google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018 Mark McClain

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Oct 23, 2018

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2018 Mark McClain


"Beef.  It's What's For Dinner"

18. Controversial coal-extraction method: STRIP MINING.

24. Dues-paying participant: CLUB MEMBER.

40. Broadside accidents: T-BONE COLLISIONS.

50. Format for some tournaments: ROUND ROBIN.

61. Meal suggested by the starts of four long answers: STEAK DINNER.

Yesterday, Ed Sessa had high on the hog, and today Mark brings us ideas for a steak dinner.  Unless you live high on the hog, be prepared for "sticker shock" if  you want to eat at some of these  restaurants on Zagat's 2018 List of Best Steakhouses in Chicago.  We know Bill G would agree to steakPrime Rib and Rib Eye would be my favorite cuts.  What cuts do you prefer ?

Across:

1. Colorist's concern: HUE.

4. Light brown pear: BOSC.

8. Hillary Clinton, née __: RODHAM.

14. Horace's "__ Poetica": ARS.  The Art of Poetry as written by Roman poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus

15. "The Mammoth Hunters" author Jean: AUEL. "Jean Marie Auel is an American writer who wrote the Earth's Children books, a series of novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores human activities during this time, and touches on the interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals." - Wikipedia

16. Low-scoring tie: ONE ONE. Nil Nil would be a no-scoring tie.

17. Big wheel, briefly: VIP.

20. Wine lover's prefix: OENO.  Reds with boeuf.

22. Sport shown on TV Japan: SUMO.

23. Beer extraction gadget: TAP


27. Spanish lady: DONA Lucina explained the nuance of dama and doña to us about a week ago.

30. Acquire: GET.

31. Isle of Arthurian legend: AVALON.  And a Toyota.   Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, fitting it in with Toyota's tradition of naming their sedans the word for "crown" in various languages (Crown, Corona, Camry, Corolla), types of crowns (Tiara), or other things associated with royalty (Scepter). - Wikipedia.

33. Woodland deity: SATYR.

36. Developmental insect stage: LARVA.

39. Luau accessory: LEI.

43. A, in Augsburg: EIN.  Una, in Acapulco.

44. Small stores: SHOPS.

45. Rather nasty: SNIDE.

46. "__ Fideles": carol: ADESTE.


48. Corrode, with "away": EAT.

49. Macy's section, e.g.: Abbr.: DEPT.

57. "__ y Plata": Montana motto: ORO.   Gold and Silver.

59. Bit of talk show self-promotion: PLUG

60. Opal of the comics, to Earl Pickles: WIFE.

65. Deli salmon: LOX.

66. Philadelphia campus: TEMPLE. Temple University.  Their sports teams, like Rice, are the Owls.

67. Building lot unit: ACRE.

68. __-ray Disc: BLU.

69. Volkswagen family car: PASSAT.

70. Rough file: RASP.

71. Some ER cases: ODsOver Dose cases.

Down:

1. Wreaked condition: HAVOC.  Also, recently in the news from the folks at NASA:



2. One of the archangels: URIEL.

3. College sports channel: ESPNU.

4. Music majors' degs.: BAs. Bachelor of Art degrees.

5. First stage: OUTSET.

6. Blood bank supply: SERUM.

7. Upward trek: CLIMB.

8. Film genre prefix with com: ROM. Ranking the best RomComs of all time...

9. Words after work or sleep: ON IT.

10. "Gracias" response: DE NADA.  Thank you /  You are welcome.

11. Common people: HOI POLLOI.

12. Raggedy doll: ANN.

13. Eldest of the "Little Women": MEG.

19. Author of eerie stories: POE. Edgar Allen.

21. Delivery MD: OBGYN.

25. Least: MEREST.

26. Shankar on the sitar: RAVI.

28. Interminably: NO END.

29. Ouzo flavoring: ANISE.


32. Poughkeepsie campus: VASSAR.  One of the "Seven Sisters", Vassar became coed in 1969.

33. Place: STEAD. In his place...  in his stead...  

34. Put up with: ABIDE.

35. Symphonic stories: TONE POEMS.  Never saw this clue / answer when solving.  Looked it up. 13 Symphonic Poems Every Classical Music Lover Should Listen To

 36. British john: LOO.

37. European peak: ALP.

38. Dr. Jekyll creator's monogram: RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson at Britannica.com

41. "Burlesque" co-star: CHER. née Cherilyn Sarkisian, aka "The Goddess of Pop".

