Sunny day... Today we celebrate a TV show that has been an institution for decades. It dispenses the message of learning, good manners and tolerance.
My favorite song from the show is Kermit's It's Not Easy Being Green, of which Ray Charles said
“The words say 'It’s not easy being green,' but the song is about knowing who you are. And in it you hear Jim’s (Henson) message most clearly. He believed that people are good and that they want to do their best and that no matter how or why we might be different from anybody else, we should learn to love who we are and be proud of it.”
Rubber Ducky was a close second. 😙
Our own blogmistress C.C. steps up to the plate today and hits a home run with her lovely construction. In keeping with today's National Day, I must comment how C.C. has taught me so much about crosswords and has done it in such a pleasant and patient way. I would have been proud to have her as a colleague in my teaching profession. Further, she has inspired many of us to reach beyond our grasp and construct with her guidance and I know I am very grateful for that. Many of my friends now think I'm smart because my name is listed as a co-author on an LA Times puzzle.
C.C. has mastered her craft to such a degree that she can entertain us no matter the day or level of difficulty. My attempt at research shows this is her third Saturday LA Times submission, both of which were blogged by Splynter.
Let's see what else C.C. has to teach us today "where the air is sweet":
Across:
1. Cheese manufacturing by-product: WHEY - A lesser man would say, "this is a nice WHEY to start" but I won't!
5. 2017 events for SNAP and Blue Apron: IPOS - Initial Public OfferingS
9. Dolt: CLOD.
13. Green feature: HOLE - If you get a HOLE-in-one on this African-shaped green in South Africa, you win a million dollars.
14. Soup bar staple: MINESTRONE.
17. Dwarf planet named for a Greek goddess: ERIS - About the same size as Pluto but with an even more eccentric orbit
18. Annual awards for which many adolescents vote: TEEN CHOICE - This year's winners
19. "Do I dare to eat a peach?" poet: T.S. ELIOT - From The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock
21. Ready to go out: DRESSED.
22. Underground rodent: SEWER RAT - 'nuff said
24. Grafton's "__ for Alibi": A IS - What better series to feature on Sesame Street Day?
25. Oceanus, for one: TITAN - We saw the statue of this Greek/Roman TITAN of the sea at the Trevi Fountain
6. Only work Michelangelo ever signed: PIETA which is found at St. Peter's only a short distance from the Trevi Fountain
26. Shot in a tiny cup: ESPRESSO - Don Fanucci's demitasse of ESPRESSO has the same caffeine as a big cup of regular coffee Caffeine content in ESPRESSO compared to Regular Coffee
31. Top: CREST.
32. Bar at the garage: AXLE.
33. "Rich Man, Poor Man" novelist: SHAW - Irwin
34. Owns: HAS.
35. Bliss: ECSTASY - for both parent and offspring
38. Cold draft, perhaps: ALE- Mentioned last week on National Beer Day
39. "This other __, demi-paradise": Shak.: EDEN - The lovely passage from Richard II that ends in "This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England"
41. Obsessed mariner: AHAB - Many, including Gregory Peck himself, thought he was miscast as the lunatic AHAB in the 1956 movie of Moby Dick
50. Stops presenting evidence: RESTS - In this wonderful role, I'm sure Peck's Atticus Finch felt confident after his defense RESTED
42. Like sea lions: EARED - Pinnipeds compared
46. Data breach causes: HACKS - Is any data really safe?
47. Welcome sight?: MAT.
48. Small two-seater: SMART CAR - There's even room for one perp
51. Herald: USHER IN.
55. Soften: ASSUAGE crossing and 43. Set in motion: ACTUATE were my last fills
56. Rash-causing shrubs: POISON OAKS.
58. Quite some time: AGES.
59. Source of potential matches: DATING POOL - I haven't dipped my toe into that POOL for well over 50 years
60. Out house?: TENT - C.C. clever cluing! Here's an outhouse TENT for when you are living in another TENT serving as an "out" house.
