Theme: INNER PEACE (60. Meditation goal hinted at by this puzzle's circles) - Three peace words span across each theme entry.
17. Ancient mariner's fear: SEA SERPENT.
25. Chain reaction requirement: CRITICAL MASS.
46. Nation that promotes its people's economic and social prosperity: WELFARE STATE.
Boomer here.
Tough to be calm here in Minnesota where we were blessed with about 10 inches of snow last week. It is melting and does not affect the bowling season however golf is on hold for two or three weeks. The Twins cleared Target Field and after one postponement they played in 40 degree weather.
Across:
17. Ancient mariner's fear: SEA SERPENT.
25. Chain reaction requirement: CRITICAL MASS.
46. Nation that promotes its people's economic and social prosperity: WELFARE STATE.
Boomer here.
Tough to be calm here in Minnesota where we were blessed with about 10 inches of snow last week. It is melting and does not affect the bowling season however golf is on hold for two or three weeks. The Twins cleared Target Field and after one postponement they played in 40 degree weather.
Across:
1. Cuts off: LOPS.
5. Member of a strict Jewish sect: HASID.
10. Artistic Chinese dynasty: MING. The Chinese are very good at that game - Ming Pong.
14. Ohio's Great Lake: ERIE. Of the five great lakes, (Not counting Utah Salt) This one appears in crosswords more than any other.
15. Justice Kagan: ELENA. Appears more often than other justices. Three vowels.
16. Egg-shaped: OVAL.
19. Flexible mineral sheet: MICA.
20. Persuade with flattery: SOFT SOAP.
21. Fossil resins: AMBERS.
23. "Beowulf," poem-wise: EPIC.
24. Rubs the wrong way?: ABRADES.
There once was a girl whose mom tied her braids so tight that when she
cried, the tears ran down her back. Her name was Bacteria.
29. Stagecoach puller: HORSE.
A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a
horse of course, unless of course the name of the horse is the famous
Mr. Ed.
30. Allied gp. since 1948: OAS. Organization of American States.
31. Dangerous snakes: ASPS. So for all of her glamour and her whoop-tee-doo
And her house in the best neighborhood
Would you take that lousy life if it was offered to you
You can bet Cleopatra's asp, you would! (What kind of life is that - Chad Mitchell Trio)
And her house in the best neighborhood
Would you take that lousy life if it was offered to you
You can bet Cleopatra's asp, you would! (What kind of life is that - Chad Mitchell Trio)
35. Antipollution org.: EPA.
36. Hit, as a fly: SWATTED. There were a few flies swatted at Target Field this past weekend.
40. Alphabetically first of two Hawaiian maunas: KEA. The other is LOA. Reminds me of a Korean SUV Kia Sorento.
41. Like some coll. courses: REQ'D
43. Gp. getting many returns in April: IRS. Supposed to be postmarked by midnight tonight, however some nice post offices will backdate it for you on Tuesday.
44. Regular's bar order, with "the": USUAL.
Mine used to be a VO Manhattan with cherry juice. Now it is diet
Pepsi. Don't get me wrong, I was never a heavy drinker, but now the
doctors told me no more alcohol with the pills I am taking. So I
donated two full bottles of gin and vodka from my booze closet to my
Monday bowling banquet for door prizes, and was rewarded with a door
prize of two rounds of golf on a cart at a local course, which of course
I will share with my teammate and league secretary.
50. Malicious rumors: CANARDS.
53. "Do __ others ... ": UNTO. "As you would have others do unto you."
54. Judge, e.g.: HEARER. What ??
55. Like faces at a fireworks display: UPTURNED.
I never liked fireworks too much. I was always afraid something would
go wrong and I would get burned. I am sure C.C. has stories. Although
cities and groups spend a lot of money to the Chinese economy with the
purchase of fireworks, many accidents happen in the factories that
create them.
59. "Dream on!": AS IF. AS IF you thought Tiger would win the Masters. Yup, Surprised me too !
