google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Taylor Johnson

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Jun 28, 2022

Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Taylor Johnson

 



Younger Cornerites, those of you who get your tunes from Spotify, Apple Music, or the ever edgy Pandora (I wouldn't open it if I were you!)  may not have heard of the hipster who is the subject of today's theme.  Those of us of a certain age may remember musician Spike Jones, who here reminds us of a time when music was streamed over the radio or at a sock hop by an R&R impresario known as the

Disc Jockey ...

 

 ... aka the "Dee Jay" or simply "DJ".  Our Dee Jay today is constructor Taylor Johnson, who first appeared in this venue on May 22, 2022, and who has arranged for us a revealing

40A. Dance club compilation, and what the answers to the starred clues literally are: DJ MIX.

He accomplishes this through 2 pairs of two-word themers.  The first pair consists of an Across and a Down clue, each word beginning with
the letters D and J respectively:

17A. *"Let me enjoy my guilty pleasures!": DON'T JUDGE.  I'm sure many of our parents heard words to that effect from us when we were listening to rock and roll.

30D. *Move that captures two checkers: DOUBLE JUMP.  As the Spotify generation may not have ever played this game, here are the rules.

... and just to mix things up, the second pair of themers consists of an Across and a Down clue, each word beginning with the letters J and D respectively:

63A. *"Feelin' fine!": JUST DANDY.  "Candy's dandy, but liquor's quicker!".  Another phrase often heard during the DJ era.

11D. *Fruity treat often dusted with powdered sugar: JELLY DO-NUT.  A favorite food of the "Boys in Blue" and maybe a clecho to 43A?

To make this all work you might have to turn the puzzle upside-down for the vertical clues, much easier to do if you're solving on paper. 🙄

Here's the grid:
 

Here's the rest of the word mix ...

Across:

1. "Nope": UH UH.

5. Pointers: TIPS.  I wanted dogs.
9. City in northwest Missouri, informally: ST JOESt. Joseph, Missouri was named after the town's founder Joseph Robidoux and the biblical Saint Joseph.  St. Joseph is home to Missouri Western State University. It is the birthplace of 20th-century rapper and songwriter Eminem, but who grew up in and has made his career in Detroit, Michigan. In the nineteenth century, it was the death place of American hero Jesse James (a "dirty little coward" didn't quite see him quite that way). It was also the starting point of the Pony Express serving the West.

14. Kind: SORT.  Oh, THAT kinda SORT.

15. Words after count or sleep: ON IT.  After plugging away at a Saturday crossword early in the morning, sometimes I have to SLEEP ON IT before I can finish, but I can't always COUNT ON IT, because the puzzle's usually pretty wrinkly by the time I get up.

16. Sports complex: ARENA.

19. Shouts: YELLS.

20. Website revenue source: AD SPACE.   Space on a web page reserved for ads.  Somebody has to pay for all of those web developers and it turns out to be us..

21. Director Craven: WESWesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Due to the cultural impact and influence of his work, Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre.  I have not seen any of his films, but I understand that he's a scary guy.  He doesn't look very scary here though:
 
Wes Craven 2010

23. Chemical in potent drain cleaners: LYE.  Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), used not only for cleaning drains but for soap making.  My plumber tells me that LYE based drain cleaners corrode not only the goop in your drains, but also the pipes themselves, both metal and PVC.  He recommends an enzymatic cleaner, however it's a lot more expensive.

24. Ankle-length skirt: MAXI.  It turns out that the selection, care, and filling out of MAXI dresses can be very confusing.  Here's some help.
 
Maxi Dress
26. PlayStation maker: SONY.

