google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, September 14, 2021 Mark McClain

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Sep 14, 2021

Tuesday, September 14, 2021 Mark McClain

Bourgeois Bohemians.  The circles provide the links to the two BOs found in each theme answer.

20-Across. 2002 Hugh Grant film based on a Nick Hornby novel: ABOUT A BOY.

30-Across. Gobbledygook: MUMBO JUMBO.

41-Across. Three-time All-Star outfielder whose son was a seven-time N.L. MVP: BOBBY BONDS.

And the Unifier:

55-Across. Birds with short finch-like bills ... or, what the sets of circled letters literally are?: BOBOLINKS.  Everything you ever wanted to know about these small songbirds.


I am placing the Grid here today, so you can easily see the "links" to the BOs.  The letters in the circles are just nonsense.



Across:
1. Sarah __, first woman governor of Alaska: PALIN.  Sarah Palin (b. Feb. 11, 1964) was the 9th Governor of Alaska.  She served as Governor from 2006 until she resigned 3 years later.  She looks alot like actress Tina Fey.


6. Academic acronym: STEM.  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.





10. Chem class rooms: LABS.  Chemistry is one of the S's in STEM classes.

14. Therapy prefix: AROMA.  Aromatherapy is a pseudoscience, so probably doesn't qualify for STEM.

15. Cardamom-infused tea: CHAI.  Here is one recipe for making your own Chai Tea.

16. Tierra en el mar: ISLA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Land in the sea is an Island.  Hi, Lucina!

17. Blue Ribbon beer: PABST.  The history of the name of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.

18. Heavenly bear: URSA.  Ursa Major is also known as the Big Dipper.


19. Small bottle: VIAL.


22. Ogre, for one: BEAST.  //  And 52-Across. Shrek's love: FIONA.


23. Post-injury regimen: REHAB.

24. Delicate: DAINTY.  In cleaning out my parents' house, I came across a delicate lace dress that belonged to my grandmother.  It is over 100 years old.  The dress looked a lot like the one pictured below.


25. Strong, as a storm: SEVERE.  Like Hurricane Ida.

28. Reunion attendee: AUNT.

29. Signal from the wings: CUE.  Think of an actor on stage who needs help with his lines.

36. Symbol on several PC keys: ARROW.


39. Long-handled tool: HOE.
40. Puccini specialty: OPERA.  Giacomo Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858 ~ Nov. 29, 1924) wrote numerous operas.  He is probably best known for La Bohème and Madama Butterfly.

44. Title for Richard Starkey: SIR.  That's Sir Ringo to you.


45. RPM indicator: TACH.

46. Drum kit cymbals: HI HATS.

49. Put under: SEDATE.

54. Blond hair, e.g.: TRAIT.

59. Come by honestly: EARN.

60. First name in desserts: SARA.  



61. Bull-riding venue: ARENA.  A dangerous sport.


62. "__ sow ... ": AS YE.  A Biblical phrase:  As ye sow, so shall ye reap ...

63. A bit open: AJAR.  When is a door not a door ...

64. Wastes time: IDLES.

65. Canasta combination: MELD.  Rules of Canasta.

66. Foots the bill: PAYS.

67. Parcels (out): DOLES.

Down:
1. Fairy tale bear: PAPA.

2. Part of UAE: ARAB.  As in the United Arab Emirates.



3. ESPN basketball analyst Rebecca: LOBO.  A lone BO.

4. "There's no doubt!": I'M SURE.

5. Talk aimlessly: NATTER.  Nattering nabobs of negativism.

6. Diving acronym: SCUBA.  Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

7. Pulsate: THROB.

8. "Settle down!": EASY.

9. Soccer great Hamm: MIA.  Mia Hamm (née Mariel Margaret Hamm; b. Mar. 17, 1972) has now retired from playing soccer.

10. Have a ball: LIVE IT UP.

11. Lao or Thai: ASIAN.

12. __ from the past: nostalgic event: BLAST.


13. Like pretzels: SALTY.


21. "May I speak?": AHEM.

22. Bluegrass band staple: BANJO.


24. Hall & Oates, e.g.: DUO.

25. Nature's bandage: SCAB.  Yuck!

26. Costa del Sol coin: EURO.  Costa del Sol is in Spain, hence, the most common Euro you will find there will be one featuring Spanish designs.  Each Euro has a National side, which features pictures of its country.  Rather like the State Quarters that were minted in the United States.




