Monday Puzzle #42 or "The Skepticism of a Skeptical Age"

Holy crap meat. Life has just taken a 90 degree turn. Within a period of three weeks. 90 degrees is fine. I always thought things looked kinda cool over there. But, it was a bit of a sharp turn and I'm still smooshed up against the driver's side door. It's all career related...I'm going from being what I was for the last 15 years to doing something that is pretty different. So, I'm looking forward to doing some crosswording tonight - which feels like meditation to me.

Puzzle #42. The theme turned out to be "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus." The main clue was "Part of a famous 1897 editorial." I got it after answering some other clues and it totally came to me...but I have no idea what it is. I was delighted to read the story behind the editorial and to read the editorial.

New vocab words for me:

1 across, "Borrow without intending to repay." CADGE. MW provides "beg" and "sponge" as alternative words. And, the sentence "cadge a free cup of coffee" as an example.

26 down, "Sailor, slangily." GOB.

46 down, "Artist's workplace." ATELIER

Stuff I just didn't know:

42 across, "Swiss river to the Rhine." AAR

65 across, "City NNE of Paris." LILLE

69 across, "Philosopher known as 'the Stoic'." ZENO

Monday Puzzle #41 or "Stop Violent Acts Against Arbits"

Wow, this month has been pretty hectic. No time for crosswording, which is sad. But, I have been able to read a little bit of the Pierre Loti book - it's such a short book and so easy to read, I should be done with it by now. AND, I watched Purple Rain last night (that ended up on my Netflix list as a result of the xword project) and LOooooooVED it! It was awesome - not good awesome, but super cheesy 1980's awesome. Except for the music, which was genuinely awesome.

Puzzle #41 was alright. There was one clue and answer that completely surprised me. The clue was "Lone Ranger's cry" and I put Hi Ho Silver. But no, it's Hi Yo Silver. Yo. Yo? Now that I think about it, Hi Ho is kinda weird. That's what the dwarfs on Snow White say...right? Now I'm doubting myself, so I had to look it up. And, yes, they say Hi Ho.

Here's something I've never heard of - Moog Synthesizer. That was the answer to 69 across. Wikipedia tells me that it is "any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog...and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesizers."

There were a lot of answers I got, but don't know. Stutz Bearcat, Gino Vannelli, Julius Larosa, Raga, My Friend Irma, Minot (city in North Dakota), and arbs. That last one - the clue was "Wall St. figures" - stands for arbitrageurs. MW tells me that an arbitraguer is "one that practices arbitrage." Arbitrage is, of course, a violent act against arbits, which I'm totally against.

I was happy to see 13 down, "Part of Q.E.D." ERAT...of course.

Monday Puzzle #40 or "A Penetrating Wind"

What a week. Crazy busy. I need to figure out how to do this xword project and still be able to do crosswords every day. They really are a great thing for me to do at the end of the day...it helps me relax. But, I haven't been doing them because I want to complete one and then blog about it before I complete the next one. So, it's not really working for me. Maybe I'll keep working on the huge NYT crossword book that I have - do those whenever I want - and just do the research and blogging with the specific M, T, W, etc. books that I buy. Definitely don't think I'm going to be able to do one a day, though.

I did complete a Seattle Times crossword puzzle online on Tuesday (or Wednesday?) and timed myself. Completed it in 7 min 20 sec, which I thought was great. I've never timed myself before.

But, for this post, we're on Monday Puzzle #40. Definitely some weird clues in this one. For example, 11 down was "Penetrating wind." I was thinking gale or (laughingly) fart. But, the answer was OBOE. Common answer in these puzzles, but never heard that clue before.

(Ok, it is now hours later...my life is one long interruption...which is fine, it just makes it more difficult for me to complete anything. BUT, the totally cool thing is I just saw the Space Station zoom by in the sky. Saw a note at 10:32 pm saying it would be visible in the NW sky at 10:33. I ran outside and there it was. I got to call the husband and the kid outside just in time for them to see it. Very cool.)

So, answers that I don't really know were:

10 across, "Damn Yankees siren." LOLA. I have not seen Damn Yankees and have added it to my Netflix queue.

17 across, "Rock bottom." NADIR. MW tells me that nadir means "1. the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer, 2. the lowest point."

And, reflecting my complete lack of any bible/religious information, 58 across, "Creche figures." MAGI. First, I had to look up creche, which is the nativity scene. So, then, the Magi makes sense.

61 across, "Stewpot." OLLA. MW says an olla is "a large bulging widemouthed earthenware vessel sometimes with looped handles used (as by Pueblo Indians) for storage, cooking, or as a container for water."

The last one is 64 across, "Hammer's end." PEEN. That makes sense now that I think of a ball-peen hammer. MW says a peen is "a usually hemispherical or wedge-shaped end of the head of a hammer that is opposite the face and is used especially for bending, shaping, or cutting the material struck."

Alright, that's it for #40. Only 10 more to go in the Mondays and then I start on the Tuesday book.

Monday Puzzle #39 or "Sexual Harassment Runs in the Family"

Holey moley. Super busy. (And, it doesn't help that I've just discovered I can no longer copy and paste my posts from Word or Notepad...I love downloading Windows updates. There are always little unexpected surprises. Like little Microsoft presents...that SUCK!) Now retyping my blog post and am definitely behind on the crossword project.

The first season of "Get Smart" arrived - the kid loves it. I have enjoyed the few episodes I've watched...and may be developing a weird crush on Don Adams.

Have not made it any further in my Pierre Loti book - had to finish my book club book and am now swamped with the other things in my life. But, I am looking forward to picking it back up as it really is a lovely book.

