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Shabbat Shalom
As I flipped over to the NY Times obituaries today, I remembered Prof. Aronstein who taught Estate Planning at Penn, although it was (optimistically) called “Transmission of Wealth.” He told us how you can tell who the Estate lawyers are in Philadelphia. “They wear pinstriped suits, ride in on the local train from Paoli, and smile as they read the obituaries.”
NBA guard and coach Chris Ford died on Tuesday at 74. He played for Detroit and Boston. He won the NBA championship in 1981 with the Celtics. He later coached for them too. Before becoming their head coach, he was an assistant under Hall of Famer K.C. Jones. (KC died on Christmas day, 2020, at age 88, alav hashalom.) KC was the coach at Brandeis when I was a freshman there. He came to our dorm once for a brunch, and seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He said he considered football too, early in his career, but gave it up when he felt the ground shaking as a 300-pound lineman was coming at him full speed for a tackle.
Back to Chris Ford. He was playing for the Celts on October 12, 1979. He caught a pass from Nate “Tiny” Archibald behind the three-point arc, took a shot, and it went in. Kevin Grevey of the Washington Bullets also sank a 3-point shot that night. The reason I mention it is it was the first day of the three-point shot’s existence in the NBA. After the Bullets’ game, a reporter told Grevey that his “three” made basketball history as the first one ever made. But three days later, the NBA issued a news release stating that Ford’s was first. According to the NYT, it was unclear at exactly what time in the evening each shot was made, but Ford has received credit for it. Grevey said he didn’t think about it until more than ten years later when he ran into that reporter again. He said he would look into it further, but told The Times in 2021: “I swear I don’t care.” Alright, everybody — you heard him — the man doesn’t care.
In addition to his historic three-pointer, Ford had one dunk of note. He dunked (at least once) on Hall of Famer Julius Erving, one of the greatest dunkers the game has ever seen. Erving’s nickname, of course, was Dr. J., and Ford’s dunk over him earned Ford the nickname “Doc.”
Rest in Peace, Doc.
You all know Ken and Barbie, right? Well, in today’s puzzle, at 12 down, the clue was unusual: “Earring Magic _____ (1990s doll that developed a cult following).” Three letters, and the answer was KEN — yes, the Ken of Ken and Barbie. But you may not recognize him. Here he is:
Here’s how it came about. Mattel conducted a survey of girls asking if Ken should be kept on as Barbie’s boyfriend, or if he should be tossed in favor of a new one. The survey revealed that they wanted Ken kept on, but with a “cooler” look. Hence, in 1993, Magic Earring Ken was introduced (as part of the 6-doll Magic Earring series).
He had blonde highlights in his hair, and his outfit included a lavender mesh shirt, purple fake-leather vest, earring (of course), and a necklace of some kind. Well, unless you live under a rock, you will note that it screams “Gay.” In fact, the necklace was viewed by some as a sex toy popular in that community. It made quite a splash. It was featured on the front page of the NYT’s Arts and Leisure section and it became the highest-selling Ken doll in history. When the “sex toy” issue was “outed,” however, Mattel discontinued production and pulled it from the shelves. They are available on eBay for around $100, and, apparently, make occasional appearances in crossword puzzles.
What day is it today? — Saturday. How appropriate and sweet, then, for the 13-letter answer at 29A to be SHABBAT SHALOM! Thank you, David Distenfeld, same to you!
And here are his notes on the puzzle. Any words seem foreign to you?
“I’m a bit verklempt to be debuting SHABBAT SHALOM on, appropriately enough, a Saturday. Not to get all schmaltzy, but it’s so exciting I could plotz or kvell, maybe both, who knows. Mazel tov to me!
“With this, my fifth puzzle (but who’s counting), I truly feel like part of the New York Times crossword mishpocheh.
“Now I hate to be a kvetch, but oy vey did it feel like forever to get a response on this puzzle and I had major shpilkies while waiting; my pulkes were pulsating, my tuchus was twitching. I know — it wasn’t pleasant for me either.
“But then those mensches on the editing team had the chutzpah to email a big ‘Yes’ and all that other mishegas just disappeared.
“If you could have seen me in that moment: my schmatte completely shvitzed through, my punim covered in schmutz, tchotchkes strewn across my bathroom floor. This schlub couldn’t have been happier if he was noshing on some blintzes and rugelah, Bubelah.
“Anyway, enough of my shtick — enjoy this meshuggeneh crossword and, as my Zayde used to say, ‘”‘Gesundheit.’”
There are some heavy hitters from show biz in the grid today. Hello Tina FEY! Tina was born in Upper Darby, PA, not far from Philly, and she attended U. Virginia. Did you know she saved a man’s life once? She heard a man calling for help and called the police. It turned out his kayak flipped and he was drifting in the Hudson River without an oar. The police were able to get to him about a mile north.
And did you notice a scar a few inches long on the left side of her chin and cheek? It’s a creepy story — when she was around 5 she was slashed in the face by a stranger in the alley behind her house. Yikes!
She is married to a pianist, composer, and music director (one person) and they have two daughters: Alice and Penelope. Here’s a pic — yes, I see the scar now, barely. Not so bad.
Five down: “Brother from another mother, maybe” was HALF SIBLING, and it brought out this comment from egsforbreakfast: “If your step mother acts as surrogate to carry one of your biological mother’s eggs which has been fertilized by your biological father, is the newborn your one-and-a-half sibling? Maybe I’m overthinking this stuff right now because just yesterday a friend told me that his daughter and her wife each had babies from one wife’s eggs and sperm from a male friend of theirs, making the babies full biological siblings. Cool, but kinda mind warping for a few nanoseconds.”
