google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday April 12, 2020 Fred Piscop

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Apr 12, 2020

Sunday April 12, 2020 Fred Piscop

Theme: "UR Out!" - UR is deleted from each familiar phrase.
 
23. Where a displaced ex-hubby may sleep?: DIVORCE COT. Divorce court.

25. Determination as to which twin is born first?: NATAL ORDER. Natural order.

44. Poem about the letter nu?: ODE ON A GRECIAN N. Ode on a Grecian Urn.

63. Progressive Insurance icon's layoff?: SACK OF FLO. Sack of flour.

69. Dried, pulverized onions?: CRY POWDER. Curry power.

89. Three movies about skeletons?: THE BONE TRILOGY. The Bourne Trilogy.

111. Extension of an embargo?: BAN RENEWAL. Urban renewal.

114. Della's notable facial feature?: STREET CHIN. Street urchin.

Notice there are no straying UR combo in the grid at all?

Fred Piscop is a master of course. He's never one to chase after a pangram or low-word account. Smooth and clean fill is always his priority. I was very lucky to work with Fred when he was the editor for the USA Today.


Across:

1. Identifies in a Facebook photo: TAGS.

5. __ basin: TIDAL.

10. Chitchats: GABS. WeChat with my friend Carmen every day. She said most of the businesses in Guangzhou have reopened. She's still too nervous to visit the hair salon. This is a very good article about situations in China.

14. Prep for surgery: SCRUB.

19. Mil or mile: UNIT.

20. Kipling's "Lone Wolf": AKELA.


21. Release, as an odor: EMIT.

22. Reason to march: CAUSE.

27. Brunch dish: OMELET.

28. 2000 NBA MVP: O'NEAL. 100. 28-Across, for eight seasons: LAKER. The glorious days.


30. Clay-pigeon launcher: TRAP.

31. Guinness Book suffix: EST.

32. Back-to-zero button: RESET.

33. Delightful places: EDENS.

34. Closed (in): ZEROED.

36. Concerning: IN RE.

38. North Pole explorer: PEARY. Not SCOTT. Wiki says Robert Peary was buried Arlington Cemetery


40. Restaurant with skating carhops: SONIC.

50. Myriad: MANY.

51. Violinist's effect: VIBRATO. Here is Fred Piscop at the keyboard.

52. "Didn't mean it": SORRY.

53. Confession hearers: PRIESTS.

56. Lendl of tennis: IVAN.

57. Alloy containing carbon: STEEL.

58. "Any day now": SOON.

59. Body __: ART.

60. Elsinore natives: DANES.

62. Ex-White House Press Secretary Spicer: SEAN. Seems like ages ago.

66. Warning to a sinner: REPENT.

68. "__ Madness": old anti-drug movie: REEFER. Unfamiliar to me.


72. "The Swedish Nightingale" Jenny: LIND.

73. Littlest littermates: RUNTS.

77. Greek X: CHI.

78. Primatologists' subjects: APES.

79. Commonly abbreviated bit of Latin: ID EST.

81. Part of a hat trick: GOAL.

82. Hard bargain driver: HAGGLER. And 110. Flea market deal: RESALE. Guess our local flea market won't be open this year.

84. "CSI" part: SCENE.

85. African grassland: SAVANNA.

88. "Uh-huh": I SEE.

91. Clobbers with snowballs: PELTS.

93. Silents vamp Bara: THEDA.


94. Hammerhead cousin: MAKO.

95. Got ready to stop: SLOWED.

97. Needing a rinse: SOAPY. How I miss the days when Target had so many Method hand washes for me to choose.

105. "That's unfortunate": TSK.

108. Rebus animals: EWES.

109. Game akin to bingo: BEANO.

116. Poke around: SNOOP.

117. Artist who helped Hitchcock design a dream sequence for "Spellbound": DALI. Interesting trivia.


118. Colorful upholstery fabric: TOILE.

119. Gobs: A LOT.

120. Trivial: PETTY.

121. Manicure sound: SNIP.

122. Escargot: SNAIL.

123. Kitchen supplies: POTS.

Down:

1. House of Henry VIII: TUDOR.

2. "Speed Racer" genre: ANIME.


