to be annoying someone else so they can claim some attention. Hang in there! I'd think shorts & T-shirt would be more appropriate. I vote at a retirement home a block from my house and some of the old dolls who come down to vote from the upstairs are decked out like they are going to visit the queen. Wonder what they were in their other lives.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteYay! This was a pleasant respite after yesterday's debacle. Had to exchange OTS for PKS (Hi, there!) and CARNE for ASADA. Otherwise, this one was a smooth romp. Thanx, Tracy and Erik. Nice expo, Husker.
KABUL: I thought BABUR was an imaginary elephant.
NOR'EASTER: My boss for a time was from "down east." His accent didn't HONK, but was certainly distinctive in cornfed Iowa. Yes, he said "stawm."
LIENOR: Husker, the clue was correct, but the definition you found is bass ackwards. I checked Merriam Webster: The LIENOR holds a claim to the property of the LIENEE.
Avg JOE: Picasso had his blue period. I think this is Avg Joe's orange period.
Fond du LAC: My sole adventure into teaching involved elementary students on Guam. We had large maps of Guam and the continental U.S posted on the classroom wall. I asked the fourth graders how big the island of Guam should be on the U.S. map. They figured it was at least the size of Texas. They didn't believe me when I told them that Guam would fit inside Lake Winnebago.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis started out slowly but once I cracked a few of the long answers, I was off and running. The numerous unknowns slowed me down but perps saved the day: I never heard of HBO Latino, Arabella, Yer, Be A Lion, or PKs, except for our PK. I know nothing at all about soccer and wish I could say the same about Eminem. Accent sound=Honk had me bewildered until HG explained it. Car model names are not something I pay attention to. My only w/o was Lienee/Lienor. I finished in 28 minutes w/o help so I'm happy.
Thanks, Tracy and Erik, for a Saturday challenge and thanks, HG, for the wit and wisdom in your summary. I do wish, though, that you'd show some equal time between the feline and canine references. 😇
CED, Happy National Geocaching Day!
PK, your LOC story reminded me of my experience at my bank the other day. I was withdrawing cash and the young male teller began a spiel pitching my eligibility for a home improvement loan of $120,000 at such and such a rate. I was only half-listening out of politeness because he's a very nice young man who waits on me often. He was babbling on how this was a limited offer and I could pay off all my debts and maybe do some home improvements, etc. When he was finished, I thanked him and said I wasn't interested as I have no debt and my home doesn't need any improvements. Then, his eyes grew wide and he blurted out "Your credit score came up as 850. I think that's as high as it goes!" Truth be told, I was a little embarrassed but I 'm not sure why.
Have a great day.
I too, had to work from South to North to get going. Funny how I get stuck on on one clue for so long and it was a misdirection. I kept thinking "Where do teens have dances?" for 10A "MIXER SETTING" and I had the WHI part. Took me five minutes to figure out that it was a blender setting. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteAs an ex-hockey player, I can tell you that the best announcer I've ever heard describe a game is Mike "Doc" Emrick. There's no one better. Give him a listen this season on the NBC networks. Dan Kelly, the deceased announcer of the StL. Blues of years ago, comes in a close second.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tracy, Eroc and Husker Gary
Like Gary, I made little headway until I got to the SE, and that area fell rapidly. Bounced around but came up short. AR-BELLA and PE-SE, and -OLD and -R-, and -TAN did me in. Nailed WIESBADEN, but had no idea on the first two letters of the WIZ song, so tried to work around IM A LION.
NW took awhile as clued. YER, RKO and Poetry had toughy clues for me. TINSEL for Strips on a tree was my favorite up there. Originally wanted Telemundo or GalaVision.
cHoP to WHIP and ouTsiDER to INTRUDER. With outsider, I was thinking of someone breaking in to a conversation...
Height of one's ability had me thinking of The Peter Principle, but that's one step past one's ability. Loved it when A GAME dawned on me.
Close as we'll ever get to a shout out to PK(S), but a clear shout out to AVG JOE !
Anon-T, I read on Twitter that a couple of DEFCON attendees were at an offsite hotel having lunch, doing whatever on their laptops. A waitress leaned in to let them know that there was a hacker convention at Caesar's, so they might want to turn off their WiFi.