SETH ROGEN, in the grid at 29D, was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. His parents met in a kibbutz in Israel. He has described them as “radical Jewish socialists.” The only business he ever wanted to be in is comedy. He started working as a teen at Bar Mitzvahs, private parties, and, later, bars. At 13, he was writing comedy. He wrote jokes for a mohel (cutting remarks, no doubt). He dropped out of high school to work at his craft, and his mom supported the decision. He was doing well, and hooked up with Judd Apatow at age 16.
In June 2018, Rogen was invited by Mitt Romney to speak at a seminar on Alzheimer’s disease in Park City, Utah. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was in attendance, and asked Rogen for a photo after Ryan’s children engaged Rogen in conversation. Rogen refused. He told Stephen Colbert,: “I look over and his kids are standing right there expectantly, clearly fans of mine, and I said, ‘No way, man! Furthermore, I hate what you’re doing to the country at this moment, and I’m counting the days until you no longer have one iota of the power that you currently have.’”
Rogen married actress Lauren Miller in 2011. They have said they do not plan to have children.
Designer Christian Dior was born on this day, back in 1905, and died in 1957 when he was only 52. In 1946, his “New Look” brought a voluptuousness back to women’s fashion after the boxy style that predominated during World War 2.
He reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world, with him as the arbiter of fashion. Here’s an example of a House of Dior design of a more recent (2010) vintage.
That’s a pretty note to end on. See you tomorrow!
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A Fair Wind
If you found yesterday’s owl chatter about Hunter’s graduation ceremony and the lovely Emily Ratajkowski to be a tease, you can feast on much more of it (and her) via this extensive coverage in the Daily Mail (see link, below). There are numerous photos of Ms. R, and several of me snuck in there too! (I’m the fellow in the back row with the mustache.)
Yesterday’s discussion on the usefulness of HS math in later life, hit home with owl-chatter-reader Judy who wrote: “Beth [daughter] and I have a running conversation/argument about the purpose of learning HS math — and she was quite good at it back in HS. But she claims she never uses it now. I argue that it’s part of one’s education to learn critical thinking skills and to (hopefully) become a thoughtful, intelligent adult. Same argument applies to science, literature, history, etc. So, she shared this with me.”
Turning to the puzzle, there was much buzz about a long (15-letter) across answer that threw almost everyone for a loop. Maybe you’ve heard of him? “Best-selling Israeli author of ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind.’” (Ouch, right?) It’s YUVAL NOAH HARARI.
Harari has said “The bitter truth is that the world has simply become too complicated for our hunter-gatherer brains.” (As 12 down tells us: TRUE DAT!)
He’s a history prof at the Hebrew U. of Jerusalem. His writings examine free will, consciousness, intelligence, happiness, and suffering. Wow! — exactly the purview of Owl-Chatter! Well, at least the suffering part.
Harari taught himself to read at age 3. He is gay and married his husband in a civil ceremony in Toronto . He does not have a smartphone. He has said that Vipassana meditation changed his life. He meditates two hours a day and goes on a 30-day meditation retreat each year, in silence and with no books or social media. The only exception he makes is for Owl-Chatter. After learning that Trump cut off funding for WHO during the pandemic, he and his husband donated $1 million to the organization.
Welcome to Owl-Chatter, Professor.
I had no idea what 6 down was either: “Hip-hop duo _______ Sremmurd.” The answer is RAE. But this one I may remember for next time because it’s Ear Drummers, backwards. (Thanks Rex!)
There were some neat food answers. TOOTSIE ROLL, at 18D, and CHOW MEIN, right next to it at 5D. But the Chow Mein may have been left out of the fridge for too long because it’s crossed by NOISOME (“foul-smelling”). That may explain why the crossing answer at 17A is: HATE TO EAT AND RUN. And if your fillings can’t handle that Tootsie Roll, it’s NOT A BAD IDEA (19D) to have one of those TARTS at 49D for dessert instead.
Here’s a poem by Ted Kooser from Winter Morning Walks that’s a little whimsical.
Found, on the gravel road I walked this morning,
one beer can, part full of frozen tobacco juice
that when I shook it came apart like chunks of amber,
and a quarter-sized piece from a fluted china plate,
with a soft pink rose the size of a pencil eraser
and a curl of flying, pale blue ribbon. In a nearby tree,
five noisy crows who had seen me stooping there
were busy creating a plausible story.
David Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023)
And it’s a fair wind
Blowin’ warm out of the south over my shoulder
Guess I’ll set a course and go(Wooden Ships)
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Violin Curves
If you wanted a clue for the name of the constructor of today’s NYTXW, you might use “word with fluid or harm.” It’s Daniel BODILY.
It’s a good puzzle. Remember your PEZ dispensers and candies? The clue for it at 63D says it was originally marketed as a smoking cessation aid. I don’t remember that. In that connection, however, someone noted that the dispensers seem to be like cigarette lighters, which is a little creepy.
The clue for ESCALATOR was cute: “It may have a down side.”
And how about 48D?: “Log feature,” is GNARL. The G is silent, unlike the G in the GNU I ran into somewhere recently. My online dictionary defines gnarl as “a rough, knotty protuberance, especially on a tree,” and offers this nice example of its use: “a blackthorn topped with a two-humped gnarl.”
[Speaking of GNU, I was remiss in not pouncing on it and sharing the absolutely terrific Gnu Song, by Flanders and Swann. If you only click on one owl-chatter song this week, make it this one.]
At 43A, “Step in a mathematical proof” was LEMMA. That’s a word I was always fuzzy on. The dictionary says it’s “a subsidiary or intermediate theorem in an argument or proof.” I think I get it. If you are trying to prove something that says if A, then D, but you have to go from A to B, first, and then B to C, and finally from C to D, you are proving “if A, then D,” and the smaller steps you take to get there are lemmas.
It led to some discussion of mathematics in general among the commentariat. Is HS math useful later in life? Personally, I don’t use it very often, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth studying. If it’s an exercise that sharpens the mind, it’s worthwhile. The Rabbis don’t study the Talmud to learn the specific laws it describes, but to appreciate the sharpness of the analysis.
