Saturday, August 10, 2019, Evan Kalish

  Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Evan Kalish

On this day we celebrate one of America's favorite pastimes - Bowling. This sport has always been big in my family and this past winter my nephew carried a 225 average on Fremont High School's state championship bowling team

For National Bowling Day, I get to post a video of the best video/blogger I know - Doug (call me Boomer) Burnikel as he rolls his twentieth perfect 300 game!

Today's constructor is Evan Kalish who lives in Queens, NY. Besides producing wonderful puzzles,  you can go to his web site and learn about him and his amazing hobby of collecting photographs of as many American post offices as he can. He has surpassed the 30,000 level but told me that NE and ND are the two states which he has not visited in over ten years.

Here you can click on any state and cities in that state will pop up where you can click on the link to the left of that city and see a picture of that town's post office that Evan has posted.

Evan calls his quest Postlandia. The picture Evan is holding here is of the post office in the unincorporated community of Yellow Jacket, Colorado.

When I contacted Evan, he had this to say about today's puzzle: "This puzzle descends from my first attempt at one with a central 13-stack, another version of which was published a few weeks back in the New York Times. While I first attempted this construction back in 2013, it was only years later (with decent software, a word list, and some actual constructing skill) that I achieved what I thought was a satisfactory puzzle."

I then asked Evan if he knew of C.C. and he was effusive in his praise for her skills!

Fremont, Nebraska 68025

And now, fresh from the 68025 Zip Code, let's see what Evan has, uh, posted for us:

Across:

1. It's read monthly: GAS METER - Here in 68025, METERS are read remotely.

9. Myers partner in personality type research: BRIGGS - Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother Katharine Cook BRIGGS created a personal inventory. Here you can take an online version of the test to see where you fit below:

32. Exam given in spots?: RORSCHACH TEST - Here's an online version of that too

15. Part of a backup plan: AUTO SAVE - Is very useful if your battery suddenly dies

16. "Ni-i-ice!": OH COOL.

17. Walked all over: TRAMPLED and 56. Completely dominated: ATE ALIVE.


18. Word on some special plates: DEALER.

19. Klutzes: OAFS.

20. Understand: KNOW.

22. Added conditions: ANDS - "No Ifs, ____ or Buts" I've never heard it elsewhere

23. Two-tone shirt wearer: REF(eree) - Also called Zebras (or worse) by fans

24. Word with side or prop: BET - A side BET or a Prop (proposition) BET is made on a issue apart from the outcome of the game. e.g. In the 2019 Super Bowl you could make a prop bet on whether any team will score a touchdown in less time that it took for Gladys Knight to sing the National Anthem

25. Crunch beneficiaries: ABS and 9. Gym rat's pride: BOD - Exhibit A

27. Like: A LA - A LA mode means fashion of the day but that phrase is now usually indicates "served with ice cream"

29. Contributed to: FED 

30. Issuer of three-part nos.: SSA - Here's a famous number the Social Security Administration issued to this guy when he was working in Des Moines, Iowa

31. Gulf of __: OMAN - Evan, here is a picture of the Duqm Village, OMAN Post Office. No charge! 😙

35. "I know, right?": TELL ME ABOUT IT.

36. Hypothetical apocalyptic climate effect: NUCLEAR WINTER - Massive nuclear events could cause firestorms whose smoke would block the Sun

37. Single: ONLY.

38. Transparent collectible: CEL.

39. Sticker in a garden: BUR - In 1941 George de Mestral, inspired by the BURS that stuck on his clothing, used biomimicry to invent Velcro.  

40. Issa of "The Mis-adventures of Awkward Black Girl": RAE.

41. Islands sound: SKA - All you could want to know

42. __ stop: BUS.

43. Hold up: ROB.

46. Red state?: RASH - Maybe you could use our old cwd friend Aloe Vera

48. Hideout: LAIR.

50. Term popularized by le Carré: MOLE - Le Carré introduced this term for an insider spy in his 1974 novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 

51. Have a positive impact: DO GOOD - Our Oahu guide said, "Missionaries came to Hawaii to DO GOOD and wound up doing very well"

53. Rustic home: LOG CABIN - Who was the last U.S. President to be born in a LOG CABIN which is shown here?. Hint: He was elected in 1880 (Answer at bottom of blog *)

55. Outwitted, in a way: ELUDED.

57. Div. with MLB's southernmost team: NL EAST - MLB thought the Miami Marlins would attract baseball-crazy Hispanic fans but that didn't happen and they now have the worst attendance in baseball

58. Rush hour metaphor: SARDINES - A 50-lane traffic jam in China


Down:

