17. Smartphone condition resolved by recharging: LOW BATTERY. My cell phone only works when it is plugged in.
32. Unable to see because of reflected sunlight: SNOW BLIND. Dr Bruce Haight might diagnose this condition as photokeratitis, but I'm guessing he probably doesn't see many cases in his southern California practice.
38. "The West Wing" actor: ROB LOWE.
46. Martin Waddell book about birds missing their mother: OWL BABIES.
61. Baker's staple, and a hint to this puzzle's circles: MIXING BOWL.
My site search of the Corner suggests that MaryEllen doesn't construct for the LA Times very often but when she does, it's always pleasant, and fresh. I enjoyed the cluing and seeing some answers we don't encounter very often.
Across:
1. Like a pendulum's path: ARCED.
6. Tinted: HUED.
10. Loading platform: DOCK.
14. Question before "Yes, you!": WHO ME ? Simple but lovely.
15. Gumbo pod: OKRA.
16. Dark purple berry: ACAI. ah-sigh-EE. Today I learned that they are dark purple and how to pronounce the word.
19. Geeky type: NERD. I have geeky tendencies that came with the career.
20. Succulent plant genus: ALOE.
21. Went out in the sloop: SAILED. I can't help but think of John B when I read that word. It's the only association this landlubber has for it.
23. Not quite closed: AJAR. Hahtoolah has a joke for this word that is rated G - All Audiences.
26. Antlered grazers: ELKS.
29. Brawl: MELEE. Often seen in Ice Hockey games. Field Hockey, not so much.
30. Short-legged Welsh dog breed: CORGI. The Queen's favorites.
34. Quimby girl of kid-lit: RAMONA. "...when Cleary wrote from Ramona's point of view, all of the little girl's actions made perfect sense."
36. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI. H.G. Wells popularized the enduring Sci Fi trope of time travel, just as Mary Shelley popularized the motif of mad scientists in Frankenstein.
37. Letters after ems: ENS. Plurals of the 13th and 14th letters of the English alphabet. I doubt we would see a similar clue for the 16th letter.
40. Press into service: USE.
43. __ history: ORAL.
44. Buy eagerly, as discount goods: SNAP UP.
51. One getting private instruction: TUTEE. Tutor/tutee. Mentor/mentee.
52. Pottery remnant: SHARD.
53. What snakes' tongues sense: ODOR.
55. Take a nap: DOZE. Anonymous T ! Wake up !
56. Brunch cocktail: MIMOSA. Tinbeni can wet his whistle if he likes champagne with his brunch.
58. Hawaiian feast: LUAU. Poi, pig, poke, pineapple and punch, and hopefully some music to set the mood.
60. Mishmash: OLIO. Hodgepodge.
67. Texter's button: SEND. Please don't text while driving. Spread the word.
68. __ out a living: EKED.
69. Bee product: HONEY.
70. Neither calm nor collected: EDGY.
71. Loch __ monster: NESS. Nellie.
72. Cell terminal: ANODE. The other terminal is the cathode. I ordered a new battery for my cell phone.
Down:
1. Tool for making eyelet holes: AWL.
2. P-like Greek letter: RHO.
An iconic advertising campaign that started with a pair of rebel cows painting a billboard.
4. Trade restriction: EMBARGO.
5. Word with fair and square: DEAL. And real.
6. Lodging spots: HOTELS.
7. 58-Across instrument: UKE. Good choice for a luau.
8. Go wrong: ERR. I don't know whether the ad agency was promoting the dress or the clutch, but I'm pretty sure that mirrors don't work that way.
9. Common work shift: DAYS.
10. Explorer Boone: DANIEL.
11. Eyelike spots: OCELLI. Not your common Tuesday crossword word.
The Peacock's 'Tuneful' Tail Feathers
12. Tilt dangerously around corners: CAREEN. A Google site search indicates this word has been an answer in only three LA Times crosswords since C.C. started this blog.
