google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Steve Faiella

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May 2, 2023

Tuesday, May 2, 2023 Steve Faiella

It's Party Time!  This puzzle is just in time for the Coronation this weekend, where I'm sure there will be a big FÊTE, BALL, GALA and BASH.  I'll need to polish my tiara.


17-Across. Term of office for Supreme Court justices, e.g.: LIFE TENURE.  FÊTE.  The life tenure of the Supreme Court Justices has come under fire recently.  Enough said.


24-Across. "The Silence of the Lambs" villain: HANNIBAL LECTER.  BALL.

Fancy Balls.

52-Across. Member of an attorney's support staff: LEGAL ASSISTANT.  GALA


64-Across. Places to pick up diving gear: SCUBA SHOPS.

 

And the unifier:

41-Across. Investigative department, and what 17-, 24-, 52-, and 64-Across have?: INTERNAL AFFAIRS.  Also the name of a 1990 Richard Gere film.

Did you get your invitation for this AFFAIR? 

Across:
1. Unlikely election win, say: UPSET.  Probably the most famous upset election victory was on November 3, 1948, when the Chicago Daily Tribute erroneously declared Thomas Dewey (Mar. 24, 1902 ~ Mar. 16, 1971) defeated Harry Truman (May 8, 1884 ~ Dec. 26, 1972) in the Presidential election.


6. Tidbit in a coffee grinder: BEAN.  I just got my hubby an espresso machine, so the coffee grinder is getting a workout.


10. __-washed jeans: ACID.  Contrary to its name, Acid-washed jeans are not actually washed in acid.  

14. Housework task: CHORE.


15. French friend: AMIE.  Today's French lesson.  This is your French girlfriend.

16. Medicine amount: DOSE.  //  And 66-Down. "__ as directed": USE.

19. Choir song: HYMN.

20. "__ was saying ... ": AS I.

21. Quirky: ODD.

22. U.K. mil. award: DSO.  As in the Distinguished Service Order.  It is a British military decoration awarded to officers who have performed meritorious or distinguished service in war. The decoration was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1886.  Awardees can add the initials D.S.O. after their names. 




31. Donkey: ASS.

32. Part of a tall cake: TIER.


33. "Selma" director DuVernay: AVA.  Ava DuVernay (né Ava Marie DuVernay; b. Aug. 24, 1972) directed Selma in 2004, which is a biopic about Martin Luther King, Jr.   [Name # 1.]


34. Dry shell: HUSK.  I would say this is a nod to our Husker Gary, but Gary is clearly not a dry shell.

37. Milky gem: OPAL.  Australia is known for its Opals.  They remind me of Kazie, who used to comment regularly, because she was from Australia.


39. Archipelago unit: ISLET.  The word “archipelago” comes from the medieval Italian word archi, meaning chief or principal, and the Greek word pelagus, meaning gulf, pool, or pond.  The Aleutian Islands are probably the most well known archipelago to Americans.  They are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands off the cost of Alaska.  Most of the Islands are a part of Alaska, but some belong to Russia.


44. Brief digression: ASIDE.

45. Point sets, in math: LOCI.



46. Post-WWII alliance: NATO.  As in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.


47. Actor Cariou: LEN.  Although the name, Len Cariou (né Leonard Joseph Cariou; b. Sept. 30, 1939), did not ring a bell, I have certainly seen this actor in such television shows as The West Wing and Law & Order.  He got is start as a stage actor, and is best known for his portrayal of Sweeney Todd in the stage play of the same name.  [Name # 2.]



48. Tall shade trees: ELMS.


50. "Unforgettable" singer __ King Cole: NAT.  Nat King Cole (né Nathaniel Adams Cole; Mar. 17, 1919 ~ Feb. 15, 1965) was an American jazz singer.  In 2000, 35 years after this death, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (see 65-Down).  In the early 1990s, Natalie Cole (née Natalie Maria Cole; Feb. 6, 1950 ~ Dec. 31,  2015), created a version of Unforgettable where, through the magic of technology, she sang with her father [Name # 3.]


57. Desert viper: ASP.


58. NYC subway org.: MTA.  As in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.


59. Post-WWII alliance: OAS.  As in the Organization of American States.  The OAS is an international organization that was founded 75 years ago, on April 1948.  It was designed for the purpose of solidarity and cooperation among its member states within North and South America.  Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.