62. Wander: ROVE. Mr. Karl Rove worked in the Whitehouse on George W 's staff.
63. Close-knit group: CADRE. This is what they called the G.I.'s who had permanent training positions at Fort Campbell. KY.
64. Fairway club: IRON.
I guess so. I will normally take a five wood to hit a shot from 150 to
170 yards. I notice the pros use a 7 Iron from 190. All these years I
have been using the wrong club!!
65. Didn't dillydally: SPED.
66. Act with excessive passion: EMOTE.
67. The Big Apple, in addresses: NY NY. I usually spell it New York, NY. It looks better.
Down:
1. Make-do amount?: LESS. WKRP -- More music and Less Nessman
2. Two-tone cookie: OREO.
Congratulations to Nabisco! This is the 12,365th time the cookie has
appeared in a crossword. A new world record!! ( It passed lake ERIE).
3. Chanteuse Edith: PIAF.
4. Six-line stanzas: SESTETS.
5. Brave: HEROIC.
6. Llama relative: ALPACA. I wonder if they use these photos when they join eharmony.
7. Ooze: SEEP.
8. Quaint stopover: INN. Just say Bodda Book, Bodda Boom! ( I cannot stand that commercial).
9. Sortable information source: DATABASE. I wonder where people kept their notes before computers.
10. Kenya's major port: MOMBASA.
11. Like Wrigley Field's walls: IVIED.
Yup, I have been there. Saw the Cubs take the Dodgers. It was before
the lights, about 28 years ago. I remember there was "already been
chewed" wads of Wrigley's gum stuck under my seat. I paid a local
$10.00 to park on his lawn. I wonder what they get now. Maybe TTP
knows.
12. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.
13. Water or wine vessel: GLASS. It can also hold a VO Manhattan on the rocks with cherry juice.
18. Catches sight of: ESPIES.
22. Dash in a spice rack?: MRS. A name brand seasoning. Maybe they should change the name to Heinz now. There must be about 57 different kinds.
24. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. I love, You love, she loves this clue.
25. "Moonstruck" star: CHER. "I got you babe"
26. Weapon in Clue: ROPE. I think it was done by Professor Plum in the Ballroom.
27. Baghdad's land: IRAQ.
28. Gobs of: LOTSA.
There's an expensive frozen pizza called Lotzza Mozza. I save by
buying Jack's and adding more mozzarella before I slide it in the oven.
32. Arctic seabird: SKUA.
33. __ moss: PEAT. Randy had too many letters
34. Markdown event: SALE. Pitcher Chris of the Red Sox.
37. Whole-grain food: WILD RICE. This
is a notable Minnesota crop, mostly harvested by Native Americans.
(Where did you think they got the money to build those casinos ?) It
generally takes an hour or more to prepare it, but it is delicious with
walleye!
38. Pound sounds: ARFS.
39. Quarrel: DUST UP.
42. Towered over: DWARFED.
45. Preserve using barrels, as wine: STORE IN.
47. Bard's "before": ERE. "And I heard him exclaim ere he rode out of sight, 'Next year wash your socks before you hang them up !'"
48. Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Watcher" __ Giles: RUPERT. Notable Quotable.
49. Main course: ENTREE. That would be the walleye.
50. Burns a bit: CHARS.
51. Legendary fabulist: AESOP. I have never met anyone named Aesop. I think most people think his last name was Fables.
52. Easily deceived: NAIVE.
55. "Go back" PC command: UNDO. I checked the entire keyboard and I do not have an "undo" or a "go back" key. (I do have a funny looking left arrow on F2).
56. __ a one: none: NARY. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
57. Supply-and-demand subj.: ECON.
58. Reject as false: DENY.
61. "The Deer Hunter" war zone, for short: NAM.
No more Monday bowling until September. Several more weeks on Thursday - Then defend my title in the 700 club tournament in May. Yeah, I was healthier a year ago but you never know. I am in the Geezer division. (Over 70).
Boomer
49 comments:
An Ohio lad on Lake ERIE
Wanted to check out a theory.
That the lake had a permanent
Cryptid SEA SERPENT,
Never ESPIED because it was leery!
Of a SKUA I never had heard.
