Saturday Themeless by Evan Kalish
Today's constructor is our much-travelled "10-K post office"
aficionado Evan Kalish (he has visited and photographed over 10,000
post offices). Here is Evan's reflections on this puzzle
Hi Gary,
This puzzle took shape at 4 a.m. one night in July 2018, though I
would revise the SW corner a few months later (during daylight hours).
My goal was to start off the puzzle with a bang: three modern spoken /
colloquial phrases, and the grid flowed from there.
I was glad that Rich kept some of my favorite clues: AURORA (12-D);
INUIT (16-A, a place I’d always thought would be fun to visit); and
AMPS (49-A). It is also worth noting that the clue for
44-A—YALELAW: Alma mater of about half the Supreme Court, is in
need of an update; it is presently exactly half the Supreme Court.
Your memory is a blessing, Justice Ginsburg.
Oddly enough I’d considered visiting both 30-A (the DAKOTAs) and 50-D
(American SAMOA) this year before, well, 2020 "happened.” American
Samoa is home to the only U.S. Post Office south of the Equator! At
the end of January I visited my 10,000th post office: the 1940 Century
Station post office in Culver City, California. This photo was taken
at that time, a.k.a. five years ago.
Since March I, like many others, have spent a lot of time constructing
crosswords. This velvety boy was kind enough to lend me some inspiration
a couple of months back.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stay me from the swift
completion of my appointed blog:
1. Handle the roasting: TAKE A JOKE - The good natured Dean Martin roasts devolved into the mean-spirited and profane Comedy Central Roasts
10. Large amounts: LOADS.
15. Words of exasperation: I CAN'T EVEN.
16. Like most residents of Nunavut: INUIT
17. Ironic lead-in to stating the obvious: NEWSFLASH -
Here's a real NEWSFLASH: Husker fans are glad to see football and volleyball
are coming back
18. Slowly consume: NURSE unless you say 20. Request while extending a glass: I'LL HAVE SOME
19. Org. created in 2001: TSA - All-in-all the Transportation Security Agency has done a good job
22. Light-footed: SPRY - She's 91
24. Disney princess voiced by Kristen Bell: ANNA.
25. Genre in a battle, perhaps: RAP - Yes "Battle RAP" is a real thing where contestants compete to see who can say the most vicious and insulting things to the other. What could possibly go wrong? 26. Pandemonium: CHAOS.
28. Flakes in boxes: CEREALS.
30. Territory from 1861 to 1889: DAKOTA
32. Branches: SECTS - Some SECTS have broken away because of their views on sex
33. Dove headfirst, maybe: SLID.
34. Surreptitious sip source: FLASK - Prohibition was the mother of invention
36. __ hammer: CLAW.
40. "Quo Vadis" director Mervyn __: LEROY - His IMDB
42. Area of influence: SPHERE.
44. Alma mater of about half the Supreme Court: YALE LAW - Alito, Sotomayor, Thomas and Kavanaugh. (See Evan's note above)
47. On the level: LEGIT.
48. Long beginning?: ERE - George M Cohan lyric: "Give my regards to Old Broadway
And say that I'll be there, ''ERE long"
49. Measures of current events?: AMPS - Electric current
51. Nepali wrap: SARI.
52. Briskly depart: SCAMPER AWAY
55. Hogwash: ROT.
58. Nets: MAKES - After deductions
59. Lecturer's "My bad": I MISSPOKE - It's 64. Obvious: EASY TO SEE I didn't mean that or didn't think it through
61. "Skyfall" singer: ADELE - A James Bond themer
62. "Dang!": CONSARN IT.