Now, puzzle #39. Now this was my kind of puzzle. With clues like, "____ Excited (Pointer Sisters hit)," "Zellweger of Bridget Jones's Diary," "Frank Zappa's daughter," and "Stimpy's pal on TV" - this is the stuff I know.

And, this puzzle had "Norma ____, Sally Field Oscar-winning role" - I always knew the answer to that one, but just recently saw the movie because of this project. It's so much more fulfilling to really know the answer...not just have something memorized.

But, there were some answers that I did not know - got them, but don't really know them.

22 across, "A Chaplin." SYD. There are two Syd Chaplins. The first was the half brother of Charlie Chaplin. Syd worked with his half brother and managed his finances. He was also a comedian and actor and had roles in some films. He also started the first privately owned American airline. The most scandalous thing about him (on Wikipedia) is the story behind why he never acted again. Wikipedia says, "Sydney Chaplin was involved in a sex scandal with acrtress Molly Wright in which he was accused of biting off her nipple in a sexual assault." Apparently, the studio settle, "conceding the truth of Wright's claims."

The other Syd Chaplin is Charlie Chaplin's son, Sydney Earle Chaplin. This Sydney just died in March of this year. He was also an actor (Tony winning and nominated) and starred opposite Barbara Streisand in Funny Girl on Broadway. They apparently fooled around in her dressing room while she was married to Elliott Gould. Wikipedia says, after Streisand decided to end their affair, "he started disorienting her on stage by whispering 'nose' to her during their 'You Are Woman' love scene. She asked him to stop, he didn't; she then filed harassmetn charges against him with Actors' Equity."

So, both Sydneys were slapped with harassment charges.

I've added 'Limelight' - a 1952 film with both Sydney and his father - to my Netflix list.

52 down, "Acress Mimieux." YVETTE. She was in "Where the Boys Are"...oh, looks like I'm going to have to add "Jackson County Jail to my queue. It has Tommy Lee Jones in his first starring role.

56 down, "Actor Cariou." LEN. He's Canadian. Tony winning actor. He looks vaguely familiar to me.

That's it for #39.

Puzzles #37 & 38 or "I'm Going to Title My Children's Book 'Ivan the Terrible Czar'"

Puzzle #37 – completed with no errors. I don’t dare say I’m improving ‘cause that will mean the next puzzle will suck.

There were only two answers that I don’t really know:

11 down, “Actor Morales.” ESAI. He’s a modern day actor (born in ’62) and while I recognize some of the movies and shows he’s been in, I don’t recognize him. He was in La Bamba, Jericho, and a ton of other stuff.

60 down, “School for a future ens.” USNA. It wasn’t until after looking at the answer that I understood that ens. is ensign (a rank in the Navy), so USNA would stand for U.S. Naval Academy.

Since I completed #37 yesterday, but didn’t have time to blog about it – and it was so short – I am going to complete #38 and put it all in the same blog post…

Sometime later and after dinner (for which I made up a new recipe and it was yummy! Sundried tomato and basil polenta cut in ½ inch thick circles and sautéed/fried up a bit in olive oil – put “Just Jack” cheese on top, then slice of tomato, then a little pile a lightly steamed spinach on top – and then just a little dollop of garlic aioli on top of the spinach. Mmmm…).

#38 was great! And, it was chock full of tried and true clues and answers. First, here are a couple that I totally got and are a result of this little project o’ mine:

65 across, “Director Preminger.” OTTO
13 down, “Art Deco designer.” ERTE

The other very common answers were OBOE, ELIE (as in Wiesel), EDAM (as in the cheese), EDEN (lovely place where Adam and Eve allegedly lived), and IVAN (the terrible czar).

Answers I got, but don’t really know are:

26 across, “Money in South Africa.” RAND. Wikipedia tells me that it gets its name from “Witwatersrand, the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and were most of South Africa’s gold deposits were found.”

3 down, “Actor Lloyd ___.” NOLAN. He’s been in a lot of stuff and, by all accounts, was a great actor. One movie I’ve heard of that he is in – but I have not seen – is The House on 92nd Street. That has been added to the Netflix queue.

Monday Puzzle #36 or "I Loooooove Harper's Island"

Well, I am at least proud of myself for continuing this puzzle thing every day. The last five days have been crazy hectic.

Puzzle #36 – couldn’t complete it, but came close. There were some familiar clues:

44 across, “Nick and ___ Charles of ‘The Thin Man’.” NORA. Totally nailed that. AND, this puzzle even had “44-across’s dog.” ASTA. Totally nailed that, too.

This puzzle also had “Art Deco master” as a clue. The answer is ERTE. This was a clue/answer in Puzzle #23. I remembered that I should remember it, but I couldn’t think of his name. But, the other answers gave it to me.

Couple of answers I don’t know are:

25 down, “King of Thebes, in myth.” CREON. I’m really weak when it comes to Greek mythology.

24 across, “W.W. II female.” I knew it was WAP or something like that, but the answer is WAC. WAP is Wireless Application Protocol. WAC is the Women’s Army Corps.

Ugh, so many things to write about and no time (Michael Jackson service is tomorrow! I need to find a countdown to Glee. I need to check out the Netflix queue and get back to my Pierre Loti book.). Actually, there is always time – but I’m going to watch the next episode of Harper’s Island – loooooove it!

Monday Puzzle #35 or "Please Don't Disown Your Lesbian Daughter"

Puzzle #35 was great. Completed it with no errors. I was happy to see the clue, “Fit for drafting.” ONE A. Learned that in Monday Puzzle #20.

The few answers I got, but don’t really know are:

24 across, “Conservative pundit Alan.” KEYES. Got the answer – know the name – but realized I don’t really know who he is. Did some research (a.k.a. read a bit about him on Wikipedia) and stopped after reading about how he disowned his lesbian daughter (she confirms this, he denies it – but does say that he cannot approve that which destroys the soul and must stand for the truth Jesus Christ represents) and protested Obama’s commencement speech at Notre Dame. Not interested in spending any more time learning about him.