27. Trick or treat: VERB.

28. Under the covers: ABED.

31. "This isn't good": UH, OH!

32. Part of "MNF," an in-season wkly. sports broadcast: MON.  As in Monday Night Football.

33. Spanish for "table": MESA.  Also the name of a town in Arizona and a CSO to our Arizona contingent.


34. One with a tyre in his boot, perhaps: BRIT.


35. Scull crew: OARS.


37. Managed to get: OBTAINED.

38. Tombstone first name: WYATT.


42. Letters in early dates: BCE.  Before the Common Era.

43. Chase away: SHOO.

47. Like mosaic tiles: INLAID.  We saw some of the most amazine mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily.


48. Salon creation: HAIR DO.


49. Teakettle output: STEAM.  Remove the A and you have STEM.

50. Backspace over: ERASE.

51. Hannah of "Splash": DARYL.  We never saw much more of Daryl Hannah (née Daryl Christine Hanna; b. Dec. 3, 1960) after this 1984 movie came out.


52. New venture: FORAY.

53. Structural beams: I-BARS.

55. Gulf of California peninsula: BAJA.


56. 1994 Jodie Foster title role: NELL.


57. "Trick" joint: KNEE.

58. Disrespectful talk: SASS.  This is becoming a crossword staple.

60. Botanical fluid: SAP.  This makes me think of the maple trees in Vermont.




That's all for today folks!  See you next week.

חתולה





48 comments:

OwenKL said...

Circle haters should love this puzzle, because the theme is about what isn't in the circles!

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math,
The way to the future, they say, is this path.
It's a better way forward
Than a Darwin Award,
That starts when a redneck says, "Here, hold my PABST"!

Robert was DAINTY, and eschewed high jinks.
In a raucous crowd, he was a sphinx.
He only let loose
With a songbird's effuse
On the golf course, where he's called BOB O' LINKS!

Sarah PALIN once ran for V.P.,
Said that Russia she could see!
Her esteem
Lost some STEAM;
The voters would have preferred SARAH Lee!

{A-, A-, A.}

desper-otto said...

Good morning! (and welcome back, Hahtoolah)

Zipped right through this one, Wite-Out-free. Actually read the reveal, and found the BOBO's. I should try that more often. We always called small injuries BOBOs -- especially if they resulted from a booboo. MNF was a mystery until Hahtoolah 'splained it. MESA is where C-Moe lives, I believe. Lucina's not far away. Thanx for the diversion, Mark, and for the sparkling expo, Hahtoolah.

NELL: We still use the expression evuh-duah (evil-doer) from that movie. Our cat, Gomer, is an excellent example.

NICHOLAS: Has been a big rain-maker down near the coast, but a nothing-burger up here in redneck land. No heavy rain, no wind to speak of. TXMiss and Anon-T may have different stories.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Crossword friends. This was an interesting puzzle since the letters in the circles were just nonsense. Usually, the circled letters have some meaning, but the BOs on either side did make the theme jump out before I reached the reveal.

I am still in New England, but hope to return home soon. Maybe I should wait until all the storms have passed through the Gulf.

QOD: A loser says that’s the way it’s always been done. A winner says there ought to be a better way. ~ Sydney J. Harris (né Sydney Justin Harris; Sept. 14, 1917 ~ Dec. 7, 1986), American journalist

Anonymous said...

This one fell in 4:05, so maybe I'll celebrate later with a glass of BOurBOn.

Nice write-up, but that female soccer player is Brandi Chastain, not Hamm. And, the Puccini birth/death dates are off or out of order.

unclefred said...

A nice CW that for some reason took me 23 minutes to FIR. I’m not sure why I was so slow, maybe because I haven’t had my coffee yet. W/Os BARRYBONDS:BOBBYBONDS; OHNO:UHOH. Anyway, a nice CW, thanx, Mark. I never saw the reveal; completely baffled by the nonsense circles. Nice write-up, Hahtoolah, welcome back! Interesting history of Pabst beer, especially that they never actually won a blue ribbon. Also, that they were apparently at one time the largest brewery in the country; now reduced to a contract brew.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased alum for AUNT, snares for HIHATS, and metes for DOLES. Couldn't figure out the gimmick until Hahtoolah 'splained it.

I get annoyed when I drive by one of the many areas where they are tearing down old free housing to be replaced by new free housing, which will look like the old complex in a few years. But when they built the new STEM school in the neighborhood I was pleased. Unless they redefine academic success, that school could save a lot of kids from a lifetime of subsistence living.

