Saturday Themeless by Craig Stowe
Craig is a a cook in a Toronto hotel and turns out fabulous puzzles that I have had the pleasure of blogging. Here is what he had to say about this construction:
Hi Gary,Thanks for your email. This is my second attempt at a central stack and I am happier with this result. The seed for the puzzle is 32- Across and that stack actually appeared quickly. Sometimes luck is on our side. It required a revision as I originally had DUMBBELLS at 32- Down, which Rich thought might be too inappropriate. I'm not the most sensitive person.
I promise I didn't intentionally include STOWED. There weren't any options (barring partials) that didn't involve STOW?? so stowed it was. One partial is bad enough.
I try to make themeless puzzles ones that I'd enjoy solving myself. I hope this one leaves a good impression with folks.
All the best,
Craig
Craig and I had a great exchange about
30. Shipping rope: TYE.
We eventually settled on "A chain or rope one end of which passes through the mast or through a block and is made fast to the center of a yard, the other end being attached to a tackle by means of which a yard is hoisted or lowered"
When I asked Craig if this pretty obscure word was an "any port in a storm" fill for those three cells. He replied,
"26. "You __!": BETCHA.!"
and gave me permission to share that with you. Ya gotta love a guy like that!
1. Some assembly stations: SALAD BARS - Are there any of these still operating?
10. __ al pomodoro: Tuscan soup: PAPPA - PAPPA means "mush" and al pomodoro means with tomatoes in Italian.
15. "Beats me": I'VE NO IDEA.
16. Use: AVAIL.
17. "Nice work!": GOOD STUFF.
18. Wagner's father-in-law: LISZT - "What is Wagner?" was a recent Jeopardy question for this answer - "Married last name of opera art director Cosima, two of her children were named Siegfried and Isolde."
16. Use: AVAIL.
17. "Nice work!": GOOD STUFF.
18. Wagner's father-in-law: LISZT - "What is Wagner?" was a recent Jeopardy question for this answer - "Married last name of opera art director Cosima, two of her children were named Siegfried and Isolde."
 |
| Cosima and Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt |
19. Least amt.: MIN.
20. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko: SESE - It is estimated that he embezzled over $5B from his country
20. Zaire's Mobutu __ Seko: SESE - It is estimated that he embezzled over $5B from his country
21. __ ball: MATZO - Some say it is only for Passover and not for Hanukkah
22. "Doe, __ ... ": A DEER.
25. "The Last O.G." network: TBS - Okay...
27. Chi preceder: TAI - Craig! Phi is the Greek letter before chi but TAI comes first in the elegant Chinese art of TAI CHI.
28. Family nicknames: MAS.
31. Gym sets: REPS - REPetitionS
32. "No worries": DON'T MENTION IT - Craig's seed entry
35. Stop digressing: CUT TO THE CHASE.
36. Words often embroidered: HOME SWEET HOME
37. "Love & Basketball" actor Omar: EPPS.
37. "Love & Basketball" actor Omar: EPPS.
38. All Saints' __: EVE - The day before All Saint's Day on November 1 is All Saint's EVE which became All Hallow's EVE which is also now called Halloween