3. Helps the cause: GIVES.

4. Made off with: STOLE.

5. Negotiating asset: TACT.

6. Clanton gang leader: IKE. Ike Clanton.  O.K. Corral.


7. __ ring: encryption toy: DECODER.

8. One way to work: ALONE.

9. Grow dark: LATEN.

10. USAF VIP: GENL.

11. Org. with an oft-quoted journal: AMA.

12. Marsh bird: BITTERN.


13. Bright at night: STARRY.

14. Sharpshooters' aids: SCOPES.

15. Sleeping __: CAR. Very effective fill-in-the-blank clue, since there are a few three-letter candidates.

16. Far from polite: RUDE.

17. Doesn't waste: USES.

18. Muppet with a unibrow: BERT.

24. Eye part: RETINA.

26. Vientiane native: LAO. Their food is very similar to Thai food. Both love long-grained sticky rice. Short-grained sticky rice is more popular in China and Japan.


29. Set a high goal: ASPIRE.

33. Logician's word: ERGO.

34. Buffoon: ZANY.

35. Fuller's geodesic creation: DOME.

37. MLB Expo, since 2005: NAT. Who are you top three Montreal Expo players?

39. Counts' equals: EARLS.

41. __ spray: NASAL.

42. Toastmaster's opening: INTRO.

43. Dermatologist's concern: CYST.

44. "Amores" poet: OVID.

45. Operatic icon: DIVA.

46. Abba of Israel: EBAN.

47. Difficult: ORNERY. Great word.

48. Ritzy spread: ESTATE.

49. Either "Fargo" director: COEN. Pride of Minnesota.


53. Elbowed: POKED.

54. Urban sunbather's spot: ROOF.

55. Derive: INFER.

57. Orders to go: SENDS.

58. Potpourri quality: SCENT.

61. Bud protector: SEPAL. Saw buds in our neighborhood hedge yesterday.

62. Home of the Ninja Turtles: SEWER. No idea.


64. No longer in bed: ARISEN.

65. Thrifty: FRUGAL.

67. St. Peter's Square figure: POPE.

69. Climactic film scene: CHASE.

70. Bright Orion star: RIGEL.

71. Pressed through a sieve: RICED.

72. Celeb with a TV "Garage": LENO.

74. Pitcher's gem, in baseball lingo: NO NO. No hitters.

75. Brand associated with NASA missions: TANG. Also a big & prosperous Chinese dynasty.


76. Crack up: SLAY.

77. Casino disk: CHIP.

80. Lower in status: DEBASE.

83. Catches on to: GETS.

84. Slough off: SHED.

85. Stick around: STAY.

86. Torah holder: ARK.

87. Roy G. Biv hue: VIOLET.

89. Saint-Saëns work with a memorable cello solo: THE SWAN. Also unknown to me.


90. Big-box stores, e.g.: EMPORIA. Plural of "emporium".

92. Yawning, say: SLEEPY.

93. Coarse woolens: TWEEDS.

96. Part of BYOB: OWN.

98. Brewers' ovens: OASTS.

99. Playwright Chekhov: ANTON. "Three Sisters".

101. Tunesmiths' org.: ASCAP.

102. Hayek's "Frida" role: KAHLO. She nailed the role.


103. "Silas Marner" author: ELIOT.

104. Monopoly fees: RENTS.

105. 1/2 fl. oz.: TBSP.

106. Level-headed: SANE.

107. Half hitch, e.g.: KNOT.

109. Dot on a radar screen: BLIP.

110. "Riverdance" dance: REEL.

112. Hogwash: ROT.

113. Dethroner of Foreman: ALI.

115. Lilly of pharmaceuticals: ELI.



Last week I linked one of the YouTube videos by constructor Todd Gross. You can watch all of his work here. 

This 21*21  is particularly interesting. I can't imagine the amount of work that went into that grid. 

C.C.

47 comments:

D4E4H said...

Good morning Cornerites.
Happy Easter to each of you!  I'm taking a break from the CW (72% solved) to greet you.

Thank you Fred Piscop for your enjoyable Sunday CW.  I caught the theme "UR Out!"  at 23 A, the first themer.  This helped me solve the other themers, and kept me "Safe!". 