61. Vein valuables: ORES.
62. "If all __ fails ... ": ELSE - read the directions
63. Body shop figs.: ESTS - Their ESTIMATES are usually pretty good
Down:
1. Sharpens: WHETS - In my first teen job at a local nursery, we carried WHET stones for the knives we used
2. Shrewd bargain: HORSE TRADE - Often concluded in halls of Congress
3. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Award was renamed for him: ELIE WIESEL - He had armed guards with him when he spoke at our high school
4. "We should!": YES LET'S
5. "Tough decision!": I'M TORN - How can I tell my coffee group I am on the fence?
8. Dispatch: SEND.
9. Mass symbols: CROSSES - Here's one suspended at the front of our St. Pat's Church
10. Hi's wife, in comics: LOIS - Some Hi and Lois cwd fill. Oh, Hi and Lois is a pun!
11. Some time ago: ONCE.
12. House document: DEED - The DEED to the famous South Fork Ranch featured in Dallas15. Tough spots: SCRAPES.
16. "__ Eyes Were Watching God": Hurston novel: THEIR - Zora Neale Hurston's tale of Janie Crawford "ripening from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny."
20. Fit to be tied: IRATE - Some politicians from four days ago
23. Some online banners: TEXT ADS - Ads for MAN BAGS started appearing on this page after it had appeared in a puzzle here recently
27. Big piece: SLAB - Of course it can be a big piece of a pastry but it is also what we called a big piece of concrete
28. Divers' protection: SHARK CAGES - For $99 on Oahu's north shore, you can get this experience below which could include a visit from 49. Powerful sharks: MAKOS.
29. Pitcher?: SALES AGENT - We got a cheap Branson Vacation Package but we had to listen to a SALES AGENT pitch time-shares
30. Outstanding: OWED - It's not how much the car costs or how much the salesman says he is giving you for your car, it is what is OWED when you're all done
31. "Believe" singer: CHER.
32. Court immortal: ASHE - His statue now stands on Monument Ave. in his hometown of Richmond, VA. Debate continues about tearing down the other statues on that street that celebrate Confederate heroes
36. Certain director's concern: CASTING - Their infamous CASTING couches have been much in the news
37. Quite some time: YEARS.
40. Waterloo: NEMESIS - This is the man-made "Lion's Hill" near Waterloo, Belgium on the battlefield where Napoleon met his, uh, Waterloo. For a fee you can climb its 225 steps for a panoramic view
45. Alphabetically first Baseball Hall of Famer: AARON - The last on this alphabetical list was a SS who was elected in 1999 and has a last name beginning with "Y". *Answer is at the bottom of this write-up and I'll bet C.C. and Boomer know who it is.
46. Major headache: HASSLE.
51. Bun, e.g.: UPDO.
52. Skyrocket: SOAR - The Blue Angels know how
53. "Women and Love" author: HITE - Ouch!
54. "You wish": NOPE.
57. Yahoo! sister company: AOL.
With apologies to Sue Grafton, B IS also FOR Birthday today. So let me share a picture of my wife's twin Joyce, their mother Martha and my wife Joann on this day, the sisters' 72nd birthday.
Don't be a grouch, give us your comments:
*Robin Yount is the last name alphabetically at Cooperstown.
DNF. Misspelt ECSTAcY, and several problems in the SW.
ReplyDeleteIn the DATING POOL, use caution.
Both minnows and MAKOS are tossed in.
Keep your heart's fave
In a SHARK CAGE,
It's so easy to feign true passion!
ONCE, I DATED a dish with watercress.
I did it to spite my NEMESIS.
I tried to impress
By spending lettuce.
My salad was very well DRESSED!