39. Bonobo, for one: APE - Some very close genetic relatives
40. First animal in the Chinese zodiac: RAT - My first entry of RAM only needed one correction
41. #34: DDE - HST was #33 and JFK was #35
42. Diminish slowly: ERODE.
46. Toot: SPREE - Bachelor parties and 21st birthdays leap to my mind
48. Latin for "scraped," in a phrase: RASA - We all have a chance at a Tabula RASA in two weeks
41. #34: DDE - HST was #33 and JFK was #35
42. Diminish slowly: ERODE.
46. Toot: SPREE - Bachelor parties and 21st birthdays leap to my mind
48. Latin for "scraped," in a phrase: RASA - We all have a chance at a Tabula RASA in two weeks
52. Pasture sound: LOW - Sounds of the season: "The cattle are LOWING..."
53. Get around: ELUDE and 2. Get around: AVOID - Craig?
54. Metaphor for doing more than is required: EXTRA MILE.
57. Massenet opera about a Spanish legend: LE CID - Massenet based his opera on the Spanish legend of El Cid
58. Party where no one goes home?: SLEEPOVER
59. Curator's concerns: FAKES - Our creative constructor Jeffrey Wechsler's job was as an art curator in New Jersey. (*See his great comments on the subject below my write-up)
60. Bike shop array: TEN-SPEEDS - 1967 Ad
Down:
1. Two after pi: SIGMA - Now we get the Greek alphabet
3. Sierra __: LEONE - ASKY Airlines can fly you from Accra, Ghana to Freetown, Sierra LEONE among other places. 4. "Then what?": AND.
5. Soirees: DOS - All you'd ever want to know about soirees, bashes, DO'S, etc
6. Parts of drills: BITS.
7. Musical collaboration instruction: ADUE - A frequent cwd visitor
8. Calls on a field: REFS - Peyton Manning seems to disagree with that REF'S call
9. Insurance metaphor: SAFETY NET - Many in our flood-prone town have no insurance SAFETY NET when the Platte comes out of its banks
10. Conceals, in a way: PALMS - The Queen Of Spades has been PALMED below
11. Adidas rival: AVIA.
12. What most novels are written in: PAST TENSE - “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm…”
13. Round item in a square box: PIZZA PIE.
12. What most novels are written in: PAST TENSE - “Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm…”
13. Round item in a square box: PIZZA PIE.
14. Charlie Parker, at times: ALTOIST - Charlie played an ALTO sax so...
23. Isn't subtle, in a way: EMOTES and 24. Jeremiads: RANTS.
29. Put away: STOWED - Craig disavowed showing any favoritism toward his name
30. Giggly sound: TE HEE.
31. Nomad: ROAMER.
32. Sandbox toy: DUMP TRUCK - Nobody builds 'em better
33. "Into Thin Air" setting: MT. EVEREST - A gripping excerpt
34. "With any luck": I HOPE.
35. Bargain in court: COP A PLEA.
36. "Nature would not invest __ in such shadowing passion without some instruction": Othello: HERSELF - "I wouldn’t be trembling like this if I didn’t know deep down this (Desdemona's unfaithfullness) was all true"
41. Title pages?: DEEDS.
43. Stuffed hors d'oeuvre: OLIVE - How 'bout using blue cheese?
44. Parceled (out): DOLED.
45. Pretty pitchers: EWERS - All you'd wanna know
47. Carmela portrayer on "The Sopranos": EDIE - Last week we had Tony Soprano's psychiatrist Dr. Melfi, this week it's his wife Carmela played by EDIE Falco
49. Semi shaft: AXLE - This rig has five of them
50. Arm of the Korean War: STEN - Often the cwd weapon of choice
51. Father of the Amazons: ARES - Everything you want to know
55. Bridge Base Online offering, e.g.: APP.
56. Duff Beer server: MOE - A brew served on The Simpsons
*Jeffrey's comments on FAKES
Gary,
Well, a little bit of free publicity! Oh, wait – I’m retired! Anyhow, I don’t specifically recall any outright fakes that I had to deal with in my museum job (I did see some at estate sales). The most common source of authenticity problems that came my way involved individuals who brought items to the museum to find out if they were of value. I worked at a university museum, a non-profit institution, and therefore I did not offer valuations; I could, though, give an opinion on artistic quality and if the item was an original work of art. For example, many items bore notable signatures; they were not fakes but merely reproductions. This can usually be easily ascertained by looking at the surface with a magnifying lens. The presence of a dot pattern reveals the image’s source as a mechanical, photo-reproductive process.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey
FIWrong. I read 27a as CHI preceder, and thinking Greek alphabet, put in TAu. The crossing, 14d, had me pulling my hair out trying to figure out _LTOuST, but that U was one I was certain of -- the first two letters had perked with perps, so how could the third letter possibly be wrong?‽!
ReplyDelete(Well, I had STOrED, and with 5 other letters correct, that R still needed to change to W.)
