google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday May 30, 2022 Catherine Cetta

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May 30, 2022

Monday May 30, 2022 Catherine Cetta

Theme: TREEHUGGERS (55. Nature lovers, and what the answers to the starred clues literally are)

20. *Mahalia Jackson's genre: GOSPEL MUSIC.

29. *Colorful top with a tropical design: ALOHA SHIRT.

45. *Trial figure who can give a firsthand account: EYE WITNESS.

Boomer here.  

Happy and safe Memorial Day to one and all!  I noticed that there are tree tree-letter basic trees hidden in this puzzle.  Sometimes it is difficult to type an H when you can only use one hand.

Across:

1. Dart around like a hummingbird: FLIT.  I have seen them, but I never heard them hum.
 

 

5. Like 9-Across that has lost its fizz: FLAT.  No problem. Have iced tea or coffee.

9. Dark drink with fizz: COLA.  Diet Pepsi is my favorite. Or coffee.  However medical orders before surgery is NO caffeine!

13. Easier to write neatly on, probably: LINED.  Or run to bases or make a first down.

15. Like tinned sardines: OILY.  No thanks.

16. Las Vegas WNBA team: ACES.

17. "Drive Happy" car rental company: ALAMO.  Hi up Santa Anna, we're killing your soldiers below.  So the rest of Texas will know...  and remember the Alamo. 

18. Harvest: REAP.  C.C. planted some green beans in the garden.  I will let you know how they taste.  Maybe in August.

19. School gps.: PTAS. Parents Tell Teachers About Something.

23. Poem of praise: ODE.

24. "Passing" actress Thompson: TESSA.


25. "Friendly" cartoon ghost: CASPER.  Named after a city in Wyoming.

27. Abbr. between names: AKA.  Also Known As Boomer

32. Contributor with deep pockets: FAT CAT.

35. Esteem: VALUE.

36. Layers on tall wedding cakes: TIERS.  It may take a while to cut pieces.

37. Orchestra __: PIT.

38. Greek storyteller who coined "sour grapes": AESOP.  Sounds like a fable to me.

42. German steel city: ESSEN.  I was in Hardheim.  Not close to Essen.
 
 
44. Current influence on the weather?: EL NINO.

49. "__ Is a Woman": Ariana Grande song: GOD.

50. Hair gel alternative: MOUSSE.  I just use a can of spray, when I have hair. 

51. Joyous song: PAEAN.

54. Wrinkly pup: PUG.

60. Actor Guinness: ALEC.  Obi-Wan Kenobi!


62. Cathedral section: NAVE.  I've been going to church for years and I never heard the center called a NAVE!

63. Passion: ARDOR.

64. Fork prong: TINE.  Use all four to eat.

65. Mouse mover: USER.

66. Rational believer: DEIST.

67. Stiletto, for one: HEEL.  Walk carefully.  Do not fall!

68. "A __ formality": MERE.  So small.

69. One-named singer from County Donegal: ENYA.

Down:

1. Mark as important: FLAG.  Oh say can you see?

2. "__ & Stitch": LILO.

3. Too worked up to relax: IN A STATE.  I am in Minnesota.  I'm sure most of you are in a state too.

4. City between Phoenix and Mesa: TEMPE.  Arizona gets almost as much snow as Minnesota.  But only in high elevation.

5. Like most proms: FORMAL.  I never had to rent a tux.  I just wore my white glee club outfit. I'm on the most right.


 

 6. In __ of: LIEU.

7. Word of sorrow: ALAS. A LAS Vegas word of sorrow.

8. "You're so predictable": TYPICAL.  You knew I might write my #7 comment.

9. Mushroom top: CAP.  Mine has a TC logo.

Boomer & Hall-of-Famer Tony Oliva, 11/21/2011

10. Sea creatures with eight arms: OCTOPI.

11. Front-runner: LEADER.  That's when I fell for ... The LEADER of the pack. Shangra-Las

12. Stand up for (oneself): ASSERT.

14. Female deer: DOES.  Re, a drop of golden sun.

21. Aspiring atty.'s exam: LSAT.  Never took that one, whew.

22. Unlike most proms: CASUAL.  Okay for sock hops.  Are they still called that, or am I showing old age?

26. High shine: SHEEN.  A bishop with a TV show years ago.

27. To the rear, at sea: AFT.

28. "Cobra __": Netflix series based on "The Karate Kid": KAI.



