Monday May 11, 2009 Lila Cherry

Theme: Shades of RED (59D: The starts of this puzzle's three longest answers are shades of it)

20A: Lust, gluttony, greed, etc.: CARDINAL SINS

34A: Alabama team nickname: CRIMSON TIDE

51A: Ice cream flavor honoring a Grateful Dead icon: CHERRY GARCIA

(Note from C.C.: Today's post is blogged by Argyle. And today's puzzle is just another work from our editor Rich Norris. Lila Cherry is his alias name, anagram of "Really Rich". And he worked CHERRY into the grid. I love how PSI (3D: Trident-shaped Greek letter) parallels PITCHFORK (4DD: Tool in haystack). Greek god of the sea Poseidon is often portrayed as carrying a trident/PITCHFORK-shaped spear.)

Back to Argyle.

I am disappointed that our constructor, Lila CHERRY, didn't include a ROSE for MOMMA but she probably didn't know it would run the day after Mother's Day so I'll blame the editor. ;~)

The Grateful Dead icon was Jerry GARCIA, one of its original founders. The founders of Ben and Jerry's ice cream were a good fit with the philosophy of the Grateful Dead.

There seemed to be tres many French connections today.

Across:

10A: Rum-soaked cake: BABA. These are small cakes made from yeast dough containing raisins or currants. They are baked in cylindrical molds and then soaked with sugar syrup usually flavored with rum. In French, the word baba means "falling over or dizzy." (Any truth to that?) BABA au Rhum.

15A: Ark builder: NOAH. No, not Moses, you Densa's.

16A: like a happy dog's tail: AWAG. Another word used mostly in crosswords.

18A: About, in legal memos: IN RE. In re, Latin for "in the matter [of]".

19A: Lee seen in freezers: SARA. SARA Lee has been seen in my freezer, but not for long.

23A: "Charlotte's Web" author: E. B. WHITE. Elwyn Brooks White, 1899-1985. Because of the movie, I had no idea he was that old.

27A: Toy (with): TRIFLE.

28A: Brush fire operation, briefly: EVAC. Unfortunately, a common term in CA.

30A: Fed. stipend: SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

31A: Roughly: OR SO.

32A: Show proof of: EVINCE. And the proof you show is the evidence.

46A: The Virginian" actor Joel: McCREA. The Virginian was the only name his character had.

48A: You might have to pay one to get cash: ATM FEE

54A: Matador's opponent: TORO

56A: Singing group: CHOIR. and 10D: Lowest 56-Across members: BASSI. A plural of basso.

60A: "Sign me up": I'M IN.

61A: "Editorially speaking," in e-mail: IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. Really? I thought most editors would be just IMO.

63A: Boston NBAer, briefly: CELT. Boston Celtics.

Down:

1D: "Bill Nye the Science Guy" airer: PBS. Public Broadcasting Service

3D: Trident-shaped Greek letter: PSI. and

4D: Tool in a haystack: PITCHFORK. This and then this.

7D: Author Morrison: TONI. TONI Morrison wrote Beloved.

9D: Bird served "under glass": PHEASANT. (From C.C., I guessed. Not familiar with this dish - PHEASANT under glass.)

12D: Noble's partner: BARNES. BARNES & Noble. The book seller.

13D: Tennis great Andre: AGASSI. and 53D: Tennis star for whom a stadium is named: ASHE. Who would have won if Andre had played Arthur?

21D: 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. The Stones version.

22D: Soap star Susan: LUCCI. She looked OK to me in a bikini. with Emmy

23D: DDE's WWII command: ETO. European Theater of Operations.

28D: Draw forth: EVOKE. The evidence evoked a plea of the fifth ammendment from the suspect.

29D: Rouge And blanc, on la carte: VINS. Curious mixture of French and English, eh?

32D: Opal suffix: ESCE. Opalesce. Verb. The adjective is opalescent.

33D: Johnny Carson's sidekick: ED MC'MAHON. Heeeere's Johnny!

36D: House that sucks you dry, so to speak: MONEY PIT. The movie. Anybody have personal tales to tell?

37D: Bronte heroine: EYRE. From "Jane EYRE". EMMA is another 4-letter possible answer.

41D: Chapeau: HAT. More French. The plural for chapeau is chapeaux.

42D: Stratagem: TACTIC.