Thank you C.C. for your excellent review.  I'm saving it till I complete the CW.


Ðave

billocohoes said...

I think of buffoon as a noun, ZANY as an adjective

REEFER MADNESS was seen as a comedy, not a warning, by 1960's college students

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Got the theme early, and it actually helped (and speeded up) the solve. Learning moments: BUFFOON can be an adjective, and BEANO can be a game. Tried INDIGO before VIOLET barged in, but that was my only Wite-Out moment. Thanx for "liftin' us higher," Fred (did Joe add an O, or did you drop one?) and C.C.

RUNTS: Our youngest cat was a runt. I call her Runty. DW chickened out at the vets, so she's officially Grumby.

STREET urCHIN: I grew up as a street urchin in our little town. Our house was attached to the furniture store at the busiest corner of Main Street. (The town library is there now.) I fell asleep to the strains of the juke box in Slim's Bar across the street.

SHED: Almost everyone in our neighborhood (except d-o) has a shed in the yard. Some have even installed sheds for their sheds.

Reefer Madness: I remember seeing that on MST3K. Did you ever watch that show? They only showed (and made fun of) bad movies, and the absolute worst one they ever aired was Manos: The Hands of Fate.

Anonymous said...

Liked the puzzle and enjoyed the theme. I also found the theme helped me solve the puzzle. However, there were two parts I was surprised by. I didn't love the THE/THE cross at 89, and I didn't love the Natick at AKELA/IKE .

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased perry fo PEARY, clip for SNIP, and abas for EBAN.

ARISEN is a nice word for an Easter puzzle.

I liked seeing EMIT AROMA and BEANO in the same puzzle.

As a former SoCal resident, I struggled to get DANES for "Elsinore natives". Riverside-ites wouldn't fit. Great lake for windsurfing there.

I wrinkled my nose at the "buffoon" C/A too.

Is a half hitch a knot? Two of them are, but one doesn't do anything useful AFAIK.

Today was supposed to be the fourth and final day of 2020 Masters golf tournament. With apologies to Hahtoolah I’ll offer a final golf quote of the day, this one from Gary Player. “I am tired of all these golfers who are happy with second place. The only one who will like you if you come in second place is your wife and your dog. And that is only if you have a good wife and a good dog.”

Thanks to Fred and to CC for the fun Sunday diversion.

Lemonade714 said...

Nice to see you on top of the world Dave2. A friendly Sunday from a puzzle pro, with an insider review from dear C.C. I especially appreciate the information on what is happening in China. This validates the world's concern that the pandemic is not over until it is over everywhere.

I did not know Saint-Saëns but the perps were there. Oo cooks some Lao/Thai dishes, and when my oldest was a waiter at a Thai restaurant in Tallahassee in college they served some offerings like LARB GAI which is also a Thai favorite. Around here it is a big hit with our Hispanic friends when Oo makes it.

Be careful, be safe

Hungry Mother said...

Not bad today, just a long journey. The theme was both lovely and useful. No real problem area.

TTP said...

Thank you, Fred ! And Thank you, C.C. !

Yes, I always enjoy solving Fred's crosswords. I was a novice solver back in 2012. I rarely attempted solving. It was only on Sunday's when I was really bored. Occasionally I would save the Sunday insert until the next week so I could check my answers. One day I came so close, and went online to see if I could find the answer to the missing fill. That's when I found C.C.'s blog, and I got hooked. If memory serves, it was one of Fred's puzzles. I remember that I would look forward to trying to solve his, and I would cringe when I saw certain other constructor names. And that's that.

I like to start in the middle of these 21 x 21's, and fan outward where the fill takes me. As such, my first theme fill was BAN RENEWAL. Then looked at the title. OK, game on.

HA ! SACK OF FLO. Irish Miss would be all in for that one.

SONIC - There's one about halfway to Abejo's house from my house. DW and I tried it a couple of times when it first opened.