I knew BOBOLINK only from Blue Bell dairy commercials from my ute. "Every drink will make you think of the crickets chirp (chirp, chirp) and the BOBLINKS sing (whee-de-del-lee) of milk as fresh as the morning dew, right from valley dell straight to you" (or sumpin like that).

Gilley's (of Urban Cowboy fame) had a mechanical bull, but Billy Bob's has live bull riding (even though it is a nightclub, not an ARENA).

Yes, we saw more of DARYL after "Splash". A little more in "Summer Lovers" and a LOT more in "Dancing at the Blue Iguana".

Off to service the 7500 watt generator in the motorhome. Oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter and coolant. Messy job. I'll smell like a truck stop when I get home.

Wilbur Charles said...

Naturally I had alum/AUNT, which caused havoc in that area as I had inked MUMBle and couldn't make DUO work. Not to speak of BANJO

I first thought of the Griffeys for the father son. We had our first MNF last night. Close game when I fell asleep. Ray's game was a yawner. Another brother* DUO was on ESPN2, a rather outre experiment. I'll watch football with the sound off but couldn't watch with their background NATTER.

D-O, you got the trick with the BO's and gibberish circles. I took the time to figure it out after solving.

IM will like the SARAh/ Palin/Lee and the aforementioned STEAM/STEM. I had to perp my way along unlike Monday where I completely missed LASSO the dogie.

WC

Nicely illustrated write-up hahtoolah. A's on the l'icks and Mark has crafted a perfect Tuesday level to bump up from Monday's xword-101.

* The Manning Brothers, Eli and Peyton with various guests

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Another nice, easy-breezy solve but, I needed the reveal to catch the theme. Love the creative thoughts that inspired it! Only w/o was Isle/Isla and no unknowns. As WC pointed out, I liked the duos of Steam/STEM and Palin/Sara, plus Banjo/Baja and STEM/Ahem. CSO to Moe and Lucina at Mesa.

Thanks, Mark, for a pleasant solve and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the usual colorful and informative commentary and links. Welcome back, you were greatly missed, although Boomer kept us entertained.

Owen, A+ today!

Have a great day.

ATLGranny said...

Two in a row: FIR with a perfect grid! Patience helped me wait for perps today with some tricky clues. Needed the reveal to see the theme. The circled letters grabbed all my attention until then, in spite of so many Bs. Lots of fun, Mark. Thanks.

Good to see your review, Hahtoolah, with all the interesting information. Thanks. Hope all is going well with you and storms don't affect your home. Finding your grandmother's treasured dress was a nice surprise for you.

Onward to Wednesday!

TTP said...



Good morning. Thanks, Mark. Welcome back to the blog, Hahtoolah. I wouldn't rush home if I were you.

Yes, quick solve, but...

Saw UTA in circles and thought Hagen. Then got JUM in the next set and couldn't come up with anything for that one. Partials maybe ? Then was really perplexed when BBY came along in the third set. Kept solving while wondering what the circled letters were about. Then the reveal. Oh.

Started to key in ARENA, and then quickly changed it to rodeo. Then quickly changed it back to ARENA.

Other than that...

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy solve. Got the BO - - BO stuff OK. Didn't see why the circles were even needed; especially since they contained gibberish. No strikethroughs or searches were needed. FIR.

CanadianEh! said...

Tricky Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Mark and Hahtoolah (welcome back to the Corner).
I FIRed and saw the BOBO LINKS. Things started out quickly but I did get bogged down in the south. Just a few inkblots.

Oh oh changed to UHHO. Alum changed to AUNT- oh, a family reunion, not school (hi WC & Jinx)
I have no idea who Hall and Oates are! I put in the final S for the plural, and wondered about DAS. Nope, a DUO. Same plural problem with those early dates letters- BCS changed to BCE with perps.
Deals changed to DOLES.

Hahtoolah found the LOBO Easter egg. We had more O endings - BANJO, DUO, EURO, HAIRDO.

Barry, BOBBY DUO reminds me of our Blue Jay, Vlad, who just broke his PAPA’s record with his 45th home run of the season!

Wishing you all a great day.

CanadianEh! said...

