google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday September 12, 2021 Mark Feldman

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Sep 12, 2021

Sunday September 12, 2021 Mark Feldman

Theme:  "Sounds Familiar" - Each theme entry consists of three rhyming words.

22A. Place for reading recipes?: COOKBOOK NOOK.

28A. Ink on a billionaire?: FAT CAT TAT.

34A. City center street performer?: DOWNTOWN CLOWN.

62A. Bit of carelessness at cocktail hour?: CHIP DIP DRIP.

85A. Postal mishap?: SNAIL MAIL FAIL.

97A. Starter for a noncompetitive race?: FUN RUN GUN.

104A. Reality TV believer?: BOOB TUBE RUBE.

42D. Hanks sobriquet for films like "You've Got Mail"?: ROMCOM TOM.

44D. Fashionista dog?: JET SET PET.
 
This theme looks simple, but it has layers. The first two-part is also a common phrase.
 
Good to see Mark Feldman back. We have not seen his byline for two years. Hope to see more of your grids in the future, Mark!
 
Across:
 
1. Only astronaut to fly in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs: SCHIRRA (Wally)
 

8. Sushi order: AHI.

11. Short blue person?: DEM. Democrat. Short = Abbr.

14. Exile of 1979: SHAH.

18. Small bits of color: SPLASHES.

19. Easter lead-in: NOR. Nor'easter.

20. "Xanadu" rock gp.: ELO.

21. Aqua __: U.K. mineral water brand: PURA. Unfamiliar to me.


24. Fragrant tea-flavoring shrubs: JASMINES. Jasmine tea! My favorite.


26. Quakers in forests?: ASPENS. Can't fool our regulars.

27. Emailed: SENT.

29. Extreme disorder: MESS.

30. Through: VIA.

31. Madrid mama bear: OSA.

33. "The Bald Soprano" playwright: IONESCO (Eugène). Romanian-born. Wikipedia says "Ionesco contributed to the beginnings of what is known as the Theatre of the Absurd".


38. Flash __: MOB.

39. Third-party accounts: ESCROWS.

43. Provide with the latest: CLUE IN.

44. Green stone: JADE. You often see girls in Guangzhou wear a jade pendant.



45. Where one trying to score may be out: AT HOME.

46. U.S. Army medal: DSC. Distinguished Service Cross.

48. Classic Pontiac: GTO.

49. __ pool: GENE.

50. Like some stockings: SEAMED.

51. Congers: EELS.

53. React to a sprint: PANT.

55. A montage of them was presented at the 2006 Oscars: EPICS. That's the year "Crash" won best picture.

56. Native Alaskans: ALEUTS.

58. Fencing moves: THRUSTS.

61. Nothing special: SO SO.

64. Long stretches: EONS.

66. They're usually unbeatable: NEMESES. Plural of nemesis.

68. Accustoms (to): ENURES.

69. Storied building material: STRAW. For the first little pig.

70. Fit: TRIM.

71. Feds under Ness: T-MEN. T for Treasury.

72. Current amount: AMPERE.

73. Mail ctrs.: GPOS. Government Publishing Office. I just found out that they print passports.

75. Stadium cheer: RAH.

78. Offbeat: ODD.

79. Eyed impolitely, with "at": LEERED.

80. Bath buggy: PRAM.

81. Not at all light: SOLEMN.

83. Corn syrup component: MALTOSE.

84. Joplin's "Maple Leaf __": RAG.

89. Legislative group, e.g.: ENACTOR. Spell check does not like this word.

91. Backing-up key: ESC.

92. Bit in a horse's mouth: OAT.

93. Cleaning tools, for short: VACS.

99. Deli stock: RYES.

101. Formed with the tip of the tongue, like the letter L: APICAL. Learning moment for me.

103. Property receivers, at law: ALIENEES.

106. Axes: CANS.

107. KC-to-NYC dir.: ENE.

108. "The Ice Storm" director Lee: ANG. Same character as the An in Xi'an.