61. Open just a crack: AJAR.  When is a door not a door ...

68. Glacier fragment: BERG.


69. Anna's "Frozen" sister: ELSA.  Frozen was first a Disney film, and now a musical on Broadway.  [Name # 4.]

70. Core belief: TENET.

71. __ A Sketch: ETCH.  Everything you wanted to know about the Etch-A-Sketch, but didn't know to ask.


72. Monopoly card: DEED.


73. Vase-shaped jugs: EWERS.


Down:
1. Sch. near Hollywood: UCLA.  As in the University of California, Los Angeles.


2. Jam band with a namesake Ben & Jerry's flavor: PHISH.  It's a chocolate-based ice cream with gooey marshmallow swirls, caramel swirls, and gummy chocolate fish.  [Name # 5.]


3. Bulgaria's capital: SOFIA.  Sofia, Bulgaria is one of the oldest cities in Europe.


4. Before, poetically: ERE.

5. "Grand" Wyoming range: TETONS.  More of today's French lesson?

6. Inn offering a morning meal, briefly: B AND B.  As in a Bed and Breakfast.


7. Ostrichlike bird: EMU.  What's the difference?


8. Football filler: AIR.

9. Tease: NEEDLE.

10. Like some committees: AD HOC.  Today's Latin lesson.  It literally means: for this.  An ad hoc committee is generally created to look into a single matter of limited scope, not to pursue any issue of interest.

11. Artfully shy: COY.

12. School-of-thought suffix: -ISM.  As in Darwinism.
13. Work-from-home space, perhaps: DEN.  During the first months of the pandemic, I worked in my outdoor den.


18. Inventor Thomas: EDISON.  We often see Thomas Alva Edison (Feb. 11, 1847 ~ Oct. 18, 1931) in the puzzles.  Some electric companies are named after him.  [Name # 6.]


23. Printing flourish: SERIF.


25. Nude: NAKED.


26. Completely flummoxed: AT A LOSS.

27. Fragrant spring shrub: LILAC.  We had Lilac bushes in our yard when I was growing up.  I love the smell of the flowers.


28. Actress Shire: TALIA.  Talia Shire (née Talia Rose Coppola; b. Apr. 25, 1946) and film director Francis Ford Coppola (b. 1939) are sister and brother.  She is probably best known for her role as Adrian Balboa in the Rocky films.  She also portrayed Connie Corleone in the Godfather movie.  [Name # 7.]


29. Tennis great Chris: EVERT.  Chris Evert (née Christine Marie Evert; b. Dec. 21, 1954) also makes frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.  [Name # 8.]


30. "Midnight Cowboy" role: RATSO.  Dustin Hoffman (né Dustin Lee Hoffman; born Aug. 8, 1937) portrayed Ratso Rizzo in the movie.  [Name # 9.]


34. Group email starter: HI, ALL.  

35. "I wish I could __ that!": "So gross!": UNSEE.


36. Wasp's defense: STING.


38. Tropical trees: PALMS.

40. Jolly December visitor: SANTA.  The history of Santa.  And a nod to our own dear Santa.  [Name # 10.]

42. Film spools: REELS.

43. Social media account that may provide anonymity: FINSTA.  A Fake Instagram.  Who knew?

49. Ended, as a subscription: LAPSED.

51. One small bite: A TASTE.


53. Cry of frustration: AARGH!


54. Tough character's claim: I'M BAD.

55. "... said __ ever": NO ONE.


56. Slender candle: TAPER.


60. Ultrafast 62-Downs: SSTs.  //  And 62-Down. Fast plane: JET.  Although you'll no longer see the SST in the sky, you will see them in the puzzles.




61. Actor Vigoda: ABE.  Abe Vigoda (né Abraham Charles Vigoda; Feb. 1921 ~ Jan. 26, 2016) was also in the Godfather films with 28-Down.  [Name # 11.]



63. __ de Triomphe: ARC.  More of today's French lesson.  Its full name is Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile and it is probably the most famous monument in Paris.  It is the Étoile, or Star, from which 12 avenues radiate.


65. Rock & Roll HoF city: CLE.  The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is found in Cleveland, Ohio.  Why Cleveland, you ask ...  The building was designed by the famous architect I.M. Pei (né Ieoh Ming Pei; Apr. 27, 1917 ~ May 16, 20019) and is an absolute beautiful building.  It's designed to look a bit like a turntable.