13. Teased: KIDDED.
18. Sock part: TOE.
22. Atmospheric kind of music: AMBIENT. We had ambience as an answer in Bruce Haight's puzzle last Thursday, and it is an uncommon answer, but we've seen ambient as an answer even less. We mostly see it as a clue, as in "Ambient music pioneer Brian ___."
23. Plot measure: ACRE.
24. Author Didion: JOAN. Author, The Year of Magical Thinking
25. Weaponry: ARMS.
27. Tolled mournfully: KNELLED. A rare answer in LA Times crossword puzzles. The only occurrence I could find was a Jeffrey Weschler Friday puzzle in 2014.
28. By oneself: SOLO.
31. Sudden attacks: INROADS. 2nd definition. I think more in terms of the 1st: Bits of progress, advancements.
33. Dazzles: WOWS.
35. 50-50 choice, perhaps: A OR B.
39. Scott of "Happy Days": BAIO. He played Chachi.
40. __-the-minute: UP TO. I'm jaded by the major news TV outlets and all of the "Breaking News" headlines that are anything but.
41. Canal in a 1956 dispute: SUEZ.
42. Fencing sword: EPEE.
45. Society named for an ornithologist: AUDUBON. The only occurrence I could find was a Pam Amick Klawitter Friday puzzle in 2016.
46. Seep slowly through: OSMOSE. Another rare answer. A Brad Wilber Saturday and a Bruce Haight Wednesday.
47. Caused to pass (away), as time: WHILED. A Google site search proved to me that I've never seen this in a clue or an answer for LA Times crossword puzzle. Only in comments.
48. Causing to limp, say: LAMING. Pretty much the same as above, but as far I can tell, no one has ever used this word even in the comments section.
49. Feeling depressed: BROODY. We've seen the word in clues, but I couldn't find it as an answer.
50. Geometric category: SOLIDS.
54. Sprint: RUN.
57. "Yes indeed!": AMEN. You can say that again.
59. Muslim honorific: AGHA.
62. '50s White House nickname: IKE. DDE becomes CIC of the country.
63. Simple signatures: XES.
64. Yoko from Tokyo: ONO.
65. United in marriage: WED.
66. Cleaning chemical: LYE.
It's not as if there wasn't a lot of common crossword fill. There was, and that's not unusual for a Tuesday puzzle. But I was struck by the uncommon answers, and it added to my enjoyment. I hope you enjoyed it as well.
Thank you for the exhaustive write-up and research Tom.
ReplyDeleteI think if they clued 15th letter as OOS someone living with me would be pleased. I have seen books by BEVERLY CLEARY but did not know RAMONA.
What if the girl with the clutch is not standing by a mirror but a poster?
I like MaryEllen's puzzle (I blogged her last LAT in 2016) but I thought the fill LAMING was lame.
Anyway, thank you both
Thanks to each of you who contacted me while I was away, and who welcomed me back to the Corner.
ReplyDeleteÐave
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteTried OCULIS before OCELLI showed up; my only over-write this morning. Was going to complain that the circles weren't placed symmetrically. Then I noticed that the words containing the circles, plus the reveal, are symmetrical. D'oh! Thanx for mixing things up, MaryEllen, and for the astute expo, TTP.
CAREEN: Not sure the word was even used in the book, but for me it always evokes Mr. Toad's wild ride in The Wind In The Willows.
TUTEE: CSO to Bill G, as the tutor.
CORGI: We used to run into Stella the Corgi almost every morning on our daily march, but since her English Spaniel buddy, George, moved away, she stays in her yard.
UTHLAUT: Gotta love a constructor who's name begins with UT, right?
Hugh is known to you all.
ReplyDeleteHe's good with an ax and a saw.
And tree blossoms he likes
Blue, pink, and white,
Hugh can hew any HUE at all!
I've called my wife HONEY for years.
To do else would distress her to tears.
It's become such a habit,
I confess, dagnabit,
I've forgotten her real name, I fears!