REEFER Madness - I'm not a pot smoker, and I don't advocate for or against it, but this movie was so over the top in its ant-ipot propaganda that it was funny. I think it was part of the mandatory "Drug Education" we took in 8th or 9th grade, where they taught us all about pot, uppers, downers, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and sniffing glues. Pill poppers, pot smokers and pushers. It was a really odd class. I think it was intended to scare the heck out of us, but for many, I think it only educated as to which drugs were safer to experiment than with others.

I was reminded of Reefer Madness on a sleepless night a week or so ago, when an equally ridiculous episode of Dragnet aired titled "The Big High".

Three favorite Expos ? Rusty Staub, Vlad Guerrero, and Andre Dawson. Vlad always reminded me of Manny Sanguillen, catcher for the Pirates. Manny would swing at anything and everything that came close to the plate, and frequently got hits on some of the most impossible to hit pitches. Then years later, here comes Vlad, and his plate coverage looks like Manny, reincarnate. "That fastball was high and tailing away, and three feet off the plate. How in the world did he hit without stepping out of the batter's box ?"

Yes, D-O, I come across MST3K on one of the cable channels from time to time. I would like to see the MST3K team on a movie mashup of some of the press conferences I've seen lately.

I think many readers know that Merriam-Webster publishes two crosswords daily. You can always find the LA Times crossword there. I think oc4beach said he solves there.

But there's also the Universal puzzle. Today, C.C. has a puzzle, "Value Pack at Merriam-Webster Universal link.

Big Easy said...

Well after yesterday's fiasco, today's puzzle was like taking Easter candy away from a 2-year old who just found it. The missing UR was evident at DIVORCE COT, and if you are subpoenaed for Div. COURT and want to say anything, show up. I was a witness at my brother's and when he was called he said 'Here'; then the judge called out his then wife's name, nobody answered. After about 10 SECONDS, the judge said: Divorce granted.

The only real ? I had was ZANY for 'Buffoon'. I've never heard buffoon used as an adjective or adverb.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thank you, Fred, for a more comfortable puzzle than we've had lately.

Thank you, C.C. for the great expo. I'll have to take the China article to my other browser to learn about that. I'm glad you are able to talk to Carmen and she is okay.

I read the title and was able to use it to learn why GRECIANN had two "N's". The UR hopped around so much, it didn't really help me with the other solves except with COURT. But I enjoyed the novelty of the theme. Couldn't figure out where the UR should go with NAT(UR)AL ORDER or (UR)BAN RENEWAL. Had to wait for C.C. to explain.

DNK: "REEFER Madness", SEWER, SEPAL, KAHLO, RIGEL or that ROY G.Biv hue =VIOLET and Elsinore natives = DANES.

Had trouble with "pressed thru a sieve" = RICED. Never heard that term until I started working CWs. We always mashed our taters.

Roof got bombarded with hail last evening followed by rain. Hope my installation of heavy duty shingles several years ago was worth the money. Haven't seen any water streaks on the ceiling or walls today. Raining again this morning. About an hour after the heavy hail hit, my young man neighbor came dragging his boat into his yard. I'm wondering if he was out on a lake during that storm. I didn't yell out and ask him. He was revving his pickup motor in a manner suggesting he was NOT happy.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Every theme was fun! ODE ON A GRECIAN N my fav
-Our D.C. TIDAL BASIN visit two years ago saw very cold cherry blossoms and I bought a NAT hat
-Loved the video of hippie Fred!
-Many here will recognize – “His Judgement Cometh And Right SOON”
-Considering body ART that will make you unemployable might call for a rethink
-My usually meek wife became a HAGGLER in Florence for a purse
-Congrats to anyone who GETS this rebus with a EWE
-I used every ounce of TACT I had to arrange a funeral for my brother-in-law between his bitter wife, my devastated mother-in-law and a PRIEST who didn’t want to do the service
-Dad used onry for ORNERY all his life
-A potpourri SCENT to some is an odor EMITTER to others
-ARISEN on Easter Sunday? Not so says he!

desper-otto said...

Husker, the questions on everyone's mind are 1. Did he see his shadow? And 2. Will there be six more weeks of Lent?

Yellowrocks said...

