Do you believe? In particular, do you believe in wishes? If you do, you may pick up some tips from today’s puzzle. The theme answer is MAKE A WISH, and it has five things you are supposed to make a wish on, several of which are new to me. SHOOTING STAR and LADYBUG are the ones I know. Did you know there are male ladybugs? They are a little smaller than the female, and, I would guess, are pretty insecure. This one’s not male.
Then there is DANDELION – that stuff you blow off, right? But they also included ELEVEN ELEVEN — when you see it on a clock — and EYE LASH. If you see that an eyelash has fallen onto a face, or somewhere, you are supposed to wish upon it too.
The superstition that compels us to wish on otherwise random objects dates back at least a couple of centuries. Several versions of eyelash wishing existed in 18th century Britain and Ireland. For example, folklore recorded in Shropshire, England, instructs that if “an eyelash comes out, put it on the back of the hand, wish, and throw it over the shoulder. If it leaves the hand, the wish will come true.”
Fans of the TV show “24” know all about ELISHA Cuthbert (who was in the puzzle today at 44A) as no less than Jack Bauer’s daughter. She was born in Calgary and will turn 41 later this month. She’s a big ice hockey fan which is good because she married Dion Phaneuf, a former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They have two children, a daughter born in 2017 and a son in 2022.
Maxim named her the sexiest woman in television in 2013 and she generally does very well in “sexiest women” lists. She must have been especially sexy in 2013, because GQ also named her one of the hottest women of the 21st century that year.
Here she is, as bright as the sun, with all of her eyelashes in place.
Happy Birthday to writer/humorist P.J. O’Rourke, who was born on this date in 1947 in Toledo, Ohio, and passed away on Feb. 15, 2022, in Sharon, NH.
Here’s one of his quotes: “Drugs have taught an entire generation of kids the metric system.”
And this paragraph which he wrote was shared today in The Writer’s Almanac. As far as I’m concerned, it’s perfect.
“The source of the word ‘humorist’ is one who regards human beings in terms of their humors — you know, whether they’re sanguine or full of yellow bile, or whatever the four classical humors are. You stand back from people and regard them as types. And one finds, especially by the time one reaches one’s fifties, that there are a limited number of types of people in the world, and you went to high school with every single one of them. You can visit the Eskimos, you can visit the Bushmen in the Kalahari, you can go to Israel, you can go to Egypt, but everybody you meet is going to be somebody you went to high school with.”
You get the last word today, PJ. See you tomorrow everybody. Thanks for popping by.
Another dreadful Jets loss last night. Lucky for me, I fell asleep at halftime and didn’t get to see it unfold. Back when my friend Lance was alive, I would get to my office every Monday during the season and find a phone message from him mournfully intoning Yiskadal v’yiskadash, the Jewish prayer for the dead.
One play I saw last night had poor, hapless Zach Wilson, the most maligned quarterback in Jets history (which is saying something, believe me), break out of the pocket, elude a tackler, and race down the sideline for a touchdown! Hurrah! However, the replay showed he just stepped out of bounds by about an inch back at the three yard line, so they placed the ball back there and it was first and goal from the three. Then the Jets ran a nice running play to score the touchdown again. Hurrah! But this time they were flagged for a holding penalty (a sh*t call, IMO) and the ball was brought back to the thirteen. That was the last hurrah — they couldn’t score from there and had to settle for a field goal — three points instead of seven. They wound up losing the game by that four point difference, 16 to 12. It’s a good thing I’m not the type of fan who gets bitter (much).
Is it starting to get cold where you are? Vermont Lizzie — you up to your pupik in snow yet? Today’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac addresses that. It’s called “Opposing Forces,” and is by Eamon Grennan.
Even in this sharp weather there are lovers everywhere holding onto each other, hands in one another’s pockets for warmth, for the sense of I’m yours, the tender claim it keeps making—one couple stopping in the chill to stand there, faces pressed together, arms around jacketed shoulders so I can see bare hands grapple with padding, see the rosy redness of cold fingers as they shift a little, trying to register through fold after fold, This is my flesh feeling you you’re feeling.
It must be some contrary instinct in the blood that sets itself against the weather like this, brings lovers out like early buds, like the silver-grey catkins I saw this morning polished to brightness by ice overnight. Geese, too: more and more couples voyaging north, great high-spirited congregations taking the freezing air in and letting it out as song, as if this frigid enterprise were all joy, nothing to be afraid of.
58A yesterday was “Where to see heads of gladiators, informally.” I couldn’t make any sense out of the answer, even when I got it via the crosses: AMEX CARDS. It finally hit me, there is a gladiator logo sort of thing on AMEX credit cards.
But one Rexite argued that it was a Roman soldier — not a gladiator. To which Kitshef replied: From the US Patent and Trademark Office’s official website: American Express Marketing & Development Corp Application #90862191 Trademark application details “The mark consists of a Roman Gladiator Head enclosed in an oval shape design.”
You’d think that would end it — it’s the goddamn U.S. patent office.
But “Fox” posted: Um.. the guy on the AMEXCARD is a Roman Centurion, nearly the antithesis of a gladiator. I mean, they both fight but under very different circumstances. [A centurion is a soldier who fights in battle. A gladiator fights in competitions. Sort of the difference between a Marine and a pro wrestler or boxer.]
Then “Beezer” chimed in with:
Apparently the “is it a GLADIATOR or a centurion” debate “is a thing” and is mentioned in Wikipedia. After looking at various Roman gladiator AND centurion helmet images, my conclusion is the “real” helmet images for both provide much more protection than the AMEX helmet image, but the Amex image allows you to see the handsome Roman profile. I think the “safety/security” thing associated with the centurions is probably right when paired with a credit card.
Want more?
Sailor cited a website devoted to company logos which said:
“The man dressed in ancient armor is referred to as a gladiator in both the original trademark and also in the current American Express trademarks. The initial trademark of 1958 described the gladiator in the American Express logo as a gladiator on a shield whereas the current American Express website lists the logo character as a Gladiator Head Design. The lawsuit of 1989 between the Vibra Approved Laboratories and the American Express also simply termed this character within the logo as a gladiator head design. However, there are many who believe that the gladiator is a centurion who in the roman century was a commanding officer and a part of the general Roman legion.”