It's a mean type of arctic bird.
They eat penguin chicks
And dive bomb for kicks,
And their scientific name means "turd"!
{A, A-.}
Great Monday morning Cornies!
Thank you Paul Coulter for this relatively easy CW that gave me INNER PEACE. I FIR in 36:40 min.
Thank you Boomer for your excellent review. I will read it after breakfast.
I scanned, and found 55 A - Like faces at a fireworks display: UPTURNED. On Saturday we had a lot of people doing that at Thunder Over Louisville. This starts the Derby Festival, with many daily events, which entertains our worldly guests until the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4th.
Ðave
Good morning!
Do you think that "'Go back' PC command" was an intentional CSO to Paul Coulter? Yes, yes I do. I zipped right through this one in typical Monday time. Wite-Out need not apply. Today as tax day, and IRS appears in timely fashion mid-puzzle. Well done, Paul. Boomer, I really liked your Bacteria story.
WILD RICE: Boomer's not kidding. C.C. sent us some Minnesota wild rice. We "diluted" it 50/50 with regular rice. Labor intesive, but worth it. Thanx, C.C.
UPTURNED: We won't have any UPTURNED faces in our town this coming July 4th. The SEC (our local Special Events Committee) announced that they'll no longer be putting on a fireworks display. It used to be the only show in this part of the county, but with rapid growth in our area, there are now several alternatives.
Thanks, Boomer. Sorry about the snow in MN. We've finally been enjoying warm weather in the East. I also thought your photo of alpacas was hilarious.
Owen, I liked today's verses. They both scan very nicely, and both gave me a chuckle. Is that true about Skuas' scientific name, or poetic license?
This is the kind of simple imbedded theme I like. The words each span a phrase, and they're all different. Some editors prefer them to repeat, say if I used EASE repeatedly, but I prefer synonyms, which I think makes it more interesting for the solver.
Good morning. Thank you Paul Coulter and thank you Boomer.
Wow, a crunchy Monday for me. Almost turfed it at the intersection of AMBERS amd MOMBAS. Best guess was that it should be a B, and it was.
I solved on Mensa this morning, so I didn't have the circles, but found the embedded words easily after getting the (correct) reveal. Nice job, Paul. Must admit that because I sometimes solve partials visually w/o reading clues, I had INNER PLACE for a moment or two.
Boomer, the official snowfall amount recorded at O'Hare yesterday was 5.3 inches. Our golf league kicks off Wednesday with a practice round, when there's a 40% chance of rain and thunderstorms. We'll probably have a lot of no-shows.
I haven't been to a Cubs game in years and years. One time I parked in someone's yard some blocks away, and it was probably $10 or $15. Most times I took the CTA Red Line. One time, probably 25 or more years ago, 4 of us drove, and my wife arranged ahead of time for us to park at her cousin's house. She said it was close. It turned out to be a 2.5 mile walk. We got there in the third or fourth inning.
FLN, good to hear from you WikWak, Swampcat and Bill G.
Boomer, I enjoy your write ups. Less formal than normal and very funny.
Your memory or math might need adjusting however. Lol. The first night game under lights at Wrigley Field occurred on 8/8/88 against the Phillies. About 31 years ago. So the game you attended was 31+ years ago. I know, I know, seems like just a few years ago, eh?
I also am math challenged when remember past experiences! " well that couldn't have been 30 years ago because that means I would have to be 64? No. That couldn't be right..."
Amusing quick romp this morning - which always gets me to work on time!
I lived in Chicago during my residency years - I finally got to a game at Wrigley Field right before we moved....my husband went several times, but since they didn't have lights then, they only had day games. My free time in the day was severely limited during those years even on weekends. I went to the old Comiskey several times to night games though.
Thanks Boomer - Tiger should be an inspiration to you after all his back surgeries!
Thanks Paul for the crossword and stopping by!
Some interesting answers that you don’t normally see on Monday. Didn’t get MOMBASA, had TING instead of MING and never heard of MRS spice. CANARDS was a word we don’t see often.