Interesting blog, CC. I liked this "drop UR" puzzle. The theme helped the solve. The only word new to me was KAHLO, all perps. I tried to rework that section, but the perps were solid.
I spent hours playing Ninja Turtles with my grandson years ago, so I knew SEWER.
I read one of the Bourne books but didn't care for it, so that was the only one I read.
I have heard ZANY used as a noun, so no nit.
I learned AKELA when my sons were Cub Scouts. Here is an interesting article about how Kipling's Jungle Book was the basis for Cub Scout terms.
AKELA
Also, from my boys's scouting days I learned names of knots.
Wikipedia says, "The half hitch is a simple overhand knot, where the working end of a line is brought over and under the standing part. Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of useful and reliable hitches, bends, and knots." Although it is seldom used alone, it is called a knot.
I have a ricer to rice potatoes. I am ambivalent about it and seldom use it. By the time I get the potatoes all riced they have cooled off and need to be zapped in the microwave, but I do like the texture the ricer gives.
From somewhere I learned that BEANO is a precursor of BINGO.
To all who celebrate it, I wish you a happy Easter. My very quiet Easter this year will be celebrated by phone calls to family. I will make myself a very small ham and scalloped potatoes, with lots of leftovers.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Joe Piscopo, one of my favorite constructors! And many thanks, C.C., for your insightful analysis. I'll read the article later.

TAGS/TUDOR was a good start and just kept me going; no stumbling blocks were found and I didn't need to employ the UR, but saw it.

I also did a double take at ZANY but it had to be.

Carnival of the animals is a beautiful work so it was a treat to see THESWAN. Another nice treat is ANTON Chekov though his works tend to be a bit dark.

How well I recall the many inviting TANG commercials which prompted me to give it to my infant daughter. She almost instantly developed hives with a rash all over her little body. What a scare! Needless to say that was the last time TANG appeared in our home.

Last night's Jeopardy, a rerun, featured some STARRY clues including one for RIGEL.

The only CAUSE I ever marched on was with Cesar Chavez when he came here in his efforts to better the plight of field workers.

Have a peaceful, even if quiet Easter Sunday, everyone! It saddens me that I can't be at my church but I'll watch a Mass on TV.

Picard said...

Hand up confused by BUFFOON/ZANY. BUFFOON is always a noun. But it turns out ZANY can also be a noun. Learning moment/mystery solved. My struggle was with the GOAL/NONO cross. Never heard of either as clued. Learning moment.

I often enjoy being a BUFFOON by unicycling and juggling and I have many BUFFOON friends. Two of my best BUFFOON friends are performers Jeff Walsh and Mark Collier who performed crowd entertainment at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Their signature performance is their HAT TRICK Juggling. I never heard that term used another way.

Here my BUFFOON friends Jeff and Mark performed their HAT TRICK Juggling at the Isla Vista Juggling Festival in the University of California, Santa Barbara gym.

Sorry for the poor video quality, but I hope you get the idea!

One of my other BUFFOON friends has often performed as Frida KAHLO at local events.

When I was on the high school math team we once played against PEARY High School so I learned the name back then.

Spitzboov said...

Hello everyone.

Somewhat eay for a Sunday. Got it all. Most of the theme fill parsed easily but I had to take a few extra moments with CurRY POWDER. Well done, Fred. BZ.
ASPIRE - Another A word to chew on.
GOB - Also a somewhat slangy word for a sailor.
RIGEL - At Orion's left knee. One of 58 STARs commonly used in celestial navigation. Orion has 3 other stars in this group including Betelgeuse.
EBAN - Remember him well when, during the 6 Days War, he was the face of Israel on television.
STEEL - I taught this Iron-Carbon Phase Diagram to engineering students when I was a TA in Grad School. It helps explain why you can do so much with steel such as annealing and hardening using heating and quenching.

Misty said...

Well, I just sent a cheerful Easter message, thanking Fred and C.C. for their neat contributions, and pointing out all my favorite puzzle moments. But when I sent it, I got an error message, and it was gone. Don't want that to happen again, so let me just repeat my thanks to everyone (including Dave and Yellowrocks for their Happy Easter wishes) and have a lovely Sunday, everybody.

Picard said...

From yesterday:
Not sure how many saw my late updated post yesterday on the insane Bicycle ZIPLINE I did. Thank you Lucina and Yellowrocks for your kind comments. I will repost that link:

Here is a more complete set of Bicycle ZIPLINE photos as well as three ZIPLINE videos that I made.