We sent Phil over to Rome to see if he could resolve this vital issue. He spent all of his time there drinking, and came back with this shot. She’s a gladiatrix. Good work, buddy!
Life and death in the USA.
By all accounts, Fred “Bubba” Copeland, was a decent guy, and very well-liked, beloved even. He was the mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama, population 5,384. He was also a pastor at the First Baptist Church of Phenix City, AL. His wife Angela was a teacher and cheer coach at Smiths Station Junior High. He had two stepchildren and one biological child from his first marriage.
On November 1, 2023, journalist Craig Monger of conservative news website 1819 News reported on social media posts by Copeland in which he wore women’s clothing (see above) and described himself as a “transgender curvy girl.” The contents of Copeland’s posts allegedly included explicit photos of himself, and transgender pornography.
Before the report was released, Copeland spoke with the website, claiming that his behavior was a “hobby” for “getting rid of stress.” He also said “I’m not medically transitioning. It’s just a bit of a character I’m playing.” Copeland requested that the article not be published, citing his family and his position as a pastor.
Waste of breath, right? His request was ignored.
Speaking at the First Baptist Church, Copeland said “Yes, I have taken pictures with my wife in the privacy of our home in an attempt at humor because I know I’m not a handsome man nor a beautiful woman, either.” He added, “I’ve been an object of an internet attack. The article is not who or what I am. … I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private and personal life that has become public. This will not cause my life to change. This will not waver my devotion to my family, serving my city, serving my church. I’m thankful for the grace of God and the willingness to forgive. I have nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of things that were said were taken out of context. In conclusion, I love my family. They’re number one. And, again, I’m sorry for what my actions have caused.”
Leaders in state Baptist associations stated that they had “serious concern” about Copeland’s “alleged unbiblical behavior.” Hmmmm. Yes, this is very serious indeed.
Copeland noted to a friend that he was having “dark days” and was being attacked viciously online. Two days after speaking in church, Copeland killed himself with a handgun. Former U.S. Senator from Alabama, Doug Jones called the attacks on Copeland and the circumstances of his death sad and disgusting. Ya think?
Peter LORRE popped by the puzzle today: “Actor Peter of ‘M’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much.’” He was Jewish, born in 1904, and fled Nazi Germany after Hitler came to power. His name at birth was Laszlo Lowenstein.
Here’s some interesting stuff about his family, particularly his only child, Catherine. Lorre was divorced twice before marrying Anne Marie Brenning in 1953 who bore Catherine that year. Lorre died in 1964 and Anne Marie in 1971. Catherine later made headlines after serial killer Kenneth Bianchi confessed to police that he and his cousin and fellow “Hillside Strangler” Angelo Buono, posing as undercover police officers, had stopped her in 1977 with the intent of abduction and murder, but let her go upon learning that she was Peter Lorre’s daughter. Only after Bianchi was arrested did Catharine realize whom she had met. Catharine died of complications from diabetes, in1985, when she was only 32.
Life can be stressful, and Lorre sometimes lost his head. On this occasion, his buddy Vincent Price found it and returned it to him. He’s looking a little suspiciously at Phil, though. Phil!! Run!!
Maybe we should all run, now that I think about it. See you tomorrow.
Keep it in mind as you read today’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac by Wendell Berry called “Before Dark.”
From the porch at dusk I watched a kingfisher wild in flight he could only have made for joy.
He came down the river, splashing against the water’s dimming face like a skipped rock, passing
on down out of sight. And still I could hear the splashes farther and farther away
as it grew darker. He came back the same way, dusky as his shadow, sudden beyond the willows.
The splashes went on out of hearing. It was dark then. Somewhere the night had accommodated him
—at the place he was headed for or where, led by his delight, he came.
What a list of women in the puzzle today!! Jennifer Aniston, Glenn Close, Tami Hoag, Linda Ellerbee, Ayn Rand, Amy Klobuchar, Ann Patchett, Jane Goodall, Bea Arthur, Jacinda Ardern, and the fictional Lisbeth Salander: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
Phil!! Run out and get some more Fresca!! I think we’re okay on dip. I’ll pull the last of Yev’s pierogies out of the freezer — what are we saving them for?
Linda Ellerbee is 79 now. Here’s how she looked before.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy — but that was back in 1992. Whew. Good catch, docs.
She got one of her early jobs in radio because her Texas background made her sound Black, and the Black woman the station hired didn’t.
Ellerbee’s work on NBC News Overnight was recognized by the duPont Columbia Awards as “possibly the best written and most intelligent news program ever.” Her work on news for children with her husband Rolfe Tessum for their company Lucky Duck Productions (Nick News) received much praise and many awards. Before marrying Rolfe in 1985, she shed husbands in ’66, ’71, ’75, and ’83.
Does anyone remember this? In 1989, Ellerbee created a minor uproar by appearing in TV ads for Maxwell House coffee. The NYT said the ads betrayed her trademark “uncompromising intellectual honesty” and “sardonic wit” — and were mercenary, “devaluing both broadcast news and broadcast advertising.” Jeez Louise! Jimmy Breslin called to support her by reminding her that when he made a beer commercial, they let him keep his Pulitzer Prize. (Burp!)
She was associated with the sign-off phrase “and so it goes,” which became the title of her first memoir (and of this Owl Chatter post!).
Here’s a small sample of her work, a piece she produced for Nick News. You won’t see her in it, but her hands are all over it.
In case you missed it, Michigan beat Penn State yesterday 24-15 in a very big game for both teams. UM coach Harbaugh was out, suspended due to a sign-stealing scandal, but Sherrone Moore took over at the helm and steered the ship well. Interestingly, starting in the second period, Michigan used only running plays for the rest of the game — not a single pass play. Was it a “statement?” Penn State came into the game with the best run defense in the country.