FIW, WAGging LAMeNd instead of the equally unknown LAMING. Should have known EDGY instead of EDdY, and always guess at OLiO / OLEO. BAD SPELLERS OF THE WORLD, UNTIE!!! But I have no laments about the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMy first thought re snakes' tongues was fear, but knew it wasn't so.
My sister and her ex used to manage the bird museum at VPI, now Va Tech. They had many original AUDUBONs there IIRC. It wasn't open to the public, just scholars, and was out in the middle of nowhere near Christiansburg, VA. The ex was getting his PhD at the time.
I LIU, and INROAD once meant sudden attack. Who knew? Now it means "encroach" or "advance".
The Daniel Boone National Forest bounded two sides of my 8-acre family home in Eastern Kentucky. Ft. Boonesborough State Park is less than an hour south of Lexington, and has one of the state's nicest beaches along the banks of the Kentucky River.
Thought of Joe South's "Games People Play" when I filled WHILED:
Oh the games people play now
Every night and every day now
Never meaning what they say now
Never saying what they mean
And they while away the hours
In their ivory towers
Till they're covered up with flowers
In the back of a black limousine
Thanks for the fun puzzle, MaryEllen. And thanks to TTP for the solid write up. And get that battery replaced! Lithium batteries are dangerous and can explode when they reach the end of their service life. (But you know that already.) Best Buy threw me out of the store in January when the Geek Squad tech saw swelling in my laptop's battery.
Enjoyed this puzzle and the more than usual Tuesday crunchiness got my brain waking up!
ReplyDeleteMy kids and I all enjoyed the Beverly Cleary books and the gang from Klickitat St.: Ramona, Beezus, Henry and his dog Ribsy. My husband is from Oregon and we even drove on Klickitat St. in Portland on a visit.
Fun write-up TTP - the Beach Boys song will be my earworm for the day! And interesting puzzle MaryEllen!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy enough Tuesday. No searches needed. Agree with Lemon about LAMING. Got the MIXING BOWL gimmick early. but I don't find circles a plus in puzzle enjoyment.
KNELL - Maybe one of the saddest words in the English language.
TTP - Thanks for the fine intro.
Nice puzzle, no problems. Interesting, well researched blogging, TTP.
ReplyDeleteThat model was lovely, but the mirror image was jarring.
New to me, but easily perped, was "Owl Babies" with its British accent. My first thought was "Are You My Mother?" which I must have read 100 times. A bird hatches from his egg while his mother is out getting food. He doesn't know what his mother looks like, so he asks every animal he meets, "Are You My Mother?" When his mother returns he knows her immediately.
Beverly Cleary and her Ramona books were favorites with my young students.
After I retired I enjoyed tutoring my TUTEES for ten or more years. It was fun interacting with them without the mumbo jumbo of the school admin. I especially enjoyed tutoring pre algebra and research paper writing. I enjoyed the varying ages from kindergarten through middle school and the one-on-one relationships. I also enjoyed teaching a senior citizen Bible class in my 20's. My students treated me like a beloved granddaughter.
In re breaking news: Each tease adds a tiny detail until the actual reveal is anticlimactic.
Laming seems normal to me. The hiker tripped over a rock laming him for the remainder of the hike.
Spitz, I agree about knell.
Some unique down words in the SW corner made this interesting. With the circles, I knew they had to begin with BLOW, but it took a bit to get them, and I was getting BROODY as I WHILED the time away.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-The Coasters famously sang of Charlie Brown, “Yeah you, WHO ME?”
-The day my snow blower wouldn’t start, guess what I had to “press into service”
-When you jump start a car, connect ANODE to ANODE and Cathode to cathode
-CAREEN personified
-My optometrist keeps asking “A OR B” as he flips lenses in front of me
-Pedantic discussion of wile vs WHILE
-LAMING – Even the Sloop John B seeks any port in a storm
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe minute I saw the mixed up Bowl, I thought of Boomer and when I filled in Olio, I thought of CC, as that's a word she uses often. So, happy thoughts while solving this offering. I needed perps for Ramona, Ocelli, and Owl Babies. No w/os but, as TTP noted, a few nose wrinklers, especially Laming. My brunch drink would be a Bloody Mary, maybe even two! 🍹🍹
Thanks, Mary Ellen, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, TTP, for the colorful and enlightening review. BTW, I agree with you on the Inroads usage.
