One of the clues/answers in today’s puzzle is so beautiful, I’m tapping it as our opening note today. First, I had to look up “tendril” to appreciate it. Here’s the definition:
a slender threadlike appendage of a climbing plant, often growing in a spiral form, that stretches out and twines around any suitable support.
something resembling a plant tendril, especially a slender curl or ringlet of hair: “the wind fitfully moved the dark tendrils around her forehead”
Okay, so at 48A the clue was “Smoky tendrils.” And the answer was WISPS. Like a wisp of smoke that becomes a tendril. Lovely. Here’s a pretty wisp. Not sure it’s very tendril-y though.
Also sounds like an appetizer, no? “OK — we’ll share an order of the smoky tendrils and the fried calamari, please.”
Here’s a life-or-death issue that arose: At 104A, the clue was “He literally jumped the shark on ‘Happy Days,’” and the answer was FONZ. Well, some folks threw a hissy fit claiming it has to be either “The” Fonz, or “Fonzie.”
My view was my usual “close enough for crosswords,” but Commenter Dan took the issue head on:
“The complaints about FONZ are definitely unwarranted. Arthur Fonzarelli, Fonzie, The Fonz were the most common references, but I was sure I could remember hearing Richie call him FONZ. ‘Hey Fonz, wanna go to Arnold’s?’ or something like that.
“Sure enough, I did a google search and in the first random video from the show that I watched, Mr. C, Mrs. C, and Joanie all call him Fonzie. And then Richie pipes in with ‘Why don’t you sit down, Fonz?’
“If Richie can call him Fonz, I think the puzzle can, too.”
Hrrrrrrrrrumph!
Here’s the Fonz with Pinky Tuscadero, who seems much less into this dance than he does. C’mon Pink — lighten up!
This story was sent in to Met Diary by Susan Spector. It’s called “Fresh Loaves of Rye.”
Dear Diary:
My sister was getting married in a small town in Maine. Both she and the groom were transplants from Brooklyn.
My sister asked that I bring two large, fresh loaves of rye bread as a special treat for the wedding. The day before, I stopped at Lords Bakery at Nostrand and Flatbush Avenues after finishing my classes at Brooklyn College.
I told the woman at the counter that I was buying the bread to bring to my sister’s wedding in Maine the next day.
I asked whether I should get the loaves sliced. The woman said the bread might stay fresher on the long trip if it was unsliced.
It turned out that the groom had asked his brother to bring up two large, fresh loaves of rye. The brother also went to Lords and asked the same woman for two large rye breads, explaining that he would be bringing them to a wedding in Maine the next day.
“Are you pulling my leg?” the woman said. “A lady was in here earlier asking for two rye breads for her sister’s wedding in Maine tomorrow. Am I on ‘Candid Camera?’”
The groom’s brother displayed complete ignorance.
“She got hers unsliced,” the woman said, referring to me. “Maybe you should get yours sliced?”
The puzzle today was called “Feeling Possessive,” and the trick was to take an expression and alter its meaning by adding an apostrophe to make it possessive. E.g., you can say Tom “POOLS RESOURCES” with Ellen. But if the clue is “Noodles and floaties,” you would add an apostrophe to make it “POOL’S RESOURCES.”
Cute wordplay, fairly typical for a Sunday puzzle. But do you get the feeling Rex wasn’t too impressed? Here’s what he wrote:
“I don’t even know where to begin with how inadequate this theme is. How limp and last-century it is. It’s giving nothing. It doesn’t even have corniness going for it. Our job is to imagine … apostrophes? Look, if you’ve got a simple (very simple) gimmick that yields great results, hey, go for it. Go. For. It. But this ain’t it. This. Ain’t. It. I cannot conceive why this was made, let alone why it was accepted. The clues aren’t even trying to be amusing / entertaining / zany. Where is the … joke? The fun? The … anything? This is the “Jeremy’s Iron” of puzzles (see below).”
It occurred to me today that Rex is like a rock musician whose ears have been blown out by too many concerts so he can only hear the high notes. Most puzzles are just an annoying buzz to him — only the great ones make an impression. But that’s okay. Commenter Lewis forms the counterview — he’s always positive. And the Commentariat as a whole is a pleasure to read. Rex’s blog has become an important part of my day. I recall a commenter writing once that he was sitting in a reception area waiting for his chemotherapy infusion and the only activity that offered him relief was reading Rex’s blog and the comments. I can see it.
The poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born on this date in 1919 in Yonkers, NY. He died in SF just a month shy of his 102nd birthday. He said: “Make your mind learn its way around the heart.”
When important stories fail to be covered by the major news outlets, it’s up to Owl Chatter to step onto the breach. Into it? Here’s a headline from The Onion: “Dripping Food Strategically Held Over Other Food.”
Sadly, that encouraging start didn’t hold. The last sentence of the story reads: “At press time, sources confirmed Brauer [the diner] was despondent after he’d leaned in to take a big bite of his sandwich, only for it to collapse in his hands and cause a large pile of meat to fall into his lap.”
The headline of what The Onion for some reason calls a related story reads: “Single Woman Feels Safer Keeping Loaded Baked Potato In Nightstand.”
“God forbid I ever have to use it, but I feel better knowing it’s there,” Frances Higgins, the 36-year-old woman, said. She added that she lived alone and preferred to store the potato in a bedside drawer for ease of access, explaining that if she kept it in a secured Tupperware container in the kitchen, she might not be able to reach it quickly. “I know you’re not supposed to keep it loaded, but I want it to be ready if I need it. I’d hate to find myself in a desperate situation where it’s the middle of the night, my hands are shaking, and I’m fumbling around with the toppings just trying to get some sour cream in there.” She understood some people might feel differently and choose to store their potatoes and all the fixings in harder-to-reach places, especially if they have overweight children.