28. Contributes: ADDS IN.

32. Ready to go trick-or-treating, say: MASKED UP.   Or ready for a Masquerade Ball, say.  Here's a mask our son brought us back from a trip to Venice, Italy after college:
 

And here is The Vision Dance Co. performing a Masquerade Ball years later in that same city:



36. Figure of speech: TROPE.  Isn't this what constructors do?  Is this really a Tropeword Puzzle?
 
Oxford Languages Dictionary

37. Ginger __: ALE.  There is also Ginger BEER.  What's the difference?

38. Love who co-hosted "The Real": LONILoni Love (born July 14, 1971) is an American comedian, television host, actress, author, and former electrical engineer.  Here's the real deal on The Real.   And here's LONI:
Loni Love

39. Pixar film about a jazz pianist: SOULSoul is a 2020 American computer-animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.  In this clip jazz pianist Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) zones out during a pickup jam session, and leaves it to quickly find himself in an even stranger zone, where people go to get their personalities before birth:



42. Little cut: SNIP.  The above grid, as well as some of the other images were created with the utility SNIP and SKETCH.

43. Idris of "The Wire": ELBAThis award winning series, starring English actor Idris Elba, was filmed in my hometown.  I've never seen it because we don't subscribe to HBO, but more importantly because it has contributed to making Baltimore THE icon for THE dysfunctional American city.  As if it doesn't have plenty of competition.  Here are some zingers from the series (trigger warning - life is not pretty out on the streets):



44. "Insecure" star Issa: RAEJo-Issa Rae Diop (born January 12, 1985), credited professionally as Issa Rae, is an American actress, writer, producer, and comedian.  Rae first garnered attention for her work on the YouTube web series Awkward Black Girl. Since 2011, Rae has continued to develop her YouTube channel, which features various short films, web series, and other content created by black people.  She was married just last year to Louis Diame in the South of France:

Issa Rae 2021
45. GPS suggestion: ROUTE.

46. Elite athletes: ALL STARS.

48. Moderate gallop: CANTER.  Here's a short video of my granddaughter learning how to CANTER on a horse.

49. Website with tutorials: EHOW.  See 24A for an EHOW on MAXI dresses.

50. Overly confident: SMUG.

52. JFK successor: LBJLyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an Texas politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969, assuming that position after the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963.
Lyndon Baines Johnson

54. Chicken __ king: ALA.

56. "Suppose so": I RECKON.  What LBJ said to JFK when the latter asked the former to to be his running mate.

61. Minestrone and chowder: SOUPS.

65. Allow to enter: ADMIT.

66. Italian bubbly: ASTI.

67. Apollo project destination: MOONOn May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced to a special joint session of Congress the goal of sending a man to the Moon before the end of the decade, thus launching the Apollo ProgramLBJ is on the left behind JFK.  I'm not sure but I believe the fellow to the right is John W. McCormick, then Speaker of the House.
The Decision to Go to the Moon
68. Uses a keyboard: TYPES.

69. Sunbeams: RAYS.  A CSO to Ray - O

70. Humble reply to a compliment: I TRY. And a lot of my friends agree that "I'm very TRYING!"

Down:

1. Organic certifying gp.: USDA.  Growing organic food is no longer a niche industry, but one that is rapidly growing.  Here's a place to start if you're considering becoming an organic grower.
2. Parka feature: HOOD.

3. Footed vases: URNS.  The most storied of these is the Sosibios Vase, the subject of poet John Keats' famous ODE.  Looks a little wobbly to me:
Sosibios Vase
Keats' actual sketch of the vase.  Ideals are always more beautiful than reality:

4. URL intro: HTTP.  As I blogged the same clue and fill less than a week ago,  I refer you to clue 61A of my June 23rd review.

5. Bird on Froot Loops boxes: TOUCANKellogg Company recently announced that it will split into three companies, thus anything I say about FROOT (sic) LOOPS may quickly become obsolete.  But it sounds like the TOUCAN, the product's iconic logo, will almost certainly survive its adoptive company.  Its conservation status of Least Concern is actually benefiting from the ongoing deforestation of the Amazon basin, due to the bird's preference for open areas.
Toucan
6. Handy list in the back of a book: INDEX.  Works of fiction seldom have one, and not all non-fiction books have one.  Without an index the latter are not very handy.  After the Table of Contents, I usually read the Index next, before starting the main text.

