CAPTAIN'S LOG
STAR TREK: The Next Generation humor
Splynter here, coming to you from the Village of (which is better than just) Babylon, Long Island, NY - down here visiting my super-pooch buddy Cooper~! It would appear that this is Ricky J Sirois' debut for the LA Times - I see three of his puzzles in 'another' publication ;7)) Congratulations~! A quick and easy solve, with the rare black square to start us off at "1A." A handful of names, most of them not too obsure, no circles, more than double the # of 4LWs over 3LWs today, and only a couple of unique fills for the theme answers;
16. Battle over a board: CHESS MATCH
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Check - that's a "mate" for me - I'd be game to play her in chess, mate
24. "Peyton Place" and "Diamonds Are Forever" actress: LANA WOOD - I have seen the James Bond movie - not the best 007 of the franchise, IMO - where she plays "Plenty O'Toole; the names they used in those films.... anyway, Peyton Place is before my time - Her IMDb
The show's Wiki
37. Semester-long writing assignment: TERM PAPER - never had to do one
53. Film hitman played by Keanu Reeves: JOHN WICK - whenever a "John Wick" movie is playing on TV, my brother and I will text each other
Mostly gratuitous violence, but I will stay tuned and watch
63. Place for a nonurgent issue, and what can be found at the end of 16-, 24-, 37-, or 53- Across?: BACK BURNER - each theme answer has something to "burn" at the end, or, "back"
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Home of the Colosseum: ROME - and now you can have one of your very own, in LEGO~!
9,036 pieces, about $1799 - that's 19￠a piece . . . .
5. Muffin fiber: BRAN - I prefer my "fiber" to be chocolate and/or chocolate chip - I had chocolate chip cream cheese on my egg everything bagel Sunday - and it was good
9. Actor Omar: EPPS - name #1, in crosswords all the time
13. Cut off: SEVER
14. In __ parentis: LOCO - not "crazy", but in "place" of an adult/teacher, though it might be hard to tell the difference . . . . last week my ex-wife sent me a friend request on Facebook - crazy.
15. "Star Wars" heroine: LEIA - name #2
ah, the stuggles of being a parent....
18. Performed at a karaoke party: SANG - I need to find a place to do some karaoke
19. Broadcasts: AIRS
20. Super-: UBER - the prefix, not the taxi service seen Monday
21. Pt. of some school names: TECH- I attended Rensselaer PolyTECHnical Institute up in Troy, NY, for one unpleasant semester; then Island Drafting and TECHnical Institute in Amityville on Long Island some 15 years later
22. Places for plugs: DRAINS - think sinks & tubs, not ads & ears😜
27. Filming location: SET - here's me "on set" back in 1997 making stones from chunks of foam
28. "__ go time!": "IT'S"
Hey, John Wick is on . . .
30. Sigh, say: EXHALE - I am House/Dog/Cat/Fish-sitting for my brother and his new wife as they are on their honeymoon down at Cape May for the week; they are active THC 'consumers', and I discovered "instructions" on one of the "products" label;
Really~?!?!
31. School administrator: DEAN - don't let them catch you with that joint~!
33. Tiny bit: IOTA - I used to 'inhale', but just a tiny bit...
36. Summers on the Seine: ETES - Did you know that estivate is the opposite of hibernate~? I'd do it every summer if I could get away with it
40. Be rife (with): TEEM
43. Bump from office: OUST
44. Baseball feature: SEAM
47. __ film: ACTION - Hey, John Wick is on . . .
49. Apropos: APT
51. Plead: BEG
56. Dog star: LASSIE - not "Sirius" - name(ish)
58. Shift key toggle: CASE - as in UPPER and lower
59. Increase: RISE
61. 17-time WWE champion: CENA - crossword staple, name #4
His Wiki
62. Spa treatment, for short: MANIcure - also becoming a crossword staple
65. Yankee nickname of the 2000s: A-ROD - name(ish) - Alex Rodriguez
66. Paul who wrote the lyrics to "My Way": ANKA - name #6, but I knew this one
67. Burlap bags: SACKS
68. Land in the sea: ISLE
69. Home for a heron: NEST
70. Fencing blade: ÉPÉE
DOWN:
1. Brought back on board: REHIRED
2. Took in too much: OVERATE - not over-rate
3. World Cup superstar Lionel: MESSI- name #7
4. Hosp. areas: ERs
5. Squeal: BLAB
6. Canned brand often used in chili con queso: RO✯TEL - filled via perps, but I see this at my Big Y
7. Ghana's capital: ACCRA - geographic name(ish)
8. Japanese drama: NOH - I know noh, but it doesn't stay in my head
9. Some other place: ELSEWHERE - meanwhile, back on planet Earth . . .
10. Woolen outer layer: PEACOAT
11. Small puncture: PINHOLE
12. Droop: SAG
13. Oodles: SCADS
17. "You __ be joking": "MUST"
21. Price addition: TAX
23. Cloud __: NINE - My buddy Cooper was on Cloud Nine when we went to the park
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That's mybrother trying to get Cooper to sit before the ball toss
25. Kind of tide: NEAP
26. __ Moines, Iowa: DES - geographical name #2
29. Liu of "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings": SIMU - Ah. Not "Lucy" - his IMDb, name #9
32. Sign at a convenience store: ATM INSIDE - good fill
34. Curtailed missions?: OPS - 'shortened' OPerationS
35. "Bye-bye!": "TA-TA~!"
38. Rice-A-__: RONI - found not far from the RO-TEL, usually
39. Spanish "this": ESTA
40. Blues guitarist __ Mahal: TAJ - not much difference between the place or the person, IMO - his Wiki - name #10
41. Green vehicles: ECO-CARS - meh. I had HYBRIDS first
42. Gas additive: ETHANOL - usually 10%, and isn't good for small engines, like snowblowers and lawn mowers - so I have been told
45. Attendance record spoiler: ABSENCE
46. "Trust your keys with ... " car care chain: MEINEKE - I know this brand, but I don't recall this catch-phrase from the ads
48. Be in debt: OWE
50. Commoner: PLEB - seen it before in crosswords
52. Clock innards: GEARS
54. Origami figure: CRANE - I made a squirrel a couple of months back, left it in the "Art Box" that's in front of a house on my morning walks - I have left other creations in there before, too - and we have a "library" that's similar to the Art Box around the way in another part of the neighbothood, as well.
55. Shoes, casually: KICKS
Some zip-up, high-heel, high-top "kicks"
57. Consign to the dustbin: SCRAP
60. Three-player card game: SKAT
62. "Heart on My Sleeve" singer Ella __: MAI - no clue, filled via perps, name #11 - more here
63. Block: BAN- had to wait to see if it was baN or baR
64. Purpose: USE - Dah~! Not AIM
Splynter
Hey, John Wick is on . . . .