Would you dare MT. EVEREST on a bet?
Would you try if you had a SAFETY NET?
Would you go the EXTRA MILE
To get GOOD STUFF for a chil'?
I'VE NO IDEA why I would MENTION IT!
For a SLEEP-OVER party, don't go home.
It's not the same to zoom it on a phone!
Share a PIZZA PIE!
Never close an eye!
But when it's over, it's HOME, SWEET HOME!
{A, A.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteStumbled with EL CID and GET TO THE POINT. (Thank you, Wite-Out.) Otherwise, this was a smooth solve; d-o avoided getting STOWED. Yes, that "Chi preceder" was evil, and that TYE was really obscure. But, heck, it's Saturday when all's fair. Seemed to take forever for that Korean "arm" to make sense. That S was my final fill. This one came into the station a full ten minutes ahead of schedule, so life is good. Thanx, Craig and Husker. (Is there really an airline named ASKY -- ask why?)
SALAD BAR: In these days of COVID we've seldom gone to a restaurant, but we did this past week. Yes, they had a SALAD BAR. No, I didn't partake, but d-w did. With our new open-carry law, I expected to see sidearms, but none were in evidence.
Let's CUT TO THE CHASE, another FIR today, although not without WOs. At first I tried to "geT TO THE point" and I had "I don't know/I'VE NO IDEA." There were others as well, but my most troublesome spot was the NE. No problem with TAI CHI but everything above that was iffy. Gradually it filled but I still didn't know PAPPA, wondering if it meant potato in Italian. Haven't we had TYE before? Oh, and yes, LE CID because it's French. Got it. Thanks Craig for a nice Saturday challenge. I enjoyed doing it.
ReplyDeleteAnd Husker Gary, you came through for us with entertainment, information and interviews. Thanks so very much. And don't say DON'T MENTION IT!
Have a good weekend everyone.
FIR, but had a hard time filling in "tye", I wanted "tie", and decided safety net was two words, not safeti-net.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but erased kim chi for TAI chi, evade for ELUDE, madre for LEONE, outs for REFS, meted for DOLED, and hand up for fixing el Cid. I think this is two FIR Saturdays in a row, for sure a personal best. I ain't gittin any smarter, so the puzzles must have been easier.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else think of Bezos for "father of the Amazons"?
I read "Into Thin Air" when it first came out. Incredible that the guy survived. There was a TV series a few years ago about commercial adventures to make that climb. Low standards and overcrowding have made it more perilous than it needs to be. I shouldn't have been surprised (but I was) to learn that a great majority of fatalities occur on the way down.
BTW, far more people have climbed Mt. Everest than have sailed around the world alone. Which leads me to TYE. From Gary's write up I gather that this is a square-rigger term. Modern sails aren't hoisted by the middle, they are hoisted by the "head" using a "halyard". Sails were called "yards", and halyard came from "haul the yard".
Thanks to Craig for the puzzle that was easy enough for even me to finish, and to HG for another fine review.
So, Mr S said, Wilbur go ahead and Google 'Greek alphabet' and check out TAu '
ReplyDeleteI refused and lo and behold TAI/ALTOIST was correct. Please overlook my typo at REFS. A 'D' was there instead of S.
I perped DDE but still thought it was an element. Lucina, I'll share a bottle of that Prevagen*
I was stalled in NE. Couldn't fit AV_A, with AVAIL, PAST TENSE . Then PIZZA rang my bell. Plus, I couldn't remember Charlie's metier**
I don't consider this easy by any means except for the fact that Wilbur FIR***.
WC
* I wouldn't touch it but there are OTC out there. Rule: Take ½ or better 1/3 tablet
** We had this recently(Last week?)
*** I'm counting it, typos be damned. I'm stuck solving online because I misplaced insert.
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun , Craig (a fellow-Canadian who pronounces Toronto without the second T?) and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteThis CW was GOOD STUFF. I finished in good time for a Saturday with several inkblots, but arrived here to discover that I FIWed.