42 across, “Stephen of ‘The Crying Game’.” REA. Once again – got the answer, know the name, even saw the movie. But, wouldn’t be able to pick him in a line up. And, now that I’ve Googled him, I totally know who he is. He’s one of those actors that I feel like I’ve seen in a ton of stuff – totally recognizable – but didn’t know his name.

47 across, “Treated a lawn, perhaps.” LIMED. I just haven’t heard that term before as it relates to lawn treatment. Apparently, lime helps keep the pH level of your soil/lawn where it should be (between 6.0 and 7.0).

61 across, “Singer Lopez.” TRINI. Mexican American musician. I absolutely love the biography on his web site - http://www.trinilopez.com/home.htm It includes a lot of very interesting and life path changing moments in his life, e.g. “When he was 11 years old, his father spanked him for ‘hanging around with the wrong kind of kids’...what a wise man he was to lead his talented son from a life of street gangs to a life of sophisticated graciousness. Trinidad Lopez, Sr., felt so bad about the spanking he had given his son, he bought him a $12.00 guitar he really could not afford. Trini says, ‘A spanking literally changed my life.’”

Monday Puzzle #34 or "Not All Nazis Were Evil Bastards?"

I’m thinking more about “fray” from the last puzzle. Maybe if the clue had been, “Unravel, as a sweater.”

Puzzle #34. Completed it. No errors. YAY!

A few answers I got, but don’t really know:

2 down, “1952 Leslie Caron film.” LILI. I’ve added it to my Netflix queue, but it is not available right now. I also don’t know who Leslie Caron is. Oh, she was in Gigi. I don’t think I’ve seen that either. It’s in the queue.

30 down, “W.W. II German general Rommel.” ERWIN. Wow, I have to say I was not too interested in learning about this guy – nothing turns me off more than evil Nazi Germany people. But, this is what I learned on Wikipedia: “…soldiers captured during his Africa campaign were reported to have been largely treated humanely. Furthermore, orders to kill captured Jewish soldiers and civilians out of hand in all theatres of his command were defiantly ignored. He was suspected of involvement in the failed 20 July Plot of 1944 to kill Adolf Hitler. Because of his great prestige, he was allowed to commit suicide.”

43 down, “See 46 across.” 46 across is “Annual event at 43-down Stadium.” ASHE. I just don’t know where Ashe Stadium is. I just read about it and you can too, here.

55 down, “Shakespearean villain.” IAGO. Iago is in Othello.

The last one I should remember from Monday Puzzle #10. It was 29 down, “Spirit” and the answer is ELAN.

That’s it for #34!

Monday Puzzle #33 or "Definition of Fray?"

I started to read a Pierre Loti book (reference Monday Puzzle #8). It is “An Iceland Fisherman” and I am enjoying it very much. So, I am happy that this crossword project has turned me onto an author I am enjoying.

Completed Puzzle #33 and only have a couple of answers that I don’t really know. They are:

1 across, “Unravel, as a cord.” FRAY. Fray, to me, means – well, I think of it in the context as “in the fray.” So, I would define it as something complicated or busy or where the action is. And, MW does provide, “a usually disorderly or protracted fight, struggle, or dispute” as a definition. It also provides, “a raveled place or worn spot (as on fabric).” The definitions of the verb fray are “1a. to wear (as an edge of cloth) by or as if by rubbing, b. to separate the threads at the edge of, 2. Strain, irritate.” The intransitive verb definitions are, “1. To wear out or into shreds, 2. To show signs of strain.”

So, I’m not sure if I agree with this clue. If the clue referenced a worn cord or shredding/torn cord. But, to unravel a cord…I, at least, don’t see that in these definitions.

The other one is another vocab issue. It is 8 down, “What usurers do.” LEND. MW tells me that a usurer is “one that lends money especially at an exorbitant rate.”

This puzzle had “Safe sword” as a clue – EPEE! I love it when epee or oleo show up in the puzzle.

Monday Puzzle #32 or "Freckle Juice"

Went on a field trip with the kid’s summer day camp today. 16 five and six year olds. Invariably when I chaperone these things, no exceptions, I get asked the question. "What are those (fill in either 'things,' 'spots,' or 'dots' - sometimes add brown or black first - and occasionally 'that dirt') on your skin?" Today it was "What are those things on your skin?" Last field trip, it was “What are those black spots on your skin?” I then get to say that they are freckles (today got some follow up questions – what are freckles? what is pigment?) and have a lot of fun watching their eyes get really big when I show them that I have freckles on my fingers, toes, lips, and eyelids. The kid’s mom is pretty cool after that.

Puzzle #32 was great if only because it had, “Fencing weapons” as a clue. EPEES! However, I was unable to complete the puzzle. These are the clues I could not answer:

14 across, “Geometry calculation.” Have I mentioned that I haven’t taken a math class since sophomore year of high school? That would be over 20 years ago. I had A_EA. The answer is AREA.

17 across, “Laurel or Musial.” STAN. (I had S_AN). Stan Laurel is the Laurel & Hardy guy. Stan Musial was a baseball player. I should have gotten this clue because I know Laurel’s first name is Stan and Puzzle #20 had, “Stan’s partner in old comedy” as a clue. Also, Puzzle #19 and “Baseball’s Musial” as a clue.

(But, I know I am learning some stuff because this puzzle had “Draft org.” as a clue and I knew it was SSS – thanks to Puzzle #26.)

2 down, “But is it ____?” ART. I only had the A.

16 across, “Asia’s ____ Sea.” I had the ARA of ARAL. (also should have known because of previous puzzle)

13 down, “Omits, in pronunciation.” ELIDES. MW tells me that elide means, “to suppress or alter (as a vowel or syllable) by elision.”