63. Ones who rarely skip class: NERDS.
Down:
1. Add some contrast to: TINT.
2. High pair: ACES - In Texas Hold 'Em they're called pocket rockets
3. Jet Ski maker: KAWASAKI.
4. Two for dinner?: ENS - diNNer
5. Before digging deeper: AT FIRST - Constructing crosswords seems easy AT FIRST glance
6. Kids' sandwich ingredient: JELLY - Hey, this kid's 74 and loves a PB&J
7. Like zeroes: OVAL - Sometimes a zero is written Ø to eliminate any confusion
8. "Die Young" singer: KESHA - Google her sexual anthem at will
9. Increases in desirability: ENHANCES - If ENHANCING something makes you feel better, go for it
10. Illustrations without shades and hues: LINE ART.
11. Heavy weight: ONUS.
12. Highlights?: AURORA - The Kirknese Snowhotel in Norway offers beautiful access to the AURORA Borealis
13. Really bad: DISMAL - My poor KC Royals have become DISMAL after a World Series win in 2015. They couldn't afford to keep everyone.
14. Soaks: STEEPS - STEEP times
21. Tee choices: V-NECKS.
23. Toy with curly hair: POODLE - Ah, our toy dogs reappear
26. Media with narrow tracks: CDS - About 1.6 microns or .0000016 meter
27. Movie villain that reads lips: HAL.
29. "Relativity" artist: ESCHER.
31. Slopeside sight: A-FRAME.
32. "... to name one": SAY - "SAY I give you a raise in your allowance, what will you do?"
35. Ad come-on: LOW PRICE.
37. "Cool Hand Luke" restraints: LEG IRONS.
39. __ paint: WET.
41. Goes by: ELAPSES - Get all six before time ELAPSES and you win big bucks. Here's the first category:
44. Boss-pleasing guy: YES MAN.
45. "The Suburbs" Grammy-winning indie rock band __ Fire: ARCADE - Here ya go
46. Secret source: LEAKER - Watergate's was called Deep Throat
50. American __: SAMOA - It is about 76 miles from Apia, the capital of Samoa, and Pago Pago, the capital of American SAMOA. (We had Apia, Samoa in Jeff Stillman's Wednesday puzzle)
51. Showing 'tude: SASSY.
53. Merge: MELD - Nebraska Volleyball has been able to MELD girls from Nebraska and all over the county into national championship teams.
54. Standings column: WINS - Those MELDED Husker Volleyballers have more WINS than any other Division I team
56. Arkansan's neighbor: OKIE - Arky Vaughn was a Hall-Of-Fame baseball player mostly for the Pirates and was born in Clifty, Arkansas.
60. Behind: PRO - Not Anti
Does Evan's puzzle get your stamp of approval? Comment below.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteYours truly struggled with this one. Finally got a toehold in the south and CLAWed my way up from there. This was definitely Saturday-level, IMO. Didn't take a long time, but made my brain hurt. Thanx, Evan and Husker.
KAWASAKI: I drove a Kawasaki motorcycle back and forth from Chula Vista to North Island back in the late 60s. The high bridge across San Diego Bay with it's joints of expanded metal was really scary, The only option was the long route -- south to Imperial Beach and then up the strand all the way to Coronado. I opted for the bridge.
SPHERE: Gravity is the influence of the SPHEREs.
Good morning! After I 'almost' FIR. I noticed Evan's 'three spoken phrases' in the NW read bottom to top: NEWS FLASH, I CAN'T EVEN AKE A JOKE. But feeling like an idiot today I misspelled an obvious gimme- KAWASAKI as KAWASAKE and didn't "Let the good times roll", as their commercial stated. Hell, my lawnmower has a Kawasaki engine. Should have gone outside to take a look. The 'Movie villian- HAL tripped me up and baseball didn't come to mind. SLID was never a thought so I filled SPED- DNF. 20/20 hindsight makes it EASY TO SEE.
ReplyDeleteDie Young- I know Billy Joel's "Only the Good DIE YOUNG" but Kesha and 'Die Young'- unknowns filled by perps
Ditto for "Relativity" and ESCHER, "The Suburbs" and ARCADE, and "Quo Vadis" and LEROY
I had to change HARVARD to YALE LAW to make the SW work.