I’ll share this comment with you, although I don’t think I agree with it.
“FWIW, I was a very good math student at one time — though it’s hard to remember that now. I took 4 years at Dalton (when only 3 were required) and then took a Calculus elective course my Freshman year at Smith. And while the MIT recruiters never came knocking at my door, my math board scores were pretty high. And yet…
“I don’t remember any math at all and I certainly don’t use it. Whether it’s algebra, geometry, trig or calculus, here’s the way I think about : Math is a house of cards. Take one card away, and all your knowledge collapses. The card can be a single theorem. A single proof. A single equation. A single anything. Because everything in math is built on something else.
“Look, I can forget everything I ever learned about the reign of Charles I or the Treaty of Versailles and still remain absolutely brilliant on the subject of the American Civil War. I can completely forget Hawthorne’s perfectly awful ‘The House of the Seven Gables’ but be able expound convincingly on ‘The Grapes of Wrath.’ And if I were knowledgeable about art (which I’m not) I might be able to talk at length and in detail about Monet and Cezanne while forgetting everything I was taught about Picasso.
“But one dares not forget ANYTHING in the field of mathematics — because if you do, you’re likely to forget EVERYTHING. That’s what’s happened to me. And while I’m deeply sorry about it — I used to LOVE math, after all — there doesn’t seem to be a hell of a lot I can do about it. All the math discussions on this blog are going right over my head.”
But is that true? If you forgot, or never studied, geometry, does that mean you can’t understand algebra? And on the other side of the equation: if your field is literature, and you’ve never heard about Shakespeare, might not your grasp of later literature be compromised?
I think we deserve a treat after that. How about another model, fellas? They seem to be falling all over themselves to get included in owl chatter. Three days ago, we had the poor supermodel who passed away, and today we had another knockout giving the commencement address at Hunter College’s graduation ceremony. I’m not kidding. The speaker was model Emily Ratajkowski, described in the program as a NYT best-selling author, entrepreneur, actress, model, and activist. She has a massive following on Instagram that she parlayed into a successful clothing line, has appeared in the films Gone Girl, and I Feel Pretty, and her collection of essays “My Body” was an instant NYT bestseller. She also created a conceptual art piece that was sold via auction at Christie’s. She advocates for women’s health issues as a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood.
She’s not a Hunter grad. She went to UCLA for just one year. I guess they invited her as an example of an extraordinary success story. She spoke well and didn’t seem like a phony. She seemed truly honored to have been asked. It was nice that Chuck Schumer spoke briefly right before her, and the whole scene had all that regalia all over the place. Emily herself was dressed modestly in an academic gown, which certainly helped keep the drooling to a minimum.
She’s 31. She has a son who will turn two in March. She and her husband are divorcing. Her mom is Jewish and her dad is Catholic. She identifies herself as “Polish-Israeli.” Here’s a photo of her:
Jonathan Raban passed away on Tuesday. He was 80. The name rang a bell because I read (and liked) one of his books a long time ago — about a trip he took down the Mississippi River. He didn’t want to be considered a “travel writer,” which connoted writing travel guides — where you stayed, what you ate. One tribute said his books offered a “view of the world that was both darkly comic and sardonic, delivered in prose that can pierce your heart with its accuracy.”
The obit in The Times includes the following passage from his book “Bad Land: An American Romance,” in which he explored how homesteaders were lured to settle desolate areas in Montana but had their dreams dashed.
He described the derelict houses they left behind:
“Their windows, empty of glass, were full of sky. Strips of ice-blue showed between their rafters. Some had lost their footing and tumbled into their cellars. All were buckled by the drifting tonnage of Montana’s snows, their joists and roof beams warped into violin curves.”
Mary Kaye Richter, who died at age 77 around Thanksgiving last year, suspected there was something off about her son Charley by the time he was a toddler. His skin was dry and scaly, he was very sensitive to warm weather, and he had very little hair and not a single tooth. When she took him to a dentist, x-rays revealed he had no permanent teeth. The diagnosis of hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia was very rare — in fact, at the time there were only seven other known cases in the U.S. So research was minimal and support networks did not exist. That was around 43 years ago.
From her farmhouse in Illinois, Mary Kaye got to work. She started a foundation, and soon discovered dozens of other cases and then hundreds. It now serves over 9,200 families worldwide and has raised close to $4 million to fund research at 40 medical facilities. And of course she took care of Charley. For teeth, he got dentures. She came up with an idea that let him play outside with friends in the summertime heat. She’d give him a popsicle when he went out, and when he came back his head would be all blue or red because he’d rub it on himself to keep cool.
Charley is 44 now and says he has lived a good life, thanks to his mom. He got married and has two daughters, although the marriage ended in divorce. And he runs the family farm of 2,000 acres.
Here’s a shot of Mary Kaye with kids she met through her work.
Good night, everybody — see you tomorrow!
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Styx and Stones
There’s a story in the food section of The Times today on malt liquor. I didn’t know what it is, other than something sold along with beer. It’s a beer for people who don’t like the hoppy or bitter ales that are the hallmarks of craft brewers. So it’s not for me. The first example they give of a resurgence of malt liquor is produced by the Virginia Beer Company and is called “39 Words.” But the article does not explain why it’s called 39 Words nor what those words are. WTH? It seems like something the readers of Owl Chatter need to know, so I did a little digging. First of all, it’s billed as “A strong beer brewed for all women,” and was released on Women’s Equality Day last year, which is August 26, the date in 1920 upon which the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was adopted, granting women the right to vote. (Sorry about that long sentence – it just kept falling down the stairs.) And the 39 words are the words in the Amendment. Here they are:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Yup: it’s 39.
