Remember your Magic Eight Ball? You’d ask it a question and shake it up and get an answer. Loved it, right? Today’s constructor, Daniel Trujillo Diaz, says he never used one for important decisions, but his decision to center today’s puzzle on one was spot on. He asked one three times whether Ruby would go to the prom with him. First it replied (at 16A), MY SOURCES SAY NO. Ouch! Don’t give up Dan! Next it said (at 32A), ASK AGAIN LATER. Hope! Finally, third time’s the charm, it said (at 37A), WITHOUT A DOUBT. Yay! He made clear what was going on at 55A: “Provider of the [above] answers:” MAGIC EIGHT BALL.
Here’s the adorable backstory. Every year, Daniel constructs a puzzle for his wife Ruby on the anniversary of their meeting. This year is the 8th anniversary, so he used the “magic eight ball” as the theme. And the Times accepted this one for publication, his first acceptance! Bravo!
Rex and several commenters shared a bunch of “Ruby” songs for the occasion. If you don’t like , or are unfamiliar with, Tom Waits, maybe this will win you over.
The song inspired the Nobel prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro into changing some events of the climax of his novel “The Remains of the Day.” He stated: “Ruby’s Arms is a ballad about a soldier leaving his lover sleeping in the early hours to go away on a train. Nothing unusual in that. But the song is sung in the voice of a rough American hobo type utterly unaccustomed to wearing his emotions on his sleeve. And there comes a moment, when the singer declares his heart is breaking, that’s almost unbearably moving because of the tension between the sentiment itself and the huge resistance that’s obviously been overcome to utter it. Waits sings the line with cathartic magnificence, and you feel a lifetime of tough-guy stoicism crumbling in the face of overwhelming sadness.”
And how about this one? Any 75-year-old punk rockers out there?
BTW, according to commenter Lewis, the Magic Eight Ball has 20 possible answers: 10 positive, 5 noncommittal, and 5 bad news. If you are flying with one, you better check it in your bag — TSA won’t let it through security with you. You can take a live lobster on board, though, in a clear plastic spill-proof container. This guy looks like fun. Take him.
Commenter Bob M. said: Never heard of a MAGIC EIGHT BALL. Definitely a puzzle for the younger generation.
Anony Mouse 1: The younger generation meaning boomers? The magic 8 ball was a cultural phenomenon in the 1950s and 60s.
Anony Mouse 2: Did you go to the prom with Cleopatra? Magic 8 Balls have been out since the 50s, and have been referenced in countless movies/tv shows/etc.
Anony Mouse 3: I’m 78 and we had magic eight balls in elementary school.
Anony Mouse 4: The 80th anniversary edition of Mattel’s Magic 8 Ball is available online.
OC: Yup. On Amazon for $11.
At 14A, “European capital with canals,” seemed easy to me, since we were just there in April: AMSTERDAM. But it raised a bit of a stir. In defense of the puzzle, The Constitution of the Netherlands states that “the King shall be sworn in and inaugurated in the capital city, Amsterdam”. But that is the only reference in the document stating that Amsterdam is the capital. The Hague is the seat of all governmental functions. The Royal Palace is in Amsterdam, but the King does not live there. He hosts state visits there.
We’ll give Trump credit for one thing — he doesn’t exclude women from his inner circle of monsters like Hitler did. So we get Noem and Bondi. Bondi is quite attractive — almost as pretty as Pete Hegseth over at the War Dept.
If you saw even a minute of Bondi’s sh*t-show on Capital Hill yesterday, you have our sympathy. Historian Heather Cox Richardson, who seems able to stomach all of it, called attention to the following. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked: “There has been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half-naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein’s safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?” [I’d also be interested in which half.]
Bondi, who says she has seen the files, would not answer “no.” Instead, she accused Whitehouse of “trying to slander President Trump.” Da noive!
IMO, nothing will come of it. We will never see the files, even if the Supremes order it. The victims will need to come forward with names.
Let’s close with this final Ruby song. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 