One of my friends noted that today would be 8-18-18 and we should be aware that 8:18 would happen twice on this day. I just happened to glance at the digital clock at 8:18 a.m. Couldn't believe I actually saw it.
ReplyDeleteActually PKS are my initials sans married name.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteFinally mucked through it; especially the NW. After much probing, finally got a foot hold in the SE, and bloomed out from there.
Should've gotten KABUL, but had a mental block this morning. Traction in the NW was retarded by not knowing HBO LATINA, RKO, YER, and not considering the ONION type of BAGEL for awhile. So: mostly fun, but the NW was a bear. Favorite clue was for MOLD. MOLDing sand was a common commodity shipped by barge on the upper Hudson to foundries farther downstate during the '30's and 40's.
WIESBADEN - Finally got it, but had always thought it was KASSEL, which obviously didn't fit.
Oh, I didn't know what Fond du LAC meant...
ReplyDeleteHail to Mssrs. Bennett and Agard!
This one was out of my league, and I knew it right after my first pass - when the only fill I completed was KABUL.
I didn't hesitate to run to Google, tail between my legs.
~ OMK
____________
Diagonal Report: Nope, none.
Thanks again to the constructors of great cws. Both yesterday’s and today’s were tough and fun.
ReplyDeleteI’m happily unemployed again for the next week or so while we celebrate family togetherness times:))
The blogs FLN were pretty funny . Thanks to PK, D4 , Lemonade . Wry humor resonates with me .
Difficult situations often bring out knee slapping and often gut hugging laughter in our family. Keeps us from going insane , altho some longfaced observers think we’re more than halfway there already.
Thanks for the fun.
Well, the only things I got on my first run-through of this Saturday toughie were LAC, PEASE, and MRS. Then I tried again and put in MONSTER and HURRICANE, which turned out not to work. So I put in I ATE IT and TAR, and that got me NOREASTER, and after that the whole Southeast filled in and I was on my way. It still took quite a bit of cheating to finish, but this turned out to be a delightful Saturday puzzle--many thanks, Trace and Erik. I liked getting EAR and TINSEL and YIPS, though I didn't get that the toys were dogs, until Husker Gary noted it. Anyway, fun way to start the weekend, thank you again, and you too, Gary.
ReplyDeletePK, I had to laugh when you reminded us about LEN Goodman's "From Len, a ten." Hope "Dancing with the Stars" comes back on again this year.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Tray & Eirk- a POX on your house(s). It took two sessions in between washing two cars to 'not' finish this thing, missing WHIP, PKS, & HONK in the NE. Soccer and Hockey- I no nothing about- with the HONDA Accent- I was 'clueless' on that one- and I didn't know whether to think about a 'mixer setting', as in a cocktail party or a kitchen mixer. I had filled GREAT SAVE, BEGINNER & ASANA before WHAT A SAVE, INTRUDER & ASADA finally got in the grid. Why would a 'penalty' kick be used for overtime. There was NO PENALTY. But I'd never heard of a penalty kick either, so PKS would have never filled.
ReplyDeleteSTAN, POETRY, AABBA, BE A LION, KABUL, LEN Goodman, ARABELLA, MRS. Dalloway, ((RKO 281 (or Citizen Kane) never seen either)). It took WAGS & perps to get those unknowns. TINSELtown and I don't cross paths very often, but my wife wants to go see "Crazy Rich Asians" because Ken Jeong was a doctor at our local hospital
UNIVISION or TELEMUNDO? Hell no. Another unknown- HBO LATINO- another channel I'd never heard of or watched.
The YIPS- when you can't sink a short putt. Hard to cure that disease.
WIESBADEN- that I knew. "A" GAME- that one took a while until the V8 moment hit me; already filled before I realized why it was your A-GAME.
This was a challenge - but a satisfying one, reminiscent of a Silkie. Started with almost nothing and slowly filled with WEES about the top being last!
ReplyDeleteFond du Lac was an easy first foothold as we used to live in Wisconsin and the only famous person in my husband's family was E. Carl Kiekhaefer whose Mercury Marine outboard motors plant was in Fond du Lac. He also was one of the first NASCAR team owners.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Kiekhaefer
Have a fun Saturday!
Thanks HG and Tracy & Erik!
Hi all. I figured I should put in a cameo after the pzl shoutout.