“Bridges in film,” at 57A today is JEFF. He won a Best Actor Oscar once, for Crazy Heart in 2009, which was terrific. Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in it, but lost out to Mo’nique in Precious.
Other Oscar-nominated roles of Jeff’s include The Last Picture Show (1971), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), Starman (1984), The Contender (2000), True Grit (2010), and Hell or High Water (2016).
Raise your hand if you’ve ever fallen in love with a waitress/waiter. In 1975, while filming Rancho Deluxe, Bridges met Susan Geston, who was working as a waitress. They got married in 1977 and have 3 daughters and a granddaughter. A little arithmetic tells me they’ll be celebrating their 46th anniversary this year. Mazel Tov! Here’s a family shot of Jeff and Sue with Jeff’s mom and dad. You may recognize the dad.
There was a terrible pun in the puzzle at 41A. The clue was “‘I’m [blank] of you’ (Valentine’s Day message for a plant lover?)” And the answer was FROND. OK, a groaner for sure. But commenter lydianblues said:
“While peering into a fish tank in an aquarium store, looking at the leafy water-plants and sea creatures: “with fronds like these, who needs anemones” . . .
Fans of Olympic sports should recognize two incredible woman athletes in today’s puzzle: U.S. gymnast Suni LEE, and Jamaican speedster ELAINE Thompson-Herah.
Suni Lee is Hmong-American. She was the 2020 Olympic gymnast all around champion, and is tied for tenth as most-decorated American female gymnast, with six world championship and Olympic medals. She’s 19, was born in St. Paul, MN, and attends Auburn University.
And Elaine Thompson-Herah — fuhgedaboutit. She is the fastest woman alive at 100 meters. She is the only female sprinter to win both the 100 and 200 meter dashes at consecutive Olympics (2016 and 2020). (Only one male has done it: fellow-Jamaican Usain Bolt.) She is 30 years old, and married to former sprinter and coach Derron Herah. If you’ve got a minute, you can watch her run:
At 11D, the 1983 hit song that began with “Domo arigato” was MR. ROBOTO, by Styx. It’s foreign to me, but was a big hit for them. It’s off their “concept” album Kilroy Was Here, a rock opera. The new direction the band took with it created some tension and led to a breakup. This appears to be the message:
The problem’s plain to see
Too much technology
Machines to save our lives
Machines dehumanizeAnd on that creepy note, we’ll bid you goodbye. Thanks for stopping in.
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Dagnabbit!
It’s not unusual for a son to go into his father’s business, but when your dad is Evel Knievel you might want to think twice. Robbie Knievel didn’t, but he died last Friday in Reno, Nevada, at age 60 from pancreatic cancer, not some crazy stunt.
Robbie, who was thankful his dad Evel didn’t name him “Drivel,” started riding motorcycles when he was old enough to hold onto the handlebars, and performed his first show with his dad in Madison Square Garden when he was 8.
Robbie hurtled over part of the Grand Canyon in 1999, but broke several ribs upon landing. (D’oh!) It was 25 years after his dad tried to clear the Snake River Canyon but tumbled into the rocky chasm below due to a parachute malfunction. Don’t you hate when that happens?
He had three daughters and five grandchildren. He said his dad saw him as a competitor, but he was really his dad’s biggest fan.
It’s Michelle Obama’s birthday today. Michelle met the Prez when they were working for the same law firm in Chicago. On their first date, they went to see Spike Lee’s movie, Do The Right Thing.
When I was growing up, the two big international sex symbols were Brigette Bardot and Gina Lollobrigida. Gina L. died yesterday in Rome at 95. She starred in films alongside Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Yul Brynner, Rock Hudson, and, in Europe, Belmondo, Mastroianni, Trintignant, and Montand. After twenty years of that, she turned to photography, and of her first published collection the Times stated: “Believe it or not, she takes good pictures and isn’t just trading on her name.” She also wrote, directed, and produced a film on Fidel Castro, based on an exclusive interview she had with him, and was an exhibited sculptor. She leaves a son and grandson.
Here she is, when her powers were still intact. Smoky eyes.
I found today’s puzzle a little blah, or, if you prefer, meh. The clue at 8D was “Sketchy behavior,” and the answer was SHADINESS. It elicited the following note from LMS:
“I watch enough crap Housewives TV to know from SHADINESS. Since it refers to behavior, I wonder why the inventors of English didn’t go with “shadery” instead. A Housewife once referred to another woman’s gossip as some major bitchassment, and I was stunned, humbled, and deeply impressed by the inventiveness.”
At 26A, the clue was “Aw rats,” and the answer: DAGNABBIT. Here’s either an interesting or painfully boring discussion of that unusual word:
“Dagnabbit,” is, of course, a taboo deformation of the word “goddammit.” Let’s break down “goddammit” into two parts: “god” and “dammit.”
One strategy is called metathesis, which is a switch of sounds within a word. Pretty simple: instead of “god,” you’d say “dog.” Use some dissimilation for the vowel—change “ah” to “agh”—and you end up with “dag.” Excellent! Halfway done!
“Nabbit” as a switch for “dammit” is more fun, because we get to use both dissimilation and metathesis. “M” and “n,” remember, are paired together, very similar sounds. So swap out one for another. “D” and “b” are also pairs: they’re called stops, which means that you halt the movement of air from your mouth. (That’s as opposed to a sound like “s,” which could theoretically go on for as long as you have air in your lungs. But you can’t make the “d” or “b” sounds without stopping air from flowing.)
So using dissimilation, we get to “bannit.” Pretty good, but not great. What if we use metathesis to swap the position of our new consonants within that word? Ah ha! Nabbit. Put them together and we’ve figured out dagnabbit.
[Ouch — my brain hurts.]
Actual headline in the NYT today on page A12: Crackdown On Sick Days Is Hindered By Sick Days.