109. Acted like: EMULATED.

110. Most massive known dwarf planet: ERIS.

111. Rehab hurdle: DTS. Delirium Tremens.

112. Screening org.: TSA.

113. Western movie threat: RATTLER.

Down:

1. Imagine, colloquially: S'POSE.

2. Horse-and-buggy ride sounds: CLOPS.

3. Cod relatives: HAKES. I sure don't want eat them.


4. Library vol. ID: ISBN.

5. Letters after pis: RHOS.

6. 1906 Runabout, e.g.: REO.
 

 

7. Shows hospitality toward, as a visitor: ASKS IN.

8. Before long, to Shakespeare: ANON.

9. Bird named for its cry: HOOT OWL. Don't all owls hoot?

10. Annoy: IRK.

11. "This seems familiar" word: DEJA. vu.

12. Jubilance: ELATION.

13. University of Idaho city: MOSCOW. I only know Idaho State.

14. Malice: SPITE.

15. Spider that stalks its prey: HUNTSMAN. Also new to me. Odd to call it *man.


16. Opening number?: AREA CODE. No musical number.

17. Surely is: HAS TO BE. No sororities in our university, D-Otto. Girls and guys lived in separate buildings. Just the school rules.

18. Con job: SCAM.

23. Bar specification: NEAT.

25. "Death in Venice" author: MANN (Thomas)

28. Aspect: FACET.

30. Bugs with brakes: VWS.

32. Wrapped in a blanket, say: SNUG.

34. Mosque toppers: DOMES. No dome for the Great Mosque of Xi'an.  It's within Xi'an Muslim Quarters. Hahtoolah was there once. Xi'an has a large Muslim population. They're called Uyghur. Xi'an also has lots of Koreans, called Chaoxianzu in China. Both Uyghur & Koreans are major minority ethnic groups in China. Read more here. I'm a Han, like 91% all Chinese.


35. Due: OWED.

36. Block off: OCCLUDE. Not EXCLUDE.

37. Award-winning Mark Tatulli comic strip: LIO. Another learning moment.


39. Relaxes: EASES.

40. Apply, as a brake: STEP ON.

41. Lawn chair: CHAISE.

46. Knish sellers: DELIS. I had them at the Vegas buffets. Tasty.



47. Ooze: SEEP.

49. Oxlike antelope: GNU.

52. Stretch: STINT.

53. Letters before chi: PHIS.

54. Duchamp contemporary: ARP (Jean)

56. "What about me?!": AHEM.

57. Layered Italian dessert: SPUMONI. Have some!

58. General direction: TREND.

59. Bullfight figure: TORERO.

60. Traps: SNARES.

62. Long-running forensic series: CSI.

63. First name in an 1857 case: DRED. Dred Scott v. Sandford.

65. Activist Greta Thunberg, e.g.: SWEDE.

67. Hosp. units: ERS.

69. Suspect: SMELL.

72. End of a ball game?: ALAI. Jai alai.

73. Like table salt: GRANULAR.

74. Composer of solo violin études: PAGANINI (Niccolo). Namesake of the Paganini Competition.


75. "Vive le __!": ROI.

76. Karen of "Starman": ALLEN.

77. Fashion lines: HEMS.

80. Introduction: PREFACE.

81. Portraitist John Singer __: SARGENT. Here's his "Portrait of Madame X".

82. Long-vowel symbols: MACRONS. I did not know the term.



83. Tatami, e.g.: MAT.

85. Leave speechless: STUN.

86. "Thanks, it's already done": NO NEED.

87. "Stay" singer Lisa seen in GEICO ads: LOEB.

88. "Get a move on!": FASTER.

90. Salad green: CRESS.

93. Like some popular videos: VIRAL. China just banned the biggest BTS fan site. Enormous culture changes there. You guys might be shocked reading this article.

94. Perceptive: ACUTE.

95. Pole tossed by a Scot: CABER.

96. Downhill traveler: SLED.

98. Applications: USES.

100. Discipline with stretches: YOGA.

101. Lie next to: ABUT.

102. Hide: PELT.

104. Cricket club: BAT.

105. Thurman of "Pulp Fiction": UMA.

Happy 62nd  birthday to Steve, who faithfully guided us on Thursday for many years. We miss your humor and sharp observation, Steve!

