google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, June 20th 2019 Peter A. Collins

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Jun 20, 2019

Thursday, June 20th 2019 Peter A. Collins

Theme: Seasonal Scrambles - each theme entry has a scramble of one of the seasons hidden in it, as the reveal explains:

59A. What happens tomorrow ... and a hint to this grid's circled letters: CHANGE OF SEASONS. We move from spring to summer on Friday.

17A. Brief CV: SHORT FORM RESUMÉ. Summer.

24A. Make music with one's mouth closed: HUM A TUNE. Autumn.

36A Dessert potables : PORT WINES. Winter.

52A. Some facial decor: LIP RINGS. Spring.

Cool theme, I like how the seasons follow each other rather than just appear randomly. My daughter has a LIP RING which I was rather startled by the first time I saw it, but it's grown on me. PORT WINE is my favorite go-to with the cheese plate after dinner. SHORT-FORM RESUMÉ I'm not so sure about, but I did like the overall challenge here. Solid crosses for a lot of proper names. I wonder if Peter suggested to Rich when to run this puzzle and changed the reveal clue accordingly.

Across:

1. Hogwarts professor played by Rickman: SNAPE

6. Monk style: BEBOP. Nice misdirection. I was trying to think of another word for "tonsure" when I saw the light. Thelonious Monk.

11. "It's __-win situation": A NO

14. Groovier part of a 45?: SIDE A. How many grooves are there on a standard 45? Two, one on each side.

15. Achille __: hijacked liner: LAURO

16. Baseball commentator Darling: RON. New to me. Crosses solved it for me.

20. Ristorante rice dish: RISOTTO. I can just hear Gordon Ramsay say "Two Wellingtons, one spaghetti and one perfect risotto".

21. Votin' no on: AGIN

22. The geographic center of the 48 states is in it: KANSAS. I need to look this up. I'd like to know exactly where. In the UK, it's somewhere in Leicestershire, I think, 70 miles from the sea. For a reasonably large country, 70 miles from getting wet is not a long way away.

27. Decide that one will: ELECT TO

29. Cargo unit: TON

30. Spanish article: LAS

31. __ deck: cruise ship feature: LIDO. There's a Lido pool in Paris on the Seine. I've swum in it. Not sure that was the best idea I've ever had.

32. System starter?: ECO

34. "Paper Moon" pair: O'NEALS. Ryan and daughter Tatum.

39. Quarterly Nielsen ratings periods: SWEEPS. The sweeps are getting less important. Nielsen survey a week's worth of watching broadcast TV every quarter to set the price of advertising for the next three months on any given show. The problem is - cable. Nielsen don't survey cable, so if you are watching ESPN or HBO you don't count. Have you been watching the World Cup? Fantastic soccer.

42. Wind up: END

43. Free of charge: COMP

47. Ranch nickname: TEX

48. French pronoun: TOI. The 

50. They may hold rosés: CARAFES. I hope you spotted the E-ecute in the clue. I missed it at first, and was off on the VASE trail, Then I looked again.

55. Katmandu native: NEPALI

56. Hard to watch: UGLY

57. Indentations: NOTCHES
. I
64. "Lord, is __?": IT I

65. Under-the-sink fitting: P-TRAP

66. Get ready to refinish: STRIP

67. Writer Rand: AYN. We've had Ayn Rand and Anne Rice today. Completely different writers, but I've enjoyed reading both of their work. I think "Interview with the Vampire" was one of the most stunning novels I've ever read.

68. Some globe users: SEERS

69. With great passion: HOTLY

Down:

1. Old conscription agcy.: S.S.S.

2. Bethesda-based medical org.: N.I.H. I had to look this one up after I solved the puzzle, I think this might be a tad obscure?

3. Gussied up: ADORNED

4. Sub need: PERISCOPE. Hard to steerwithout one. You tend to bump into things.

5. Preoccupies a lot: EATS AT

6. Moral flaw: BLOT

7. Terra firma: EARTH

8. Disappoint, in slang: BUM OUT

9. 1967 NHL Rookie of the Year: ORR. One of the most famous photo in sports is Bobby Orr scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal being tripped while celebrating the win. It is quite wonderful.



10. "The Tell-Tale Heart" writer: POE

11. Salad green: ARUGULA. Called "Rocket" in England, if you ever get a menu and wonder.

12. Insignificant: NOMINAL

13. Zen harmony: ONENESS. There's a spooky commercial running now about ginger beer and oneness, not sure if I like it.

18. Boy who may be adopted: FOSTER SON

19. Took a load off: SAT

22. Kenan's Nickelodeon pal: KEL. Completely clueless about this one.

23. "Green Book" Oscar winner Mahershala __: ALI

25. Van Morrison hit with the line "A fantabulous night to make romance": MOONDANCE. Let's hear from Van the Man.

26. Writer Rice: ANNE

28. Thanksgiving mo. in Canada: OCT. I have a Canadian friend here in LA who hosts a Thanksgiving Dinner in October. It's great, we get to eat turkey twice in two months. I cook turkey at Easter too - it's not particularly traditional, but our family always had an Easter turkey.

33. Fall behind: OWE

35. Reaches after getting away, as a safe haven: ESCAPES TO

37. __-FREE: contact lens solution: OPTI. Thank you crosses, no clue.

38. Forbes rival: INC Well good luck to INC's circulation numbers. Never heard of you.

39. Lesser Antilles isl. country: ST. LUCIA. A beautiful spot in the Caribbean.



40. Ponderous: WEIGHTY
.
41. Clarify: EXPLAIN. I used to work with a guy who would say "Let me 'splain you". it got to be quite a joke.

44. Qualifying phrase: OF A SORT

45. "Hacksaw Ridge" director Gibson: MEL

46. Tire letters: PSI. I think my tires are 32/24 on the front and back,

49. Brush aside: IGNORE

51. Go over again: REHASH. Usually no point. Accept and move on.

53. Rembrandt van __: RYN. Why do I always want to fill in RJN?

54. As of yet: SO FAR

58. Cookbook amts.: TSPS. I messed up yesterday smoking chicken. The cookbook called for 1 tbsp on wood chips, I decided more is better, and used two. Bad idea. All you can taste is smoke.