My local paper wants to jack the delivery price way up. They try and do this at least once a year; I have to call and they usually back down. The only reason I get delivery instead of on-line is to do the crossword and Sudoku without having to print them out. But those days may be over. I’m sure it’s happening everywhere; my paper is owned by Gannett.
What is skua crossing with kea at the "k" doing in a Monday's puzzle?
MING in the upper right-hand corner two days in a row?
HASID, LOTSA, AMAT, MOMBASA, STORE IN, SKUA. Fill doesn't get much worse than this... except for HEARER! OMG!
You're a top notch constructor, Paul. WTF is up with this?
Musings
-ABRADES, Boomer? Hilarious!
-MOMBASA and MING today, Kigali and MING yesterday
-You will quickly get Yoko Ono and ELENA in the cwd DATA BASE when you sort by frequency
-Heads – SUCK UP TO/ROAM, Tails – SOFT SOAP/ROVE
- AMBER and its bloodsucking contents were a big part of this movie
-Many kids now first get their REQD’s at much cheaper two-year schools
-The HEARER will hear her here
-Disney is a huge fireworks customer and their displays are breathtaking
-Our elastic language now boasts UNDO, UNSEND and even some UN-PC words
p.s. I just now chose to UNSUBSCRIBE from (to?) Pinterest
Friend of the Corner Paul also scribed the Universal crossword today. The theme is a bit more diabolical for a Monday. PC PUZZLE 2 .
MAUNA LOA and MAUNA KEA have appeared in more than enough puzzles that hey should not be considered part of a Natick even if you did not know SKUA
Good morning everyone.
Thanks Boomer for the usual breezy newsy intro. Much appreciated.
Easy enough solve. Theme was quick and simple. No searches were needed. FIR.
DWARFED - I believe there are only 3 words in English starting with DW. DWARF, dwell, and dwindle.
HORSE - From the Old High German 'hros'. Oddly, the German 'Pferd' is a borrowing of Late Latin 'paraverēdus' (originally “substitute post horse”). Dutch 'paard'; L. German 'Peerd" (plural Peer). We had two draft horses until after WWII ended and new tractors again became available. So, as a youngster, my Dad would refer to his team as 'de twee Peer." (Sounds like English "pair")
Anon @ 0815 - SKUA is a fairly common item when reading about Arctic and N Atlantic bird life, We see SKUA with some frequency in CW's, as well as KEA in the Hawaii mountain as Lemonade said. I think it is 'fair game'.
It didn't take long to run through Paul's presentation even though I used the MENSA site with no circles. Boomer, as always, added a lot of interesting details and humor to today's puzzle.
Even though I think that proper names are fair game to LIU, I didn't need to do it today. There was enough easy fill including some of the long answers to allow perps to help fill in some of the stumpers, like MOMBASA and RUPERT.
Granted the clue was singular for Stage Coach Puller so HORSE was the answer, but I don't recall ever seeing a Western where a stage coach was pulled by a single horse. Minimum of two but more likely four horses were doing the job. In Amish country here you may see one horse pulling a buggy but there are usually anywhere from 2 to 6 horses (or mules) pulling a plow or other farm implement.
Well, enough horsing around. Things to do today.
Have a great day everyone.
Good Morning:
Although there were a few non-Monday entries (Mombasa, Skua, and Rupert, as clued), the perps were more than fair, so no foul, IMO. I had no w/os and the reveal was a surprise, always a plus for me. Overall, a pleasant and easy solve.
Thanks, Paul, for starting our week off so gently and for dropping by and thanks, Boomer, for your usual humor and witty Bon mots!
FLN
Bill G, sending positive thoughts and sincere prayers to you and Barbara. I, too, was disappointed with the absence of Sunday Morning on my DVR; I really enjoy that show, especially Jane Pauley's pleasantries and personality. She's like a breath of fresh air amidst the superficial, shallow "entertainment" industry.
CED, I hope you've recovered from the nightmare of New York City parking and that you'll find time to continue your comments and linking duties!