The most valuable photos are the sequence showing the young couple bicycling from the other direction. It gives a good sense of what I experienced.

I am still very curious if anyone else had this experience of doing something insane while travelling that you would never do at home?

SwampCat again thank you very much for explaining what happened to your young cousin on the ZIPLINE. I am so sorry. That indeed sounds like a freak accident. Very odd that it was never explained. You have my deepest sympathy.

Shankers said...

Compared to yesterday's slog this was a 100 yard dash to the finish. About half the time to complete. So a big fat FIR. Loved the arisen answer on this most holy day for us Catholics. To Lucinda, a wonderful Mass by Bishop Olmstead this morning didn't you think?

Brian said...

Husker, is it "I'm so jealous of you"?

NaomiZ said...

After a few very tough mornings with the LA Times Crossword, Fred Piscop's puzzle was a delight to solve. Themes don't always help with the solution, but this time they did. The only irksome answer was ZANY as a noun, but Fred was entirely correct, as some of us learned today. Thanks for letting me play along!

Yellowrocks said...

Many years ago I was an ice hockey fan.
"In field hockey and ice hockey, a hat trick occurs when a player scores three goals in a single game. A hat trick in ice hockey, as it is known in its current form, culminates with fans throwing hats onto the ice from the stands."
My favorite teams, in this order, were Devils, Rangers and Islanders. Somehow I have stopped following hockey.

Anonymous said...

Yellowrocks thanks for the Hat Trick explanation. Has anyone else ever heard this term before?

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Anon - Yup. As a Washington Capitals fan I get to see those hats cascade down frequently. Our Alex Ovechkin has 27 of them in his hall-of-fame career.

BTW, I became a hockey fan after getting frustrated with the NFL. Once upon a time I knew what "holding" "pass interference" and "roughing the passer" were. Now I have absolutely no idea. I just know that the refs must use an Ouija board to officiate Saint's games. I remain a Cowboys fan, but if they are on opposite the Caps, my screen will be filled with ice (sorry, Tin).

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Anon, I have also heard "hat trick" used for even non-sports events. Trifecta too. "Today I left the seat up, called my wife by my ex's name and woke the baby yelling at the TV. Yup, got me a dog house hat trick." Or "Yup, got me the dog house trifecta."

Lucina said...

Shankers:
I'm glad you enjoyed Bishop Olmsted's Mass. I watched one from St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The building itself inspires prayer rising to heaven!

Picard:
Not being a daring person, I can't think of anything outlandish I've ever done. In Costa Rica I took the group ride over the rainforest canopy.

Jayce said...

Loved this puzzle. Smiled at the theme answers. Actually learned some things that I'll remember.
Best wishes to you all this special day.

Husker Gary said...

Yes Brian, the answer is

Eye + M = I’M
S + Hoe = SO
Cellos = JEALOUS
Off = OF
Ewe = YOU


Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Fred Piscop, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

I was really looking forward to today's puzzle after yesterday's tough one. I was not disappointed. Puzzle was great. The theme was outstanding!

Picard: I enjoyed the hat juggling clip.

My toughest one was the Greek "N" Got it with perps and a wag. Was not familiar with a BITTERN either.

Liked the DALI painting with the eyes.

I recently watched the movie "Wyatt Earp". Of course, Ike Clanton was in it.

Well, off to the rest of my day. We had a quiet Easter. Nice ham dinner, just the two of us. In isolation. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts ...

Needed some help in the NE corner and middle, but I finally prevailed!

I, too am a big fan of Piscop puzzles .. as C.C. said, very clean and workable

A few haikus ...

(Couple) Got caught eloping
So they could “tie the KNOT”, but
Now, they’re just half-hitched ...

“May I pop your zit?
You sure you’re ok with it?”
“Of course; I in-CYST.”

When they drained the swamp
A particular heron
Was very BITTERN.

And lastly (for today’s holiday)

Easter meals, for me,
Include both bacon and ham.
It’s time to pig out!
🥓🐷

Becky said...