60. Modern rte. finder: G.P.S. Not Google Maps? I use my Garmin GPS sailing, but on-the-road navigation is firmly in the hands of Google.

61. Tour de France time: ÉTÉ I love the TV coverage of the Tour de France. This year will be bittersweet as Paul Sherwen, one of the the co-commentators and one of the voices of the Tour passed away this year from heart failure at the young age of 62. I was shocked when I heard the news.

62. Zilch: NIL

63. Make like a mole: SPY

And the grid:

Steve



65 comments:

  1. Mike Sherline, JzB...
    and any others concerned with yesterday's tiefe Blech ~
    All's well. I understand why you disagreed with my characterization of the linked "music." I guess I came across as "virulent," but then I was not aware of the whole background story--just that JzB had something to do with it.
    I actually thought it was meant as a satirical presentation, a friendly spoof, like an ol' Spike Jones gag. I apologize that I wrote in ignorance, not knowing who the other players were or the occasion for the performance.
    I was just using my unaided ears.
    ~ OMK

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  2. Hi Y'all! Thanks, Peter! Challenge is good for me. Great expo, Steve!

    No circles so no chance at discovering the theme. Couldn't figure out what was supposed to be happening tomorrow until Steve 'splained me. Summer solstice is probably going to be wet.

    At first pass on the top tier, I had only EARTH, POE, A NO. The SW corner was last to fill. Am I the only person alive who hasn't read Harry Potter or seen more than a few minutes of a movie? SNAPE was a red-letter/WAG fill. I'd heard that name.

    LIP RINGS followed by UGLY about expresses my sentiments about the ADORNment.

    KANSAS was a gimmee. I've been by the geographical center several times. They moved it.

    I got CARAFE right away and was so proud.

    Lot of unknowns. Stopped listing them after CV, BEBOP, LAURO, RON, KEL, ALI, NIH.

    I got a mental picture of Steve smoking a chicken instead of cigar and laughed. I think I'll go back to bed now.

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  3. Correction: the NW corner was last to fill.

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  4. FIR in a whopping 67:24 min.

    Sunny Summer Solstice Eve Solvers!

    Thank you Peter A. Collins for this monster Thursday CW. Every cell presented problems to me.

    Thank you Steve for your excellent review.

    6 A -- Monk style: BEBOP. "Nice misdirection. I was trying to think of another word for tonsure."

    I had never heard of "tonsure," and was not sure if "Monk" was the correct spelling of the religious person. Thanks for your help.

    15 A -- Achille __: hijacked liner: LAURO Again, I did not know the incident.

    36 A-- Dessert potables : PORT WINES. I saw "desert," and still do.

    Ðave

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  5. OMK. I pictured you adorned with a LIP RING this morning as you typed "sorry, not sorry".

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  6. Good morning!

    Had the circles. Forgot to look at 'em. I did notice the scrambled months after getting 59a, so that's something. Stumbled here and there, misspelled RISOTTO (two s, one t), had a FOSTER kid, and Lettuce for my salad. Hooray for Wite-Out! I also missed that accent aigu, but after Steve pointed it out, yup, there it was. Thanx, Peter and Steve.

    Off to the dentist this morning for the quarterly scraping session.

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  7. I am surprised that you do not recognize the National Institute of Health, Steve. While it has been a couple of years...

    Med. research agency lat Christopher Shaw Fri Jun 16, 2017
    Medical research org. lat Bruce Haight Sun May 14, 2017
    Bethesda medical agcy. lat Alex Bajcz Sun Jul 10, 2016
    Med. research agency lat Jeffrey Wechsler Sun Jun 19, 2016
    Biomedical research agcy. lat Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel / Ed. Rich Norris Sun Mar 13, 2016
    Bethesda-based medical research org. lat Al Hollmer & C.C. Burnikel Wed Oct 28, 2015

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  8. The seasons weren't the only things scrambled this morning, eh D-O?

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  9. A New England raised pitcher, RON DARLING was a star for the New York Mets in the late 80s. He won a game when they beat the Red Sox in the 1986 World Series.

    I do understand you not knowing KENAN and KEL a turn of the century comedy on Nickelodeon. Kenan has become a star on SNL.

    Now on to your comment, "For a reasonably large country..." There are 11 states in the US which are larger than the UK. The country is not even in the top ten in European countries in size. Finally, it is long, not wide. I am not sure if you are familiar with the Entertaining SITE from a fellow US-based Brit but it looks like fun.

    Peter Collins is a real pro and so are you, Steve, thank you both.

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  10. Good morning. Thank you Peter Collins and thank you Steve.

    Bounced around and followed the fill that was easy to get. Marti used to call it the "low hanging fruit". Pretty soon I was only left with the clues for BEBOP, BLOT, POE and LAURO. I was certain of the last one, but thought there were two Ls in it.

    Finally realized the PO in POE and then remembered it was LAURO not Laurel, so the B in BEBOP and BLOT was the most probable answer. Oh yeah, Thelonius.

    No circles at MENSA, but I got CHANGE OF SEASONS pretty early, and it was pretty easy to spot the embedded seasons, despite them being scrambled. Kind of like our seasons here. Wouldn't you agree, Madame Defarge ? Rain, overcast and fall-like temeperatures again today.

    PK, you are not alone. I've never seen any of the Harry Potter movies or read any of the books. Ditto for the Star Wars movies, and all of the Star Treks that occurred after the original TV series. Of course, you're bound to absorb some bits here and there, but crosswords have broadened that base.

    FLN, Anon-T, re: the redacted company logo. I do that with some websites that have annoying banners or other content that keeps me from seeing as much of the screen as I want. Especially when doing crossword puzzles. I don't like having to constantly scroll up and down and back and forth. I'm looking at you, Merriam-Webster, CW puzzle page.