Our Lady Beavers looked good besting the East Washington Eagles last night in the opening round of the NCAA tourney, 73-51. The Beavs were actually down by 8 points early, but put that fire out and won handily. Raegan Beers dominated from inside the paint with 8 for 11 shooting and 9 boards, but the surprise performance came from Dominika Paurova whose parents and sister came all the way from the Czech Republic to watch her score a crisp 17, including 3 out of 4 three-point shots. We face Nebraska tomorrow. Hope Raegan’s ankle’s okay. Here’s Dominika:
This poem from today’s Writer’s Almanac is called “Fishing in the Keep of Silence.” It’s by Linda Gregg. I think “keep” is used with the meaning: “the strongest or central tower of a castle, acting as a final refuge.” You know, like “castle keep.”
There is a hush now while the hills rise up and God is going to sleep. He trusts the ship of Heaven to take over and proceed beautifully as he lies dreaming in the lap of the world. He knows the owls will guard the sweetness of the soul in their massive keep of silence, looking out with eyes open or closed over the length of Tomales Bay that the egrets conform to, whitely broad in flight, white and slim in standing. God, who thinks about poetry all the time, breathes happily as He repeats to Himself: there are fish in the net, lots of fish this time in the net of the heart.
On this date back in 1775, Patrick Henry gave his famous speech at the Second Virginia Convention in Richmond. But did you know this about him?
There was a problem with Henry’s speeches. They were wonderful and charismatic and everyone was entranced by them, but afterward, no one could remember what he said. Jefferson said of Henry: “His eloquence was peculiar, if indeed it should be called eloquence; for it was impressive and sublime, beyond what can be imagined. Although it was difficult when he had spoken to tell what he had said, yet, while he was speaking, it always seemed directly to the point. When he had spoken in opposition to my opinion, had produced a great effect, and I myself had been highly delighted and moved, I have asked myself when he ceased: ‘What the devil has he said?’ I could never answer the inquiry.”
The historic speech was not written down until 1816, forty years later, when it was reconstructed from interviews with people who heard it by Henry’s biographer, William Wirt.
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
Today’s puzzle was a bear. First time through I could barely get a toe-hold. Finally climbed up from the bottom inch by inch. Whew. 5D was “Bring around” and the answer was SWAY. Let’s hear it, Mick! Turn up the volume folks:
47D was “___ Street Music Festival (annual May event),” with the answer BEALE. Son Volt noted that this year’s festival was canceled. Oh, no! And then he shared this bittersweet John Prine song with us that he heard Prine sing back at the ’92 festival.
Sheesh, if you had to name an NFL quarterback least likely to make it into a NYT puzzle, GENO SMITH would be a good choice, yet here he is today, full name at 50A. He crashed with the Jets (who hasn’t?) but had a decent year or two in Seattle. Commenter Benson wrote: I’m the proud owner of a GENO SMITH t-shirt with his famous quote – “They wrote me off; I ain’t write back though.” Smith filed for trademark protection for the quote.
57A: “Venezuela landmark that’s the tallest of its kind in the world (3,212 feet).” Talking about the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the world. ANGEL FALLS.
Some very creative people were born on this date. Send in the clowns (or owls!) to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s birth in NYC in 1930. His very brief write-up in The Writer’s Almanac quotes him as saying “I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface.” (He was Jewish.)
And poet Billy Collins, also born in the city, eleven years later. This poem of his is called “The Country.”
I wondered about you when you told me never to leave a box of wooden, strike-anywhere matches lying around the house because the mice
might get into them and start a fire. But your face was absolutely straight when you twisted the lid down on the round tin where the matches, you said, are always stowed.
Who could sleep that night? Who could whisk away the thought of the one unlikely mouse padding along a cold water pipe
behind the floral wallpaper gripping a single wooden match between the needles of his teeth? Who could not see him rounding a corner,
the blue tip scratching against a rough-hewn beam, the sudden flare, and the creature for one bright, shining moment suddenly thrust ahead of his time—
now a fire-starter, now a torchbearer in a forgotten ritual, little brown druid illuminating some ancient night. Who could fail to notice,
lit up in the blazing insulation, the tiny looks of wonderment on the faces of his fellow mice, onetime inhabitants of what once was your house in the country?
I crashed on the puzzle today. Just couldn’t nail it. At 10D, the clue was “Slogan on a blue, pink and white pin.” I had TRANSP and filled in trans power. But that was wrong. It turned out to be trans pride and it just didn’t come to me. Two crosses didn’t help. Have you heard of Cereal RYE? I hadn’t. And “Tamil [blank], India” was NADU. Gimme a break!!
There was also grumbling about 48A: “___ Dutta, winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant.” Answer LARA. WTF!! But that came easily to me from the crosses. She’s an actress from India and very pretty.
I also failed at 17A: “One of two in Mötley Crüe.” The answer was METAL UMLAUT. I love it, but I had never heard of it. It’s a thing with its own Wikipedia page: A metal umlaut (also known as röck döts) is a diacritic (mark) that is sometimes used gratuitously or decoratively over letters in the names of mainly hard rock or heavy metal bands—for example, Blue Öyster Cult, Queensrÿche, Motörhead, Mötley Crüe and the parody bands Spın̈al Tap and Green Jellÿ.
[Green Jellÿ, a comedy rock band, used to be Green Jello, but changed its name due to pressure from Kraft Foods to protect its Jell-O brand name. One of its songs is “I’ll Buy You Any Major Appliance You Want Baby, Ooo Ooo”.]
The first umlaut use was by Blue Öyster Cult in 1970. It’s not designed to affect pronunciation. Its purpose is to give a gothic or tough effect. The Onion once ran a story: “Ünited Stätes Toughens Image With Umlauts.”
In the puzzle METAL UMLAUT appeared right under another clue/answer I really liked: 13A “Pie preference,” was EXTRA CHEESE.
Other strong entries were “Petty person?” for ANIMAL LOVER. (Get it? Petty = petting.) And “Inapt response when somebody says ‘Happy birthday!,’ presumably” was SAME TO YOU.
Here’s another Petty person.
At 60A, “60s peace org” was SDS. It elicited this comment: Not sure a group established and funded by the auto workers union can be considered a peace org.
And then this reply: As an old SDSer, I would agree that it was not a peace organization — it had many goals along the lines of economic reform and, in particular, participatory democracy. And in Vietnam the primary focus was victory by the National Liberation Front, not “peace” per se. As for UAW funding, though, that was SDS’s predecessor, the League for Industrial Democracy. The UAW broke ties when SDS repealed the rule that members could not be communists.
