google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, October 13, 2022, Amanda Rafkin

Advertisements

Oct 13, 2022

Thursday, October 13, 2022, Amanda Rafkin

 

 The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect, illustrated in the preceding 3 minute video, is a metaphor for the key idea behind a science called CHAOS THEORY: a small  initial event in one location can be greatly amplified through a series of chain reactions that ultimately result in a very large event happening very far away.  The classic example is that of a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon River basin, ultimately causing a storm in Siberia.

Today veteran constructor (NYT and LAT) Amanda Rafkin riffs on Chaos Theory with a theme taken not from science, but from the dark arts.  Here's her reveal:

60A. Power that enables the Scarlet Witch to rewrite reality, and a hidden feature of the answers to the starred clues?: CHAOS MAGIC.  As I'm sure we're all aware, the Scarlet Witch is a denizen of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and not someone you'd want to mess with:
 

Scarlet Witch

And how does she accomplish this magic?  Don't be fooled by the above picture, as she doesn't do it with circles (CSO to AnonymousDNLC).  She simply flaps her butterfly wings to unscramble the anagrams cleverly concealed in the following themers:

15. *"Love Story" star: ALI MACGRAW.  Get out your handkerchiefs:


26. *Sports event whose medals feature braille inscriptions: PARALYMPIC GAMESHere's a link from the 2020 games with their history, some curiosities, the differences with the Olympic Games and the elements that make them a unique sporting event, different from all the others.
 

Paralympic Games 2012

45. *Candy smokes: BUBBLEGUM CIGARS.  For expectant fathers who've kicked the nicotine habit ...


And if you still don't see them, here's the grid with the themers highlighted in RED with the embedded, scrambled anagrams in BLACK on WHITE:
 
Be under no illusion that it was a simple trick to come up with three 2 word themers, including 2 grid spanners, embedded with scrambled MAGIC.

And now for the rest of Amanda's cruciverbal prestidigitation:

Across:

1. Point of Grant Wood's "American Gothic"?: TINE.  Nice indirection and something you wouldn't want pointed at YOU.
American Gothic
Grant Wood 1930

5. Knight's title: SIR.

8. Rescue squad VIPs: EMTS.

12. Tibetan monks: LAMASLAMA is a Tibetan word meaning"highest principle"and is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The spiritual leader of all of the Tibetan lamas is the 14th Dalai Lama, currently living in exile in India.
 
Dalai Lama
13. PPO counterpart: HMOPreferred Provider Organization vs. Health Maintenance Organization.

14. Terra's Greek counterpart: GAIA.  In Greek mythology, Gaia is the personification of the Earth  and one of the Greek primordial deities. The Greeks considered Gaia to be the ancestral mother of all life.  The word geology is derived from her name and in recent years she has inspired the Gaia Hypothesis, which asserts that the entire Earth is a single organism.  This hypothesis was formulated in the 1970s by chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis.  A similar idea was put forth around the same time in an essay from The Lives of the Cell by physician Lewis Thomas.

17. Prophetic sign: OMEN.

18. Place to go for pro tips?: SALON.  Mani-pedi place?

19. __ closet: LINEN.

21. Reddit admin: MOD.  Reddit Moderators do more than just administer the site platform, but play an active leadership role.  Hand up if you're a moderator or participant in Reddit?

22. __ vincit omnia: AMOR.  Or as the Beatles would put it ...




23. Tight-lipped: MUM.

24. Pulitzer-winning novelist Jennifer: EGANJennifer Egan is an American novelist and short-story writer. Egan's novel A Visit from the Goon Squad won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction.
 
Jennifer Egan

31. "ur 2 funny": LOLLaughing Out Loud.

32. Some autumn babies: SCORPIOS.  Those babies born between October 23 and November 22 that is.  SCORPIO (♏︎) is the eighth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Scorpius.
Scorpio Astrological Sign

33. Link letters: URLUniversal Resource Locator, text that can be translated into the IP (Internet Protocol) address used by routers to locate a resource on the World Wide Web (e.g. this blog).

36. Corn core: COB.

38. Paramore music genre: EMO.   Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, guitarist Taylor York and drummer Zac Farro.  Here's "All We Know" from their 2005 debut album "All We Know is Falling":



39. __ Arbor, Michigan: ANN.