CONSARN IT- dang, I got it but didn't really know the correct spelling
LINE ART is a term I'd never heard before
CDS at 1.6 microns the tracks are 'only' a little wider that the maximum width of a Covid virus at 140 nanometers.
LEAKER- it seems they can be found in supposedly secret gov. offices
My CEREAL talk FLN, presaged flakes today. I solve Tue-Sat early in the week but thought I recalled CEREAL.
ReplyDeleteThe miniscule amt of milk in coffee and they still worry about %'s. And… wow, look at all the towns in N. Quebec. I guessed that it would be INUIT.
KAWASAKI was a valuable, early box filler. I deemed this a 1/2 easy,½ hard xword. copE/EVEN held me back for awhile.
Gary, you've got the Chiefs to make up for the Royals. And… As a golfer did you think blacks/VNECKS?
My inspired WAGs were ONUS,DISMAL, POODLE.
The 12 Step group at the nudist colony disbanded: Instead of identifying they were busy comparing bottoms. *
Is it Canasta that has MELDs?
WC
*Splynter would like that one. Addicts have to "hit bottom".
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGutes Einlaufen, HG. Dankeschön.
Got it all w/o help. FIR. Woohoo. I really enjoyed Evan's puzzle. Had to nibble away at partial words and phrases, but eventually it all came together. Only very minor nit was I thought SLID was a bit clunky. But I guess examples could be found on "Funniest Home Videos", unless I'm missing something. Somehow I dredged up LEROY, early, which helped. A longer phrase is formed by I CAN'T EVEN TAKE A JOKE. (CONSARN IT, EASY TO SEE is a bit stiffer.)
V-NECKS - Was among the last to be filled. At one time they were prescribed for wear with open collar (informal) uniform shirts, but I don't know about today. I personally find them a bit drafty, and prefer the crew neck. YMMV.
SAMOA - Not related but reminds me I just read that New Caledonia is voting tomorrow on independence from France. Not a sure vote, however.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a very pleasant solve with lots of lively fill and popular, easy to suss phrases. I finished in 22:44 which is a fast Saturday time for me. My only unknown was Arcade, but Kesha and Adele were easy to guess because I’ve heard of them. I erred at Make/Take a joke, Lost/Wins, and Legal/Legit. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of Consarnit, but the perps don’t lie.
Thanks, Evan, for a very satisfying solve and for sharing your thoughts and velvety sidekick with us and thanks, HG, for another sparkling and informative review.
Have a great day.
Husker Gary: Good job on the very informative write-up & links.
ReplyDeleteThanks Evan for a FUN Saturday puzzle.
Fave today, of course, was the answer at 34-a, FLASK.
I have one that holds 6 oz ... and use it often.
Cheers!
Worked from bottom to top. Eventually filled every square, but had CONSiRNIT crossing PLAYiT. So, FIW.
ReplyDeleteThanks Evan and HG.
MO
I was 3 min behind IM. SE made me stop and think as I have never heard the term/phrase CONSARNIT. Put my KAWASAKI JetSki away for the Winter last week. And of course the next 2 days the temp was 78°, Sunny and no wind in Lake Geneva, WI. HAve a nice weekend... going out to ride my bike.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteA leisurely 36 minutes and 14 seconds this morning, and then a few hours reading about INUIT and the climate above 55 N latitude, Hudson Strait, Baffin Island, the Northwest Passage and early explorations of the same areas.
Thank you, Evan, and thank you, Husker Gary.
I CANT EVEN believe I FIR.. Certain I wouldn't get there. Lots of three word fill that were basic and generic. I attack Saturday differently. Hesitate to use simple answers more likely correct in earlier-in-the week challenges. Know I need to think outside the box. Also take more chances aware some answers could be incorrect just to get the brain motivated. Try not to "hang on" stubbornly to any one suspect answer.
ReplyDelete(*** "listen to Mr. Smarty-pants; he even used a semicolon, probably incorrectly" ****)
But seriously folks
Interesting clues. Inkovers Elsa/ANNA. Took a chance on INUIT knowing it could be ALEUT.