[SDS stands for Students for a Democratic Society and sought to broaden out from its historic labor base. Its first meeting was held at U. Michigan in 1960 and its first convention in 1962 with Tom Hayden as President. The UAW did cover expenses at that point. The split over communism followed.]
Boy, with Abbie Hoffman in the other day and the SDS today, the puzzle is doing some serious time travel.
Going to say goodnight early tonight. Catching the Oregon State Lady Beavers first round game in the big tourney. Who’s our star tonight?
Even in a blog like Owl Chatter devoted to unmitigated nonsense, a topic of serious importance sometimes arises. Today we are pleased to report that a terrible wrong has been righted. After 60 years (!), Captain (Cap’n) Crunch’s uniform has finally been fixed. (The Cap’n’s full name, btw, is Horatio Magellan Crunch.)
Despite decades of distinguished service, until recently the Cap’n’s coat only had three bars on each sleeve — appropriate for the lower rank of Commander. At the risk of shocking you, dear readers, in some cases it bore only two bars, befitting a lieutenant, or (gasp), a single ensign’s bar. C’mon Quaker Oats — get your f*cking act together. General Mills would have never committed such a rank faux pas.
Anyway, last year, in honor of the Cap’n’s 60th birthday, kinehora, his coat was redesigned with the correct number of bars on his sleeves.
To celebrate the unveiling, at last year’s San Diego’s Comic-Con, 60 cosplayers marched the streets dressed as the good Cap’n. Here they are, in formation. Aye, aye!
If anyone could knock Stormy Daniels off the front pages of Owl Chatter it would have to be someone the caliber of Kristen Stewart. Who doesn’t love sexy vampire women, I ask you? Kristen’s wild and decidedly skimpy outfits on the publicity tour promoting her film Love Lies Bleeding were the subject of a Style feature in the NYT today. The Times wisely assigned the story to Vanessa Friedman, a woman, no doubt determining that any man covering Kristen would be in danger of having his head explode.
Let’s have a look. First, here’s Kristen when she’s not even trying. Could you plotz?
The most controversial pose was her Rolling Stone cover shot. CBS told Steven Colbert not to show it on TV, but he must have missed the memo.
As Friedman describes: “She then wore an abbreviated black mini with a mesh bra, garter belt-’n’-stockings and a leather blazer for Late Night With Seth Meyers, below. Paparazzi also caught her exiting her building in tiny cream-colored knit hot pants and a bra worn under a khaki shirt, with stilettos, and then in athletic Chanel micro shorts and matching leg warmers. Again with heels.”
As Friedman explains: “The clothes were like a dare to the watching world, a refusal to cater to pretty-girls-in-pretty-dresses gender expectations and a good-natured riposte to the idea that provocation is an invitation. An ‘I see your judgment and raise you one’ piece of fashion politics.”
I’m way too stupid to understand any of that, but so what?
Today’s poem is “Every Day.” It’s from The Writer’s Almanac, and it’s by Tom Clark, a very lucky man.
Awake the mind’s hopeless so At a quarter to six I rise And run 2 or 3 miles in The pristine air of a dark And windy winter morning With a light rain falling And no sound but the pad Of my sneakers on the asphalt And the calls of the owls in The cypress trees on Mesa Road
And when I get back you’re Still asleep under the warm covers Because love is here to stay It’s another day and we’re both still alive
The puzzle today was a good old-fashioned rebus, i.e., more than one letter is squooshed into a single square here and there around the grid. The “revealer” clue was “Puzzling activity, as seen four times in this puzzle?” and the answer was ESCAPE ROOM. Then, in four places the letters ESC were merged into a single square working both across and down. My favorite combo was “‘It’s so over for us,’” (WE’R[E SC]REWED), crossing “1970s-’80s sitcom about a trio of zany roommates” (THRE[E’S C]OMPANY).
Munch’s TH[E SC]REAM was part of another duo. I bet as he painted it, he daydreamed about its making it into the NYTXW puzzle one day. You made it, Edvard! Are fans of Munch “Munchies?” (Asking for a friend.)
As is obvious, at Owl Chatter we are obsessed with authenticity. So we sent Phil over to Oslo to get some shots of the actual painting as it hangs in the National Museum. Here it is.
This original version is even more terrifying than the adaptation we are used to seeing, below. Munch described his inspiration for the famous painting (the real one):
“One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord – the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.”
Okay — you can put it down now, fellas — thanks!
Munch actually created four versions: two in paint and two in pastels. In one, there is a barely visible pencil inscription “Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand!” (“could only have been painted by a madman”). It was first thought this was added by a critic or a visitor to an exhibition, but it was eventually proven that Munch himself added it, perhaps after the critical comments made when the painting was first exhibited in Norway in 1895. Munch was deeply hurt by that criticism, being sensitive to the mental illness that was prevalent in his family.
The in-laws — amirite Eddie?
Commenter Teedmn had this to say about ESCAPE ROOM:
“I had my first and only ESCAPE ROOM experience about a month ago. We were given an hour to save the world from nuclear holocaust because the countdown had started and we needed to solve the riddles and puzzles to find the 4 keys to turn off the clock. I found it to be an exhilarating experience. My friends and I all did our part in solving, no one sat back and watched, we all dug into the mysteries. We found a second room, we had to use a phone, we solved a jigsaw that gave us clues, we found a mysterious tool in a drawer that I figured out could be used to turn a 45 RPM record in a box to pop open another drawer, etc. etc. I was buzzed with excitement for a couple of days after we did it – we succeeded with a number of hints from the staff and 30 seconds left before Armageddon. Woohoo! (The woman who gave us instructions, pre-solve, told us that only 33% were successful and those who failed were the ones who refused to ask for clues. We were not proud.)”
Where are you on this debate that broke out? The clue at 32D was “Round sandwich,” and the answer was OREO. First comment on it said, “An Oreo is not a sandwich.” The second (and third) countered: “It’s a ‘sandwich’ cookie, so the clue is acceptable.” Owl Chatter’s view: Close enough for crosswords.