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  11. Re: "53. Rembrandt van __: RYN. Why do I always want to fill in RJN?"

    This irked me a bit as well, as the usually-seen spelling is Rijn. I filled in Rin expecting it to be wrong somehow, but, well, there you go!

    Happy Summer to all!

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  12. FIR, but erased mOI, trivial for NOMINAL, lag for OWE, and dig for SPY. The hardest part for me was in Picard country, but finally got UGLY and the rest fell into place.

    I'll never forget the video of the terrorists rolling the man in the wheel chair off the deck of the Achille LAURO. Cowards.

    LIDO Shuffle is a great song on the fantastic Silk Degrees album by Boz Scaggs. MOONDANCE is another great, both the song and the album. Just wish Morrison wouldn't slap around women.

    I think I related this story a few years ago. Circa 1983 I drove through Virginia and stopped at a diner that offered wine by the CRAFt and half CRAFt. They offered white, red and "rose-a". The menu was professionally printed, no some Xeroxed handout or whiteboard listing.

    Just checked the tires on my motorhome for my trip home tomorrow. 110 PSI rear, 105 PSI front. With truck tires the required PSI depends on the weight the tires carry. I got each corner weighed separately, then looked up the PSI required for the heaviest corner on each axle in the manufacturer's guide. Too much air and the ride is harsh. Too little and the tires overheat and are subject to blowout.

    We'll be cheering on the USA FIFA team today. Too damned hot to do anything else. (I'd like to roll with my baby tonight...). Terrible editorial cartoon in the Virginian Pilot today. Couple sitting in the bar watching soccer on TV. Man says "the American women are much better than the men." Woman says "just wait until we are in the White House". Problem is that the women's team is better than the other women teams, but would lose badly to any of the professional men's teams. We'll have a female president, and she will be elected because the electorate believes she's the best CANDIDATE, not the best female candidate.

    PK, I was also thinking of Steve smoking the turkey, but I was wondering just how many papers it takes to even roll a turkey. Wonder if he inhaled?

    Thanks to Peter for the terrific topical Thursday toughie. And thanks to Steve for the fun walk-through.

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  13. Good morning everyone.

    FLN - Abejo, good luck with the uncathetering. Best wishes for a continuing good recovery.

    Mid-week tough, but finally got it all without searches. Couple teensy partial writeovers. FIR. Couldn't suss the theme until the end with CHANGE OF SEASONS. Visually the circles make the grid look 'busy' to these older eyes, but I can see the need for this theme to work.
    RYN - One more spelling for Rembrandt's last name. The modern Dutch spelling would use the digraph 'IJ', and I have seen RIJN in past puzzles.
    ST LUCIA - CSO to Lucina.

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  14. After finding only a few of the answers on top, I dove to the bottom. First day of summer was too short for the reveal. Soon I had Change of seasons. That made the circles very easy to fill and so I completed the puzzle very quickly.
    NIH is always in the news here.
    I remember the hijacking of the ACHILLE LAURO being in the news round the clock back in 1985. A large party of New Jerseyans took that cruise. The man in a wheelchair who was shot and dumped overboard was from New Jersey. Wikipedia has all the details if you are interested.
    GPS and SPELLCHECK have eroded our brains since we can find locations and spell correctly without even thinking. The lack of exercise in these fields dims our competence. SPELLCHECK usually finds my many typos, too.
    Hand up for not being a Harry Potter fan. I have not read the books or seen the movies. My students were ardent fans.
    66A Before finishing I wanted sand, then stain, then strip. Years ago I stripped, sanded stained and refinished my kitchen cabinets by myself. They turned out well, but never again. Then I stripped the wallpaper and David and I papered the kitchen. Just thinking about it now makes me tired.
    Enjoyable puzzle, Peter. Interesting comments, Steve.

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  15. Lots of white before getting on track today. Didn't know what a CV was, so SHORT FORM RESUME was my last fill after I kicked out SISTER SON and replaced it with FOSTER SON.

    Thrown off the path on the roses but finally got CARAFES. Ditto for BEBOP.
    KEL & Kenan-unknown

    Lemonade- you beat me to the "For a reasonably large country" because the U.K. isn't.

    Jinx- you can never get the exact PSI on tires. On my Mercedes, it's 40F & 42R-COLD; but after driving a while I click on the pressure option and it shows a a diagram of each tire as I am driving. Usually 47-49 PSI in the front and 50-52PSI in the rear tires. I don't really know if a CHANGE OF SEASON makes that much difference.

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  16. Musings¬
    -Unique cluing for me. I too wondered about the date/reveal
    -Facial jewelry - “Jimmy Crack corn and I don’t care”, but an employer…
    -NO WIN situation? ELECT TO hire a nephew or a better candidate
    -This monument in Belle Forche, S.D. marks the center of America if you include HA and AK
    -Julian Edelman on Patriot Super Bowl win, ”I’ll take an UGLY win over a pretty loss any day”
    -Van Morrison – MOON DANCE . Starbuck – Moon Light
    -Non-traditional niece serves pizza at Thanksgiving. MIL is AGIN it!
    -Most famous place to ESCAPE TO?
    -REHASH? Didn’t we just finish that argument/discussion?
    -PK, I too “suffer” from acute Harry Potter deficiency

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  17. For the explanation of 48-across, TOI means 'you', not 'the'.

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  18. Have you ever done this?
    -I started on Murder Mystery on Netflix yesterday because I like mysteries and Adam Sandler. 15 minutes in I saw it was horrible (Rotten Tomatoes assessment) but ELECTED TO stick around to see the disappointing conclusion anyway. “When will they ever learn…”

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  19. Big Easy - you are right, the inflation pressures are cold. Before you drive. Before the sun hits them. And yes, seasons make a difference, as much as 10 PSI in our climate. I bleed air in the summer and add in the winter. I can add air from the brake system (135 PSI) if the engine is running, or the onboard "pancake" compressor in the coach's "basement". The brake system air has been through a drier, but the pancake is easier to use.