ReplyDeleteSlow going on this one today. The first 3 fills were Yer, Lac and Mrs. Picked around and found a few footholds, including that Joe, then ultimately got it done. Final fill was the last A in Arabella. But that was just a lucky guess.
Your probably right D-Otto. In fact every time I turn on the TV I find myself saying: "Orange you clowns going to do something about this mess?!"
What a tough offering but that's expected for a Saturday. Thanks to all involved. My only question: is 50D SLRS an abbreviation which is not suggested by the clue?
ReplyDeleteGJ - I think SLR is an abbreviation which has become a "word" just like ATM and HQ. So I didn't question the clue. Agree it was a tough outing.
ReplyDeleteGot it, Spitzboov, thanks. I guess I need to get up to date on these "accepted words" in today's lingo.
ReplyDeleteWell this was a toughie for sure. Lots of white space after the first pass....and the second....and the third.
ReplyDeleteQuite the feeling to get the solve on a puzzle like this.
I agree this was “Silkie” reminiscent.
I actually was able to raise my credit score by taking out a LOC....which I have no real use for...but the additional credit means you are using less of it. And your score goes up. And the more it goes up, the more they want you in debt by offering more credit.
These older residents dressing up...they were raised that way, to look “presentable” in public. I admire that they are sticking to their values despite their new situation.
Enjoy the weekend.
JJM, Hilarious - oh the days of "Mixers" where no one mixed
ReplyDeleteI had PUT TO SLEEP but.... I'd originally put OAR and misread. Is this a FIW on this, so difficult, xword that I labored so harrrrd on? Ladies and gents of the jury, I beg for mercy. Aaarrgghhhh!!!!
Especially when I was so braindead today that I couldn't think of that stuff we toss on the Christmas tree
And I wanted NEW USER but was a letter Short. -T would have thought that way too
I had the southern hemisphere and nothing but ANTE in the North. But I have learned never to "cheat" because I'd never get one done otherwise.
I was afraid folks would come in here saying "easyPEASEy Saturday.
WC
PVX: You are right about older people being raised to be presentable in public. My maternal grandfather had worked in a bank then was county clerk. Every day after retirement, he got up and put on a dress shirt and tie and often worked in the garden in them on which days his shirt was beige, not white. Looked a bit silly with his farmer's straw hat wielding a hoe in hot weather in a tie. My mother insisted on wearing "pretty shoes", strap sandals with a two inch heel, despite needing to use a walker. I stole them while she was at lunch one day because the nurses and I thought she was going to trip and fall in them.
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle. Yep, it was difficult and I eventually needed red letters, but getting the whole thing solved was quite satisfying. I find multi-word answers to be harder than single-word long answers. I confess I have never heard or read the phrase "Said no one ever" and it remained a stumbling block for quite some time. I had the same reaction that Big Easy did regarding Univision or Telemundo, which I have heard of and even watched, but had no knowledge whatsoever of HBO LATINO.
ReplyDeleteMy wife, who loves soccer, and I both hate that some tied games are won or lost on penalty kicks. We both think that is a highly unfair way of "breaking" a tie, because the outcome is more a matter of chance and luck than of skill. Yeah yeah, we know the players are tired and would have a tough time continuing to play overtime periods, but even so we think that "sudden death" in overtime play would be much fairer.
PK, I think I remember you telling us quite some time ago that you aren't a Preacher's Kid. I also recall Melissa Bee saying that she is.
Gary I love your similes! Your "useful as a screen door in a submarine" and "as many empty cells as Alcatraz in 2018" are wonderful!
I have extremely fond memories of Bob Pease and his writings.
Steve, if you're reading this, thank you for explaining "moose and squirrel" on Thursday.
IMO Dancing With the Stars has gone terribly downhill, and LW and I hope it soon dies before it loses all traces of dignity and integrity. We watched it precisely once last season and swore off of it.
Speaking of dressing nattily, my paternal grandfather would never be seen outside his home without a three-piece suit. Even when "informal" in his home he would at least wear a nice bathrobe and slippers over his PJs. LW is happy in a t-shirt and shorts and I'm happy in a t-shirt and long sweat pants. Yes, we do dress better than that when we go out.
Best wishes to you all.