Ok, I Googled Hall and Oates - pop rock DUO. Of course, I remember She’s Gone, Maneater, Rich Girl. Apparently they did not like being called a DUO. “ In an interview with The Mercury News, Hall explained that "the reason we've always insisted on our full names is because we consider ourselves to be two individual artists. We're not really a classic duo in that respect."” (Wikipedia)

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Thank you Mark for a doable, but not error free Tuesday. All my mistakes were of my own doing as a result of incorrect first thoughts: alum for Aunt, Barry for BOBBY, metes for DOLES. I certainly messed up those sections. However, all's well that ends well.

Welcome back, Hahtoolah. Nicely done. It didn't take you any time at all to warm up!

MIL is still hanging in there, but hospice is a great help. She enjoys our many visits. Thursday my Texas crew is coming in for the Bears game on Sunday, and we have plenty of plans before then. Since we no longer have our tickets, they managed to pick up four pretty nice ones from the NFL Exchange. Lots to do, especially at the grocery store since I no longer have teenagers in the house, the snack supply is pretty weak. (Grandsons' assessment)

Have a sunny day.

Wilbur Charles said...

Mme D, will that be a MNF game? They had to take them away from the Patriots because of the extreme drunkenness culminating in a march up Rte 1 with metal goal posts. Said post hit an electrical wire and blam, electrocution including one death.

Only in Boston. Redsox fans are just as crazy except game starts at 7 so two fewer hours of drinking.

WC

Vidwan827 said...


Thank you Mark McClain for a very nice puzzle, with an unusual twist. Didn't realize that.
Thank you Hahtoolah, and welcome back .... you were missed though Boomer did a very fine job, Hope you are slowly recovering from your recent tragedy. Going through your parents stuff, must be quite sad, yet a discovery of sorts.

My father kept all his letters and copies of his replies, throughout the years, and when I read through most of them, I felt I had discovered a man I never knew...

STEM subjects ::: Growing up in India, my family knew instinctively that STEM, or a form thereof, was the only way to get a job ... none of us went into social studies or litreature or Art ... or even Law or Economics .... ;-) It was engineering, medicine, sciences or accounting or banking.

Anon:at 6:51 am .... the Puccini birth / death dates are perfectly fine .... they match the wikipedia ones.

Chai, which is the indian word for a generic prepared tea, .... comes from -cha, which is the chinese word for tea. The chai referred to in the US, should be masala chai or 'spiced' tea. In my opinion, too many spices can ruin the actual taste of the tea itself. Just ginger and cardamom should be more than enough.

Lobo is a surname of portugese / spanish origin, ( probably from 'wolf' ) because there are a plethora of indian families with that surname in Goa, a portugese colony until 1961.

Have a nice day, all.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Welcome back, Hahtoolah,and thank you for the CSO! One of my friends lives in MESA and of course I have to drive through it to reach my sister's house in Gilbert. Speaking of whom, I heard that my ex-sister-in-law is near death. She was a heavy smoker all her life and has COPD.

This was a fun puzzle, thank you, Mark McClain! As PAPA Bear might say, it was not too easy and not too hard, just right!

At one time I was a good Canasta player but now I would not know a MELD if it kicked me. It would be nice to have someone to play with and keep up those skills.

So, the circles were just MUMBO JUMBO.

Hooray! My telephone was repaired! Someone from the phone company called to tell me.

Oopa. I have SCAR/ROBBY.

Clues like "trick or treat", VERB, always make me laugh.

NELL is one of the first movies in which I recall also seeing Liam Neesan and I hope that's a correct memory.

Now that my telephone is working I have to send out that information.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Lucina said...

LOBO does, in fact, mean wolf.

waseeley said...

Welcome back Susan, we really missed you! You didn't skip a beat, giving us another stellar review. Special thanks for the BOBOLINK LINK. I've bookmarked that for when DW and I start TWITCHING again. And also for the pointer to BOBOS in Paradise. David Brooks is one of my favorite commentators.

Oh yes, and there was a puzzle. Thank you for that Mark; very enjoyable and even a bit easier than yesterday. Didn't bother to look for a theme, but it popped up as soon as I got the reveal.

Some favs:

20A Both ABOUT A BOY and 56D NELL sound like interesting movies. I'll have to add them to the list.

40A Puccini was the master of OPERATIC tragedies, and put the B in the ABCs of opera: AIDA, BOHEME, and CARMEN.

6A I once shook the hand of SPIRO AGNEW, that NATTERING NABOB OF NEGATIVISM. A classic instance of psychological projection.