40. Grottoes carved by waves: SEA CAVESTwenty of the most beautiful sea caves in the world.

43. Cookbook writer Garten: INA.  Also known as the Barefoot Contessa.

50. Common mixer: SODA.

51. Rapper Lil __ X: NASMontero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X  is an American rapper and singer.  Here's his country crossover hit Old Town Road (didn't think I'd like it, but I did):


52. "Ok, ok! Turn the alarm off!": IM UP.  I usually get to the alarm before Teri hears it.

53. Cheer syllable: RAH.

54. Supreme being: DEITY.

57. "Goosebumps" series author: STINERobert Lawrence Stine born October 8, 1943) has been called the "Stephen King of children's literature".  He has published a total of 62 books in the Goosebumps series, beginning with Welcome to Dead House (1992) and finishing with Monster Blood IV in 1997.  There have been several adaptations.  Here's a trailer from the TV series:



58. Ridesharing choice: UBER.

62. Muppet who once testified before Congress: ELMO.   ELMO testified before Congress in 2002 in support of federal funding for music education and research.  Despite thoroughly scouring YouTube and CSPAN I was unable obtain footage.  I suspect that the video has been classified, and may have been squirreled away somewhere in a closet in Florida.  But here's the Archive proving that it actually happened.

63. Darlin': HON.

64. Don: PUT ON.

65. Sunflower edible: SEED.

66. Covert __: OPS.

67. Gets better in a wine cellar, hopefully: AGES. A CSO to our Chairman.  I don't think he lives in a cellar, but I'm sure he's getting better as he AGES.

Down:

1. Professional with a fitting job?: TAILOR.  My Mother (1925 - 2020) was a TAILOR.  She began an apprenticeship in England just prior to WWII, which was interrupted by a 2 year stint in a factory welding fins on 500 lb bombs.  She completed her training afterwards, married my Dad on VJ Day, came to the US, had 5 children, and taught all 4 daughters to sew.  She could do anything with fine fabrics and furs and she could fit anyone in a dress or suit (assuming there was enough material!).  I believe she was the last of the great British seamstresses.  Here she is in her early 90s having a cuppa tea:
Mary Seeley
Tailor

2. Unethical: IMMORAL.  Is there a difference?  It's complicated.

3. Flatbread served with tikka masala: NAAN.  "Flatbread" gave away the crosswordese NAAN, but if you've never had tikka masala here's an easy recipe:
 
Tikka Masala
4. Key used to exit?: ESC.

5. Cocktail ingredients: SHRIMPS.   Does the recipe call for "2 dozen SHRIMPS" or "2 dozen SHRIMP".  I thought they were the DEER of the aquatic world.

6. "Ms. Marvel" star Vellani: IMAN.  Somehow I had this confused with "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel", but this story is about Ms. Marvel, an American TV fantasy miniseries that also takes place in the Marvel Universe, created by Bisha K. Ali and featuring the character Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel.  Here's the trailer:


7. Investment firm T. __ Price: ROWE.  Teri worked for them for 20 years as a programmer in their IT department.  Here's Trusty, their logo:
 

8. Subject of inflation: EGO.  Today's Latin lesson.

9. "Dancing Queen" musical: MAMMA MIA.  Who said the Bee Gees invented disco?



10. Get really drunk: TIE ONE ON. Was Amanda intoxicated by all those vowels?

11. Hourglass stuff: SAND.  Or "Sand stuff: HOURGLASS".

12. Alpaca kin: LLAMAThe beast, not the priest (see 12A).

15. "Stat!": ASAP.  Not the same:  STAT is NOW!, not just SOON.  OTOH, I used to work in a clinical path lab, and when all the doctors ordered all the tests STAT, they got them ASAP.

16. Morose: GLUM.

20. Campari aperitivo: NEGRONI.  Invented in Florence by the dauntless Italian Count Camillo Negroni in the early 20th century.  Here's a recipe for his eponymous cocktail.