{A, B+.}
I will never remember ROBIN YOUNT without thinking of recently fired Twins manager PAUL MOLITOR . They played together so many years in Milwaukee and both had hall of fame careers with more than 3,000 hits each
ReplyDeletePuzzle was great and the write-up a work of art
Only slowdown was POISON IVYS which I knew was wrong but it and SUMAC came to mind first.
HG wonderful pictures of the sisters and mom
ReplyDeletePuzzle was also a sad reminder we will never know if Sue Grafton would have stopped at Z.
Thank you Gary and C.C.
Easy-peasy. Off to do the USAT and WSJ.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteLearning moment: Didn't know how to spell ELIE WIESEL. It was also the only Wite-Out moment in C.C.'s themeless. Thought 18a began "Animal awards..." Otherwise this was a smooth solve. Thanx, C.C. and Husker (Were you being cute? If it's the twin sister's birthday, it must also be your wife's birthday, right? Happy birthday, at any rate.)
WHEY: Almost every township "block" of my ute harbored a cheese factory. The whey was dumped into the ditch outside. Driving by, we referred to it as the "good ole country air." BTW, there's nothing better than still-warm cheese curd. Tastes like squeaky popcorn.
SLAB: All homes in this part of the country are built on a slab. The water table is too high to permit basements. The slab is more than a flat piece of concrete. It contains the pre-installed plumbing pipes, strategically placed beams and re-bars for strength, and embedded bolts for attaching the side walls.
My guess was Cy Young. Enjoyed the puzzle and FIR with patience in 22.56.
ReplyDeleteHello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteZoomed right through.
Morning Husker, I have heard claims that espresso shots contain lots of caffeine, but I’ve also seen claims that the steam extraction process actually yields less caffeine than ordinary hot water brewing does from a like amount of ground coffee. YMMV.
"This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England." I would've bet money that this was a Winston Churchill quote, not Shakey. Glad that nobody took me up on it.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Gary. To our admin: thanks for deleting the "nattering nabob of negativity" who ignored all the delightful things in Gary's write-up. CC, well done. The puzzle seemed difficult at first, but FIR in better time than most Saturdays.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Joyce and Joann. You both look so young.
CSO to my hiking sister, Lois. She completed the entire Appalachian Trail in sections. She also "peak bagged" all the 4000 footers in NH from bottom to top and down again rather than going from peak to peak.
I just had to find and reread this selection from Shakespeare.
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
I'm torn at election time. Again I held my nose and voted for the lesser of two evils. Warning, corny old joke coming up.
Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much.
The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.
Alan is improving day by day.
I don’t think of HORSETRADing as necessarily “shrewd” but OK.
ReplyDeleteI’ve read complaints that Peck didn’t use a Southern accent in Mockingbird (so the only unprejudiced person in town sounded like a Yankee)
Well good morning. I initially spelled a couple incorrectly but overcame those mistakes as I filled the perps. EROS to ERIS, LEAKS to HACKS, and UNLEASHED to RELEASHED but I finished it one pass. Rare for a Saturday. It was HASSLE free. TEEN CHOICE, TITAN and HITE were solved by perps. EDEN was a WAG.
ReplyDeleteSMART CAR- you won't feel smart if you are inside and get into a wreck.
Hank AARON- when the voting for the Hall of Fame was announced he didn't receive one vote. I still remember the local sports announcer, RON SWABODA (remember him), saying that he wondered why it wasn't unanimous and he wondered who that jerk was.
DEED- no deeds for real estate where I live. Just registered at the Clerk of Court's Office.
SHARK CAGES- I prefer to watch the sharks on the Discovery Channel or Nat-Geo.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Big Easy, my head kind of snapped when you said Hank Aaron did not get one vote for the Hall Of Fame and dopey old me took it wrong. I now see you meant Hank got every vote BUT one where a true jerk did hold out. I have to read better! :)
-Dudley, I inserted a link in the write-up comparing caffeine content in espresso and regular coffee
-2” of snow, high winds and 19˚F temps reached up and slapped us yesterday. I wonder how many Husker fans will show up for the game today. It is already sold out but…
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteCC + HG = SSS (Super Special Saturday). I didn't zoom through this but I didn't slog, either. My unknowns were: Eris, Titan and, as clued, Eden and Cher. I confidently entered Marvell (T. S. Eliot), Roadster (Smart Car), and Orcas (Makos), only to find they were all incorrect. I liked the clechos of the two Quite some time clues and the Whey/Whets crossing and the Makos/Shark Cages duo. My favorite C/A was Out house=Tent.
