Hello Cornerites!
Welcome to another Lynn K. Watson and Will Nediger collaboration. We recently enjoyed their Monday, Dec. 26. 2022 puzzle, "Crack the Case".
This time, our theme is: You Should Be DancinG, yeah!
The Bee Gees (1976) You Should Be Dancing
featuring John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Fast Forward 46 years (yikes!), we find the unifier for today's puzzle:
60 Across. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trio, and an apt name for a trio of answers in this puzzle: THE BEE GEES.
The Bee Gees were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. According to their website, the trio's name originally referred to the common initials of Barry Gibb and his two friends, Bill Goode and Bill Gates (not that Bill Gates). The name then evolved into the BG's and then to the Bee Gees, which eventually came to mean the Brothers Gibb.
The trio (See what the constructors did there?) of answers are:
16 Across. Open-air alehouse: BEER GARDEN.
26 Across. Kathleen Turner comedy featuring super intelligent infants: BABY GENIUSES.
Not my thing. BTW, Kathleen Turner played Dr. Elena Kinder.
Baby Geniuses movie trailer (1999)
Surprisingly, there is a sequel, Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004)
46 Across. Eggplant appetizer: BABA GHANOUSH. a Mediterranean dip made from roasted eggplants. 5-star recipe Definitely my thing!
All 3 answers have a first word that begins with the letter "B" and a second word that begins with the letter "G". No *starred* clues to miss this time; though I did have some spelling challenges.
We Better Get Going.. <---- 1 B, 2 G's
1. Rainbow flag letters: LGBT. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
5. Too sure of oneself: SMUG.
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| Cats can be so SMUG. |
9. "The Vampire Diaries" actress Dobrev: NINA. Coincidentally, today is NINA's birthday. She was born 34 years ago in Bulgaria. If you are reading this, NINA, we wish you a very happy birthday!
Also, CSO to inanehiker!
 |
| the birthday girl |
13. Vicinity: AREA. The police code 10-60 means there is a (law enforcement) squad in the vicinity.
14. Play button's alternate function, often: PAUSE. Let's see who has the most clickers. I will start the bidding at 5. That is 4 more than I care to have.
14. Play button's alternate function, often: PAUSE. Let's see who has the most clickers. I will start the bidding at 5. That is 4 more than I care to have.
15. More than one: A FEW. Five clickers is A FEW too many.
18. __ of approval: SEAL.
 |
| Think of a paper sack with just one opening. |
20. Goddess who wears a headdress with cow horns: ISIS.
 |
| ISIS sporting her trademark headdress. |
21. Underdog victories: UPSETS. Remember when Rulon Gardner from Wyoming, won the Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wresting in Sydney 2000?
an Olympic UPSET (38 sec.)
23. Waters down: THINS.
25. Like fast-spreading TikTok videos: VIRAL. 'VIRAL' is good. 'Virus' is bad.
31. Fruit-flavored drink brand: SOBE.
34. Hollered: YELLED.
35. CPR pro: EMT.
36. Largest Greek island: CRETE. Greek islands list
38. "Hold on a __!": SEC.
39. Nemesis: ENEMY.
35. CPR pro: EMT.
36. Largest Greek island: CRETE. Greek islands list
38. "Hold on a __!": SEC.
39. Nemesis: ENEMY.
41. Untouched serve: ACE. You know...tennis, volleyball, and probably other sports, too.
42. Eritrea's capital: ASMARA. pronounced "eh-ruh-TREE-uh" and "aa-SMAA-ruh", AtG (According to Google)
42. Eritrea's capital: ASMARA. pronounced "eh-ruh-TREE-uh" and "aa-SMAA-ruh", AtG (According to Google)
45. Black gemstone: ONYX.
49. Actress Barkin: ELLEN.
49. Actress Barkin: ELLEN.
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| Oh, that ELLEN. |
50. Attempts: SHOTS. You know...hockey, basketball, and probably other sports, too.
53. Shrub with colorful flowers: AZALEA. I think of these as being popular on the East Coast.
53. Shrub with colorful flowers: AZALEA. I think of these as being popular on the East Coast.
55. Slugger Juan who won the 2022 Home Run Derby: SOTO. Respect moment #1.
57. "When will u b here?": ETA. short for "Estimated Time of Arrival"
59. Snoozefest: BORE.
63. __ 500: INDY.
64. Surround: HEM IN.
65. Ginger cookie: SNAP. July 1 is National Ginger Snap Day...in case you were wondering.
66. Model Holliday: TESS. Because "Holliday" is capitalized, we might guess a name. This is Tess Holliday.
67. Sign above a door: EXIT.
68. Questions: ASKS. verbs...or lately, "ASKS" is often used as a noun
Down:
1. Science workshops: LABS. Time to add a cute animal pic for Irish Miss!
Any other Old 97's fans fans out there?