 
Steve and Jill, June 12, 2016
Tea at The Queen Mary


42 comments:

  1. FIWrong. oRS instead of ERS. That made the perp NEMoSES, which I don't think I would have recognized anyway. I would have spelled the base word NEMISIS. And the clue was misleading besides. Frex, Lex Luthor is Superman's nemesis, but he gets beaten all the time!

    If Musk or Bezos wanted some ink
    Into a top artist, their money they'd sink
    A Picasso? Oh, no!
    A Warhol? Hell no!
    A FAT CAT TAT needs a Kincaid, I'd think.

    A real hero is Wally SCHIRRA!
    Far more liked than ousted SHAH!
    His rep is known,
    Chiseled in stone,
    Not like a king in his house of STRAW!

    {B+, A-.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. The GPO or General Post Office is where people collect(ed) general delivery mail. I did not know the term is now considered obsolete, and very difficult to find on Google, as if their algorhythm suppresses it. It was a common term when I was growing up!

    Today the term is Main Post Office™
    The primary postal facility in a city where a Post Office uses subordinate Post Office stations, Post Office branches, and other facilities. It provides complete services to a geographic area and is generally where the postmaster is domiciled. Formerly called general Post Office.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Y'all! Challenging but fun puzzle, Mark, thanks. Found the theme chuckle-worthy. Great expo, C.C., always interested in your Chinese info.

    C.C., some owls screech not hoot, which I tried to squeeze in today.

    AREA CODE: tricky clue. I recently sent my brother a birthday card on July 24. It was returned to me on Aug. 17 as undeliverable. I had all the street & house number info correct, but the last digit in the AREA CODE was wrong. Kansas City, KS metro area is big but you'd think the PO would have someone working there that could figure this out.

    DNK: APICAL, ALIENEES, MACRONS< LOEB< LIO, HUNTSMAN (not tarantula)

    Happy Birthday, Dennis, if you are lurking. We miss your humor.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning!

    This theme was impossible to miss. Guess what? D-o didn't miss it. Hooray. Don't quite understand how a RUBE is a believer, but the rest were clear. Very nice, Mark. C.C. enjoyed the tour and the cultural lessons. (When I started at UW, there were no coed dorms. The first one was only pseudo coed -- two towers, one for men, the other for women, with a common area between the towers on the first floor.)

    ALIENEES: "Property receivers." I take this to mean that the ex gets the house.

    AREA CODE: (Zip code, PK?) Moen sent me some faucet repair parts a few months ago, but they reversed two digits in the zip code. I'm still waiting for 'em.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good morning everyone.

    Happy Birthday Steve. Hope you are surviving in this Covid world.

    Got everything except I had to leave 2 squares bare. Sigh. Otherwise, fun enough. The rhyming theme fill allowed for some pre-fill.
    GPO - Thought of APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office) first.
    MACRON - Is President of France. (No lLe ROI anymore).
    I don't imagine Gary had much trouble sussing SCHIRRA.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Musings
    -A fun and helpful theme.
    -Tortured metaphor: My tires were spinning in a few sections but I managed to get traction. IONESCO, HUNTSMAN and PURA?
    -Cottonwoods are our ASPEN cousins here and their leaves will soon cover several greens at our course
    -FLASH MOB: The web has many of them but this one gives me goosebumps!
    -JADE was the McGuffin in Romancing The Stone
    -Stockings and SEAMED? Oh, wait a minute, now I’ve got it.
    -That REO Runabout looks like it would make a great golf cart with a few modifications
    -Great joke: Say to someone, “Someone just told me you sound like an OWL.” They’ll give you the punchline
    -If I get more change than what I am OWED, I give the money back
    -Yeah, I was all over SCHIRRA

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good Morning:

    I thought the theme was humorous and the themers cute, especially Cook Book Nook. DO, I think Rube is perfect because only a Rube would believe Realty TV was real, let alone watch it. It matches Boob perfectly. I finished w/o help but it was not easy nor totally pleasant due to the preponderance of unknown entries: Pura, Enactor, Apical, Alienees, Moscow, as clued, Huntsman, Macrons, Loeb, Lio, and Eris. There were also a noticeably large number of plurals, as well. I had Eel before Ahi and, lo and behold, Eels shows up later. My favorite C/A was Short Blue Person=Dem.