30. Just like ewe: OVINE.  Baa, Baa.

31. Beret, e.g.: HAT.  In the Army it was always required to have something besides hair on you head.

33. Rowing teams: CREWS.  I used to row a fishing boat all by myself.

34. Pass that leads to a successful basket: ASSIST. I am not much of an NBA fan

37. Signing-ceremony memento: PEN.  I collect Twins player autographs, but I never collected the pen. See more here.

39. Entered a username, say: SIGNED IN

40. Singer Yoko: ONO.  OH NO, it's ONO

41. Okra unit: POD.  Two peas in it.

43. Breastbone: STERNUM.

44. Biblical twin: ESAU.  Isaac's kid.  Jacob's brother.

45. One who feels another's pain: EMPATH.  My EMPATHY goes out to those families who lost children in Uvalde, Texas.

46. "That's not true!": YOU LIE.  Your nose will grow.

47. Oregon city on the Willamette: EUGENE.  My uncle Gus' first name.

48. Orb: SPHERE.

52. "My stars!": EGAD.

53. Match, as subjects and verbs: AGREE

56. Alleviate: EASE.

57. "Don't you __ stop!?": EVER.  NOPE

58. Pinkish: ROSY.  Like Ms. O'Donnell.

59. Spanish miss: Abbr.: SRTA.

61. Cartoon frame: CEL. Almost a phone.

Boomer

 

52 comments:

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a fine Monday solve with an obvious theme and a cute reveal. I’m resigned to circles on early week puzzles for the sake of newbies. Empath might slow a newbie up, though. I like the consistency of the trees all being three letters. Some fun pairings were: Flit/Flat/Flag, God/Deist, Nave/Paean, Assist/Assert, Alas/Egad, and Hat/Cap. We also were treated to some creature comfort with Cat, Pug, Octopi, Ovine, Does, Pod, Pen, and Heel. CSOs to Lucina (El Nino, Srta and Tempe, also Moe), Owen and Moe (Ode), and DO and Jinx (Aft and Crews).

Thanks, Catherine, for a pleasant start to the week and thanks, Boomer, for the chuckles and the commentary and, most of all, for your dedication and inspiration in light of your physical afflictions. Best of luck for tomorrow’s surgery.

FLN

Wilbur, sorry to hear about your neighbor.

Misty, sincere sympathy on the loss of your dad.

Anon T, best wishes for many happy and healthy years in your new home.

I have no problem with an abundance of proper names, or even obscure words, IF they are crossed fairly and not clued in an obtuse way. What I do have a problem with is cluing ordinary common nouns with a proper /name noun reference. This is not only unnecessary and distracting but it adds to the profusion of the unavoidable usage of some proper nouns. Today’s clue for Aces is a perfect example. I was happy to see Mr. Bywaters’ comments on this issue yesterday. As far as the puzzles skewing towards a younger demographic, the same standards should apply, i.e., fair cluing and fair crosses.

Have a safe and reflective Memorial Day.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Back to the good ole days -- circles that d-o failed to notice, and a reveal that d-o failed to read. This one was fast, fast, fast. Thanx, Catherine and Boomer. (Good luck tomorrow.)

FLIT : We've got a hummingbird feeder in the back yard. Instead of a crowd, we have just a few regular visitors this year.

Subgenius said...

I wonder what Anonymous DNLC and others have against circles? Is it that they make the puzzle too easy? This puzzle WAS easy but I don't blame the circles. I just think it is a natural attribute of Monday puzzles. Anyway, FIR so I'm happy.

Bluehen said...

Boomer,
Thoughts and prayers, always.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased nmi for AKA. Should have waited, as I did for lila/LILO and signed on / SIGNED IN. I knew KAI because of the stoopid commercial where the joke is "koala KAI". My stepson 'splained why it was funny.

TIERS on a wedding cake? In my experience, the tears don't come until a year or two after the ceremony.

This is obviously a sexist-pig puzzle. We always see EL NINO, never la nina, which also has major effect on weather.

I prefer hearing "Don't you DARE stop". Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end...