66. "__ as directed": USE.

Not being Used as Directed.
67. Cut down: HEW.

Here's the Grid:



חתולה



 


41 comments:

Subgenius said...

Well, what I expected, happened. Today’s puzzle was considerably easier than yesterday’s (it could hardly have been much harder, unless we were going to have the end of the week at its beginning.) For one thing, the theme was evident immediately. For another, the themed answers were not the obscurities that many of yesterday’s themed answers were, but instead were well known expressions or people. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.

OwenKL said...

The GALA FETE was in full swing!
Jo was AT A LOSS at this thing.
Just in case,
She took A TASTE
Of the spiked punch, and went Ba-zing!

A DOSE of ACID on an espresso BEAN
Transported Joe to a different scene!
He was in a cup,
Things sped up,
And the state fair BASH became a dream!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zipped right through this one with nary a nit and no need for my trusty Wite-Out. Len Cariou currently plays grandpa on Blue Bloods. I don't recognize the puzzle setter's name -- is this a debut? Enjoyed your visuals this morning, Hahtoolah, especially the KFC cartoon and the phones.

Have to make a foray into Houston today -- first time this year...and hopefully the last. It's all thanks to our overly persnickety Department of the Treasury. They won't transfer our paper bonds (issued in our name) to our online account (also in our name) without proof the our name belongs to us. AARGH!

Anonymous said...

Monday-easy for sure. I stumbled a bit on FINSTA, that's new to me. Having FIESTA (crossing EAT) would've made for a very neat theme-related entry.

unclefred said...

Quick and easy, with many names, I count 19, but not OBSCURE names. Theme was easily sussed, and CW filled quickly. W/Os HANNIBLE:HANNIBAL, DSC:DSO. (I was thinking “Distinguished Service Cross”; fortunately, “C” easily converts to “O”). DNK FINSTA, but perps were easy. Thanx, SF, for the fun CW. Thanx too to Hahtoolah for the usual fun write-up, complete with her (as always) great cartoons. BTW, Hahtoolah you have a typo: “we often seen” I’m sure you meant “we often see”.

Hahtoolah said...

Good morning, friends: This was an easy puzzle, but still there lots of fun clues and answers. FINSTA was my only true unknown.

I fixed the typo, UncleFred.

QOD: What is comfortable fashion? If you want to be comfortable, stay home in your pajamas. ~ Donatella Versace (b. May 2, 1955), Italian fashion designer

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased lou for LEN and arrgh for AARGH. Notice that Ha2la's example was sans the superfluous second "A".

How's your company doing? Apply the ACID test: (current assets - inventory)/current liabilities. Measures how the firm is likely to do if the excrement hits the fan.

"Mom, should someone get in trouble for something they didn't do?" "Of course not, honey." "Good, 'cause I didn't do the dishes."

Midnight Cowboy is the only X-rated film to win Best Picture.

Thanks to Ha2La for another fun and interesting tour.

KS said...

FIR, but never heard of Finsta. Thank heavens for perps. Got the theme early and that helped with the solve. Nice and easy Tuesday effort.

billocohoes said...

Didn't realize ASSociAte had the same number of letters as ASSISTANT, otherwise pretty quick solve

CanadianEh! said...

RIP Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk music icon.

Anonymous said...

Took 4:31 for me to get into this party.

As usual, it was heavy on the proper nouns. I didn't know the actor (Len somebody), the Bulgarian city, the abbreviated U.K. military award, but luckily I knew the three proper names in the middle of the right-side (Talia, Evert, & Ratso - all crossing Lecter).

Also seemed heavy on the 3-letter words/abbreviations, including these clunkers: asi, OAS, MTA, ism, DSO.

Oh joy, circles.

waseeley said...

CEh! @7:50 AM It's hard for me not to cry when I hear that song.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I enjoyed this Tuesday-worthy solve and, as I’ve noted before, early week circles don’t bother me because they’re more or less necessary to the day’s traditional level of difficulty in solving, a practice that’s been helter-skelter of late. The theme gimmick (imbedded related words) was simple and familiar, but the revealer was a cut above, IMO. I thought the strongest themer was Hannibal Lecter, despite his gruesome proclivities. No w/os and the only unknown was Finsta. I liked the clechos of OAS and NATO and, as Blue Bloods is one of my favorite shows, Len Cariou is always welcome.