"What's so GREAT about the Barrier Reef? What's so Fine about Art?"
3. Tree with smooth gray bark: BEECH.
 |
| hauntingly beautiful BEECH tree trunks |
5. South Asian wraparound dress: SARI.
6. Some spa applications: MUDS.
7. "__ only as directed": USE. so you cannot sue them later
8. Bona fide: GENUINE.
George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
"But you ain't bona fide."
9. Largest city in the Bahamas: NASSAU. Things to do while on holiday in Nassau
 |
| So Picturesque!! |
10. "You really understand me": I FEEL SEEN. essay by Caleb Madison, the crossword puzzles editor at The Atlantic magazine (<500 words)
11. Well-organized: NEAT.
12. Hole-making tools: AWLS.
14. Elapse, as time: PASS BY.
17. Actress Lollobrigida: GINA. Born in 1927, GINA lives in her home country of Italy.
22. Start of a title by 44-Down: PRIDE. and Prejudice
and 44D. "Emma" novelist Jane: AUSTEN.
24. "As if!": I BET.
25. Shoelaces alternative: VELCRO.
27. Guy who always agrees with the boss: YES-MAN.
28. Gather a bit at a time: GLEAN.
29. Award for TV excellence: EMMY.
30. Mythical river of the underworld: STYX. Also, an American rock band that formed in 1972 in Chicago.
STYX performing Come Sail Away (1977)
31. Wound covering: SCAB.
32. Black-and-white sea creature: ORCA.
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| ORCAs can be found in the blue parts. They have been known to travel up to 1,200 miles (2,000 kms) |
33. Buzzing facial adornments: BEE BEARDS. HUGE learning moment!
How to Grow a Bee Beard (1:45 min.)
Warning: not for the faint of heart!
40. L.A. arts district: NOHO. "Los Angeles" is abbreviated, so is "NOrth HOllywood".
43. Put away, as a sword: SHEATHE.
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| Shown here, the Dread Pirate Roberts' sword is SHEATHEd. |
47. Places for bowling: ALLEYS. Respect moment #2.
48. Espadrille, e.g.: SHOE. Espadrilles can be flats or heels. They are usually casual and have canvas/cotton straps. The main thing is their soles are made out of rope. Do guys know this?
48. Espadrille, e.g.: SHOE. Espadrilles can be flats or heels. They are usually casual and have canvas/cotton straps. The main thing is their soles are made out of rope. Do guys know this?
51. Frigid temps: TEENS. CSO to our northern Cornerites!
52. T-bone, for one: STEAK.
53. "This won't hurt __!": A BIT. What is usually said before it hurts a lot.
54. Tune (out): ZONE.
55. Big rig: SEMI.
56. Solemn bio: OBIT. Respect moment #3.
58. Egyptian serpents: ASPS.
61. Magic spell: HEX.
One more song before we Break for Good....
Bette Midler a.k.a. The Divine Miss M
in Hocus Pocus (1993) sings I Put a Spell on You
62. Fed. property agency: GSA. "Federal" is abbreviated, so is the "General Services Administration". It manages federal property and provides contracting options for government agencies.
Here's the full Bore Grid:
I was in NorCal most of last week -- first to attend an event in my brother's honor and then a few days in Napa. RLS sometimes appears in grids so I wanted to share this pic of the famous sign with his wine quote. The other pic is of me in front of the wine train when we stopped for a tasting.
60 comments:
Good morning!
Took longer than the usual Monday, but it was a fun romp. Even d-o managed to get the theme without the reveal -- which he missed. Thanx, Lynn, Will, and Sumdaze. Well done, all.
AZALEAs are popular shrubs in SE Texas. In February they hold the Azalea Trail in Houston touring various estates (they're too big to call "houses") and winding up at Bayou Bend, the former home of Ima Hogg.
"O Brother" -- That clip was of the little Warby girls. As John Hartford said of them with tongue in cheek, "They can flat sing!"
The only problem I had with this puzzle was remembering how to spell “baba ghanoush”. Other than that, this puzzle was the usual Monday walk in the park. FIR, so I’m happy.
FIW, not knowing ASMeRA and penciling in GLEeN. Bad Spelars of the World, UNTIE! But I guessed right at both my Naticks: NANA x I FEEL SEEN and BABAGHANOUSH x SHOE. Erased AUSTeN for AUSTIN.
Gotta get some o dat BABAGHANOUSH. I love anything eggplant.