7. Swine: PIG.  After the Three Little Pigs, the second most favorite swine is Babe, the sheep herder.



8. Hearty bowlful: STEW.  I think maybe the Goose in Babe might have ended up in one.

9. Gives permission: SAYS OK.

10. Three, in Italian: TRE.

12. "This is __ a test": ONLY.  They used to say that to us in the 6th Grade when we had to duck under our desks.  Too many times of late, it has not been a test.

13. Loosen (up): EASE.

18. Foxx who voices the pianist in 39-Across: JAMIE.  He plays Joe Gardner.

22. English county on the North Sea: ESSEXEssex is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Greater London to the south and south-west.  Sounds like it's surrounded.
Essex County, England

25. 11-Down eater's dismayed cry: IM A MESSDO NOT eat JELLY DO-NUTS without a NAPKIN!

27. Country singer Willie: NELSONWillie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American musician, actor, and activist.  He is considered by many to be the greatest Country singer of all time:
Willie Nelson

Here he is, On the Road Again at the Grand Ole Opry (lyrics)



28. Gone fishing, say: AT SEA.

29. Dryly humorous: DROLL.

31. Frolic in the pool: SPLASHOr a 1984 movie about a Mermaid:


33. "Always Be My Maybe" actress/writer Wong: ALIAlexandra Dawn "Ali" Wong (born April 19, 1982) is an American comedian, actress, and writer. She is best known for her Netflix stand-up specials Baby Cobra (2016), Hard Knock Wife (2018), and Don Wong (2022).  She starred in the film Always Be My Maybe (2019), on which she also served as a writer and producer.  I reviewed several of her videos, and if you want to see one they can be had on YouTube; but I'm sorry to say that none passed Margaret Farrar's Sunday morning breakfast test.  The preceding link, by Maestro Will Shortz, may also be relevant to other discussions recently heard on the Corner.
Ali Wong
34. Bring together: UNITE.

35. Peter, the pickled-pepper picker: PIPER.

40. Feature of some Southern accents: DRAWL.  The Deacon at my Church tells a story about when he was practicing Homiletics (sermonizing) in Seminary.  His instructor had placed a 10 minute limit on the sermons, but Steve kept running over, and finally he was called out for it.  "But professor", Steve said, "it really is a ten minute sermon, but I'm from Hopewell, Virginia and we just talk slower down there".

41. Pickle container: JAR.  Where Peter kept his pickled-peppers.

45. Threw a tantrum: RAGED.

47. Browns lightly: TOASTS.

48. Mayfield of R&B: CURTISCurtis Lee Mayfield (3 June 1942 – 26 December 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.  He first achieved success and recognition with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted group The Impressions during the civil rights movement of the late 1950s and the 1960s, and later worked as a solo artist.
 
Curtis Mayfield
Here's his Move on Up from his debut album Curtis (8:49 min) (lyrics):



Here's a shorter version released on a single (2:46 min) (no lyrics)

51. A bit foggy: MISTY.  A not at all foggy CSO to our Misty.

52. Future atty.'s exam: LSAT.

53. __ language: BODYBody language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey the information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch, and the use of space.  Strictly speaking it is not really a language, as it doesn't have a formal grammar, and it is subject to interpretation.  The "language" suffix is modern, having been added by popular culture.  But body language has been around for a long time:
The Tiff
Frances Carlyle, 1902

55. Slightly open: AJAR.  "When is a door not a door"?  "When it's a pickle container!"

57. Sleeveless top, for short: CAMI.  We had this last Wednesday and it's back by popular demand.

OOPS!  I almost completely forgot!  Today is Tuesday and Hahtoolah will be back soon.  What will she ever think!?

58. Pretzel shape: KNOT
 
59. Stench: ODOR.

60. Pt. of a B'way address: NY NY.
62. __ chart: PIE.

64. Mex. neighbor: USA.   Sorry, I couldn't find any cartoons on Mexico and its neighbor to the North sans politics.

waseeley

And as always my thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.

And finally my thanks to our constructor for his puzzle mix:
 
Taylor Johnson, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section.  We'd love to hear from you.