23. Top 10 Lionel Richie song with the lyric "Honey, you're everything I need": MY LOVE.  I hope you've still got that hankie handy:


25. Unfilled space: GAP.

27. Spot for a small business?: LOCAL AD.

28. Raw bar need: ICE.  Chesapeake Bay sushi.  Yum, yum ...
 
Oysters on the half shell

29. Stand-up folks?: COMICS.  This marvelous COMIC had to start somewhere ...



30. Nine-digit ID: SSN.

33. __ port: USB.  They say that "the nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them".  Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers.   That said, "a broad variety of USB hardware still exists, including 14 different connector types, of which USB-C is the most recent and the only one not currently deprecated", e.g.

34. Like tote bags and metal straws: REUSABLE.

35. Opera that inspired "Rent": LA BOHEMERent is a rock musical loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's 1896 opera.  The musical tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists struggling to survive and create a life in Lower Manhattan's East Village in the thriving days of bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS. 

After reviewing a few clips of Rent I'm willing to bet (although I won't be around to pay up if I lose) that La Boheme, having already survived 126 years will still be on a stage somewhere in 2148, whereas Rent will not.  Here is the scene from Act I of La Boheme where the landlord Benoit breaks in on the Bohemians to demand the rent ("affito" in Italian), perhaps the origin of the musical's title.  The Bohemians proceed to get him drunk and eventually cajole him into admitting that he is cheating on his wife.  In mock outrage they throw him out of the apartment, and shortly afterwards will head out to the streets of Paris to party (4 mins):



37. Implore: BEG.

41. Oil in some dispensary products: CBD.  I had COD for this initially until I realized that you don't need a prescription for it.  Replace the O with a B and you get CannaBiDiol, a cannabis derivative for which you may or may not need a prescription, depending on the state you live in.  The is evidence for some health benefits from CBD, but the jury is still out.

42. Shades for lifeguards: SUNTANS. RAYBANS fit but didn't perp.

44. Really work up: AGITATEIRK, IRE, and RILE were all too short.

46. Deli spread: MAYO.  On a BLT on toast.

47. Buddies: AMIGOS.  Today's Spanish lesson my friends.

48. Skirmish: RUN-IN.  The meaning of this clue has a significant dependence on whether you connect the words with a hyphen or not.  Here it is with a dash.
Here it is without a dash:

49. Design detail, for short: SPEC.  A good SPEC is a necessity for an accurate time and materials estimate.

53. Wishes undone: RUES.   The Scarlet Witch could wish it undone, but the results might be unpredictable.

55. Reverberate: ECHO.
 
56. Blue-roofed breakfast spot: IHOP. Breakfast served all day long.
International House of Pancakes. 

57. Self-satisfied: SMUG.

59. Fish stick?: ROD.  Cute clue, but I'd much rather have beer-battered fish fillets with chips.

61. Spot for a cucumber mask: SPA.  C'mon.  What does a cucumber have to hide?

Cheers,
Bill

As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.

waseeley

Amanda Rafkin, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle, its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below.  We'd love to hear from you.

46 comments:

Subgenius said...

When I got the answer to 1 across right away, I was pretty proud of myself. I thought it boded well for the rest of the puzzle and I was right about that. On the other hand, it wasn’t until I got the reveal that I had any idea what the gimmick was. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.

Anonymous said...

Took me about 4 and a half minutes to fly through most of the puzzle, and 3ish more minutes to WAG my way through the top middle. Maybe SCRIMPS, TEAK, "DO WE?" would've been a (somewhat) better set of downs.

But of course it's completely illegal to have partials like I'M AN and IN A and names are the way to go. Especially EGAN and INA crossing NEGRONI, I wouldn't be surprised if any of you got Naticked there.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Got 'er done. We've been to TULUM in the Yucatan, but don't remember hearing of a sea cave there. Things were going well until I stumbled in the SW with MULTI-USE instead of REUSABLE. But that's what Wite-Out's for. Thanx, Amanda and Waseeley.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DNF/FIW. Knew I was guessing at MoMMA MIA x GoIA, but just missed seeing the blank at NEGRO_I x I_A. True Natick, but I would have tried a WAG had I noticed it. Erased blue for GLUM and diety for DEITY (UNTIE!). Didn't get the theme even after filling CHAOS MAGIC.

Hard to believe that the same voice created My Love and Brick House.

Got really drunk? Not since March 31, 2016. Not even slightly tipsy.

