Wednesday, July 3rd, 2024, Michael B. Berg

 ALL IN THE FAMILY

 I never knew the first line....

Splynter reporting for duty - another quick solve this Wednesday, albeit containing circles, but with very few names, a small number of 3LWs, and a theme that, while I don't use the term, was understandable - synonyms for family, "found" across two words in the theme answers.  I suppose AA would be my version of a 'found family', and certainly the 20 employees at the Pipe Organ company.  Some alliteration going on, as well - CLAN, KIN, CREW, KITH.  One eleven-, two thirteen-letter, and one spanner for the theme answers, and an 11-letter reveal;

16. Road division: TRAFFIC LANE - Keep your LaSalle between the lines~!

A GM/Cadillac Concept Car - very cool, and clearly where the Corvette came from

23. Task that's a piece of cake: WALK IN THE PARK

36. Home of Christopher Robin's friends: HUNDRED ACRE WOOD

46. Japanese dramatic form with elaborate costumes: KABUKI THEATER

Gene Simmons, before KISS

58. Closely knit community that provides social support, or what 16-, 23-, 36-, and 46-Across contain?: FOUND FAMILY

And Away We Go~!

ACROSS:

1. Adele's "Water __ the Bridge": UNDER

6. Salsa choice: MILD - AND - 6D. Salsa choice: MELON - never heard of this variation

A recipe for you

10. Covertly include on an email: BCC - I get this a lot in crosswords

13. "Nope" and "Get Out" director Jordan: PEELE - filled via perps; his IMDb

14. Mountaintop nest: AERIE

15. Sound from a warm tub: AHH - I seriously want to swap my cast iron bathtub to a Jacuzzi

18. Reed of the Velvet Underground: LOU - before my time, but I know of him

19. Like most prime numbers: ODD

20. Thai neighbor: LAO

21. Band output: MUSIC - this is a song about "family", right~?

I crossed my old man. . . .Don't Take Me Alive, Steely Dan

28. Accurate: TRUE

29. Burgundies: REDS - quit wining - get it~?

30. Dough: MOOLA - bread, cheese, cash, fundage~!

31. Open a tad: AJAR

33. Fundraiser for STEM programs: PTA - STEM is "new" for me in crosswords; I don't recall seeing it during my last blogging stint - Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

40. Gp.: ORG

41. Walkman maker: SONY - the original iPod

I still have one

42. Quite a distance: MILES

43. "Stat!": ASAP

45. AirPlay tablet: iPAD - I'm a PC

52. Soccer Hall of Famer Lalas: ALEXI - More here

53. Aardvark's snack: ANT

54. Vegan milk choice: OAT - I make my mac N cheese with Soy Milk

57. Streamlet: RIA - learned by doing crosswords

63. Apple on a teacher's desk, perhaps: MAC - clever - could be both computer AND fruit

64. Simmers with rage: FUMES - >😡<

65. Low point: NADIR

66. Pokémon trainer Ketchum: ASH - no idea, but glad to see a non-tree/bat clue for "ASH"

67. Small samples: SIPS

68. Pic-sharing app: INSTAgram - I am still planning to do a better Organ blog, and an Instagram page, too - here's the latest from The National Cathedral organ renovation

DOWN:

1. As many as: UP TO

2. One with deep knowledge of a subject: NERD - of what subject can you say you're proud to be a NERD~?

3. Completely mistaken: DEAD WRONG - I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken

4. "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear" film: ELF - sorry, but I simply cannot stand this "holiday classic".  At All.  Period.  End of Comment.

5. NBA official: REFeree - also hockey, football, etc.

7. 401(k) alternative: IRA

8. Songwriter/actor __-Manuel Miranda: LIN - Filled via perps

9. Considered: DEEMED

10. Model material: BALSA - oh, those models . . . .

11. Gospel singers: CHOIR - CHOIR is also a division/chamber of some pipe organs; the main divisions are Great, Swell, Pedal; and additionally, Choir, Solo, Positiv & Antiphonal

12. Toss away: CHUCK

14. Fruit from a Brazilian palm: ACAI

17. Sort: ILK

22. FedEx rival: UPS - UPS wins~!

Sumo Delivery vans

24. "__ Lang Syne": AULD

25. TV producer Norman: LEAR - Creator of "All in the FOUND Family"~?

26. "Fast Car" singer Chapman: TRACY

27. Munich mister: HERR - and the funny female equivalent. . . .

Blücher~!

28. Series of gigs: TOUR

30. Old electrical unit: MHO - learning moment for me - the Wiki

31. Bring home from the pound: ADOPT - I would SO love to adopt a dog - but if I am in the field for work, I'd need to find a dog-sitter, and I'm not a big fan of that idea

This would be my pick - a Schnauzer

32. Abbr. at the start of a day planner: JANuary

33. Pictures that don't need to be shaken: POLAROIDS - Ah.  This is true - the "instant" photos of old did NOT need to be shaken - more info here

34. Pigeon-__: TOED - I went with HOLE first; pigeon-TOED, like last week's "TOE-IN" of a car's alignment, describes someone who walks with their toes pointing "in"

35. Spots that may be classified: ADs - and advertisement is referred to as a "spot"

37. "Titans" actor Morales: ESAI - something something crossword Morales = ESAI

38. Radiate: EMIT

39. Diaper bag cloth: WIPE - oh, duh; I parsed it differently, and was trying to think of the fabric a diaper bag is made from

43. Stereo input letters: AUX

44. Flat-bottomed boats: SKIFFS

46. Cosmic fate: KARMA

47. Name on a false document: ALIAS

48. Sandy spot: BEACH - I am not a summer person, and having lived in a place made of, and surrounded by sand, desperately needed to move north - the irony is that I USED TO live in Connecticut, because Long Island was made by a glacier scraping off the surface of CT.

49. Jockey rival: HANES - possibly Splynter's most beloved product~?

I couldn't decide - but the center image includes a crossword reference

50. Loose __: ENDS

51. DOJ branch: ATF - Department of Justice, and the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms now includes Explosives in their wheelhouse - should they change the name to "FETA, FEAT"~? Or better yet, "FATE"!?

55. Touched down: ALIT

56. Supermodel Banks: TYRA

59. Yes, from Yves: OUI - Frawnche

60. Strike caller?: UMPire - Baseball for C.C.

61. Vader, as a boy: ANIkin - Skywalker, the father of the Star Wars "family"

62. Guy: MAN - and one last family "guy"

 Be safe and enjoy being with your family this Fourth of July~! 

Since I can rarely get to read the comments on the day, I decided to add a "FLW" to the end of my blog. . . .

 

From Last Week - CED, I loved your "Laser Bird"~!  TTP - I watched the clip, but that's not the quite it; it really does sound like "pew-pew" - I have been waiting to capture a sound bite from my window, so I can add it here, but I think "mating season" may be over.  zzzzzzz - send me an email.

Splynter