42. Being hauled to the garage: IN TOW.

47. Sundress features: STRAPS.

48. Lawn maintenance tools: EDGERS. My leaf blower broke the other day.  Had to replace it quickly.  So many leaves.  I can relate with Hondo about "chasing leaves."   Was surprised to learn that leaf blowers are banned in many localities in California.    

51. Maker of Cajun Shrimp nail polish: OPI.  Thank you perps.  Never heard of it.  A California company that was originally a dental supply company.  Since 2010, a subsidiary of Coty, Inc.

52. Like the "funny bone" nerve: ULNAR.

53. Never, in Nogales: NUNCA.  Niemals, in Nuremberg.

54. "The Hobbit" hero: BILBO.  Baggins.  So much detail at Tolkien Gateway

55. Bluffed-out words, perhaps: I FOLD.

56. Connection: NEXUS.

58. Sooner St.: OKLA.  Boomer Sooners.  And a CSO to Anonymous -T and his eldest as collegians.

61. Car care brand: STP.  Lesser known as Scientifically Treated Petroleum, marketed in advertisements as "The Racer's Edge". 

62. Pot contents: TEA.

63. Police rank: Abbr.: DET.  Detective.

64. Weight-training unit: REP.  Repetition. 









52 comments:

OwenKL said...

I have a story about a VW Pissant. A few years ago, when I was in much worse shape than I am now, we needed a new car. The used car dealer let me use a 5 year old KIA SUV for the weekend when I needed to drive to Albuquerque. It was great! In good shape, big enough for my 6'1" 350 lbs. to be comfortable in even for a long drive, and within our budget. Monday, I was too weak to get out, so Loving (but gullible) Wife went alone to close the deal. I was sick and didn't need to go anywhere for the next two weeks, until the day she needed to go to traffic court and get her license suspended. I would have to drive her, since she might not be allowed to drive herself home. That was when I discovered the @$% salesman had talked her into switching to a Pissant! Not only was it not comfortable, I couldn't even fit into the damn thing! She had to drive herself to and from! I was still too sick, so had to send her to the dealer to get the car I wanted. The original KIA was long gone, but they did have a newer one, that stretched our budget but was doable. But she'd had the Pissant for two weeks (and probably less than 50 mi.), so they wouldn't take it back except at a used used-car price, a fraction of what she had bought it for! So we ended up paying ~1.5 x our budgeted amount. At least, the car is still what I use today, very comfortably. The dealer license plate frame is long gone, and I now take it to a KIA dealer for servicing, not to the @#$% place we bought it from.

Digging in a coal mine is hot, nasty work.
It has to be done, tho some doff their shirt --
Their suspender STRAPS,
Their socks and their spats --
It's called STRIP MINING, digging in the dirt!

It's hard to change careers IF OLD.
To learn new ways takes being bold.
Learning new habits
Creates mental HAVOC,
Many give up, and say, "I FOLD!"

DONA SHOPS at a big box store.
She gets a years supply or more.
She has to store lots
In her husband's shop!
Isn't that what husbands' shops are for?

OwenKL said...

3 x{B+.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zip, zip, done. D-o even got the theme. Yay! Thanx, Mark and TTP.

ROM: Looked at that list of RomComs -- I've only seen two of the top ten.

AVALON: Somebody here (Lucina, maybe?) wanted this where ASTALOT needed to go the other day.

WIFE: I enjoy the Pickles comic strip, but it never dawned on me that it was their last name.

STP: Our 9-year-old generator has become hard-starting. So, I've decided to change the oil and filter (synthetic oil this time), change the air filter, replace the spark plugs -- even bought a gap gauge so I can set the plug gap correctly and a deep-well socket so I can switch 'em out. That's about the limit of my knowledge of small engines. If that doesn't cure the problem, it'll be time to get an engine guy to come to the house.

Owen, if I read the story correctly, your wife drove to the courthouse to have her driver license suspended, and then drove home? "Pissant" -- VW should have known better.

Big Easy said...

An 'appetizing' puzzle but I think it contained too many foreign words for an early week puzzle, especially for the HOI POLLOI. DE NADA, NUCHA, ADESTE, DONA- I won't count SUMO, NEXUS, or ORO.