Thanks, Steve, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hahtoolah, for much fun and many facts throughout your review. Today’s cartoons were all comical but my favorites were: Apple Eye Chart, Coffee Maker, Tree Stump, and Cell Phones. I share your love of Lilacs and the memories of the scent of my grandmother’s glorious gardens.

FLN

Ray O, congratulations on your unmasking! 🎭

Have a great day.

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Steve and Hahtoolah.
Easy fill today, and I saw the party theme early in the social season.

No UPSET here. I’m not AT A LOSS or saying AARGH.
I noted NAT under NATO.
BERG beside the Frozen ELSA was appropriate too.

Wishing you all a great day.

Lucina said...

Hola!

This puzzle almost filled itself! Thank you, Steve Faiella. And Thank you, Susan, for the amusing analysis with so many cute cartoons.

I no longer watch Blue Bloods (too predictable).

Chris EVERT runs a tennis clinic here in Arizona.

Our 66 PALM trees have to be trimmed every year; it's a dangerous job now that they are at least 60 feet tall.

My delivery just arrived. Later.

ATLGranny said...

A Tuesday fast and fun FIR. Thanks, Steve. Is this your debut? Come back soon. I liked your choices of theme and helpful perps for names. For example, FINSTA and LEN needed the perps. And although FETE gave away the theme, the reveal was clever.

Hahtoolah, thanks again for finding so many interesting illustrations for your review. Quirky ones like the KFC and STING cartoons bring bonus smiles as well!

Anon@6:11AM, are you a constructor? You sometimes make suggestions to improve the puzzle vocabulary. Just wondering....

Party on, everyone! (Thanks, Anon@7:59AM for the idea.)

Sherry said...

Counted 28 proper nouns, may have missed one or two, knew 24.Didn't know Finsta or MTA which kept me from finishing. Liked the puzzle.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Easier'n yesterday, definitely not a CHORE...so..based on the theme "let's get the PARTY started" 🥳.. .......

AARGH has 2 A's? Anyone have a Pirate's Dictionary?

..."Deflategate" 😃...Foot balls have AIR in them..just sometimes not filled all the way.

"You look hot in acid washed jeans..."
"Yeah my legs are burning."

EWER..you were absent from recent puzzles

USE "as directed". When you buy something like a lawn mower and the manual warns, “Do not use for other than intended purpose,” (so don't turn it on it's side and try to use it as a fan.)

The GRAND Tetons are at least a Triple D. 🤭

C'mon ...No job or position that sensitive should carry LIFE TENURE.

Designation on a male pastor's wash towel....HYMN
Everyone'll wanna if _____ you....ISLET
Turn inside out....EVERT
Geometry exclamation, "I love ___"... LOCI
Dalliances at work...INTERNAL AFFAIRS

Driving to work I saw what I thought was a bright comet or meteor suddenly lighting up the sky for a just a few minutes ...Nope just a brief glimpse of the sun.

🌥

unclefred said...

I meant to mention my sadness at seeing Gordon Lightfoot has died. I love his music in one way, wonderful melodies and lyrics, but don't like it in another way: it always seems to make me sad.

Monkey said...

Like Sherry, FINSTA and MTA kept me from finishing, although in retrospect I knew MTA, but…….

WES, nice and easy CW today.

Hahtoolah outdid herself this morning with cartoons and info. So many favorites.

Beautiful picture of the ARC de Triomphe. But I think that worldwide, La Tour Eiffel is the most recognizable Paris landmark.

Yes, RIP Gordon Lightfoot.

CrossEyedDave said...

Finished before I got to play with the circles:(

Vase like jug? (Amphora wouldn't fit...)
And why have they no foot anyway?

Thanks for all the links! Terrific write up!
(Only one nit)
Everything you ever wanted to know about an etchasketch is incomplete by a long shot...
If ever you have taken one of these apart, (you made one hell of a mess...) you would discover the amazing wire pulley system that directs the "etcher." But I bet, there was once an artistic endevour that you wanted to save for posterity, which is is the the one thing an etch-a-sketch cannot do.

Now, thanks to the magic of YouTube, you can see how to permanently save your etching. (&without the mess!)

Hmm, "hi all" does not sound very business like for an email...
but I guess it does fit the crossword theme...

Charlie Echo said...