42D I've never quite figured out the basis for dividing history between BCE and CE? HC perhaps? 🙃

Cheers,
Bill

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

Thanks Mark for the fun solve. I was trying as hard as I could to make some sense out of the circled letters, but then the reveal gave me the "AHA" moment!

Glad that I took a shower before solving though . . . there was plenty enough "BO" in the puzzle ;^)

As someone else mentioned, Susan, you seem to have jumped right back into the blog with little warmup. My hiatus required a bit more attention to detail, but not to worry; Friday's will be full of schtick! Oh, and "thanks" for the Deliverance clip. Now I am going to be humming the dueling BANJOS tune in my head all day!

Another self CSO to MESA, where I actually reside. I'm pretty sure Lucina lives in another Phoenix suburb, but she's been here a lot longer than I.

A few minor corrections in spelling but I did FIR. MELD can also refer to points in pinochle. I've never played canasta but in college I played pinochle a lot

I'll close with a ku:

Kids today learn STEM.
I must be a pirate, 'cause
I learned the three R's

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

D-O: No Nicholas damage at my home in Greatwood (well, one broken flower-pot but, so what).

Maybe it's lack of sleep (monitoring the SEVERE storm until 4a) but I found Mark's puzzle a bit crunchy for a Tuesday. But, thanks Mark.

Welcome back (to The Corner) Hahtoolah. Missed your comic-laden expos; thanks.

WO: Alum->AUNT
ESPs: ABOUT A BOY(?), ISLA (as clued) & NELL
Fav: SIR Ringo's BLAST from [the | Your] Past. CUE (arguably Harrison's) It Don't Come Easy

{A+, B, B+}

C, Eh! I was going to say...
Hall & Oates were a pop-DUO in the '80's. How you missed them is beyond me; felt like I couldn't escape! (Ok, I'll concede You Make My Dreams is kinda fun).

MdF - sounds like a party! Enjoy your TX crew.

Waseeley - Safire's "Nattering naBObs[...]" strengthened my hunch to fill 5d.

Back to work. Cheers, -T

oc4beach said...


Got it done. Since I don't look at the circles, they were not confusing to me. I didn't see the BO BO link theme until Hahtoolah 'splained it. While solving it, it was a theme-less puzzle to me. Loved your write up and graphics, Hahtoolah.

Not much else to say about the puzzle, so, on to Wednesday.

Mark McClain said...

Thanks, all for the great writeup and comments. Obviously this puzzle was inspired by the bird, which I realize is not a familiar one to everybody. Apologies to anyone who knew it had to be about UTA HAGEN (that crossword author), but who the heck is JUM? All in good fun! Hope to see you all again on a Sunday in the next few weeks! I AM NOT A ROBOT!

AnonymousPVX said...


This Tuesday grid filled up quickly.

Write-overs…just one….ALUM/AUNT.

See you tomorrow.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Bull-riding is the last event in a rodeo. Staying on four only 8 seconds is successful but the danger is incredible. My friend is a bull fighter (aka rodeo clown) and his work saves lives
-PAPA Bear – Okay, okay POOH is not a fairy tale bear
-My neighbor is moving to Florida. As a certified SCUBA diver, she feels she can pursue that sport better in the Atlantic than the Platte
-Mesa, AZ is Cubbyville West in the spring
-Typing teacher did not care for my backspace/type-overs
-It’s good to see you back in the saddle, Susan!

Anonymous said...

Vidwan827: Yes, the Puccini dates match, and the Hamm picture is correct too, thanks to an update.

I wasn't trying to be critical.

Misty said...

Fun puzzle this morning, many thanks Mark. And your commentary was a pleasure, Susan, thanks for that too.

Had a doctor's appointment this morning--annual check-up--so worked on the puzzle while waiting here and there.

Fun seeing a SARAH and a SARA who are not even part of the same universe. Had the same ALUM versus AUNT conundrum as others. And also never got the BO BO theme until the reveal. But still lots of fun.

Have a good day, everybody.

Anonymous T said...

Just finished the Earthquake video [FLN] Say...

I saw your name, Jayce. Instrument electronics. Really cool hypothesis on earthquake prediction.

Two questions:
1) do you use COTS big-data software or did your analytics guys write their own?
2) ever think about putting sensors around the New Madrid fault and comparing those quakes to the rim-o'-fire's ones?

=============
Mark - thanks for stopping by The Corner. Don't be a stranger.