FLN: -T, I also shot a firearm at about the same age. In my case, it was a state policeman's pistol. I used to watch them practice in a range behind our house, and one day one of the cops showed me his gun, explained how to shoot it, and stood behind me with his hands over mine and helped me aim and discharge it. I was thrilled. But my parents wouldn't buy me a gun until my 12th birthday (a single-shot Stevens .22 rifle, which I still have.)

Thanks to Amanda for the fun, and to Bill for expanding on the concept.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Tricky treat from Amanda! Great expo, Bill! Thanks.

TINE came easy. Probably one of the most famous paintings.

Last fill was "G" in EGO GAIA.

Never heard of the Scarlet Witch & CHAOS MAGIC. Nothing I needed to know or will remember.

Do young people have time to do CWs? I didn't until I retired. I sure didn't make time for Marvel Comics either. Didn't need fantasy overload.

TAILOR: I started sewing my clothes as a freshman in high school taking sewing class. Made most of the clothes for my girls & me and some for the boys. Made several bridesmaid dresses. Haven't sewn anything in over 20 years.

TTP said...


Thank you, Amanda, and thank you, Bill.

No sweat. Didn't have to pull a rabbit out of my hat to get this one solved. One type over. Could't recall ALI MACGRAW right away, but as I worked the perps I had bLUe before GLUM. A moment later, I sas that I had ALI MACbRAW for the Love Story actress.

Nice job, Bill, and a nice homage to your mother.

Anonymous said...

Took me 6:15 to cast this one.

I watched the series "WandaVision," so I was somewhat familiar with the Scarlet Witch, but had forgotten "chaos magic," which was the last fill for me so the theme (as usual) didn't help me at all.

I didn't know Ali McGraw, the Latin phrase (amor something), or the Greek counterpart. I guessed at Negroni, and never fully parsed "local ad," but the perps took care of that for me.

"Cookbook writer" seems like a misnomer to me. Recipe gatherer?

And, per the nice review, I am glad there were no dreaded circles used.

KS said...

FIR, no problems, got the theme early, but still have no idea who the Scarlet Witch is.

waseeley said...

KS. et al. @7:52 AM To be honest, I'd never heard of the Scarlet Witch either and have never seen any of the Marvel Universe movies. I just grokked on CHAOS SCIENCE and its similarities to CHAOS MAGIC. To paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke "the advanced SCIENCES are indistinguishable from MAGIC".

ATLGranny said...

Another FIR today with the theme only found after the reveal again. Thanks, Amanda.

Did anyone else put dour before GLUM? That slowed down things a bit. Hand up for cod before CBD, waseeley, and the G in GAIA being my last fill, PK! My cucumber mask went on my eye before perps changed it to SPA, a more logical answer.

All in all, a satisfying puzzle. Thanks, waseeley, for your thorough review and the charming picture of your mother. Have a magical day, everyone!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Nice second half of the week challenge..the theme huh? Another "point" in American Gothic is on the stained glass window.

Inkovers: lid/SPA, reusable/PORTable

Fernando Lamas??

I guess I'm just being disagreeable today but...
STAT (immediatley) does not mean ASAP (as soon as possible, which could be tomorrow or next week); the only place I see they mean the same is CWs. SHRIMPS, A derogatory term for short people. "Cocktail ingredients"... shrimp singular and plural. "Unethical": cheat on a test (not immoral). IMMORAL: cheat on a spouse (er...not really "unethical")...OK I'm done

Mrs. Maisel: stand up COMIC. SCORPIOnS are hatched in the fall? Oh the Zodiac sign! (never mind).
.. "Rent"/LABOHÈME "Mi chiamano Mimi" in both productions. "Candy smokes": Death by chocolate vapes. ELMO testified before or ran for Congress? 😃.

One who follows secretly....TAILOR
Search for grottoes....SEACAVES
Russian dictator...PUTON

Lots of interesting info Waz...

Off to help my daughter renew her "unlicense"

Have a great day

Sherry said...