FLN
Lorraine, I hope your discomfort is temporary and that you'll see some improvement soon.
Anonymous T, your poor DW. What a way to end what was most likely a trip of a lifetime. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Dave, it's nice to see you back; hope you're feeling well.
Good Morning, TTP and friends. Ah, the dreaded Circle Puzzle. Actually, after getting MIXING BOWL, it was easy to see where the circles were supposed to be. Not familiar with the book OWL BABIES, but the OWL came easily with the perps, so BABIES with logical.
ReplyDeleteI just loved the Beverly Cleary books when I was a kid. RAMONA the Pest was a favorite. Beverly Cleary is still alive. She will be 103 next month.
John James AUDUBON was an interesting character.
When is a door not a door ...
Happy Mardi Gras, Y'all!
QOD: It has been said that a Scotchman has not seen the world until he has seen Edinburgh; and I think that I may say that an American has not seen the United States until he has seen Mardi-Gras in New Orleans. ~ Mark Twain
Smooth solve but crosswordese overload. Laming? Meh...
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Wednesday!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, MaryEllen Uthlaut, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, TTP, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteI had no circles on mine because I printed it from Mensa. Cruciverb was out to lunch again. Theme appeared easily and I discovered where the circles would have been had I had them. Anyhow.
Most words were fairly easy. A few tough ones, but perps fixed that. OCELLI as an example.
We see ACAI a lot.
9 degrees this morning on the street corner. Windy too.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
I loved this circle puzzle, many thanks, Mary Ellen. I was able to work my way through this from left to right, top to bottom, without any problems at all, and after I got the first two, I knew what the circle words were going to be which also made the fun solution on the bottom easy. A real delight on a Tuesday morning, and I'm looking forward to your next puzzle, Mary Ellen. TTP, I can't believe all the research you put into your commentary, many thanks for that. And the ERR picture was great.
ReplyDeleteFun poems this morning, Owen.
Dave, it's great to have you back--we missed you.
Have a great day, everybody!
Thank you, Mary Ellen Uthlaut and TTP! D-O, of course you would notice her name begins with UT!
ReplyDeleteI see that I've been mispronouncing ACAI with a hard C. Thanks, TTP, for that link.
I wonder if that sloop SAILED from the DOCK at 10A.
The MIXING BOWLs became evident with LOWBATTERY.
RAMONA frequented my classroom, too and was beloved by my students.
YR, your example of LAMING is just what I was thinking as I've seen it used by various authors.
This was great fun!
Happy Mardi Gras, everyone!
Learning moment: inroads
ReplyDeletein fact I am still trying to digest it.
Yellowrocks, thanks for the laming sentence,
can you put inroads in a sentence that I can digest?
Irish Miss, I would prefer a Bloody Maria...
(I can't afford good Vodka, but cheap Tequila still tastes good...)
Mixing bowl:
The Truth!
Is this some kind of covert slo-mo attack?
Obligatory Kitty reference..
And,,, Worst case senario...
Thanks, Mary Ellen & TTP! No circles but I wasn't BOWLed over by the theme. I got 'er done.
ReplyDeleteYay, I think Google's going to let me post this time. I forgot my password & it wouldn't let me in.
CED, they say that laughing aloud is good for your health. So you improve mine every day. Today's especial belly laugh was the mixing bowl scenario. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteCED ~ 11:37 ~ I agree with every word in Sandyanon's post. 😂
ReplyDeleteFor CED,
ReplyDeleteInroads as hostile attack or raid. He seized Crimea and made inroads into Ukraine’s eastern provinces.
Inroads in business. The upstart company is making inroads into our previously exclusive market.
Inroads into politics. Instead, there are increasing signs that those challengers are making inroads with members of the state’s political establishment and with local leaders in the districts they hope to represent.
Hospital bills made deep inroads into her savings,.