    Thanks, Mark, for Sun/Fun/Run, and thanks, CC, for mentioning the extra layer to the theme. It’s always a learning moment when you share your professional insights. I also enjoy your cultural references and customs.

    Happy Birthday, Steve, I hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎁🎉🎊🎈Your wit and culinary escapades are sorely missed.

    Last night, I watched The Lion King and enjoyed it very much. The CGIs of the animals were unbelievably realistic. I wondered, though, if this film had too much violence for children. I’ll have to check the MPAA rating. We’ve had Nala in our puzzles often and it was surprising to learn that Beyoncé voiced the part.

    I had a liquor delivery on Friday and couldn’t help wondering what the very young driver thought about a “woman of a certain age” receiving 2 case of Dewar’s and 2 cases of wine. The wine is for a neighbor but, of course, he didn’t know that. Anyway, it gave me a good chuckle just thinking about it!

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hola!

    Nice once, Mark Feldman! I finished in notably regular Sunday time and chuckled my way through it. I love puns!

    Thank you, C.C.! I, too, enjoy your perspective on American culture as well as your insights into Chinese culture. On my vacation trip I read The Samurai's Garden, about a Chinese man whose family has a beach home in Japan. It's a lovely BOOK by Gail Tsukiyama whose other books I have read and liked very much. She wrote Women of the Silk and its sequel.

    Happy birthday, Steve! I also muss your Thursday review but hope you are enjoying your life.

    The puzzle was not a great challenge and like others, found new items: APICAL, LOEB, and ERIS. I'll take a CSO at RATTLER which is common here in Arizona.

    C.C., for JASMINE tea is there a specific plant for the tea or can the flowering garden plant be used? In my patio I have a gorgeous JASMINE vine with aromatic blossoms.

    IrishMiss:
    I have finally discovered the joy of delivery which I know you have been experiencing for a long time. Over the weekend I had dinner delivered as well as my groceries. It's amazing to me how easy it is. I just click on the items I want, send them to the instacart and just over an hour later, they are here!

    My feet have been a bit sore and surely that is due to diabetes so walking has become problematic. I may have mentioned that I even requested a wheelchair at the airport! It surprises me because I have always been independent and self-sufficient. No more!

    And to add insult to injury, my telephone is on the blink and my car didn't start which is why I opted for delivery. The starter in my Honda needed replacement so that was $$$.

    Have a sensational Sunday, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  9. A couple letter mishaps in the SW since I didn't know AxIENEES and had APOS instead of GPOS and ELECTOR instead of ENACTOR.

    Also in the NE PUxA and IONESxO. Oh, AREACODE. I should have gotten that one but didn't from AxEAxODE. Doh!

    I didn't know ERIS was more massive than Pluto. Poor Pluto--most Planetary Scientists still consider it a bona fide planet (esp. after the images returned by the New Horizons space probe).

    A really fun set of long clue answers. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  10. DNF, losing P&P and looking up MANN and PAGANINI. I think I know of someone who participated in a PAGANINI competition, or at least a PAGAN competition. His name was Johnny and he said he's the best that's ever been. Charlie Daniels told the story of the competition, held down in Georgia.

    DNK Maple Leaf, but if it was by Joplin, it pretty much had to be a RAG.

    My adopted home and crossword favorite Ocala has pygmy RATTLERs. Dangerous little buggers.

    CSO to Tin at NEAT.

    I only knew OCCULDE because some USCG navigation lights are OCCLUDed from some directions.

    Thanks to Mark for the puzzles fun theme. And thanks to CC for the commentary and pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just remembered that I knew of OCCLUDed fronts in meteorology too. Happens when a dense cold front bullies a less dense warm front by shoving it up and out of the way. The warm front is said to be OCCLUDed. Or somthin' like that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. D.O.: Yep, it was zip, not AREA CODE. Makes me think I'm not at my sharpest early in the morning. However, I'd swear there was a picture of Dennis & note of his B'day when I posted. I was shocked to see Steve's pic now.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jinx - - I think you meant oc·cult·ing light:
    /əˈkəltiNG līt/

    a light in a lighthouse or buoy that is cut off briefly at regular intervals.

