Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sunday Jan 20, 2013 Jim Hyres

(Some of you will be able to read my post from the Corner blog today, but most won't because of a so-called malicious code on our blog. Very frustrating. I'm in contact with Blogger and hope to get the problem solved quickly. In the meantime, let's just hang around in Ginger Roots. Please don't post on Blogger help forum. It might slow down our process. Thanks for your patience.)
  
You can click here to read yesterday's comments. All the blog authors (Argyle, Melissa, Jazzbumpa, Steve, Marti, Lemonade, Splynter, Dennis & myself) and a few readers (Bill G, Dudley and maybe a few others) can access the Corner blog.



Theme: Turning Heads - The first words (heads)  in each common phrase is spelled backwards, e.g., "turned". 

 23A. Nail salon supplies? : TIPS AND POLISH. Spit and polish.

 34A. Couch-jumping and yard-running? : PETS AEROBICS. Step aerobics.

 40A. Tongue twister? : TRAP OF SPEECH. Part of speech.

 64A. Good golf rounds? : PAR SESSIONS. Rap sessions.

 72A. Energetic ghosts? : LIVE SPIRITS. Evil spirits.

 92A. Torches in Dracula's crypt? : DOOM LIGHTING. Mood lighting.

 99A. Sharp dresser features? : DRAWER POINTS. Reward points.

 116A. Talk shows? : YAP TELEVISION. Pay television.
  
 I apologize for the short post. Been very distracted.

Across:

1. Over the top, design-wise : GARISH

7. Goes like the wind? : BLOWS. Nice clue. Very strong wind here last night.

12. Fairly shared : PRO RATA

19. Like much summery footwear : OPEN TOE

21. Mauve relative : LILAC

22. "Wild Thing" rapper : TONE LOC

25. Was humbled : ATE DIRT

26. Bud's promise : BLOOM

27. Midsection : GUT

28. Popular skiing destination : VAIL

30. Former NBA coach Brown : HUBIE.  I don't follow basketball.

31. However : YET

32. Exam for a jr. : PSAT

37. Customarily : AS A RULE

39. Getting the wrong order and such : MIX UPS

45. 68-Across neighbor : NEB. 68. Where Manhattan is: Abbr. : KANS. Manhattan, Kansas.

46. Abscam agcy. : FBI

49. Dawn-of-mammals epoch : EOCENE

50. Wedding acquisition : SPOUSE

52. Multitude : LEGION

55. Fan sounds : RAHS

56. Lincoln Logs, e.g. : TOY

59. One and only : SOLE

60. Former Buick sedan : LESABRE

61. Mean Amin : IDI

62. Funeral lighting? : PYRES

66. Actress Ward : SELA

70. Alluvium : SILT

71. Italian hot spot : ETNA

75. "Oliver Twist" criminal : FAGIN

77. Holder and Reno: Abbr. : AGs. Eric Holder.

79. Certain Ukrainian : ODESSAN

80. They're worth 1.0 : DEES

82. Soccer __ : MOM

83. Classic name in shoes : MCAN

84. Ones with many feet : VERSES

85. Snoopy, for one : BEAGLE

87. Mimosa family tree : ACACIA


89. Road course curve : ESS

90. Airport uniform initials : TSA

95. Ed of "Modern Family" : O'NEILL

98. Barbecue fare : WIENERS

104. __ Beach, Fla. : VERO

105. Raiders' gp. : AFC

108. When doubled, Northwest wine valley : WALLA. Walla Walla.

109. Follow : OBEY

110. Title for Jackson or King: Abbr. : REV

111. "West Side Story" song : MARIA

113. Short operatic solo : ARIETTA

119. Apartment dwellers, typically : RENTERS

120. One way to read : ALOUD

121. London-based news agency : REUTERS

122. Lighthouse lens inventor : FRESNEL. Nope.

123. Cozy spots : NESTS

124. Music producer Estefan : EMILIO. Husband of Gloria Estefan. The only Emilio I know is Estevez.

Down:
       
