What a wonderful Gnats game! The pre-paid parking worked and we got by the stadium security hitchlessly. It was CJ Abrams bobblehead day, so we each snapped one up, and found our way to our seats in the upper upper between home and first, with a great view of the entire field. Hey, CJ, looking good! Nod, or bobble, if you agree.
The weather was perfect. Each team was pitching its ace: Logan Webb for the Jints and Jedidiah Gray for the Gnats. Play Ball!
Gray started out by pitching 8 straight balls so it was first and second with no outs in like three seconds. Gulp. But a crisp double play followed a strikeout and it was no harm done. Webb set us down easily in the first. Trouble again for Gray in the second: man on second with no out. But a couple of pop outs helped quell the fire and we went to the bottom of the second tied at nil. And that was when all hell broke loose. A flurry of hits including a scorching triple by Alex Call to right center gave us a 4-0 lead, and Abrams (Mr. Bobblehead) lined a shot into the seats — so it was 6-0, sweet, but early. And Webb was gone. Bye, bye.
Sure enough, the Jints began what is universally known in baseball and sculpting as “chipping away.” They got one back quickly, so our lead was down to five going into the bottom of the fourth. But then we got four more, pounding SF into submission. That’s how it ended: 10-1. Most of the crowd stayed for the whole game which is nice. With the new speed-up rules, it only took about 2.5 hrs. Gray pitched seven and got stronger as the night wore on. A very satisfying win with many excellent defensive plays on both sides.
On Sunday, a short hike followed by a terrific crabmeat omelet for lunch ended our very nice stay in Charm City. Perfect for a three-night getaway.
The Gnats may have won but I was thoroughly defeated by the puzzle yesterday. Among several blunders, I had no idea that “‘Victory!,’ in internet shorthand” is the initialism FTW. It stands for “for the win.” I won’t bore you with my other errors. Instead, I’ll bore you with 67D, TAMALES, the clue for which was “Steamed food items eaten with the hands.” Well, the commentariat exploded with as searing a battle as I’ve seen in a long while.
The first blow was struck by SharonAk at 2:46AM who wrote: “I have eaten many tamales, but never with my hands without a fork in them. Nor have I seen them eaten thus. I have made tamales, rolled by hand – nearly 70 years ago.” An anonymous poster chimed in at 6:15AM with: I agree on the tamales. Burn your fingers eating by hand. And Mack piled on with: Count me as another who has never eaten tamales by hand. I can’t imagine how that can even work. Seems like trying to eat meatloaf with your hands. Joaquin got personal: Wanta a swift rebuke from my Mom? Eat your TAMALES as suggested in 57D (by hand). “No churros for you until you learn some manners.” It was still only 8:33AM.
[As an ASS-side, before the battle began to rage, Southside Johnny said he was happy to see ASS in the grid again [who isn’t?], clued as “Real so-and-so,” and noted it was wonderfully paired with the nearby CHEEKY, clued with “Fresh.” Ha!]
After 11, a smattering of Anony-mice said you gotta eat ’em with your hands because they are served to you in corn husks which make it perfect for holding. But Simon Says shot back: you need a fork because they are dripping with delicious chili-based sauces.
A different Anonymous posted a video, which I enjoyed and learned from! Take a look: You can see which side of the matter it comes down on, fairly authoritatively.
Finally, bocamp conferred with ChatGPT and came up with: “Yes, tamales can be eaten by hand! In fact, eating tamales by hand is a traditional and common way to enjoy them in many Latin American countries. The corn husk serves as a natural wrapper for the tamale, making it convenient to hold and eat without utensils.”
I’ll leave it at that, and I hope to have one soon. Not sure yet how I’ll eat it. BTW, as the matter was batted around, it emerged that the proper term for a single one of them is not tamale, it’s tamal. Good to know.
I loved yesterday’s puzzle, despite my DNF (did not finish). It was called Aural Surgery and it playfully took the sounds of two separate words to answer the clue, which was an entirely different word. E.g., for the clue “Nocturnal bird known for its distinct calls, informally,” the answer was comprised of WHO and TOWEL. Get it? Hoot owl, aurally. Here are the rest of them:
“Some outdoor seats,” LAUNCH HEIRS
(My favorite) “Equivalent of one gallon.” FORK WARTS
“Secret lairs,” HIGH DOUBTS
“‘Anything you want!’” NEIGH MITT
“Former magazine that featured male nudes,” PLAGUE EARL
“2 vis-à-vis 8, 3 vis-à-vis 27, etc.” QUEUE BRUTES
“Lollygagger,” SLOPE OAK
Another good (nontheme) clue was “One crying ‘Help!’?” The answer was BEATLE.
Last, several Brooklynites noticed another themer could have been the duo POCKS and SLOPE (as pronounced by a Bostoner).
The newsletter of historian Hayley Cox Richardson two days ago (7/22) focused on the new education requirements in DeSantis’s Florida. She notes that middle school instruction in African American history includes “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.” Puh-leeeze.
Here’s a poem by Faith Shearin from today’s Writer’s Almanac called “Directions to Your College Dorm.”
All hallways still lead to that room
with its ceiling so high it might have been
a sky, and your metal bed by the window,
and your crate of books. First,
you must walk across the deep
winter campus to find your friend
throwing snowballs that float
for years. Then, open our letters:
shelves of words. You will find
our coats, our awkwardness, the tickets
from the trains that witnessed
our confusion. Love was the place
where we became as naked
as morning; it was dangerous and
dappled and we visited its shores
with suitcases and maps from childhood.
I remember our shadows growing
on your wall while a candle
swallowed itself. You kept a single
glass of water on a desk and it trembled
whenever we danced.
Once a month Rex turns his column over to a friend. Here’s how she started it off today:
Hi Barbies and Kens, it’s Malaika here with a guest write-up! Solving Snack is Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk (straight from the pint so I don’t have to wash a bowl) and Solving Music is the new Taylor song “Castles Crumbling.”
Here’s her note on LOL, clued as “‘That’s hilarious,’ in a text.” I get that it’s boring to say “Will Shortz (70 yrs old) has a different frame of reference from Malaika (26 yrs old)” but here I am, beating a dead horse around the bush, or whatever the saying is. That is simply not what LOL means anymore because language changes and evolves etc etc okay I’m done now.
And so am I. Thanks for stopping by!
The Wellington Files 