Of course, this Canadian thought #34 was an element. I should have Googled to find that it would be selenium (Se). I had PDE with a big?? Yes, the P was from PEER , my British title pages. TEHEE!
That made my opera LeCir. The correct solve ELUDEd me.
When I saw DDE in HuskerG’s expo, I started to RANT about A DEER and DEERS. I STOWED it with LE CID.
I changed I don’t know to I’VE NO IDEA.
I lightly entered Nike and Puma to wait for perps. AVIAs are a rival to Adidas?!
I know that Zuppa is Italian for soup, but PAPPA perped.
Hand up for changing Tau to TAI with perps, and only entering TYE because SAFETY NET finally parsed.
We had a DUMP TRUCK and a semi AXLE.
Why does nobody sleep at a SLEEPOVER?
I might RANT that tales of woe (JEREMIADS) are not my idea of RANTS. I associate anger with a rant.
I have work to be done today. I HOPE to have family coming.
Wishing you all a great day.
We Craig 'cooked' up a good one for us today. I FIR but the TYE for TIE or TYE was hard to let stand and only because SAFET-I-NET wouldn't get it, just like KS wrote. The NE was slow go, thinking ZUPPE & NIKE before AVIA took hold; PAPPA? Wasn't he a 'Rolling Stone'? As a soup it's new to me. I was thinking Haydn for Wagner's FIL but that would have been the wrong century. Didn't know it was Franz LISZT who was said to be the greatest keyboard player ever.
ReplyDeleteAPP was perps for Bridge Base Online; no idea about that one.
All Saints' EVE, aka Halloween. I'd never heard of All Saints' Day until I moved to NOLA. Schools were closed and people went to graveyards to put flowers on graves.
EVADE or ELUDE, EL CID or LE CID,AVIA, PUMA, or NIKE, IKE or DDE, ZEUS or ARES- toss ups today.
APE- bonobos and chimps can't swim; separated by the Congo River.
TEN SPEEDS- hard to find these days. Mine is a 14 speed, previous was 18 speed, and DW's is a 9 speed (one front sprocket).
I zipped through this one much faster than a usual Saturday. I find for Saturday, either you’re on the same wavelength as the constructor, or you’re not. Last week was a disaster for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you Craig for a Saturday challenge. I left it for an hour with a lot of white space and returned to find it filling itself. I'm now on a two Saturdays roll. Woo. Woo!.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Gary for another well-illustrated, excellent review.
A few favs before I leave to visit my Mother's grave, who died a year ago today.
18A. LISZT. First had BULOW, as in HANS VON BULOW, whose wife COSIMA (Listz's daughter) Wagner stole.
59A FAKES. Producing good FAKES requires that the forger spend significant, close up time with the original. This served as the basis for a NEW TRICKS detective series plot (SPOILER ALERT). The detectives enlisted a museum curator as a consultant to help them track down a forger, and the head of the team (Sandra Pullman) became infatuated with him. The curator happened to have a policy of lending out paintings as a public service. Sandra eventually figures out that one of the recipients of this "public service" was the forger they were after, who then had a lot of time to examine them closely and create excellent reproductions. The episode ends with Sandra cuffing the curator, as he was coming on to her at an opera ball to which he'd invited her.
12D PAST TENSE. Somebody forgot to tell the casting director when he chose Vivien Leigh to play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind".
14D ALTOIST. Had SOLOIST but it was ALTOIST that perped. I'd not heard the term.
23D JEREMIAD. From the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. He did what prophets always did, and as always it cost him his life.
41D DEEDS. A CSO to LEMONY, whose "bread and butter" is drawing them up.
50D STEN. Choose your weapon. 4 letters STEN, 3 letters UZI.
Cheers,
Bill
Friday toughie, but with lots of clever stuff--thank you, Craig. And helpful commentary, Husker Gary, thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteMy first favorite today was "Doe, ___..." The tune immediately jumped into my head.
My second was PIZZA PIE for that "round item in a square box." Okay, LISZT helped me get that one.