HG - wait, wha? SCUBA in Nebraska? Now that's chutzpah!
//actually, a buddy of mine learned SCUBA in OK and is still treasure-hunting a particular sunken ship. He even got a masters in Oceanographic Engineering at MIT to pursue the dream.

Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

A good solid Tuesday PZL.
Got 'em all, except for a personal Natick at 62A. I couldn't think of AS YE--two words, instead of the one word I was trying to match with "sow," a female pig. I didn't see it as a verb.
Nor could I remember the name of that actress at the 51D perp!

Otherwise, EZ as Pi!
~ OMK
___________
DR:
Four diagonal in all, one on the near end & a 3-way opposite.
The near side anagram (13 of 15 letters) offers another phrase for the award-winning TV series, Naked Planet.
This is the version known as...

"NUDE BIOSPHERE"!

Anonymous T said...

LOL DR OMK.
//do you think that's how deep-space exploration will be/turn into?
The new Garden of Eden?

[would you mind scrolling up and address my 2 questions?]

Shifting gears:
Anyone have Hulu?
//Apparently I do - DW signed up before we [didn't] cut the cable.

Anyway, if you do too (have Hulu),
may I recommend [CAMEO SPOILERS!] Only Murders in the Building [Behind the scenes]

Not only is it a good murder-mystery (so far, we're just into S1E3), it's meta-funny.
//and a bit of poignancy... Poor, (literally broke) Marty Short - he produced DARYL's movie's stage-production of SPLASH that flopped and he needs money [and Nathan Lane - from Brooks' Producers!] was a backer who he goes to again.

If you can't go full-circle on that joke...

Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

I do not wish this to be a political statement.

Just let me say, in the interest of mental health here in California, let us not be shocked by the election returns this evening.

I believe 2016 was enough for one lifetime.
~ OMK

Ol' Man Keith said...

Anonymous T ~

I don't think you meant those two questions for me. Sorry-- I haven't a clue what they're about.

Probably intended for Jayce, the engineer...
~ OMK

TokenCreek said...

OMK: I assume you're not talking about POTUS 45. That WOULD be political. No links required.

CrossEyedDave said...

BoBo?
WTF is a BoBo?
I didnt have a chance with this (Tuesday) puzzle.
oh yes, I filled in all the blanks,
except for the big one...

Looking forward to "I am not a robot."
(maybe, just maybe, I might get that one...)

Lucina, you only know that your telephone was repaired
because "they called you?"...
OMG!, & you pay these "people."
Stick around here at that Blog,
we'd be glad to give you a shout...

Anon-T, My kids have Hulu, maybe I can watch'the only murders here thingie.
looks like fun...
I need a break after this puzzle,
cause all I can think of is Akron, cold beer, & poor, poor thing...

TXMs said...

Hi, all. D-O, you got the theme - impressive. I was stuck on the circled letters - should've looked at bob-o-links more closely (obvious in hindsight).

I'm so relieved/thankful that Nicholas didn't do any damage or cause flooding in my area (only 2" of rain). Although in the Heights (3 miles away), I heard there was some street-flooding. I was wondering about you, Anon-T, as Sugar Land was supposed to be hard-hit. After enduring Uri, I filled large pots with water and flashlights were at the ready. As everyone knows by now, Texas utility companies are not the most reliable.

Lemonade714 said...

Late and where to start; as already agreed Mia Hamm who has dark hair is not Brandi Chastain of sports bra fame and light colored hair. Hahtoolah also fell in the trap of knowing what she did not know as DARRYL HANNAH has made many post 1984 movies and TV appearances including all the KILL BILL movies.
Mark a fun puzzle and an interesting jab at all the solvers who forgot this is a Tuesday and a circle, is after all just a circle. I need more proof on the robot claim, however.

Lemonade714 said...

I have not been here to acknowledge my prayers for any and all in the path of Nicholas. We had street flooding in my area and our rains were all tangential. It was a rare day I was glad I was no longer permitted to drive

Ol' Man Keith said...

@4:43pm ~

If I were to mention the acronym POTUS, I believe that would be general enough to be apolitical.
Unless, of course, I were to attach a name or number to it...
~ OMK

Ol' Man Keith said...

I hope the folk on the Gulf Coast and along Nicholas' path inland can manage to stay safe over the next several hours and days.