Being a Louisiana native we were taught early that shrimp is both singular and plural no s allowed. Lots of proper names but most filled w/o issue.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Pardon my grumpiness but the1A too cute-by-half proper noun-referenced clue for a simple, common noun, Tine, irritated me no end, as this trend has done so often in recent months. That reaction aside, I enjoyed the clever theme, some solid cluing and lots of strong, lively fill. I saw the scrambled Magic (props for no circles!) early on, but the reveal was a complete surprise and a totally unknown concept. Also unknown were Iman and My Love, as clued. Shrimps was a nose wrinkler but Lamas/Llama and URL/USB made up for it.

Thanks, Amanda, for a smooth and satisfying solve and thanks, Bill, for a truly outstanding review. Your visuals and clips were top notch and the musical snippets you provided removed any lingering trace of my aforementioned grumpiness. The crème de la crème, though, was the lovely picture of your mother and a tiny peek into her world. Thank you so much for sharing.

Have a great day. Oh, BTW, my Toyota Corolla is 21 years old today and recently passed 28,000 miles on the odometer. 🤣 My niece and Goddaughter, Michele, is also celebrating a birthday today with a trip to Maine with her Mom, my sister, Eileen.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Amanda, and waseeley and Teri. (Great photo of your British MUM,)
I started well (Sussex TINE immediately) and saw the scrambled MAGIC, but arrived here to discover I FIWed.
This Canadian could not remember your PPO (I have learned APO) and I failed to note that Ms. Marvel star was female; HVO and IVAN seemed OK.
And I just commented yesterday about differentiating between Imam and IMAN the model. Now there is another IMAN to remember!

But I did remember NEGRONI from recent CWs. We had SODAS for the cocktails too.

MUM changed Grim to GLUM.
I smiled and thought of Nash at the cross of LAMAS and LLAMA.
RAH crossing RUES brought a smile too.
Animate changed to AGITATE.
SEACAVES crossing that USB port was great misdirection!

I remember “Love means you never have to say you’re sorry!”. Not necessarily true, but a great tearjerker. We had MY LOVE today also.

Wishing you all a great day.

Monkey said...

No clue who Scarlet Witch is, but that didn’t stop me. Got the theme but not until the reveal. All in all fun puzzle except for that S on shrimp. I agree with Sherry, in LA, that’s a nono. Great and informative write up. What’s not to like about Chaos Theory.

Wilbur Charles said...

CBD may or may not hallucinate. It's sold OTC in Fla through a loophole re. THC and it's derivatives.

Ah, the ubiquitous MAYO. I prefer horseradish but can't pronounce the R. Hoss-radish

We fortunately just had a NEGRONI clue answer campari . IMAN is recent (oh, there's two of them, C-eh?) not to be confused with IMAM

Was it Arthur C. Clarke who had a GAIA as a character(The City and the Stars?)

WC

Anonymous said...

Greetings! The theme and explanation completely escaped me until I saw it in the grid. Very embedded! I never watched soaps, but (11D) brought to mind, "Like sands through the hourglass of time, these are the days of our lives."
Had to change (61D) EYE to SPA. The SW corner was the slowest to fill, but once I changed (59D) COD to ROD, it all came together.
Touched by the sweet photo of your Mum and your remembrance. Thanks, Waseely, and for your review.
Thanks, Amanda, for the puzzle. A nice Thursday surprise.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Love LAMAS crossing LLAMA. Love Story was on TCM recently and watching it felt so dated. Felt none of the excitement with which it was originally introduced.

Is the Blue Grotto a SEA CAVE?

I'm completely unfamiliar with any current Marvel COMMICS and never heard of the Scarlet Witch so my solve today was all guesses. Almost correctly, I might add. One bad cell GAEA/TEEONEON which I failed to notice. Drat!

However, I love MAMMA MIA and have and will watch it many times over.

CSO to my sister, Yolanda, who is a SCORPIO with a birthday in November.

Just this week Jeopardy had a reference to RENT and LA BOHEME which I had not known before.

SHRIMPS? I don't think so.

Have a wonderful day, AMIGOS and amigas!

Lucina said...

Oops. COMICS not commics.