Answers I got, but don’t really know are:

23 across, “Giant Hall-of-Famer.” OTT. Name sounds familiar. WikiP tells me this is Mel Ott, aka “Master Melvin.” He was the first National League player to surpass 500 home runs.

42 down, “____ the Hyena.” LENA. Lena the Hyena was a character in the Lil’ Abner cartoon. It’s a pretty interesting story, which you can learn about here.

67 down, “Cakes and ____, Maugham novel.” ALE. I have added this to my reading list. My very long reading list.

Monday Puzzle #31 or "Xanadooo-oo-oooh"

Puzzle #31. Completed it with one very silly error. It was in 23 across, “Summer drink.” ADE. This is a very common clue. I always get it. But, not today. Today I put ale.

That meant that I got 12 down wrong, “Famed New York restaurateur.” First of all, I thought restaurateur would have an “n” in it. It doesn’t. The answer is SARDI (I had Sarli). I’ve heard of Sardi’s – know it’s that famous restaurant – may have even gone there? But, I just couldn’t think of it when completing this puzzle.

Everything else I got right and there were only a few answers I don’t really know:
15 across, “Multiplatinum album with the 2002 hit ‘Ain’t It Funny’.” JLO. Yeah, not a big Jennifer Lopez fan.

17 across, 25 across, 38 across, 52 across, and 64 across all had to do with Get Smart. I’ve never seen the show. Didn’t see the movie. I’ve added the first season to my Netflix queue. Thinking that the kid will like it.

50 across, “Artist Bonheur.” ROSA. French painter, 1800’s. I don’t recognize her two most recognized paintings, “Ploughing in the Nivernais” and “The Horse Fair.”

67 across, “Xanadu band, for short.” ELO. I have never seen that movie! And I always wanted to. It’s now in my Netflix queue, but it has one and three quarters stars. Can’t even eke out two stars.

25 down, “Rubik who invented Rubik’s Cube.” ERNO. Did not know his first name. The Rubik’s Cube was invented in 1974. I totally remember my brother trying to master it. According to WikiP, as of January 2009, 350 million have been sold worldwide.

54 down, “Israeli desert.” NEGEV.

57 down, “Physicist Enrico.” FERMI. Hmmm, after reading the first sentence of the WikiP biography, sounds like someone I should have learned about at some point. No memory. This is what WikiP says: “Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics. Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1938 for his work on induced radioactivity and is today regarded as one of the top scientists of the 20th century.”

That’s it for Puzzle #31. I clearly still need to master the “easy” puzzles, but I am looking forward to moving on to Tuesdays. Maybe it will be one of those weird things where I’m better at the harder puzzles. Hah!

Monday Puzzle #30 or "Exhibit A - I Ain't That Quick"

Well, I watched Dr. Zhivago last night. ALL of it. And, it was good. I particularly enjoyed the first 5 hours – the historic context, the costumes, the scenery. The last 27 hours turned a bit into a late ‘60’s/70’s love movie (aka The Way We Were or The Goodbye Girl). I don’t know – maybe it was the mustache or the sweaters…but, overall, very enjoyable.

The film had some great crossword project references – Alec Guinness (he was an answer in a recent puzzle), Geraldine Chaplin (Puzzle #22 – daughter of Oona Chaplin – said she based her performance on her mother), AND, my favorite, during the intermission they threw up a screen that said, “Entr’acte.” (reference puzzle #28).

Puzzle #30 was fine. Had one of those “duh” moments with 44 down, “Grapevine contents.” I did not get off of the literal definition of the word “grapevine.” GOSSIP, the answer, makes a lot of sense. I ended up with gossup and figured it was some sort of sap or something used in the processing of wine…? I don’t know.

That also meant that I got 64 across wrong. The clue was, “Look ___ (study).” I had unto, but the correct answer is INTO.

I had a few clues I could not answer:

15 across, “’Potpourri’ for a thousand, _____.” ALEX. Huh? Gotta look that up. Oh, it’s a reference to Jeopardy.

7 down, “Outfielder Moises.” ALOU. Looked him up. Baseball player.

9 down, “Most damning evidence, maybe.” EXHIBITA. Omg. Ok, I just looked up “exhibita” in MW and Googled it. Why do I need to go through those steps to finally realize it is Exhibit A? Sigh.

Answers I got but don’t really know:

16 across,”Mother of Apollo and Artemis.” LETO.

2 down, “With 60-Across, Thornton Wilder play” and 60 across, “See 2-Down.” OUR TOWN. I’ve added the film version to my Netflix queue.

31 across, “English cathedral site.” ELY. You can learn all about The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely here.

66 across, “Les ____-Unis.” ETATS. Oh, I think that’s French for The United States.

And, that’s it. I have 20 more Monday puzzles to complete. I certainly need the practice.

Monday Puzzle #29 or "Just Add Cushioning"

Saw a funny craigslist ad today. A guy was selling 55 gallon barrel dog houses for $5.00 each. It said, “Just add bedding.” Yeah – and something to keep your dog from rolling away. (Also, I’m curious about how sharp those edges and corners are.) I love entrepreneurs…it’s what keeps America, well, America.

Puzzle #29 had two tried and true clues and answers:

56 down, “Bygone U.S. gasoline. ESSO. And, one I haven’t memorized yet, 60 across, “Japanese sashes.” OBIS.

The other clues I was unable to solve were:

55 down, “Theater award.” OBIE. These are the Off-Broadway Theater Awards. So, what the Tony Awards are for Broadway.

8 down, “1-to-12, gradewise.” ELHI. I get it – elementary high school. But, I don’t like the clue or the answer.