Model Holliday? I can't imagine how many Legos that would take. (I'm in Winter Haven, home of Lego Land.)
I like Kathleen Turner, but never heard of that flick.
I've seen pix of bee beards before, but never seen one in person. I've helped harvest honey though, and loved working with the magical little critters. My sister-in-law gets treatments by bee sting for her allergies. She prefers natural medications whenever they are appropriate. I keep asking her if she's tried any of that natural hemlock or anthrax. She's not amused. I am.
I lived in LA County for more than 10 years, and never heard of NOHO.
Thanks for the tough-for-Monday puzzle, Lynn and Will. Another example of Jinx's List of Typical Puzzle Difficulty: 1) Saturday, 2) Friday, 3) Sunday, 4) Thursday, 5) Monday, 6) Wednesday, 7) Tuesday. And thanks to Sumdaze, especially for the puppy picture. Dazzling boots!
Took 5:45 for this puzzle to Be Gone.
Like the (few) others, never heard of the Baby Geniuses movie and there was zero chance I'd correctly spell baba ghanoush. I didn't know today's actress (Nina) or her show or movie, but I did know today's female writer (Austen). Today's geography lesson was new to me too (Asmara).
Re: the nice review, the Bee Gees were inducted in 1997 (not 1977 - that would've been very impressive).
I do remember the Rulon Gardner upset. The Russian he beat was perhaps the most intimidating athletes ever. Some Olympians wouldn't wrestle him for fear of getting hurt. If I remember correctly, there had been a recent rule/scoring change, which contributed to Rulon's upset victory.
It was cool to see "alleys" in a Monday puzzle. Respect.
FIR. SE corner gave me some fits for a while, but eventually gave way. Between Noho and Soto, not to mention never hearing of espadrilles, it was a struggle.
FIR on Monday but not boringly easy. Right at the beginning I was reminded to check perps as I had several WOs. And I saw the theme with the second themer. Clever! Thanks, Lynn and Will.
Thanks, sumdaze, for the review, complete with appropriate accompaniment. BEE BEARDS was new to me, but I have been to A FEW German BEER GARDENS. I noticed the CSOs to inanehiker and Boomer too.
I look forward to reading more Monday comments later.
Three weeks in a row:
"A little bit of work for a Monday "
No, but I remember when the Redsox won the 1967 Pennant
How to kill a NEMESIS? With kindness
Attempts could have been StaTS as in FTAs,FTs
After four perps espadrille was still UNK (as were several others; I knew SOTO)
WC
The FIR was in jeopardy for awhile
Musings
-I’ll bet even D-O got this theme. :-) See, I was right!
-LGBT – I have friends that are L, G and T. I’ll bet I know B’s but that’s trickier to discover
-Rulon wrestled for and graduated from UNL
-Are immigrants from CRETE called excretions?
-AZALEAS will be on display in three months at the world’s most famous golf tournament
-Sign seen in some classrooms near the clock: “Time will pass. Will you?”
-ALLEYS? No respect for Boomer’s insistence on LANES.
-Nice write-up, Renee, but that picture (we don’t say photo in my ‘hood) needed more Renee and less train. :-)
Thank you Lynn and Will. We should all Bee Grateful for such an auspicious start to the week.
And thank you sumdaze for getting it going with lots of clever internet Bling and Goodies.
Some favs:
14A PAUSE. I have 6, I don't include the app in my phone for AUTO-STARTING our new car, which doesn't work and for which we paid extra.
36A CRETE. Not so sure that all Cretans would agree that this is a Greek island, but then they are famous liars.
49A ELLEN. She was really hot in Sea of Love.
21A UPSETS. No.
30D STYX. TUONELA wouldn't fit.
32D ORCA. OREO didn't perp.
33D BEE BEARDS. Pass.
37D EAGLE. IIRC they're in the R&R HOF too.
47D LANE. Personally I think Patti should ghost the fill included in today's puzzle.
48D SHOE. Got this on perps. Are they Espadrilles in your NAPA pic sumdaze?
Cheers,
Bill
Husker @8:50 AM I'm with you on A***YS. The NAPA pic was hi-res and you can blow it up. My guess is that sumdaze was wearing Espadrilles.
MSDR - Wish I had said that!
AtlGranny, wouldn't a German one be a "bier garten", or is that just a gimmick invented for American guzzlers?
Gary, I lived with a B when I was much younger. The best part was sharing observations about other attractive women. The worst part was that she had 2x the potential mates as I did, and she left me for a woman we both lusted for. (I've had lots of L platonic friends. Best part was going with some of them to gay bars, where I didn't feel any sexual tension. I had to explain that I was S a couple of times, but it was never an issue.)