43D: Where telecommuters work: AT HOME.

44D: "Bam!" chef: EMERIL. Lagasse.

46D: Karaoke singer's need, for short: MIC. Microphone. A lot of karaoke singers need more than a MIC.

50D: Heated crime?: ARSON. Cool clue.

57D: Old California fort: ORD. location.

58A: Suffix with chlor_: IDE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Interview with John Lampkin

Do you know what ESEL is? It's a Düsseldorf donkey. It exists only in Germany. And it exists in crossword too. It's also the word that introduced a new crossword constructor to me: John Lampkin .

John started constructing only 18 months ago. But today's "Mothers of Invention" puzzle is already his 4th LAT Sunday puzzle (5th overall). His puzzles have also been published by "The Chronicles of Higher Education", edited by the legendary Patrick Berry. He is also one of the authors whose puzzles appear in Simon & Schuster's 2009 collections, together with Barry Silk and many other excellent constructors in the country.

John is also a musician and a composer. When I wrote to him a week ago, he was chasing and photographing birds and butterflies in a Nature Fest. Hope you enjoy the interview.

How did this Mother's Day theme come to you? And which theme answers/fills gave you the most trouble during construction and how did you reconcile the changes?

The idea for Mothers of Invention came last June the way so many do, with a single theme entry. Then the challenge becomes one of finding enough good ones to make a puzzle. Originally, I didn’t have any women inventors in there at all, just the usual famous men following the formula, “When so-and-so invented the whatever, he [phrase that roughly means success].” The problem quickly became one of having too many to chose from so I narrowed the focus to women inventors, thinking that it would make an appropriate puzzle for March, Women’s Month. Rich Norris found the idea attractive enough to commit it to the Mothers Day slot, so I set to work on the grid, fill, and cluing. What I enjoy about the puzzle is that it educates the solver about some very clever and determined women, and even if you have never heard of them, you can still solve the puzzle.

What is your background? How does music influence your solving/construction?

I’ve been a professional musician, composer, and private piano teacher for the past 40 years. Though some of my musical colleagues disagree, I find that puzzle construction is a lot like composing a piece of music. Most of my music falls into the programmatic/tone poem category. For example, one of my woodwind quintets is titled, “Insects, a Musical Entomology in Six Legs,” where each leg is a movement depicting a little critter. As with my “Mothers of Invention” puzzle, the idea came first, then was developed as elegantly as possible. In many ways, a composition or puzzle is “finished” once you have a strong, workable idea. All you have to do then is fill in the blanks, so to speak.

How would you describe your style? What kind of theme/answers are you gravitating to or trying to avoid?

Since I started constructing just eighteen months ago, it’s perhaps to soon to identify my style. Meanwhile, it’s fun studying and exploring the different ways of developing puzzles ideas that have been used over the years. As my style develops, a big thank you goes to Nancy Salomon who mentored me from the outset and continues to give sound, solid critiques. She is incredibly generous with her time and a tough teacher. Working with Nancy is like having a second brain! The Sunday level of difficulty is naturally where I live, but Vic Fleming suggested a marvelous exercise of analyzing 25 Monday/Tuesday puzzles, and writing out in detail what makes them work. That opened my eyes to possibilities for the easy end of the spectrum.

Who are you favorite constructors and why? And which is your all time favorite puzzle?

There are so many excellent constructors that it wouldn’t be fair to single one out. As for a favorite, that’s easy: Merl Reagle’s recent Simpsons puzzle because it linked two genres so beautifully, crosswords and sitcom.

What else do you do for fun? What is the one thing that people find most surprising about you?

Everything I do is fun. Life is too short to do stuff that ain’t fun. I truly love my livelihood, private piano teaching, composing and performing, and will never retire. Other interests include birding, butterflying, and nature photography. I’ve self-published four books of photographs which are “travel guides like no other” laced with my own quirky commentary.

What surprises people the most is that I’m largely self-educated with no music or college degree. My advice to all is that if you want to do something, just do it. Surround yourself with the best possible talent, strive for the top, and enjoy the process. Crossword construction is an art form that you don’t need to study formally, and the community of constructors and editors is a most friendly and supportive one. It is an honor and blessing to be a small part of it.

Thanks, John

C.C.

PS: Too bad, this newspaper got John's first interview yesterday. I like how the article started. Very creative.