15 across, “Disney’s ‘____ and the Detectives’.” EMIL. I haven’t heard of it or seen it. And, Netflix doesn’t have it. It is based on a 1929 German novel and came out in 1964. Since I can’t find it, I really want to see it.

I had one error, which affected two answers:

32 across, “Wading bird” and 34 down, “Helicopter feature.” I had egmet and motor. The correct answers are EGRET and ROTOR. I know egret. But, I had that M in there and was thinking, “huh, never heard of an egmet before.”

And that’s it, really. Everything else I knew – one vaguely and after the other clues gave me the answer. It was 26 down, “1930’s vice president John ____ Garner.” NANCE. As soon as Nance was in there, it rang a bell. But, I couldn’t have answered it without the other clues. You can read some interesting facts about Cactus Jack here.

Even though I had an error and I didn’t complete the puzzle, I do feel like I did better on this one than some more recent puzzles (that’s right #27 and 28 – I’m talking about you.)

Monday Puzzle #28 and "Also My Review of Rebel Without A Cause"

I watched Rebel Without a Cause last night and I think it has got to be one of the weirdest movies I’ve ever seen. As I was watching it, I was thinking, “This is a terrible movie! Why is this movie so well known, loved, and respected?” And yet, today, I can’t stop thinking about it and how strange it was. James Dean was, I admit, fascinating. He reminded me a lot of Brad Pitt. Sam Mineo played an interesting character – and he reminded me of Ralph Macchio. (Are we just regurgitating film stars?) Oh, and by the way, the homosexual innuendos were not that innuendoish.

The movie was weird from the very beginning (although I did like the opening with James Dean and the monkey). But in the police station – the weird questioning by the cops. The cops acting as counselors. The policeman taking Dean into the other room.

And, the questioning of Sam Mineo! “Why’d you shoot those puppies?” “Where’d you get the gun?” And he’s at school the next day?

Natalie Wood – and her father? How weird was that? And, Wood’s face is like putty – during the scene where she’s being questioned by the police, I felt like I could reach out and move her features around.

Overall, the movie was painfully slow paced and the dialogue was so awkward. And, everything happened in one day? Wood’s boyfriend just died in a horrible accident and now she’s in love with Dean? Her boyfriend – whom she seemed to like (and, it looked as if she was going to jump off the cliff after him) - was just killed! What happened to a mourning period?

Oh, and totally weird – Dean’s parents’ smile at the end? What was up with that?

AND, that guy walking into the planetarium as the credits are rolling. Isn’t that a crime scene? Didn’t a boy just get shot by police on those steps? And he’s just walking past the police cars, up the walk, up the steps…time to go to work.

The whole movie was so effing weird!

Puzzle #28 was better than #27. I was happy to see the tried and true clues/answers “Canadian gas brand,” ESSO, “Island of Napoleon’s exile,” ELBA, and “Sea eagle,” ERNE. TRICE showed up again as an answer – the clue was “Instant.” I learned this in Puzzle #14.

There were a few clues I just couldn’t figure out. They were:

43 across, “Opposite of ja,” NEIN.

47 across, “Mythical being with horns.” SATYR. WikiP tells me that they are almost identical to fauns – half goat and half man. WikiP says, “In mythology (satyrs) are often associated with sex drive and vase-painters often portrayed them with perpetual erections.” Those vase painters.

26 down, “North Carolina’s ____ University.” ELON.

27 down, “Swings around.” SLUES. MW tells me that slue is a variant of slough. And, a variant of slew. Slew, as a transitive verb, means “1. to turn (as a telescope or a ship’s spar) about a fixed point that is usually the axis, 2. To cause to skid.” As an intransitive verb, it means “1. To turn, twist, or swing about, 2. Skid.”

37 down, “Inter ____.” ALIA. Apparently inter alia means “among other things.”

41 down, “Theater intermission.” ENTRACTE. WikiP tells me that “entr’acte is French for ‘between the acts.’”

Errors:

51 across, “Gives the gas,” REVS UP. I had revs it.
53 down, “Ignored, as a bridge suit.” UNBID. I had inbid.
54 down, “Hurdles for H.S. juniors.” PSATS. I had TSATS.

Answers I got, but don’t really know are:

1 across, “British rule in India.” RAJ. WikiP says “British Raj primarily refers to the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947.”

49 across, “Playing card dot.” PIP. There’s Gladys Knight and the Pips. There’s PIP Printing. The third entry for pip in MW says, “one of the dots used on dice and dominoes to indicate numerical value.”

9 down, “____ Sea, which is really a lake.” ARAL. It’s that huge lake in Kazakhstan that is shrinking and you can see old ships just sitting on the ground.

34 down, “Comin’ ____ the Rye.” THRO. Comin’ Thro the Rye is a Scottish poem/song written by Robert Burns.

I don’t know, I feel like #28 had some pretty obscure clues and answers.

Monday Puzzle #27 or "Feels Like the Very First Time"

I’m just going to get right into the puzzle because #27 SUCKED. MW tells me that “sucked” means “to be objectionable or inadequate.” So, to clarify, I sucked at puzzle #27. The puzzle itself, I’m sure, is very lovely – especially to those who obtain and retain knowledge normally.

So, let’s get into it. These are the clues and answers I was not able to complete:

31 across, “Pharmacy weights.” DRAMS. MW tells me dram means “1a. see weight table, b. fluid dram, 2a. a small portion of something to drink, b. a small amount.” It also provides the etymology of the word – from Greek “drachme, literally, handful, from drassesthai to grasp.” I’m going to need to look this up a little more because I’m not seeing any reference to pharmacy weights. Well, just Googling pharmacy and dram shows that the term is clearly related to the field. I did find that 8 drams equals one ounce.