I was not surprised to learn at 56A today that IKEA is an acronym. But I had no idea it was from: Ingvar Kamprad, Elmtaryd (the farm where he grew up), and Agunnaryd (his hometown in Småland, southern Sweden).
Now aren’t you glad you’re a regular reader of owl chatter? Where else will you get vital information like that? I ask you.
The clue at 35A was “Whom one might go see at ‘tooth hurty,’ per a classic joke.” You all know that one, right? DENTIST — “2:30” is “tooth hurty.”
A Rex commenter confessed to not knowing the joke and sought an explanation which was quickly provided. (The community takes care of its own.) And I added the following:
For those of you who are craving more bad dentistry jokes (and, let’s face it, who isn’t?):
1. A Texan is in the chair. The dentist says “Everything looks fine.” The Texan says: “Drill anyway, Doc — I feel lucky.”
2. Mrs. Johnson is in the chair. Just before the dentist begins to drill, she reaches up and grabs him by the nuts. He says, “Mrs. Johnson, what in the world is going on?” And she says: “Now, we’re not going to hurt each other — are we?”
One of the features of the NYT Opinion section is a weekly conversation between Gail Collins (on the left) and Bret Stephens (on the right, but not a Trump supporter). I was happy to see Stephens refer to the obituary of Adolfo Kaminsky today, the anti-Nazi forger, discussed in owl chatter recently. (Kaminsky was part of a French Resistance effort that saved 10,000 lives, mostly children.) Stephens called it “the single best piece in The Times last week.” He said the piece is a powerful reminder of Rabbi Hillel’s declaration in the Mishna that, “In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man.”
Amen to that, Rabbi.
Thanks for stopping by.
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Calf Muscles
Never happy to see anybody die, but when it’s a Swedish supermodel who merits an obit in the Times, we at least get to sift through beautiful photos. Rest in peace, Tatjana Patitz. She was only 56. A very successful modeling career brought her some small film roles, most notably in Rising Sun, with Sean Connery in 1993. But in the role she was a nude murder victim, and she said “Oh my God, I don’t want my parents to see it.”
Tatjana was in a few funny commercials. In one, she is working the counter in a dingy Western diner on a blistering hot day, and a hunky young man walks in wearing an unbuttoned shirt, boxers, and no pants. There is a moment of “sexual chemistry” (as the Times puts it), but what he is really after are his Levi jeans which are in the refrigerator behind her. Check it out — it’s funny, and she’s gorgeous (he is too).
Here’s a nice shot of her that won’t get any of us in trouble.
Alfred T. Goodwin, a federal judge from 1969 until his death, also has an obit today. He passed away last Dec. 27 in Bend, Oregon, at age 99.
He wrote the majority opinion in the 2-1 decision striking down the pledge of allegiance because the words “under God” are a state endorsement of religious belief. The Ninth Circuit upheld the decision in a 15-9 vote. I remember the case, and I remember the Supremes went against it, 5-3, restoring the pledge. But I only learned today that the Supreme Court decision was procedural. It held the plaintiff lacked standing to bring the case. He was an atheist who had a daughter in the public school system. The Supreme Court never ruled on the constitutional issue.
Rest in peace, Your Honor.
Did you know that an EMU has calf muscles, according to today’s puzzle? They don’t fly but can run as fast as 30 MPH.
Yesterday’s puzzle included Warren SPAHN, boringly clued with “Warren in the Baseball Hall of Fame.” Spahn made a brief appearance in the majors in 1942 when he was 20, but enlisted in the army when the season ended. He saw action at the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star. Amusingly, when Spahn was with the Braves in 1942, he had a bit of a tiff with Casey Stengel who was their manager. Stengel ordered Spahn to hit a batter with a pitch and Spahn refused. (The batter was Pee Wee Reese of the Dodgers and it was an exhibition game.) Stengel accused Spahn of having no guts and sent him back down to the minors.
Stengel later said that it was the worst managing mistake he ever made: I said “no guts” to a kid who went on to become a war hero and one of the greatest lefthanded pitchers you ever saw. You can’t say I don’t miss ’em when I miss ’em.
Spahn holds the MLB record for most wins by a lefty with 363. He won 20 games or more 13 times and won the Cy Young Award in 1957. He was an All Star 17 times and pitched two no-hitters. Get this — he had 2,583 strikeouts, but for several decades his HOF plaque said he had 2,853. In fact, the autographed postcard plaque from my collection, below, has the wrong amount.
On July 2, 1963 he was locked in a pitcher’s duel with Juan Marichal that lasted 16 innings. Willie Mays won it by hitting a homer off Spahn on Spahn’s 201st pitch. Marichal threw 227. Amazingly, Spahn went 23-7 that year, as a 42-year-old, with a 2.60 ERA. It was his last winning season, however.
Let’s close with the poem Kooser wrote on January 16th, my birthday, in Winter Morning Walks:
A flock of several hundred small brown birds,
all of one mind, crazily chases its tail
across a muddy field and into a grove of trees.
They are full of joy, like a wheel that breaks loose
from a truck and bounds down the road
ahead of the driver, then eventually slows
and falls behind, wobbling onto a spot
on the shoulder, rocking around on its rim,
then settling with a ringing cry.
-
Owl-Chatter Midterm answer key
Here is the official answer key for the owl-chatter midterm. I guess it’s no fun to take tests, even for fun — nobody entered! Oh, well. Maybe next time.