1. Sidestepped : GOT BY

2. Loads : A PILE

3. Do a gardener's chore : RE-POT

4. __ many words : IN SO

5. Tries to put out, as a small fire : STAMPS ON

6. Dear : HON

7. Reputation stain : BLOT

8. Wee, in a small way : LIL

9. One stuck in a bar? : OLIVE. Clever!

10. Attended : WAS AT

11. Long division? : SCHISM

12. School support gp. : PTA

13. Malarkey : ROT

14. Like some grounders : ONE HOP

15. Gives a new name to : RE-DUBS

16. Story : ALIBI

17. Doughnut-shaped : TORIC. We just saw TORI clued as "Bagels, shapewise" last Friday.

 18. Entr'__: play intervals : ACTES

20. Dick Francis has four of them : EDGARS. Mystery awards.

24. Provide, as money : PUT UP

29. "Mule Train" singer : LAINE (Frankie)

33. Firearm feature : SAFETY

34. Quick looks : PEEPS

35. Computer program suffix : EXE

36. Dollars : cents :: __ : kopecks : RUBLES

37. Copies : APES

38. "__ Miz" : LES

40. Actress Garr : TERI

41. Impromptu picnic locales : ROADSIDES

42. Go-getters : ACHIEVERS

43. Confine, with "up" : COOP

44. Luau dances : HULAS

46. Eponymous Italian mathematician : FIBONACCI. Don't know him.



47. Revitalized : BORN AGAIN. Christians.

48. Another name for Saint Agnes : INES. Agnes is our  Irish Miss' real name.

51. Finishing touch of a sort : SERIF

53. German industrial city : ESSEN

54. Amble, e.g. : GAIT

57. Pest control name in a red diamond : ORKIN



58. Oenophile's concern : YEAR

60. Fire : LET GO

62. No longer in : PASSE

63. Not nice at all : SNIDE

65. Pan or roast : SLAM

67. Minus : LESS

69. Lieu : STEAD

72. Affectionate valediction : LOVE

73. Kindergarten craftsman : PASTER

74. Lily that's Utah's state flower : SEGO

76. Diagnostic machine : IMAGER

78. Trouble spot : SNAG

81. Responds to a yellow : SLOWS

83. Dojo accessories : MATS

85. "The Jungle Book" bear : BALOO. No idea. I just learned that KAA is "The Jungle Book" python.

86. Brit. record label : EMI

88. Element in stainless steel : CHROMIUM. I just call it Chrome.

91. Taste : SIP

93. Tool box item : LEVEL

94. "The nerve!" : I NEVER

95. Small hooters : OWLETS

96. Tidy : NEATEN

97. Like some of the Sahara : LIBYAN

99. Sleepy, e.g. : DWARF.  The Seven Dwarfs. Tricky clue.

100. Less done : RARER

101. Dress style : A-LINE

102. Hall of Fame football coach Earle "Greasy" __ : NEALE. Unknown name to me.

103. Red-lined items, perhaps : TYPOS

105. The Little Mermaid : ARIEL

106. Flower-shaped pasta : FIORI. Italian for "flowers"



107. Childish comeback : CAN SO

110. Malbec and Merlot : REDS

112. __ Spumanti : ASTI

114. One past due? : TRE. Une, due, Tre

115. Manual transmissions?: Abbr. : ASL (American Sign Language)

117. King in a Steve Martin song : TUT. "King Tut".

118. Success sign : VEE


56 comments:

Argyle said...

The cross of FIBONACCI and ACACIA got me.

Anonymous said...

Hard Sunday puzzle for me. Had to cheat in the upper left corner and a few other spots.

Sorry you are having so many issues with the blog c.c. Hopefully they will work out soon.

Have a good Sunday everyone.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning C.C., and friends. The Corner won't let me in because I am not an author.

Not my favorite Sunday puzzle, but I did like the Tongue Twister = TRAP OF SPEECH.

I also thought a popular skiing destination would be the Alps.

Let's see if I can prove to you I am not a robot.

QOD: All art is autobiographical. The pearl is the oyster’s autobiography. ~ Federico Fellini (Jan. 20, 1920 ~ Oct. 30, 1993)

Known Issues for Blogger said...

http://knownissues.blogspot.com/2013/01/yesterday-our-malware-detection-system_17.html


Yesterday, our malware detection system began receiving reports of malicious content on some blogs. While the blog content on many of these blog may be malware-free, 3rd party widgets on these blogs may contain malware.