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  20. HG, we bake a pie of the celebrant's choice instead of a birthday cake. My MIL was AGIN it. She sometimes brought a cake to the party, trying to change our tradition, but we served the pie first with candles to honor the birthday child's choice. MIL said, "It's not a birthday without a birthday cake"
    At the onset of cold weather my tires deflate a bit and I have to add air. In the same way a balloon filled indoors soon deflates when left outdoors on a cold day.
    The friction of the tire rubbing against the asphalt causes the tires to heat up as you drive so the air in them inflates as the heat cause it to expand.

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  21. HG, let's face it. You watched the movie to look at Jennifer Anniston and pray the movie was tolerable. Been there done that with many stars.

    It is always interesting and puzzling to me that so many are proud of not having read, nor watched things which have become part of our modern culture, from the Simpsons Star Wars Star Trek Harry Potter . The list is long. Aren't you curious about what has delighted so many others? How would you know if you liked Key Lime Pie if you never tasted it? I wonder how many of the millions who do not solve crossword puzzles have vehemently said they never tried one? It is wonderful to read/watch and not appreciate. That is what makes life interesting, that we are different. But how many of you as parents have told your children "just take a bite, and try it?"

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  22. I became acutely aware of the importance on properly pressurized tires when I started serious bicycling. When the energy required for propulsion comes from your own ass* rather than a fuel tank, you are shocked at the difference a correctly inflated tire makes. If the tire is underinflated the exertion needed to move is stunning and when the tires are properly inflated, the bike seems to roll on its it's own.

    Also suprising is the recommended PSI. While fat tire bikes' PSI is just around 30 or 40, my skinny road bike tires require a pressure of 100psi+ and are checked and filled before every ride. Even just sitting overnight causes some pressure loss.

    *although I don't like the snobby bicyclist shirts that read "use ass, not gas".

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  23. No circles, so didn't see the theme. Finished in around 13 minutes.

    I agree with Lemonade714's 10:19 observation. I've been surprised at how quickly regular members of this site proudly disclaim any knowledge of certain things. This group otherwise seems to have a thirst for knowledge, except when it comes to certain topics (many "newer" tv shows/movies/music).

    Also, I agree with his Jennifer Aniston comment.

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  24. Good Morning:

    After the first pass, I had very little black and tons of white, but, little by little, answers filled in. The cluing was just tricky enough to give me pause and make me wait for perps. Snape, OPTI, Moon Dance, and Kel were complete unknowns. Like PK, et al, Harry Potter references are meaningless to me. Ditto for Star Wars, Star Trek, LOTR, GOT, etc. My Lip Rings was Lip Rouge (which I was ready to question), and I had a Win Win before A no Win. I liked the in-order seasons symmetry but, again, I do not like circles in late week puzzles. This solve would have been more challenging and satisfying if one needed to scrutinize the themers to find the season; the reveal was so explicit that the solver would know exactly what to look for.

    Thanks, Peter, for a timely theme, (circles or no circles!) and thanks, Steve, for the grand tour. My mother loved turkey so much that it was the menu choice on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter and any other day of the year she had a fancy for it. I remember one bird she roasted weighed 32 pounds.

    I hope Abejo and Owen are feeling better.

    HG @ 9:37 ~ I think you saved me from wasting my time, so thank you.

    Tomorrow may be the first day of summer, but no one has informed Mother Nature, based on our recent weather patterns.

    Have a great day.

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  25. I do love key lime pie, but even if I didn't, I would have sampled it. I have an open mind and will give anything a chance. I click on the music clips here to see what they are. Some I don't care for, and after hearing a bit of them, I turn them off. When I read 15% or more of a new book, if i have to force myself to continue, I stop reading it.
    I have sampled the Simpsons and Harry Potter. I have watched parts of episodes and movies, sometimes large samples. I have read synopses of Harry Potter and even read some chapters.
    When I taste something and do not care for it, must I force myself to down the whole thing?
    I resent the adjective PROUD, just honest. Certain types of books and movies are just not our cuppa tea. Some posters don't like certain types of clues. That is their individual taste, not their pride.

    My dad didn't care for turkey, so mom roasted one only on Thanksgiving and he ate it. Dad preferred duck and goose. He didn't proudly claim he disliked turkey, he just said he disliked it.

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  26. Lemony @ @10:19 and Anonymous @ 10:35 ~ I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I have never claimed, or even insinuated, that I'm proud to have never read Harry Potter or seen the movies and any of the other movies/TV series: Star Trek, Star Wars, LOTR, GOT, The Simpsons, etc. My reasons for lack of interest in these and other popular must-sees are very simple: I dislike SciFi, I abhor violence, and my sense of humor is out-dated. I have also mentioned that I never watched two of the most highly rated series of all time, Seinfeld and MASH, simply because neither appealed to me. I might add that I have never criticized any of the material mentioned nor anyone who favors it, as I realize everyone has different likes and dislikes. Amen.

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  27. Anonymous @ 11:05 ~ Please leave us alone and take your nastiness with you!

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  28. YR, I am sorry if you took my remarks personally. You were not in my mind when I was typing as I was only commenting in general on those who "appear to me" (my opinion) to be proud about avoiding certain cultural phenomena. It was not an attack on them either; merely an observation followed by some questions which I considered legitimate. You have tried things and therefore are disqualified from my questions.

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  29. When I say "proud" it is a reflection of my curiosity as to why any comment on what you have not read is germane.
    Agnes, in response to your directed comments, I first must say it is unfair to lump all of those very different projects into a simple block "Sci-Fi." That does not give the individual works a chance. When Shakespeare uses ghosts to speak in his plays does that make it SciFi? You also "abhor violence" but your favorite movies and books include some horrendous and disturbing violence. Most of the works on your untried list are character driven. You like mysteries that are violent, as they all are, but they too are character driven. I am not suggesting you would like any of the stories, but you might.