41 comments:

  1. Good morning!

    True to form, d-o missed the theme, failed to see the stars, and once again didn't read the complete reveal clue. Thought of Budge and Fudge before JUDGE fell into place. I did sense there were lotsa Js in this one. Can I get partial credit for that? Also had trouble getting AT_EA. Maybe I'm only half-awake. Thanx, Taylor and Waseeley.

    We have a slight chance for a shower this afternoon. Hope so. June has been rain-free, so far. It may be my fault; I bought a new rain gauge on May 26th.

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  2. FIR, nice easy solve, clever theme!

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  3. I thought the " little cut" was a " slit" at first but it quickly turned out to be "snip." Other than that, I didn't have too much trouble with this puzzle. FIR, so I'm happy.

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  4. FIR, but erased idiom for TROPE and sega for SONY (I blame decaf for that one). The only famous Loves I know are Davis III and Courtney (founder of crossword fill punk band Hole).

    I'm MASKED UP only when required by regulation. If it's store policy, I'll find another store.

    I'm not sure about "pretzel shape" for KNOT. I prefer rod-shaped pretzels (Snyder's Seasoned Twisted Pretzel Sticks), and the knot is only a small part of the fancy ones. Those pretzel bites the grocery sells could be called knots, I guess. Do they KNOT know something easy, like "6068 feet per hour"?

    From different accounts I've read, JFK and his administration despised LBJ. (Lady Bird and Lucy Baines were also LBJs. Got much of an ego, Lyndon?) Picked him to deliver Texas' 24 electoral votes.

    Experts say BODY language is important. "The 7-38-55 rule is a concept concerning the communication of emotions. The rule states that 7 percent of meaning is communicated through spoken word, 38 percent through tone of voice, and 55 percent through body language." I stressed this point when I was teaching Project Management. As the old saying goes, it's not what you say that counts, it's how you say it.

    The Pointer Sisters sang in their big hit "Slow Hand":
    "Darlin', don't say a word, 'cause I already heard
    What your BODY's sayin' to mine
    I'm tired of fast moves I've got a slow groove
    On my mind"

    Thanks to Taylor for the fun puzzle. And thanks to Bill for the Ha2La impression.

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  5. A fun puzzle with a cool theme, thank you Taylor! A lot of grids contain no letter J’s and this one contained 5, must have been a little bit of work to construct this one. Managed a FIR in 9:30, helped by the proper names that have become Xword staples, ISSA, ELBA, and who doesn’t know Willie NELSON? I was a DJ back in the 70’s at my college radio station, fun job and actually got paid a dollar an hour! The other perk being the annual Midwest college radio convention in Chicago.

    Jinx ~~ if you like pretzels I suggest you try Dot’s if they are available in your area, they are the rod type and there are none better IMO.

    Bill ~~ thanks for subbing on Hahtoolah Tuesday, as always a superb write up, appreciate your time and effort you put into these!

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  6. Good Morning:

    This was a smooth Tuesday solve, easy to see the theme and with the added bonus of a cute revealer, not needed, but appreciated. Loni was an unknown, as was Soul, as clued. Some cute duos were Body/Soul, Jar/Ajar, Pie/Piper, Droll/Drawl, and the triplet, Ala/Ale/Ali. Many CSOs as well to Misty (Misty), Ray O (Rays and Tre, also Anon T), Jinx (Unite and At Sea, also DO), New Yorkers (NY NY), Hahtoolah and Lemony (LSAT), and HG (Moon).

    Thanks, Taylor, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Bill, for your impressive pinch hitting duties. As always, I am impressed with your breadth of knowledge and interests.

    FLN

    CanadianEh, belated Happy Anniversary wishes. I hope your celebration was special.

    Have a great day.

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  7. Nice one, Taylor. Keep them coming! An easy FIR with helpful perps and theme. It's always interesting how the reveal will describe the letter jumbles. Today's DJ MIX is very apt.