Thanks, CC, for a challenging and enjoyable solve and thanks, HG, for the bright and cheery commentary. Loved the kitties, as usual.
Happy Birthday to Joann and Joyce. 🎂🎂🎈🎈🎉🎉🎁🎁 Thanks for sharing that lovely photo, Gary.
YR, I hope Alan is on the road to recovery and that your DIL is comfortable and in good hands. Re your comment at 8:34, I missed seeing the comment that was deleted, but I'd be willing to bet that it was by our resident Anonymous nit-picker who is usually in the wrong. I'm glad I missed it.
Have a great day.
HG: I see you corrected your misplaced apostrophe, but why did you delete my post and not D-O's?
ReplyDeleteWe both pointed out that the way your sentence was originally written left some confusion as to whose birthday it was today. It's possible that the twins could have different days if one was born before the other after midnight.
It wasn't a mean or political statement, so why did you censor it?
We are here to Serve and Correct
To easy for a Saturday. Makes me sad.
ReplyDeleteEasy there, Grammar Police. Most likely, it was not a grammar mistake, but a simple typo. I am sure you were not confused as to the meaning. I have made typos like that, and after proof reading I still have not noticed them before I published,even though I know better.
ReplyDelete-Grammar police did find an apostrophe mistake in my review on which I had spent quite a bit of time. I corrected it and then deleted the original corrective post so as not to confuse others. Congrats GP..
ReplyDelete-I appended a link to my ESPRESSO comment to show how the caffeine content can be stated either way depending on if it is measured qualitatively or quantitatively. I left Dudley's comment as he had the good manners to put his name on his post and I know him well enough to respect what he was saying. BTW, it was Dudley's comment and not D-O's so while you are "serving", "Physician correct thyself".
Actually, it was my comment.
ReplyDeleteEZ PZ for Saturday.
ReplyDeleteNot a cloud in the sky, but cold...24º. I still think I'm going to go out and ride my bike. It's the wind that kills me, but today it's laid down, so why not, huh!
Have a great day
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGreat intro, Husker to CC's very fine Saturday puzzle. Thanks to both.
Got it done without serious incident, but had to probe to get consistency which finally developed near the bottom. The solve began to bloom and I finished in the NW. Some very fine cluing today.
2" snow last evening, but the sun is making it go away. Enjoy your weekend.
Happy Birthday to the Twins. MIL looks superb; congrats for making it all possible.
JJM, 24° is too cold for a bike ride...40° too cold.
ReplyDelete38A: The clue should have been COLD DRAUGHT.
ReplyDeleteHappy Happy birthday!
ReplyDelete(twice as nice...)
It's not easy bein' green...
D-O, yeah I know, but GP's comment was on the same issue but was snarky and yours was clever so...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know, I violated the rule about feeding the trolls. My Bad!
Hi Y'all! Gem of a puzzle, C.C. Not easy but I finished in five or ten minutes less than usual time. Flowed well. Thanks. Gary, enjoyed your expo.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to the twins and the lady who did all the work to make it a birthday.
I'm too groggy to post much this morning. The young man next door built smudgie bonfires in two receptacles on his patio last night and smoke was sucked down the vents on my roof to fill my house. I yell at him every time he does it, but he continues to try it again. I've got a chestful of congestion and a cough this morning. 25 degrees and he's tending a bonfire. Hope he froze some crucial parts that prevent him passing his stubborn stupidity to a next generation.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle went along fine. Took me about an hour and a half and three cups of Earl Grey tea. Having another cup right now.