We are absolutely committed to providing our users with a malware-free experience. When this was detected we took immediate action to protect blog owners and their readers. However, in our vigilance we failed to also contact blog owners let them know what was happening. We’re currently in the process of contacting all blog owners with instructions.

We’re working to improve our communication of these issues in the future and apologize if you were wondering what the heck was going on. Hopefully, this clears the air.

TTP said...


Good morning all. Working via my old laptop with the bad fan that doesn't go RAH. It sounds like a plane is landing. Parts are on the way from AMAZON.

Have to post what I have so far before I shutdown. Will fire up the desktop and check in later. Hopefully all will be well by then.

Errors that had to be corrected after first pass of the crosses:

34A Roughhousing, 37A Usually, 38A Errors, 50A Inlaws, 68A NYNY,
124A Gloria all proved wrong after the first pass of the verts.

Remembered ALINE from last time. Love ACHIEVERS. I visited ARIEL in Kobenhavn in 1978.

At 21A, I kept thinking, "What the heck is a Mauve ?"

desper-otto said...

C.C., it's good to have you back. You must be feeling better. It sure has been a tough week for the blog folk. And the blog, as well.

I got the theme early with TIPS AND POLISH. It helped, but all the unfamiliar names -- TONELOC, NEALE, HUBIE, EMILIO, BALOO -- almost did me in. FIBONACCI, on the other hand, was a familiar name, but I wasn't sure how to spell it. And I held onto YAK TELEVISION way too long. KAY TELEVISION made no sense.

Nice shoutout to Husker, Avg Joe and Blue Iris with NEB and KANS in the puzzle. I remembered Manhattan was in Kansas; Glen Campbell sang a song about it way back when.

Anonymous said...

24d is spelled backwards

HeartRx said...

Good morning C.C. et al.

I sure am glad that we have an place to go when the Corner is blocked. Thanks for letting us hang out here today, C.C.

This was way tougher than a usual Sunday for me, and some iffy fill nearly did me in. ONE HOP crossing TONE LOC (huh?), PUT UP, abbr. of KANS (I usually think it's KS or KAN), FRESNEL (who?), GOT BY for "sidestepped" (not elude or evade?), partials like IN SO, WAS AT... all seemed "meh." I did finish, but had to check that BALOO was the right bear, and that NEALE was "Greasy."

Not a very satisfying finish. But at least I did. Have a restful day, and get back on your feet soon, C.C.!!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Morning, C.C., I'm sorry that Blogger has been misbehaving again - I'm sure you could have done without the inconvenience.

Tricky puzzle today. The best I could manage was a little cluster here and there, at first. Doom Lighting was the first theme fill, and got me thinking it was a letter substitution scheme. That didn't exactly pay off. Lots of unknowns, particularly the sports references as usual.

Got to the Ta Da an hour later.

Al Cyone said...

Yikes! I proceeded in fits and starts and finally filled all the squares but no "TaDa!". Then, with each "typo" I corrected, still no "TaDa!". Finally, after fifty minutes, I turned on the red letters. I was sure it had something to do with that darn rapper (TONEDOC???) but it turned out I had an "S" in MIXUPS instead of an "X". Drat! Though I have to say this was one puzzle where knowing the theme actually helpd. [DNF]

Hahtoolah said...

R.I.P. Stan Musial.

Splynter said...

Hi there -

Sorry to hear there's a problem again, C.C., and I hope it isn't dragging you down with being sick, too. Glad we have the "Roots" to stop by.

Have to agree with HeartRx on this one - too much vagueness and obscurity to make this a satisfying finish, even though I did like the theme idea; My favorite was DOOM LIGHTING

Be well~!

Splynter

Dudley said...

TEST

Captcha has a character that's really hard to recognize, so I'm taking it as a challenge.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dudley,
I just removed the Captcha. I did a test yesterday and forgot to remove it.

Ginger Roots is to too small to attract spam attack. Argyle removed 230 spam from the Corner blog yesterday alone. Brutal. All from anonymous posters. Mostly about some fake bags/watches stuff.

TTP said...

Back again. Had to fire up the desktop to finish the north central and north east. Another DNF. I was humbled in the NE. perfect place for that clue.