    Waseeley, you substituted for Hahtoolah well today (with Teri's aide). Thanks for explaining the fill. I didn't have any lingering questions but appreciated your extra information. My missteps were ADSPots/ADSPACE, adagE/TROPE, and MIdI/MAXI. Easily corrected.

    FLN: Hope your special anniversary celebration went well last night, C Eh.

    Speaking of last night, we had a rare drenching rain storm yesterday. The plants have perked up and the sprinklers can be turned off for a while. Hope you all are doing well.

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  8. Trope was an unknown. Didn't know any of the proper names.

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  9. Good morning all. I FIR but the DJ & JD flew over my head. My only change was from REMIX to DJ MIX. Just a few unknowns that were perped today- SOUL, E HOW, LONI, & ALI.

    MASKED UP- Don't you love it when you see somebody driving that way.

    I've never heard of EHOW but you can't beat YOUTUBE if you want to find out how to repair anything or change parts. Some plumber or mechanic has made a tutorial on how to do it.

    About Sunday's puzzle and the TATIANA-RIAN cross. I got a call from my gastroenterologist yesterday about setting up a disgusting colonoscopy. His name? RIAN Tannenbaum, M.D.

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  10. Pleasant puzzle today. No problems.

    Loved every episode of The Wire. I hate jelly donuts, however.

    Big Easy: nice coincidence with Rian. It so often works this way, you’ve never seen a word before, then once it comes up, it shows up everywhere.

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  11. I inked STlou/JOE. The "Coward" was Bob Ford who shot Jesse (Mr Howard ) in the back.

    The perps were friendly on LONI and SOUL. I'm for introducing us fogies to w'as'up culture. Idris ELBA is a xw staple (as is Issa RAE)

    ALI Wong was more of a WAG

    Or as Gary would attest "Is this(ONLY) a quiz or a test?"

    Back to the FIR trail.

    WC

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  12. Fun Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Taylor--and thanks for putting my name in the puzzle (and Waseeley and Irish Miss for noticing it too). Great pictures, Waseeley--and thank you also for your helpful commentary.

    Made me happy that I knew a lot of names coming up in this puzzle: like WES Craven, Idris ELBA, Issa RAE, ALI Wong--not to mention Peter PIPER and LBJ.

    Misty is not a bit foggy this morning, and I could enjoy a sip of ASTI if it were a little later than 9:54 AM.

    Have a great day, everybody.

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  13. Hi Y'all! Thanks, for another fun & doable puzzle, Taylor. Thanks also to Bill & Teri for a great expo.

    I wasn't thrilled with the UHUH start. I could KNOT think of a four-letter word for pretzel shape. Other than that I thought the solve was EASY. Another day without red-letter runs makes me happy. Just perpin' along.

    Surprised me when ESSEX was right since I knew it was lower down in England than I thought the North Sea was. Is the English Channel part of the North Sea! Look it up, PK.

    ASEA for a place to fish wasn't an early thought for a landlocked habitant. We go fishing in lakes or rivers. Only person I personally know who went ASEA to fish was my brother who then was too SEAsick to hold a pole.

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  14. Loved the DJ theme!

    Here my DJ friend Darla Bea did her DJ thing on a Solstice Parade float!

    Darla Bea is consistently voted Best DJ in Santa Barbara. She radiates such joy, elegance and beauty.

    And here I was with DJ Darla Bea on the roof of the Canary Hotel as she worked her DJ magic.

    I know that background sky looks fake, but it really was like that! Even better than the MACKEREL SKIES yesterday!

    Bill Seeley Thank you for the back story of LONI who I had never heard of. Way cool that she was an electrical engineer!

    I am sorry to say that I now have COVID. With all of the events and activities lately, I am surprised I did not get it sooner. So far, not too bad. My biggest concern is that my DW not get it. We are keeping the windows open and staying in different areas of the house.

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  15. From Yesterday:
    Subgenius, Irish Miss, Jayce, Lucina, Wilbur Charles, AnonT Thank you for the very kind words of encouragement.

    AnonT Yes, indeed about the biker shorts! They only work if you wear them as your underwear! Very important to know! It seems like that should be emblazoned all over the packaging for the shorts!