Oh yes, after getting I HOPE, I also got that APE.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteSaturday stumper for me. I solved all but the NW. In retrospect it should have been easy, but Craig gave us some misdirection. We've seen the dictator, Mboutou SESE often but I still can't recall him. And I spent too much time mulling over "some assembly stations" thinking about a factory job. I haven't been to a SALAD BAR in at least two years.
PAPPA surprised me. I was all set for SOPPA (soup). Is that even a word? But the downs prevailed. It's fun to see LISZT and MATZO in a stack.
Hand up for RAM before RAT. I was born in the year of the sheep.
AVIA, no, but I bought mySELF some new red Skechers with a gift card I received.
Thak you, Gary. You always go the EXTRA MILE in your interviews with the constructors and it is much appreciated.
Enjoy your Saturday, everyone! One week to go! I just have to go grocery shopping.
Oh, what fun! I had a good morning solving this puzzle and thank the constructor, the blogger, the "blog squad commentators" and all for this wonderful way to get my hectic Saturday started. I started in the middle because my dear neighbor in Miami taught me all about tyes when we lived there. His sail boat was a wonderful way to have adventures! I spiraled out from there and the only problem fell when I wanted to have pasta instead of pappa in the NE. So, out into the world and sunshine-y, but cold day to get the errands run! Have yourselves a safe, wonder-filled Holiday!
ReplyDeleteHi, All:
ReplyDeleteI was definitely on Craig’s wavelength this morning as I breezed through this in 18:19, without trying for speed which is my MO. As usual, when the long fill is fairly easy to discern, the rest falls like a line of dominos. Of course, I had some missteps with Nike/Avia, Better/Betcha, and El Cid/Le Cid. Unknowns were Pappa, Sese, Rasa, and Herself, as clued. I didn’t hesitate at Tye because we’ve had that before. Duos were Refs/Reps and Avoid/Elude. CSOs to Moe (Moe), Keith (Emotes), and Ray O and Anon T (Pappa and Pizza Pie). Could someone enlighten me on what “The Last O.G.” translates to?
Thanks, Craig, for a very pleasant and satisfying solve and thanks, HG, for the usual serving of facts, fun, and food for thought!
I watched a Sandra Bullock movie, The Unforgivable, on Netflix last night. It was intense and disturbing because of the subject matter, but her performance was riveting and negated (mostly)any objectionable scenes.
Have a great day.
Lucina, FLN, a long time ago I tried Prevagen several times. It's OTC payed for out of pocket and It costs around $60 per bottle. I didn't follow the dosage instructions (two times a day) just took it once a day, and found no discernible difference.
ReplyDeleteI was very interested in the one that Mayim Bialik was touting, but it was just as expensive so I figured, no.
As for this wonderful Saturday puzzle I had to google father of the Amazons and Wagner's father in law.
I can't find the Christmas presents I hid when the grandkids came over to stay, with their parents, for over two weeks. We hope they'll be gone by Monday. Then I can really look for the presents! I need to wrap them!
Becky
Not a bad Saturday puzzle. With just of few perps the three long across clues filled fast. (the "cental stack?)
ReplyDeleteBut...the NE drove me nuts 🙄..all I had was "past" from PAST tense. Went through all fruit the PIES 🥧 and "sports" balls 🏀 I could think of. Then spelt matza wrong. I was also sure it was zuPPA al pomodoro, "tomato soup"; PAPPA usually translates as "pap" (baby food). Here's a recipe. Make sure you pronounce the two PP's otherwise you'll end up with Pope with tomatoes. 🤣ALTOIST? TYE? SPREE? (Toot?), TEHEE (who giggles "teh hee"?) ...But did I finally FIR? You BETCHA 😊...Inkovers: I don't know/IVENOIDEA, bat/RAT, tau/TAI
When I was pledging my Frat in 1968 (18) I was expected and able to rattle off the Greek Alphabet at the drop of a pledge hat. Maintained that ability for years. Not anymore. That it would help in my doddering years to do Crosswords? hoo gnu? (though today "pi" is, but "chi" is not a Greek letter)
Wouldn't "Wagner's FIL" be Natalie Wood's Dad? 🤭 "Calls on a field" this time not baa 🐑 or moo 🐄. As an avid gym rat 🤣🤣😂...REPS and sets are not the same. (like "games" do not = "sets" in Tennis) Jeff Bezos (Hi jinx!) wouldn't fit for "father of the Amazon" oh..AmazonS. Canada Eh, do Ontarians et al. go the EXTRAkilometer? By the by, from an earlier puzzle, isn't it Québeckers not Québecers. (Our Uni roommate used to pronounce his town "Tronno")
Gramps youngest sister was Great Aunt Jenny LEONE (it. Iion). A common local last name.