Moore got a little emotional after the game, even slipping an F-bomb or two and a “sh*t” into his post-game blather. Check out this clip — I love the “Thank you Coach” Jenny Taft drops at the end.
"Coach Harbaugh… I love the sh*t out of you man. I did this for you!"
Owl Chatter will be moving its operations down to College Park, MD, next weekend to catch the UMich-Maryland game in person. Should just be a warm-up for the following week’s death match against Ohio State, but you can never take anything for granted. Go Blue!
And, Harbaugh — Owl Chatter loves the sh*t out of you too!
Getting back to those women in the puzzle, does Jacinda Ardern ring any bells for you?
On October 26, 2017, at age 37, Ardern became the Prime Minister of New Zealand, thus becoming the world’s youngest female head of government. (She served until Jan of this year.) Ardern gave birth to her daughter the following June, making her only the second elected head of government to give birth while in office. The first was Golda Meir at age 76. Wait, what? No, the first was Benazir Bhutto. (Who even knew Ben was a woman?)
As PM, Ardern introduced strict gun control laws after a mass shooting in a mosque, and she led New Zealand’s response to COVID-19, winning praise for its being one of the few Western nations to contain the virus successfully.
[OTOH, a Rex poster posted this: We just returned from 3 weeks in New Zealand and were surprised that many of the people we met had a very low opinion of Ms. Ardern. She certainly seems charming based on her Colbert appearances but the general feeling was “you can have her.”]
Before PM-ing, she spent some time in the U.S., which included volunteering at a soup kitchen in NY. Her dad was a cop and her mom a school catering assistant. Her daughter’s given names are Neve Te Aroha. Neve is an anglicized form of the Irish name Niamh, meaning ‘bright’; Aroha is Māori for ‘love’, and Te Aroha is a rural town west of the Kaimai Range, near Ardern’s former home town of Morrinsville.
SAL BANDO was in the puzzle too — “Captain of MLB’s Swingin’ A’s of the 1970s.” Those A’s won three consecutive World Series (’72 – ’74), and he was a frequent All-Star and near-MVP. Take a look at that wonderful Italian punim — first his real one and then how he appeared in his cameo role on The Simpsons! He passed away earlier this year at 78. Rest in peace, Salvatore.
In his beautiful tribute to Matthew Perry in the Sunday Opinion section of The Times today, Hank Azaria wanted to convey how funny Perry was within their friendship. Here’s what he came up with:
Every time — and I do mean every time — we went to a McDonald’s drive-thru, he would ask the person on the other side of the speaker, “Do you know what Grimace is?” After getting a “no,” he would offer, “I think it’s a purple shake that has no cup.” There was usually a pause followed by a very confused, “May I take your order, sir?”
Whenever we went into a public restroom together, I’d beg him — I’d say, “Please don’t do it, Matthew.” He’d say, “OK.” Then he would proceed to go into a stall and start making little high-pitched straining “ow” noises, that would build into a crescendo of a man full-volume screeching as if he were giving birth to whatever was coming out of him in there.
If you’re looking for the story, it’s on page 10, and has this drawing of Perry by Iris Legendre on top.
[Owl Chatter note: Drive-thru ordering may be a genre in comedy. Dave Letterman once drove up to one those things in a convertible with Zsa Zsa Gabor, and asked to see their wine list.]
We went to a wonderful concert today in Plainfield, with Lianna’s viola teacher playing in the violin section. A 14-year-old cellist tore the roof off the place – an adorable Asian girl — playing Haydn’s cello concerto. But I didn’t get enough sleep during it, so I’m a little tired now. If I’m lucky, I’ll drop off and miss tonight’s Jets game.
From this poem, I learned that the word “flex,” as a noun, can mean a boastful statement or display (informal). That helps. It’s by Jenny Browne and is called “I Am Trying to Love the Whole World.” It’s from The Poetry Foundation today.
I am trying to love the whole world
is such a public display of affection, a flex even,
one the lone magpie staring back from the backside
of a badly shorn sheep finds suspect. I flap my arms
& blink three times. Bad luck to glimpse just one.
Magpie being the only creature rumored to have
refused the ark, preferring to perch high on the mast
& curse the rain. I too keep rewinding this mixtape
of the plague years until I can hear it snap like a tendon
or a tent pole. The world stays busy out there, hammering
itself into softer ground with a flat rock & yet, the sound
of wind softly shaking the stars awake. My world
I have missed your mouth, your morning
breath coming round the wild garlic, your fat
lilacs forgetting to be the flower of death.
The hatemongers seeking political gain by trampling on innocent transgender kids might take note of the front page story in the NYT today. The Pope has made it clear that trans folks can be baptized, serve as godparents, and be witnesses at church weddings.
Cloaking hatred under the guise of morality is pretty nimble tap dancing. Yet the story goes on to note: Last spring, the American bishops’ conference issued its own doctrinal document stating that chemical and surgical interventions for the purpose of gender transitions were “not morally justified,” and instructed Catholic hospitals not to perform them.
That’s worth re-reading: It’s immoral to offer established medical treatment to aid a suffering transgender youth. And yet it is well-established that suicide rates and suicidal tendencies among transgender folks are considerably high compared to the general population. How are you on connect-the-dot exercises? — These bishops have the blood of children on their hands. Perhaps they can take a break from sexually abusing young boys to reverse this policy. Shouldn’t take too long.
Regarding the Pope, Maxwell Kuzma, a Catholic who runs a farm outside Columbus, Ohio, said the document was “a very good sign of, yes, we want transgender people to be involved in the life of the church.”
He said he was especially touched by the section that said transgender people could be witnesses at weddings. In 2019, he was asked to be the maid of honor at his younger sister’s wedding, which coincided with his decision to come out and begin transitioning, he said. But the wedding organizers told him they wanted only a female maid of honor and disinvited him from the wedding party.
Mr. Kuzma said many transgender Catholics hid their identities to participate in their church communities, “and that’s just not a very good way to live.”