37 across, “Exactly right.” DEAD ON. I thought it might be spot on, but that wasn’t making sense for the other clues/answers. I didn’t get those other clues/answers either.

40 across, “Long-billed marsh bird.” SNIPE. So, I thought it might be that, but isn’t a Snipe that thing really hilarious hazers send you out hunting for as a joke? Well, that’s confusing. It IS what hilarious hazers send you out hunting for as a joke. However, it is actually a real bird. So, who’s the joke on? Huh? Huh? huh.

45 across, “Pitts of Hollywood.” ZASU. ZaSu was a film actress and started in silent films. Interesting fact from WikiP: “Mae Questel caricatured Pitt’s voice for the character Olive Oyl for the…animated cartoon version of the comic strip Popeye.”

49 across, “1972 Olympic swimming sensation.” MARK SPITZ. I should remember that since they talked about him so much during the last Olympics when…whatzhisname…shit. Dammit, now I have to look it up…wait! Michael Phelps? Yes! Phew…see, the stuff is in there (i.e. the brain) somewhere.

51 across, “1960’s civil rights org.” SNCC. That is the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

22 down, “George Eliot’s ‘Adam ___’.” BEDE. WikiP tells me that Adam Bede is the first novel written by Mary Ann Evans, who used the pen name George Eliot.” It was published in 1859. I am adding it to my reading list.

30 down, “Henry’s fair lady.” ELIZA. I know that…it just didn’t come to the surface today.

32 down, “Slow symphonic movement.” ADAGIO. I thought that’s what it was, but I was feeling so unsure of myself because I didn’t know so many of the answers…I wrote it in and then erased it.

33 down, “Sacred songs.” MOTETS. MW tells me a motet is “a polyphonic choral composition on a sacred text usually without instrumental accompaniment.” Sounds just plain glorious.

37 down, “Kneehole site.” DESK. What is a kneehole? Well, MW tells me it is “an open space (as under a desk) for the knees.” That makes so much sense. It does make me wonder, however, if we actually need a word for that. We probably do…in the manufacturing plant they are having big conversations about how big the kneehole should be. There's some designer getting a big kneehole innovation award. They are recalling desks with kneeholes that are too small and are, as a result, causing injury.

46 down, “Grp. with F-16’s.” USAF. Again, figured that was it – had the a and the f. Put the US in, but erased it because I thought 49 across might be Mario Pitz (instead of Mark Spitz). Whatever.

52 down, “Musical endings.” CODAS. Same thing – had odas. Was pretty sure it was codas, but not sure enough.

Those were just the answers I didn’t complete. The answers I got, but don’t really know are:

38 across, “Humorist Bennett who co-founded Random House.” CERF.

48 across, “Johanna ____, author of ‘Heidi’.” SPYRI.

7 down, “’____ la Douce,’ 1963 film.” IRMA. I’ve added it to the Netflix queue.

Wow, I feel like a crossword virgin. Filling in those boxes for the very first time. I was beat. Incomplete. Ok, that’s as far as I can take the “Like a Virgin” lyrics.

Monday Puzzle #26 or "Oh Baby Give Me One More Chance"

Whoa. Long day. Michael Jackson died yesterday. Totally weird. I bought an electronic-techno cd in 1991 or 1992 and the first song was called, “Michael Jackson is in Heaven Now” and I can’t get that song out of my head.

Went to a dinner party and totally blew my diet/nutritional program. Wine, port, coffee, chocolate. And had a great time.

I spent 5 and a half hours in the Honda service customer lounge. 5 ½ hours. At one point, I could hear the music in the service area – it was Jackson Five or Michael Jackson “I Want You Back.” Tonight at the dinner party, one of the guys played the piano and started to play that song. Serendipity moment.

Puzzle #26 was hard – maybe because I had a totally hectic day and felt rushed. I had four errors affecting 6 answers – 15 across, “Samoa’s capital” is APIA, not Apie. And, 9 down, “Plaster backing” is LATH, not leth. 63 across, “Cries of surprise,” is OHOS, not ohss. I knew that wasn’t going to be right, but didn’t know what to put so just threw in that first s. 56 down, “Six-stringed instrument,” is VIOL, not a VISP. 54 down, “Plenty, to a poet,” is ENOW, not enon. And, 66 across, “Corduroy feature is WALE, not nape. MW learns me that wale is “a streak or ridge made on the skin especially by the stroke of a whip.” Definition 3a is “one of a series of even ribs in a fabric.”

Learned the spelling of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary. Thought it was cemetery.

Other things I learned:

33 across, “Old draft letters.” SSS. I think that stands for Selective Service System.

58 across, “Wrinkled citrus fruits.” UGLIS. According to www.thefruitpages.com, an ugli is “a specific kind of tangelo, easier to peel. A crossing between a tangerine, a grapefruit, and an orange. Looks really ugli and sometimes has brown spots. Can be peeled manually.

65 across, “Georgia and Lithuania, once: Abbr.” SSRS. SQL Server Reporting Services. Social Skills Rating System. Ok, found it. Soviet Socialist Republics.

24 down, “Miss ____ Regrets.” OTIS. It is a song by Cole Porter.

35 down, “Skater Midori.” ITO. Japanese figure skater. WikiP tells me that “in 1988 she became the first woman to land a triple/triple jump combination and a triple axel in competition.”

Tried and true clue: 30 across, “Wide shoe width.” EEE

Don’t know how much I’m going to retain from today’s puzzle. Just kinda going through the motions today.

Puzzle #25 or "The Producers Does Not Take the Cake"

Watched “The Producers” last night and it was alright. There were some great moments and some good lines. Will Ferrell was fantastic. The guy who played Hitler was brilliant (Gary Beach). But, overall, I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m sure it’s great as a live musical in the theater. I did not know that there is also a 1968 film with Gene Wilder. I absolutely have to see that one…in the queue.