SwampCat, glad you could chime in. If I were you, I think I'd start dropping a few hints for a Mother's Day gift, namely, a new iPad!
WikWak, nice to hear from you; try to join us more often, if you can.
YR, hope the surgery went well and that you'll have a speedy and successful recovery.
Have a great day.
Good afternoon, everyone! An enjoyable Monday solve with just a hint of crunch – thanks Paul C. And thanks, Boomer, for the entertaining write-up. I got a chuckle out of the “Next year wash your socks” comment at 47D. Only trouble spot was the unknown (to me) SKUA, but perps saved the day. RUPERT Giles was familiar from my then-teenage daughters’ obsession with the Buffy series. Hope all you tax preparers out there can find some INNER PEACE after today’s deadline.
Although I don’t chime in that often, I have been thinking about those of you dealing with health issues (Boomer, Bill G, Fermat, et al.) – may you all be well again soon.
Enjoy your day!
Delightful Monday puzzle, Paul, many thanks--doable but with a bit of crunch here and there. And the INNER PEACE theme was sweet--we can all use a bit of that these days, I would say. Owen, I too never heard of SKUA, and CANARDS and MOMBASA were also a bit unfamiliar but sounded right. Nice to see CHER show up for her "Moonstruck" role. Fun commentary, Boomer, and I'm afraid you've given me an earworm today with the Mr. Ed tune.
Have a great week, everybody.
Ditto
A very touching Dog Story.. Kinda gives new meaning to the term: "Old Salt".
Info on Aspins: "Aspins are known to be extremely kind and lovable to all people. They are native dogs to the Philippines and are often seen roaming the streets although now they are becoming more of a house dog. They are calm, happy, and get along nicely with children. Overall, there is nothing negative about this breed because they are very low maintenance and fun to have around."
Just saw on Facebook that the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is on fire. Tragic.
Well, this Monday puzzle had a bit of unexpected crunch.
UNDO...is not a key on the keyboard, it’s a command under EDIT.
OC4...I’m with you on the Horse, so to speak, always in teams, too heavy for one horse.
Markovers...I bit, SOFTENUP/SOFTSOAP.
It’s my birthday “week”, the day is Friday. Sure beats the alternative.
Have a good day.
Hola y buen dia!
Thank you, Paul Coulter and Boomer!
Tradedy! Notre Dame is burning!!! Sad, sad, sad. I'm glad I got to see it once in my life.
I appreciate a little bite on Mondays. Sometimes they are too easy.
However, this was still a quick sashay for me and even KEA slipped in since I didn't have to wait for a perp to decide between it and Loa as usual. HASID is unknown to me but it emerged through perps.
I loved CHER in Moonstruck!
My only w/o was ROAM before ROVE.
PK:
I've joined your insomnia club but hope you're doing better than I am.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
We also got to see Notre Dame many years ago. I would have thought all that stone would be relatively immune from burning. I turned off the TV. It vaguely reminded me of the twin towers. Very sad...
I was also glad to see CHER remembered for her Moonstruck role, Misty. It is a favorite movie of mine, one in which the EMOTing is largely justified.
The Italian passions are outsized, but properly so, in a film that comes as close as possible to Grand Opera w/o bothering to add the singing.
And it contains the only role in which Nicholas Cage is truly a joy to watch.
I hope Yellowrock's surgery goes smoothly today. Wishing her all the best!
Mmm. ALPACA--with those long lashes! What sweet looking animals!
They are the Disneyfied version of the Llama.
Once at a picnic in Peru I ate ALPACA steak on a skewer. Yum.
My wife has never forgiven me.
~ OMK
____________
DR: A 3-way on the far side.
The center diagonal offers an anagram of what you call it when you just happen to mention to your friend that your racing yacht is ten feet longer than his.
I refer to your ...
"SAILBOAT BRAG"!
Lucina and Ol'Man Keith--glad you also liked CHER in "Moonstruck," and liked your comment about her emoting.
Bill G:
The stone will likely survive but inside the 800 year old timbers of which there must an entire forest are fresh fuel for such a fire. I just saw the spire fall. I'm so sad and heartbroken about it.