Speaking of Ice Hockey(not to speak of MELEEs), Ted Lindsay passed away yesterday. He of the Gordy Howe Redwing team of the 50s.
ReplyDeleteAbejo, I shudder to think of you in that wind chill. I recall a crossing guard in St Pete dressed like Ukluk the Eskimo because the temperature dipped into the low 40s
I was corrected on my pronunciation of QUINOA . *
CED, #4 was drop-dead- Oops Sandy had it first and IM too
WC
* Bonus on ACAI. Sans cedilla it would be ACK-AY
More for CED ~
ReplyDeleteINROADS in Street & Highway Planning: "For daily commuters the City offers more In-Roads in the morning than Out-Roads, and in the evening the roads' directions are reversed."
Enjoyed the pzl. Found it Tuesday-easy, and didn't need to think of the circled letter theme until it was over--when it gave me a final Aha!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one diagonal--on the flip side. I think its anagram is meant to remind us all to get ready for the Corner's traditional Wednesday dance party.
Have you rec'd your invitation yet?
Do you have a date?
And have you chosen your dance partners yet--for the ...
"MIDWEEK BALL"?!
I liked this puzzle and TTP's write-up. Hand up for entering OCULUS at first. After finally solving OCELLI it made me think that maybe the OCELOT is thus named because it has a lot of spotted eye-like patterns in its fur. Sure enough, Wikipedia says, "Another possible origin for the name is the Latin cellatus ("having little eyes" or "marked with eye-like spots"), in reference to the cat's spotted coat."
ReplyDeleteI imagine Ogden Nash writing something along the lines of
When I see the spots on an ocelot
I think to myself 'at's a lot!
I cannot think an ocelot'll
ReplyDeletelearn to shake a ketchup bottle,
nor lay a paw on brake or throttle.
But would it, with it's fur a-mottle,
make friends with that storied axelotl?
ReplyDeleteI was reading This Day in History yesterday and there was a blurb that on March 4, 1974, Mia Farrow was on the cover of People Weekly, the magazine that became People. On the 40th anniversary in 2014, People issued a special "double cover" magazine that had Taylor Swift in the same Gatsby pose, hairstyle, clothes and jewelry. I thought it was a striking resemblance. Perhaps just pure chance that MIA showed up in the puzzle on the same day.
Dash T, I'm glad they ID'd the source of your DW's illness, and that there's a medicine to treat it.
I think there's a difference between crosswordese and common fill. I didn't think there was a lot of crosswordese in today's puzzle.
Lemonade, that might explain it. Maybe it is a poster rather than a mirror.
Lucina, ACAI was yet another word / name that I have been mispronouncing since I first saw it in print. I really mangled Abejo's name until he told me how to say it. It is more like Abbie Joe rather than the Ah Bay Ho I had in my mental voice.
Yellowrocks, thanks for the inroads statements.
Jayce, I liked how you channeled Ogden Nash !
TTP: Nice, informative write-up.
ReplyDeleteD-N-F ... done in by California to Nevada.
Never heard of the Martin Waddell book OWL BABIES.
Nor thought of "Mishmash" as OLIO.
Though I have been Sun-Blinded by reflected light ... SNOW-BLIND rarely happens here in Florida.
Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThis Tuesday effort went quickly. Didn’t need the circles at all.
I thought the plural of ELK is ELK...it is, but ELKS is also used.
Zero markovers today.
Anon T, it sounds like the price of medicine is making inroads into your budget. I hope you get it sorted out soon. It is terrible that your wife's lovely trip ended so disastrously for her health. Is she feeling any better now?
ReplyDeleteThe upscale dame eyes the ocelot:
ReplyDelete"Betcha that schmatte cost a lot!"
If that’s a poster of that model, it’s a photo of a mirror image. Note her hair is parted on the opposite side, leans the other way, etc. Maybe that’s what’s jarring.
ReplyDeleteAll these examples of INROADS are correct, but by themselves none suggest “sudden” to me.