I've always heard that the Augusta Country Club groundskeepers use ice to delay AZALEAS blooming until Masters Week. Most everything I've read say that that is BS.
Quick puzzle with an easy BG theme on par for most Mondays - but a little crunch here and there to keep it interesting. I had birch before BEECH - but otherwise smooth sailing!
I thought of Boomer too with his insistence on bowling centers that had lanes instead of ALLEYS and on a Monday to boot!
Amusing to have ASMARA right over BABA GHANOUSH as you probably could get some there. One of my daughter's high school friends was originally from Eritrea (a small country by Ethiopia). He now is one of the premier jazz trumpeters in the world based out of Paris. He just had an album titled "ASMARA" as a nod to his roots. He and his trio played at her wedding reception 10 years ago when they were just graduated from UMKC Conservatory - don't think we could afford them now.
https://komosrecords.bandcamp.com/album/asmara
Thanks SD and Lynn & Will!
waseeley
Are there espadrille boots like Renee is wearing? :-)
Also, from Renee's other picture, I learned Robert Louis Stevenson must have been an oenophile
Jinx
There's a "made for TV" movie in there somewhere about you and your B friend. Theme song would contain the lyric, "I've looked at love from both sides now"
FIR but not quite elementary my dear K. Watson (and Will)
A recent theme was Minus A, today's is full of B's. 🐝🐝🐝 (I see now it was actually BG). LGBT or in keeping with the theme LBGT
It took several attempts to spell BABA GHANOUSH correctly.☹
Dobrev? ASMARA? C'mon it's only Monday 😏
Birch also has smooth bark. Almost an inkover.
"Guy who always agrees with the boss"..kissass wouldn't fit 🤭.
I was surprised to find out that the Girl Scouts of America (GSA) are a "Fed. Property Agency" (are the cookies 🍪😋 government issue too?)
Dogs have four....PAUSE
Christmas sans Santa....NOHO
Ecdysiast's remark....IFEELSEEN
Have a great week.
Didn't know Asmara, crosses solved that dilemma, also put Sosa instead of Soto. Completely threw by Babaghanoush, who knew? 😂
I agrée à lovely walk in the park this morning. I didn’t know SOBE, ASMARA, or SOTO. My grand niece is named Christina but goes by NINA.
Dear MIL, of Lebanese descent, made scrumptious BABA GHANOUSH. She would simply roast her eggplant over the open flame of her gas cook top. It made a mess, but the results were fabulous.
GINA Lollobrigida’s name is a blast from the past. The first time I saw one of her movies, Trapeze, I was so taken by her short, pixie like hairdo, I cut off my long hair in imitation. Not my best move.
As a child, my summer shoes were always espadrilles.
This was a good start to the week. Best wishes to all our wonderful puzzle constructors, the smart people who write up the reveals, and the always entertaining commenters.
In south Louisiana there are few yards that don’t have at least one AZALEA bush.
R - O - S @9:37 AM Nor would "brown noser".
Good morning. Nice Monday puzzle. Thanks, Lyn & Will. Worked most of the unknowns with the perps. No WOs. Yea! DNK SOBE. SOTO. TESS. Not a dancer but loved the music from the Disco era, so a fan of the BGs.
Fun links in the Blog, thanks, sumdaze, especially the Lab puppy pic. Sweet memories. I have Lab calendars (one monthly, one daily) that make me smile :>)!!
It seems we agree this was a fun puzzle but, as W.C. said so perfectly, "a little bit of work for a Monday".
Anonymous @ 5:45. Thank you for pointing out my date type-o! I've corrected it.
No Old 97's fans yet???
Hi All!
A BIT of a slowdown in the SW corner but otherwise a normal (name-heavy) Monday puzzle. Thanks Lynn & Will.
A fun expo sumdaze. Never heard of Old '97 but a good tune - thanks.
WOs: tries -> SHOTS
ESPs: NINA, GINA, ELLEN, TESS (oh, it's a person!)
Fav: STYX - great band (wait, Lynn & Will meant the mythical river)
BIL caught me on TV* at the 2021 HR Derby. Alonso won but look who was 1st for a while [right-hand side].
SubG - right? I love BABA GHANOUSH but had no idea how it was spelled (the ganooss part).
LOL natural hemlock, Jinx. Mom has 16 hives but I've yet to spin honey.
@7:37 - you mean LANES, eh? :-) //R.I.P. our Monday host.
Waseeley - 1998 R&R HoF for the EAGLEs.
Of course, my favorite trio was inducted in 2013. Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins (R.I.P.) induct RUSH [6:04 - TVMA (R?)]
Work beckons...