    I wanted occult first, too, before EELS perped OCCLUDE.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Replies
    1. And they are called Caprices , not etudes: yes I am trying to play some .

      Delete
  15. I too thought of General Post Office. Wiki says the term is still used in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, several Australian cities, and other countries.

    D-O, RUBE as a believer as in gullible.

    ReplyDelete
  16. IM and billocohoes, thanx for 'splainin' RUBE. The only use of that expression I'm familiar with is the carnival cry "Hey, Rube!" to call all the guys to the site of some infraction/fracas.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I liked this puzzle, took my time to savor the solve, and smiled at the rhymes. COOKBOOK NOOK is my favorite. I did have to change CHIP DIP SLIP into CHIP DIP DRIP, though.

    I wasn't fooled by ASPENS or AMPERE. GNU determined it was THRUSTS, not PARRIES.

    I also love jasmine tea. Some of the best I ever had was in Taiwan. There they called it flower tea (hua cha 花茶). It actually had those little flower blossoms in it.

    Owen, I especially like your verses today.

    Post Office true story: LW ordered something on line, which they shipped via USPS. Weeks went by until one day we got a notice amongst our mail that there was a parcel waiting at the Post Office for us to pick up because it was "undeliverable." The reason it was undeliverable, as we learned later, was because it didn't have our house number in the address. Of course LW and I looked at each other and wondered how they could deliver the notice to our house if they didn't know the address. So we drove to the Post Office to pick up the package. The clerk said they didn't have it, that it was on the delivery truck. So we went back home. The next day we got the "second notice" of the undeliverable package. So we called the P.O. and spoke to a supervisor. He rummaged around in their back room for a few minutes then came back on the phone and told us it was there waiting for us to pick up. So we again drove over there and sure enough they had it, all ready for us to pick up. That's when we asked why they couldn't deliver it and they told us it was because there was no house number, just the street name. Sure enough, on the shipping label there was not a house number, but on the package itself the complete address was clearly hand-printed in ink, very legibly. Nobody was ever able to explain how they knew which house on our street to deliver the notices to but were unable to deliver the actual package. The other unanswered mystery was whether the package really was on the delivery truck (and if so, how did they know which truck to put it on) or sitting in the back room the whole time.

    Happy birthday, Steve. How are you doing? We should be told. (heh heh)

    Good wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you Mark for a fun puzzle. I LOVED the VERY helpful them; I came here to report that after a near miss on Friday, and a disaster yesterday that I had an FIR, but I was hit by a TABER raining down on my parade at 31D. Well a VAT can be used for CLEANING wet stuff, but a VAC/CABER was what I really needed.

    And thank you C.C. for pointing out the obvious. Somebody had to tell me!

    11A really had me stumped: SMURF? MEANIE?. After sussing the first three themers I had _ _ _ C _ W and suddenly MOSCOW surfaced from my subconscious. After DEJA and alpha run, DOH, DEM popped up. Nothing political, but it does describe me to a T.

    71A Seems that LISZT has gobbled up all the Paganini etudes and transcribed them for piano. Here is Hilary Hahn on the violin playing Paganini's Caprice No. 24. It has the sheet music, in case you want to Etudiez it. We're very proud of Hilary, as she's from Baltimore.

    Cheers,
    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  19. Andre @2:13 PM Thanks Andre. You especially will enjoy the sheet music!

    ReplyDelete
  20. FLN. -T, thx for links. Get Smart was the uniquest sitcom/spy spoof of the 60s. I wouldn't mind bingeing it. It had a second link to misunderstood songs but author stuck to apologetics re. Lucy and Hotel California (obviously about heroin) And….
    Now I know who the guy in FRO is on Tonight. And…
    I love Terry Gross

    Re. Pop goes #13. Wonderfully sick

    Onto Sunday. Oh yeah, Barbara yesterday, Mark today
    Spelling Wally's last name was a challenge
    I stayed with SHAH and HASTOBE despite Flash _ _ B??? and other unknowns.