Yeah, I get the whole "inroads" thing,
ReplyDeleteit's just being CED I have a little trouble seeing it...
It's like my brain is constipated...
Yeah, my thinking sometimes crosses over to like (one of many twilight zone intro's)
The signpost up ahead...
Help needed from the tech wizards: When I go to The New York Times web site, part of the home page flashes for a second, then the screen goes completely blank. I've tried two different browsers and had the same result. I've been going to this site for years and have never had this happen before. Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteJayce, liked your ocelot word play!
ReplyDeleteCED, hand up for enjoying your clips.
Thanks to all who contribute humor & info.
"Sudden attacks" sounds more like an ambush to me than INROADS, altho I understand the latter word as explained.
It was not "passed away" as "killed" but WHILED. I'm getting really good at WHILED. I can do it for days now.
I thot BROODY meant pregnant.
The annoted Jaykeith
ReplyDeleteSchmatte
Axolotl
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteCrunch Tuesday MaryEllen; thank you for the fun puzzle.
Great expo TTP. I enjoyed the research of when which (oddball) words last landed in the LAT.
//How's you know I was starting to DOZE off? :-)
WOs: EKEs, one b/f WED (and HONNY [sic] didn't fix it!)
ESPs: OCELLI, OSMOSE, RAMONA/JOAN, LAMING (? - I was thinking on the run=LAM; ah, thanks YR!)
Fav: c/a for COW. TTP, Chick-fil-A's campaign had to be inspired by Gary Larson.
OWL BABIES required the theme and a leap of faith.
{B+, A+}
IM & YR - It will take the medicine a few days to kick the buggers out. I was surprised that the Dr. prescribed antibodies; when I was in lab-tech school (Army) I remember them saying low-doses of cyanide for parasites. C, Eh! It's Metronidazole w/ Ondanestron for nausea.
YR@12:59 - I've heard IN ROADS used exactly how you presented them but they connote (or I infer) a slower eroding - nothing sudden. E.g. "They will try to enter our market..." "Oh, wow, they've made significant IN ROADS (10%) into our market..." My $0.02.
OMK - DR: I pick YR 'cuz I'll need someone to lead :-)
CED - The BOWL-cut link was LOL.
If you look at the "mirror" closely, it's a cabinet. There are keys sticking out the right side.
IM - I just tried the NYT site and it worked fine. Any ad-blockers or anything that updated recently?
Jayce and OMK - that's an oco'lot'a that.
Cheers, -T
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, MaryEllen and TTP.
ReplyDeleteEven after a tiring day, I moved through this CW quickly and found the MIXING BOWL.
When I saw the Z and X, I wondered if we would have a pangram. No, we were short the F, Q and V.
Only one inkblot appeared as the usual Ekes moved to past tense EKED.
The unknown JOAN and RAMONA filled with perps.
I was at a funeral today but no bells KNELLED.
I thought of Hahtoolah with AJAR and smiled.
Hand up for wrinkling my nose at LAMING (but I accept that it is a real word).
Now I know how to pronounce ACAI but I doubt it is going to show up in my grocery store soon.
AnonT, hope DW is feeling better soon. Not the kind of souvenir you wish to bring home.
(FLW, Somehow, I cannot say AMBIENT with a sultry French accent :)
Wishing you all a good evening.
AnonT- Ah yes, metronidazole is commonly used for parasites (maybe Giardia?). I hope she got the "no alcohol" warning with the metronidazole. They gave her the "big guns" with ondansetron, as it is usually used for nausea from chemotherapy. It is the expensive one especially if brand name Zofran is used; we have an interchangeable generic that is about 1/4 of the price. Hopefully you get the insurance coverage worked out. But the important thing is that DW feels better soon.
ReplyDeleteI agree that not all inroads are sudden. I have heard the expression sudden inroads. The word sudden would be redundant if all inroads were sudden. There are many ocassions when inroads are gradual.
ReplyDeleteI will gladly join you for the Wed. dance party, Anon T.
