Arrived safely in MI, but only to watch the Tigers fall to Cleveland. Oh, well.
Here’s the TP Sam and Sarah use.
It’s made of bamboo and is very planet-friendly.
How are you on the Periodic Table of the Elements? Well, the puzzle today asked us how many elements include the letter J? There were four letters in the answer. Times up — NONE! A neat way to clue a boring word and a neat trivia fact to know.
And then commenter smalltowndoc posted:
“On a visit to Munich, 30 years ago, I decided to visit the Deutsches Museum, a renowned science and tech museum. There was a display of the periodic table of the chemical elements with their symbols. I noticed where iodine should have been (under Br, for bromine) there was a J. Well that can’t be right, said I to myself. Turns out, in German, iodine is jod, hence the J. The memories that can be triggered by the NYTXW!”
Oh, hi Saoirse! Glad you could pop in — we conjured you up today after enjoying your incredible performance in The Outrun recently. We’ll be pulling for you on Oscar night!
We were so impressed with her that we spent several hours on our trip trying to learn how she spells her name. Let’s see if we can come up with another photo too — she’s hauntingly beautiful. We all rightfully associate Saoirse with Ireland, but she was born in the Bronx! Her Irish folks immigrated here back then, but returned to Ireland when Saoirse was three and she was raised there. Good job mom and dad! Saoirse is 30 and got married just this April to Scottish actor Jack Lowden, whom you may have enjoyed in Slow Horses.
If SR represents the finest actresses of our day, yesterday’s puzzle brought us back to an earlier era with Anna MAGNANI, clued as the first Italian to win an Oscar. In 1950 Life called her “one of the more impressive actresses since Garbo.” She won the Oscar for her role in “The Rose Tattoo,” which Tennessee Williams wrote for her specifically to star in.
Magnani was married for a time and had lovers, with one of whom she had her only child, her son Luca, who contracted polio when he was 18 months old. She devoted herself to his care. In 1945, she fell in love with director Roberto Rossellini. “I thought at last I had found the ideal man. He had lost a son of his own and I felt we understood each other. Above all, we had the same artistic conceptions.” Rossellini could be violent, volatile and possessive, however, and they would argue about films or out of jealousy. In fits of rage they threw crockery at each other. The two separated when Rossellini fell in love with and married Ingrid Bergman. D’oh!
Here are the Kinks performing “Muswell Hillbilly.” They were the musical guests in today’s grid. Hadn’t thought of them in years.
Favorite clue/answer from yesterday’s puzzle: 35A “Is it just me. . .?” Answer: AM I NUTS?
New joke from Jersey Dan: 95-year-old man goes to a lawyer. Says he wants to divorce his 92-year-old wife. The lawyer asks him, “Why now?” The man says: “Enough is enough.”
Bet you didn’t know there were orange trees in Michigan.
See you next time!
The Wellington Files 