FIR. WEES. Enjoyed the lack of obfuscation, only huh? Was FINSTRA. Learning experience. I thought of Boston at MTA, and wondered if Charlie ever got off that train? Hatoolah, great review. Loved the phones. I thought that the QOD was from Hugh Hefner at first!

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm,,,

(Another rabbithole...)

I made the mistake of wanting to know "everything" about amphora. Quora has a brief and succinct explaination of the pointed end, but Wikipedia is more concise. Then I went looking for an image of the pointy ends use in shipping arrangements, and found this site which takes "splainin" to the Nth degree...

Yuman said...

Finistra was totally new to me. Thank you Hatoolah for another fun informative review.
CEH, While visiting in AZ, Lightfoot saw the sign Carefree Highway.
Said Lightfoot, "I thought it would make a good title for a song. I wrote it down, put it in my suitcase and it stayed there for eight months." The song employs "Carefree Highway" as a metaphor for the state of mind where the singer seeks escape from his ruminations over a long ago failed affair with a woman named Ann.” The song made it to the top ten on the charts.

RosE said...

Good Morning! Thanks, Steve, for a fun puzzle. Yea! I knew all the names!!
The perps were kind but erred on the unknown FINSTA.
I jumped ahead in the SE and wrote Never instead of NO ONE. I have said, never ever, but admit, NO ONE ever is probably the more current lingo.
I have watched Len Cariou as Henry Reagan into 13 seasons of Blue Bloods.
Thanks, Hah2lah, for another fun recap. Loved the KFC Col. and What? The Bee didn’t mention having music of the Bee Gees??? AARGH!!

waseeley said...

FLN

Thanks Robin and thanks sumdaze for another funny, informative review. I especially like the Master Class on string theory. The great thing about this theory is that there appears to be no way to prove it. But if you give a scientist another grant, he'll give it another try. BTW Edward Witten was born in Baltimore.

FLN to Ray - O - So there'll be no more MASKED BALLS?

And for today's puzzle ...

Thank you Steve for the all the parties, complete with FIR favors.

And thank you Susan for all the good info and for your usual Hahtoolahian Hilarity. Even though I like all things British, I'm not sure I'll watch Charles 3's coronation. Personally I think that, like his Great Uncle Ed 7, he should have run off with his mistress and allowed his son Bill to ascend to the throne. There's got to be something wrong with someone who'd prefer Camilla to Diana.

A few favs:

3D SOFIA. The lady who cuts my hair is from SOFIA. I always tell her that I get a haircut twice a year, whether I need it or not. We're going to my granddaughter's college graduation this week end and Teri tells me I need it.

12D ISM. Quick, think of the name of the name of another science besides DARWINISM that consists of a scientist's name + ISM.

18D EDISON. It is not well known that Edison was called AL when his was child.

Cheers,
Bill

p.s. to CED @10:34 AM Thanks for the ACS amphora link. I've bookmarked it for bed time reading.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

I wore the mask on my face not around my waist....that's what the lead apron is for. 😃

Picard said...

desper-otto, CanadianEh Thank you for the shouts out yesterday for UNIcycle. And thank you for the news about Gordon Lightfoot. Very sad.

Learning moment about FINSTA. I think this says a lot about how young people spend their time. I remember building and flying model airplanes and going hiking in the woods and biking for miles in new territory. But paranoid parents now don't allow any real world activities for kids that are not organized and supervised. So sad.

I have been to the ARC DE TRIOMPHE several times. But it wasn't until our visit in September that I realized you can go to the top! I was sad to see the Eiffel Tower has turned into a closed fortress. A Web search revealed that the view from the ARC is actually a better view.

Here is my short video showing the extraordinary traffic pattern below the ARC DE TRIOMPHE.

The pattern is extraordinary because there are no lane markings. It is chaos in motion. Last time I was there I actually biked through that insanity!

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR - if memory serves, Steve Faiella was one of the first constructors I blogged when C.C. invited me to do alternate Fridays, back in 2020 ...

Thanks Susan for the fun recap - I, too found the "Apple Eye Chart" amuzing

IM - agree with you that the reveal for this puzzle, despite being in the dead center, was quite clever and creative

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun, fun, fun! Thanks, Steve & Susan. We needed that.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-How cold and windy was it today, Gary? It was so windy that for the first time ever my partner and I played 9 holes and then quit. He even had his enclosure on and a propane heater running!
-Steve’s puzzle was fun after I took my regenerative 15-minute nap
-This AVA is starting to stick
-No dry shell here, just a windblown one!
-A plane circle is the LOCI of points that are equidistant from one point.
-Grandson got accepted at USC and UCLA but covid kept him in Lincoln. Now he’s thinking about going west again.
-LILACS here are on the cusp of opening up.
-Lovely job, Susan!