Hey — this clinches it! — “cookie sandwich.”
Gotta run. Thanks for popping in. See you tomorrow!
The Marx brother who wore a curly wig, was HARPO, according to the puzzle today. Commenter kitshef dug this info up too: His birth name was Adolph, later changed to Arthur. Groucho’s was Julius. Chico’s was Leonard. Gummo’s was Milton. Zeppo’s was Herbert. Also, Zeppo’s wife cheated on him with Frank Sinatra. Ouch! That last tidbit may have been TMI.
Before I forget (as occurred several times already), Rex has been boosting this, below, all week. I did their puzzles in the past (via a contribution) and they were good — mostly moderate (Tues/Weds) difficulty levels. And I’m gonna try them again this year. So if you’re a puzzle person, it’s a good cause (reproductive rights).
These Puzzles Fund Abortion 4 (four!) just dropped this past week—over 20 original puzzles from top constructors and editors—and you can get the collection now (right now) for a minimum donation of $20 (donations split evenly among five different abortion funds—details here). You can check out a detailed description of the collection and a list of all the talent involved here. I [Rex] not only guest-edited a puzzle, I also test-solved puzzles. I have now seen the finished collection, and it’s really lovely, across the board. General editors Rachel Fabi and Brooke Husic and C.L. Rimkus put in a tremendous amount of work ensuring that it would be. The attention to detail—test-solving, fact-checking, etc.—was really impressive. Anyway, donate generously (assuming you are able) and enjoy the puzzle bounty!
Also, just to take care of some more business, I received another reminder from our Dirty Old Man Dept about Stormy Daniels being back in the news. Yes — we mentioned that yesterday guys — let’s not go overboard. Okay, we’ll go with just one more shot of her. Here she is at the Wailing Wall — Phil caught her there last Shavuot.
The puzzle today had a number theme. Pretty straightforward: 007 was BOND. 360 was FULL CIRCLE.
Did you know 420 is linked to CANNABIS? I didn’t. Apparently, though, it’s associated with marijuana widely enough to make it into the puzzle. According to Wikipedia, it all started in 1971 when five HS kids in San Rafael CA started meeting at 4:20 to search for an abandoned cannabis crop (never found). It eventually just became the time they met to smoke dope, and their story was popularized in High Times. Then 420 crossed over to mean April 20th too and that became a traditional day for pot parties, as well as an international day of observance for the counterculture.
At 1D “Arizona in Hawaii, e.g.” was SHIP. It’s a reference to the USS Arizona. This ship was struck by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor. 1,177 died and the ship itself still sits under the sea, under the USS Arizona Memorial.
Smalltowndoc questioned the propriety of its use in an XW puzzle: “The clue for SHIP was tone deaf, given that the USS Arizona was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, resulting in the death of almost 1200 sailors. There’s a thousand ways to clue SHIP. Why invoke a horrible tragedy where said SHIP now lies on the ocean floor with most of the dead still entombed within her?”
One reply said: I thought the clue for SHIP was terrific. If this had been Pearl Harbor Day, it would have been even better. To avoid talking about Pearl Harbor is to ignore the lessons of history. Brave men died aboard the Arizona; let’s not treat Pearl Harbor as a taboo subject and minimize their heroism.
Another commenter stated it was disrespectful to leave out USS, so he would have preferred a different clue.
How do I feel about it? Well, I’m glad you asked. I would be upset to see, e.g., Auschwitz, in a puzzle, clued as this was clued, so I come down on the side of viewing this as disrespectful. But this is less extreme, and I’m not super troubled by it. Here’s the ‘Zona Memorial.
“Let me know if you see any corner pieces or ways out of this marriage?”
This poem called “Father” is by our house poet, Ted Kooser, from Delights & Shadows. It’s always a special day when TK drops by. Kick off those boots and settle in, Buddy. As they say in Yiddish: Our casa is your casa — George, see what’s in the fridge.
Father
Today you would be ninety-seven if you had lived, and we would all be miserable, you and your children, driving from clinic to clinic, an ancient fearful hypochondriac and his fretful son and daughter, asking directions, trying to read the complicated, fading map of cures. But with your dignity intact you have been gone for twenty years, and I am glad for all of us, although I miss you every day—the heartbeat under your necktie, the hand cupped on the back of my neck, Old Spice in the air, your voice delighted with stories. On this day each year you loved to relate that the moment of your birth your mother glanced out the window and saw lilacs in bloom. Well, today lilacs are blooming in side yards all over Iowa, still welcoming you.
Thanks for stopping by, everybody. See you tomorrow!
We’re opening today with a report from Owl Chatter’s Dirty Old Man Dept. The day every man in America has been praying for has arrived. Stormy Daniels is back in the news. The NYT Arts section reviews the documentary that tells her story. It’s a decent review, but who cares? We’re just ecstatic she’s back. Thank you, Jesus!
We sent Phil out on the assignment and, as expected, we’ve lost contact with him for days now. Here’s a shot from our files.
Lookin’ good, Babe! Take it easy on Phil. He’s not well.
It’s Philip Roth’s birthday today, born 91 years ago in Newark, just about 30 minutes from OC headquarters. Jersey is proud to call him one of theirs. I heard him interviewed once, on NPR. He was talking about the days before Portnoy’s Complaint was published. He called his parents to warn them about what they would be facing. The book will make an enormous splash, he told them, and they will be besieged by calls and camera crews from news stations all hours of the day and night. He suggested they get away for a few days, to avoid the crush. He later learned that after he hung up, they called relatives convinced that he was delusional.
One of my favorite lines of his was from The Great American Novel. There was a baseball game and a slugger named Yamm was batting in a crucial situation. The hometown crowd was yelling his name — YAMM! YAMM! YAMM! YAMM! And Roth wrote: “Starving savages invoking their potato god for rain would not have made a louder racket.” Something like that — I’m pretty sure I got the first few words right. Roth himself said his favorite of his books was Sabbath’s Theater.