Owl Chatter Midterm Exam: The Answer Key
- The NYT crossword puzzle grid of Sunday 12/22/22 was controversial because its design appeared to show:
a. A Christian Cross
b. A symbol disrespectful to Muslims
c. A swastika
d. A Jewish Star of David- The word “sockdolager” played a role in:
a. Washington’s crossing the Delaware
b. Jefferson’s drafting the Declaration of Independence
c. Lincoln’s assassination
d. The moon landing- Complete this phrase: Happy as a clam ———-
a. in high water
b. in cold water
c. on the beach
d. in the sun- Who is a patron saint of Owl Chatter?
a. Ana de Armas
b. Arthur Sullivan
c. Joe DiMaggio
d. Taylor Swift- Which song did Taylor Swift write in response to a bad review?
a. Red
b. Mean
c. Shake It Off
d. Sticks and Stones- What type of institution was named to honor Portia, the Shakespearean character in The Merchant of Venice?
a. a nursing school
b. a business school
c. a medical school
d. a law school- A “smew” is a:
a. bird
b. rodent
c. cactus
d. fish- A lawyer named Sue Yoo is an example of a(n)
a. metonym
b. homonym
c. holonym
d. aptronym- Who was born on Pi Day (March 14th)?
a. Groucho Marx
b. Albert Einstein
c. Isaac Newton
d. Marie Antionette- Marathon runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter runs as a citizen of what country?
a. Kenya
b. The U.S.
c. Israel
d. Ghana- Ai Weiwei created an artwork out of 100 million what?
a. pebbles
b. sunflower seeds
c. shoelaces
d. dried leaves- Where would you find a “second line””
a. Chicago.
b. Disneyland
c. Los Angelas
d. New Orleans- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia means:
a. fear of long words
b. fear of large mammals
c. fear of loud noises
d. None of the above- “I’m not really a waitress” is:
a. a line in a movie
b. a line in a song
c. a shade of nail polish
d. the name of a book- “Nugatory” is a word used by whom in Owl Chatter lore?
a. William F. Buckley
b. Pat Moynihan
c. Rodney Dangerfield
d. Lisa Simpson- Vuvuzela is:
a. A country in South America
b. A skin blemish caused by the sun
c. A popular Peruvian casserole
d. A horn that produces one note when blown into- Hall of Famer Rod Carew was born:
a. in a taxi
b. in a hospital room
c. on a train
d. in a baseball stadium- Cellist Charlotte Moorman won fame for playing the cello:
a. With her feet
b. In Hanoi during the Vietnam War
c. On top of the Washington Monument
d. Topless- What part of Mary in The Pieta had to be replaced by using a block from her back after vandalism?
a. Fingers
b. Nose
c. Elbow
d. Foot- Melville’s “Moby Dick” was based on an actual whale whose name was:
a. Whitey
b. Big Whitey
c. Mocha Dick
d. Larchmont- What color is the Esperanto flag?
a. Green
b. Red
c. Taupe
d. There is no flag- In the 2012 Olympics, gymnast Aly Raisman used what music for her gold-medal-winning “floor final?”
a. Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”
b. The Norwegian National Anthem.
c. The Beatles’ Let It Be
d. Hava Nagila- The late Don Christopher of Gilroy, CA, was known as “The [what] King?”
a. Garlic
b. Turnip
c. Pumpkin
d. Avocado- What was Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning wearing when he pitched his perfect game?
a. Two wedding rings from two marriages
b. A Jewish “Chai” pendant
c. Red underwear
d. No underwear- What opera did Puccini die before completing?
a. Tommy, the Rock Opera
b. Turandot
c. La Boheme
d. Madama Butterfly -
Waiting For Gadot
According to an article dated last February, you can count the number of Jews who play football in the NFL on one hand: thirteen. (Wait. What?) Alright, forget the hand thing, that’s not the point. The point is, it’s great that RON MIX was not only a Jewish football player for eleven years a long time ago — he’s in the pro football Hall of Fame. He’s also in the puzzle today, full name: RON MIX, at 104D. He is still living, at 84.
Mix was 6′ 4″ and weighed 250 when he played, so I’m guessing he didn’t encounter too much anti-Semitism. If anyone did cross him, you could probably say about him what they used to say about a federal agent caught in the woods by bootleggers: “He may get better, but he’ll never get well.”
Mix was an outstanding offensive tackle for the LA Chargers in the old AFL, from 1960 to 1969, after an All-American college career at USC. Get this — in those ten years of pro ball, he was penalized for holding only twice. Football fans will appreciate how amazing that is.
Mix is a mensch, which is hard to say ten times fast. In 1965, the AFL planned for its All Star game to be played in New Orleans, but the Black players organized a boycott. They said they wouldn’t play in a city that denied them basic rights — to eat in restaurants, get cabs, etc. Mix was the first white player to join them, after which others did as well. The game was relocated to Houston.
Ron married Patti Match, and for a time they were known as Mix and Match. No, I made that up. His wife was Patti Lanphier, and Mix wrote a very beautiful article about her for the San Diego Tribune when she passed away last February. They had three children: Carrie, Kathleen, and Charles. This is a story he told about her:
Patti was known for her organizational skills and ability to come up with inventive solutions to problems. This was best displayed when a crisis arose during the preparation of a major fund-raiser. Twenty-five members and board members of this charity had volunteered to set up and decorate tables for an event that would have 2000 people. On the morning of the event, only three volunteers showed up. Patti called the Commander of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, explained the problem, and asked him to send 25 recruits to assist. He did. The recruits remained as her special guests at the dinner.
He concluded by writing: Patti, my darling Patti, I was blessed with your presence for 58 years. I shall attempt to temper the sadness by cherishing the memories, but I know that I shall grieve until I am gone.
The Chargers retired Mix’s number (74) when he retired in 1969. But he unretired and played for Oakland in 1971. The Chargers owner was miffed and “unretired” Mix’s number so it’s in use again. Booo!
His mom must have said: “Go ahead and play that game with the silly hats, but, for me, maybe you can go to law school too?” So Mix earned a law degree during the off-season and maintained a practice after he retired from football. He got involved with some shady deals, however, and ended up pleading guilty to tax fraud. He was disbarred in 2019, and penalized fifteen yards. (Sorry, I made up that last part about the fifteen yards. Hard to resist.)