So here's what happened me today. There was no crossword puzzle in my e-paper. Or so my husband says -- he's the one who prints it for me. So I came to the corner and it said, over on the right hand side, I could get the Sunday crossword from the Washington Post. And it was the same as the LA Times. So I did, printed it, did it, it was very difficult by the way, and then came here to see what everyone thought, and it was a completely different puzzle by Evan Birnholz. Any other LAers have that problem?

Loved those zip line things, Picard. Wouldn't do one in a million years for a million dollars.

Becky

CrossEyedDave said...

Many Blog reading interruptions today (Easter)

Trying to remember how I did on the puzzle,
definitely easier than Saturday, but I still FIW'd.

Wees on the buffoon nose wrinkle.

From my notes:
Thank you Anon-t from last night,
It is very rare to see a tour of Venice from a
garbage scow... (wonder what else is in the Michael Palin around the world series...)

Loved, love keeps lifting you higher video from the Constructor! (today)

(Yest)
Picard, I could have sworn those conical chocolate hills were made made!
Looked like tombs!
but Geologists say otherwise...

(today)
Picard, you want an insane experience done while traveling
that you would never do at home? (your asking the wrong guy...)
I have so many!
Let's see, what would be entertaining...

I once attended a Bachelor party aboard a small boat in New York Harbor.
(which is like starting a story with 3 religious figures walk into a bar...)
to make a soggy story short(er)
The capt'n was paranoid we would be pulled over by
the Coast Guard due to all the drinking (highly illegal in the Harbor)
(& we did get pulled over by a Coast Guard destroyer, but that's another story.)
once though the Harbor & into the East River,
we passed Pier 16, Fulton Street Fish Market, sight See-er Mecca
in NYC, Tall Ships, Movie Stars...

Since it was night, & we were (insert description here)
we all decided after waving to the sight see-ers we
dropped our pants, & mooned NYC...


I will spare you the photos..

Anonymous T said...

Sunday Lurk Say...

D-O: MST3K is absolutely brilliant. Ever see "Girl's Town" w/ Mel Torme & Paul Anka? That's when I learnt his nick-name was Velvet Frog. Also the Mothra movies!

TTP - Sonic has pretty good tots and lemonade slushies. When I get a hankerin' for 'em I'll add a chili- or Chicago-(style) dog.

Anyone watch SNL "from home" last night? Tom Hanks hosted. I mention this because there was a short featuring the Middle-Aged Ninja Turtles. Woulda help'd some ya today.

HG - "I'm so turned (tuned) off by you" is as far as I got //off switch is BY ewe; strings are in tune(?)

Happy Easter! I've got hasenpfeffer jambalaya simmering for tonight's dinner :-)

Cheers, -T
I'm kidding -- No rabbits were harmed in my Cajun fare.

TTP said...



Becky, it is a simple explanation.

If you go to the Washington Post via the link in this blog, it will link you to the daily LA Times puzzle. If however, when you get there, you click on Sunday Crossword at the top, you will always get the Evan Birnholz puzzle.

Spitzboov said...

CED @ 1724 - - re: those conical chocolate hills. Geology speaking wise, Moulin Kames in Glacial outwash regions also resemble conical hills. They can be several acres in cross-section.

Becky said...

Well, turns out Jamie (DH) was wrong, I just printed it out. But I'm exhausted from the Evan one!

Becky

TTP said...



Dash T, I did watch SNL last night, just to see how it would play out.

Those Mutant Teenage Ninja Turtles were definitely looking a little middle aged.

PK said...

After seeing Lucina & Spitz posts about RIGEL, I realized I had seen that Jeopardy episode before working the puzzle. I also remember hearing the answer and thinking I didn't understand what he said. On well, perps...

Alex Trebek's mustache said...

In between watching reruns of Jeopardy!: The Seth Wilson collection, I solved the NYT Sunday puzzle printed in my local rag. I believe it's a few weeks old but I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I proudly solved it without the circles I believe existed in the original print. Will Shortz introduced it with:

"Ticky Cruz, 22, of Glendale, Calif., is a video game concept artist - a maker of detailed designs for other artists to use when creating 3-D game environments. He says this puzzle is an attempt to turn a crossword 'into a fun visual experience.' The unusual grid alone tells you something novel is up. This is Ricky's third puzzle for The Times, and his first Sunday."