Looked at new laptops with Windows 8 yesterday. Considered one with the touchscreen. Don't like the changes. As a user, didn't see any real value in the changes, so not sure what Microsoft is trying to accomplish. Time to do my homework.

Husker Gary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Husker Gary said...

Try as I might, I couldn’t mess up Jim’s wonderful puzzle. I got trapped initially by thinking all the theme answers would have 4-letter first words and then stared at RAPSESSIONS for way too long! Gotta love PET AEROBICS and Small hooters! Hey any puzzle with NEB and GOLF has to be AOK!

Musings
-Graceland screams GARISH but, hey, it’s the King!
-Joann’s uncle cared for his mom and dad by himself for decades and when after she died her assets were meted out PRO RATA with his 9 siblings, he disowned the family, only to recant on his deathbed.
- I was all over HUBIE but Greasy was not in this fan’s vocab
-American Restoration does wonders by reCHROMing parts.
-You can’t get that steak RARER but you can get it DONER ;-)
-A SPOUSE is the first prize; IN LAWS can be a mixed bag.
-My daughters swear every bad driver is in a LESABRE or Park Avenue
-“Try now we can only lose and our love become a funeral PYRE”
-As the AG Janet Reno got into impossible situations with Waco, TX and Elia Gonzales.
-Look out for Soccer MOMS in those ginormous Suburbans!
-My grounder had a BAD HOP (Tony Kubek) before ONE HOP and VERO Beach still is Dodgertown to some of us even though LA is in AZ for spring training now.
-Every teacher has used this FRESNEL lens in their classroom.
-My sister’s church just had a SCHISM and ½ of them now worship on a tennis court in our Y
-What recent blockbuster movie featured a FIBONACCI sequence?

HeartRx said...

Husker G. "The DaVinci Code" had a FIBONACCI sequence in the note left by Saunière when he died. That, in fact, is what triggered the answer in my brain!

Husker Gary said...

Yes, Marti, it was from Dan Brown’s fabulous Da Vinci Code. BTW, when is it da Vinci and when is it Da Vinci? That book/movie had a magnificent blend of mystery, religion and history. Sophie trying to walk on the water at the end of the movie was a cool touch!

While we’re on the romance languages, I’ve heard Fresnel pronounced fray nel, fren nel, fren sel, fren zel, frez nel, fur nel, ad nauseum with accents on either syllable. I’ve always said the first in the list. Dern Frogs!

TTP, I’m sticking with Windows 7 for now but after this VAIO goes to laptop purgatory, we’ll be an all Apple house with an iMac and a MacBook Pro with Retina display.

MJ said...

Good Morning to all!

I thought this was a very clever theme, well executed. At the same time, so many unknown names such as "greasy" NEALE, HUBIE, AND TONE LOC made for a slow go of it. Also did not know FRESNEL, but thanks to Husker Gary's link, I will certainly remember it now.

So sorry about the blogger problems, C.C.! You have grown a wonderful, and caring community at The Corner.

Enjoy the day!

MJ said...

Spitzboov, please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your daughter, Gretchen. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this very sad, and difficult time.

MJ

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Apparently, my brain is still sleeping as I struggled mightily with this puzzle. It took forever to get the theme and then I finally made up some ground, but still slogged along. I did not finish due to fresnel/asl and I mistakenly put acrobics instead of aerobics. (See what I mean about my brain.)

In any case, congrats to Mr. Hyres for a challenging Sunday offering and to CC for a nice write-up, not to mention her fortitude and patience with Google-mania. Thanks for the shout out, CC. (Ines is a softer sound than Agnes.)

Have a great Sunday.

HeartRx said...

Husker, it is pronounced FRAY-nel, or Americanized as FREZ-nel. Either is correct. (BTW, do you say EE-ther or AYE-ther??)

Hmmm...Leonardo da Vinci, but "The Da Vinci Code" is the name of the movie. Dunno why. I also loved that movie! Have you seen "The Name of the Rose" with Sean Connery? As Anony-Mouse has mentioned before, the book is much better, but I still enjoyed the movie. You might like it, too.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Hi Guys,

Below is the latest from Nitecruzr, the Blogger helper. So please come back here again tomorrow for Argyle's write-up. I don't feel good about our chance to get restored soon.