Didn't grasp the toy "dog" till amost perped out (thinking of my grandaughters doll shelf). Not sure what LINEART is. Clever "battle genre" clue. Already had the "LAW" part so knew Hahvahd wouldn't work
I guess I qualify as a NERD...skipped a last period 1964 frosh HS class (only time) with a buddy so we could catch the 75 cent matinée downtown theater showing of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World" rather than an exorbitant 90 cents weekend ticket.
Husker...I have an ENHANCED drivers license but it didn't work... I doesn't make me feel better about driving!! and...
I would hesitate to wear that nice cap...La France n'est pas toujours sympatique
Flat-Earther Roosevelt quote: "The only thing we have to fear _______ itself."...SPHERE.
insulting war head: The ____ Offensive....TÊTE
"You can take the car, I'm gonna" _____ LEGIT
20a: Extend a glass: "I'll have _______ "...SAMOA
We've seen it so many times the ______ is beginning to borealis.....AURORA
Where you're likely to find church sushi....ELAPSES
Cold and rainy weekend curl up by the fireplace and read.
I've heard CONSARNIT in old oaters as Gabby-Hayes-speak, or as Mel Brooks called it "authentic Western gibberish." Wiki says it's probably a dialect corruption of concern or consternation.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, all. Valerie and I FIR but it was on newsprint so we have no app-tracked time to add to the data base. We did not find that the phrases came easily to mind but they did become clear with a bit of work and concentration.
ReplyDeleteOddly, AFRAME was one of the last words to get completed. The far nothern peoples clues are almost always answered with INUIT or ALEUT so the T can go in even if nothing else is yet known. That helped with STEEPS along with the S from the 10-across plural.
EEL APSES is certainly among the all-time Ray-ism. High or low is still being debated.
If it weren’t for French, this would have been a total washout
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMalodorous Manatee, except when the far northerners are Sami, but when it's 5 letters, yes ! :>)
Anon @ 10:56 ~ I seriously doubt that you have any idea how insulting your comment is.
ReplyDeleteI don't consider it bragging but rather some data points.
DeleteRamblings:
ReplyDeleteI am not a golfer but if I were I could hit a three-wood (do they still call woods woods?) from where I am typing this and the ball would stop rolling somewhere in Culver City. Pretty cool, Evan, that Culver City was the site of your 10,000th post office.
My favorite post office was the one I visited in Hyder, Alaska on a motorcycle trip about ten years ago.
Desper-otto, you are so right - bridges pose all sorts of potential problems for riders.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Evan K and Gary! I enjoyed the interview and am highly impressed that you have visited LOADS of post offices! What do you plan to do with all those photos?
I found this puzzle half difficult and half EASY and like OMaxN started at the bottom. I also wanted HARVARD but nothing worked with it so YALELAW replaced it. From then on I could SCAMPERAWAY.
TETE was an early fill because "Nice place for a cap?" did not fool me. I was wearing my Saturday solving hat and that was my first fill.
I'll take a CSO at AURORA, my middle name and my paternal grandmother's name.
It has been decades since Quo Vadis but Mervyn LEROY drifted into my consciousness and I LIU to make sure. I knew ADELE but not KESHA so LIU, too. It's rare that I can do a Saturday puzzle without assistance.
ANNA was a pure guess and I'm glad of it because I worked VNECKS and ENHANCES from there. ESCHER just filled itself and I have no idea who he is.
ARI of course was an instant fill and it's the ARIzona Diamondbacks, Gary, not Phoenix.
I love CONSARNIT. It recalls old Westerns which we saw at the theater on Saturday mornings.
Again, thank you, Gary for your informative review and striking illustrations.
Have a lovely day, everyone! No V-NECKS here yet. It's still in the 100s.
ReplyDeleteBecause people need you to know how smart they are.
Tough Saturday, especially on top, took a while to suss that out. Happy to get the solve.
Rather horrible clue for 32D IMO.