Puzzle #25 – completed with an error. The error was in 69 across, “Horses of a certain color” (ROANS) and 51 down, “Mideast’s Gulf of ____” (AQABA). I had that last a as a u, so rouns and Aqabu. You can see a map of the Gulf of Aqaba here. It's that other one on the other side of the Sinai Penninsula from the Gulf of Suez.

Clues I was happy to see were:

1 across, “Frank ___, leader of the Mothers of Invention.” ZAPPA of course. And, it was puzzle #19 that taught me that this was Zappa’s band.

61 across, “Be a lulu.” TAKE THE CAKE. It was puzzle #16 that taught me that lulu means “one that is remarkable or wonderful.”

Answers I got but don’t really know are:

6 across, “High Ottoman official.” PASHA. WikiP tells me it is the equivalent of the British title “Lord.”

16 across, “Lode deposit.” ORE. I got that I was ore, but I haven’t heard the word lode before. MW says lode means, 1. Waterway 2. An ore deposit 3. Something that resembles a lode; and abundant store.

41 down, “Actor Mineo.” SAL. WikiP tells me that he was in Rebel Without a Cause…omg, another classic that I have not seen. Queued. Sal Mineo was murdered when he was 37. You can read more here.

47 down, “Polish Nobelist Walesa.” LECH. He was President of Poland from 1990 – 1995. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 – looks like for his work in organizing trade unions in Poland. He was arrested in 1981 and was in prison for 11 months.

57 down, “Trick-taking game with 32 cards.” SKAT. I have not heard of skat, but apparently it is huge in Germany and Silesia.

That’s it. Off to watch more of my husband’s Netflix picks so I can get some of mine in the rotation

Wait! I just realized that I'm halfway through the Mondays! Yay!

Monday Puzzle #24 or "Eine Kleine The Producers"

We completed a disc of The Riches last night, so that is all safely packed up and on its way back to Netflix. So, Dr. Zhivago, my epic, should arrive soon.

Puzzle #24 had an embarrassing mistake. Just moving too fast – that’s my only excuse. 5 across, “Computer/phone line link.” MODEM. I had motem. With a t? Believe me, I know how to spell modem. That meant I got 7 down wrong, “Mafia chiefs.” DONS. I had TONS. Whatever.

Other than that, I completed the puzzle. Clues and answers I got, but don’t really know are:
32 across, “’Every good boy does fine’ and others.” MNEMONIC DEVICES. I don’t know what a mnemonic device is. Oh, it’s a memory or learning device. Never Eat Soggy Waffles (i.e. North, South, East, West). But, what does “every good boy does fine” stand for? Oh, it’s E G B D F – the notes on the scale. In Seattle, we use “Jesus Christ made Seattle under protest” to remember the downtown streets: Jefferson, James, Cherry, Columbia, Marion, Madison, Spring, Seneca, University, Union, Pike, Pine. Of course, you have to remember that there are two for each letter. And, what order they go in…

66 across, “1978 Jazz musical.” EUBIE. Huh? I have never heard of that – not even a little ring of a bell. It won a Tony award and Gregory Hines was in it.

68 across, “Ehrich ___, Houdini’s real name.” WEISS. Did not know that.

11 down, “Rotgut, e.g.” BOOZE. I’ve heard of the term rotgut, but mainly as a term attributed to my coffee. Urban Dictionary provides an entertaining definition:

“Not just cheap, but terrible liquor designed mostly to get you wasted and not much else. The term originated in the old west when many alcoholic beverages were designed purely to be easily afforded by anyone and their dog and to get the drinker hammered, often times, these cheap alcohols would make the drinker sick (due to the extremely low-quality of the ingredients). These days, the term just means something that's not much better in taste than rubbing alcohol and good for nothing more than getting you piss drunk when you're on a budget. The single easiest way to detect rotgut is just by looking at the bottle. If it's in a plastic bottle, chances are good it tastes like piss mixed with gasoline. More often than not, anyone who claims to like rotgut is a poser teenager who thinks getting drunk makes them Billy Badass. Furthermore, a discerning drinker may consider anything below a certain standard of flavour as rotgut. If you can afford the "good" stuff, why the hell would you drink the bad stuff?"

Looooove it!

22 down, “Singer Makeba.” MIRIAM. According to WikiP, she was an African singer and civil rights activist. She died in November of 2008.

36 down, “’___ kleine Nachtmusik’.” EINE. I knew it was something, something, Night Music. But, that doesn’t help me get eine.

42 down, “Rembrandt van ___.” RYN. Apparently, Rembrandt had a last name.

This one I knew, but I’ve never seen it. It was 9 down, “Brooks of ‘The Producers.’” MEL, of course (my favorite movie ever and in the entire world is Young Frankenstein – saw the pre-Broadway run of the musical at the Paramount in Seattle – front row seats). The Producers is now on my Netflix list. Ooh, I can watch it online - might do that tonight.

Tried and true clues were:

“Diva’s solo,” ARIA
“Slender woodwinds,” OBOES
“Native New Zealanders,” MAORIS (I think I protest the plural version of this, but am too tired to Google it.)

Monday Puzzle #23 or "Battle of the Netflix Queue"

This evening, my husband brought in the mail and said, “Your epic has arrived,” referring to Dr. Zhivago. He has seen it and said it is loooong and may be one of the best movies he’s ever seen. He wants to watch it with me, which means he really must have liked it. My life does not allow me to…OH MY GOD. Oh my god. Omg. Ok, I am in that emotional state where I am deciding whether or not to be pissed. But, I have decided not to be because it was definitely not intended. I was going to say, “My life does not allow me to participate in one activity for (x number of hours),” meaning the length of Dr. Zhivago. So, I opened the Netflix envelope to see how long it is and what popped out? The next Entourage disc. My husband messed with the Netflix queue and bumped Entourage in front of Dr. Zhivago.