    Ah well, I was trying for dialogue not confrontation.

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  30. Good Morning.

    Thanks, Peter for the struggle. On paper again today. The circles slow me down as they did yesterday also. I didn't see anything until SPRING. Finally everything opened up, and I was back to regular solving. Last for me was the SE. In the end it made no sense because it really wasn't that difficult. I'm with Dave D4 on 2A. I couldn't find my way away from the monastery. Nice misdirection, Peter. I wanted wanted some sort of lesson plans for Sub need on 4D. Right, Gary? I subbed for years before I went back full time. Nothing like NO PLANS for Junior High or High School kids. That's when I earned my Masters in Punting!

    Thanks for the tour Steve. Nice work once again.

    FLN: Hamilton was amazing. Anon -T, your daughter will love it with all the lyrics in her pocket. I didn't have that, but I did read all 738 pages of Chernow's bio--with pencil in hand. A grand experience. I also taught Hamiltonian v Jeffersonian Democracy in my 8th grade inquiry based history classes (early 70's). I can't even imagine that today.
    Wilber Charles: It was a magnificent tale of following one one's beliefs, making the most of once's chance to act and leaving a legacy. The story of a flawed human who was called to action. Was it political--not so much--but after all Hamilton and Jefferson's views of the Constitution is the genesis of our political parties. When the Treasury Department asked for feedback on the Tubman Ten, I wrote a brief essay on why Hamilton needed to be in our presence nearly every day. I suggested the Tubman Twenty. Just a thought at the time. BUT later, I felt vindicated by a musical!!! Ha!

    Have a sunny day wherever you are. Speaking of "making like a mole," we may be making that transition here in the Chicago area for lack of sunshine.

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  31. Hi Gang -

    FIR, with a little luck. The L and I of LIDO was pure guesswork. ALI for 23 D was an easy guess, but KEL for 22 D was just luck. Nicely done theme.

    Anyway, happy summer, everyone. Our park concert got rained out last week, and tonight is very iffy.

    Regarding the Bruckner homage by Crespo that I posed yesterday: I just listened to it again, and am baffled by Keith's reaction. And that's OK. We all have different taste. That's why there is more than one song and more than one style of music. I found it to be quite elegant and stately. It was a joy to play, and I was delighted to participate. I thought we did it rather well. And yes, that was me to the far right, 2nd row, in the dark red shirt. It was Epiphany Sunday, and red is part of the symbolism for that event.

    We played 4 other selections that day. If anyone is interested, they can be found here.

    My absolute favorite pieces in three years of doing this are from 2017

    Salvation is Created

    Octet, Mvt 2.
    The soloist is Ken Thompins, principle trombonist of the Detroit Symphony orchestra.

    Cool regards!
    JzB




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  32. To Madame D and other Hamilton aficionados and to all lovers of well researched historical novels set in early days of the USA.
    “My Dear Hamilton” is a fascinating story of Alexander’s wife, Eliza and her husband, and of the first days of our country. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and learned and relearned much about Hamilton and the other founding fathers. It was a pleasure to see history through a woman’s eyes. This book seems to be very well researched.
    Link text

    The same authors wrote another well researched novel, this one about Patsy Jefferson called “America’s First Daughter,” told through Patsy’s eyes. I have always idolized Jefferson and know he has done great things. Here some of his warts show, too.
    Link text

    I hated and was bored by history the way it was taught when I was in high school and college. Later, I became attracted to American history through reading historical novels. I always research the novels afterward I read them to see how true to the real facts they are. Now I love American history. When I taught it to fifth graders I tried to present it in story form.

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  33. OOPs
    I always research the novels AFTER I read them not AFTERWARD I read them.

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  34. This Thursday grid had some crunch.

    No traction in the NW so I moved down to the south. Which worked, I got a toehold and built back up. The NW was still last to go.

    Markovers....MAI/ETE, DIG/SPY.

    Oxymoron of the day.....”fantastic soccer”. Okay, if you say so....but I have a lack of respect for ANY sport that resorts to a different game to resolve ties. You play for 90 minutes and then...”Oooohh, let’s have a shootout.” Ugh...same deal for hockey. Why not just settle with darts?

    Big Easy....the tire pressure display was mandated when some manufacturers went to the run flat tires....it’s not really there to show you the pressures, it’s there to show which tire has LOST pressure. You only have 50 miles worth of run flat travel if it loses pressure.

    I had this occur a couple years ago when I took my car north for Christmas. I drove there from SC on fully inflated tires. I drove around CT for a few days, got in the car after driving again and the alert went off, low pressure. Due, of course, to the near freezing temps.

    I had to go to 3 (!!!) service stations to find a working air pump. Now I carry a portable inflator in the trunk.

    See you tomorrow.

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  35. Hola!

    Thank you for this challenge, Peter A. Collins! I found it hard to grasp a foothold at first but then the NE corner filled followed by the SW corner. Had to erase LIPSTICK for LIPRINGS (ugh).

    I know SNAPE from CWDs and my hand is way up for not having read Harry Potter. I'm not proud of it, I just have too many other books to read and it doesn't appeal to me. Maybe someday I shall.

    I still recall the news about the Achille LAURO fiasco for which, I believe, the captain is now in jail.

    MOON DANCE is unknown to me but all perps filled it.

    NIH, National Institutes of Health is familiar to me because my daughter deals with it periodically in her work.

    ARUGULA seems so bitter to me I don't know how it's edible.

    CSO to Canadian Eh! for Thanksgiving in Canada, OCT.

    Thank you, Spitz, for the CSO to me. St. Lucia is my patron saint.

    Thank you, Steve, when you EXPLAIN the puzzle you amuse and entertain us!

    I'll be going on a jet plane tomorrow and will be gone for two weeks. Take care, everyone!

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  36. lemonade, just personal preferences. I now prefer non-fiction. No interest in most of the fantasy genre. Don't care much for mythology or horror / thriller either.