Charlie Echo said...

Picard @ 12:36......great video of Paris traffic! If you think that was insane, you should have seen rush hour in Saigon circa 1971! Tons of old French autos liberally sprinkled with literally THOUSANDS of scooters, mo-peds and bikes. Chaos personified!

sumdaze said...

This puzzle went fast! FAV: Football filler.
Thank you for the laughs & links, Hahtoola! Ostrich v. Emu was interesting.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Steve for the fast fill puzzle. I liked the theme and the themers to get there. Congrats on the debut!

Thanks Hahtoolah for the fine expo. In addition to the comics, the links to Etch-a-Sketch and R&R HoF were excellent.

WOs: N/A
ESPs: LEN, FINSTA
Fav: UNSEE - I have to say that every time DW is watching something violent.

{B+, A+}

D-O & C. Moe: This is the only puzzle listed for Steve on The Corner so, unless he set one before 2008(?), it's Steve's debut.

Picard - compared to the traffic circles I encountered in Maadi, Paris' is bucolic ;-)

Why CLEveland? CLEveland Rocks! WMMS intro'd RUSH!
//The rest of the story.

RosE - they also didn't have The BEE-52's [Love Shack].

Enjoyed reading y'all.
Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

You can always tell Hahtoolah's work at a glance--by the sheer number of illustrations. Secondly, you can see how amusing they are. Today, she puts them in service of a Faiella PZL.

Yesterday it was THREAD H/JACKER; today it's FINSTA. We all seem to stumble over the same unknown fills.

Granted, a few "tough characters" might say "I'M BAD," but most are not inclined to incriminate themselves.
A majority would prefer to claim toughness, and some even think they're doing good. Actors who are cast as villains tend to seek out the goodness in their characters--unless of course they're stuck in an old-timey mellerdrammer.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
One diagonal, far side.
Its anagram (13 of 15) refers to a contractual arrangement, common in the Swiss Alps, whereby a serenader rents the services of all of a mountain community's professional singers for a specific period of time--the better to woo his beloved's ears without fear of competition.
This is known as an ...

"ALL YODEL LEASE"!

Jayce said...

I liked this eminently solvable puzzle. The only entry outside of my wheelhouse was FINSTA. I think anonymous at 6:11 AM has a good idea: make it FIESTA crossing EAT.

We still sometimes stay up to watch Blue Bloods, but we agree that it is getting formulaic and predictable and has been for quite a while. I would never want Erin as a DA, as she always makes bad judgment calls and decisions and somebody, usually Anthony, always has to bail her out.

Teslaism? Nope. Pasteurism? Nope. Salkism? Nope. Oppenheimerism? Nope. Okay, I can't think of one.

Good reading you all.

TTP said...


Thank you Steve, and thank you, Hahtoolah.

Why is that some of the early morning posters never bother to even acknowledge the efforts of the constructors or the reviewers ?

Anyway, re: Gordon Lightfoot. His songs were touchstones on so many levels. Carefree Highway was/is an all time fav for me.

Speaking of which, we used to have a regular, Kerry in Carefree, but I think she too may have left the blog with all of the daily whining and bitching and negative comments.


Anonymous said...

Fun to watchriders in the Tour de France navigate the last few kilometers along the Arc de Triompe!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

TTP, I quit commenting about constructor's work or thanking them unless the puzzle seems exceptionally good or poor. I found myself complaining much more often, and that's not fun to either write or read. Unless I'm pressed for time I usually thank the reviewers, not because they are "family" but because the reviews usually seem to be written for the pleasure of the readers, and I can't say that for the puzzles. I think most of the LAT puzzles are written for the constructors and Patti to show other constructors and editors how hip and clever they are.

waseeley said...

Jayce @6:95 PM Okay, here's one for you: Lysenkoism. But then Epigenetics has shown that some acquired traits are actually transmissible to offspring.

Hahtoolah said...

CharlieE: Saigon traffic is still like that. More motorbikes, mo-peds and scooters than people, I think.