Cheers, -T
*yes, I'm a grown-a** man that still takes my glove (that I got when I was 8yrs old) to games. No, I didn't catch a ball. Yes, the Cards fan (behind me) & I became fast-friends. //Cards, Cubs, & BoSox fans are the best - they know the history.
Hola!
Monday mania! This puzzle provided more of a challenge than usual: BABA GHANOUSH. Ay, ya, ya.
Luckily the downs helped with the spelling otherwise I might have missed that first H in GHANOUSH.
BEE BEARDS? What are they thinking?
I love, love, love THE BEE GEES. Sadly, only Barry is still alive. My CD of all their greatest hits was stolen from my car along with all the other CDs which are irreplaceable. Now I only listen on the radio.
I love AZALEA shrubs and tried growing one here. Impossible! It's too dry and they require constant watering.
Though I am a SHOE aficionado I don't care for ESPADRILLES. It's the rope, I guess. For Christmas my family gave me some shiny, sparkling shoes. Someone at church said to me, "I could read by those." An exaggeration, of course.
Have a wonderful day, everyone! Every day is a gift.
A very easy Breezy, Good solve today. NOHO, NINA, SOTO, SOBE were solved with easy perps and wags. Thought of Ghanoush right away, but needed perp help to spell. I love everything eggplant, but have not tried this.
I guessed what the reveal would be early on.
I love azaleas. I had domesticated ones in my yard and saw many wild ones on my hikes.
I have seen many pictures of bee beards, but none in real life.
When I told my male doctor I was in pain he said that was impossible because that part has no pain. "It doesn't hurt a bit." I felt angry and UNHEARD, not unseen. Obviously the pain was from somewhere very close by.
My elementary school yard was surrounded by beech trees. In the fall we peeled off the husks and ate the nuts. Although many sites say birch bark is smooth, in older trees it peels and looks raggedy.
.
A Bit of a Grind for a Monday, a bit of a slowdown in the south central with unknowns ASMARA, NOHO, SHOE (cuz I’ve never heard of espadrille), and BABA GHANOUSH, never been on my table or in my vocabulary. Managed a FIR but it took 12:44 and perp help and a WAG. Thank you for today grid Lynn and Will.
Sumdaze ~~ you’ve really taken to this blogging and you do a mighty fine job! Not familiar with the Old 97’s, but I liked the tune you linked, good rocker! Didn’t know actress NINA either but she’s easy on the 👀’s.
Having ALLEYS instead of lanes in a Monday puzzle was a nice nod to Boomer, yeah he would cringe but with his wit would appreciate the irony.
I very quick week opening fill today featuring the BEE GEES.
BABY GENIUSES- never heard of the term but all grandparents think that about theirs. Not so much their own children.
BABA GHANOUSH- heard the name before but didn't it was eggplant. Saturday night we went to an Italian restaurant and had eggplant parmesan for my entre to go with the shrimp au gratin, salad, fettucine alfredo, and spumoni for dessert. Finished it off yesterday.
TGFperps because I had no idea who Juan SOTO was or what an Espadrille was either. SHOE was the only logical fill to cross SOTO.
ASMARA- I only remember it due to it being a hot stock back in the 1960s- Asmara Oil.
NINA, NOHO, and TESS- perps for them
I'd never heard of a BEE BEARD but it makes sense after a few perps. Braver than me.
I forgot to mention - Other synonym for “guy who always agrees with the boss”, my first thought was “obsequious sycophant”, but that didn’t fit either 🤷🏼♂️... also my clickers number 4, one for the TV itself, one for DirecTV, (we don’t have access to cable here in the sticks), a Fire Stick, and one for the external speaker.
Delightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Lynn and Will. And love all those great pictures, Sumdaze, just wish we'd gotten a better look at you in that last one.
Well, looks as though there might have been a bit of conflict going on in this puzzle, with somebody saying I FEEL SEEN, maybe because he got YELLED at by someone's YES MAN, possibly an ENEMY who made him EXIT and go to a whole different ZONE. We can only hope it was a GREAT new AREA, with BEECH TREES and AZALEAS, and a NEAT BEER GARDEN where he can get some BABA GHANOUSH and a ginger SNAP or two. That would be much more GENUINE and comfortable, wouldn't it? Just hope it doesn't make him SMUG.
Have a GREAT day, everybody!
Al Pacino had a restaurant chain that served BABA GHANOUSH among other Mediterranean fare. He was also Ellen Barkin's lover in Sea of Love.
Jinx @ 9:18 AM, yes, Biergarten is the German spelling. During nice weather they are very popular there.