    PVX - Funny observation about the shootout in soccer and hockey. I got immersed in the France v Nigeria women's soccer game the other day. A late game penalty kick decided it.

    Lucina, have fun !

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  37. Hi again,

    YR: When I started teaching history, I quit reading historical fiction so as not to interfere with facts. Also I had just finished Burr by Vidal. He wanted to write a hisotry/bio, but didn't want to do the hard work of citing sources. I never read Vidal again either. I was a sassy youngun in those days.

    Anon PVX: I'm with you on soccer and worse, my daughter was the keeper who had to block those shots. Worst position for a mom!! Why end the game with darts? Why not start with the shootout and then have a game. ;-)

    Lucina: Safe travels.

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  38. Lucinda: I think are confusing the Costa Concordia with the Achilles Lauro. The captain of the former is in jail. The Achilles Lauro was the victim of a terrorist hijacking by the Palestine Liberation Front. One passenger was murdered and his body tossed overboard. The terrorists were ultimately convicted and imprisoned. All have since been released.

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  39. Lemony @ 11:31 ~ My previous reply to you and Anonymous was not meant to be confrontational, nor should it have been interpreted as such, IMO. I was simply explaining my lack of interest, therefore, my lack of knowledge about certain movies, books, and TV shows. Sorry if I used the Sci-Fi genre too broadly; let me know to whom I was unfair and I'll be glad to apologize. That said, to each his own.

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  40. I very much enjoyed working and solving this puzzle. Well constructed, Peter Collins. Thank you.

    Steve, thank you for once again writing such an interesting write-up.

    LW and I watched the very first of the Harry Potter movie; we didn't like it. Couldn't get the least bit interested in the characters and had no desire to read or see more about them. Another example: I started to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but got very bored and never finished the book; the result is I discovered I have no interest in Narnia and its denizens. Result: I know very little about the Harry Potter or Narnia worlds and no interest in learning more about them. Additional examples abound. My point is that I did sample the goods before concluding I didn't care for them.

    Oddly enough, I enjoyed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings enough to plod through all four of the books. Enjoyed the movies, too.

    Heck, I don't really enjoy A Streetcar Named Desire much, even though it is considered to be "great literature." Then there's John Steinbeck; I love Of Mice and Men but got bogged and bored trying to read The Grapes of Wrath. I simply couldn't get into Moby Dick but for some reason read and enjoyed the entirety of Billy Budd.

    I guess I get a tad irked when someone here says things like "Gosh, I'm surprised you didn't remember so-and-so; it was in several puzzles years ago." Or things like "I don't understand how you can dislike such-and-such, because I like it." or "How can you not like apricot crepes? They are so good!"

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  41. There is an opera called Klinghoffer.

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  42. Hi All! //Warning - long post b/c I'm trying to keep up with the refreshes!

    DNF - Unlike JzB, I thought of but would not commit to LIDO,* so I left out the 'LI'. //I also thought juDO-deck but that'd be silly...

    Thanks Peter for the timely puzzle - though, I think Summer's already arrived in Houston: It's 92F w/ a "feels-like" of 112. //I don't mind but I'm kinda glad I moved my computers into the house -- there's no A/C in the garage.

    Wonderful Expo Steve: a) I enjoyed the Van Morrison link b) "[...], not sure if I like it." The ginger-beer or the ad?

    Knew NIH because I read Rats of NIMH in my ute.

    WO: opt to do [I thought I was so clever] b/f ELECT TO, like D-O two Ss in RISOTTO, started my mole digging (Hi PVX!)
    ESPs: Names!. I did know SNAPE - the girls are making DW & me watch the movies for "family time."
    Fav: c/a for BEBOP gave me that wonderful aha! feeling

    I was only 15yro, but I remember the Achille LAURO. I was a paper-boy and the guy in the wheelchair being jettisoned was an "above the fold" story - can't un-remember that.
    Changing tracks... I giggled seeing Achille in the clue 'cuz today I'm wearing my Splunk "Find your Achille's heel before a Trojan does" T-SHIRT //Trojans being malware - Splunk helps you find Trouble :-)

    {}

    D4 - thanks for saving me a LIU re: tonsure. As soon as I saw the image, I recalled what it meant.

    LEM - thanks for the link to 10 states >UK. Funny stuff.

    YR - I love spell check. I have a hard time spelling and, the more I think, the worse I spell! I'm AGIN' cake too - let them eat it I'll share Steve's cheese plate or other savory nosh.**

    @10:20a - you ain't just whistlin' Dixie; low PSI on road-bikes are a bugger to pedal**

    HG - I do that too. With any mystery, esp. Matlock or Murder She Wrote, if I catch 5 minutes of it I just lost an hour because "I just gotta knows."
    IM @11:08 - Amen indeed. DW had GoT on and I watched about 8 minutes. Those are 8 UGLY gratuitously violent minutes I can't un-see.
    TTP - yep, all non-fiction for me now; reality is (unfortunately(?)) more interesting than fantasy.
    Jayce - If I say this aloud they may take away my "nerd card" but I couldn't get through LoTR's Two Towers and I tried twice! Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, however, I read 2x.

    Anyone else think of The Jerk at at OPTI[grab]?

    Have fun on your trip ST. LUCInA!

    Cheers, -T
    *a) for Jinx
    b) What's LIDO other than Boz Scaggs? I LIU - Lido = a public, open-air swimming pool or beach. Now I know.
    **See, I thought about pedal to long and then had to Google which homonym I meant. I also had to spell-check 2x to figure out the O in sav-ry... Untie! :-)

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  43. A pretty tricky pzl today. Ultra chewy, yet do-able. Thankjs to Mt. Collins for a serious workout!

    And thank you, JzB for being more understanding than some of our colleagues regarding my reaction to your brass ensemble. I was feeling a bit like the kid in "The Emperor's New Clothes"--which I suppose is what we all experience when we are so completely out of step with our neighbors.
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    A 3-way for the home team.
    The main diagonal's anagram answers the age-old question, "Where do rusty fungi live?"
    Answer:
    "AECIA TOWN"!