    I have friends, frenemies and NEMESES

    It was an APO* in my Nam days. I paid off a beneficial finance loan late so I could count on one piece of mail telling me I existed. Long, sad story; I'm (slightly) better now

    Oops, FIW despite my best-guess grok'ing. I had U for the the Scots thingy and the tongue twister. No real clue for either: The A vs U was a tossup. I did guess right on HAKES

    CC, some HOOT more than others. Or Whooo( to the) GNU
    Also, Boston girls had to be
    In by 12 O'clock 1:00 min. mark.

    Re. Xi .. Where are you Joseph Breen, a Nation
    cries for you

    I agree with IM on scripted "Reality" TV. I'm not sure about MMA being legit either.
    BTW, want violence? Try Bambi.

    Yes, thank God for the long themes, easy to suss. But no. Nothing easy about this tester of a sunday xword. Kudos, Mark and CC for the fun write-up.

    Jinx, spend a lot of time in Ocala. Golden Corral is a fav.

    D-O , PAGNINI led to "The Gunfighter. Weirdly funny.

    WC

    ** Oops, Spitz is right. Marine Corps would be FPO

    ReplyDelete
  21. I thought FATCATTAT was a hoot! Clever wording.

    Jayce:
    Thank you for sharing your story. What a lesson in futility! I am glad you finally got your package, though.

    Today in church the pew in front of me was occupied by a family with seven children and I believe one of the altar servers was also theirs as demonstrated by the tell-tale red hair inherited from their mother. All were well behaved though a bit of squirming started toward the end of the service. The youngest one was in his car seat. He was picked up when he started to whimper and that revealed his gender. Looking at them my overriding thought was, sometimes it's challenging to be Catholic!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wilbur Charles @ 2:48 PM If you really want violence, try Bambi meets Godzilla.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I stumbled to a FIR today. The triple rhymers were easy but the grid on my paper was a MESS. It took an alphabet run to get DEJA and DEM. I was clueless. The triples saved me today.

    IONESCO, Aqua PURA, HAKES, APICAL, GPOS, HUNTSMAN, LIO, Karen ALLEN, SARGENT, MACRONS- as C.C. called 'em "learning moments" for me. All unknowns. The puzzle reminded me of the telegram that a broke college student sent to his dad when Western Union charged per letter:

    "No fun, no mon, your son". Dad replied " So sad, too bad, your dad".

    PAGANINI- he wrote music to see how difficult it would be for the performers. Somewhere in my piano bench is a piece by him that my mother gave up trying to play- too difficult.

    I see XI will now get the wrath of the LBGT crowd.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fun rhyming theme! Carelessly FIW with CUTS instead of CANS. Loved the AMPERE clue. In my scientific instrumentation career I designed instruments that could measure the CURRENT of individual electrons. Femto-AMPEREs!

    One of my best friends is from BATH.

    Here we are with my BATH friend Martin and his then-lady friend.

    Here are photos of BATH when I was there with my family as a teen.

    I had a childhood friend from MOSCOW, Idaho.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Sounds familiar?

    Don't all owls hoot?
    who said that. (with sound clips)

    PSA:
    I just got a text on my iPhone from FedEx stating
    That they could not deliver pkg and it was returned to warehouse.
    With a link to trace it...
    THIS IS A SCAM!
    Always check the spelling in the blue hyperlink,
    In this case it was spelled fede3...
    They do this because the correct spelling would have directed you to the real FedEx.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Cross-Eyed Dave That is a funny joke about not listening! In our household it is usually the other way around!

    Jayce I had the same thing happen with a package, but it was UPS. They took the trouble to deliver a notice to our address saying that they did not know our address.

    From Yesterday:
    OwenKL and Jayce Glad to know that you, too, had a learning moment that FIRE ESCAPEs are OBSOLESCENT.

    OwenKL Thank you for the comments on my NEGEV photos. It indeed has some similarity to the American Southwest. As for the high and dry boat, we found it quite intriguing as well. It seemed to be a thing there!

    Here was another high and dry boat where we had just crossed into Jordan from the NEGEV in ISRAEL.