Yellowrocks: Congratulations on your sister's hiking feat of hiking the Appalachian Trail. As a note, my mother also hiked the entire trail, 2100 miles. She also section hiked it and finished in 2004 at the age of 80 years old. I went with her the last two years up in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. She was so proud to have accomplished that.
The puzzle was tough, but I got it done. Too many tough answers to list them all. Perps helped as always.
Husker Gary: Liked you wife's and her twin's pictures with their mother. Nice.
Off to my day. Still snow on the ground.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Woohoo! Thank you, thank you, thank you, C.C., for a totally delightful Saturday puzzle. Your first gift to me was the quote from T.S. ELIOT. Then I got the easy HAS for 'owns,' and together they helped me get ELIE WIESEL. With that great start the northwest filled right in. Then I got PIETA and AHAB, and that filled in the middle, along with ASHE. Then LOIS and A IS finished helping with the northeast and the middle. By then I was already started on the south, and got stuck only on the southeast, which took a tiny bit of cheating to finish. But one of my best Saturday solves in AGES! Thank you, again, for this treat, C.C.!
ReplyDeleteThanks too for your great write-up, Husker Gary, and loved the birthday picture of the twins.
Yellowrocks, so glad Alan is getting better.
Funny limericks this morning, Owen, thanks.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
Thank you, C.C. and Gary! This was a fine puzzle and well reviewed.
ReplyDeleteIt was somewhat challenging but doable with no obscure names.
I also liked out house? TENT
Hurston's novel, THEIR Eyes Were Watching God is written in dialect and very difficult to follow. For me, anyway.
Happy birthday to Joann and her twin!!!
Have a delightful day, everyone!
On 38a -- DRAUGHT is chiefly British. DRAFT is correct as clued: : the act of causing a liquid to come out of a container or source : the act of drawing (as from a cask or keg).
ReplyDeleteWhy don't complainers LIU before posting?
I enjoyed this puzzle and Gary's write-up. Both well done. Loved the clue for TENT. Joann has such a nice smile, exuding enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteTwo Saturday FIRs in a row?!? I must be getting smarter :-)
I kept wanting curd for 1a but knew it was wrong so I started my solve at IPOs and everything bloomed from there.
Thanks C.C. for the puzzle; it was a HOLE lot of fun [HG, I am a lesser man!]
Thanks HG for the Saturday tour chock-full of infotainment. Please extend my HBD wishes to Joann & sis.
WOs: sLOb b/f CLOD; bill (think Congress) b/f DEED; ERoS [hi BigE!]; eons b/f AGES; I read Diver as Driver and had Seat-something as protection...
ESPs: ELIE WIESEL [for spelling!, Hi D-O!], HITE, ++other stuff, I'm sure
Fav: I just like the word CLOD as applied, not to DIRT, but morons.
{A, B+ [and cute!]}
FLN - Michael: I didn't post LN, but I did read your late comment and thought, a) The Corner is open 24/7! and b) that's the amount of rain Houston got yesterday; we'd gladly share w/ California.
MagillaGo - Draft is correct in US English and provides for fun cluing misdirection.
PK@11:22a - LOL you're wish upon the gene POOL!
HG - I suppose it's how you define "really" and "safe." Data is "safe" iff you make obtaining it more difficult than your advisory has resources to access it. The biggest issue is trusting that those you share the data with will spend the same as you to protect your data from their advisories. Eg. My financial information was safe (on my computer [encrypted on off-line storage]) but Equifax didn't sufficiently secure the data entrusted to them. #GameOver
Misty - DW's an English Major and leanred me that Afternoons and Coffeespoons was a reference to TS. ELIOT's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. I understand the Dummies lyrics* better :-)
Cheers, -T
Didn't refresh nor double-check b/f posting say...