Here’s a bad joke for you: Three Jewish women are talking. The first says, “I’m so proud of my boy Abie, he’s a doctor.” The second says, “I’m proud my Ronnie too — a lawyer.” The third says, “My Alex is a rabbi.” Aghast, the first two say: “A rabbi!! What kind of job is that for a Jewish boy??”
Here’s a shot of Mix.
And here’s some wine you can use at your next Shabbat dinner. That’s our man on the label.
Actress Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman in the movies, is not your typical starlet. At 18 she was crowned Miss Israel, and then served two years as a combat fitness instructor in the Israeli Defense Forces. She was ranked the third-highest-paid actress in the world in 2020, with annual earnings of $31.5 million. In her most recent film, she co-starred with Kenneth Branagh, Tom Bateman, and Annette Bening in Death on the Nile (2022), directed by Branagh. She’s the GAL in the grid today at 90 down.
Gadot, fellow Wonder Woman actress Lynda Carter, and U.N. Under-Secretary-General Cristina Gallach appeared at the U.N. in October 2016, the 75th anniversary of the first appearance of Wonder Woman, to mark the character’s designation by the U.N. as its “Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls”. The gesture was intended to raise awareness of UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. The decision was met with protests from UN staff members who stated that the character is “not culturally encompassing or sensitive” and served to objectify women. As a result, the character was stripped of the designation, and the project ended. (Hrrrrrrrumph.)
Gadot is married to an Israeli real estate developer and they have three little Wonder Women — ages 1, 5, and 11.
Talia Shire, clued by her Godfather role, played Don Corleone’s daughter Connie, and was a beautiful bride (below). I gotta say, though, it strains the credulity to imagine her the victim of domestic abuse, doesn’t it? Don F**king Corleone’s daughter?? How Neanderthalic does that husband have to be? Jeeeesh. In the photo, below, note how Santino has him arm around his dad’s shoulder, and Brando has his hand on his granddaughter’s. Lovely.
Shire was born in Lake Success, NY, in 1946 and is Francis Ford Coppola’s sister and actor Nicolas Cage’s aunt. She received Oscar nominations for her portrayal of Connie in The Godfather, Part 2 (Best Supporting Actress), and for her portrayal of Rocky’s girlfriend Adrian in Rocky (Best Actress).
Probably a coincidence, but 9D today was “Convict, in old slang.” YARDBIRD. And, of course, Jeff Beck, who died this week, started out with The Yardbirds. Here’s a tune from 1966.
The clue at 68D, for NORM, was “Just what you’d expect.” I love when things set our favorite commenter off. Here’s where LMS went today:
“Just what you’d expect” – mediocrity and apathy. It’s everywhere. I get that I’m cynical, but still. Yesterday I found myself roped into going to a women’s excursion where we made pottery coffee mugs. There was a table with stamps to press little sayings on your mug, but they were all so positive and, well, disingenuous. Thankful, Grateful, Blessed, Always be Positive blah blah. I told the person next to me that I was too cynical for these and was there anything snarkier? Something like Surely not everyone was Kung Fu fighting woulda worked, but, oh well. Didn’t matter; I couldn’t separate my mug from the bottle I had molded it around, so I just gave up and left with my friend, hoping that no one noticed the huge clump of misshapen clay at my place that probably screamed I don’t give a &%$# and just want to leave here to take a nap!
At my birthday dinner last night, I ordered a Brooklyn Lager and the waitress said “I had a feeling you would.” I said — “I grew up in Brooklyn.” And she said — “I thought so – my grandmother lives there, and I felt the vibe.” I didn’t take it as an age insult because she was clearly wonderful. The football game was on the TV and it was very loud. So I said — I’m a football fan, but it’s on so loud — can it be turned down a bit? She said she’d try, but then came back and said, her boss says they can just turn it down a tiny bit, but how about moving upstairs? So we did and it was much quieter. Then, out of the blue she came back and said, My boss feels bad about your having to move, so the beers are on us. Isn’t that nice?
Thanks for stopping by — see you tomorrow!
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Day-O!
When there’s a clue about whales, if the answer isn’t WHALE, I’m pretty much at sea. So the clue in yesterday’s puzzle had me beat: “Streamlined type of baleen whale.” Let me put it this way — the “streamlined” part was no help at all. Have you heard of RORQUAL? Sounds like a treatment for something. “Don’t take Rorqual if you are dizzy, vomiting, or prone to falling down stairs.”
Most rorquals feed by gulping in water, and then pushing it out through their baleen (bristle-like) plates with their tongue. They feed on crustaceans, such as krill, but also on various fish, such as herring and sardines. They often enjoy some schnapps after the herring, if the kids are asleep. Speaking of kids, a rorqual’s pregnancy will last 11 to 12 months, towards the end of which she will go around joking that she “feels like a whale,” a line that never gets old in the rorqual community.
On Hollywood Squares, George Gobel was once asked “Who is pregnant longer — your girlfriend or your elephant?” and he immediately shot back “Who told you about my elephant?”
The other odd bit of underwater life in the puzzle was a SEAL ADDER. Oh, wait. Never mind — it’s a SEA LADDER — feature of a boat that divers use. Sorry.
James Beard, whose culinary award was noted in the puzzle yesterday, has been dead since 1985. He was 81 when he died. He was a chef, writer, teacher, and pioneered TV cooking shows. Julia Child said: “Beard was the quintessential American cook. Well-educated and well-traveled, he was familiar with many cuisines but remained fundamentally American. He was a big man, over six feet tall, with a big belly, and huge hands. An endearing and always lively teacher, he loved people, loved his work, loved gossip, loved to eat, loved a good time.”
Beard’s renovated brownstone at 167 West 12th Street in Greenwich Village houses the James Beard Foundation, and is North America’s only historic culinary center. Here’s a shot of him.