    Does anyone know the significance? Maybe indeed they are waiting for another NOAH moment? I forgot to mention that I loved that clue "Legendary wildlife conservationist"!

    AnonT You made my day by looking closely enough at my NEGEV photos to catch the camel warning sign! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Another PSA;

    If you enjoyed Peter Pan Goes Wrong,
    They have many other clips under other names, such as:
    Cornley polytechnic/the play goes wrong/mischief theatre the show goes wrong etc...

    All full length videos are copyrighted, and are pulled promptly from YouTube.

    However,

    For a brief time, the full...

    --------- -

    Aw nuts!
    I just went to get you the link to A Christmas carol goes wrong
    But they already pulled it!

    It was up for a week, and was much funnier than the clips show.
    Being banned by the BBC for screwing up Peter Pan, they
    Forcibly took over the ongoing play "Scrooge" mission impossible style,
    And screwed that up too.
    (WITH CAMEOS BY DAME DIANA RIGG!)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Tough challenge for me today. I loved C C's links to the minorities. In 1985, we met members of the Miao in villages near the Stone Forest and some Hui in a Mosque in Xian. The official tour guide would not allow us to meet other minorities in Kunming.
    I think some Aynu (Ainu?) also live on Hokkaido in Japan..
    Sad to read the article on the repression of non-conforming performers and non-binary genders by Li.

    ReplyDelete

  29. Thank you Mark Feldman for an appropriately long and interesting Sunday puzzle. Enjoyed it very much.
    Thank you CC, for an explanatory review.

    This was an enjoyable solve, although some answers took a few tries. I got the rhyming theme early, which helped a lot. Learnt something new about Schirra.

    Jasmine attar, the 'king of flowers' is the most expensive absolute essences of perfumes in the world. One of my cousins has been able to duplicate / clone the odor of the jasmine absolute and the rose attar, through sophisticated synthetic chemicals in a GLC lab ... enough to impress the expert perfumers... Could put millions of farm workers, in certain other countries, out of business.

    My first short blue person was DOC from Snow White.

    Jayce, I'm sorry you had such a problem with the USPS .... I have had too many problems myself. If you want to send something urgently use Fedex or UPS...

    Have a nice week, coming up, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Picard:
    Your photos are always a treat. Thank you! But I especially enjoyed the close-up of your wife. She is so beautiful! On that one she looks radiant!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lucina Thank you very much for the kind words about my photos and my wife. Yes, Merlie is indeed very beautiful in real life, too! Thank you!

    From Wednesday:
    Jinx Thank you for your comment about the song PEG by Steely Dan. I have heard that song hundreds of times since I first heard it on the radio as a teen in the 70s. I never even knew that word was "PEG"! I thought he was just saying "HEY"! Apparently, I am not the only one. The amiright.com web site shows others heard it that way, too. Thanks for the learning moment!

    Here is the amiright "Misheard Lyrics" for PEG. WARNING! Some of the misheard lyrics may be offensive to some!

    From Yesterday:
    Vidwan Is there some particular reason you consider this to be a "great country" and yet you don't vote? I don't mean to create conflict. Just genuinely curious! Feel free to decline the offer to explain more!

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  32. Spitz - thanks for setting me straight. I know I've seen that type of light, but I don't think it was in my home waters (LA-Long Beach, Marina del Rey, Oxnard).

    WC, my favorites are Las Margaritas, Mimi's, Piesantos, Wolfy's, Darrell's Diner, Brick City BBQ, Harry's, Blue Highway Pizza, Silver Springs Pizza, El Toreo, and Mojo Grill. All allow Zoe (our greyhound) on their patios except for Wolfy's and Darrell's, which we save for inclimate or cold weather. Can't wait to try the new Cody's out by On Top of the World.

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  33. Sunday puzzles are always a pleasure, and thank you for this one, Mark. And, C.C., always wonderful to get your great commentary and pictures.

    My favorite was getting ASPENS and then looking at the clue again: oh, tree QUAKERS, not a sect. Nice to see IONESCO in a puzzle, he doesn't show up very often, does he? On the other hand, ANG LEE has become a regular.
    I had trouble getting FATCATTAT and it looked so weird until I went back to the clue.Cracked me up when I saw it was INK ON A BILLIONAIRE. Clues don't get much funnier.

