tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post5313957640954151076..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: W E D N E S D A Y November 17, 2010 Fred PiscopOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-78721708199992621252010-11-20T13:19:21.439-08:002010-11-20T13:19:21.439-08:00Worst. Puzzle. Ever.
'Nuf said.
PG, thanks ...Worst. Puzzle. Ever.<br />'Nuf said.<br /><br />PG, thanks for that brilliant clip of Artur Rubenstein. Now THAT made my day!choirwriterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17313061449653927397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-16935569806614084012010-11-17T17:54:14.862-08:002010-11-17T17:54:14.862-08:00Never heard of a potato RICER, so couldn't get...Never heard of a potato RICER, so couldn't get past dICED, so DNF all due to that one letter. (dIOTS? Some weird American military term? Slang for "idiots"? How was I to know?)<br /><br />I knew what 1A was looking for, but forgot the name BORAT so had to wait for crosses to clue me in.<br />I guessed ODER from crosses too -- those, and knowing that Frankfurt an der ODER is out that way someplace. (It's in what was East Germany at the time I was visiting Frankfurt am Main in the 80s. I thought it was appropriately named; from my point of view, Frankfurt an der Oder was definitely the "other Frankfurt" :-))<br />Still more crosses: 35A could be either AUDIO or VIDEO.<br />I thought of challah, but rejected it as I've only ever seen it in loaves (those nifty braided ones), not buns. Didn't know what else it might be so had to ... you guessed it ... wait for crosses.<br /><br />Challah makes amazing French toast, by the way!<br /><br />Oddly, that name cluster gave me no trouble at all! I figured Rodgers-with-a-"d" was the guy who worked a lot with Hammerstein, but the latter's about three times too long, so I guessed his other collaborator, HART.<br />I'm not a big jazz fan, but I hang out with some -- enough, anyway, to know the name of Lionel HAMPTON, and vaguely recall that he played vibes.<br />MAUDE was like HART -- JEFFERSONS sure wasn't gonna fit. (Don't know where I dredged MAUDE up from, but I sure wouldn't have done if BEA ARTHUR hadn't come up recently.)<br />ARTUR Rubenstein, I had enough crosses to spell correctly :-)<br />RHODA, well, I had no idea of her mother's name, but had enough crosses to know beyond the proverbial reasonable doubt that that's the Morgenstern the puzzle was looking for. (RHODA x RHO is kinda cute, btw.)<br />The only one that flummoxed me was BRAT FARRAR. I got FARRAR from crosses and BRAT from the theme.<br /><br />That leaves <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Bull" rel="nofollow">EMMA Bull</a>. Geez, am I the first person here to know of her? Bull is a fantasy author, one of the crop who came along in the 80s to breathe fresh life into the genre. She's one of the contributers to the shared-world <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Borderland_Series" rel="nofollow">Borderland</a> series of anthologies, which I'm a fan of (even though they're nominally aimed at teens -- well, so is Harry Potter, but a lot of grownups are huge HP fans. (Me, I'm more into HP <i>sauce</i>:-)). I'm pretty sure I've read Bull's <i>Finder</i>, a novel set in the Borderlands universe; if it's the book I'm thinking of, I very much enjoyed it.<br />As for her non-Borderlands work, <i>War for the Oaks</i> is a totally gripping urban fantasy; <i>Freedom and Necessity</i> (a collaboration with Stephen Brust) is a good, if rather slow-moving, epistolary novel that takes place in the Victorian ERA. I don't know <i>Bone Dance</i>; guess I'm gonna have to track it down...<br />This is one of those awesome coincidences. Just last night I was, for some unknown reason, looking up Borderlands stuff online, and discovered that there's an anthology of new work coming out next May, including a story by Emma Bull. And today, here she is in the LAT puzzle. How cool is that?Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-42436696696897101532010-11-17T17:20:34.267-08:002010-11-17T17:20:34.267-08:00Thank you PG for another great write up especially...Thank you PG for another great write up especially since I missed all the EVA dicussion from yesterday. <br /><br />I finally got my laptop up and running again just in time to sink my teeth into this very tasty puzzle! Have to say I loved the theme but felt the clues were marginal and the puzzle itself was a doozy!!<br /><br />I am always happy to learn new things but felt the puzzle had way too many proper nouns.<br /><br />Glad to be back and on to tomorrow!!Scully2066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-10823825072277315282010-11-17T16:47:14.323-08:002010-11-17T16:47:14.323-08:00@CCL: add melted butter, hot milk and a raw egg an...@CCL: add melted butter, hot milk and a raw egg and beat really hard. Then grate on some nutmeg. Best mashed potatoes ever!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-39666678063163570332010-11-17T16:39:51.048-08:002010-11-17T16:39:51.048-08:00@Sfingi LOL! After you rice the potatoes, you flu...@Sfingi LOL! After you rice the potatoes, you fluff them with a fork and add the butter or cream or whatever and fluff a little more.They don't look like maggots for heaven's sake.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35596917126821949372010-11-17T16:31:16.072-08:002010-11-17T16:31:16.072-08:00@Anon210 - I like that explanation.