Symphonic stories- TONE POEMS. Never seen that clue or heard of a TONE POEM. My lone unknown today.

8A- just go away and take the philanderer with you.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, missing 3 cells near Mt. Rainier. Misread 1d as "wrecked condition" and couldn't see HAVOC there, so allowed "dye" to occupy HUE and "aeno" for OENO. Bad spellers of the world UNTIE! Only one erasure, ahi for LOX. The church I grew up in didn't mention archangles, so I was at sea on that clue as well.

In case you are wondering, I happen to be the heterosexual male who loves Auel's books. I'm sure you knew there had to be one out there somewhere.

When I lived in WV, a popular bumper sticker proclaimed "You can rape your state but don't strip mine".

Some of my motor home brethren put signs in their back window declaring "car IN TOW". Others opt for signs pleading "please be patient - I'm pushing as fast as I can". I think I mentioned before that we universally call those vehicles "toads".

Any update on Diane? Hope she's recovering well and her pain is well managed.

FLN - Michael, that Sandy Hook didn't have any higher education institutions. But when I lived in LA I took some classes at Pierce College, commonly called Pierce University or PU. I also spent 16 weeks studying an electronic telephone switching system that Abejo's company manufactured. The class was about an hour away in average traffic, and located on Firestone Blvd. Students before me had nicknamed it the Firestone University of Computer Knowledge.

Thanks to Mark for what would have been a fun puzzle if I could only read. And thanks to TTP for another solid explanation.

desper-otto said...

Jinx, those archangles are acutely obtuse.

Oas said...

OwenKL WeDrive a Santa Fe whose parent company is KIA. Very satisfied with it . Peppy and holds well on icy roads.
Big Easy Pretty much what you said .
Had TAB in place of TAP which got me hung up at HOI POLLOI .
Did not know LOX or NEXUS
I feel a little brain strained .
Filled it all out but FIW
Cheers

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Favorite steak - I don't eat much steak, so when I'm out I usually order fillet mignon, (the smallest they have) done medium.
No problems with the solve. FIR. Learned NUNCA today.
EIN - L. German and Dutch: een. Inflected forms for gender and case: eine, einer, einem, einen, eines.

Yellowrocks said...

Spotted the theme after T BONE. Only unknown was OPI.
My favorite tone poem or symphonic poem is The Moldau. I am playing it now as I type.
Th Moldau.
The foreign loan words didn't bother me, because we frequently see all of them, except nunca.
A PISSANT VW? Funny name.
I had several makes of sake while in Japan. I didn't care for any of them. I would never accept a refill. When a member of our Japanese class went to Japan he brought home a very pricey sake and shared that with the class. I loved it. I know that some other liquors and wines taste better in high end brands, but this was like night and day.
I liked Auel's Earth Children series up until the last book. I enjoyed Auels' research into prehistoric life. In the end Auel went into the greatest detail over an over again about the couple's constant couplings. She should have devoted the pages to more prehistoric culture.
Also, the number of inventions made by Ayla become too numerous to be believable, a super woman, not a real life character.
In general, I do not care for the last books in a serieds over 4 books long. They became sort of formulaic.
I, too, read wrecked instead of wreaked for quite a while.
Have a lovely day.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This had a bit of crunch but perps were solid. Uriel was unknown (Michael is the only archangel I could name) as was ESPNU, Nunca, and Nexus. More Tea for Abejo today. I caught the theme after two theme entries but I never heard of a Club steak. No write-overs, just a smooth solve.

Thanks, Mark, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, TTP, for the informative and interesting review. The list of the best RomComs was fun to peruse. Bill G would rank "Love, Actually" Number 1, I think.

FLN

Anonymous T ~ Nice family pics. I hope you have inherited your dad's handsome looks and healthy head of hair! BTW, check your emails, I sent you one on Sunday.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-All I was sure of was OENO to start. Lots of obscurity for this cowboy! I loved it!
-All together now -“Who’s the leader of the CLUB that’s made for you and me?”
-The $60 filet at Brother Sebastian’s in Omaha for me
- La DONNA è mobile (Woman is fickle)
-If I were curious enough, I’d look up the difference between a SATYR and a NYMPH
-Last month I told the salesman I would SLEEP ON IT before I bought the new pickup. My 13-yr-old pickup will take me to the course today.
-A very interesting LOO concept
-Repetition – Golf pro Hank Haney insists his students take 100 swings/day
-Nice job, TTP!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Mark McClain, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.