1. Gainesville athlete: GATOR - Their fans do the GATOR Chomp

2. Glowing rings: AURAE - Various characteristics of different AURAE

3. Servers and such: STAFF.

4. Spring honorees: MOMS.

5. Unverified way of seeing: ESP.

6. Exchanged insults, as competitors: TALKED SMACK - Yeah, I think we know who "said" this

7. Wedding, for one: EVENT - The last wedding EVENT we attended had a 15-min ceremony and then food 5-min later! Yay!

8. Second chance: REDO - Alexander Hamilton did not get one of these in Weehawken, NJ (Evan's picture of its current post office)

10. Emu relatives: RHEAS - The mystery of the flightless birds

11. Confident assertion: I CAN.

12. Middle Eastern leader who grew up in Milwaukee: GOLDA MEIR - In 1917 Golda married Morris Myerson in Milwaukee. She later changed her name to MEIR

13. What an anchor does: GOES LAST - In a relay race, the anchor runs the last leg

14. Camera initials: SLR - Here 'ya go

21. Sinus-clearing condiment: WASABI on a 35. Sushi bar order: TUNA ROLL.

24. TV comedy pioneer: BERLE - Uncle Miltie wore thin on me

26. Nonkosher lunch, probably: BACON BURGER - This one has 780 calories and 113% of your daily saturated fat value.

28. Tiny tunneler: ANT.

29. Recklessness: FOLLY - This is the bank draft that paid $7.2M to Russia (about 2 cents/acre) for Seward's FOLLY

30. Wrapped accessory: SHAWL.

31. Web-footed animal: OTTER.

32. Group of local amateur teams: REC LEAGUE - REC(reation) LEAGUE


33. Oreo O's, e.g.: CEREAL - Our ubiquitous friend Oreo in the clue rather than in the fill

34. Many Rwandans: HUTUS - Hotel Rwanda showed the violence of the HUTU/TUTSI conflict 

36. Paired conjunction: NOR - Did anyone else think of the U.S. Postal Service motto?

41. Sole providers?: SHOES.

42. Flora and fauna: BIOTA.

43. Crime-fighting sidekick: ROBIN - "Holy Crossword, Batman!"

44. Antipasto morsel: OLIVE  - From anti (latin for before) and pastus (latin for food) - an appetizer course 

45. "Seinfeld" surname: BENES - Elaine's last name

47. Source of fizz: SODA.

49. Remark with a sigh: ALAS.

50. Neighbor of Algeria: MALI - For me here in Fremont, NE, the phrase "From here to Timbuktu, MALI" indicates about 5,600 miles

51. Cubs' home: DEN.

52. Early EPA concern: DDT - The debate continues as to whether its ability to control malaria balances its ecological effect 

54. Scoundrel: CAD.

I hope you found the picture of the post office in your Zip Code. Meanwhile you can electronically send us any comment you have on Evan's puzzle and save a trip to the aforementioned post office.

p.s. Evan, et al, this is what the post office in my hometown of Arlington, NE looked like when a building being torn down next door fell in an unexpected fashion two years ago. The post office (68002) has since been repaired.

* James Garfield was the last American president to be born in a LOG CABIN

Saturday, August 3, 2019, Kyle Dolan

Saturday Themeless Puzzle by Kyle Dolan

The hot, damp environment of corn fields (and other crops) are a perfect breeding place for fungi, aphids and other assorted yield-decreasing problems. On August 3 we celebrate the men and women who apply chemicals from the air - Crop Dusters. 

They become necessary when the crop becomes so tall that tractor sprayers can't get down the rows.The aerial spraying operation can increase the grain yield by 20 - 30 bushels per acre

Our Saturday regular Kyle Dolan has supplied us with yet another of his fine themeless puzzles. My times to solve his puzzles seem to indicate Dr. Dolan and I are usually on the same wavelength. I wonder if a British Consulate-General in Chicago cares a whit about the Cubs, White Sox, Bull or Da Bears.

Across:

1. "The Howdy Doody Show" cry adopted by '60s California surfers: COWABUNGA - Yes, I am old enough to remember Chief Thunder Thud saying this on that early TV show.

10. Ask: PUT TO - You can gauge a reporters courage/bias by assessing questions he PUTS TO interviewees 

15. How horses may run during warmups: AT A CANTER.

16. Mozart work: OPERA.

17. Reason for an R rating, perhaps: LOVE SCENE - Strategically placed bed clothes can dictate the rating

18. Pigtails: PLAIT - The plural is PLAITS and so I wonder about pigtails/PLAIT

19. Antonio's "Evita" role: CHE - Antonio Bandereas played the narrator of the film - CHE Gueverra 

20. Coding logic word: ELSE 

If Day = Saturday 
Blogger = "Gary"
ELSE = "Someone ELSE"

21. Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester __": PSALMS - If you must