Several years ago, I tried to get into an account I set up with the U.S. Treasury for some savings bonds I had for the kids. Of course, I had forgotten and lost the passwords, etc. so I called the 800 number and explained my situation. The woman on the line asked me for the answers to the security questions I set up for the account. “Who is your favorite author?” She asked. Arrrrgh. I like a bunch of writers and didn’t remember which one I put down. As I was dithering, she said: He wrote Goodbye, Columbus. Philip Roth! Of course! She gave me access to the account. So much for the Treasury’s crack security systems.
Happy Birthday. Rest in peace Philip Roth.
The puzzle today focused on what some in Crossworld call DOOKS. You look at the clue and you look at the answer you got which is DOOK and you can’t make any sense out of it. What the hell is a DOOK? Then you realize it’s DO OK. Two words.
Today’s puzzle was a real dook-a-rama. It’s by Lynn Lempel whose first puzzle (of 102!) appeared in the NYT back in 1979.
So you might be wondering how in the world is “Choice between a haircut and manicure?” DOORNAILS? But then you read it as DO OR NAILS. (DO = hairdo.)
And how is GOON SQUAD “Continue with your routine, cheerleaders”? And then you see it as GO ON SQUAD.
egs today: I understand that TSA is going to put further restrictions in place. Instead of just asking for IDS, they’ll also examine EGOS and SUPEREGOS.
He also added some DOOKs for us. The best was: Crucial step in bowling: Let _______. (Answer: GOOFBALL.)
So much crap is blamed on God, it’s a wonder he or she doesn’t have more of a bad name. All the wars, the gay bashing, the forced marriages, stuff like genital mutilation, the ruined lives from abortion denials, and the list goes on and on. But this year’s Oscar for “Greatest Monster Blaming God” goes to (fidgets with the envelope): Mary and Jeremy Cox, of Anderson, Indiana! They took their efforts to kill their child in the name of God all the way up to the Supreme Court and even the Supremes wanted no part of it, thank God.
At issue was the life and death of their beautiful child, a teenager who is a transgender girl. [OC note: We have not seen her. We are using the adjective “beautiful” because all children are beautiful.] Mary and Jeremy are devout Christians who believe a child should be raised according to his or her gender at birth. So rather than obtaining help for their child, they pressured her to give up her gender identity (to put it mildly, see below). At some point in her struggle she developed an eating disorder. Eating disorders have the highest morbidity rate among mental disorders. So this kid was at risk from the high suicide rates for trans kids, and from self-starvation from the eating disorder.
The State of Indiana got involved back in 2021 when Child Services received two reports of abuse or neglect, related to the teen’s transgender identity. One accused the parents of verbally and emotionally abusing their child because they did not accept that she was transgender.
A judge ordered that she be removed from the parents’ custody, get treated for the eating disorder, and participate in individual and family therapy. The state argued the teen’s eating disorder might worsen if the parents regained custody. The parents were told not to discuss transgenderism with their child outside of the therapy sessions because of the connection between those conversations and the eating disorder.
The parents said the state violated their parental rights, their free speech, and their free exercise of religion. “We seek only to raise our child according to our religious beliefs and best judgment,” they told the court. “This case is about the state taking a child from fit parents.”
The State said the parents’ beliefs were not the issue. Their failure to address the eating disorder justified the removal of the child. The Indiana appellate court upheld the decision, and the Indiana Supreme Court refused to take the case. Finally, just yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to take the case as well. So it’s over.
The Indiana appeals court summed it up: “The parents have the right to exercise their religious beliefs, but not in a manner that causes physical or emotional harm to the child.” Yup. She could have died, you f*cking morons. The goddamn State had to step in to stop you from harming your own f*cking kid — are there no depths to which you idiots will not sink?
God added: Hrrrrrrrumph.
Between venal state legislators trampling on trans kids for political gain and brain-dead religious lunatics, what chance do these beautiful kids have? We wrote about one who was buried from bullying just a few weeks ago. How many dead trans kids will be enough? How many?
George! Grab me a fresca — I’ve upset myself.
Let’s go off with a tune tonight. See you tomorrow!
Is your alligator license up to date? Tony Cavallaro’s expired in 2021, and the next thing he knew the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Gestapo took his alligator, Albert Edward, away. Albert’s 34 years old, kinehora, 11 feet long, and weighs 750 pounds. Sadly, he’s blind and has spinal injuries. From the side, he looks a little like my cousin in Tacoma. His back isn’t so hot either.
I gotta tell ya, his digs were pretty posh. Tony built an addition to his house for Albert and it included an in-ground pool. Have a look for yourself. That’s Albert chillin’ over there in the upper left corner.
It’s illegal to own an alligator in NY unless you get an alligator license for “scientific, educational, exhibition, zoological or propagation purposes.” (Propagation of the alligator, I assume — you can’t get one just to make it easier for you to meet girls.) Well, Tony had an expired license and the State said he also violated the rule against public contact with the alligator.
Tony, who is 64, pretty much had a “C’mon fellas” defense. He conceded that visitors took pictures with Albert, but they never swam with him or rode him. “They would briefly get in the water for a quick photo, often when he was sleeping.”
Seems reasonable to us. What could happen?
Also, rule changes required Tony to install a fence costing $15,000. C’mon fellas!
Tony had Albert since he (Albert) was a baby. He bought him at a reptile show in Columbus, OH, in 1990. For the past 16 years it has just been the two of them living together. About the removal, Tony said “The poor thing loves me. He was scared. I hope I can get him back, that’s all.” On how the removal was managed, Tony complained the DEC “brought at least 20 or more agents to my house in full body armor and guns, treating me like a criminal. It was like I was a gun-dealing, drug-dealing criminal the way they acted.”
Tony is planning legal action to recover Albert and a petition campaign has been mounted which has gathered over 100,000 signatures.
Hang in there, Tony and Albert — it ain’t over till it’s over.
This poem, in honor of the onslaught of Spring this week — hold on a sec — I think I mean onset — was sent to us by dear friend Norrie. It’s [in-Just] by e.e. cummings, and is her favorite, she tells us. Thanks Nor!
in Just- spring when the world is mud- luscious the little lame balloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it’s spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer old balloonman whistles far and wee and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it’s spring and
the goat-footed
balloonMan whistles far and wee
One no sooner started the puzzle today then who pops up at 1A? — Our favorite old lefty, ABBIE Hoffman, alav hashalom. “1960s activist Hoffman,” doesn’t quite capture him, but, okay — Hi Abbie!