Ooh! This was brutal for me. I simply was not and could not enter into the constructors' wave lengths.
ReplyDeleteAfter only a few toeholds and two cups of coffee, I stopped to do my chores, eat breakfast, etc., then continued. The SE filled starting with NOR'EASTER and I recalled CASPAR Weinberger but spelled it CASPeR and that had to be reviewed. I had IPA but couldn't remember it's meaning.
Then the NE slowly filled. WHIP was in but WHATASAVE was mostly perped. Finally got ASADA (should have known that first)
Guessed correctly on WIESBADEN but no way would I know ARABELLA so LIU. That sealed BEALION and SEEABOUT. The top, NW, took a very long time and I had PUSHAHEAD. Drat!
Nice CSOs to PK and Average JOE!
Thank you, Tracy and Erik, for roiling these old brain cells! And thank you, too, Gary!
I hope you've all enjoyed a peaceful Saturday!
My mother always wore high heels (two inches). Whether she was cooking, cleaning or anything, she wore those heels and put on her make-up every morning.
ReplyDeleteOn my first visit to Turkey, 20 years ago, I recall being surprised to see men working out in the fields and wearing a suit jacket, black pants and a hat.
Jayce ~
ReplyDeleteGotta agree with you re. soccer ties. PKS are no way to test a whole team's merits. Sure the players are tired, but isn't endurance one of the ways we measure athletic prowess?
If a team folds because they're fatigued, the game goes to the stronger side.
Re. Dancing With the Stars, I am forced to watch when my wife insists on taking over the remote. I leave the TV room often. It is too unevenly weighted toward "stars" who have either athletics or actual dance in their backgrounds. Like all of these shows with judges, the verdicts are rendered with such predictable mannerisms & phony showmanship, they encourage ugly mob rule from the crowd. And you're right: the show is getting worse, esp. in its choice of kitschy celebs & outdated hacks (cuchi-cuchi Charo?!).
~ OMK
Oh dear, has "Dancing with the Stars" really been losing so much ground? I'll give it a last try if it comes back on the air. But if it's as bad as it has seemed, I too will have to say goodbye to Len and Carrie and the funny dramatic fellow at the end of the row.
ReplyDeleteI knew 8/18 had meaning but I needed today's "This Date in baseball" to recall it is the day TonyC got hit in the eye by a Jack Hamilton pitch.
ReplyDeleteBeanball? There was a history between the teams that went back as early as 1964. Then a new friend from Boston recalled selling soda that night and seeing Tony collide with the railing in rightfield.
So a pitch he'd be expected to duck resulted in a tragedy.
And just when you think Baseball has grown up we get beanballs in Boston vs NY and ATL vsPhilly.
Back to your regularly scheduled xword discussion. Yes, I talked about this a year ago.
WC
That funny dramatic fellow at the end of the row would be Bruno Tonioli. Man oh man, what a ham!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed figuring out (with the help of red letters) this brain teaser of a puzzle and HG's excellent writeup. But Wow! How deficient was my musical education? I really love Richard Strauss, having had the thrill of playing most of his tone poems in the symphony, but have only heard of some of his operas and heard a couple on the radio; had no idea he'd written so many. Would have been overjoyed to have had the opportunity to play Solome, Die Frau ohne Schatten (pls excuse lack of umlauts), and especially Elektra, which includes Wagner tubas, bass trumpet, and bass AND contra bass trombones in the orchestra.
ReplyDeletePutting his tongue back in his face (@HG's 24a - LOL) says...
ReplyDeleteLearning Day!
Hi All!
Nope, I could not PULL AHEAD on Tracy and Erik's puzzle.
The phrases and literary references
pretty much did me in;
where to go with that clue,
where to go?
At least I got RKO
[ZABCC scheme? :-)].
In 20/20 hindsight, this puzzle is an interlocking masterpiece; all those stacks w/ no clunkers?!? Nice.
Thanks HG for the sparkly expo and >1/2 the answers. WHIP? I was going for FOUR or FIVE on my mixer setting (KitchenAid).
{C+, B+, A-}
D4 - keep your T-Shirt & shorts and to heck w/ her. I think some people, esp. as they age, become more venomous because the vinegar gives them vim. Nice people die young and cranky bastards live forever.