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  44. Musings¬
    -¬Lemon, I am like Agnes in that I have simply never found the interest to take on the Harry Potter series and have absolutely no disdain for anyone who has/does.
    I did, however, teach with people who often said, “Oh, I don’t watch commercial TV (or I don’t have a TV), I only watch PBS and read classics.” Their sentiment was delivered with enough condescension to infer their superior tastes. To each his/her own, that’s why things come in different colors!

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  45. OMK, we are all entitled to our own tastes and to voice what we think. I am all for you. We need not shy away from giving our opinions. You go for it.

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  46. HG (and Steve)- about 4 (+/-) years ago we were a Nielsen house.* They sent detectors that we had to wear. Apparently it could "listen" to sub-audio broadcast (and cable, Steve) frequencies and know what was on TV. The pager-like belt-clip units would then communicate to transceivers in the wall outlets and, presumably, our Internet connection back to them.
    To be a stinker, I'd just turn on C-SPAN or PBS, leave the device on the couch, and go do my things. How haughty am I ? :-) //They'll never know I don't watch much TV
    Now that I think about it, their devices may still be in the garage; I should tear them apart one day for giggles.

    OMK - AECIA TOWN sounds like a very FUNKy TOWN [LIPps Inc. - 3:48]

    Cheers, -T
    *when I told the girls about it, I thought it was still the pencil & paper method of data collection. I told the girls they'd get paid money for logging their viewing. They bit, didn't have to work as hard, and cashed every $100 check for 4 months.

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  47. I always (well, not always) thought LIDO referred to the beach in the lagoon by Venice. I happened on it once, years ago--in my hiking days--and went swimming there.
    Weren't all the other LIDOs named after it?
    Aha! Now that I'm checking on it, "Lido" turns out to be Italian for "Beach." Doh!
    ~ OMK

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  48. And I was thinking of the Detective Monk.
    The accent aigu was very hard to spot in TBtimes. I thought of CORSAGE.

    My guesses on ALI and LIDO were just like jzb. I was wondering about the SEASONS because my SUMMER had two bad boxes. Seeing SPRING etc saved my FIR.

    I'll give you one that perhaps some never tried: "That 70s Show". I had a lot of laughs from that. Btw, on several episodes Seinfeld made fun indirectly of AA and Vietnam Vets(Andrea Doria survivor). But then again the theme of the final episode was "We're New Yorkers and we are selfish bastards ."

    "but I couldn't get through LoTR's Two Towers and I tried twice! Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, however, I read 2x."

    Wow, I've read both but the former is IMO much easier reading. Btw, did you catch my explanation of who Hari Selden is ? Historically?

    And… Just exactly what does CV stand for?

    WC

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  49. Actuly LIDO is closer to meaning "shore" in Italian.

    The Italian word for beach is "spiaggia"

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  50. WC -

    I too went to Tony (what a great name!) Shalhoub's character Monk for a bit @6a.

    CV is Curriculum Vitae [Latin, I'm fairly sure]. DW, the haughty PhD, uses it on her accomplishments long FORM and I've seen it used for non-USA folks' RESUMES.

    I've always caught your WEIGHTY references to Hari Selden mathin' the psychohistory. I think he was (will be) on to something as we watch history repeat.
    I heard this Houston's Holocaust Museum curator's interview on the radio today. [Spoiler - it's heavy, er, WEIGHTY] -T

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  51. I also am used to the modern Dutch spelling VanRijn. I accepted the alternate spelling.

    I remembered the LIDO deck from Love Boat. Yes, no redeeming value, but sometimes you just want junk food.

    I couldn't think of a monk style; Thelonius and BEBOP occurred to me, but I waited for perps.

    I've been an SF fan for about sixty years. There are a number of genres in SF; I tend towards "hard" SF. Harry Potter is too much to "swords and sorcery" for me.

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  52. Hi everybody. I've been having back pain for years now, due to spinal stenosis or a compressed disk, brought on by years of running on hard pavement, culminating in my tackling the LA Marathon years ago (probably my greatest athletic achievement). My doctor wanted me to have an MRI (against my wishes). Have you had one? Stuffed into a long tube, strapped in a bit, ears covered to diminish 15 minutes of strange/loud noises. I was delighted to have survived intact. I prefer pain medication.

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  53. Wilbur Charles - CV stands for Curriculum Vitae.

    JzB - thanks for posting the extra performances. I like a lot of Gordon Jacob's music. It makes me happy to know that a church has a "Posaunenstadt" and that you're able to assemble such a fine sounding volunteer ensemble for it every year, even getting the principal of a major symphony to participate. I see you've added a couple of tubas since '17. I thought I might have heard a contrabass trombone a couple of times, but couldn't see one, so you had a (or more) powerful bass trombone player(s). Really sounds good.

    In the puzzle, I was surprised they clued Thelonious Monk, though it's perfectly fair given all the esoteric insider, superfan clues for sports and entertainment figures we always have to deal with.

    The only Paper Moon I know of is the Harold Arlen tune - one als made no sense at all but I knew all the crosses were right. Oh, O'neals.

    From around '60 through the early 2000s I was a freelance bass player in various groups - must have played "Moondance" 1000 times; nice tune, but I never knew the provenance, so the Van Morrison reference was meaningless to me, but the lyric in the clue rang a bell.

    Thanks to Peter and Steve.

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  54. -T sorry - you posted (answer to WC) while I was typing, and of course I forgot to check back before posting. I'm old and can't help it.....

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  55. Bill: I've had two MRI's. I felt bombarded with the one, but then didn't have any more fibromyalgia for years afterward. I thought the magnetic resonance did something therapeutic. It was a year after I fell on ice and had a vertebrae compression fracture. Lots of low back pain then.

    Lucina: Have a good time on your trip!