Good job Pope. Stop by for a cold Rheingold the next time you’re in Jersey.
In the puzzle today, at 35D the clue was “Former attorney general Bill,” and the answer was BARR. Separately, 28A was “Cash in the music business,” and the answer was ROSANNE (as in Rosanne Cash, the singer, and daughter of Johnny). Anyway, Bill Barr triggered this Rex Rant:
“Are there no non-repugnant BARRs? Speaking of other BARRs, semi-hilarious that ROSANNE / BARR appears in this puzzle and the puzzle’s just pretending like she’s not there (yes, the real Roseanne BARR spells her name with that extra ‘E,’ but still, you can’t put ROSANNE / BARR in a grid and expect me not to think of Roseanne Barr). We need new BARRs! Candy BARR was an American stripper and burlesque dancer! I mean, she shot her second husband, and had a relationship with Jack Ruby (!), but she still seems way more appealing than Bill BARR. Candy BARR is my favorite BARR now (admittedly, it’s a low … bar).”
[Candy Barr’s real name was Juanita Dale Slusher. A club owner suggested the name Candy Barr because of her fondness for Snickers bars. She had a tough childhood with abuse and prostitution, but gained fame as an exotic dancer. At age 16, she appeared in one of the most famous early underground pornographic films, Smart Alec (1951), which led her to being called “the first porn star” by the media. She went on to cobble together a career in show biz.
In 1984, Texas Monthly listed Barr alongside other Texans like Lady Bird Johnson as one of history’s “perfect Texans.” In 1988, it was announced that Ryan O’Neal would direct Farrah Fawcett in a biographical film about Barr, but it was never made.
OK, guys, time to move on.
At 17A, the clue was “Drives around in circles, perhaps,” and the answer was DOES DONUTS, which was new to me. Where else but in Owl Chatter can you get over ten minutes of donut-doing? I don’t recommend giving it more than a few minutes, though – tops.
Whew, I’m a little wobbly now. See you tomorrow! Thanks for popping in.
There once was a teacher named Didi Who came home to her squeeze, and said “Sweetie, I’m so tired, I’m wobbly. So pour me some Chablis And don’t be emotionally needy.”
The wells from which I draw (steal) poems for Owl Chatter have been dry lately, but The Writer’s Almanac has wonderful material on Carl Sagan today, who was born on this date back in 1934, a Brooklyn boy. He died in 1996.
Sagan received a lot of mail and he kept a file labeled F/C for the crazier stuff. It stood for “fissured ceramics,” aka crackpots. LSD guru Timothy Leary wrote to him. Leary was interested in building a “space ark” and asked Sagan what star they should aim for. Seems like a reasonable question. You don’t want to be wandering around aimlessly out there. When Sagan wrote back that the technology to accomplish that goal did not yet exist, Leary replied: “I am not impressed with your conclusions in these areas.”
Hrrrumph.
This passage is from Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot: “That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it, everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you have ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives […] [E]very king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every revered teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every superstar, every supreme leader, every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”
He didn’t believe in life after death, and once told his daughter, Sasha, that it was dangerous to believe in something just because you want very badly for it to be true. But he also told her, “We are star stuff,” and made her feel the wonder of being alive.
Happy Birthday, Carl!
You like cake?
Poet Anne Sexton expressed the same idea, sorta, but more acerbically. “Live or die. Make up your mind. If you’re going to hang around don’t ruin everything. Don’t poison the world.”
It’s her birthday today too. She was born in 1928, up in Newton, MA (Hi Don and Jelly!). Her bestie was poet Maxine Kumin. They spoke on the phone so much they had a second (secret) phone line installed so they wouldn’t annoy their husbands. She died by suicide in 1974. She wrapped herself in her mother’s old fur coat and climbed into her car and left it running.
Along the same lines, Frank Bruni included this passage in his “For the Love of Sentences” feature this week. It’s by essayist Maria Popova: “We were never promised any of it — this world of cottonwoods and clouds — when the Big Bang set the possible in motion. And yet here we are, atoms with consciousness, each of us a living improbability forged of chaos and dead stars. Children of chance, we have made ourselves into what we are — creatures who can see a universe of beauty in the feather of a bird and can turn a blind eye to each other’s suffering, creatures capable of the Benedictus and the bomb.”
Switching gears, with a loud grinding noise. This headline is from The Borowitz Report, about Ivanka’s testifying in Trump’s fraud case in NY: “Ivanka Unable to Remember Name of Her Father.”
The giant pandas are gone from the National Zoo — back to China. Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their youngest cub, Xiao Qi Ji. They’ll probably be happy over there. They will join 150 other pandas in a lush nature preserve in the misty mountains of Sichuan Province. Xiao Qi Ji was born after his mom got too old to have kids, it was thought. Hence his name which means “Little Miracle.”
Remember the old kids’ joke: How do you fit six elephants into a car? Three in the front, three in the back. Well, how do you ship three Pandas back to China. Fedex, of course. The Fedex aircraft, loaded with 220 pounds of bamboo, a veterinarian and two zookeepers, took off for the 19-hour flight from DC to China yesterday.
Time to go, little fella! Boo hoo.
If you prefer your friends to be out of captivity, you’ll be happy to learn that Flaco, the owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo nine months ago, was sighted in the East Village this week and seems fine. He was ordering some Indian food.
When Flaco first escaped it was feared that 13 years in captivity might have weakened his survival skills, but he’s been doing fine, living off rats which the city has in abundance. Yum! He had settled in Central Park, but fireworks for Sunday’s NYC marathon may have scared him off. After the recent sighting in the East Village, he took off again, heading to who-knows-where.
There was some concern for Flaco’s safety when he left Central Park. But a photographer who has been following him, David Lei, told our Phil: “Part of celebrating his freedom and pursuit of happiness is understanding that he is writing his own story now.”
This shot was taken of our owl friend last Monday. Yup, looks good.