FLN: -T said "'Try the LAT XWord now. ENOCH's in and OONA's out,' how would the kids know? :-)" They wouldn't know, unless they see it on TikTok or WhatsAPP.

Thanks to our second CC for the fun Monday grid, to Boomer for the amusement, and to Patti for not ruining it. Hope everyone has a meaningful Memorial Day.

Lemonade714 said...

Never forget those who served and those who sacrificed.

Boomer, you are a continuing inspiration and have my wishes and prayers for this week and always.

A C.C.2 and a fine Monday, thank you Catherine a wonderful puzzle setter.

KS said...

FIR. Got the theme, and did not need the circles to do it. I don't like circles because when it comes to crosswords I am a purist, and circles are just decorations and nothing more!

ATLGranny said...

FIR on Memorial Monday. As usual I have WOs due to my rush to fill, but the puzzle was so much fun! Thanks, Catherine. With ELM in the first themer, I guessed we were collecting trees, but TREE HUGGER was a surprise. As I started out with FLIT and FLAT, I wished the next were "flop" referring to the New Coke COLA, rolled out in 1985.

I noticed the proper names were solvable with perp help which I needed for KAI. Thanks, Boomer, for your helpful review and humorous additions. We appreciate your faithfulness to the blog, even when you have to type it with one hand. Best wishes for your surgery tomorrow!

Thanks for a few more smiles, Jinx. After reading your post, I found the Koala Kai commercial you mentioned.

FLN: Sorry to hear about your neighbor, WC.

There is much to think about this Memorial Day and people to remember....

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone! Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who died serving our Country during war. Veterans Day is a day of respect for those who have served our Country in the military. I am shocked that most Americans don’t know this.
The puzzles are usually really good. Really dislike the proper names, especially actors and rap artists. Other than that, very good. Thanks to all for your very enjoyable and thoughtful input.
Good luck and God’s blessings to Boomer and CC during your difficult times.

Anonymous said...

Took 3:39 to finish this one today. A rare finish in sub-4 minute time for me.

Oh joy, circles.

Subgenius, I don't care for the circles because they usually are part of a theme that has 3 or 4 words which all contain either jumbled letters or a word that is broken/split/hugging/etc. In my opinion, the "cost" of those themes (and many others) outweighs the benefits of seeing, for example, three 3-letter trees.
I appreciate the stance that the early week circles are good for beginners.

Please remember to remember this Memorial Day.

waseeley said...

Thank you CC2 for a pleasant start to the week. I didn't finish this in the usual "left to right, top-down fashion", but I did manage a FIR. The theme and the circles were helpful. BEGIN RANT: IMHO* themes are provided to make puzzles easier to solve. It is doubtful that most of us (MERE mortal solvers) would have picked up the three letter trees in the themers without circles before the reveal, which was a GIMME, thus the themers wouldn't have helped with the solve. :END RANT.

Thank you Doug AKA Boomster for another delightful review. You pun better with one hand than I do with too. We're praying for you and your surgeon.

A few favs:

16A ACES. Learned a new WNBA team!

32A FATCAT. Deep pockets on both sides of the aisle are ruining this country.

38A AESOP. The fabled wisdom of this man seems eternal.

50A MOUSSE. I prefer chocolate and I'd rather eat it than put it in my hair.

51A PAEAN. This puzzle was a PAEAN to trees. What would we do without them?

1D FLAG. The first thing Teri did today was put out the FLAG to remember all the brave souls who died defending freedom for this country.

45D EMPATH. The US is suffering from an acute shortage of EMPATHS.

Cheers,
Bill

* Of course some people may think they're added to make the puzzle more difficult to solve. ☹

waseeley said...

Make that "two".

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-DW (“Doctor Wife”) prescribes FLAT 7-UP and soda crackers for an upset stomach
- On March 11, 1945, the Royal Air Force reduced much of the city of ESEEN to rubble when 1,079 British aircraft dropped over 4,700 pounds of bombs on the city.
-Bad Husker FB is testing the ARDOR of FAT CAT donors
-Teacher dress today is uber CASUAL
-EUGENE is known as the track and field capital of America
-Verb/subject agreement: I have a friend who says, “I done that already”
-Off to Memorial Day Services

CrossEyedDave said...

First Monday puzzle in a long time that took more than across and down.
I had to also fill in many blanks...

only have one nit,
and it's not with the puzzle, it's about tiers...