OMK and Misty:
I so agree about watching Nicholas Cage and for me as well, it's the only time I've admired him. Both and even Olympia Dukakis with John Mahoney are good examples of emoting.
I liked this puzzle. Surprised to see MING again, clued almost identically to yesterday. While "a" stagecoach puller is a horse, there are usually at least four of them. I know Hasidic Jews so HASID was easy for me. I was a bit taken aback to see CHAR clued as burns "a bit" because I always thought of something being charred as having been burnt a lot, as in charcoal and as in a piece of meat charred such that it is inedible. But, upon looking it up, I see Merriam-Webster defines it as "to burn slightly". So I learned something. I kinda liked seeing UNDO and UNTO.
So shocking and sad that Notre Dame Cathedral is being so badly burned!
Frankly I couldn't bear to watch Nicolas Cage in Moonstruck. It seemed to me all he could was yell and bellow and act angrily and aggressively. In my eyes, not at all pleasant to watch. Frankly, I haven't liked him in anything that I have seen him in.
Good wishes to you all.
I have been inside Notre Dame, beautiful.
Like Bill G, my 1st thought was, "It's made of stone, how can it burn?"
Then I turned on the TV. I forgot about the roof..
I turned it off, I couldn't watch anymore...
I can't think of a more opportune time for this puzzle, after a lot of
hard work, and just before my nap...
But now it's time for silly links!
For the Philippines Dog: Calm...
Ease is where you find it...
(not lying in the street on 56th street without a coat..)
I can't tell you how grateful I am for the rest...
Ah yes, inner peace, but, what if your'e hungry?
So, to lift you spirits, ( & because I am Impish...)
I leave you with one of the most beautiful songs ever...
(& Irish Miss, watch till the end to see why it made Fred Astaire cry...)
I went too fast and never rechecked. Baghdad is in IRAQ! I needed the Q because REND was obviously wrong.
This was not your "Intro to Xwords" offering. I did pause to notice it was PC. That was him Sunday, nest-ce-pas?
It started easy.
WC
Marvelous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Paul (thanks for dropping by) and Boomer.
I moved through this quickly with only minor delays, and got the PEACEful theme.
I entered MING immediately for the Chinese dynasty but remembered yesterday's discussion of Tang and Sung.
Initially, I wanted a Catalyst for that chain reaction but it wasn't long enough.
MSG changed to MRS when I got the "Dash" trick. Cute!
I knew Arctic CHAR last week, but SKUA was a new bird for me; it filled with perps (the K was almost a Natick but I wagged it).
Ditto for RUPERT.
I waited for perps to decide between Sear and CHAR.
I liked seeing UPTURNED crossing ECON. Also NACRE crossing AMBERS and MICA.
I thought of Tiger with the IRON.
We did not visit MOMBASA on our trip to Nairobi. It is on the coast and has many resorts.
HEARER was the nose-wrinkle for the day. The judge acts as a HEARER at the Hearing.
DH and I have tickets to see The HORSE and his Boy (based on C.S. Lewis Narnia stories) at the end of the month, and ROPE (murder mystery that was directed on-screen by Alfred Hitchcock) in July. I smiled to see both of those.
I like WILD RICE too Boomer, but mine only takes about 30 minutes to cook. Great with salmon (and maybe CHAR if you can afford it!)
Canadian income tax is due the 30th of April. TurboTax sent me an email today reminding (scaring?) me that it was due today. Can they not send out separate emails to their Canadian and American customers?!! (End of rant). I got my refund the other day from CRA, not IRS.
Thoughts and prayers to Bill G and Barbara (FLN). Also good to see WikWak and SwampCat chime in. Trust that YR will report soon after her surgery.
Wishing you all a good day.
@Spitzboov, what about DWEEB?
Well, this was a romp in the park. I always like a PC puzzle, and with Boomer’s contribution everything was all hunky-dory. 11 minutes and 11 seconds when the closing bell rang. Caught the theme right away and thought maybe Paul was trying to take the edge off of tax day. I see others had the same reaction.