This may not seem like a big deal. But, I have been silently suffering my husband’s takeover of the Netflix queue for years. Recently, I have been going in and finding movies I want to watch and bumping them to the top of the queue – but every other movie. So, Dr. Zhivago was 1, Purple Rain is 3, Sunset Boulevard is 5, etc.

So now, we need to get through the three discs he chose before I get Dr. Zhivago. That’s fine. That’s totally fine.

What wasn’t fine was Puzzle #23. I didn’t complete it and I had an error. The error was in 24 across, “With competence,” and 6 down, “Slangy no.” I had “able” and “ixnae.” But, of course, it is ABLY and IXNAY.

The clues I was unable to complete were:

14 across, “1970’s tennis champ Nastase.” Answer is ILIE. He was a Romanian tennis player in the 70’s. My absolute favorite quote from the WikiP page is “Maxim magazine has placed Nastase at number 6 on its top ten ‘Living Sex Legends’ list, as he is reputed to have slept with over 2500 women. After hearing this, his wife said that she was happy to have conquered such a man.”

17 across, “F.D.R.’s dog.” FALA. If Barack Obama had a dog named Fala, do you think he would’ve been elected? Would that have been the straw that broke the Conservative, Paranoid, Right Wingers’ collective backs? I mean, it rhymes with Allah. Actually, it doesn’t. It is pronounced fay-lah. I know this because I heard it come out of FDR’s own mouth. That clip and some interesting information about Fala can be found here. And, the name is Scottish, not Terrorist (although that wouldn’t stop the CPRWers). www.presidentialpetmuseum.com tells me, “At first his name was Big Boy. Franklin renamed him Murray the Outlaw of Falahill after a Scottish ancestor. His nickname became Fala.”

1 down, “Old 45 player.” HIFI. I had the H and the last I.

I was happy to see 64 across, “Top draft level.” Totally got that it is ONEA, thanks to Puzzle #20.

Answers I got but don’t really know are:

66 across, “Noted Art Deco illustrator.” ERTE. If you visit www.erte.com, you will recognize his art.

35 down, “Leave in, as text.” STET. Wikipedia says, “Stet is a Latin word (meaning ‘let it stand’) used by proofreaders to instruct the typesetter or writer to disregard a change the editor or proofreader had previously marked.”

55 down, “College in New Rochelle, N.Y.” IONA.

And that’s it for #23. I’m off to watch…Entourage.

Monday Puzzle #22 or "Asta Boy!"

Yay! Completed Puzzle #22 with no errors!

The incredibly interesting things I learned in this puzzle are:

28 across, “Mrs. Chaplin.” OONA. I seem to remember hearing her name at some point because it is so unusual. What an interesting life! She is one of those people who grew up in an artistic household in New York City and knew people – went to school and became good friends with Gloria Vanderbilt. Was named debutante of the year when she was 17. WikiP tells me she dated Orson Welles and J.D. Salinger before meeting Chaplin. There was a 36 year age difference between the two. Her half brother and her brother committed suicide. When Chaplin was denied reentry into the U.S., Oona came to the U.S. and secretly collected cash from safe deposit boxes. “She later admitted to sewing $1,000 bills into the lining of her mink coat, thereby saving the Chaplin fortune.” Oona and Chaplin had eight children. One of their daughters is in Dr. Zhivago, which is next on my Netflix list. The daughter (Geraldine) said she based her performance on her mother.

That’s one of the things I’m loving about this little crossword project of mine. I keep finding these little cross references, which makes everything I’m doing more meaningful.

33 across, “Euripides drama.” MEDEA. WikiP tells me that Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. In Euripides’ play, Medea’s husband (Jason) leaves her and she wreaks her revenge (how odd for a Greek drama).Oh damn. I just realized that this answer is the same as one in Puzzle #2. In my defense, that clue was, “Jason’s ally and lover in myth.” In my research on that clue, I did not learn that Euripides wrote a play called Medea. But, not in my defense, if this puzzle had the exact same clue (“Jason’s ally and lover in myth”), Medea would not have even entered my conscious mind. However, today’s research uncovered perhaps the weirdest painting I’ve ever seen. Jason and Medea by Moreau (the photo for today’s blog post). Is that ribbon tied around his penis? And, what are all those things flying around them? And, why is he standing on a bird? I know I’ll have to read Jason and the Argonauts or Medea to find out, but I don’t want to.

54 across, “Korean soldiers.” ROKS. Other than being the stock symbol for Rockwell Automation and the Riders of Kawasaki motorcycle club, ROK stands for the Republic of Korea.

38 across, “Nick and Nora’s dog of story and film.” ASTA. (Also, American Society of Travel Agents.) I do want to say that I totally got that this was Nick and Nora from The Thin Man (which is on my list). Since I haven’t seen or read it yet, I hadn’t gotten down to the detail of their dog. You may be surprised to learn (I sure was) that there is an Asta fan club. http://www.iloveasta.com/ Asta’s real name is Skippy and, according to this site, that is a point of contention for fans. There is a sect that prefers to call him Skippy and a sect that prefers to call him Asta. Do they fight at the annual convention? A big Skippy vs. Asta brawl?

32 down, “Theater seats.” LOGES. MW tells me that a loge is “a small compartment…a box in a theater…a small partitioned area…a separate forward section of a theater mezzanine or balcony…a raised section or level of seats in a sports stadium.”

56 down, “Out of Africa author Dinesen.” ISAK. Saw the movie. But how cool – Isak Dinesen is the pen name for Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke. She had a very interesting life, which you can read about here.

And that’s it!