Enjoy it if you have the means. I know most of you have the Time(s). Lol

Picard said...

Lucina, Abejo, Becky, Cross-Eyed Dave and Spitzboov thank you for the comments on the ZIPLINE photos and videos and on the HAT TRICK Juggling.

Cross-Eyed Dave and Spitzboov thanks for your thoughts on the Chocolate Hills formation where I did the Bicycle ZIPLINE. My brother is a geologist and he tried to understand the Chocolate Hills in terms of Karst formations. He said the explanations that he saw made little sense. Karst is about limestone formations eroding and usually results in caves or depressions. Hard to see how that would result in these dome structures. If you understand, please do explain!

Cross-Eyed Dave thank you for your story of doing an insane thing while travelling that you would never do at home! Lucina if I remember correctly you have done plenty of interesting travels. It is probably good that you never did anything insane, but you may be more daring than you realize.

Here are some of my photos of my friends as Frida KAHLO impersonators at the start of our Solstice Parade

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the ones of my friend Mary. I asked her today and she agreed that she had done this role many times. I must have photos somewhere, but no luck finding them today.

Picard said...

Two more comments, if I may:

Cross-Eyed Dave I really enjoy your links and comments every day. You find so many cool bits to share.

I also wanted to comment on the puzzle from last Sunday by Paul Coulter called "The Other Half". I don't ever remember seeing so many hostile comments about a puzzle. I thought the theme was very clever. Some of the fill was Saturday level challenging with some pretty obscure words crossing each other. But I really did enjoy the theme.

Wilbur Charles said...

YR, being from Boston and having a pond nearby I followed hockey closely into my 20s. When I came home from Vietnam after the Bruins Stanley Cup I was anxious to see Bobby ORR. But, in the seventies my interest drifted to NCAA Basketball. When freshmen could play one could follow one of about 15 teams for nearly half a decade. Notre Dame who were often on TV is an example.

Becky I buy the TB-Times just for la-xword and Evan Birnholz Wa-Post insert . Difficult eh? I'll do that one later this week.

Re. La-xword… It was smooth sailing until California. And it affected the middle as I spelled the brother as COhN. The snowball fight, the Star and even that Vegas CHIP eluded me. It fell piece by piece.

No-No as in No hits, No runs is perhaps a little inside baseball but Hat Trick is as old as that aforementioned Stanley Cup. But, then again, RIGAL, SEPAL, CHI were all perps for me. I do remember, as surely Lucina does, Chi-Rho. I joined for the bowling league. Yes, it was Co-Ed.

Very entertaining xword and I'll be back to CC's write-up for somebody her links.

WC

Picard, your links also await. I think some of last week's "hostility" came from midweek solvers. And.. I congratulate you on your FIR yesterday.

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

Ps, I recall it as KEY-Rho

Spitzboov said...

Picard - To be clear, my comment only had to do with another example of a conical hill; not the karstic hills in your beautiful photos. Since Moulin Kames relate to glaciation outwash, I would not expect that any would exist in the Philippines.

Bobbi said...

It's 5 AM. Got home from the hospital at noon today (close call). Tried three LAT puzzles (Fri/Sat/Sun). That's 27 hours, friends. Gave up on Friday's after 2 hours struggle, finally finished Sat entry after four hours. Ate a little dinner and started Sun. At 10 p.m. I am NOT a happy camper!! Sunday's entry was terminally stupid: long stretches, dumb puns, etc. After what I went through last week, this certainly did NOT improve my outlook. Last week I mentioned the need for diversion in this time of illness. LAT puzzles are certainly NOT doing that. Might just end my 60 year relationship with LAT! You BET I'M MAD!

Russ said...

Guerrero Staub and Carter in no particular order!

Anonymous said...

STAY at home. Home ALONE.
SOAPY hands. Hands to SCRUB.
MANY lost. Lost too SOON.
A LOT of time. Time is SLOWED.
SANE am I? I am SORRY.
GETS to work. Work for CAUSE.
GIVES good food. Food truck SENDS.
GOAL is peace. Peace on Earth.