YES MAN. I've been looking for a cartoon I used to have on my office wall, but my Google skills are not worthy. IIRC, it showed a guy and his toady in an office. The boss was staring out the window, and was saying "I don't think acid rain is all that bad." The toady was shown saying "Yes sir Mr. Smith, I LOVE acid rain."
My engineers and I used it as an inside joke. Whenever our boss would tell us something that "he and the big boss" had decided on, we would tell each other how much we loved acid rain.
FIR, slightly tougher than the typical Monday, mostly because of the NOHO SOTO area and me having STABS for SHOTS at first. Seeing PRIDE made me double-check that the clue for 1A didn't have "pride" in it - but I did miss the actual dupe (SHOE and "shoelaces" in the VELCRO clue) until after solving.
With all the (usually forced) repeated clues in LAT puzzles, I was surprised to see different clues for AREA and ZONE.
I was a bit alarmed when I saw "Australias (blank) barrier reef", as I have been complaining (yeah I know, I'm working on it...) that Monday to Friday was not easy to hard. (OMG! Patti listened to me! This is a tragic mistake!) when a clue of "exceptional" would have sufficed. However the rest of the puzzle, (Asmara?) had definite mid week clue/answers.
Trivia corner:
Did you know the the BeeGees were from Australia?
(I'm from Australia, and even I didn't know that...)
Hmm, this requires looking back At their origins...
Don't let that Baba Ganoush link fool you! It's not easy!
Make it at home and it will come out incredibly bitter!
There's a science to it. ( I posted before) try to use female fruits that counterintuitively have less seeds that male fruits. Seeds are what make it bitter. Some advocate salting the eggplant to draw out bitterness and then rinsing. But quite honestly, this is where I just go to the supermarket. (And it's still a tossup) if you don't like baba, try it somewhere else, they didn't make it right!
Can a guy know espadrilles?
Well, yes, I dredged up "shoes" from the depths of my memory, as I knew it wasn't a French snail appetizer...
You paid for auto-start and it doesn't work?
Little known fact, the car must be locked for it to work, safety theft feature...
(Be sure not to leave your key fob in the car while doing this..,)
Cont...
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Lynn and Will, and sumdaze (thanks for the photos).
I FIRed in good time, and saw the BeeGee theme early in the solve. I thought of Stayin’ Alive.
Were those BEE BEARDS an Easter Egg to the theme?
Several inkblots due to my own brain cramps. Birch trees have white bark; I needed BEECH.
Brontë didn’t write Emma; it was AUSTIN.
PASSes changed to PASS BY, which fits the tense better.
Hand up for needing perps to spell GHANOUSH.
No problem with that Espadrille SHOE (although I don’t wear them as I don’t need to add anymore height).
NINA is 34?! Oh, Nina Dobrev, not our Nina. Nice CSO.
And I did notice ALLEYS and think of Boomer. We all know what he would have said.
Thanks for the CSO to our northern Cornerites, but that clue assumes a Fahrenheit thermometer. This Canadian would love temperatures in the teens right now on our Celsius thermometer. Currently, we are at 1 degree C (32F).
A wound is still healing and would be covered with a SCAB. A healed wound might have a scar.
SOHO yesterday and NOHO today.
I thought of the Good Housekeeping SEAL of Approval.
It took a minute to parse HEMIN.
Thankfully GSA perped for this Canadian.
Wishing you all a great day.
Azaleas are an indoor potted plant here in the great white north. They would never survive our “frigid temps”. I had one for several years that thrived in a sunny window with occasional watering with cold tea (Red Rose of course) in place or the usual water. (They like acidic soil)
I learned Beech trees while attempting to learn more about "all" my local trees, and their uses.
The Beech was the 1st and easiest tree to identify, because of its silver/grey smooth bark.
In winter, you can see it miles away, because they hold their dead leaves all winter.
In summer, if the bark doesn't give them away, they say the Beech likes to stand on its toes, as the roots tends to show...
Here is a video that may help you if you have diarrhea during the coming apocalypse.
Tomorrow: The Birch
Over at Monty Python: The Larch...
And finally...
Ginger snap sent me down a rabbit hole, as I wanted to link the "it's a wonderful life" scene where George finally gets to see his Zuzu again and say how's my ginger snap, to which she replies, "not a smidge of fever." However all the links were over 9 minutes, and I feel I am abusing my stay here as it is... "but," I did find this (interesting) alternate ending I had never seen before...
The Larch C, -T
Thank you, Lynn and Will, and thank you, Sumdaze.
About the same time that the Bee Gee's "You Should Be Dancing" song came out, K.C. and the Sunshine Band came out with their song, "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Djibouti" See 42A
No to the Katherine Turner movie. Never heard of it.