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  16. Loni Love and Ali Wong were new to me. Thanks to Bill for subbing, great write up.
    Interesting fact about Willie Nelson, On his days off from being a singer-songwriter, actor, and activist, Willie Nelson cares for more than 70 horses that he rescued from slaughter on his 700-acre Texas ranch, where they are free to roam.
    My daughter is in the process of rehabbing an abused horse she rescued. Takes a lot of time, money, and patience.
    Hope you all have a good day, it’s going to be 110 today and high dew point.

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  17. Hola!

    Thank you, Taylor Johnson, for a very doable crossword puzzle. It took ONLY a short time to fill it.

    My memory is dim, but I believe I drove through ST. JOE at least once on a trip east.

    Mmmmm. I love JELLY DONUTS!

    Edris ELBA whom I've admired since he was on Luther. I heard that Luther will be made into a movie.

    For some reason CURTIS Mayfield came right up and filled its space so I must have heard the name some time.

    CSO to RAY! and CSO to MISTY!

    I'm definitely not a fan of country music, but Willie NELSON singing On the Road Again really moves me. I had the CD in my car but it was stolen along with some other irreplaceable ones.

    These days I don't wear costumes but it was fun at Halloween to dress up. I was always a cat and in those days I could easily wear the tights.

    A few days ago I found a bottle of ASTI in my cabinet though I don't know if I bought it or someone else brought it.

    Picard:
    As I've said before, I love all the photos you post and today enjoyed seeing your DJ.

    Have a lovely day, everyone. It's suddenly humid here and that's unusual. The temp is 99 degrees but sure to climb higher.

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  18. Picard @12:17 PM I don't recall ever seeing a DJ like Darla Bea at any of the sock hops I ever went to!

    Yuman @12:26 PM Thanks for that side of Willie that we'd never hear about anywhere but on the Corner!

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  19. Picard - here's hoping your bout with Covid is a mild one. These days, it doesn't appear to have the potency in once did, so I'm "knocking on wood" that you'll be okay.

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  20. Hi All!

    Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal [TMBG] #payola

    Thanks Taylor for a nice MIX of Tuesday fun.

    Thank you waseeley for MIXing music & comics for post-game enjoyment.

    WO: started DRessed b/f running out of boxes -> MASKED
    ESPs: LONI, RAE, ALI
    Fav: I'm not a big fan of Country and Western but Willie NELSON is a Texas Treasure.

    I liked the CSO to MISTY and SOUL was a great movie (and cross-ref) - Four STARS ALL around.

    D-O: LOL new rain-gauge. Please go destroy that thing so my plants can perk like IM's.

    Big-E: LOL, yes - did they just forget to un-MASK after visiting the grocery?
    And that plumber that showed you eHOW makes one think "call a plumber." ;-)

    PK - Pop visited (Army) Bro while he (Bro) was stationed in Hawaii and went fishing AT SEA. One of the boatsmen ended up getting hooked in the arm and that's when Pop got SEA sick.

    Picard - Does your DJ friend drop sick EDM beats?
    //My (hacker) buddies Dead & Smoke are pretty good but both lookup to Miss Jackalope [1:07:53 -- it's really ONLY fun if you're there; otherwise, not my cuppa]

    Back to work, play later.
    Cheers, -T

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  21. The only proper name I knew was NELSON, the other five were perps. One W/O was filling AMY as a WAG for 33D, since I only had the A. But that left "Ginger AME" which quickly got changed to ALE, which also gave me DJMIX, at which point I got the theme. I also had the W/O STLOU:STJOE. This was a fun and entertaining CW which I managed to FIR in 21. Thanx, TJ. Bill, what a truly impressive write-up. All the time and effort you so obviously put into this for our entertainment IS much appreciated. D-O @ 5:39 you talk about needing rain. If you want it to rain, fill your swimming pool. It will then rain, overflow your pool, and ruin the chemical balance. If you don't have a pool, wash your car and leave it outside.