TTP: Liked your links. I had never heard of TONE POEMS or SYMPHONIC STORIES. So, I read some of it and listened to a couple of them (partially). Very interesting. Some were familiar. I just did not know the category. I learn a lot here.

Jinx: I liked you college/university banter. The only school I went to in LA was traffic school.

Theme was great. I love steak. My all time favorite is a New York Strip Steak. Or, if in Kansas City, a Kansas City Strip Steak. I like them medium well (a touch of pink). I am not a rare steak person at all. My two cents.

A few unknowns: AUEL, DONA, ORO, WIFE, URIEL, TONE POEMS, OPI, NUNCA, BILBO. Perps and a couple wags fixed me up.

Yesterday I worked the afternoon and early evening at the early voting polling place. We did 300 voters that day. I thought that was pretty good. I go out again this afternoon. Then off to PA on Wednesday for a long weekend of hard work, and a couple brewskis.

Now for my morning fix of Earl Grey. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Rainman said...

Nice job, Mark. No steak for me now that I'm on a plant-based diet and thoroughly enjoying it.

Hey, I'd be interested to know if anyone else has made the transition and for which reasons, health, politics, etc.?

Best to all. Nice write up, TTP.

Wilbur Charles said...

Here's a Shout-out to our FLA buddy Tin from
Shoe

WC

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Liked the easy STEAK theme, thanks, Mark. Thanks for another great expo, TTP.

Having spent 33 years as a cattleman's wife, we always had a freezer full of choice STEAKS that made it to the table several times a week. Now in my old age, I realize I haven't had a STEAK in years. I dated an old guy for awhile who liked to take me for prime rib at a good restaurant. Later I was ashamed to admit I didn't miss the guy, but I sure missed the STEAK dinners.

I agree there were some crunchy words in this puzzle I did not know: OPI, RLS, URIEL, NUNCA, NEXUS. Perps helped. TEMPLE & VASSAR were WAGs.

Enjoyed your comments about 4-H yesterday, but didn't get back to the Corner until too late to comment. Spitz, what a thrill for your sister to meet Ike. Thank's for sharing. Liked your comments, Jinx.

Quote from a speech by Dwight D. Eisenhower on 6 March 1956: "If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power."

Mark McClain said...

Hi, all, and thanks for the compliments (from those of you who enjoyed the puzzle). I agree with those who thought the vocabulary was a little tough for a Tuesday. I guess it was the fairly simple theme that landed it here. I think someone lumped HOI POLLOI with the foreign words, but it's actually been in the English lexicon since the early 19th century (from the Greek). I think it was on another blog that someone said HOI POLLOI (which means "the masses") is sometimes confused with HOITY-TOITY which has the exact opposite implication. Oh, and finally, let me extend apologies to the vegetarians in the audience who surely had no fun with all that meat. I don't remember the last time I had steak, but we do have roast beef every now and then. Just seemed like a good theme - glad Rich thought so too.

Yellowrocks said...

In re igloo from yesterday. I realized that snow is a much better insulator than ice because of the air pockets in snow. I LIU when I had time and found that this is so. The Inuit use the word iglu for house or home built of any material. Outside the Inuit culture igloo refers only to a snow house. Snow igloos sometimes were temporary and used for hunters on the move. Others were very large and used by several families.
Igloos

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Mark - did you submit a Wednesday / Thursday puzzle and Rich switched it up?!? Holy-schamoly! I nailed it, but what a slog. Thanks for the well-done fun and for stopping in at the Corner.

Thanks TTP for the linkful expo. I've not gotten to all of 'em yet but I am surprised Breakfast at Tiffany's isn't in the top 5.

WOs: URaiL, Bfa b/f BAS, Sgt b/f DET, roT b/f EAT.
ESPs: AUYL, OENO (oh, duh!), TONE POEM, NOENO, ADESTE, OPI.
Fav: IN TOW - AAA took the '86 Alfa to the garage last week. I got it back yesterday - It's Alive!
Disappointment: 62d. Pot contents ≠ THC :-)

{B+, B, A}

Jinx - You setup D-O so well; lol Arch-obtuse-angle. #untie

IM - I've got Pop's hair though it hasn't pop'd gray yet ('cuz I didn't have 5 kids like he did!). We rib Pop that he has "Clinton" hair; as a REPublican, he hates that :-)
Lucina, FLN: We clean up good, eh?