At the wedding, I was served a piece of wedding cake that was black and white.
I only found out from DW the next day that the cake had alternating tiers of
Black and white and velvet!

If I had known I would have had another piece!

Wilbur Charles said...

Boomer, our green beans are already up and I picked a few last week.

I didn't know my APSE from my NAVE at first. My main inkover

Don't over think it, as Bishop Sheen has said
"Too much reasoning leaves the modern soul dead "

Marines don't cover when inside nor salute sans cover*

So Jinx. Why is "Koala KAI" funny?

Koala KAI commercial. Geico also showed up but I couldn't catch the ref.

Smooth, fast solve but CC2 used imagination with the clueing. Boomer, posting on Android is always one finger

WC

*USMC for what's on the head

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Started with a series of blanks which quickly perpfilled...One inkover: carol/PÆEN (Shoulda perpwaited). Catherine, YEW didn't fool anyone with that 🌳TREEHUGGER theme 😁. But WAZ I agree, no way I woulda seen those tree letter jumbles without the circles.

OCTOPI 🐙 as has been pointed out is incorrect in that the "us" is not a masculine Latin ending. It is part of "pus" foot (8 feet) so the plural should be octopuses or octopodes..The same would hold for platypus (flat foot) oh and airline stewardessess not 😃

Hummingbirds simply don't know the words.

Boomer many churches are no longer built in the shape of a Latin ✝️ cross: central NAVE with "transept" so they don't technically have a NAVE anymore.

Lately actor Charlie has lost his .... SHEEN
Crocodile____ ....TIERS
Get better....HEEL
Lacing....TINE
" _____ are no gentleman! "....USER
Our Chairman's Texas desert: pie ___ ALAMO
Cross a moose with a mouse...MOUSSE.

Nice day 🇺🇸...enjoy.


unclefred said...

Marvelous Monday. FIR in 12, saw the theme and had no W/Os. DNK TESSA, but perped in easily. Thanx, CC2 for the delightful Monday CW. I hope everyone has a great memorial day.

Monkey said...

What a lovely, easy puzzle today. I’m happy.

CanadianEh! said...

Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Catherine and Boomer.
I FIRed in good time and saw the TREEs in the circles (but thought the HUGGing was a little weak, since only the trees in the first two themers were actually in the middle).

I smiled from the star with FLIT moving to FLAT.
And FLAG for your Memorial Day. Someone here educated this Canadian re your custom of putting flags on the graves of veterans on this day. We do that on Remembrance Day in November.

I noted CAP and HAT (I toyed with Tam).
I had enough perps to enter NAVE and not Apse.
PEN was clued just before SIGNED IN (I toyed with On), but was not needed for USER to do digital signing.

Perps were required for ACES, EUGENE. I had Level before LINED.
My sinus and radish seeds planted last week are sprouting, but I will need to wait patiently to REAP tomatoes.

Mini- religious theme (no comments please) with GOSPEL, GOD (crossing POD), EGAD crossing DEIST.

Wishing you all a great Memorial Day. Read you all later.

inanehiker said...

Late solving today - not only because I don't have to work but I'm in Seattle visiting sweet Baby James (and his parents)

Fun and fast puzzle today. I never mind the circles - I just consider it in the variety of puzzles out there. I don't get NYT - but my mom does so I sometimes solve those when I visit her - I don't like their gimmicky Thursdays.

Thanks Boomer for the fun blog - prayers for calmness today and successful surgery tomorrow!
Thanks Catherine for the puzzle - I'm in the land of TREEHUGGERS so apropos

Bluehen said...

Hosting a neighborhood cookout this afternoon, as much as anything to prove to the neighbors that (to paraphrase Mark Twain) the rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. I can't blame them for wondering, though. The EMTs have been to my house so much lately that we're going to start exchanging Christmas cards. Hamburgers (50/50 personally ground chuck and brisket) with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and the usual condiments available; hot dogs with that neon green relish that Chicagoans relish, sauerkraut, chili, cheese, onions, etc.; bratwurst with the usual accoutrements. Also, homemade Bacon/ranch baked potato salad, Amish macaroni salad, Mr. Ron's Gourmet Coleslaw, watermelon, and finally, strawberry shortcake for dessert. If anybody goes home hungry, it won't be my fault. I had better get going. Some early birds are already lounging by the pool with the young lions. TTFN! Cya!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

WC, if you have to explain a joke, it failed. But that has never de-turd me! It is my understanding, without having actually viewing it, that the star of the online series (or movie, not sure) about a karate shop named Cobra Kai plays a take-no-prisoners hard-ass karate instructor. In the commercial, he is kinda a wus who has created a dojo called "Koala Kai" for kidlets, and he interrupts one of his neophytes to demand "more mercy".