Try not to make eye contact with a Cyclops. That’s my advice. But the clue today at 33D was not about the fellow’s eye issue. The clue was “Huge,” and the answer CYCLOPEAN. I like it, but (voo den?) Rex was not impressed: “I’m a middle-aged man who has been teaching Cyclops-containing literature for decades and I’ve never heard or seen the term CYCLOPEAN. They are indeed big, the Cyclopes, but if I were to make an adjective out of their name, I would think the iconic trait would be one-eyed-ness. Lots of things are big. Gargantua was big, and they made an adjective out of his name, and it made sense.”
So there. [Note: Voo den is Yiddish for “what then?” meaning “what else would you expect?”]
But poster sailor noted:
“For most of recorded history, the Cyclopes were known primarily for their huge size and strength, enabling them (for example) to lift the huge stones to build the ancient Mycenaean walls. So the word has been in continuous use, with the meaning as clued today, for (literally) centuries.” OK, fine.
The puzzle had me up against the ropes — until it didn’t. The theme is hard to explain, but here’s how it worked: The clue at 39A was “Not that shrink!” And answer was crawling with parentheses: PSYCH(O(THE)R)APIST. You were supposed to read the innermost word first (THE), then the next inner one (OTHER), and then the entire word, to come up with: THE OTHER PSYCHOTHERAPIST. Wow! Good wordplay.
And that happened three other times, but not as cleanly. See if you can discern how this one worked:
Clue: “Result of dropping a tray of coffee drinks?” Answer: S(P(LATTE)R)ED. [LATTE PLATTER SPLATTERED]
Since this was a pretty wacky use of parentheticals, I posted a comment that said “This puzzle is in loco parenthesis.” (Get it?) It’s gotten no responses, thank goodness.
At 5D, would you have known that “Iconic feature of the Who’s ‘My Generation’” is BASS SOLO? I didn’t — I needed the crosses to get it. Let’s check it out.
One Rex poster opined that a better iconic feature of “My Generation” would be “stuttering.” Ag-ag-ag agreed.
Getting back to the psychotherapist for a moment, poster Andrew reminded us of an unfortunate portmanteau combining “analyst” and “therapist.” Take a look:
A study released by The Onion concludes: People who are obsessed with celebrities may be less intelligent. A Hungarian study has found “a direct association between celebrity worship and poorer performance on cognitive tests,” with data showing high scores on the Celebrity Attitude Scale correlating with lower performance on two cognitive ability tests.
D’oh! That can’t include Taylor Swift, though. Right?
Apparently, if you openly show that you hate children and won’t hesitate to harm them, it doesn’t disqualify you from being a high school principal in Texas. The child in question is Max Hightower, a senior at Sherman High. Last month Max learned that he snared the leading male role in the school’s production of Oklahoma. He was sky high. But Max identifies as a transgender male, so the hateful shmuck of a principal (Scott Johnston) quickly instituted a gender policy that denied Max the role. Just what the world needs more of now — virulent discriminatory hatred.
Max’s older brother Noah, a sailor in the US Navy, said he was “ashamed I associate my education” with the school.
Max’s sister Gracie said female students who were assigned the part of “cowboys” in the musical also had their roles taken away and were no longer allowed to participate. “Many opportunities were ripped away from kids not for bad grades, not for bad behavior, not for attendance, but for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the production,” she said. She also noted Max had been elated to be awarded the role and was devastated by the decision to strip him of it.
Max’s dad Phillip says the family is fighting the decision. “I’m not going to quit advocating for my son — ever. Max has shown me what real strength is,” he said. He also said he’s been stunned by the outpouring of love and support for Max.
Amen to that, Hightower. Owl Chatter is with you 100%.
Here’s Max, strutting his stuff. He’s the one with the face.
Boy, some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. Republican David Worrall was running for one of the two open at-large seats on the Clarksville, Indiana, town council yesterday, and came in third. D’oh! But that was the least of it for the poor guy. While greeting voters, he collapsed, and then died on the way to the hospital. Ouch! He took the last train to Clarksville. Rest in peace, Dave.
As a follow-up to our recent chat about the passing of famed lunatic basketball coach Bobby Knight, here’s a newly issued bobblehead doll honoring his chair-throwing accomplishments. It’s selling for $40.
While we’re shopping, these Taylor Swift baseball caps are going for just $35, and either (or both!) would make a perfect Veterans’ Day gift for that special Swiftie someone in your life.
Everyone who grew up in NY around the time that I did can sing along to these lyrics, amirite? My beer is Rheingold, the dry beer. Think of Rheingold whenever you buy beer.
Robbin Bain died two weeks ago, at age 87. She was voted “Miss Rheingold” in 1959, an honor that came with $50,000 (around $500,000 in today’s dollars). Before that, as a model, she appeared in ads for Helena Rubinstein and Revlon. She was also one of four women, called “Portrettes,” who introduced Jackie Gleason on his television variety show.
The Rheingold fame gave her enough pop to garner an appearance on the panel of the TV show To Tell the Truth, where she was able to pick the inventor of the cocktail from a group of three. She also joined the Today Show, where she handled light features of interest to women, a role Barbara Walters and Florence Henderson held before their careers took off.
Robbin is survived by her husband, two daughters, a stepson, and six grandchildren, all of whom enjoy a cold one from time to time, preferably extra dry.
Another obit in The Times today is of the brilliant Soviet Olympic figure skater Oleg Protopopov, who died at age 91. (“Protopopov Pops Off” was the headline.) His skating partner and wife was Ludmilla Belousova, who died in 2017 at the age of 81. Here they are still at it in 2007, when he was 75 and she was 71. They defected to the West in 1979.
Last, kudos to Ohio for defending abortion rights, and for Kentucky for re-electing their good governor. And for Virginia, also for protecting abortion rights by flipping their House in the right direction. I’m celebrating with some fine Virginia ale, below — from the Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company, Lexington VA. Almost as good as Rheingold.