Rex honored him by making him the “word of the day,” but mostly discussed his legal woes. And one commenter nicely said: “Any puzzle that leads off with ABBIE Hoffman is going to be just fine by me.”
I shared the following with the gang via this post:
I went to Brandeis 8 years after ABBIE Hoffman graduated, and he came back to speak while I was there. Politics aside, he was a very funny man. When he was negotiating with the Miami police chief over demonstrations down there, he said at one point — “Listen, if one curly hair on this head is hurt, my father will never come to Miami Beach again.” And the chief said, “Abbie — I know your father. He’ll come.”
Abbie was the first “Sandwich Man” at Brandeis – selling sandwiches dorm to dorm at night.
He said he was opposed to women’s rights — “Why, if women had rights, the next thing you know — men will want them too.”
The FBI file on him was 13,262 pages long, according to wikipedia.
It’s nice to see him in the puzzle.
Rest in peace, Abbie. Class of ’59.
egs was up to his usual tricks on three puzzle answers: ABORT, FLAUNT, and STYES. To wit,
At Cape Kennedy they no longer ABORT takeoffs due to pressure from the Right to Flight movement.
I don’t personally FLAUNT my wealth. Sure, I show off, but not shamelessly. Take my private jet, for instance. I’ve got a bumper sticker on it that says “Honk if you Wish No One Was Poor.”
If your dorm room mates are “roomies,” I guess a pig’s are STYMIES.
We’re going out on a sad note tonight. Special wishes for our good friend Riverdale Joe on the loss of his wonderful cousin Josh yesterday. The world has lost a real mensch, at a time when they are in short supply. At the risk of embarrassing Joe, here’s a photo he sent me of the two of them earlier tonight. That’s Josh on the right, alav hashalom. It was July 24, 1954. The future, as it turned out, was bright.
You know that game “Telephone” where you take a message and pass it person to person and see how it changes along the way? Richard Lewis, whose passing we noted recently, said in his family it would start out with something like “Larry got into law school,” and by the end it was “They’re sure it’s a tumor?”
Too funny.
It’s St. Pat’s Day today. We had potatoes as part of breakfast (sauteed with onions and sprinkled with paprika) and Irish cheddar in our omelets. Wonderful, with good strong coffee.
Éirinn go Brách. You may be more familiar with the Anglicized version: Erin go Bragh. Either way the sentiment is Ireland Forever! As you can tell, we spare no expense in putting Owl Chatter together. So we sent Phil over to Galway to get this shot for us. Good work, buddy! Stirs the heart, for sure.
This poem called “Places to Return” is by Dana Gioia, and was in today’s Writer’s Almanac. It builds to such a beautiful, gentle finish.
There are landscapes one can own, bright rooms which look out to the sea, tall houses where beyond the window day after day the same dark river turns slowly through the hills, and there are homesteads perched on mountaintops whose cool white caps outlast the spring.
And there are other places which, although we did not stay for long, stick in the mind and call us back— a valley visited one spring where walking through an apple orchard we breathed its blossoms with the air. Return seems like a sacrament.
Then there are landscapes one has lost— the brown hills circling a wide bay I watched each afternoon one summer talking to friends who now are dead. I like to think I could go back again and stand out on the balcony, dizzy with a sense of déjà vu.
But coming up these steps to you at just that moment when the moon, magnificently full and bright behind the lattice-work of clouds, seems almost set upon the rooftops it illuminates, how shall I ever summon it again?
Let’s liven up the mood a bit with a SOCA tune shared by Rex. SOCA was in the puzzle today at 98A, “Caribbean music genre.” The music originated in Trinidad and Tobago, and the name derives from “the soul of calypso.” This song is “Ring De Bell” by Network Riddum Band. If it doesn’t get to you even a little, you might want to have that looked into.
Ring de bell for freedom. Ring de bell for justice.
Up for a sweet pet story? This was shared yesterday, by Rex commenter CDilly52. It was inspired by a clue/answer at 53A in yesterday’s puzzle: “Animal shelter slogan:” ADOPT DONT SHOP.
“I was legal counsel for the shelter that took such good care of my cats until they came to us on Valentine’s Day 2014. They were a pair. Poor OC had kitty PTSD from having her family and home blown away in the 2013 tornado that rilled [ripped?] through Moore, Oklahoma. She spent her brief shelter time in the hideouts available in the ‘Quiet Room’ the shelter provides for cats in her predicament. She didn’t interact with anyone – cat or human, and the staff was concerned about her adoption possibilities, so they went to work.
“My cat Pip came to the shelter about the same time, from a rural setting where she was not much, if any older than one year, full of parasites but with four kittens attached, and she protected them with what little strength she had. Alas, the shelter always has a waiting list for kittens, and at the earliest safe (according to the vet) moment, her kittens were adopted out and Pip (not her shelter name) went into a clinical depression. Neither OC nor Pip was doing well.
“Both beautiful girls had so much potential and the shelter wanted them to find happy, calm forever homes so they decided to try to introduce them. “They took OC’s favorite cat tree with its small hideout at the top and a soft bed for the ‘groundling,’ Pip, and put them in a well-lit store room with a tiny window and set them up with all the comforts a cat could want. It didn’t take long before they both felt safe enough to come out simultaneously. They got to know and like each other and after a while were reintroduced to the main cat room where they stayed to themselves. Until OC found my wonderful husband.
“We had been caring for our kids’ cats, Cassidy and Midnight, for over six months while they were busy in a regional theatre production. After they took them back, we were unexpectedly despondent. We’re not big Valentine’s Day people, but in 2014, it seemed like the thing to do to end our months of cat deprivation was to adopt a cat. “A cat” being the operative. Well, as many of you know, cats do what they do.
“We had been at the shelter sitting quietly for a while watching the cats wander around their domain. My husband noticed OC sticking her head out of her aerie watching him. The shelter worker was amazed and asked him please not to move toward the beautiful orange tabby because she had never come out of hiding for anyone other than the shelter folks. But she did.