I agree, rice...@Anon210 - I like that explanation.<br /><br />I agree, ricers are meant for potatoes with the idea of making them look kinda like rice. Or maggots.<br />A ricer makes a nice decoration on the wall over my unused thousand dollar stove.<br />Garlic presses come in so many colors you can work them into your theme.<br />Did I tell you I have a funnel collection?Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-54207493848653369482010-11-17T15:47:42.909-08:002010-11-17T15:47:42.909-08:00@Avg Joe and @Nighthawk
The ricer's not that ...@Avg Joe and @Nighthawk<br /><br />The ricer's not that much work - a little elbow grease perhaps. I prefer a fluffier potato and it accomplishes the job. For everyday potatoes, I use the old wire smasher. That being said, maybe I'll try the hand blender this year. I love mine for soups.<br /><br />Interesting that we have a ricer thread and a Genisis thread going on - one of the reasons I love this blog.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-32240535389265314162010-11-17T15:45:10.768-08:002010-11-17T15:45:10.768-08:00Very good puzzle! Love the wursts/worst, especiall...Very good puzzle! Love the wursts/worst, especially baked in brioche. I also thought of challah first, also very eggy.<br /><br />Liverpool accent? I would call it Liverpudlian. <br /><br />@Sfingi/Avg Joe: the ricer or "boerenkoolstamper"/masher works the best on potatoes. Handmixers, especially the stem one, turn them into a paste, not very good. Apparently Ikea makes the best garlic press.<br /><br />I just took out my Euros, cents and all, and am getting ready to be scanned not patted down tomorrow on my way to Holland.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-70891866846102539942010-11-17T15:39:39.985-08:002010-11-17T15:39:39.985-08:00Way to many Googles and vague clues for a Wednesda...Way to many Googles and vague clues for a Wednesday for my taste. (And for my taste, you can have the liverwurst.)<br /><br />As to the implausibilities of the book of Genesis, for me it works this way. I believe from reading the Bible's clearer parts that Jesus is God come as a human so that God can graciously act not only as judge of us moral failures, but the one who pays the judgment in Jesus' death and invites us into relationship with him. That God is good as well as great. Now I can trust that he will sort out the head scratchers for me some day--most of which are a lot more important than those mentioned today. <br /><br />I guess I could say I've got the theme but I'm still working on the fill.Larry Snoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-47898738333289040962010-11-17T15:20:20.520-08:002010-11-17T15:20:20.520-08:00Nighthawk, I wondered if that would come up. I hav...Nighthawk, I wondered if that would come up. I have an old wire masher for potatoes that probably dates to the 1930's. It would have to be pried from my dead cold hands, as it can't be "beat". The only time I ever used a ricer was for creamy potato soups, like vichyssoise. It's a lot of work and an enormous clean-up for a job that can be accomplished in about a minute with a hand blender. Same with the garlic press. It takes 5 times as long to clean the damn thing as it does to do the work...and the results aren't any better than just using a chefs knife to bludgeon a couple of cloves. We get too soon oldt and too late schmart.Avg Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-10856261396152130452010-11-17T14:10:30.623-08:002010-11-17T14:10:30.623-08:00Throw a hubcap means to lose one, and that often h...Throw a hubcap means to lose one, and that often happens when hitting a pothole. That's what it means.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-57929205246322246752010-11-17T14:00:13.730-08:002010-11-17T14:00:13.730-08:00Another great write-up @PG! Loved the EVA discussi...Another great write-up @PG! Loved the EVA discussion, and all points well taken in the always helpful CW101. Prior comments about one of the more briefly clued EVAs was only meant as a gentle bit of HASSLE.