"OK, we're gathering cases, right now. If I can contact a Blogger Engineer today, I will let her/him know that there appears to be a problem - otherwise, most of the work is going to start tomorrow morning PST. It's possible that your request (the other author's request) will get the job done - so be patient."

TTP said...

Husker Gary

I was going to look at the Macs and iPads, but the salesman had irritated me enough by then that I decided to save it for another day. It was obvious there was some incentive to sell. Overheard him and another "associate" getting a bit heated when each was trying to claim that they had approached a different customer first. Walked out with what I went in with.

Going to poke around some of the manufacturer websites and look for refurb deals. Have XP Pro on this desktop and my fading laptop, and Windows 7 Professional on my work laptop. I really like 7 Pro.

BTW, I also went to Kohls on Friday with a 30% off discount coupon and bought a couple of pairs of New Balance tennis shoes that were on sale. And a new coat. Just doing my part to help spur on the economy.

CC, thank you.

desper-otto said...

Husker, was that A-OK or AOKI?

I guess I must live in the only household in America that doesn't own a single Apple product. I dread the day when my trusty XP box throws craps. I don't see Windows 8 as an improvement of any kind.

I'm pretty sure that the Klieg lights used in the theater and movie-making also have Fresnel lenses. For me it's PO-TAY-TO and TO-MAY-TO, and I don't say AYE-THER, EE-THER.

Husker Gary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Husker Gary said...

Marti, I say eether, not ayether and tuh may’ toh not tuh mah to. “Let’s call the whole thing off” (with apologies to the Gershwin Brothers). As I have mentioned before (one more swing at that dead horse), the hoity toity language in the movies of the 30’s still slays me when most of the actors were raised where no one they knew talked like that (Heck, Myrna Loy was born in Helena, Montana). I’m about as likely to hear an “r” pronounced in those flicks as I am on Downton Abbey. (Dar ling/Dah ling the most obvious example).

BTW, does anyone else watch Downton with the closed caption on so as not to miss any dialogue?

Also, Marti, What 110 down is pictured in your avatar?

TTP - aggressive, petty clerks would chase me out the door too! Joann got an $80 purse marked down to $47and was $31 with her coupon. I pulled my M/C out of my $10, ten year old billfold and paid for it. We bought it in Omaha but are returning it to the Kohl’s in Lincoln on the way to see Hudson play BB because… She told me but I forgot!

Otto, AOK as in All Sytems Go, Houston we are ready for launch! I’d love to get to east Texas and go out to Johnson Space Center with you or grams or klily or Michelle!

TTP said...

No, D-O, you are not alone. No Apple products here, except quick time viewer installed on a couple of the PCs...

I think I may have found a good source for refurbed PCs, with Win 7 Home or Pro (even if they no longer make them...) IBM Certified

I think I could do one of Bill's math questions with my Kohl's receipt, if anyone wants to take a shot. I purchased 3 items. All 3 were on sale. 2 were discounted by the same dollar amount, although all three had different original prices. One item was 50 % off. On top of the sale price deductions, I also received a 30 % discount on the entire order. Total savings were $130.00. Total bill was $113.38. Tax was 8 %. What is the coefficient of restitution of a steel ball falling on a steel surface ?

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Well, quite a bit of excitement these past few days!

I felt about the last coupla puzzles pretty much how Marti felt, and echo her sentiments. I also echo the sentiments others have expressed to you who have been suffering loss and family travails.

I agree Windows 8 adds nothing of value to serious computer users. LW and I went to great lengths to get my new computer with Windows 7 installed on it. Being a long-time XP user, I am pleased with W7. W8 is a toy.

Best wishes to you all.

CrossEyedDave said...

My attempt to get on the Blog last nite got me so mad,,, i think i need anger mgmt classes!

Very tough puzzle for a Sunday, DNF!

122A Fresnel, reminded me of my research of how the Inca may have been able to cut rocks, & possibly why they had a Sun God. Fesnel Lens in action 5:30 (just see the start & skip to the 5 min.mark)

Note: while the Inca did not have a fresnel lens, they did have gold bowls that could be used as a parabolic reflector.

95D Little Hooters! (you know i can't resist a link)

Jayce said...

Husker Gary, having grown up in the "midwest" I also say EEther, nEEther, toMAYto, and poTAYto, and will do so foreveRR and eveRR, AHmen.