Thank you, Bill and how sweet to know that your mother was a TAILOR.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-60 seconds with Amanda Rafkin
-In the movie Jurassic Park this was called CHAOS THEORY where the Jeff Goldblum character theorized that altering DNA to make dinosaurs could result in CHAOS. Spoiler alert: It did!
-I have not used/needed an alarm for decades. Curse/blessing?
-“My mother was a TAILOR, she sewed my new blue jeans…”
-Lovely story about your mother, Bill.
-EGO at my house
-Last year SAND was inducted into the Toy Hall Of Fame.
-I didn’t know any part of that cocktail clue/fill
-USB is fine but to project my videos and get sound, I need an HDMI connection
-You connoisseurs (thanks spell check) may look down on us as we use Miracle Whip and not MAYO

CrossEyedDave said...

Thank you Waseely for the scrumptious write up, so full of food for thought that it took me twice as long as the actual puzzle.
I am now fully sated like after a thanksgiving dinner. May even have to loosen my belt!

If you have never seen the movie , The Butterfly Effect, with Ashton Kutcher, you may want to give it a try.
Classified as a sci-fi thriller, it is actually more of a horror story. The method Ashton uses to go back into the past is bizarrely ridiculous, but if you can overlook this minor detail, you will find and intriguing story of a man that repeatedly goes back into his past, and makes changes in order to save his girlfriend. The problem is that every change he makes actually makes things worse. Much worse...

The ending is bittersweet, and well worth watching.

Anywho,

Never heard of this witchy woman, and haven't read any Marvel since I was a kid. So this puzzle only reminds me of the only superhero I would want to be. (him.)

The magic happens at exactly 4:15 into this series of clips...


Dun Dun Dunnn....!

Picard said...

I got the MAGIC scrambled theme. Crossed proper names that could have been something else: ALI MACGRAW/IMAN and NEGRONI/EGAN/INA. Had SEA COVES before SEA CAVES.

Bill Seeley Thanks for the list of SEA CAVES. Happy to see that #9 on the list is in our neighborhood! Not only have I been in this Painted SEA CAVE a few times. I also know the guy Steve Trainoff who took the photo in that article.

Here is my video of our entry into the Painted SEA CAVE at Santa Cruz Island in 2019.

This will always be bittersweet. On another trip there soon after ours, the boat burned, in the worst local sea disaster in history.

unclefred said...

Managed to FIR in 26, and found (for me at least) this CW easier than yesterday. Tried to write in PARAOLYMPICGAMES and ran outa space. Took perps for the V-8 moment. W/Os also included COD:CBD GAEA:GEIA. As usual for me, did not see the theme until Bill 'splained it. The mention of Scorpio reminds me of my 78th BD coming on the 24th. Also reminds me to send some BD cards to some fellow Scorpions. My mother told me I was actually born a week or two later than expected. Had I entered the world as expected, I'd be a Libra. Although I'm not big on astrology, I read them for entertainment, and find I am as much Libra as Scorpio. Anyway, thanx for the fun CW, AR, and thanx too for the terrific write-up, Bill. Watching La Boheme clip reminds me of why I've never been an opera fan.

Misty said...

Thursday toughie, but still fun, so, many thanks, Amanda. And delightful commentary, Bill, with a lovely picture of your mom, thanks for that too.

I loved that this puzzle had so much affection built into it, giving all those AMIGOS a chance to call each other MY LOVE, and HON, and sharing all that AMOR without being at all SMUG. RAH, RAH, RAH!

Have a great day, everybody.

waseeley said...

Husker @11:19 AM Thanks for the bio-clip on Amanda. It was on my short list links to prove that she was a "veteran". I didn't read it thru first time, but this time I did. She is a very talented person and constructor.

CED @11:37 AM Thanks for the tip on "The Butterfly Effect". It's on my bucket list.

Picard @12:12 PM Thank you for the remarkable video of the Painted Sea Cave. One of the great things about the Corner community is that it seems to place us about 2 degrees of separation from everything.

unclefred @12:13 PM Opera is an acquired taste, one that I acquired over 50 years ago. But the best way to acquire it is to go to a live performance, and as Boheme is smack dab in the middle of the ABCs of opera, it's the best one to start with. The other two are Aida and Carmen, but be warned that the last one is definitely RATED R.

Lucina said...

I saw/heard CARMEN at our local symphony hall. It left me emotionally charged! What a vivid presentation by the powerful and talented cast.

CrossEyedDave said...