Karma is a b#tch...wonder what I’m talking about? Cannot say or I’ll be erased.
Good point about people needing to let us know how smart they are.
DeleteOops, the alternate spelling of Sami people is Saami. So a possible 5 letter answer as well.
ReplyDelete@ 11:44, You call it bragging, but I like it when the better solvers like Irish Miss and Desper-otto and other regulars post their times. Let's me know if I'm (comparatively) getting any better.
I can certainly remember when I first started solving and even Mondays and Tuesdays could stymie me. Fridays and Saturdays were next to impossible. But over time and with these great reviews, and some extra reading, getting stumped has become the exception rather than the rule. Still not quite ready for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, but it's no longer completely out of the question.
Some days the cluing and answers are completely in my wheelhouse, and some days that are not. Some days the focus is there, and some days it is not.
Late to the game today. Not surprisingly, like many others have noted, this one worked from the bottom to top. The bottom half was more like a Wednesday and the top, especially the NE, was like molasses. Took many changes to get the right response like Inuit and rap. Needed perps to solve Kesha and Leroy. Didn't time myself today, but would have to guess it was probably a shade over two minutes, er, thirty-two minutes. Don't panic Anon. Some days we're in the groove, others not. In the end, though, another very ego-satisfying FIR.
ReplyDeleteI'm a slow solver and like to sip my coffee while I mull over some possible fill. On Saturdays I can set aside at least an hour for the puzzle sometimes more depending on the difficulty. Weekdays, about 15 minutes or so. Again, depending on the difficulty.
ReplyDeleteToday was particularly time consuming.
@ 1144 - - I frankly don't care how long it took anybody to solve. I solve each puzzle in my own way, in my own time, and hopefully to enjoy the experience. Then I come here to see what others' experiences were and see what I might have missed.
ReplyDeleteLike TTP, a decade ago, I had trouble with the early week puzzles and passed on the toughies at the end of the week. Now I like the early week puzzles 'cause they're easy, and the hard ones at the end of the week 'cause they're tough. Usually they are cleverly constructed, so we have the added dimension of seeing what the constructor is up to.
I've also branched out to do more WSJ puzzles and sometimes tackle the NYT Sunday because my paper offers it 2 weeks late.
As my mother used to say: "Jeder Feger für seiner eigenen Tür kehren; da liegt genug Dreck dafür." (Sweepers, take care of your own (front) door; there's plenty of dirt there.)
Phew! This was tough for me, but I finally FIR. If I kept track of my time, I would be too discouraged to continue. I do the print version, and often I’m distracted by phone calls, something interesting on the TV news or just need a break. As long as I finally fill in all the squares, I’m exhuberant.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Evan, for a real challenge, and thank you, Gary for all the edification.
I’ll take a CSO at KAWASAKI. I worked for them in Minnesota in the early ‘70’s. as an administrator. They offered me a company-paid move to the USA home office in California and promoted me to Product Developent manager. Our children were in 4th and 6th grade, and my husband was an airline pilot, so we decided it would be an adventure for our family. The Jet ski was just being developed during my tenure. It worked out well, and I was sent to Japan and South Korea several times to negotiate business with our suppliers. It was a very enjoyable several years, and I’m still living in and loving California.
Have a great weekend everyone. Masks up!
FIR again today, although it took a long time, including a break to climb Stone Mountain this pretty day. Only a few fills to start with and tons of ink used on writeovers, especially in the SW. Even after I changed to YALE LAW, the section below that was hard for me to see. And NURSE a drink was slowly gotten. SLID was my last entry. FIR, I repeat, to my surprise.
ReplyDeleteLike many others have said, my skills also have improved over time, but I like to do the puzzles in ink on paper so I can see the big picture and time spent doing them isn't important to me. I don't look things up as I solve but enjoy learning from the daily review. (Thanks today to Husker Gary!) Thanks, Evan, for today's challenge. No complaints.