    Hope you're all having a great Sunday.

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  34. Jinx - The only one in the LA - Oxnard area seems to be a minor one @ No. 3187.1 on Page 28 of
    LIGHT LIST. Volume VI PACIFIC COAST AND PACIFIC ISLANDS

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  35. Please answer this:. When I post a review that is negative, why is it never posted? My entry today disappeared immediately after I posted.

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  36. Picard at 6,01 pm or 1801 Hrs....
    I'm sorry, if I gave the impression that I don't vote, in my facetious comments yesterday. Horrors ! Ofcourse, I have always voted, but I don't remember if I voted for the particular Senator from my state ... I don't vote a straight party line, so unless I find compelling issues, I make up my mind just before the election. BTW, I actually know of, both the Senators from my state, Ohio, and each of them are from different parties....

    BTW, the Mayor in our little township got elected by a 28 vote margin, so I should know how important a vote can be.

    I did not know Ben Sasse, from yesterday's CW, and I've never heard of his book, on the vanishing american adult. ( though, I have found adult drivers on the road can act very childishly, sometimes .... )

    I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your pictures, many of which are very iconic. You seem to have travelled a lot, have lots of pictures for your memories, have an eclectic lifestyle, and apparently have a very engaging scientific life and profession. What could be better than that ?
    I wish you even more Joy and Happiness for the future.

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  37. Vidwan Thank you for taking the time to explain your comment about your senators and voting from yesterday.

    My wife is studying to become a citizen and they expect you to know the names of your senators to become a citizen. I read the study guide for the citizenship exam and I think I missed several questions. I am guessing most US born citizens would not pass the test.

    And thank you for the kind words about my photos and about my life. I was very fortunate in my upbringing. We did not have much money when I was growing up. But my father's work as a research biologist allowed us to live in some wonderfully interesting places and travel.

    Back then, the airlines were regulated and they would let families fly almost for free when the head of household travelled for work.

    I have tried to continue that life of adventure by taking advantage of a range of opportunities. I am very grateful for every one of those opportunities and for every person who opened the door for me.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Merlie is indeed very photogenic with that engaging smile. The Bath clue didn't fool anyone, eh

    waseeley, lol on Bambi. Bambi's father gets a bullet in the head early on. Can you imagine what a 3-7 yr-old thinks. Snow White and Sleeping Beauty have orphan themes.

    Unknown, I find your posts entertaining if a little repetitive

    WC

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  39. Sunday Lurk [who didn't] say...

    DNF - DEM, DEJA and JASMINE (nor crosses) filled. But, it was a fun way to spend on the plane ride back to Houston. Thanks Mark for the cute theme.

    Thanks for filling in the blanks, C.C. Nice expo.

    Significant
    WOs: ole->RAH, del->ESC, slIP to DRIP
    ESPs: yeah, many.
    Fav: AMPERE's clue. I was thinking along the lines of sub-total forever.

    {B+, B}

    When will '"Xanadu" [12:16] rock group' be the clue and RUSH the answer? :-)

    Unknown @8:10p - There is a SPAM filter on blog posts and, until Mr. Moderator sees them, the post is stuck. I've seen CED's posts* pop-up in the Comments hours later (hidden in between posts I'd already read) because Mr. Mod just saw it.

    Thanks for more pics from Negev and today's Bath's, Picard.

    IM - It's none of his damn business what you're doing w/ 2 cases of Dewar's. I call it enjoying retirement :-)

    Enjoyed reading everyone today.

    Happy Birthday Steve! I'll second Jayce,... We should be told ;-)

    Cheers, -T
    *not that CED's posts are SPAM but, as he's discovered, too many links will get him flagged and put into the 'awaiting approval' bucket.

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  40. Picard, Jayce, et al from California,
    Not trying to be political here, just making an observation. While I was enjoying the cool, comfortable breezes in your state, I was intrigued by the campaigning of the candidates for governor. I shall, therefore, be watching the voting results on Tuesday.

    ReplyDelete

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