ReplyDeleteSpitz beat me to draft; auto-correct got adversary wronger than I; And, I forgot to add
*Lyrics to the song:
What is it that makes me just a little bit queasy?
There's a breeze that makes my breathing not so easy
I've had my lungs checked out with X rays
I've smelled the hospital hallways
Someday I'll have a disappearing hairline
Someday I'll wear pajamas in the daytime
Times when the day is like a play by Sartre
When it seems a bookburning's in perfect order
I gave the doctor my description
I've tried to stick to my prescription
Someday I'll have a disappearing hairline
Someday I'll wear pajamas in the daytime
Oh, Oh, Oh...
Afternoons will be measured out
Measured out, measured with
Coffee spoons and T.S. Eliot
Maybe if I could do a play-by-playback
I could change the test results that I will get back
I've watched the summer evenings pass by
I've heard the rattle in my bronchi...
CC thanks for an enjoyable Saturday ride! A rare case of no unknowns; just some tricky clues as it should be!
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary thanks once again for a thoroughly illustrated report!
SUE GRAFTON lived here in Santa Barbara. I never actually read any of her books. But apparently her stories took place in "Santa Teresa" which was a stand-in for Santa Barbara.
When I lead hikes, my top priority is to show people what POISON OAKS look like. "Leaflets three, let it be." As far as I know, it is the same plant as POISON Ivy. Not a single species, but a collection of species with the same toxin. I warn people that it can be any color. It can be a shrub or a vine. At any level, including dangling down at face level!
Here is a colorful patch of POISON OAK on a hike I recently led.
Here are my videos from BLISStopia, a recent performance here.
BLISStopia was a hilarious participatory take-off on all of the New Age culture in Santa Barbara. We each had two hours to visit seven different gurus, each aligning one of our chakras. DW and I completed the mission, aligning all of them. Plus a secret eighth "cat chakra".
I never caught the pun of Hi and LOIS! Thanks, Husker Gary!
Our Congress member LOIS Capps was named "nicest member of Congress" by Washingtonian Magazine.
Here I was with LOIS Capps last month. My article about her talk is in the pipeline.
Husker Gary had a nice photo of the Trevi Fountain, so I will skip that.
But here is my photo of the nearby PIETA.
I have plenty of SEA LIONS photos. And some other MICHELANGELO photos.
I said yesterday that today would be a bear, but I didn’t expect one of the “teddy” variety. Seemed more like a Wednesday outing.
ReplyDeleteOne markover.....DATINGSITE b4 DATINGPOOL.
Husker G... I read that the same way, had to reread. I wonder who the A****** was.
Enjoy the weekend,..,see you Monday.
Y'all ready for this? [3:46]
ReplyDeleteThat was us Dads doing our best; good thing the Girls were out front covering (most) our mistakes. Cheers, -T
//if you're looking for me - left 40yd-line in the back at the end of Rawhide.
Ta ~ DA!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent pzl from our C.C. with a beautifully illustrated exegesis from HuskerG!
What I enjoyed most about C.C.'s creation was how it challenged my imagination. The two-word fills, especially those with contractions (I'M TORN!), require a real leap from me.
Husker ~
Thank you for posting that photo of the ASHE statue. I hadn't seen it before.
For ten years I lived just off Monument Blvd in Richmond and was quite used to seeing the several statues to Lee, Jeb Stuart, and other Confederate figures - so that I rarely gave them a second thought.
It is hard to imagine them being torn down. I don't say this in favor of their "lost cause," but purely as a matter of historical record in the capital city of the Confederacy. I would think the city administration (which was half-and-half black and white when I last lived there) could find a way to add context to the displays.
~ OMK
____________
DR: What a gift of diagonals from C.C.! I don't recall so many (four!) from her in the recent past. We have one on the near side (NW to SE), and a 3-way in the mirror (NE to SW)!