As a heads-up for those who enjoyed today's Evan Kalish puzzle, it appears (from what I can see on the Shortyz app where I can get some puzzles early) that he will have another CW published in USA Today tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the clue "dang,"
ReplyDeleteI thought, this will be right up my alley...
When I could not even perp out "consarnit"
I was left without even an expletive to describe my sorrow...
As usual for me with a Saturday CW, a real struggle but I managed to finish it.....in 39 minutes, which for me on a Saturday is pretty good!! (I hate it when I read somebody’s comment about doing it in five minutes!!) Two write-overs, one letter each. Good fun CW, thanx EK!! Terrific write up, thanx HG!!
ReplyDeleteFIR in less than a day - barely. I had a sea of white until Adele filled. Then slowly, very slowly things filled. As someone else said, didn't like 32 D clue. And I had to come here to get 60 D.
ReplyDeleteNot fun, but satisfying.
Stay safe and well everyone.
JB2
A neat Sat. pzl. Bravo to Mr. Kalish for a good, solid challenge, the kind that seems daunting at first but yields its pleasures to steady solving.
ReplyDeleteI am once again reminded of the DAKOTAs, and how frustrating it is to see their combined population of 2 million or fewer having four senators, while my home state of 40 million souls has a grand total of two.
None of the states involved in this lopsided error existed when the rules were drawn.
This is not a political gripe, but a collegial reminder that we are not yet a democracy.
I don't suppose we can fix the problem-- because our legislative branch would have to be suicidal to do so.
~ OMK
____________
DR: A single diagonal on the mirror side.
I spy an anagram of the hordes facing off in prehistoric times--without "benefit" of armor or indeed of any real protection. Today we would call them...
"NAKED ARMIES"!
On second viewing, I would rather choose a gentler anagram, involving fewer letters, one identifying the winner of the nudist beauty contest, our own...
"MISS NAKED"
-or we could remove another item and honor the ...
"MRS...."
-or be up to date, with even fewer items to burden her, as...
"MS..."
Evan's ACROSS entries were challenging; I was grateful for the DOWN clues! Last to fill was the North East. In fact, after breakfast with the puzzle, I had to go trim some shrubs, wash a dog, and launder the bedding before coming back to FIR. "I'll have more" became ILL HAVE SOME, and then that corner filled. Perfect weekend fare. Thanks to H-G for the round-up, and to all Cornerites for comments. Ray - O - Sunshine, your fill-in-the-blanks-with-puzzle-answers are always amazing, and especially today.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteOl' Man Keith,
History may not have been your strong suit as you were studying the bard.
You may want to read about the Connecticut Compromise, aka "the Great Compromise"
Regardless of time I'm always interested in how folks fared, difficulty-wise. Like others one half was hard, the other not so. But since FIR is the goal one has to plow along.
ReplyDeleteHaving solved without help on previous Saturdays helps a lot. I used to solve the two week old NYTimes but that was replaced with Evan Birnholz Wa-Post.
WC
I liked this puzzle. It was really fun to solve. I enjoyed such fill as CONSARNIT and SCAMPER AWAY. Last square to solve was the T at TAKE A JOKE, where I originally had MAKE A JOKE even though MINT didn't make sense. But RAP didn't make sense to me either, so I accepted MINT.
ReplyDeleteSome really nifty cluing, too. I am as glad as Evan himself is that Rich kept some of his favorite clues. I sometimes have wondered whether I should or should not praise cluing that I like, because they could very well not be the constructor's clues at all.
Gary, I love your reviews, so please don't be off-put when I point out that the map of "Nunavut" you posted is really of Nunavik, which is not the same.
Good wishes to you all.
TTP ~
ReplyDeleteThanks for the "lesson."
But I am considering the result. The "Connecticut Compromise" was in 1787, long before the difference in scale between large & small states was anything like what has evolved.
~ OMK
_______________
PS. Don't be surprised if these exchanges disappear.
ReplyDeleteUh, that was the point of the compromise.