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  22. unclefred, no pool here. Here in SE Texas a garage is for storage and the driveway is for parking the car. My car gets washed every time it rains.

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  23. Today I managed to do both today's and yesterday's CWs in less than a half hour each, but last week, I only found time for Monday through Wednesday. Admittedly I was having an unusually busy week, and I'm hoping this week will allow me more time. I still need more practice to manage more confidently as the week progresses beyond Wednesday. Today there were more proper names than I like, but I managed with some lucky wags and perps.

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  24. A solid Tuesday PZL from Mr. Johnson, followed up by waseeley.

    A curiosity of today's XWD for me is that it contains two words beginning with "D," that happen to be the same words I used in today's Wordle (#374). On my second try, I got today's answer! --
    which you can see (spoiler coming!) for yourself if you...
    take a look below in my footnote at *.

    But even more surprising is that you can see my first (wrong) attempt at the word. Check it out at footnote **.
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    No diagonals today.

    * See 29D.
    ** See the second word at 63A.

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  25. FLN and today's comments:
    There's been so much discussion about this name, I thought I would ruin it all by providing way TMI.
    "Ryan’s use as a given name was inspired by the surname Ryan, a variation of the Irish O’Riain meaning "son of Rían." Rían is composed of the Irish-Gaelic elements rí, meaning "king" and an, a diminutive suffix. Ryan is considered a unisex name in the US, where variant spellings Ryann and Ryanne are also valid for girls. "

    As a young man I drank enough Schoenling Little Kings Cream Ale that I should have changed my name to RIAN. The only 24 hour TV station we got on our cable system was out of Cincinnati. They had movies all Saturday night, hosted by a little guy who promoted (and drank) Little Kings all night. By dawn he was obviously buzzed.

    Speaking of buzzed, Ol' Willie owns the Pedernales Golf Course. It DOES NOT have an island green in the shape of a hemp leaf, but Local Rule #11 holds "No bikinis, mini-skirts, skimpy see-through, or sexually exploitative attire allowed. Except on women."

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  26. FIR but the theme? JELLYDONUT is a "guilty pleasure" but DONT JUDGE me cuz as a treat it's JUSTDANDY, I'd DOUBLEJUMP the customer in front of me to get one!
    Kynda like that? (ah DJ... just read the reveal, I like my theme better).
    LYE: Remember "Once in Every week Drano in every drain" (would corrode your pipes as pointed)
    The most common pretzel shape is "two arms over the heart"..the once classic position of a person in prayer."How the pretzel got its shape"

    Inkovers: remix/DJMIX, tank/CAMI,

    I only knew RAE cuz she seems to be replacing our baby boomer familiar Yoko Ono. CURTIS and NELSON: at least we've heard of them. EHOW huh ? wha?

    Never inhale just before taking a bite of a powdered sugar JELLYDONUT. I Like most Pixar productions but didn't care for SOUL.
    Many young women (and some men) sigh longingly: 🥴 "Able was I ere I saw ___ " ELBA

    ESSEX = East Saxony
    Wessex = West Saxony
    Middlesex = gender fluid

    How many may "play at this game"...TOUCAN
    Must not blunder...CANTER
    Constellations....ALLSTARS
    ASL: ____ language...BODY
    Ilks...TYPES

    Perfect day but have to get the grandkids back to Massachusetts tomorrow. Hoping they'll return later this summer.

    Ty for the CSO 🤗





    ReplyDelete
  27. Lucina, Bill Seeley, AnonT Thanks for the kind words about my DJ friend Darla Bea and my photos.

    I don't remember her spinning EDM, but I am sure she can do it all. Her favorite genre is music of the 1980s, which is her era. She is a bit younger than my DW. Unfortunately, Darla Bea was not available to DJ at our wedding because she had another commitment.

    But Darla Bea did DJ at the wedding of our friends Pali and Raven last month.

    Subgenius Thank you for the good wishes on my COVID recovery. Right now everything tastes horrible. But that also may be due to the Paxlovid treatment.