With Taylor and Travis working out how to keep in touch with her tour starting up again and the football season moving into its second half, we asked Taylor about Joe Alwyn, whom she dated for six years and, by all reports, could very well have married. Happily, she told Owl Chatter he was a mensch. She has nothing bad to say about Joe. They worked together on ten of her songs. But, ultimately, they were not close enough a fit to make a go of it: for one thing, he shied away from the limelight, and she is, uh, she is the limelight. Phil got this nice shot of them for us. After that, please enjoy one of their songs: Evermore.
Today’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac is by Richard Allen Taylor and is called “The Next Generation of Mourning.”
I have begun, like my mother before me, to cross out names. She lived to read the obituaries of all her friends. In my generation, the first girl I ever kissed is dead, complications of pneumonia.
I saw the email on the way from something important to something suddenly not, and felt nothing, as if a high-powered bullet had passed through me without hitting heart or head or bone.
Later: the ache as I remembered when we were 16, in a state of mutual crush, and rode to the lake— that parent-approved, church-sponsored alternative to a real beach trip with tiki bars and carnal temptations— and made out in the back seat of a red ’64 Chevy Impala with Ray driving and Mable looking back now and then to wink and grin.
Soon the romance was over and we moved on, but never forgot that date, and when I saw her forty years later we still joked and smiled about that ride and wondered whatever happened to Ray and Mable.
It’s Harold Ross’s birthday today, co-founder of The New Yorker. He was born in Aspen, Colorado, in 1892, and died in Boston in 1951. He got interested in the newspaper business when he found out that journalists got to go on police patrols and ride fire engines. The first issue hit the stands on 2/21/1925 and it proceeded to lose $8,000 a week. But when E.B. White and James Thurber came aboard, it took off.
Ross himself never fit in with The New Yorker’s audience. He was gap-toothed, his hair was always a mess, and he spoke with a Western twang. He wore ill-fitting dark suits, and James Thurber said, “[He looked like a] carelessly carried umbrella.” He was always full of energy that he didn’t know what to do with. He once had his office soundproofed because he couldn’t stand distractions, but then he was distracted by the silence. He hired most of his staff himself, but whenever someone had to be fired, he either left the building or hid in a coat closet.
He believed in accuracy above all else, and pioneered the use of fact checkers for everything, including fiction and cartoons. He never let a cartoonist draw a lamp without showing the cord plugged into a socket.
“If you can’t be funny, be interesting,” he said. Happy Birthday, Ross.
The Yanks had a disappointing season in 2023 and so did their rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe — at the plate — but not in the field. Yesterday, he became the youngest player ever to win the Gold Glove award at shortstop. He’s the first Yankee rookie ever to win a Gold Glove, and only the second Yankee ever to win it at shortstop, the other being Jeter, who won it five times.
Kudos Volpe!
Owl Chatter fave Adolis Garcia of the World Champion Texas Rangers snared the Gold Glove for his outfield position too. We’ll be keeping an eye on Adolis. He’s electric.
Today’s puzzle was very clever, IMO. 56A was the “revealer” and it was: “Where your eyes might stay during a suspenseful scene … or the only place you’ll find the ‘eyes’ in this puzzle.” The answer was GLUED TO THE TV. Then each long theme answer had a “TV” in it with a letter “I” “glued” to each side. E.g., TRANSIT VISAS. There were no other I’s in the grid.
The answer at 32A was NOEM, clued by “South Dakota governor Kristi ___.” It raised Rex’s hackles because she is an ardent right-winger. So I suggested two alternate clues that would have been less emetic:
1. Chomsky typo.
2. How a triskaidekaphobe would alter the English alphabet.
The second one garnered a few nice comments. Jberg noted, though, that if you removed the M, the N would just replace it as the 13th letter. I replied asking him to please stop being so reasonable.
Today’s Tiny Love Story in the NYT by CATE WNEK, which looks like a radio station, is called “My Last Chance to Tell Him.”
My father became ill with advanced heart failure three weeks after I realized I was lesbian. At 49, I was in uncharted water. The truth kept hitting like a rough wave. On my first two visits, I shied away from telling him. His strength waned. “Is this going to be my last meal?” my father asked, half-laughing at the hospital food. While other family fulfilled his request for steak, potato, asparagus, merlot, I sat by his side — on a precipice. My choice would be absolute. I leaped. My father caught me, saying, “My whole heart is with you.”
Rex Parker, the self-anointed King of Crossworld, hit a new level of fame last week. Maybe? Someone dressed up as him for Halloween. Here’s how he described it, followed by a pic.
“Somebody dressed up as me for Halloween. I repeat: Somebody. Dressed up. As me. For Halloween. Also, importantly: ‘No one got the reference.’ I have somehow peaked and nadired simultaneously. Life is long, and very weird (thanks, Julia, for sending me the picture, and tell your fiancé I’m … well, startled, but also honored):”
The title of the puzzle today was “Double Talk” and it tipped me off to the “trick.” The theme clues had to be read as homophones before getting the answers. E.g., “We won!” was KINDERGARTENER. “We won” had to be read as “Wee one.” Cute, right? The others included:
“To peace!” — STRING BIKINI (two-piece)
“See in” — BEACH HOTEL (sea inn)
and my favorite:
“But wait!” — JUNK IN THE TRUNK (butt weight)
MARGE Simpson popped by today too — Hey Marge! — big fan! Sorry Phil burst in on you like that — he’s incorrigible. (Great shot, though.)
Marge isn’t the only fictional character in the grid today. “Star Wars queen” AMIDALA dropped in too, a pretty important part of the story. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about her:
Padmé Amidala (née Naberrie) appears in the prequel trilogy portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in Return of the Jedi, she is introduced in The Phantom Menace as the teenage Queen of Naboo, and after her reign, becomes a senator and an anti-war activist in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin’s fear of losing Padmé serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.
Yikes!
Bad Joke Dept. So the wife is stepping out of the shower and the husband is stepping into the shower when they hear the doorbell ring. “See who that is, darling,” the husband says, so the wife wraps a big towel around herself and goes down to open the door. It’s their neighbor, Tom. He takes one look at her and says “I’ll give you $300 if you let go of that towel.” She thinks about it for a moment and then, Zowie! He hands her the money, she picks the towel up and goes back into the house.