    Lemony: I did say I had tried to watch the Harry Potter movie. I used to enjoy any show with a British accent. My aging ears now can't understand most of what they are saying. I also now have trouble remembering names. If a novel has a lot of names, I can't remember who did what by the third chapter. One of my reasons for reading is to keep my mind active, but I don't enjoy it if I am being confused. I'm not proud of failing to be interested by Harry Potter. Also I'm not going to apologize for my preferences. Some of my favorite moments in life happen to have been riding around in a dusty combine at sunset with my sweaty dirty husband who was cutting wheat to feed a hungry world. Don't think that would appeal to Lemony or many other people. On the other hand, I have no desire to go to Thailand but good for Lemony if he does.

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  56. I very much enjoyed the theme as we in Santa Barbara prepare for another SUMMER Solstice Festival. The CHANGE OF SEASONS.

    Here are my photos of our SUMMER Solstice Workshop progress. Arranged in galleries in reverse chronological order.

    I help with everything from heavy construction to sewing costumes and everything in between.

    That is me testing ot my praying mantis costume on my unicycle.

    It all comes together with a big parade on Saturday. The biggest single event of the year in Santa Barbara.

    NIH does some of the most important research for health and it is good to see it featured today.

    Interesting to see KANSAS again. A few days ago it came up with a clue about Manhattan. That totally fooled me. Had no idea there is a Manhattan there. Learning moment. I know there is a Manhattan in California because it is in a Beach Boys song. That always confused me, too, before coming to California.

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  57. Gary- on your comment about other people:

    “Oh, I don’t watch commercial TV (or I don’t have a TV), I only watch PBS and read classics.”

    You left out NPR. Their snob appeal makes me laugh. They need to get a life.

    As for me, I watch CNBC, Fox Business News, The Science Channel, Jeopardy, the Saints, and whenever LSU is playing either Football or Baseball.

    All the national news channels are so biased one way or another it's ridiculous. The local 'news' is usually dumb things with the weather on 3-4 times. I watch none of them.

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  58. PK. we do rice instead of wheat in Thailand and the heat can be quite intense. I never suggested I wanted anyone to like anything; I only asked if people never have tried something how do they know they don't like it. I did not like the look of bleu (blue) cheese. It turns out I love it. I do not like mushrooms, but I have tried them and do so ever so often to confirm I still do not like them.

    It's all good/

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  59. -T, in case you missed it

    N. RADSHILDE(Nathan Rothschild)

    HARI SELDEN

    You can draw the arrows. I'm pretty sure I could identify other merchant bankers that Asimov jumbled the names on.

    In book II, he talks about"the Mutant", almost certainly Hitler. Interesting that he talked about "The Music" which surely referred to the influence of media. Asimov frankly admitted that the raisin d'etre of SF is history.

    I would say Book II may be more prescience than just history.

    Btw, re. Tolkien.. I had to be persuaded to try it but it was love at first paragraph. Like others in here I'm also a fan of Stout and Doyle

    WC

    I also just noticed that I may have worn out the Asimov - Selden thing so I hereby drop it.

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  60. Thank you for the good wishes for my trip. From your fingers to God's ear!

    It's a good thing books are available in a variety of genres, isn't it? We are such a varied group who like different things. I like biographies but love well written fiction. A good story is wonderful entertainment. It expands my horizon to other countries and their cultures. The Island of Sea Women, our recent book club selection, introduced me to an entirely different way of life in Korea since it was based on fact. I would not otherwise have known about those courageous women divers.

    When my granddaughter was reading Harry Potter I read a few pages and decided it was not to my liking.

    thank you for the correction between the Achille LAURO and the Costa Concordia. My mind does confuse things.

    Be good, everyone, and play nice!

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  61. Bill G - I've had an MRI (for a cyst on my elbow(?) - me thinks, in hindsight, #InsuranceScam). It wasn't bad. With darkness and all the whirling white-noise, I fell asleep quickly inside the coffin-like tube. [ooooh, that sounds ominous...]

    MikeS. No need to say sorry; things can happen fast on the interwebs.

    Picard - 'tis nice to see you back semi-regularly at The Corner. I think today's lesson is we are all individuals. We are all different in tastes and scope of knowledge. Don't let haters run you (nor anyone else) out.

    BigE - From earlier: knowing a bit about your experience in business, I was a bit surprised you didn't know CV - but, (what I just said). BTW, I listen to NPR all the time and have a Semi-[charmed]Life :-) [Third Eye Blind]. And yes, some NPR shows are "Bleh! Kill me already!" cringe-y. #DownWithSmug

    Asimov was brilliant that way, WC. Orwell too. I still don't understand the strings connecting pictures on your wall re: Rothschild [maybe I'm too young to get the xref]

    Cheers & Nite!, -T

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  62. That's right: CV does not mean a "short" version of one's resume. I suppose one could argue that the initials are short for the formal title, Curriculum vitae.

    Over the course of applying for several academic positions in my 50+ years in universities, I used two forms for my CV. The long form (up to 25 pages before I retired) was titled simply Curriculum vitae.
    When a short version was desired--usually boiled down to one or two pages--I titled it my curriculum vitae breve.
    ~ OMK

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  63. Lucina: I read "The Island of Sea Women" after you mentioned it. Very different & engrossing. I wondered what your club members thought of it. I knew it was based on facts but those women submerged in icy water was surreal.

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  64. Good Friday morning, folks. Thank you, Peter A. Collins, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.

    I am a day late reporting in with this puzzle. Got it done on Thursday, real late, so I went to bed.

    Liked the puzzle and caught the theme after a couple of the answers. Good timing. Today is the first day of summer, I think.

    LAURO came after a lot of thought. I remember the incident.

    Some tough ones: SNAPE, BEBOP, RON, LIDO, SWEEPS, NRPALI, ST LUCIA, KEL, NIH. Perped them all.

    Anyhow, going to the doctor this morning. Have to do some getting ready, etc. See you Saturday.

    Abejo

    ( )

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