After you stop ROTFLYAO, I'll let you in on the AT&T commercial with the good-looking guy that winks at the camera. He is a NFL QB who toiled in obscurity for Detroit before becoming famous as a Ram. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, huh? Had to look that one up - my SS didn't know that one either. (I'm sure my grandson knows - he seems to know everyone in pro sports.)

C-Eh - We have two holidays that celebrate the men and women of our armed services. Today is only about those who died in battle or as a result of those battles. The other one, Veteran's Day, celebrates all of the past and present members of the USA armed forces. It is celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, although the entire day honours them.

OwenKL said...

Wrote this last night, for yesterday's puzzlr, but fell asleep before I could post it.

EL NINO helps keeps weather stable,
Hurricanes won't be so able.
His sister La Nino
Is a bad bambino!
She causes chaos from her cradle!

{C+}

Lucina said...

Hola! Happy Memorial Day greetings to everyone, especially those who have served!

Thank you, Catherine Cetta and Boomer for jump-starting my Monday morning! Easy fill though I did FLIT from one cell to another.

I've seen the Kublai KAI commercial but, of course, never understood it.

Since I solve the puzzle in PEN, I had to replenish my supply when the ink ran out.

Our church is very large so there is not much distinction between the NAVE and the APSE. These days, post pandemic, the crowd is gradually increasing every Sunday. And since our choir director moved away, the number of singers is dwindling but the remaining few do a robust job.

FLAT is the only way I like COLA otherwise it is too strong.

Boomer, thank you for posting a photo of ENYA who, though often in puzzles, I had never seen.

Please enjoy your holiday, everyone!



Lucina said...

Owen:
His sister would be a NINA and ergo, a BAMBINA. Otherwise, a clever poem.

Misty said...

Loved this Monday puzzle, many thanks, Catherine. And so glad to see you Boomer, with those two great pictures of you. You and C.C. will be in my heart tomorrow, praying that your procedure goes well.

That FLAT COLA was the first set to crack me up--hope it was served with some OILY sardines.

Nice to get a bunch of names this morning, like AESOP, and ALEC, and ENYA. (Wonder if any of them is a DEIST?)

Always makes me happy to see that Subgenius is happy--and this morning Tante Nique was happy too.

Thank you for the kind condolence, Irish Miss.

Have a great week coming up, everybody.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun & easy fill, thanks, Catherine, liked the theme. Always chuckle-worthy, Boomer. I'll be remembering you in prayer tomorrow. Good luck!

Memorial Day for generations of my family has been for remembering family members who passed. Three generations of us would always decorate graves together in five cemeteries when I was a kid. I got my start as a genealogist then. My husband & kids & I would always put flowers on his family graves after I was married. We had military people in the family but they were living at the time except for several who died in the Civil War and were buried elsewhere.

CED: was hoping to hear more about your wedding. Was the cake the best thing that happened?

Bluehen: glad to hear you are up and well enough to host a party. Welcome back.

Called my daughter today who was almost incoherent in telling me her 15-yr.-old doggy is in kidney failure and hospitalized trying to save him. When I got her calmed down I was glad to hear that it was her dog, because I thought she said it was her husband. Hubby is well, thank heavens.

Picard said...

Boomer and CC Wishing you the best for the surgery tomorrow and for a speedy and complete recovery.

Since I am a TREE HUGGER I loved the theme!

Ray O Sunshine Thank you for the continued reminder about OCTOPI. Here is another example: Would you say SOURPI as a plural for SOURPUS? In the latter case, PUS comes from the Irish word for "lip".

Here is my photo of a CEL from the Peanuts show "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown"

At the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA. Who else has been there? Quite a treat for any Peanuts fan.

Hand up loved seeing DEIST today. The view of many of our Founders and pretty close to my own.