Well, we can disagree. But I believe history has shown that very point to be a mistake, at least *if* we want a democracy--given the greater power of the strictly limited Senate to override the developed House.
ReplyDeleteWould someone be kind enough to remind me of the code for linking to another site?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the gentle reminder, Jayce. Similarly named areas with INUIT population was my downfall and I am happy to learn. You could not have been less off-putting!
ReplyDeleteThe map I have now in the updated version shows all Canadian INUIT areas.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteNEWSFLASH: I CANT EVEN TAKE A JOKE.
Wow, Evan, you gave me quite a ride today; glad HG was there to explain, because I had a lot of write-overs today. Somehow I thought “Flakes in Boxes” was FROSTED. Guess I was still thinking about yesterday’s Moe-ku. CEREAL killers.
SCADS/LOADS; FROSTED/CEREALS; KANSAS/DAKOTA; LARGES/V-NECKS, although like WC, I was thinking a golf reference, too. WHITES, BLUES or BLACKS fit. I was thinking SKI-something in 31 down, so AFRAME was one of the last clues to fall. Lots of CHAOS!
Ray-O: EEL APSES —> quite a witty pun!
Enjoy the weekend
ReplyDeleteOl' Man Keith, so your thinly veiled innuendo is that the Constitutionally defined powers in the two houses of the legislature are incorrect because it is not politically expedient for you today ?
Consarnit Irish miss, I agree with you
ReplyDeleteTTP, No innuendo. You certainly know I am hardly the only one for whom the vastly widened inequality of senatorial representation between thinly and densely populated states is troubling. The founders were wise men, but not all-knowing. Could they have foreseen the splitting of a territory to double senators? Or the arrival of super states?
ReplyDeleteThe issue is apolitical, affecting the people by disenfranchising some and giving extraordinary power to others, regardless of party interests.
Anon.....I've been doing Xword puzzles since I was 12 (now 63) and here's what I've come to realize:
ReplyDelete1. Sometimes these puzzles are in your wheel house and sometimes they're not
2. Some days you're focused and other days you have a 1000 other things on your mind and you can't believe you missed that one !
3. Do you enjoy doing them or is it drudgery? If you enjoy them, then I think it's nice to know how you're doing compared to others If it's drudgery.... don't do them.
4. Lastly, if it makes you feel any better, it took me 59 min to do THUR OCT 1 NYT Puzzle when Rex Parker posted in his blog it took him 7 min.. He's a better solver than I am, wish I coulda solved in 1/2 the time took me, but it wasn't in the cards that day. Oh well.
JJM...Thanks for your thoughts.
DeleteOMK@4:44
ReplyDeleteGo to any of our Xword blog write ups
And look on the right side...
Scroll down to Olio...
Under Olio is blue link to "links"
Step by step instructions can be found there.
Re: Xwords in general
I will forever be hooked Xwords because
To be puzzled, and to find the answer
Whether cheating or not,
Is just so satisfying ...
It a a feeling you just cannot find anywhere else in today's world...
This is me, trudging away after completing the puzzle only after finally turning on the red letters. I just could not get a good toehold anywhere! It was no help at all that I knew very few of the names today. M C ESCHER was one I knew, at least, and Husker, I loved that 3-D rendition of Relativity.
ReplyDelete24 minutes, and that was with the red letter help. No idea how long it would have taken without them, but it would have been quite a while.
The parts for my new antenna came today; guess what I’ll be doing for the rest of the week!
Stay well.
Re: Senate representation. Back in 1789 I think the Virginians, Pennsylvanians, Georgians, and New Yorkians were very reluctant to only have the same number of senators each as tiny 5 county Rhode Island and little 3 county Delaware. But they agreed to it because it was the only way the Constitution was acceptable to each state. As the new states signed on they agreed to this principle. A deal is a deal.
ReplyDeleteAnon@7:51pm - Have no fear; I am here (Stanley Cup games became less interesting when Toronto bowed out early LOL).