What you can do to Mr. Potato Head....ADEER
Nothing...AVOID
"Not ired" in toddler-speak....NOMAD
Appreciate Craig's cameo appearance in the puzzle. That would be a fun signature for all or most CW authors.
Ray-O, CanadianEh! -- If I'm not mistaken you're not alone skipping that second T. Folks in Baltimore just say Ballmore.
ReplyDeleteIM -- We also watched The Unforgiveable last night. Worthwhile movie, IMO. Spoiler alert: The Power Of The Dog isn't about a dog.
Becky -- Earlier today I ordered a brain-improving supplement. This one wasn't quite so expensive. Then received an e-mail notifying me of my once-monthly "subscription." Took me less time to fire off a dissenting email that it's taken to write this comment.
Husker: Wonderful write-up & links. Good job!
ReplyDeleteWell I got my "Festivus Pole" already decorated ... can't wait to celebrate on December 23rd.
Hope everyone has a FUN and Safe week.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
A follow up
ReplyDeleteI posted a couple months ago that while mindlessly writing a check for my work disability biannual premium that at 71 would I even get payment on a claim.
Called the company and found out that I would NOT, not since age 65 and working part time. I wrote the comment as a FYI to anyone who is that age, working, and paying premiums to check and not be an idiot like me
After I posted to the blog I called the billing office. With a letter from our our practice manager indicating I have worked part time since age 65 I received a check today for the full amount of of those premiums.
Just sayin'
Hi Y'all! I hope Craig's cooking is easier to chew than this puzzle was for me. Not in his wheelhouse. Didn't even get on board. Filled it thanks to my old friend red-letters.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gary for your determined efforts to give us a good day.
I've been off the internet since Wed. and just caught up all the puzzles today. We had a horrible windstorm go thru about dark on Wed. blew huge branches out of the top of my big maple behind my house. One is at least a foot in diameter. They all laid out across my entire yard about 15 feet behind the house. If the wind had been from the north instead of blowing from the south, it might have taken my entire roof. Tore out my electric line from the pole to the house. Only house on the block without electricity. Opened my curtains & could see from the street light. No heat but the house didn't get below 61* all night. My kids didn't have electricity either so I stayed home. Next day I went to my daughter's to stay taking all my frozen & cold food out of the fridg. First time I'd left my place in two years, so it was kinda fun. Great electric crews had the line fixed within 48 hours. I feel blessed in that I wasn't on fire or completely blown away as were homes elsewhere. Glad to be home but still shaken up over it all. My backyard is a tangled mess of branches my SIL says he'll take care of. He and my daughter were very kind and thoughtful to me.
I liked this puzzle and am happy I was able to solve it without having to look anything up. Not that it was an easy puzzle; there was plenty to scratch my head about. I didn't know (or had forgotten) TYE, but SAFETY NET made it so. Like desper-otto the last letter I filled was the S in STEN and RASA.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant PZL, Mr. Stowe!
ReplyDeleteImmensely enjoyable. And nice to read your message to HuskerG, whose own contribution is excellent.
Proud of my own thoroughness and speed. I was in a better than usual frame of mind for tackling a Saturday toughie.
So, a little Ta ~DAH! bragging seems in order.
Interesting to read above that folks in Baltimore say "Ball'more." I know other cities of three or more syllables tend to be elided by their residents. Or they may use a nickname, like "Chi-town."