And yesterday when I saw VESTA I meant to note that VESTA is the only asteroid visible to the naked eye.

CanadianEh! said...

Jinx- thanks for explaining about the two American days. And PK for elaborating more. It seems we combine ours all into one on Nov. 11.

Misty- sorry to hear of your dad’s passing. I always think of him now when we have RCA in a CW.

Boomer and C.C. - thoughts and prayers for the best result on your surgery.

Blue hen - that menu sounds relish! Hope you are feeling better and no more ENT visits needed.

inanehiker- enjoy your time away with the family.

CED- yes, we want more wedding news . . .

I see that I missed some proper spelling yesterday - theatre and odour. LOL.

oc4beach said...


I didn't even notice the circles until the puzzle was done, so as far as I was concerned, they had no bearing on the solution. It took me a little longer than usual to solve (12 minutes) but still was an enjoyable Monday level puzzle.

I keep saying Oh No when I see ONO in a puzzle. I realize it's a 3 letter easy fill, but it's time for her retirement. One of my other pet peeves used to be 4 and 5 letter European rivers, but I don't think there have been many of those lately.

I didn't know TESSA, but the other names were known. Plus perps filled her in nicely.

I agree, Coke did sort of blow it back in the 80's when they came out with the "New Coke". If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I drink Pepsi (Decaf) now. Doctors have ruled out any caffeine for me.

We live near Boalsburg, PA, a village that takes credit for starting the celebration of Memorial Day back in 1864. As part of the celebration, the fire department has a carnival every year and there are Civil War Re-Enactors firing cannons and muskets. Eventually the Boalsburg Cemetery will end up being my ultimate permanent home (not yet though).

Boomer and C.C. - Hope all goes well.

Have a great day everyone and celebrate the day.

Kelly Clark said...



Thanks, Boomer -- fun puzzle and great write-up. Through the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen, may your surgery be guided by the Almighty Physician.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Oc4beach..

The small central NY community of Waterloo has dibs as the birthplace of Memorial Day as well

Cananda eh..Don't know about the rest of the US but where we live Memorial Day, besides honoring the war dead is expanded to honoring deceased family members by planting flowers at graves sites usually geraniums. I suspect in part because weather-wise it's finally safe to plant annuals

🌺

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle except for OCTOPI. I saw there were circles and then promptly neglected to look at them or take them into consideration when solving, only looking at them afterward. I misspelled CASPER as CASPAR but easily fixed it when filling LEADER. I thought I was so clever putting in HAND as the mouse mover, but USER it had to be. I also had to change APSE to NAVE and NEE to AKA. Didn't know TESSA, KAI, nor ACES as clued, but the perps were fair.

Somehow I view a FATCAT not as a contributor but rather as someone who hoards his wealth and does not give it away. To me the term has a negative connotation: "Those damn fat cats in Washington."

I went to college in EUGENE. Four very happy and fruitful years. Our son and his family lived in TEMPE for about 25 happy years and both his kids went to ASU there. He just recently bought a house in Marin County, CA, (Mill Valley, to be precise) and is moving in as I write this.

My wife often FLITS around, especially when at the supermarket. I have learned not to even try to follow her when I am pushing the cart. And when she says, "Okay, I'm ready to go," I know it's still going to be 10 or 15 minutes.

I have been sort of a tepid TREE HUGGER even before ever having seen and been awed by the magnificent redwoods in California.

Good wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

"Peach tree" dishes? The Nazi "garbanzo"? Really? It seems all those kids who had a crappy education 30 years ago are now grown up and getting into positions of power and leadership. Sheesh!

Vidwan827 said...


Thank you Catherine Cetta for a very enjoyable Monday puzzle, I did not notice the trees until I had solved the entire pozzle, .... nice bonus.

I always thought that TREE HUGGER was a pejorative ...best not mentioned. Picard, I also am a DEIST, although I first came across the word when I read about the Founding Fathers of our country, and I was Very Impressed, .... what a difference they had, and they made, .... about not establishing a state religion ... probably one the first true secular concepts .... at that time.!!!@!!

India, is also supposed to be, a secular republic, although strong elements of hinduism is always in the background. Some people, from other religions have a problem, where and when the country is represented as Mother India, ... as a woman in a sari.