No to espadrille. New to me. I just call them shoes. As compared to boots. Or slippers. Or sandals.
Yes to recalling Rulon Gardner.
Not to Old 97s.
Dash T - An epic induction into the RockHall by Grohl and Hawkins. Thanks! (Even though I've seen it many times before, it's always fun).
Ray-O, my River Birch had anything but smooth bark. Across the street, my neighbor's Paper Birch did have smooth bark.
Hand up for being a fan of Azaleas. I know of which ye speak, D-O. River Oaks. Definitely a "high rent district" as my buddy (your old neighbor) used to say.
Sumdaze, thanks for linking the STYX song "Come Sail Away" at 30D. Let's tie that together with the story of "D'oh, Brother Where Art Thou?" linked at 8D. Here, from the 14th episode of the 13th season, is Odysseus Crossing the River Styx (20 seconds)
CSO to Dr Nina, who after solving problems at work, apparently relaxes in her off hours by solving crosswords and Sporacle quizzes. An innate (and clearly not inane) problem solver. Nice story and family connection to ASMARA ! Listening now.
Jinx, that comment from MSDR using an excerpt of your earlier comments was from a spammer. They want readers to click on the Blogger name field, which is a URL link to a site full of nefarious payloads. I deleted it.
Dave, you didn't know you were from Australia ? Oh wait. Never mind.
I did not know I knew BABAGHANOUSH.
But I did.
My thanks to the team of Watson/Nediger for pointing it out to me.
And to sumdaze for showing the way.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diagonals, all on the far side.
The central diag gives us a solid anagram (13 of 15) of the impression an ET recon expedition might form of some of our own leading planetary co-inhabitants,
in case their saucer might hover over the Dakotas.
"Aha," they may conclude...
"STERN EARTHMEN"!
Ol' Man Keith, Lucina, Wilbur Charles and Dash T - I went to delete the contents of the spam filter. Not sure why Blogger flagged older comments from you (one each). They were each just approved. Didn't notice anything in them that warranted them being filtered. In fact, I recall reading, at the time, the one from Lucina (about her and her man Mark coming back from somewhere or something like that), and the one from Dash T (about just returning from SPI). Weird.
Something strange going on, for sure.
Wow, a double treat today: a fun puzzle and a terrific review.
Thanks for the report, TTP, and for agreeing ("Weird.") that the blog censor acted injudiciously.
We have had trouble of the same sort (possibly worse in its frecent censorship of CanadianEh!) in the Jumblehints blog.
I don't know WHO sets the algorithm for the "spam filter," but I sincerely hope there is someone in charge who is as concerned as we are about fixing this ongoing problem.
At least as concerned.
We put genuine effort into our postings, and it is most discouraging to see them vanish--first of all without explanation,
but, secondly, when a cause might be revealed, to learn there is in fact no explanation to justify the action.
~ OMK
"frecent" = "frequent," in my last posting to TTP.
Google spell-check at its worst.
~ OMK
It's most likely AI - Artificial Intelligence - programming that's screening blog comments, looking for spam content and looking for material that is not consistent with the blog's audience setting. Let's hope that it learns fast.
"I'm sorry TTP, I'm afraid I can't do that."
Theoretically, the way it should work, at least as I understand it:
1) The AI determines that a comment needs to be annotated as spam
2) the blog admins should review comments in the spam filter and either:
a) leave as spam, or
b) approve it for publishing, and if approved,
3) The AI should "learn" why an admin decided comments were acceptable.
4) Not make the same errors again
Detail beyond that general overview... probably proprietary.
Re. YES MAN etc. Chauvinist derived from General Chauvin who was always quick with "Oui, Mon Empereur" for anything uttered by Napoleon.
Nice to know I merited a spam delete. I think I referred,once, to Bo*er Merkle of the famous 1908 Pennant deciding game
WC
Wilbur Charles, your comment was a one-liner, while the ones from OMK, Lucina, and Dash T were each multiple paragraphs.
Your comment in the spam filter was something along the lines of "I agree with Subgenius."
Again, weird.
Since my frequent AI censorship on the Jumble blog, I have started to copy my posts immediately after posting, and then refreshing the page to ensure that my post has not disappeared. I did try posting a Deleted Jumble post here, and it was deleted here also. When I split the post into two parts, both posts usually remained. Occasionally one-half of the reposts would disappear. I have not had any disappearing posts lately, but I now make several smaller posts on that site instead of one large one.
CanadianEh!, I haven't seen your blogger name in any of the spam filter comments I have deleted. However, having said that, it is possible that I didn't notice them due to the volume of spam comments we get, and they may have been among the many when I delete them en masse.