Or initials. Nobody in Los Angeles says anything but "Ell-Ay."
Yet growing up in San Francisco, I never heard anyone refer to it except as either "the City," or with its full name, all syllables in place.
And heaven protect any auslander who might commit the grievous error of using that two-syllable variation.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal, on the far side.
Its anagram (10 [or 12] of 15 letters) seems an outdated racist reference to a fear my mother had when she was a little girl in San Francisco. She said she was afraid to go near Chinatown because of the "Tong Wars," the little she was given to understand of fighting between major Chinese-American clans, at odds with one another over control of illegal gambling and "opium dens."
Such troubles were not well understood by white citizens who nevertheless feared getting caught up in such...
"ASIAN FEUDS"!
Or, for a couple more anagram letters, my mom specifically spoke of the strife she feared, that the clans were at each others' throats over a female who had betrayed a leader's secrets. We can anagram that as a concern over the...
"ASIAN 'SHE' FEUD"!!
All of this reminds me of the great gap of knowledge that has existed for too long between our racial and ethnic groups. A primary cause of misinformation has been the lack of social intercourse. This naturally leads to fantastically imagined stories that our minds conjure to "fill the gaps."
All her life, my mother made a point of walking around those metal lids to sidewalk storage elevators. She knew she was being silly. But as a young girl she had been convinced they were covers to "Chinese Opium Dens," and that they were rigged to open whenever a "naive white girl" stepped on them, so she would be tumbled down into the den, never again to be seen by her family!
OMK:
ReplyDeleteI am aghast at those stories! Why do people propogate such nonsense? It takes a lot of Imagination which could be put to better, more constructive use. End of rant.
Have I mentioned that I mailed all my Christmas cards today?
ReplyDeleteImportant things first ...
Dear PK, I am glad that your house was somewhat safe, and that you had a fairly good outcome, despite all the horrifying things that could have happened. God bless.
We, should be grateful for small mercies.... and do keep, an always hopeful, attitude.
May better luck follow you from now on.
I had a tough time with the puzzle, and nearly threw in the towel, but finally managed to complete it, by and by. Not familiar with many names, LISTZ etc., and never heard of TYE before.
Thank you Craig Stowe for a challenging puzzle. As a pun ... since you are a chef and culinary expert, it would have been more fun ... if your last name was STOVE ...
Thank you Husker Gary, for a super fine review. The email idea from the constructor is a fantastic idea ... you ( especially me, ) learn a lot.
Ray O Sunshine, if PAPPA in Tuscany means 'mush', do the tuscanians still call their fathers Pappas ? ... and do they mean it ?
I was all set to watch The Unforgiven on Netflix, but the Wiki article on the movie, says it is too horrific, and has low critics' reviews and a low general approval ratings 39 percent, ... so I will pass on it.
Sorry, the movie is Unforgivable ... Unforgiven was a 1992 movie, by Clint Eastwood, and was apparently a 'hit'.... what, with all the outlaws and "hit men" walking around...
( My mixup of the movie name is also unforgivable ...)
If Sese Seko embezzled $5 Billion from Zaire, .. I wonder where he parked it ? There are curiously very few things you can buy with $5 Billion on this earth ....
Irish Miss asked ... What does The Last O.G. translate to ?
The Last O.G. - is, per Google, The Last Original Gangster.
Beyond that, I don't know if anybody would be more interested ...... I guess, from now on, our current gangsta's are just imitations .... or reproductions.
You all have a nice evening, and the rest of the weekend.
ReplyDeleteLucina, not to be racist ... but merely a fact of history, it is true that in the late 1800's a lot of chinese immigrants came to the US, and they were not treated fairly, and were made to work as coolies and railroad building laborers, ... and a few of them, also, started opium ( and gambling - ) dens in LA and SanFrisco.
Later on, most all of them, were also subject to US Federal Laws, which were purely racist anti-chinese, anti-asian, non-immigration laws ( like against the Japanese during WW II - ) and were unfairly deported. I'm sure Wikipedia has many articles on this subject.