Picard,
Thank you for the sea cave video!

(It was like a ride at Disney World, without the awful music...)

Picard said...

Bill Seeley Thank you for the kind words about my SEA CAVE video. Yes, sometimes we do indeed live in a small world!

I forgot to mention I FIR today after successful WAGs at those crossed proper names.

From Yesterday:
AnonT Thanks for the Vacant Lot skit on Blinded By the Light by Manfred Mann. Hand up for struggling to understand the words for decades. They are definitely saying "douche".

Picard said...

CrossEyedDave Our posts crossed in crossword corner space! Thank you for the very kind words! I also enjoyed your TIN CANS video yesterday.

CanadianEh I posted a reply regarding TOTES boots and I have also sent you a couple of emails.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Whew! I got lucky today... I did the puzzle while waiting in the car at the pharmacy line (my rosacea flared and I need $100 antibiotics so my nose doesn't end up like W.C. Fields') and I inked URm.
As I drove home, I still tried to suss how that has to do with golf or, erm, language while I tried to parse mABOHEME(?). The penny dropped and I FIR as soon as I walked in the door.

Thank you Amanda for a wonderful puzzle; a little Chaotic / Good fun with perpABLE names.

Excellent expo, waseeley! Fun links and beautiful story about your MUM.

WOs: ALy Mc -> ALI MAC, URm
ESPs: OMG Names!
Fav: TINE's clue. LLAMA|LAMA crossing was a nice touch.

WEES re: SHRIMPs.

I knew Scarlet Witch (though, honestly, I thought Hester Prynne for a moment) 'cuz Youngest took us to Dr. Strange Multiverse. I like Cumberbatch so I didn't complain. //Trying to follow the timelines was Dr Who / Back to the Future on steroids.

For those not familiar with Chaotic as a characteristic - you didn't misspend youth playing D&D

Fractals are Chaotic Beauty (and fun to program).

HG - Growing up in the Midwest, Miracle Whip was 'mayo.' Moving to the south, I found out Hellmann's brings out the best :-)

Thanks for the video, Picard. And I remember that boat accident. Either you mentioned it or it was in the news for a few days. Sad.

C, Eh! - Must be nice to be female... Love means I hafta say "I'm Sorry" at least 2x a day ;-)

Cheers, -T

Israel Padilla said...

Hello everyone,

A bit late but managed to complete the puzzle, which was WAY more enjoyable than today's NYT.

Since I'm a MCU fan I appreciated the theme quite a bit, even though I didn't get my A-HÁ moment until I was solving 26A. IMO a very cool theme. Also my fist thought when reading 65A was something CBD related. Weird. 63A was BAE before realizing I was wrong. 40D was the best one I got without crosses. My worst solve was AMIGOS, because I should have done better.

CED @11:37 AM I'll check The Butterfly Effect too! Thanks.

-Israel
How to deal with hard crosswords...

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Picard, I too remember that accident. Did you know someone who died on that boat? I'm sure I've conversed with someone who did, but don't remember who it was. I still keep in contact with a few of my California dive buddies. We used to dive on a wreck of a sister ship to Cousteau's Calypso off the eastern shore of Santa Cruz.

Ol' Man Keith said...

A waseeley presentation of a Rifkin PZL...

Slow going for me today, slogging through the XWD while watching the Jan 6th Committee hearing. Both needed full attention--to be a good Corner comrade--and a good citizen.

In the end, I had to put the crossword aside, to pick it up later and finish with the aid of a few cheats. (No cheating on the other!)
~ OMK
___________
DR:
. Another blacked-out 8th on the 8th. We now know what that means.

PK said...

Picard: thank you for the SEACAVE video. Were those white things flitting around in there some kind of bird or bats?

Sandyanon said...

Not a lot of problems with the puzzle, although I've pretty much gone off the Marvel Universe, and wasn't familiar with chaos magic or the Scarlet Witch. I thought 1A was fun. Now I always try to think of alternate ways to understand words in a clue, like "point".

Just got my ballot, and it's completed, sealed, signed, dated, and ready to go in the mail. Yay!

Big Easy said...

