Hey, stick to the fake news, NYT, and leave the bad puns to us!! I read the following in a Times article on Sydney Sweeney’s sexy sports gambling ads: “A series of steamy commercials aired ad nauseum during the MLB playoffs.” (Not too shabby as puns go, I must confess.)
Hi Syd!
In the puzzle yesterday, for the clue “Seattle landmark from which Mount Rainier can be seen,” the answer was SPACE NEEDLE. What a coincidence: I just read an article in Science Times on how the Space Needle was used to mend a hole in the ozone layer.
How screwed up is this country? Apparently, we can’t even agree on gang rape. Yeah, you heard me. Per the Op-Ed piece by Nathan Taylor Pemberton in the NYT yesterday, Cornell rape victim, Jane Doe, is being vilified across a broad spectrum of “the right” in an explosion of male outrage. She’s being portrayed as a slut rather than a victim, and calls are going out for her to be jailed and “beaten.” As a result, she was subjected to a swatting incident that resulted in police officers descending on her family’s house with their weapons drawn. The rape itself is labeled a “hoax” and the investigations a “witch hunt.” (Sound familiar?)
“The new right’s obsessions with masculine dominance, gender norms and traditional values are some of the rudimentary urges shaping its worldview. And of the vast discontents that seem to energize the right — nationalism, racial animus, antisemitism, contempt for elites, Islamophobia — few have the ability to bring together the right’s various factions like misogyny.”
Has some shred of decency arisen on the Supreme Court? I’m not holding my breath, but seven of them just blocked one of Trump’s vicious anti-trans moves.
Three transgender people in federal custody were diagnosed with gender dysphoria by prison medical officials and were prescribed appropriate medical treatment. However, implementing Trump’s hateful policies, the Bureau of Prisons adopted rules prohibiting inmates from receiving such care. These rules have now been blocked until the issue can be resolved in court. Thus, for now, as many as 1,000 federal prisoners who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria will continue to receive treatment.
In the lower court, Judge Royce C. Lamberth found “Denying individuals with gender dysphoria the ability to socially transition or obtain hormone therapy will predictably lead to mental health risks. These risks include exacerbated depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and self-harm.”
The administration asked the justices to intervene on an emergency basis, to maintain institutional security, even though the current policy has been in place since 1992 with no problems arising. That’s the request that has been denied. Of course, Alito and Thomas went along with Trump. We can assume the three good guys did the right thing. Are there others (two or more?) who have a heart? We’ll see. The Supremes have pounded the trans community pretty badly up to now so it’s hard to be very hopeful.
I am one of those who believe it is a great joy to eat a frank at the ballpark. I still remember the first one I ever had. It was Yankee Stadium and the dad of a friend from school (David K.) took a bunch of us to a day game. Yogi Berra hit a homer and the Yanks won. We were in grandstand seats in right field. And David’s dad bought those of us who wanted one a hot dog. It was fantastic and branded me forever.
It comes to mind because of a story I read today in a minor league newsletter I get about a Jersey guy who visited 77 stadiums (stadia?) this year and had a dog at each one: A plain dog with mustard, always in the bottom of the seventh inning. And he rated them. Tops on the list was Reading PA. The best in the majors were the Cubs and Red Sox. Also ranking high were Richmond VA, and (happily for me) Sussex County NJ and Lehigh Valley PA, both within reach of OC headquarters. I am pre-drooling for next year.
Here’s Rev Ciancio, a man after my own heart (and stomach):
The puzzle was absolute nonsense today — so I loved it! The theme’s revealer was NOCHANCE, which was a phonetic play on “no chants.” The trick was you had to take OM (a “chant”) out of the theme answers to make them work. So, e.g., for the clue “It may precede or follow ‘a million,’” TOMHANKS was the answer, but it only made sense if you took out OM to get THANKS.
For “Subs,” the answer was HOMEROOMS, which becomes HEROS when you take the two OMs out.
For my wordplay I worked with OM, of course, OPIATE, and IMPISH. Here’s what I posted:
My first thought was the constructor must be from Omsk — but he’s from Minsk!! (No he’s not.)
Possible titles for the puzzle: “OM Alone.” “OM Sweet OM.” “OM Is Where the Heart Is.” “Chants Encounters.”
One of my favorite episodes of The Andy Griffith Show is the one where OPIATE all the cookies Aunt Bee baked for Barney and Barney got all upset.
Adventures in Etymology: The phrase “Pish Posh” originated when a gent named Arthur Pish bumped into Murray Posh and said “Hello, IMPISH,” thus planting the seed.
This poem by Billy Collins is called “The Future.” It was in today’s Writer’s Almanac.
When I finally arrive there—
And it will take many days and nights—
I would like to believe others will be waiting
and might even want to know how it was.
So I will reminisce about a particular sky
or a woman in a white bathrobe
or the time I visited a narrow strait
where a famous naval battle had taken place.
Then I will spread out on a table
a large map of my world
and explain to the people of the future
in their pale garments what it was like—
how mountains rose between the valleys
and this was called geography,
how boats loaded with cargo plied the rivers
and this was known as commerce,
how the people from this pink area
crossed over into this light-green area
and set fires and killed whoever they found
and this was called history—
and they will listen, mild-eyed and silent,
as more of them arrive to join the circle,
like ripples moving toward,
not away from, a stone tossed into a pond.
Running out of gas today. See you next time!