“She came quietly down the carpeted post, tail down, stalking. She stared at Larry and jumped up on the bench next to him.
“Within a few minutes, Larry had his hand next to her on the bench. She sniffed, tasted and then miracle of miracles, head butted him. We told the shelter worker “this one obviously wants at least one of us.”
“Before we could seal the deal, Pip came out of hiding. (She always let OC call the plays.) She sat just out of touching range and started saying “meep meep meep” in the softest voice. The shelter worker said please just sit still, these two are friends and they both have traumatic backgrounds.
“Of course we adopted them both. And they made our home much happier. OC stayed by Larry’s side to the end.
“Animals enrich our lives as we (I hope) enrich theirs. I truly believe that the best pets are shelter pets, so please ADOPT DON’T SHOP. And if you cannot adopt, please consider donating to or volunteering at a local no-kill shelter.”
As you may have noticed, in the above story I wasn’t sure if the writer intended to use the word “rilled” or if it was a typo for “ripped.” The tornado rilled through Oklahoma, or ripped through it? Rilled means to flow like a rill (a brook). That seems way too gentle for a tornado, so I think she meant ripped. The P and L are keyboard neighbors.
Richard Lewis, complaining about a restaurant attached to a cheap motel he stayed in: “On the menu, there were flies in the pictures they had of their dishes.”
Today’s puzzle was brilliant. I hope I can do it justice. It featured eight “attractions” in the U.S., e.g., LADY LIBERTY, OLD FAITHFUL, EVERGLADES, etc. Two were placed in each region of the grid, in accordance with their location in the country, i.e., Lady Liberty in the Northeast, the Everglades in the Southeast, etc. Then, amazingly, the clue for the central answer at 69A was “Locale of this puzzle’s attractions (really, all eight of them!)” and that answer could be all 4 regions: NORTHWEST, SOUTHWEST, NORTHEAST, SOUTHEAST, because the first letter worked as either N or S, the third letter as either U or R, the sixth letter as either W or E, and the seventh as either E or A. Get it?
The clue crossing the first letter was: “Division for a tennis match” which could either be NET or SET. NET would give you Northeast (or west), and SET would give you Southeast (or west). Similarly, the clue crossing the third letter was “Word before fly.” HOUSE gave you the U for South, and HORSE gave you the R for North.
The constructor was Simeon Seigel. Bravo!
There was some fun fill too. The clue at 9D was “Owners of an infamous cow?” Here’s Rex on it: “We’ve got the O’LEARYSas … a couple?? It’s Mrs. O’LEARY’S cow. O’LEARY’S, singular possessive. Since when did we start giving Mr. O’Leary a credit?” [Well, I say it’s about time the hubby stepped in and took his due, no? Why should the missus take all the heat?]
At 13D, the clue was “Comedian Jimmy with a self-described “schnozzola” and it was, of course, the wonderful Jimmy DURANTE. When was the last time he came to mind?
He said: “It dawned on me then that as long as I could laugh, I was safe from the world; and I have learned since that laughter keeps me safe from myself, too.”
Also in the grid at 81A was the actor JOSH GAD, clued as “Olaf’s voice in Frozen,” a role for which he won two “Annies,” awards for animated films.
His father, Sam (Shmuel) Gad was born to a Jewish family in Afghanistan and moved to Israel as a teenager. Gad believes his father is a descendant of the Tribe of Gad, one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. His mother was born in Germany to Holocaust survivors. Josh was born in Florida and is married to actress Ida Darvish, who is Catholic, and with whom he has two daughters. He describes himself as spiritual but not religious.
Here are the Gadfather, Gadmother, and the two Gadkids, responding appropriately to Phil’s antics, except for Mom, who has a damn good reason, I’d bet.
If you need proof that the puzzle can drive you nuts: Consider that the clue at 11D was “Person living in London.” It was a trick question because it had in mind London, Ontario and the answer was ONTARIAN. Here’s a comment by Anony-mouse:
“I was struggling so much with the ‘person living in London’ clue, trying to think of every possible word of British slang that I’ve ever come across. I eventually got it with a couple of crosses, but it took way too long considering that I live in London Ontario.”
D’oh!
At 47A, “I goofed, in slang,” was MYB — short for “my bad.” Andrew noted: MYB? Do we really need to shorten “my bad?” We’ve already gone from Okay to OK to K. Why are these kids in such a hurry?
Let’s end with 22A: “Bright pink shade” — HOT MAGENTA. Here’s Ms. Moretti from my tax class, modeling for us today. Phil! Where did you take her? Is that some kind of attic? No funny stuff — she’s a Hunter student!
Good Shabbos everybody! Let’s make it a wonderful day! George — is the coffee ready yet? Don’t wake Phil — till, like, tomorrow.
Before we begin discussing today’s puzzle, let’s meet the constructor, Carly Schuna (not to be confused with Charley the Tuna).
We have seen some of Carly’s wonderful acrobatic work before. Here’s the video she shared with the NYT Wordplay column today.
OK, on to the grid!
At 41D, “First part of an ancient Greek ode” was STROPHE. So, of course, if you had to decide between the first parts of several of them, it would be a real Strophe’s choice. And if you made the wrong decision: cata-strophe!
49A was a bruiser: “Flag carrier of Panama.” Answer: COPA. A flag carrier is a nation’s transport company, like an airline. Panama’s is COPA Airlines. It brought to mind for Rex, Barry Manilow’s “At the Copa.” Here’s how he put it: “I just think you shouldn’t pass up any chance to Manilow your grid. Missed Manilopportunities make me sad. This puzzle RAN LOW (47D) on Manilow. You don’t have to go straight at the song, if that seems too obvious for a Saturday. Why not, ‘Cabana entrance?,’ something like that.”
Manilopportunities!
Georgie — how’s that coffee coming along? Sometime before noon would be good.
The clue at 43D was “#iwokeuplikethis style,” and the answer was BEDHEAD. Cousin of “hathead.” A student once asked if he could talk with me about something, and I said, “Sure, how about after class?” He said that was no good because he had to have some photos taken then. But he came up after class anyway. I said, “What about the photos?” and he said he wasn’t going because his hair looked funny because he had been wearing a hat. And I said, “Yes, I see. It’s called Hathead.”