It took a while foe the CHAOS MAGIC to sink in as I didn't notice in ALI MACGRAW, PARALYMPICGAMES, or BUBBLEGUM CIGARS. Never heard of the Scarlet Witch either. Filled it rapidly for a Thursday with just a couple of unknowns- Jennifer EGAN and IMAN Vellani. Don't really know anything about NEGRONI or Campari but they're showing up in puzzles a lot lately.

ELMO testifying before Congress makes as much sense as the dog and pony shows that Congress has when they call up people to testify. Just want to get in front of a camera to try to make themselves look good.

Wilbur Charles said...


Picard, re. Santa Cruz disaster.. talk about chaos theory/butterfly effect

Fred, in Vedic astrology you are Libra/Scorpio

WC

sumdaze said...

Compliments to Amanda R. for putting together a challenging puzzle with clever clues & fun crossings, as pointed out by others.
Compliments to waseeley for an interesting write-up that was eclipsed by a heartwarming tribute to your MUM.
CED @ 11:37. DH showed me The Butterfly Effect. Stuck with me for days afterwards. Still gives me a shiver when I think about that movie....
AnnonT: Thanks for the fractal link. I used to teach 7th graders the Koch Snowflake and Sierpinski Triangle. They loved that work because they could understand it but it seems so advanced. They felt smart. My favorite teaching mantra: Nothing succeeds like success!

Anonymous said...

The recent production of Lucia di Lammermor by the LA Opera was a treat for all ages. They used modern technology, a young cast and a beautiful female conductor to entice tne audience into the charms of opera!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle.

Picard said...

AnonT, Jinx, Wilbur Charles Thank you for your comments and questions regarding the boat disaster. Yes, we knew one of the people who died. Her name was Allie and she worked in the boat galley. She slept in the bunk next to us.

Here is my photo of Allie after coming out of the cold water of the Santa Barbara Channel!

Here is a photo of our whole group at the end of our adventure.

You can see my wife and me front and center. Allie is the one in the black jacket in the back row, directly behind us.

The investigation and legal issues continue. The most disturbing part of the investigation came when Allie's family learned that Allie had her shoes on when she died. In the middle of the night. Which means she did not die in her sleep during the fire as was originally claimed.

The cause of the fire will probably never be known for sure. But much evidence points to charging of cell phones and other batteries. A previous fire started that way, but was put out. There was supposed to have been a crew member awake at all hours, but that rule was ignored. A new Federal boat safety law was passed as a result of the disaster.

PK Thanks for asking about the Unidentified Flying Objects in the SEA CAVE! Those are birds.

I should also note that before that video on the boat, many of us went into the SEA CAVE in kayaks.

Here we were inside the SEA CAVE in kayaks.

Getting back to the boat in the kayaks turned out to be quite difficult, battling a strong current.

waseeley said...

sumdaze @7:15 PM It's sounds as if the movie "The Butterfly Effect" may be related more to the unpredictability of what is known as the "Grandfather Paradox" than with Chaos Theory. The former is the result of traveling back in time and accidentally or intentionally killing your grandfather - thus you wouldn't exist! Chaos theory is related to the unpredictability of present events and is not generally associated with time travel.

anonymous @7:19 PM IMHO Lucia may be a bit too graphic for younger audiences. With all that, violence, blood and madness I think it's definitely RATED R.

Anonymous T said...

I split my time today between sick, work, Jan 6 hearings, crossword, and Baseball.
//Sometimes, I really can multitask ;-)

TTP - Did you see Altuve make two across-the-body throws? 1:41 & 2:31. I'd be in traction spinning my spine that fast :-)

Chaos Theory is simple... It just a little perturbation in the system to bring about Kaos.

Cheers, -T

TTP said...


Dash T, I did. I was tuned in to that game. Defensive gems. The first was reminiscent of Ozzie Smith when he would rob basehits from deep in the hole at shortstop. Altuve is otherworldly. And Yordan cranked another to put the Astros up. What a game.

Also, it was good to see Biggio sitting in the second row behind home plate.


Wilbur Charles said...

Thanks for the recap link, Anon-T. They intentionally walked Alvarez with a man on first?

Bregman made them pay

WC

TTP said...


Wilbur Charles, are you asking why they chose to walk Alvarez ?

He's en fuego. Batting over 400 in his last 20+ games.