Unfortunately, the weather experts are already comparing Nicholas' heavy rains & slow speed to Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
Harvey claimed 68 victims. Maybe people remember it well enough to take even more precautions this time.
Wishing them all to keep safe and dry!
~ OMK

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Was actually drinking an after dinner CHAI tea while working the puzzle. Plan was a CHAI latte but no room in the cup left for the frothed milk...

"latte" good it did me....🙄

One inkover right away, pooh/PAPA... Stuck with attained not OBTAINED so the mid-east was just unfinished MUMBO-JUMBO. VE..., AR..AW. Ergo down went the theme. Sheesh, and it's only Tuesday. Yikes. BOBO is an anagram to what I feel like after these foolish errors ☹

Aleut: "I can see Sarah PALIN from my house, you betcha"..."ASYE sew so shall ye darn"

Based on this puzzle, Shrek's love is a BEASTess. DARYL Hanna and Daryl Hall (& John Oates), Sarah PALIN and SARA Lee ...another DUO.

I always wondered about the "inbred" boy BANJO player in the movie "Deliverance".

the Big Dipper is only the rear end and tail of the constellation in the pic. The title "Sir Richard Starkey" has a nice Ringo to it.

New Pequod captain who tried again...REHAB
Alleged specified time....SEDATE.
Sea eagle...EARN
They shot at Doc Holliday but _____ Earp....WYATT

Norm Macdonald, don't RIP, keep 'em laughin' wherever you are.🙉

Jayce said...

Late to the party; been real busy today. Liked the puzzle. Good to read you, Hahtoolah; I'm glad you found that dress. Glad y'all on the Gulf coast didn't get slammed too hard.

RODEO? Nope. ARENA. METES? Nope. DOLES.

When I filled AJAR I immediately thought of you know who.

Anonymous T, thanks for taking the time to watch the video.
(1) Our analytics guys wrote our own analytics software and published a paper about it. I am now permitted to disclose that Google has for the past 2 years been sinking their expert teeth into analyzing our data also, and that a peer-reviewed paper will soon be published.
(2) Yes, we definitely considered and discussed putting sensors around the New Madrid fault but for some reason the boss put the kibosh on that, preferring for reasons known only to himself (because he really didn't do well at making his case clear to us) to put sensors in Indonesia instead. I think it is because he liked to travel.

I also helped write a STEM textbook about earthquakes, about detecting them, and about our hardware, which you all now know I designed. It did not get published or distributed.

Good wishes to you all.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

oops wrong directions...meant MID WEST..Binging Netflix's final season of "Lucifer" 👿 As sometimes happens with popular series..One season too many.

waseeley said...

CED @4:&2 PM BOurgeois BOhemian s.

waseeley said...

Lemony @5:02 PM Also "Roxanne". For some reason I never got around to "Kill Bill". 🤔

Cheers

Anonymous T said...

OMK - you are right. My transition (as it weren't) didn't make it clear those Qs were for Jayce.

Jayce - thanks for the reply. Google is a pro at big data. My query was due to y'all taking days to process / "back-see" the data; the hypothesis can only be proved with real-time predictions. Meaning all the noise filtered in near-RT with no possible cherry-picking the data. Y'all are on to something, I'm sure, but the computations require some big-iron.
//I'm sure I'm not telling you anything new.
Anyway - cool project and I hope you get more funding (from the Q&A)

Ray-O: LOL Wiki 404 on Billy Redden.

TXMs - glad you too are high & dry.

CED - wait a bit longer. I didn't realize we were just beginning the season. We just watched episodes 4 & 5 and were going to binge a bit longer...
NEXT TUESDAY?
What is this? The 80's?
We have to wait a whole week for the next show?!? ;-)

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Oh no, Ray-O...
I thought you were making a joke re: Norm Macdonald. I was looking for my "funny at the end of the day" and found Seth paying tribute.

Cheers, -T

LEO III said...

FIR and got the theme --- sorta. I stopped at BOB. Duh! Hey, it’s late, and I’ve been busy all day.

Thanks, Mark, and thanks for stopping by today! Nice expo, Hahtoolah!

waseeley, I’m not sure I understood your question. I thought BCE and CE were simply replacements for BC and AD, in order to remove the religious connotation, with the year numbers remaining the same. Someone correct me, if I’m wrong.

Time to print out Wednesday's puzzle!

The Curmudgeon said...

Yes, Leo, you're right. AD [Anno Domini/year of the Lord] and BC [before Christ] are based on a (probably) incorrect calculation of the birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth. (B)CE is the more PC Common Era.

>> Roy