Misty, my condolences for your recent loss.

Boomer and CC, best wishes and prayers for a successful operation tomorrow. May your other troubles ease substantially, as well. You are an inspiration to us all, and a great inspiration to some of us, who also have gone through a myriad of medical problems.

I too, was recently, taking Acet aminophen (Tylenol ) and Oxycodone, for my pain, until I finally realized the OC was just putting me to sleep, and most of the pain was being eased by the Tylenol, by itself.
BTW, my first job, an unpaid internship, involved the batch manufacture of Acetyl Amino Phenol, ( same thing -) from 3 Cyano-Pyridine. Tylenol was not even trademarked then, and the product, was a prescription drug, under strict limitations, with limited availablility.

We MUST be VERY grateful to those brilliant researchers, in 1947, by David Lester and Leon Greenberg, and in 1948 by Julius Axelrod and Bernard Brodie, especially at the Natl Insts of Health (NIH) whose comprehensive research proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that Tylenol or Panadol, was a safe and by and large, an effective product, and eventually made it more popular than Aspirin.

Let us take a few moments to remember the soldiers and others who died for our country's freedom.
The Civil War remembrances must be particularly sad, since there were Americans, ... on both sides ....

Re::: Diet Pepsi ... was my favorite drink, even more than coffee ... but had to stop because my kidneys could not filter out the atoms/ ions of POtassium ... an atom next-larger than the smallest alkaline element, Sodium. Since my transplant, I have had 2 bottles of Diet Pepsi over the 4 month period ... but I dont want to push my luck.

A mouse mover in the Slavic, is not USER but USSR...

Some of my forks, including the tuning forks, have only 2 tines..
Learned how to spell PAEAN correctly, I first had PSALM...

Have a great Memorial Day, you all, and a great week ahead.



Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Catherine for a fine Monday puzzle. I didn't notice the circles until the reveal.

Thanks for the expo, AKA Boomer. Nice pic w/ Tony Oliva! God Speed tomorrow.

WOs: ROSe; I was going for climate at EL NINO and put in CAin before V8 "not a twin."
ESP: TESSA
Fav: Liked FORMAL & CASUAL juxtaposition

Anyone else think NMI (no middle initial) @AKA before perp-checking?

{B- //what Lucina said}

ATLGranny / IM - There's much angst re: the move... I mean, have you seen my garage? //and that's only a tiny slice of all my tools.

Jinx - re: " unless they see it on TikTok or WhatsAPP." Perhaps that's why I've not seen the LAT's out-reach campaign. :-)
FLN - my buckEYE for you to WITNESS.

Bluehen - nice to read you (and your menu!) today. Send leftovers to P.O. Box... and stay on the mend.

CED - re: wedding - there's gotta be more TIERs to the onion (??). Give us the dish...

Jayce - as an engineer, how does you're wife FLITting about a straight-forward task not drive you nuts? I do 99% of the grocery shopping alone or w/ Eldest (who has my temperament). I have a list on a sticky-note that I paste to the cart-handle and a plan of attack. I'm in and out faster than an analogous traveling-salesman solution.

WC et.al. - The QuickBooks commercial is funny 'cuz Cobra KAI's sensei show'd no mercy.

Ray-O: I kinda like Stewardi; we should respect their authoriti in the sky.

@8:20 is right - Veteran's Day is for those who've served; Memorial Day is for those who lost their lives while serving. I never saw combat nor knew anyone who was killed in war; but today is hard on my (Army) Bro who lost many buddies in combat.
I think Memorial Day should also be for those who came back but aren't quite the same. I was told Maternal Gramps was never the same after WWII. My Bro suffers PTSD and cannot do crowds - he goes adrenaline high-alert and will hurt you if you joke funny (just ask my (CEO) Bro :-)).

Well, Youngest is now safely in Baltimore to begin her Summer gig at Johns Hopkins so...
nap-time for daddy.

Cheers, -T

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Picard..like you I'm not one of the ignorami who thought the popular TV series "This is US" was about Latin masculine word endings. 🙄

Vid ...great to hear you're taking good care of your transplant. (I wouldn't mention it though if you plan a visit to the Sunshine State...)..😃

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2
-My condolences too, Misty.
-We are back from a day of cemeteries and remembering. Even 30 – 40 mph winds failed to decrease the crowds.
-My money is on Boomer tomorrow.
-I don’t know why some people hate circles and some don’t notice them

Anonymous said...