    Big Easy, Tante Nique, Jinx Thanks for the RIAN comments. But TATYANA really is a name, too. Just Google it.

    From Wikipedia: "Tatyana Marisol Ali is an American actress and singer best known for her role as Ashley Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996." And there is a clothing fashion company TATYANA.

    Here you can see that RYAN is #35 as one of the most popular male names.

    RIAN does not even appear on that list. The fact is that RYAN and TATYANA were more likely than RIAN and TATIANA if one has to WAG utterly unknown names. I hope we won't see this kind of crossing again going forward.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There thought of getting a colonoscopy from RIAN and the prep use not a pleasant one

      Delete
  28. D-O @ 2:10, I too use what I call the "reckneck carwash" (a rainstorm) to wash my car.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Attention - Cornerites that use Geek Squad:

    I just received an email from a scammer falsely claiming to be Geek Squad, thanking me for renewing my membership to the tune of almost $400. Easy for me to detect because I haven't ever been a member, but we have several folks who are or were subscribers. Don't be fooled into calling the number to try to get them to explain the charge. It has nothing to do with the real Geek Squad or Best Buy. They are out to cheat you in one way or another. This is an oldie but baddie.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Jinx and Cornerites:

    Phisherpeople use "Your APPLE ID!" or "Charge on Netflix" or "Confirm your Amazon purchase of $$$". These are all scams prompting you to quick action hoping you don't stop and think before feeling "I've got to call 419*-.... ASAP!"

    At my org, I phish our users. It's not to trick them for embarrassment or to raise awareness - they know 'crap I got tricked 'cuz I wasn't paying attention' - but to assess overall risk of someone clicking stupid-stuff and how that would impact our organization.

    BTW - There's a new(ish) one that is "document shared with you" that can infiltrate your O365 instance. It's nasty.

    Best course of action... Delete. If it was real, you'll know when you lose Netflix :-)

    Unclefred - since D-O got that rain gauge, my car hasn't been washed either ;-)

    Cheers, -T
    *#NigerianPrince

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh, also we have a phish reporting system setup - so we also assess how quickly a phake phish gets reported to us. 'Cuz if it was a real phish, we can block & pull it from inboxen before it gets clicked (or see who DID click and respond accordingly). -T

    ReplyDelete
  32. Puzzling thoughts:

    FIR with just a few corrections

    The timer on my Across Lite says it took me just a few seconds under 21:00 to finish it

    I swear I'm faster when I solve on paper with a pen

    Taylor and Bill, thanks for the fun

    My nit du jour is with regards to ASTI: WHEN, oh WHEN will crossword constructors and/or editors realize that ASTI is NOT an Italian sparkling wine (bubbly)!! ASTI is a wine REGION; SPUMANTE is the term used for "bubbly" Italian wine (file this fact away, PLEASE)

    ReplyDelete
  33. -T, I don't use O365, but stand-alone (sans Exchange) Outlook 2019 . Do I have to worry about "doc shared with you" too?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Thank you!, C. Moe, our resident oenophile. I was second-guessing myself re: ASTI != sparkly.
    ++Ink on a tree-pulp is the ONLY way to solve. Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  35. To follow up on my note (and footnotes) above @ 2:37...

    Wordle 374 2/6

    🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
    ~ OMK

    ReplyDelete
  36. I liked this puzzle. I especially like your write-up, waseeley. Good wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Musings
    -An easy puzzle but for me LONI would be Anderson
    -We still have to MASK UP when seeing Joann’s mom at the nursing home
    -LBJ and JFK exemplify, “Politics make for strange bedfellows”
    -How many ways can you say “Dude” using different body language and inflection to give different meanings?
    -That’s funny, Wilbur!

    ReplyDelete
  38. HG, at risk of over-posting say:
    DUDE.

    Jinx - not to worry re: O365, dude.
    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  39. Husker, you can tell I taught school (for a year)

    ReplyDelete
  40. -T @ 3:46: The problem with spam is also the volume; got something like 85 from midnight to 2 PM. Sometimes it's hard to discern just because of the QRM.

    ReplyDelete

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