Lucina said...

Hello, my friends. C.C., how distressing to see the Blog down again! Last night I went in for my last glance and saw there was a problem so anticipated Ginger Roots for today. So glad that's available!

Jim Hyres posed a tough puzzle today and it took me much longer than usual to finish though I didn't really as had to look up some names, NEALE, TONE LOC, and BALOO. I've never read The Jungle Book.

Because of the Da Vinci Code I knew FIBONACCI! Otherwise wouldn't have known it in a million years.

The theme gimmick really helped once I saw TRAP OF SPEECH and realized it was PART OF SPEECH. Very clever.

Good challenge today, thank you, Mr Hyres.

Have a splendid Sunday, everyone!

HeartRx said...

HG, I haven't tasted the 110-D in my avatar, but if I had my 'druthers, it would probably be a Chilean Carménère.

Tinbeni said...

RE-POT has nothin' to do with gardening.
Just saying ...
Smoke 'em if you got 'em.
Cheers !!!

Qli said...

Here we go again. Thank goodness for C.C.,Ginger Roots and HG, because I really wanted to see the answers for the things I missed. and those were LEGION today! I am always amazed at how constructors have to think as they put these puzzles together. Bravo!

Hope you feel better soon, C.C. Stay warm!

Jayce said...

I just did last week's NYT Sunday puzzle entitled Magic Square (published in our newspaper today) and all I could think of was, "Oh, Elizabeth Gorski, how could you have stooped so low!" I guess we on this blog have a very different aesthetic sense than do the followers of Will Shortz.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. thank you, Jim Hyres, for the swell puzzle, albeit a little tough. Thank you, C.C., for the swell review.

Well, I tried to get in last night and was denied. I was going to enter my saturday comments. The Saturday puzzle was really good.

Today's was also good. Real tough in the NE corner, which I did not finish.

Got the theme after a while. Pretty clever. That helped with rest of the puzzle.

Could not figure out ASL for 115D. If I would have though harder.

Never read any of Dick Francis' books. With 4 Edgars I should have. I enjoy mysteries.

WALLA was easy for 108A. I knew they had onions there, but never heard of the wineries and grapes.

Spitzboov. I read today about the loss in your family. My deepest sympathies to you and your family.

Thank you, C.C. and Husker Gary for pointing us to this temporary Blog. Hopefully all will be well soon.

See you tomorrow. Abejo

Bill G. said...

Gary, yes I've turned on Closed Captioning with Downton Abbey from time to time so as to better understand the dialogue. Do you watch Sunday Morning? They had a nice segment on Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha. I thought of you. Any stock tips?

C.C., what would be the downside with using something like Ginger Roots for our blog regularly instead of Google? It is obviously reliable and has a much more pleasant appearance. Is there some big advantage in using Blogger (when it is working)?

Jayce, I don't do the NYT puzzles. What was there about the Magic Square puzzle that turned you off?

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

I see I'm not the only one who thought this was a tough Sunday puzzle. A very clever theme ~ I figured it out fairly early, but I still wasn't able to finish. So many unknowns - mostly the names that others have mentioned. I had 'Ate crow' before ATE DIRT and for some reason 'Acadia' instead of ACACIA so I never got FIBONACCI. The crossing of ASL and FRESNEL was left empty until coming here. Thanks, C.C. for literally filling in all the blanks!

We finally had our Christmas gathering yesterday so now I can put all the Christmas-y stuff away ~ it has sure been a long holiday season!

Happy to be able to borrow 'Ginger Roots' again ~ it would really be nice to have the Corner back for its anniversary tomorrow, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Off to watch football!

Lucina said...

Abejo:
Dick Francis was a masterful writer/storyteller. I have read every one of his books and found them all spellbinding. If we lived closer I would give them to you but I'm sure you can access them on your electronic device.

Jayce said...

Bill G, what turned me off was the gimmicky feeling of the Magic Square, which, by the way, was comprised of numeric digits (whether one actually pencilled them in or not). It all seemed too cutesy-poo tricky to me, and added a dimension beyond that of a crossword puzzle, like another puzzle on top.