Charles Schulz used to sit in his office on the second floor of his charming museum in Santa Rosa and greet all of his fans.

Anonymous said...

Best wishes to Boomer and CC for a good result tomorrow!

CrossEyedDave said...

They tell me the professional photos of the wedding will not be available for 6 weeks, however there are a few that DW took
(I am not in any of them)...

here is the cake.
Many remarked about the old style groom and bride topper,
DW tells me that it was our cake topper from 35 years ago!
It has been sitting in our dining room breakfront all these years hiding from me.
(I have male refrigerator blindness. It could be right in front of me & I wouldn't see it...)

here is Samantha, (daughter #2) in our house just before the wedding.

on the way to the Church, in a white Rolls Royce...

At the Church, taken by a friend in the singing group.

Bride & Groom

& a trespasser in the backyard that crashed the getting ready party...

CanadianEh! said...

Thanks CED. Beautiful hoots of a beautiful bride!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

-T: Nice tool collection; nice buckEYE. At work we had a similar simulation problem to the TSP at our Government Systems division. Our problem was to develop software to assist if the US was attacked by bombers. Our assigned problem was how to determine in real time whether our defenses should be concentrated on the bombers, or on the tankers. Don't want to shoot down the tankers when the bombers can reach friendly air bases, and don't want to shoot down the tankers when the bombers can reach us without tanking. In between it is probably best to shoot down the tankers. Lots of variables, like routes, potential targets, weather, weapons systems involved, probability of success, etc. IIRC, that was our first wade into the world of primitive AI.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

CED, I would never comment on the bride's / your daughter's hoots. I'll leave that to our friend in the north.

CanadianEh! said...

Oh Jinx, you gave me my LOL moment for the evening. Did I write that?!
This Canadian is red-faced and sorry for my auto-correct error. Serves me right for pushing Publish Your Comment too quickly. The word was supposed to be photos.
Sincere apologies to CED and Samantha.

Jayce said...

Thanks for sharing the photos, Dave.

PK said...

CED: thanks for the beautiful bride pictures. With so much bad news in the past few days, happy news is very welcome. May they have a long, happy & prosperous life. By the way, my girls used my wedding cake topper on their wedding cakes, too. Glad the father of the bride survived the festivities.

waseeley said...

-T what's youngest studying at Hopkins?

LEO III said...

FIR, and I got the theme.

The circles don't bother me at all. Just another part of some puzzles, and I've mentioned before that they sometimes contribute to my finishing the puzzle correctly.

Pepsi ever since I was 10; Diet Pepsi ever since the doctor told me I am pre-diabetic (which means I'm already diabetic). Never thought I'd ever do diet anything (well, there was diet beer, as in Coors Light, but that pretty much stopped about 23 years ago). Funny how things work out sometimes.

LEO III said...

Thanks, Catherine and Boomer! Nice puzzle and expo!

Good luck, Boomer and C.C.

Anonymous T said...

Jinx - LOL calling out C,Eh!'s auto-correct and yeah... CED's #2 is a beaut. Good on you CED. Thanks for sharing your kid's special day you proud Papa, you.

You took the err gracefully, C,Eh!

Waseeley - Youngest is there on a research thingie... I'm not entirely sure why they're giving her $$, but she's going to be researching rhetoric as pertains to successful Supreme Court arguments given the make of the Court at that time... Or something like that.
This kid... this kid!?!
//my loins? :-)
[there's your Coors Light aside-reference LeoIII :-)]

Youngest was 9yrs old in the back seat headed to school listening to Sotomayor's confirmation recap on NPR (#NINATotenberg) and said "I want to be one of the people who reign Supreme all over the land..." #Throwback #DisneyPrincess :-)

Here's something cool - there's only 25 kids in the country that have the Hopkins' opportunity and four (4!) of them came out of the Honors program DW built at our local Community College.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

Misty:
I don't know what news I missed and hope it was not about your father. Please forgive me, I don't mean to be insensitive, I just don't visit this site as often as I probably should.

CEDave:
Your daughter looks lovely and the cake is, too. Congratulations on the happy nuptials!