One particular concern that I have is that the AI may "learn" that a particular ID is sending what it determines to be spam, and then assigns a higher "probability" score to that ID. So that person's comments may be subjected to a different level of scrutiny. That's just speculation.
"I, for one, ..."
"In what is commonly thought of as the original use of the phrase, Simpsons character Kent Brockman, a fictional newscaster, upon seeing an extreme close-up shot of an ant, talked about humans’ future subservience to a race of giant ants. “I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords,” Brockman said.
As new technologies develop, the phrase “I, for one, welcome our (X) overlords” has become a way to talk about the rise of artificial intelligence, the building of ever more sophisticated robots and digital entities, and the evolution of computers toward a kind of human sentience. Perhaps the most common variation of the phrase would be “I for one welcome our robot overlords.” This is often said in a satirical way, but there is an element of actual concern for many people that in fact, computers and robots could become in some ways dominant over humans in the future."
Just had to share, as I had never seen this before.
Apparently, the NYT had a puzzle where the central theme clue was "better of two sci-fi franchises."
and this is what they did with it!
sumdaze - two thumbs up for the Old 97's! Great reference to a great band.
Our newest Robot Overlords are infiltrating us as we speak - waseeley shared this a few days ago [sorry, I didn't get back to you W].
Then there's GPT4 which has a onery side when provoked.
If y'all haven't played with GPT4, do when you're BORE'd. Just don't ask it to write a love letter (it will tell you the letter should be from you) nor most effective way to get rid of a body (that will flag your account for a 5 minute time-out :-))
Cheers, -T
The AI will probably delete this which is why it's a separate post. Me poking GPT4 with a stick..
Cheers, -T
I'm still trying to figure out 2 and 4 stroke engines,
No thanks re: (term8nator) AI...
I have enough trouble with my roomba, (and everything connected to my wifi) to want to see what the future robotics may bring.
Plus, watch out for Megan, coming to theaters near you Jan 13...
Dear CED: I think I might skip 'Megan' after watching that preview ... "the best laid plans of mice and men oft gang agley."
Oops, almost forgot -- never heard of "NoHo," but the LA Times occasionally notes the activities in "WeHo", West Hollywood.
Another two-square FIW on a Monday!!! This time, it was the H in NOHO, which I didn’t know. I probably should have recognized GHANOUSH for 46A, but I also messed up GLEAN by sticking in an M. Dumb!
Eggplant is probably the only food (?) that I have tried that I simply detest. I’ve tried it every which way, and I just don’t like it. I think it is the texture of it that does it to me.
The Bee Gees website is a little misleading about them. Barry, Robin and Maurice were indeed brothers, with Robin and Maurice being fraternal twins. They had younger brother, Andy, who was basically a solo singer. Only Barry is still alive. Yes, they did team up with Bill Goode and Bill Gates.
Dash T, wow. Scary. Esp the part about little to no skill req'd.
It all seems to be heading towards an epic battle of good vs evil. Will the good AI have more better faster resources than the bad AI actors ?
What Elon Musk had to say about AI risk: AI Risk article - from 2017
Here locally in the blogosphere, it could be an explanation as to why some of the functions here seem to have been written as if without any conscious thought towards human factors / user interface. e.g., the mobile commenting UI works OK for most, but, we have conditions such as Wilbur Charles needing to start his comments with a space or, Ray O being able to submit comments with unclosed tags.
And the comment screening AI seeming to randomly and arbitrarily flag some comments with neither rhyme nor reason. Certainly, there are comments that have been flagged that should have been flagged due to suggestive or adult content, but I am clueless as to why it would have flagged Wilbur Charles' "I agree with Subgenius" comment.
I've developed this image in my mind that there's a single programming support resource comprised of a team of one or two relatively inexperienced types with degrees from a diploma mill sitting in some boiler room on the subcontinent, plagiarizing bits from here and there, cobbling it all together and calling it good, while making two dollars an hour if they are lucky. It's probably not the case, but sometimes it feels that way.
It could be, and probably is, poorly crafted AI.
It's just that it is all so disappointing that there is no real support for Blogger, and that it takes forever to get any bugs fixed. Beyond the community self-support forum, it's all a one-way street. Never a response or interaction. Seldom an acknowledgement, and even then it comes from some intermediary that may or may not understand/agree/support that there is in fact, a bug.
I think I should retire. (Crowd roars)
:-)
I forgot to add this quote about the new app that's designed to detect AI ChatGPT.
It's called GPTZero. They want to hear from educators.
"GPTZero turns the very technologies used to build ChatGPT around — to detect AI. It uses variables like perplexity to fingerprint AI involvement."
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