Rainman - From a t-shirt sold at a local BBQ joint: "Our forbearers didn't claw their way to the top of the food-chain to eat just salad."
I could go vegetarian for, maybe, a week. Vegan is right out; I love cheese.

Cheers, -T

OwenKL said...

D-o: We were expecting a suspended license, but fortunately it just got restricted to daylight only, and she was required to take a driver training course within the month. She no longer drives at all, but that came later.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

20A: Wanted to write WINO but O in HAVOC was a stopper. I didn’t know the word OENO but I would only have been two letters off.

Fred said...

You really scraped the bottom to come up with this puzzle.

Anonymous T said...

Quick PSA - If you see "Your McAfee expired" while browsing the net, it's a scam that's back in vogue.

Bleeping Computer.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

Thank you, Mark McClain for this deliciously chewy puzzle! I'm an avowed carnivore and loved all the entrees.

My three favorites are strip-steak, filet mignon and prime rib. We went to Fleming's a few months ago and almost pawned all our jewelry when the bill came. But it was worth it!

OPI is the brand I wear on my nails, almost always red.

d-o:
I was hoping someone would be helped by recalling AVALON v. Astolat.

I've read and liked Jean Auel's series except, as YR said, the last one.

Thank you, TTP; well done!

Have a gorgeous day, everyone! I'm having lunch with my sibs today.

Misty said...

How nice of you to check in with us, Mark--and many thanks for a fun puzzle. I smoothly worked my way through this one from top to ---near the bottom, when I get stuck. ROUND ROBIN eventually filled in, though I've never heard that expression. Should have known TEMPLE, and initially put NISSAN instead of PASSAT (don't know my cars, clearly). Had a moment of thought at the top because the music major's' degrees had to be BAS, since it was plural--otherwise I would have thought BFA (bachelor of fine arts rather than just arts). But no problem, especially since I recently saw AUEL in a crossword and so got her name, even though I've read none of the books. Anyway, lots of fun, and delightful write-up, TTP--thank you for that too.

Interesting story, Owen, life can be tough sometimes.

Have a great day, everybody.

billocohoes said...

STRIP STEAK, medium rare, over charcoal not gas.

Had URIah before URIEL

TTP, if you don’t use “nil” for baseball or hockey, don’t use it for soccer. We’re not in freakin’ England

Jinx in Norfolk said...

-T: I should have known that D-O could get me onto a tangent. UNTIE indeed!

Montana said...

This is Tuesday, but I didn’t sail through the puzzle. Missed some easy clues.
I did, however, get "Oro y Plata!"

Montana

gmony said...

Tuesday????

Mark McClain said...

Just a couple of follow up comments.

I don't really think about the day of the week when I'm building a puzzle. I know the tougher ones go later in the week and vice-versa. I've had several in every day of the week in LAT (except themeless Saturday, which I don't submit for).

"Clan of the Cave Bear", the first book in the Jean Auel series is a real classic, and if you haven't read it you should. I agree the books started to decline in quality as they progressed, and I think I quit after the first few.

Bill G said...

Hi everybody. Yes, it's true. I love Love Actually, rib eye steaks and prime rib (all medium rare).

Leaf blowers are outlawed in many areas around here, mostly because they strew trash all over and because they are noisy. Many gardeners fit the description of "Mow, blow and go."

Becky said...

Mark, loved the puzzle, thought it was quite Tuesdayish, but was I the only one, when seeing the first two theme entries -- STRIP CLUB -- who thought "Oh, boy!! This is going to be good!!" ?

Becky

Anonymous T said...

Becky - I was going with Bacon-STRIPs / CLUB sandwich @1st...

Mark - Oh snap, V8! I've heard of 'Clan of the Cave Bear' (and remember the sign-language for "let's get it on" [fist into hand w/ a twist; then clasp fingers pulling] from the movie). And, I just realized I actually FIW - I had SyRUM. Crap.

Jinx - beeing a bad speller sucks, no? Scooch over & make room on the Group-W bench for me...

