Abe: Rabbi, I have a strong desire to live forever. What should I do?
Rabbi: Get married.
Abe: And I’ll live forever?
Rabbi: No, but the desire will disappear.
[Sorry, darling — it’s just a joke!]
My cousin Barry sent me those two items. It may depress you to learn they were the best out of around ten. Aside from that, he’s a wonderful man who raised 8 (or 6) children. [He knows whether it’s 8 or 6. It’s just that between him and his brother Jay, I don’t recall which is the 8 and which the 6.]
There’s an update on whether Lennon and McCartney sang backup on The Stones’ song Dandelion. Here’s the comment that was posted late yesterday:
“Despite what Wikipedia says, there doesn’t seem to be absolute certainty that John and Paul sang on “Dandelion.” 0ne account has Mick and Keith saying they didn’t. They did sing on the flip side, “We Love You”, which was the A-side in Britain. “Dandelion” had been recorded much earlier but was apparently finished up at the “We Love You” recording session, whatever that entailed.
“The background vocal is Beatle-esque in style, but I’m not sure it really sounds like them singing it. So who knows?”
The clue at 51A yesterday was “Protagonist in a long-running Phyllis Reynolds Naylor book series.” Now that’s a Friday-level clue: for ALICE. Monday it would be something like “Mrs. Kramden,” or maybe “Wonderland drop-in.”
A comment on Rex’s blog brought up this verse from an old song by Little Feat, called “Willin’.” It’s about a trucker driving through Texas thinking about his girlfriend.
I was out on the road, late at night,
I seen my pretty Alice in every headlight:
Alice, Dallas Alice
But you wanna hear Linda sing it, believe me.
Yesterday’s puzzle was by Malaika Handa, a young lady who guest blogs for Rex once a month on a Wednesday (Mlaika MWednesday, she calls it). And she’s very relaxed and personable. If you don’t believe me, take a look at this shayna punim.
It was her fourth puzzle in the Times and showed off her crisp intelligence. E.g., at 41D, “Having rhythm:” CADENT. (Wow.)
And how about: “_____ B. Parker, Democratic candidate for president in 1904.” Answer ALTON. (Who?)
Her clue for MAE WEST was: “Who said ‘Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.’”
13D triggered a lot of commentary: “Feeling of dread before the start of the workweek, in slang.” Answer: SUNDAY SCARIES. Rex hated the baby-talkiness of it.
At 20A “Brand of ranch dressing?” was STETSON. Get it? It’s the name (brand) of a hat that is worn on a ranch.
Today’s puzzle was a bear, as is appropriate for a Saturday. I couldn’t establish a beachhead, but slowly got little pockets to fill. E.g., at 10D “Find _____ (Nintendo minigame)” was MII. See what I mean?
At 39A, “Rock band with the 2023 album ‘This Stupid World’” was YO LA TENGO. I had barely heard of them. Get this —
Yo La Tengo, Spanish for “I have it,” came from a baseball anecdote that occurred during the 1962 season, when Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would scream, “I got it! I got it!” only to run into Chacón, a Venezuelan who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, “Yo la tengo! Yo la tengo!” instead. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by left fielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish. After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, “What the hell is a yellow tango?”
I’m old enough to have gone to some of those early Mets games in the Polo Grounds with Casey Stengel managing. In one, the Mets were up by about six runs going into the ninth, but the opposing team started blasting away. Stengel was calling in every arm he had but they all got slammed. Finally, with the lead down to one and the tying run at third, he called in another pitcher. The first pitch was drilled to deep center, but Rod Kanehl (I think) flew after it and made a great leaping catch. Game over. Mets win. As Stengel passed the pitcher coming off the mound he said “Good pitch, kid.”
Since 1900, no team has lost more games in a season than those 1962 Mets (120). But Ashburn hit .306 that year and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.
At 44D, “Honeydew producer” was APHID. What? Shouldn’t it be “farmer” or something like that? Aphid? Rex explains:
In addition to being the name of a melon, honeydew is also “a sweet, sticky substance excreted by aphids and often deposited on leaves and stems.” Just what the crossword needs—excrement!
But these honeydew chunks look good.
20A today was “Contemporary artist Carrie _____ Weems,” and the answer was MAE. Weems was born in Portland OR in 1953 and works in many art forms but is best known for photography. Here is a shot from her Kitchen Table Series.
Her work provides social commentary on the experiences of people of color, especially Black women in America. She lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and Syracuse, with her husband. Among her numerous honors was a MacArthur Fellowship Genius Award in 2013, and induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame in 2020.
I hadn’t heard of that Hall of Fame, but its inductees include the few names I have heard of: Ansel Adams, George Eastman, Alfred Stieglitz, Richard Avedon, and Annie Leibovitz (over 70 in total). Perusing the list, the name Graham Nash caught my eye. Yes, the Crosby, Stills et al Graham Nash. He is not only a rock star, but is well respected within the field of photography too.
9D was “Bit of fish food:” PELLET. It led a commenter to share this Danny Kaye scene with us. I was enjoying its ridiculousness mildly, and then, towards the end, found myself laughing pretty hard. Give it a look:
This sexy Batwoman is from a 1968 Mexican movie that is having a revival of sorts, according to the Times. The actress is the Italian-born Maura Monti, who is 81 now, and has had a wonderful life in journalism, art, and teaching, after her film career ended..
She fights a “fish-man” named Pisces in the film. He’s eventually caught breaking into a tartar sauce factory. D’oh!
Owl Chatter photographer Phil maintains that the test of a beautiful woman is how she looks digging something out of her teeth. We see your point, Philly. Maura certainly passes. Nice shot, Buddy.
Oy. That’s enough nonsense for today. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 