Saturday, Aug 9th, 2014, Mark Bickham

Theme: None

Words: 74 (missing J )

Blocks: 35

   Mr. Bickham has been on a roll - one Saturday puzzle each of the last four months now, but this one beat me up pretty good - had to use red-letters, and went over my personal time limit, too.  However, unlike most Saturday strains that rattle my brains, this one was actually a pretty satisfying solve~!  A relatively simple mid-week-looking grid, with just two 9- and 10-letter climbers, it took several passes before the SW finally gave way, and the NW was last to fall.  Some fill;

17. Darby Conley comic strip : GET FUZZY - I like this comic strip

30. It's never right : ACUTE ANGLE - nor Obtuse, either

 70. What an apostrophe may stand for : NINETEEN- as in "Summer of '69"

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ON-ward~!!! (69a.)

ACROSS:

1. Setting in the musical "Two By Two" : NOAH'S ARK - Dah~!  I had to dodge a whole 6-pack of V-8 cans when this finally dawned on me

9. Brightness measure : IQ TEST - LUMENS fit, and the "E" worked as well

15. Comer : ATTENDEE - I thought this was c-o-r-n-e-r, not c-o-m-e-r

16. Colorful attire : MUUMUU

18. It's just one thing after another : SERIES - yep

19. Marlins' div. : NLE - Baseball; I know they are in Florida, and that helped; National League East

20. Rock fan's subj. : GEOLogy - because "METAL" was too long....oh, that kind of rock

21. "Naughty!" : "TSK TSK~!"

22. Start of an addition : ALSO - so vague....

24. Controvert : NEGATE

26. Dark-eyed subculturists : GOTHS

28. Spot : ESPY

29. Opening at a long lecture? : YAWN - nice

33. Salon, e.g. : E-MAG

35. Move easily : SAIL

37. Cool __ : CAT - my brother's email address, though it's Kool Kat Kev, a moniker my uncle Ray gave him

38. "Candle in the Wind" dedicatee : LADY DI - MONROE fit, too - the song's original subject

40. Stat opposite : NO RUSH

42. Rear-end indicator : AFT - Indicator?  Here's what I have to say

43. Common crossword clue ending : ABBReviation

46. Attack : GO AT

47. 2001 Microsoft debut : XBOX

49. Tired-sounding veggie : BEET - Har-har~!

51. They often include materials : SPECS - Construction plans; here's the progress on my latest project

54. "A Touch of Class" actress Jackson : GLENDA - a WAG with GL--D- in place

56. Druids' sacred hill : TARA - A Saturday alternative to a "Gone With the Wind" reference; more here

57. Bald statement? : NO HAIR - OK, here's one for the ladies

60. Face with hands, maybe : DIAL

63. Composer Rorem : NED

64. Former associates : ALUMNI

65. Liability factor, in contracts : ACT OF GOD - I hope an Act of God strikes me, soon

67. Runs : BLEEDS - like colors in the wash

68. Cindy Lou's hometown, in kiddie lit : WHOVILLE - Nailed it, but that was about it on the first pass - "How The Grinch Stole Christmas"

69. Exhales during a physical? : SAYS "AH"

DOWN:

1. "Enough criticism!" : "NAG, NAG~!"

2. Verdi's penultimate opera : OTELLO

3. Substantiated : ATTESTED TO

4. Publishing nickname : HEFner - a WAG that stayed.  Hugh of Playboy fame

5. Unloose? : SNUG - Cute

6. Cutting tool : ADZE - Toyed with this for a long time, and then the "Z" from GET FUZZY came into play

7. Do a city planner's job : RE-ZONE

8. __ entry : KEYLESS

9. "But you need me!" : "I'M STAYING~!"

10. Pursuit : QUEST

11. Bomb : TURKEY - Not the bowling kind of turkey

12. Broadcast : EMIT

13. Tries to get money from, maybe : SUES

14. Certain canine : TUSK

23. "Goodness!" : "OH MY"~!

25. No. with a decimal : GPA

27. Actress Thompson : SADA

31. Used to be : WAS

32. Vowelless adjective : nth

34. Mumbo jumbo : GIBBERISH - love this scene

36. "Gigi" playwright : LOOS - Perps got me the "L"

38. Loose : LAX

39. Test center at Edwards, Calif., e.g. : AFB - Air Force Base - made me give up on MONROE

41. Hardly daydreaming : RAPT

44. Former Fed chairman Bernanke : BEN

45. 2012 war film remake : RED DAWN - IMDb on the original

48. Competition that includes motocross : X GAMES

50. Stress-reducing discipline : TAI CHI

52. Spicy cuisine : CREOLE

53. Bring down : SADDEN

55. Sarah Connor portrayer Hamilton : LINDA - Terminator 2: Judgement Day - nailed it - IMDb

57. Collars : NABS

58. Ceramic cooker : OLLA

59. Long in old politics : HUEY - all perps

61. Scores : A TON

62. Word with bird or nest : LOVE

66. Working out well? : FIT - I'm fit(ter) - lost 30lbs working two jobs this summer

Splynter