Lucina - Re: Pop's cake FLN - Sis is an ornery-card (and wonderful cook!). The cake was a 4-layer red-velvet w/ 3 types of icing. She got the recipe idea from Paula Dean, which explains the recent fluctuation in butter-futures... :-)

Cheers, -T

Picard said...

Hand up this was a challenge for a Tuesday! The NW was almost a DNF with URIEL, ARS, OENO, ESPNU. Somehow managed to get a toehold there to FIR! Some learning moments there! The Spanish words were easy for me, but perhaps not for others.

My WIFE does not eat much meat in general, so STEAK is not a thing for us. But we are not vegetarians either. I admire people who can go without meat as it is better for the planet. We do sometimes enjoy LOX!

In any case, it was a clever theme and I enjoyed it!
Mark McClain thanks for stopping by!

TTP thanks for the HAVOC image. Way cool!

AVALON is the main city on Santa Catalina Island. I went there with a friend from UC Santa Barbara. We had actually met in San Francisco! Small world!
My favorite part of the trip: The flying fish! See two photos of them up close.

Here are my photos in and around AVALON.

OwenKL Thanks for your PASSAT story. My first car was a Nissan Sentra. The brakes failed on a long mountain descent when the car was brand new. The dealer "repaired" them and sent me on my way. I will leave out all the details, but the "repaired" brakes actually fell off while I was driving! They grudgingly allowed me to be brought back IN TOW to attempt another repair.

The UC Santa Barbara newspaper is the Daily NEXUS.

It was daily when I was a grad student. Now it only comes out once a week. A sign of the times.

Picard said...

Yellowrocks thanks for the further IGLOO information! Insulation matters!

From yesterday:
Mike Sherline I have to admit about all I know of DRESDEN is what I saw and what I read in Slaughterhouse Five. Feel free to share what you learn!

OwenKL thanks for your observations in East Germany that give helpful insights into my DRESDEN observations. I also spent time in Berlin on that trip on both sides of the former wall.

Jayce said...

I like Mark McClain's puzzles and this was no exception. I worked the puzzle from top to bottom, alternating between acrosses and downs as usual, and didn't get the theme idea until I got down to TBONE. Nifty. Growing up in the Black Hills area of South Dakota, I had STEAK for dinner very often. Dad's favorite was T-bone. He would buy a side of beef and hang it in a "locker" that he rented and the butcher would cut from it as we requested. Lots of T-bone steaks and ground beef. I recall having "sirloin" a lot, too. Mom would cook the tougher cuts into beef stew. That side of beef, plus the vegetables from Dad's extensive garden, would feed our family of 6 for a year. I still love steak, my favorite being the rib-eye. Rare or medium rare. I have also come to very much like lamb meat as well. Carnivores unite!

I learned that the name Camry comes from the Japanese word for crown. Very cool, I have always thought it was a weird word even though we have owned them since 1992.

Owen, I can't fit into a Passat either. The Jetta, which I believe is a smaller car, is totally impossible.

Speaking of modern cars, I wonder why they design them with such bad leg and foot ergonomics; the position of the accelerator pedal relative to the position of the seat is such that you need to continually hold your toes angled way up, which tires the heck out of one's leg muscles. I remember the big ole American cars where you could sit comfortably, with your leg almost straight (no need to have your knees bent as much as these days) and the angle of your foot in a more natural and relaxed position. You had to use your muscles to push the pedal, which is much more natural and less tiring, as opposed to modern cars where you have to hold your toes up to prevent pushing the pedal and if you relax you end up pushing the pedal more than you want. Very weird ergonomics, and it's not limited to Japanese cars; the same strange, contorted ergonomic design is also in German cars such as the Mercedes-Benz and Audi. I think it all started when airbags became common.

NEXUS reminds me that I also read Henry Miller's Nexus and Plexus as well as his book Sexus (ref. Anais Nin from yesterday). I don't think I really understood them more than superficially.

Best wishes to you all, and as Bill G likes to say, mind how you go.

Wilbur Charles said...