TTP - We stayed across the street from Caesar's (the Linq) and, when asked about our blinky badges in the elevator, would warn folks of our existence (turn off your s***!).
95% of us (DefCon'rs) are White-hats* (of which 25% are "White-hat Ornery (hand-up; see elevator hack [not me!]), and 5% of us are Black-hats (read: BAD Juju).
Picard - LOL on microcosm conflicts + dementia; are you sure it's just the old folks' home? :-)
Ave JOE - Nice to see you drop in. Check out this Orange Show for a respite.
Nap Time!
Cheers, -T
*What's the difference between a White-hat and a Black-hat?
A mortgage. :-)
Picard @ 1258
ReplyDeleteLike Weird Al a lot and love Tom Lehrer. I did listen to your links and saved them in my reading list for all the others attached. Pretty sure I saw the movie "Air America" - some funny bits but very dark and depressing in the overall message.
PK @ 1613 - My uncle, a farmer in Germany, wore a tie while doing farm work. They called him de Slipsen Buur (the farmer who wears a tie). Not very healthy to wear near rotating machinery.
ReplyDeleteAll this talk about ties in the field, and makeup before breakfast causes me to reflect on the dress code at Walmart these days. Grunge is in. Come as you are.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support of my Tee Shirt and shorts. There is madness in my method. I was too stunned Friday to ask the reporters questions. I know who, and what, but where, how, when, and of utmost importance why? I will be asking these questions, along with "Did the accuser talk directly to the President, or was it second hand through an aide?"
Stay tuned.
Ðave
Emile Zola wrote a book titled "J'Accuse" .
ReplyDeleteThe theme - Guilty as charged. Even if the accuse recants one is forever guilty.
Today's climate maybe worse .
WC
Jayce, thank you so much for reminding me about Bruno Tonioli. I'm sorry folks, but I've got to watch "Dancing with the Stars" again if it comes back this year. I just have too many years invested in enjoying that panel and those dancers.
ReplyDeleteI'll watch DWTS too, Misty. My complaints about more recent shows are too many flashing distracting lights, use of props and backup dancers to take the eye away from the contestant. Hard to see what their feet and other moves are doing. I liked a less-cluttered purer contest, but I'll continue watching dance anytime I can. Bruno Tonioli is definitely flamboyant. I've been watching "World of Dance" lately. Same complaint there of flashing lights but I'd like more pretty costumes with some color if they are putting on a show. Some costumes have looked like worn-out gym wear.
ReplyDeleteD4: maybe you should just "let it go" and not fall into the trap of being thought to protest your innocence too much. Laugh it off? It's a serious thing in this political climate, but you don't want to call more attention to a false statement.
Saturday toughie. Thanks for the fun Tracy and Erik, and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteAfter a couple of passes and a sea of white, I took a break. But I still had to Google to get a toehold and finish.
Easy PEASy - SAID NO ONE EVER,
Yes, lots of CSOs today- PKS, Average JOE, C Moe with that limerick rhyme scheme,
I kept thinking that Spitzboov would know this (WIESBADEN), Lucina would know this (ASADA). What, they didn't! I was going to use my Phone-a-friend.
Lots of misdirection. Yes Picard, I thought that Accent was regional (prescience of the blog with our discussion about provincial pronunciations) and the LOLed at "stawm" and NOREASTER (groaned at your pun HG).
MOLD= former? I had to WAIT JUST A SEC for the light to dawn.
Camel performers had me thinking of the circus or the cigarettes. Axel performers would have been too easy.
I loved seeing those SKATERS beside WHAT A SAVE.
JJM, IMHO American hockey announcers do not match up to our Canadian ones. But the best ever was Foster Hewitt. His "he shoots, he scores" was iconic.
Hand up for Acme before APEX. I wanted Burglars before INTRUDERS, and my Heat figure was a DEG before a BTU.
I haven't put TINSEL on a Christmas tree for several years. Kids told me that it was PASSÉ, and it was a pain to remove when taking down the tree.
Well, WE'RE DONE HERE. Off to check that there are no 20As under the bed (I was thinking dust bunnies at first!).
Pradeep strikes the Houston Chronicle again...
ReplyDeleteI bought some shoes from a drug dealer. I don't know what he laced them with, but I've been tripping all day.
The guy's a genius :-) -T