The husband shouts down, “Who was it?” The wife yells back, “Tom, from next door.” The husband asks, “Did he say anything about the $300 he owes me?”
At 26D, the clue was “Commit a holiday etiquette no-no.” And the answer was RE-GIFT.
This cartoon, one of my favorites, is a take-off on the classic children’s book, The Giving Tree, which many of you are very familiar with.
81D was “Blue Ribbon beer,” which, of course, is PABST. Remember this scene from David Lynch’s Blue Velvet?
There’s excellent news on what had seemed like an intractable war in Ukraine. Trump says he can end it in one day, and today, on Meet the Press, Zelensky invited him to come over. The only hold-up may be Trump’s bail restrictions.
In other news on Ukraine, a report surfaced that Olena Zelensky, the first lady, spent over $1 million at Cartier’s while she and the Prez were in NYC recently. How unseemly! Plus she got a sales clerk fired in a snit for no good reason! Da Noive! A copy of the receipt was attached to the story.
But Mrs. Z was in Canada when this was supposed to have happened, so it’s all a pile of Boole-sh*t. Pay no attention to those trolls, Olena. Owl Chatter has your back.
Oy, that’s enough nonsense for today. See you tomorrow!
Some inhabitants of Crossworld despise Will Shortz (who, BTW, wears Shortz shorts in the summer). I don’t have feelings about him either way, but one change he (or his staff) made to Robyn Weintraub’s puzzle yesterday was definitely bad IMO. The answer was ROBE, and the clue in the puzzle as it appeared was the boring “After-swim wear.” Robyn’s clue as submitted was “Burger or Frankfurter topping.” (Think Supreme Court.) So much better, amirite?
Here’s the non-feline Felix. As you can see, his topping is a robe.
I wasn’t going to chatter about Bobby Knight in Owl Chatter since most everyone knows all the stories already. (He died last Wednesday at age 83.) But the (front-page) obit in the NYT by Bruce Weber had so many delicious little treats that, well, here we are.
He was unquestionably a lunatic. His biographer John Feinstein wrote: “If I had a dollar for every time someone told me a story about encountering Knight and finding him gracious and charming and funny, I would never have to work another day in my life. If I also had a dollar for every time I’ve been told a story about Knight being a bully or being rude and obnoxious, I’d be Bill Gates.”
On Knight’s use of colorful language, Feinstein wrote: “When Knight read Chapter 1 [of the biography], in which I described the locker-room scene in which he completely went off on Daryl Thomas, he couldn’t believe how much profanity there was in his rant. What he didn’t know was that I had removed about 80 percent of the f——— in the speech and had completely removed his repeated use of a word that rhymes with bunt.”
He was abusive towards refs, and one of his most famous scenes was when he threw a chair across the court. (It hit several fans on the other side, but no one was injured.) Part of this reflected his frustration with refs who didn’t know the game well enough to do their job.
“I don’t think there’s an official in the country who knows as much about basketball as I do,” Knight said in a Playboy interview in 1984 about his rough treatment of the referees. “Not even close. Or as much as any other coach knows. And when I’ve got a complaint, I want it listened to. I’ve seen an official not watch for traveling. I’ve seen him watch the flight of the ball instead of the shooter’s hand afterward — whether or not he gets hit. I think that basketball officiating is tough, but I don’t think there are very many officials who know how to watch logically from one to two to three to four to five in a given position on the floor. And when I see somebody violate the logical progression of what he should be looking for, then I’m going to let him know about it.”
Before attaining fame and numerous national championships as the head coach at Indiana for 29 years, he was head coach at West Point for six years. Mike Krzyzewski played for him there as a guard. (It’s pronounced sha-shef-ski, for reasons I never understood. What happens to all those letters before -ski? A “K” can be silent without an “n?”)
To his credit, Knight had a high regard for education and made generous donations to the schools he was a part of, particularly libraries. He was a voracious reader, especially of military history. At Indiana, Knight endowed two chairs, one in history and one in law. He also raised nearly $5 million for the Indiana library system by championing a library fund to support the library’s activities. The fund was ultimately named in his honor. He was well known for stressing the importance of academic achievement to his players, telling them to “focus on the book, not the ball.”
Ultimately, of course, his hot-headedness got the best of him.
Knight was married to his first wife, Nancy, for over 20 years. They had two sons, and were divorced in 1985. He then married Karen Vieth Edgar in 1988. Here she is smiling at the camera as she tries to choke him. Phil: Back away slowly. They are both very dangerous.
I’m guessing there’s not much chance of it, but, — try to rest in peace, Knight.
In today’s puzzle, the clue at 41A was “Paradise of the Beat Generation,” and the answer was SAL. (The character Sal Paradise.) Turns out Rex (who is a literature prof) hates Kerouac, and he quoted Truman Capote who said “On the Road isn’t writing at all — it’s typing.” Ouch!
And tea73 noted: Eons ago we used to listen to books on CDs on long road trips and for one of them we thought “On the Road” would be good to listen to. We put in the first CD and listened to over half of it before we discovered that we had inadvertently put it on shuffle. Oops.
Oh, no! At 49A the puzzle answer was EVIL EYE. The clue was “It’s a bad look.” Yikes! That’s all we need. Kinahora! (For those of you unfamiliar with the Yiddish term kinahora, it’s a reference to the “evil eye,” designed to neutralize it. It’s often accompanied by spitting, or at least spitting sounds (ptoo, ptoo, ptoo). For me, the kinahora is enough.
Serious fans of The West Wing may recall a scene in which the president insanely says something like “The polls are looking good,” which would clearly tempt the Evil Eye to cause them to plummet immediately. So Toby and Josh forced him to conduct a serious kinehora ceremony right outside the Oval Office, complete with the spitting. Whew. Good catch, guys.
At 48A, the clue was “Strip” and the answer: DENUDE. egsforbreakfast asked: Shouldn’t DENUDE mean to put on clothes? Hmmmmmm.
Close to DENUDE in the grid was that EVIL EYE and ASSESS.