Notes from the Urologist Office

FLN: I fell asleep in the middle of posting. A pre-nap. So...
The KING of Comedy? That was Milton Berle. His Show(of Shows) was a big hit in the infancy of TV. Ok, I'd better find a Link to Uncle Ernie
Ok. "King of Television". TTP, Jerry Lewis may be right, because of this Movie
Poisson sans boisson est poison
Oops. My OBI/BLOG cross was wrong. The early week'ers are the most liable to have these Naticks. The Spanish is a liability for me.
I got a laugh when I said my old bookie was in fact"Pickles".

Gary, Bruce Lietzke hardly ever practiced. He said he practiced to become a pro but didn't agree with the need for all that range time. There may be back issue related to too many swings.
Moi? In drastic need of mucho practice

WC

Big Easy said...

Mark- I didn't include HOI POLLOI in the foreign words.

There is a "." after Hoi Polloi not a ",".

I was referring to all the 'Cornerites' and the hoi polloi.

Anonymous T said...

Bound to over-post today say... (does PSA count?)

WC - I was (FLN) going w/ Sid Caesar or 'Uncle Milt.' Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks wrote for that Show of Shows...

Of course, there's looking over the pond...

As I read "So, Anyway..." from Clesse, I'm now learned of the all the great BBC writers of Peter Cook's show w/ Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman, et.al. Great comedy, that, pre-Python, bit o' goodies.
//I can't believe I found it! Enjoy.

Cheers, -T

Bill G said...

Re. flying fish, we visited and stayed at USC's Marine Biology Lab on Catalina on several occasions. One night, the staff walked us down to their private pier and turned on the lights. The lights attracted the flying fish. The flying fish attracted the seals (or sea lions?). The seals would chase the flying fish who would take off flying to escape and proceed to clumsily fly into the pier pilings and knock themselves out, where they would immediately become a tasty late-night snack for the seals.

~ Yes, mind how you go...

desper-otto said...

Bill G, I've had a personal experience with an electric fence. It also pays to mind where you go.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Cool pzl. Ta-DA!

~ OMK
____________
DR:
One, NW to SE.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Misty ~

Music majors get either BAs or BFAs, depending on the nature of the program. All of our undergrad degrees in the Arts at UCI were BAs until recently. About six years ago, we decided our music theater program had grown too popular (top-rated nationally) as well as too demanding to stick with a BA program. We instituted an audition requirement to make it more selective and added professional internships - and rec'd admin approval to change it to a BFA.
But for the most part we reserve the "fine arts" distinction for our graduate programs. The MFA degree is generally accepted as the "terminal degree" for professional artists. It is a bit of a misnomer for performing artists, however, as the "fine arts" are generally thought to be the "static arts." Many of those who hold a fine arts degree - myself included (I have a DFA) - are in theater and dance rather than the traditional fine arts.
Academia can be screwy.

~ OMK

Picard said...

BillG Thanks for your Flying Fish experience near AVALON on Santa Catalina Island.

On our boat trip over I kept seeing what I thought were birds flying alongside the boat. Except they would dive into the water and not come up again. It took me a long time to realize those were flying fish. They really do fly!

Here I just added two more Flying Fish photos at the end on our way back from AVALON to Long Beach.

It was a lot of work to get those photos. I had to keep standing looking through the camera until one would come into view. This was back in the film era so I had no way to know until later if I had captured it properly.

Who remembers this song about traveling 26 miles across the sea to AVALON to Santa Catalina?


Mike Sherline said...

I enjoyed the puzzle, Mark, and your
always fine writeup, TTP.

4d - I have 2 music degrees. Neither one has an F or an A in it. BM & MM, both in performance. A long time ago ('71 & '76), so things may have changed.

Jinx @0812 Re: Auel's books - I'm another one. I remember trying to stretch them out so I wouldn't have to wait too long for the next one. When the wait got to be over a year toward the end of the series I lost track, then never did get back into it.

Husker @0924 - One's male, one's female.

Abejo @0937 - A lot of the tone poems, especially Finlandia and most of the ones by Richard Strauss, have GREAT tuba parts - really exciting and satisfying to play.

Rainman @0953 - I grew up in a typical '50s meat & potatos family, but on the advice of a cardiologist I've gone to a mostly plant-based diet in an attempt to arrest, or possibly even reverse, coronary artery disease. I still have the occasional chicken, bacon, etc. and a small amount of dairy. Hardly any beef, and we're not creative with veg meals - usually just stir fry or steam mixed veggies or bake squash or yams. But I don't miss it much, certainly don't long for it. I have been appalled to find out how much water and other resources are used and to think of the amount of pollution generated in the production of meat, so of course I'm also glad not to be contributing to that.