As for your memory loss issues, maybe you should consult a neurologist.
It is true our memory and analytical reasoning skills grow fainter, and less reliable as we age, but maybe a medical professional would be better in answering your concerns. Solving crossword puzzles is certainly good excersize. Best of Luck, and God Bless.
Vidwan, thank you for your good wishes. Appreciate them very much.
ReplyDeleteLucina ~ Remember, this was when the Chinese Exclusion Act was still in effect. My mom was not immune to the effects caused by her leaders in Washington. The stories she believed were the tales she was fed in her most impressionable years.
ReplyDeleteYou ask how it is people propagate nonsense. A good question! It goes right to the heart of the human mind, desperate to create "information" to fill any gap, whether that gap is imposed or volitional.
If we could better know the mind we would have a clearer understanding of why such false narratives take hold--and why we feed them to children.
Nowadays we witness a similar phenomenon on several levels. We see stories made up about Asians in connection with the pandemic, and we see stories made up on a broad political level when folk choose to remain in their own social bubbles.
"What fools these mortals be!"
~ OMK
DO @ 2:19 ~ In case you’re serious and not being your usual prankster-self, I’m aware that The Power of the Dog isn’t canine centric, at least based on the clips I’ve seen. I’m not fond of Westerns but I’m not sure that it’s a true Western, either. Do you recommend it?
ReplyDeletePK @ 4:03 ~ Sorry you went through such turmoil. I’m sure your SIL’s efforts will return you to some normalcy.
Vidwan @ 6:37 ~ Thanks for clearing up the The Last O. G. meaning.
Vidwan and OMK:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your insights on past racial discrimination. As an avid reader as well as a member of a minority group, I am quite aware of those past practices. I deem it tragic and truly hope that our race (human) can grow out them. Most of you don't know and there is no reason that you would, that my late husband was black as, of course, is our daughter. Growing up she suffered greatly in school as she was usually the only person of her race in the entire school here in Scottsdale. That has now changed greatly as I see many minority people shopping, walking, biking and otherwise in plain evidence of their residency.
For many years, until the laws changed in the late 50s, Hispanics and other minorities were forbidden to live in the northern section of Phoenix.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIR with a ton of W/O’s; too many to LISZT; most have been said by others
If this had been MY puzzle, the “seed word” would of course been MOE
ReplyDeleteLucina, I was not aware of your marital history, and it is a revelation. I do however marvel at your generous attitude and, what shall I call it, your equanimity, your calmness and composure in all mundane matters. I have always taken that as a carryover from your previous milieu of having been a nun.
Being a minority has always been taxing and one has to develop a certain thick skin and a certain self confidence to move around in society. It took me about 30 years to stop feeling different from the rest of the people out here. Now, nothing bothers me at all.
Nine months ago, when I was having my first COVID Vaccination shot, the person behind me asked me, how long I had been ( lived ) in the US ! I answered him politely, and it didn't bother me at all ... in fact I later laughed about it, and told all my friends. My proficiency in the english language is very high, but my indian english accent will remain with me for the rest of my life ....
The good thing is, my two kids don't feel any different from any other americans. They were born here, and educated here, and have an american accent .... and unfortunately, also an american attitude. Our indian attitude of a feeling of deprivation, of inferiority, of insecurity, and of gratitude to this country has diluted a lot ... and also our respect for elders, of humility at all juntures, of respect for societal etiquette, and of our culture ... has also flown out the window. ( Defenestration ?)
Whether we like it or not, they will make their own world of their own choosing.
I have written enough, end of rant. Good night.
Your talk about being different and racism reminded me of my mother's friends who went to Arizona for the winter for several years. I can't remember where, but it may have been on an Indian reservation. We lived in an all white rural area and these friends were white. I heard my mom ask the friend when they were leaving for Arizona one fall. The friend replied that they weren't going back to Arizona because their two kids were the only white children in the school, couldn't make friends and were "picked on". The little girl never really got over her bad treatment when she came back. She was always shy & fearful. Don't know how she is as an adult.
ReplyDelete