Two pop icons were in the grid yesterday, Ringo STARR and (yes, yet again) Taylor Swift (not complaining). Ringo is 82 and has been married to his second wife, Barbara Bach, for 41 years. He has three children — all from his first wife, Mary Cox. Barbara is 75, but used to be younger.
And Swift was pulled in from left field to clue the simple word STAY, with “When said three times, 2012 Taylor Swift song.” It’s a catchy pop tune, with a symmetrical chorus: “Stay, stay, stay — I’ve been loving you for quite some time, time, time.” In her intro, she admits to her fans that she writes a lot of breakup songs: they make her feel better. “But sometimes people stay.”
Here’s a live performance of it for you teeny boppers: and get off my lawn!
According to The Writer’s Almanac, today’s the birthday of Emily Hahn, who wrote 54 books and over 200 New Yorker articles. She died at age 92 in 1997. The New Yorker called her “a forgotten American literary treasure.”
She was the first woman to earn a degree in Mining Engineering at U. Wisconsin. She chose that major when an advisor told her women don’t have the brains for it. But she left the field after a year, finding the work unsatisfying. Before turning 30, she was a tour guide in New Mexico, worked for the Red Cross in the Belgian Congo, lived with a tribe of Pygmies for two years, and crossed Africa on foot. She then lived in China for a time, had two daughters, and eventually settled back in NY.
At her funeral, her granddaughter Alfia gave the eulogy and said: “Chances are, your grandmother didn’t smoke cigars and let you hold wild role-playing parties in her apartment. Chances are she didn’t teach you Swahili obscenities. Chances are that when she took you to the zoo, she didn’t start whooping passionately at the top her lungs as you passed the gibbon cage. Sadly for you, your grandmother was not Emily Hahn.”
Today’s puzzle was very fresh with loads of nifty terms and very little “Crosswordese.” No OREOS, and no Mel OTT or Bobby ORR. First, the grid design is elegant. Look how symmetrical the design is, below. Here’s how Rex describes it:
“I really liked the shape of this grid, and the unexpected way it unfolded. It just has so much . . . let’s call it “flow.” It basically has all the symmetries (mirror symmetry along the axes and diagonals, plus rotational symmetry—not just 180-degree, but 90-degree as well). It’s essentially a cloverleaf, with four corner loops, so you can go spinning around the black squares in all different directions and then go shooting off down the road, and you never find yourself stuck in some dank corner with no one to come to your rescue.
Six down is WHATCHAMACALLIT — a terrific crossword word. And the puzzle has lots of neat sound effects: BLAT, WHAPS, and NEIGHS. Venerable women DORIS Day and SALLY Ride offset THE BACHELORETTE.
“Harry Belafonte’s catchword” is at 47D: DAY-O. How often do we run into Harry anymore? Born on March 1, 1927, he is still living (95!). His album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. He’s been very active politically and was close with MLK. Jr. He’s in the Rock and Roll HOF, and won three Grammys, an Emmy and a Tony. Get this — his paternal grandfather was a Dutch Jew of Sephardic Jewish descent. Harry’s a Yid!
He was married to his first wife, Marguerite Byrd, from ’48 to ’57 and had two daughters with her. His second wife, Julie Robinson (of Jewish descent), and he were married for 47 years (!), and they had a boy and a girl. They divorced in ’08, and Harry is now married to photographer Pamela Frank. He has five grandchildren.
Belafonte was an active critic of the Iraq War, and a verbal battle flared up involving him and Colin Powell and Condi Rice. Here’s what he said:
“There is an old saying, in the days of slavery. There were those slaves who lived on the plantation, and there were those slaves who lived in the house. You got the privilege of living in the house if you served the master, do exactly the way the master intended to have you serve him. That gave you privilege. Colin Powell is committed to come into the house of the master, as long as he would serve the master, according to the master’s purpose. And when Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned back out to pasture. And you don’t hear much from those who live in the pasture.”
Powell called the remarks “unfortunate.” Rice was not as restrained. “I don’t need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be Black,” she said.
Another comment Belafonte made calling George W. Bush a terrorist ignited a great deal of controversy. Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge his presence at an awards ceremony that featured both of them.
I tried to find a shot of him in a yarmulke. No luck.
That’s it for today! Thanks for stopping by — see you tomorrow!
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Susan
It is with great sorrow that Linda and I note the passing of our wonderful friend Susan, who passed away last night in Middlebury, Vermont.
Susan was very beautiful — she looked a little like Nicole Kidman to me. When I saw her a few weeks ago, it was clear that her disease had done damage — she was thin, her hair was short, she was pale. But she had just become beautiful in a different way, that was all.
We wish her peace. Our hearts go out to Robert her life-long companion who (she said last week) gave her the gift of laughter. And much more, I’m sure. And to her “bestie” Lizzie, her closest friend. As the end neared, and many of Susan’s buddies closed in to offer help and comfort on a daily basis, Liz noted she was “the captain.” Aye, aye, Captain!
Robert and Liz said this Irish poem sent by a friend comforted them in the closing days:
On the day when
The weight deadens
On your shoulders
And you stumble,
May the clay dance
To balance you.
And when your eyes
Freeze behind
The grey window
And the ghost of loss
Gets into you,
May a flock of colours,
Indigo, red, green
And azure blue,
Come to awaken in you
A meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
In the currach of thought
And a stain of ocean
Blackens beneath you,
May there come across the waters
A path of yellow moonlight
To bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life.
Here’s a poem by Ted Kooser, from Winter Morning Walks.
I saw the season’s first bluebird
this morning, one month ahead
of its scheduled arrival. Lucky I am
to go off to my cancer appointment
having been given a bluebird, and,
for a lifetime, having been given
this world.
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The Wellington Files 