Mike Sherline said...

Picard @1845 - I liked your Catalina pictures - some of them remind me of the atmosphere of some of the towns I saw on various Caribbean Islands we visited when I was in the Navy. And the last ones of the flying fish are impressive - they almost look like airplanes flying low over the water.

I remember the song - 26 miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a'waitin' for me, Santa Catalina the island of,,,, romance, romance, romance. But I don't remember the rest of the words, so no on Avalon.

My favorite version of the tune "Avalon" is one by Louis Armstrong with a great modern Dixieland band.

TTP said...

Hey Sports Fans !

The World Series is about to start !

I know who Bill G will be rooting for, and I know who Wilbur Charles will be rooting for .

Based on a quick assessment, it looks like rib eye was the winner today.

Mark, thanks for stopping in.

SwampCat said...

Very late to the dance but I had to say how much I enjoyed this puzzle. Thanks, Mark.

I must have been on the right wavelength for I found it easier than most. The foreign words seem to have been some we’ve had before.

I loved the STEAK theme but I rarely eat it anymore. Chicken and fish, yes, and lots of vegetables.

Rainman, I can’t really say why. Not political or health based. I just started slowly and now prefer it.

TTP, thanks for the tour.

Misty said...

Many thanks for the explanation, Ol'Man Keith. It's been a while since I've thought about our degrees (or the ones we gave at U of Michigan when I taught there) so I wasn't sure what our current situation is in the arts. Very helpful information.

PK said...

I haven't moved away from beef. I just eat more hamburger because I find it easier to digest. The usual serving of steak is larger than I want at one meal in my old age. If I don't eat meat or eggs every meal, my blood sugar gets noticeably low and I can't function. I can't eat any raw fruits or vegetables any more so have to eat just cooked or dried veggies & fruits. I cook a roast of beef occasionally & slice it to freeze, then nuke a slice whenever I want the beef. I don't eat a third of what I did when I was 20-40.

My granddaughter is a vegetarian or vegan -- don't know what. She's had trouble getting enough protein in the college cafeteria. Don't know if her group or girls got that resolved.

I don't understand why you think there is less water used to grow vegetables or that there is more pollution with meat production. There doesn't have to be if things are done correctly.

billocohoes said...

Flying Fish were featured in Frazz in the comics today

PK, it's a matter of another step in the food chain. No process in nature is 100% efficient, and there are losses going from plant to meat. You need water to grow the feed corn, energy to transport it to the cattle, more water for the cattle, and more energy to process the animal to meat.

Picard said...

Mike Sherline thank you for the kind words about my flying fish photos on my return from AVALON to Long Beach. They look kind of like pterodactyls to me! I was in awe of their glide ratio. They sailed through the air barely dropping over a long distance. Interesting how they evolved so differently than other fish.

As for the song, sorry if I was not clear. The 26 Miles Across The Sea song that I linked to does not have the word AVALON in it. I was just making the connection between AVALON, Santa Catalina and the song. My mother used to sing that song when I was a child. I did not hear it myself until recently at our swing dances!

billocohoes thanks for the flying fish mention in that comic strip! I never heard of that strip; it was quite a reach for that reference! From fractions to flying fish!

PK I think billocohoes answered the main point about why meat uses more resources than vegetables. But beef is especially bad for the efficiency reason he named: Cows have an especially inefficient metabolism. So they need more water and food to make up for that inefficiency.

Here is a nice comparison of a wide variety of food and how much water it takes to make a pound of it.

Not much of a sports fan in general. But it is interesting to have Boston playing Los Angeles as I have affiliations with Boston and Southern California. I suppose either way "my team" wins!

Anonymous T said...

Now, why would one type Peter Cook when clearly David Frost was intended says*...

Fun WS Game 1. I'm agnostic on the final outcome, though, if Sox take it all that means Astros only lost to the best :-)

Picard - wow! Olive Oil takes more water to produce than frack'd crude? [TL; DR 6 to 1]

PK - Is this the grand-daughter at Tulane? How does she do vegetarian in NOLA? Even grits gots shrimps...

Cheers, -T
*I just finished Cleese's So Anyway... - quite the endearing and entertaining story.