22. Marginally: A BIT.

23. Echolocation users: BATS - I hear lunch!

24. Ancient provincial governor: SATRAP - Persian big shot

27. Calculating bunch?: MATH TEAM.

31. Helvetica cousin: ARIAL - A screen shot of choices for us here at Blogger.com. The one we use is checked.

32. Gift recipient: DONEE 

33. Market letters: IGA - South Africa hopes to have 250 IGA "Markets" like this one in their country

34. British breakfast dish with an onomatopoeic name: BUBBLE AND SQUEAK.

37. Fade: EBB.

38. Hangs on a rack: DRIES.

39. Combine: UNITE.

40. Most rough, in a manner of speaking?: RASPIEST - Janis Joplin and Joe Cocker leap to my mind

42. Rejections: VETOES - FDR (635) and Grover Cleveland (414) combined for over a thousand

43. Like some bridal dresses: LACY.

44. Ramen flavoring: MISO.

45. Conceived, with "up": DREAMT.

48. Protective excavation: MOAT 

49. Coast Guard pickup: SOS.

52. __ Unido: United Kingdom, in Spain: REINO - España importa vehículos del Reino Unido (Spain imports vehicles from The United Kingdom)

53. "Darn!": HANG IT ALL -  The more familiar to me "DANG IT ALL" didn't make the cut

55. Thomas' veep: AARON - Jefferson and Burr got the same number of electoral votes in the 1800 election but the House Of Representatives picked Thomas Jefferson and Burr became veep by Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution.

56. Pittsburgh Steelers' founder: ART ROONEY - Well known to NFL fans

57. Combine: BLEND - Some prefer non-BLENDED varieties  

58. Takes the inside track: HAS AN EDGE.


Down:

1. Subj. with integrals: CALC - My CALC I prof from Indiana gave me an A but, 2. Tweeter's "conversely": On The Other Hand, my CALC II prof from New Delhi gave me a C

3. It may break on sand: WAVE.

4. Big heart: ACE - It's the biggest regardless (irregardless?) of suit

5. It has paths for runners: BASEBALL DIAMOND - In 2016 baseball put in a new rule about sliding to protect infielders from getting hurt by players going out of the base path or making no attempt to hold the base

6. Detach, as some jewelry: UNCLIP.

7. Arms treaty subj.: N-TEST - Nuclear TEST

8. __ therapy: GENE - Fraught with promise and peril

9. Were present?: ARE.

10. Proposes: POPS THE QUESTION - A lyric (@ 1:00 and 3:40) in this wonderful song from my favorite musical. Hopefully a welcome addition to your day as well!

11. Headlining a music festival, say: UP LAST - Ya gotta stay to see the main act

12. Color similar to turquoise: TEAL

13. Cut back: TRIM.

14. Food rich in manganese: OATS - This Strawberry OAT bar says it is High in manganese near the bottom

21. Spread things: PATES - A woman from Slovakia said she adds Allspice to her PATE and she says it kills the taste of beef liver which she hates (me too!)

22. __ League: ARAB - A good geographer can name all these countries

23. Maroon 5 and Ben Folds Five: BANDS.

24. Fencing option: SABER - Touché

25. Home of Queen Beatrix International Airport: ARUBA - How long is the flight from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam to the Queen Beatrix International in Oranjestad, Aruba, which is still in the Kingdom of The Netherlands?

26. "In the Heat of the Night" detective: TIBBS 

27. "Houses of Parliament" series painter: MONET - Here's the history and a lovely example

28. Kids' song refrain: E-I-E-I-O 

29. Colorful quartz: AGATE - Lake Superior AGATE before and after polishing

30. Creates: MAKES

32. Jay Gatsby's love: DAISY - Jay and DAISY Buchanan in various film iterations 

35. Not slouching: ERECT.

36. Biblical preposition: UNTO 

41. Anticipate: PLAN ON.

42. Drug in the film "Love & Other Drugs": VIAGRA - Hmmm... three clues after 35 Down? Kyle...

44. Alpes features: MONTS - Climbing MONT Blanc (White Mountain), the tallest peak in the Swiss Alps, with a guide, will run you anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000 and take five days

45. Uninspiring: DRAB - Mrs. Cardinal compared to Mr. Cardinal at our feeders

46. Not in one's head: REAL.

47. Cork's home: EIRE - The Gaelic word for Ireland

48. Kate of "House of Cards": MARA - The scene where Kate, as Zoe Barnes, was killed shocked me. I debated on posting the video but declined. Google at your own peril

49. Time measure: SAND - A former favorite of my wife's 

50. Jackie's designer: OLEG - Cassini 

51. Leonard __: Roy Rogers: SLYE - Can you pick out the pre-Roy Rogers Leonard SLYE below when he was an original member of the Sons Of The Pioneers? 

53. "Yeah, right!": HAH.

54. Nail holder: TOE.

Here's hoping that Kyle's puzzle wasn't over your head on this crop duster day. Feel free to drop in with comments.

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to dear Melissa, founder of the Adopt an Inmate project, whose compassion and tenacity are awe-inspiring. Best sister ever!