RE: the horse pulling the stagecoach, the clue was just “Stagecoach puller.” There’s nothing in that that implies it is the ONLY horse doing the pulling..
“What does your horse do?”
“Why, he’s a stagecoach puller. Pulls stagecoaches as part of a four-horse team.”
Surely it must be nap time...
WW @ 1710 - Dweeb doesn't count. It is a slang word of academic origin. Not in use before 1964. So, not in my dictionary. I stand by my earlier post.
Like Jayce, I've never been a fan of Nicholas Cage. Dunno why exactly...
Like CED, I turned off my TV too. So sad...
Nicholas Cage was billed as Nic Coppola on his bit role in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
I loved him in Raising Arizona.
He has had some other fine performances also while winning an Oscar for best actor. Leaving Las Vegas also comes to mind.
I last saw Notre Dame in 1961, but it feels like yesterday. It is wrenching to watch it burn.
I wonder at the TV commentators emphasizing that one needn't be Catholic to feel the loss. What a strange point to make! Even as a non-theist, I am profoundly moved by the damage done to any of the great cathedrals.
When so many generations of builders and artists sacrificed years, decades, of their labor for an ideal of beauty--to aspire to glory, to honor their god--it is an enormous human tragedy to witness such loss.
But we can be sure there will be a great movement to rebuild and repair this Gothic beauty. In the long history of Notre Dame, people a hundred years from now will look back at this fire as one among the many dramatic events that add to her aura.
~ OMK
Nicholas Cage was awesome in Con Air !
OMK, I could not agree more.
OMK
I walking on thin ice here, with broaching a religion fine line. But...
For Catholics, as well as other faiths I'm sure, the building they worship in brings a special emotion to otherwise fine architecture and artwork. We even call it "God's house". I'm not discounting the loss a non-theist feels watching that beautiful building burn but as a fellow Catholic I also feel a loss for those would have prayed in that house. Those would have stood before God and made a solemn promise to Him. Those who have begged for His mercy and received His solace. Churches are more to the theists than the beauty they bring to great cities.
I am also not discounting that your are genuinely moved by watching this tragedy. I only offer my perspective to shed some light on what the TV commentators might be suggesting with their point, " one needn't be Catholic to feel the loss". Maybe they should have said " one needn't believe in God to feel the loss". I dont know. But I think I understand what they were saying and didnt think it was a strange point to make.
I hope this isn't offensive to another here and also hope it isn't deleted. I re-wrote it a couple times and tried to be as understanding as possible.
I also am reminded of something I witnessed several years ago in my city.
A Jewish community outgrew the existing building that housed their synagogue. They built a beautiful new synagogue long the river a few miles from their current home. On the weekend they moved in, the entire congregation, many too young or too old to normally make that type of journey, walked behind the elders who were carrying the Sefer Torah in its special wrappings to their new home. They explained that the new place was just a beautiful building until they delivered the sacred scroll. Afterwards, it was their house of worship, their home and a very special place for their congregation.
You dont have to.be Jewish to appreciate that concept.
I think Nicholas Cage--nee Coppola--stirs more divided response than any other contemporary actor (except maybe Jim Carey).
My wife can't stand Cage in anything. And he wearies me in most of the films I've seen.
But I do like him in two films.
I agree with Anonymous @ 6:40: I love his understated comedy in Raising Arizona.
And, as stated above, I thought him very fine in Moonstruck. It was the first time I saw his over-the-top obsessive, character-based emoting. It fit the role perfectly. I haven't been as impressed when he's tried similar "passionate" stuff.
~ OMK
Hi Y'all! Very fine puzzle, Paul and very chuckle-worthy expo, Boomer. Good start to the week.
Worked on Mensa. No circles but found the theme entries with EASE.
Jfromvt: MRS Dash is a brand of mixture to spice up food that has been on the market for several decades.
Hand up for liking CHER in "Moonstruck" or actually in everything she's done. I couldn't stand for her to be hooking up with Nick Cage tho. I've never liked any of his work, especially "Leaving LasVegas".