ReplyDeleteGlad you learned a little about Nunavut. We had a rare Canadian CW answer. Actually, my knowledge of this vast (over 2 million sq. Km) Territory (not a Province) is not as vast as it should be. Population was 35,944 in 2016 census.
I suspect that these proud INUIT would not smile at the attempted humour in your second paragraph.
I also did not know the term "Inuit Nanungat" in HG's review, and I Googled that too.
Quote and Links are below if anyone wants some more knowledge.
"The creation of Nunavut in 1999 (the region was previously part of the Northwest Territories) represented the first major change to the political map of Canada since the incorporation of Newfoundland into Confederation in 1949. Beyond changing the internal political boundaries of Canada, Nunavut’s formation represented a moment of great political significance; through political activism and long-term negotiations, a small, marginalized Indigenous group overcame many obstacles to peacefully establish a government that they controlled within the Canadian state, thereby gaining control of their land, their resources and their future"
Nunavut
InuitNunangat
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Evan and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteI started with a sea of white (hand up for having ADELE as my first entry). Like others, I started in the SW and worked up. Finished in good time for me on a Saturday (I do the CW on paper and don't keep an exact time).
This Canadian is embarrassed to admit that I entered Aleut before I reread the clue and realized that the Aleut are to the west (Aleutian/Alaskan) area; Nunavut is a Canadian territory (along with Yukon, NW Territory) and has INUIT residents.
I found some artistic similarities in the clues for 1D, 10D and 11D.
Speaking of ADELE and Bond theme songs, Billie Eilish dropped the video for the new Bond film theme song "No Time to Die" the other day. Hauntingly beautiful!
Too late for more comments.
Good night all.
Still hoping someone can remind me of the HTML code for linking to another site. I lost my template, and when I try googling it, my attempts are rejected.
ReplyDeleteThis is the one that begins <a href= "etc etc.
I have something wrong, and I don't know what it is.
~ <b>OMK</b>
Thanks Evan and Gary!
ReplyDeleteLate again, because I've been messing with this one all day! Actually, I had the south (everything from LEROY and SPHERE filled in fairly quickly. I never could get a real foothold in the north. Got a few of the holes filled, but not enough to be able to suss the rest of it. Lots and lots of trial and error, but I couldn't make anything fit together. I even took out some correct answers out to try other things, which only made things worse. All in all, I took a pretty ugly beating!
Oh, and being the James Bond fan that I am, ADELE was my first fill --- but only because I noticed the clue as I was going through highlighting the clues to the long fills.
Obviously, Mr Velvety Boy didn't give Evan enough help on this one to help me any!
The United States is NOT a democracy; it is a constitutional republic.
A democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner.
Also, the legislative process was specifically designed to be as laborious as possible.
OMK- see CED@7:48
ReplyDeleteOMK - here it is to save you looking
ReplyDelete(I think Dave4 asked us to use b instead of a at each end to get bold. I have that version on my PC but no access right now)
Comments Section
Link text
Copy and paste the above gibberish link syntax into the Comment section.
Then, erase letters url (keep the quotation mark), and insert whichever website you want to link (copy and paste the website from the Address Bar). Then erase words Link text and replace them with whatever words you want your link to be named.
Haha. It created a link.
ReplyDeleteJust go to Olio, Create Comment Links
Oops! I misspoke. I meant to say representative republic.
ReplyDeleteThank you, CED! And others for guiding me to the answer for the coding link.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated.
~ OMK
I am torn on the question of the outsized representation state with a smaller population receive, but I firmly believe that it is justifiable to question the Constitution. Compromises such as this were necessary to get the approval of all 13 colonies. Times and circumstances change.
ReplyDeleteOriginally women were not allowed to vote.
"Slavery was implicitly recognized in the original Constitution in provisions such as Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, commonly known as the Three-Fifths Compromise, which provided that three-fifths of each state's enslaved population (“other persons”) was to be added to its free population for the purposes of apportioning seats in the United States House of Representatives and direct taxes among the states."