I don't have time to decipher all the potential anagrams, but the main anchor diag gives us a tantalizing preview or what we may find elsewhere (or in future pzls?). We are aroused to high alert by a sharp message ...
"HOT WARNINGS!"
I tried CURDS. Ms Muffet fan.
ReplyDeleteI've mentally slowed down since solving. Yount of course was Brewers not Twins.
Speaking of Hof and "Unanimous". When there's a sure thing some voters "Malice notwithstanding" drop an Aaron and vote for homey.
Oops time for church. Great CC Saturday xword which I FIR ed pretty easily. My cheat? I snuck some reg with my decaf.
An ounce of regular for me = 3 shots of ESPRESSO.
HBD Presley O'Bannon and the USMC
WC
desper-otto @7:52 ~
ReplyDeleteShakespeare puts the words into the mouth of the ailing John of Gaunt in The Life and Death of King Richard II. It is a wonderfully patriotic poem used by WS to contrast the gravity of a dying man with the frivolity of the young king.
John of Gaunt was the founder of the Lancastrian line (the red roses), the nobility who would square off against the Yorkists (white roses) in the Wars of the Roses. It is curious that Shakespeare made him the symbol of true Englishness, as he was born in Belgium. These were the days when aristocrats, especially royalty--those with the freedom to move between countries--were true internationalists.
~ OMK
Tony, I got a big kick out of the Lariettes & dads. So very Texas. When I was down there at a jr. college in 1960, I think every school had a chorus line of smiling gals in short fringed skirts, boots and cowgirl hats. Still in fashion, I see. By the way, you looked fine. You didn't fall on your face and looked as good or better than the other dads who were out there for fun and devotion to fatherhood.
ReplyDeleteANON-T Congrats on your fine performance. Being a veteran of several marching bands (ugh!), I was pretty amazed to see theirs has NINE sousaphones! WOW!
ReplyDeleteHi everybody. I always enjoy a clever theme in a crossword puzzle. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this themeless offering more than usual on a Saturday. There were some fresh entries and the whole thing was mostly doable for me with only a few red letters. Thanks CC and Gary. You two have brightened my Saturday.
ReplyDeleteMy personal experience with espresso matches the information presented in Gary's link. Almost every afternoon I have a double espresso or macchiato. (A macchiato is espresso with some steamed milk and foam added on top.) If I had two cups of regular brewed coffee or two cokes in the afternoon, it would likely give me an unpleasant buzz and interfere with my sleep.
The news is so depressing. First the shooting at a club in Westlake about 50 miles NNW of here. Now, these dreadful fires driven by the Santa Ana winds. Most regular TV programs have been pre-empted by continuous coverage of the fires. Very sad.
Keep calm and carry on...
Thanks, Anon T. I haven't looked at the "Lovesong of JAP" in a while. Will try to do so this weekend.
ReplyDeletedesper-otto thanks for your concern. All went well. Rode 20 mi in bright sunshine, albeit in 28°-30° temps... but no wind. So, all good. Pleasant ride as there were very few people on the path today.
ReplyDeleteAnon -T - In the (only?) black leather jacket? Very impressive.
ReplyDeleteFond memory:
ReplyDeletePrufrock won for me my first-ever speech prize. "First place, San Francisco Bay Area Oral Interpretation."
I came across it in a speech class and fell in love with it. I spent hours in the campus library listening via headphones to Eliot reading his own poem. There was no way I would copy him, but I found his dry Anglo-inflected delivery a splendid introduction to his cadence and intended emphases.
I had the audacity of youth and decided to included the canto from Dante with which he introduces the poem. I don't know Italian, so I learned it by rote. I still love saying the words,
"S’io credesse che mia risposta fosse ..."
It turned out to be a wonderful way to introduce the poem. Eliot knew exactly what he was doing: it is a welcoming chime to go seamlessly from the Italian,
"... Senza tema d’infamia ti rispondo", and slide right into the English,
"Let us go then, you and I ... "
It still gives me chills.