The second thing that turned me off was the brutal obscurity of much of the fill ("how the heck can anybody know that?"). I can't exactly put my finger on it, but somehow obscure fill in the LAT doesn't feel like getting mercilessly clubbed on the head like it does in the NYT. You know how it is; some things a person just finds off-putting.

LW just bought a Dick Francis book. She liked it. I've decided to read it. Gotten tired of Dana Stabenow's stories for now anyway; started, bogged, and restarted A Taint in the Blood about three times now.

Stock tip: PPG pays good dividends. Just sayin'.

Jayce said...

Speaking of ginger root, LW made zhou 粥 (congee) last night and I liked it so much I ate it kinda fast, and ended up chomping down on a big chunk of ginger root. I chewed it up as if it were a chunk of, say, meat, and it was pretty doggone good! My wife laughed and said I'll be guaranteed to be in extra good health for at least a couple of weeks now.

Dennis said...

For all you Downton Abbey fans, I hope you saw the piece on Sunday Morning (CBS) featuring the mansion where it's evidently shot. Very impressive.

Jayce, today's NYT puzzle is much better; I agree with you about last week's.

I continue to be amazed by how nebulous Google's responses are when there's a problem. The replies we were getting last night were vague and almost cryptic. Hopefully their actions towards correcting this latest SNAFU will be swift.

downtonabbey said...

I must say I am getting frustrated with google regarding the blog. Glad we can come to Ginger Lilly to visit. Would love to see some of folks come visit the Space Center. You just don't want to do so in the summer. High humidity and heat are hard on visitors used to cooler temperatures. Slept great and I had forgotten how good that feels!

Dennis I missed the Sunday morning segment. I will see if I can catch it on the On Demand TV channel. PBS had a special a few weeks ago about the history of the manor.

DNF yesterday's puzzle. I have yet to do today's. Did anyone watch the NHL game?

HeartRx said...

Jaycee, I did last week's NYT, and thought it was fairly easy, once I figured out the "Magic Square" gimmick. After I did, I could easily fill in all the long theme entries. Of course, we would never see one like that in the LAT. But does that make it a "bad" puzzle? No, just "different." Being a long-time fan of Lumosity, I welcome any challenges to this aging brain!

Dennis, I also caught the feature on the Downton Abby. Fascinating!

Five, and I'm out. See you all tomorrow for our grand fifth anniversary!!

Jayce said...

Go Niners!

downtonabbey said...

Marti,
I did that puzzle also. It was fun. Houston's paper has the Sunday puzzle in the Thursday magazine. I did find that once I got the theme it was pretty easy.

chefwen said...

Husker Gary - Thank you so much for keeping me in the loop.

CED - I am glad that you can't resist a link, those owlets were adorable.

Jayce - Not my favorite Liz Gorski puzzle eether/eyether.

Got the theme early with tips and polish and thought I was off to a flying start, the brakes came on shortly thereafter. Ran across BALOO in another puzzle a couple of days ago and much to my surprise, I remembered him. Finished this puppy, but it was slooow going.

Pinto said...

I bet C.C. is uber-frustrated. Along with Argyle and Dennis et al.

thinking out-loud:

If your thinking of changing, I understand.

I am comfortable with Blogger and your blog as it is.

I like how easy it is to use and with avatars and links, how interactive it is.

As frustrating as this experience must have been for you, I'm willing to roll with the punches if you are.

Basically, I will support you.

Argyle said...

Thanks, good to know.

Manac said...

TIN , You still up? re: your post.
I bet Joe knows this song also.

Rube said...

In my days in the Pacific Northwest, (I left in '61), Walla Walla was known for onions and Whitman college. This "wine valley" is something new.

It took me a long time to finish, but that was primarily because I was intensely watching the games. Go niners!

Dudley said...

No need for a spoiler alert -

Just did the Monday puzz, and I must say it's very cute!

'Nuff said.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Bill,
Ginger Roots is also owned by Blogger. It's so tiny and has not encountered any glitch.

I had a lot of exchanges with the Google guy yesterday. They wanted me to "remove all recently applied JavaScript accessories and tweaks". But I applied nothing to the blog in the past weeks.

Hopefully the Google engineers can identity the problem today.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Jayce,
I'm going to make myself some zhou for breakfast, but with tiny sliced ginger.

MJ,
So good to see you here.

Michele, Susan and Tom,
Thank you!