Notre Dame fire pictures were so shocking, I couldn't even remember I could turn them off. Such a tragedy! Tears shed at my house too. I've never been there in person either.
CED: I'm so thankful you didn't get run over lying in a New York street. There are so many senseless destructive road rage incidences in the news these days. Getting cold might not have been the worst of your problems.
Lucina: sorry you are among the sleepless. My insomnia is worse when my blood sugar is low. Might want to check that.
As for Tiger winning the Masters. I'm glad I forgot to turn it on. How does he get by, wearing a shirt without a collar on a golf course. I thought collars were mandatory.
Fermatprime, wishing you improving health. You have had a tough time.
IM, how is your foot coming along?
Lunica, so sorry to hear about your BIL. It is good the family can be there for him.
Barbara and Bill, hang in there. We are all pulling for you.
My surgery went well. For two days I need to keep my hand above my heart and for two weeks keep it completely dry. The Novacaine numbing lasted until 6 pm. After that, ibuprofen has very good at controlling the pain. Thanks for the well wishes. I am allowed to type.
We were called to inform us that Alan was having a melt down just before I went into surgery. David had to go and get him and bring him back to the waiting room. Alan returned to his normal self by 9 tonight. He wants to go to the group home, but the change is making him very anxious.
I loved the puzzle. WW, I agree that the clue could refer to one horse of the several needed. DWEEB, qualifies IMO.
OKL, loved your poems. They scan.
Hi All!
Thanks Paul for the puzzle. Unlike others, I found it very crunchy; didn't help that I've never heard the phrase SOFT SOAP [good thing you used SORT in DATABASES or it'd be a Monday FIW]. Thanks for swinging by The Corner.
Fun Expo Boomer! UNDO is Ctrl-Z.
WO: LOadS b/f LOTSA
ESPs: RUPERT, SKUA, SOFT SOAP, MOMBASA
Fab: c/a at DWARFED was neat.
{A, A}
Cute DR OMK.
YR - Nice to read you tonight. I can understand Alan getting anxious with you having surgery; good to know you're fixed.
Nice to see Java Mama.
Notre Dame - Oy! It started blowing up on my Twitter-feed today. Here's a cool pick of a HEROIC fire-fighter.
It seems many of the statues on the spire were removed last week for the renovation; so those were spared.
Y'all have a good eve - it's back to work for me.
Cheers, -T
Yellowrocks, so glad your surgery went well and that you're okay. Take good care of yourself, and hope Alan will be okay too.
YR: Thanks for reporting in tonight. You have been on my mind all day. Hugs!
From Wikipedia:
"The genus name Stercorarius is Latin and means "of dung"; the food disgorged by other birds when pursued by skuas was once thought to be excrement."
"[Skuas are] kleptoparasites, ... chasing gulls, terns and other seabirds to steal their catches, regardless of the size of the species attacked."
"The eggs and chicks of other seabirds, primarily penguins, are an important food source for most [southern] skua species during the nesting season."
Group solve of this puzzle today at breakfast :-) several days after publication.
(first time for this in ages)
(group of two ;-) )
We still managed a one-square error.
I enjoyed the comments about the puzzle!
It's my first time here.
>>> Thank you for these:
•Ohio's Great Lake: ERIE. Of the five great lakes, (Not counting Utah Salt) This one appears in crosswords more than any other.
•Justice Kagan: ELENA. Appears more often than other justices. Three vowels.
•Two-tone cookie: OREO. Congratulations to Nabisco! This is the 12,365th time the cookie has appeared in a crossword. A new world record!! ( It passed lake ERIE).
[ I liked Hydrox :-(
Not found anymore on store shelves... or in crosswords.]
•Legendary fabulist: AESOP. I have never met anyone named Aesop. I think most people think his last name was Fables.
•DWARFED - I believe there are only 3 words in English starting with DW. DWARF, dwell, and dwindle.
My own comments:
•The USS Saipan (LHA-2) went to MOMBASA at least once. It was 1980. I was there :-)
• Is there anyone else who remembers Cecil the Sea-sick Sea Serpent ???
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