~ OMK
Anon-T,
ReplyDeleteWell, I am impressed!
You had the highest leg kicks of any guy there...
Also, you got me back double for my lack of attention span...
I had to watch the video three times...
1st time, = holy crap! is that what he was talking about!
2nd time, wait, which 40 yard line, there are two of them...
3rd time, Black leather jacket, ok I gotcha now...
I only wish I could enlarge the video and zoom in...
Anon-T, you're quite a dancer! Great going. You must have made your daughter proud.
ReplyDeleteMy DIL had hip replacement surgery yesterday. She has quite a bit of soft tissue damage from the accident. She can neither stand up nor sit up. The doctor said that it would take two weeks just to be able to do that. She will have to go to rehab connected to the hospital in the city until she can stand and sit well enough to transfer back to NJ and then months more to get back to normal.
Thankfully, Alan is now resuming all his regular activities.
Greetings from St Louis!
ReplyDeleteOn leg 1 of a road trip to Branson (hi, HG!). Finally got to the puzzle about half an hour ago; FIR in ~25 minutes. Nice puzzle and a good way to unwind after hours of driving. Thanks C.C. and Husker!
I have little to say that hasn’t already been said, but OMK, I was introduced to J Alfred as a college freshman. We were required to write several papers "decoding" it and by the time that unit ended I had begun a lifelong love of it. I still reread it every few months.
Well, I missed every single one of my naps today and there’s still more driving tomorrow, so I’m packing it in for the night.
Bye, all!
Loved the CW. Many new fills. Great write up.
ReplyDeleteBut Tony! It is your dance revue that made me post!! LOVED IT. You were great, and a great sport. I’m sure your daughter is proud.
Owen, both A’s.
Good evening Cornies. I'm late to the party.
ReplyDeleteI worked the CW early this AM, and used P & P, perps and WAGS to FIR. Only after I finished, did I notice that C.C. constructed this masterpiece. Thanks.
Thank you Husker Gary for your excellent review.
Ðave
Late to the party. Thanks for the fun C.C. and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteI finished in what was good time for me on a Saturday but FIW. My planet was Iris which gave me Whits which made no sense for "sharpens". No ECSTASY here.
I wanted migraine for "major Headache". HASSLE fit.
Enjoyed the English lessons today.
CSO. to AnonT with HACKS. Loved the Father - Daughter Dance. Your daughter must be so proud of you. Not many dads would even try.
My iPad is running out of juice.
Good evening all.
It's the last night for just the two of us (DW's in Boston), so, after we went for Mexican, I introduced Youngest to WarGames (how'd I overlook that for so long?)
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the comments/complements on the dance... If you watch closely, you'll notice that I keep turning to my right even when I'm supposed to go left. [I was watching youngest for my cues]
Spitz - I was told we could wear sleeves (JJM - it was a COLD 52F!) iff it was black. That leather one is the only heavy jacket I have, fortunately it's black. Unfortunately, my ear-covering-hat is a red with the OU logo on it -- my ears were cold. //and >1/2 the dads were UT or A&M; hide the hat dad!
PK - and those cowgirl hats are heavy (for a hat). I have even more appreciation of the moves the girls can do with those and the low-heeled boots on.
Last thing - after I saw what the team's captain's dad had to do (without guys to cue off of), I told Youngest - "No offense, but please give up your dream of team captain." :-)
Cheers, -T
Husker 9:48 - interesting article about caffeine. I hope I did not cause offense, as none was intended, with my post; I recognize that guest-blogging is a serious commitment (particularly for a Saturday!) and have no desire to seem argumentative with the volunteers doing it. Particularly those with cats. :-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings!
ReplyDeleteThanks to C.C. and Gary!
FIR. Really pretty easy.
Belated HB to the twins!
Hope to see you tomorrow!
Good job, Tony! Your daughter must be proud of you and you of her!
ReplyDelete