At 28D, “Title woman in a Beatles song,” was SADIE, from, of course, Sexy Sadie. Do you know the story behind that song? The Beatles were departing from their visit to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India, and John heard that the Maharishi had made a sexual advance on Mia Farrow (who was studying with MMY at the time). He was very disillusioned and wrote the song dissing the Maharishi. It is considered one of the earliest examples of a “diss track.” “What have you done? You made a fool of everyone.” It was originally to be called “Maharishi,” but George convinced John to change the name.
George, Paul, and John’s wife at the time, Cynthia, did not believe the story. In 1992, Harrison gave a benefit concert for the Maharishi-associated Natural Law Party, and later apologized for the way the Maharishi had been treated by saying, “We were very young” and “It’s probably in the history books that Maharishi ‘tried to attack Mia Farrow’ – but it’s bullshit, total bullshit.” Cynthia Lennon wrote in 2006 that she “hated leaving on a note of discord and mistrust, when we had enjoyed so much kindness from the Maharishi.” Asked if he forgave the Beatles, the Maharishi replied, “I could never be upset with angels.” McCartney took his daughter, Stella, to visit the Maharishi in the Netherlands in 2007, which renewed their friendship.
Anyway, bottom line, since “Sexy Sadie” is the Maharishi, the puzzle clue “Title woman in a Beatles song” is wrong! Sadie is a man!
Now, I ask you, where else but in Owl Chatter can you get three full paragraphs of utter nonsense like that? Blathering on about nothing. I can’t get enough of it.
[That’s what I told the dentist once. He put some latex covering over my mouth and chin to isolate a tooth he was working on, and he asked me if I was okay with latex. I guess some people are allergic to it. “I can’t get enough of it!” I told him.]
Can you make a yo-yo go up and down a few times before it gets all bollixed up with the string? I think I can. Maybe. The clue at 31A was “Yo-yos in a way,” and the answer was WALKS THE DOG. Take a look at this fellow, as I let myself out. See you tomorrow!
My favorite radio show was Steve Post’s, weekday mornings, on WNYC. It called Morning Music: Post played classical music and jabbered away. Even his take on the weather was great. Patchy fog became patchy frogs. When it went off the air (Steve was ill with cancer and then passed away), I kept my radio tuned to the station. Post was replaced by a talk-interview show. It was background noise for when I worked at home.
One morning, a professor from England was being interviewed. He had written a book on teenage sex and was getting grief about it. He was accused of being in favor of it, or of making it seem like a good thing, and thereby exacerbating the problem. (Exacerbating is not a dirty word — look it up.) He was defending himself by pointing out that he was only describing trends in a factual manner. I dismissed it all as the usual nonsense and turned my attention to my work.
About a half hour later I turned an ear back to the radio and was amazed to find out that that crap was still going on. The poor professor was still being pilloried. Clearly, they had all gone mad and drifted off the planet. First of all, they were worried that the book would increase teenage sex. When, in the entire history of mankind, has a teenager ever read a book? — let alone a book by a professor? And they accused him of making sex seem like fun? Hello? I think the horse is out of the barn on that one. I’m pretty sure the word had slipped out already. Sheesh.
Everyone loves today’s constructor, Robyn Weintraub. So there were many clever clues/answers. Who else would clue BLT with: “‘Giant ___,’ soft sculpture of a sandwich at the Whitney Museum.” It turns out there is a pretty famous giant BLT sandwich by Claes Oldenburg at the Whitney.
At 6D, “Cheeky attire?” was SHORT SHORTS. Rex shared this ad for Nair with us which I have no memory of seeing from way back when. It always seemed like a weird product to me. You rub this cream all over yourself and what does it do? — burn the hair off chemically?
Alright. I looked it up. Nair works by breaking the disulfide bonds of the keratin molecules in hair. This reduces the tensile strength of the keratin so greatly that the hair can be wiped away. Calcium hydroxide is an active ingredient that chemically breaks down the hair for removal. Some formulations also contain potassium thioglycolate, which breaks down the disulfide bonds in the hair’s keratin. The Nair products often include softening agents, such as mineral oil, to help offset the harsh active ingredients.
I think that’s how the Werewolf was captured. The FBI traced an order for a 50-gallon drum of Nair to a house in Colorado.
At 14A the clue was “Show that featured the first lesbian kiss on prime-time TV (1991).” Five letters. Hands up if you thought it was ELLEN. Many folks did. But it was LA LAW.
At 1A “Bill for expensive clothing?” was BLASS. Blass was born on June 22, 1922 and died a bit before his 80th birthday. His Wikipedia entry says:
In 1943, Blass enlisted in the Army. Due to his intelligence and talent, he was assigned to the 603rd Camouflage Battalion. For three weeks no one could find him. (Just kidding.) Its mission was to deceive the German Army into believing the Allies were positioned in fake locations, for example by using dummy tanks. He served in this unit at several major operations including the Battle of the Bulge, and the Rhine River crossing. After the war, Blass returned to New York, and was promptly hired as Anne Klein’s assistant. However, he was soon fired; allegedly, Anne told him that while he had good manners, he had no talent.
Good manners are important, no? These outfits are his.
How about this one at 55A? The clue: “Subject of a first-person narrative.” The answer ADAM. Good one Robyn!
In the hall of mirrors in which the GOP now operates, their attempt to cut the deficit by $14.3 billion by tying a cut in funding for the IRS to the foreign aid bill, will actually increase the deficit by over $28 billion. That’s what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has determined. Historian Heather Cox Richardson notes:
“New House speaker Mike Johnson tried to spin this information in a way that can only be described as dishonest: ‘Only in Washington when you cut spending do they call it an increase in the deficit,’ he said.”
It reminded me of the joke about OJ Simpson’s daughter cracking his car up against a telephone pole. The cop comes over and she says: “When my dad finds out about this he’ll kill me.” The cop sees who she is and says: “You’re right. He’ll get away with it too.”
Just like Johnson will. If not this time, next time.
The Wellington Files 