C, Eh! I checked with DW and she did get the booze warning (which sucks for her because she flies to DC on Thursday and a cocktail helps with "high" anxiety). Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the nausea pills must be working - she ate two slices of King Cake* tonight.
As for the insurance, either the pharmacy or the insurance company spelt her first name wrong (it's with an 'a' not an 'e'; Hepburn's spelling). It's nearly squared-away; I'm to bring my Amex in tomorrow and they (the Rx-ery) will swipe-credit it and then we're done.
WC - I enjoyed your link on Schmatte. Now I know origin of Rags to Riches. Thanks.
Back to work. Cheers, -T
*Sadness - the bakery (with MIXING BOWLS, I presume) we've purchased from for years is now closed. The owner is from NOLA and knew her King Cakes. We found a "proxy" that is barely a suitable-sub.
Just my own personal perspective:
ReplyDeleteWhee! The Jeopardy all-star tournament is finally over, and things can get back to normal.
Of course, YMMV.
Really @9:24? YR (who posted while I was drafting) made a good point in that not all are 'cuz redundancy. That makes sense. And, I've heard "Sudden INROADS" IRL.
ReplyDeleteYR - I hope you're fleet of foot; both mine are left. :-)
Cheers, -T
ReplyDeleteWilbur Charles, that axolotl is amazing. I would have thought those videos were from Pixar. Thanks for the info.
AnonT- glad the insurance payment is being worked out. Also glad that DW has some appetite back. But what is King Cake? I must LIU.
ReplyDeleteI have just been educated about King Cake on Wikipedia. This Canadian has been missing out - although apparently there is a Quebec version.
ReplyDeleteC, Eh! BooL linked this "real" Mardi Gras back in January. He was kickin' it off.
ReplyDeleteIn the Catholic (read NOLA) south, Fat Tuesday, b/f Ash Wednesday is a big deal with parades and fun for weeks leading up to lent. King Cake is part of the tradition. Growing up in IL, I was oblivious but moved to Shreveport 'cuz of Pop's job when I was 15. And discovered the beauty that Mardi Gras/Rio/Carnival is (oh, and found DW, a native :-)).
Laissez les bons temps rouler,
er, Cheers, -T
I just studied the picture TTP posted and concluded it's a different pose altogether. The girl's hair is flung on a different side, the purse is smaller, the tilt of her body is slightly different, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy cars are named Axolotl because I love the word and so I can remember it.
Sandy ~
ReplyDeleteThank goodness that Jeopardy All-Star jazz is over!
At our house, we kept yelling, "What's next?!" and "Who's up now?!" Our nerves were all on edge, y'know? EDGY.
Gah.
~ OMK
I too am so thankful the Jeopardy All-Star thing is over. What a drag. I just want the regular program with new contestants back the way it was. And Alex, please stay on for many more years, but don't do any more celebrity tournaments.
ReplyDeleteWilbur Charles @ 7:02, re Axolotls.
ReplyDeleteWe are neotenous, too.
Sic dixit Wikipedia--
""In humans
"The cartoon of Betty Boop illustrates some human features which are sometimes labeled as neotenous, such as a large head, short arms and legs relative to total height, and clumsy, child–like movements." — Barry Bogin
Main article: Neoteny in humans
Neoteny in humans is the slowing or delaying of body development, compared to non-human primates, resulting in features such as a large head, a flat face, and relatively short arms and legs. These neotenic changes may have been brought about by sexual selection in human evolution. In turn, they may have permitted the development of human capacities such as emotional communication. However, humans also have relatively large noses and long legs, both peramorphic (not neotenic) traits. Some evolutionary theorists have proposed that neoteny was a key feature in human evolution. Gould argued that the "evolutionary story" of humans is one where we have been "retaining to adulthood the originally juvenile features of our ancestors". J. B. S. Haldane mirrors Gould's hypothesis by stating a "major evolutionary trend in human beings" is "greater prolongation of childhood and retardation of maturity." Delbert D. Thiessen said that "neoteny becomes more apparent as early primates evolved into later forms" and that primates have been "evolving toward flat face."