BEDHEAD is not necessarily a bad thing. For some, it can be a desired look.
For others, not so much.
At 14D, the clue was “Dog park?” and the answer was FOOTREST. Get it? You’re parking (resting) your dogs (feet).
Did you know this, from 22D? “Word that, when searched, causes Google to display all results at an angle.” The answer is ASKEW. Try it — we did! The google results are slightly off kilter — it’s funny.
SHEL Silverstein was in the grid today — writer of one of Caity’s favorites when she was little: The Giving Tree. It also inspired one my favorite New Yorker cartoons, which I was able to track down:
“Without a compass, say” was AMORAL and it was right next to RACISM. In that connection, there was also Ijeoma OLUO at 53D. WTF??? She wrote So You Want To Talk About Race.
Another nice duo were 23D and 24D, sort of a good cop, bad cop deal. 24D was “My pleasure,” GLAD TO DO IT, right next to 23D: “Let me play the world’s smallest violin for you” — NO ONE CARES.
At 31A, CAGE could have been clued in so many different ways. Carly chose “‘National Treasure’ star,” who was actor Nicholas CAGE. Do you remember him opposite Cher in Moonstruck?
“Chrissie — Bring me the big knife!”
Last one: “Occasions to read letters:” EYE TESTS. Good puzzle! Thanks, Carly!
Our Pistons fell to the Heat in Miami last night 108-95. Too bad — they were riding a three-out-of-four wave. Have to face Miami again tomorrow in Motown. We’re 12-54 now. It didn’t help that Cade was held to 11 points. Maybe some home cooking will be good.
How many unwanted pregnancies and/or abortions could be avoided if birth control stuff were given out at the concerts of sexy rock stars? That was the thinking of Olivia Rodrigo who teamed up with reproductive rights groups to do just that at her shows. It’s perfectly legal in all 50 states. Of course, right-wing lunatics are aghast — there are children at these shows! And they’ve been successful in getting Rodrigo’s program cut back in some locations. Through many avenues, she’s a substantial supporter of reproductive rights. Good going, OR!
Many of you have commented on that poor moose that was killed in self defense in the Iditarod last week. Well, the race finally ended and moose-slayer Dallas Seavey won for the sixth time — the most wins ever. Dallas, you may recall, shot and killed the moose when it got tangled up with his dogs and posed a danger to them. One of the dogs was seriously injured. Under race rules, Seavey had to gut the moose and save the edible parts for donation to charity. He spent only ten minutes doing so, though, and was penalized two hours for his shoddy work. He still won. Sadly, three other dogs died separately in connection with the race. Animal rights groups oppose the race.
Seavey is 37 and traversed the 1,000 mile route in 9 days, 2 hours, 16 minutes and 8 seconds and won just over $55,000 for first place. As he neared the finish line, Seavey jumped off his sled and ran with his dogs, pumping his fists. At the finish, he hugged each dog on his team — and they gave him sloppy dog kisses as they sat on the winner’s podium. Awwww. Woof!
It’s going to be a day of grading tax exams for me, but a nice concert in Princeton is in store for later: A piano concerto of Mo’s, and Tchai’s Fifth, along with some modern piece. Richardson Auditorium is so beautiful, it’s a pleasure to sleep through a concert there.
This poem by Naomi Shihab Nye is from today’s Writer’s Almanac. It’s called “Prayer in My Boot.”
For the wind no one expected
For the boy who does not know the answer
For the graceful handle I found in a field attached to nothing pray it is universally applicable
For our tracks which disappear the moment we leave them
For the face peering through the cafe window as we sip our soup
For cheerful American classrooms sparkling with crisp colored alphabets happy cat posters the cage of the guinea pig the dog with division flying out of his tail and the classrooms of our cousins on the other side of the earth how solemn they are how gray or green or plain how there is nothing dangling nothing striped or polka-dotted or cheery no self-portraits or visions of cupids and in these rooms the students raise their hands and learn the stories of the world
For library books in alphabetical order and family businesses that failed and the house with the boarded windows and the gap in the middle of a sentence and the envelope we keep mailing ourselves
For every hopeful morning given and given and every future rough edge and every afternoon turning over in its sleep
Today’s puzzle was a bear, so I’m proud of myself for nailing it, eventually, doubly so since even Rex rated it challenging. The entire north was roped off by PHILLIS WHEATLEY, who not only is a Black poet from 1758, but she spells Phyllis wrongly. We were also expected to know that (1) OKRA comes from Igbo, a language I not only do not speak but have never heard of, (2) “Put on blast” is BASH, and (3) “Bill originating in Texas” is PECOS. I got right away that Bill was intended as a name rather than a law, but all I could think was “Is Bill Gates from Texas?” Plus, get this — crossing the second “I” in PHILLIS was “Swing-era bandleader _____ Cates.” WTF?!? Like anyone outside of his immediate family has heard of OPIE Cates. Gimme a break!
Phoebe Cates I’ve heard of, but that did me no good.
Actually, Andy Griffith heard of Opie Cates because Opie, his son on The Andy Griffith Show, was, in fact, named for Opie Cates. Cates was also the music director of a radio show that inspired the TV show Green Acres, of blessed memory.
Do you recognize this babe, below? It’s Elinor Donohue. She played Andy’s pharmacist girlfriend Ellie on the show the first season, but is better known for her role as the eldest daughter (Betty) on Father Knows Best. (How’s that for a fossilized title? For most teenagers today, it’s Father is an Embarrassing Moron.)
There were high hopes for her character on Andy Griffith. She originally came ahead of Don Knotts in the credits! But she bolted after the first season. She and Ron Howard are the only central cast members still living. She’s 86, has four kids, and has been married to her third hubby for over 30 years. She was married to #2 for 29 years and had all the kids with him. Hi Betty!
Just got back from Princeton and will hit the sack shortly. Concert was good. Mozart’s Piano Concerto #24 (“The Willie Mays”), and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. What’s nice about the Fifth is you don’t have to know the first four in order to follow it.
The Wellington Files 