<br /><br />This one just kicked my MAE! I wasn't just on a different wavelength, but a totally different band.<br /><br />For example, was thinking "fred" for 31A, though I knew it was mismatched with Ginger's last name; after realizing chemLAB was one too many letters for 6D, kept thinking about how to sqeeze in something like "backseat"; had "exposed" for UNEARTHED; in my part of the world, barbeque means pulled smoked pork, so was stuck with "beans" as the usual side fare; had heard of Ed KOCH, but never had heard of his book; knew that the South Pacific hero was French, but blanked on EMILE; had TEnse for TESTY (but got it from the EVAS cross). <br /><br />Liked the revealer.<br /><br />Finally sorted everything out, but tough sledding. Mr. Piscop, and @PG's sparkling write-up, really earned my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0XAI-PFQcA" rel="nofollow">RESPECT</a> on this one.<br /><br />I totally agree with AvgJoe about the dastardly RICER and garlic press. But I like my potatoes more smashed, for the different consistencies, than the blander, creamier, one-note, mashed results of a handblender, so still use the old fashioned masher hand tool.<br /><br /><i>coven</i>: Christine O'Donnell's former party.Nighthawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898505137434147165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-37130709035619475252010-11-17T12:21:02.758-08:002010-11-17T12:21:02.758-08:00I had a personal Natick (and fail) on the FARRAR/E...I had a personal Natick (and fail) on the FARRAR/EMMA cross, as I knew neither one and thought FeRRAR/EMMe was plausible.<br /><br />Oh well. It didn't dimminish my enjoyment of this puzzle though. That is one of my favorite theme reveals ever.imsdavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12966770844825169981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-54294004813432422832010-11-17T11:11:23.207-08:002010-11-17T11:11:23.207-08:00Brat Farrar gave me the most trouble by far, but w...Brat Farrar gave me the most trouble by far, but was able to get it through the crosses once I got unstuck from "The Jeffersons" for the spinoff. I also got tripped up on Tao for Zen, but Ms Coulter fixed that in a hurry. EVAS came to me instantly and enjoyed seeing different cluing on that answer. Watching our home state hero Clayton Anderson on his two trips to the ISS probably helped.<br /><br />@Sfingi, I had and used a ricer decades ago. Never has a torture mechanism been devised that is it's equal. I also had 2 or 3 of it's smaller cousin, the garlic press. Technology and common sense finally prevailed with a hand held blender and a chefs knife.Avg Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-80027474182569814242010-11-17T10:55:59.392-08:002010-11-17T10:55:59.392-08:00I tend to agree with JaxinLA. I wish other commen...I tend to agree with JaxinLA. I wish other commenters wouldn't refer to @PG as "she." She's Puzzle Girl, PG or Angela. It may just be me, but I don't think most women appreciate being called "she."<br /><br />The WURST PUZZLE EVER was trying for me, although I thought the theme was funny. Love BRATs, especially topped with a big helping of kraut. <br /><br />That stack of names in the East made me TESTY too. Haven't heard of BRAT FARARR and ARTUR always trips me up. I know MAUDE and RHODA though. ANITRA and EMMA Bull were also unknowns got purely through the crosses. TREY and EVAS were WTHs.<br /><br />@Alex Scott "Burrough's" swinger also had me headed in the "Naked Lunch" direction. LOL.<br /><br />@Sfingi I dug out my ricer yesterday in preparation for ricing major mounds of mashed potatoes next week.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-36590008696420935332010-11-17T10:32:02.481-08:002010-11-17T10:32:02.481-08:00This puzzle was so far from my sweet spot that I t...This puzzle was so far from my sweet spot that I thought I was doing a Saturday puzzle on steroids. All of the proper names of people I did not know makes a puzzle difficult for this dude. I gutted through this one and finished but I don't really know how.<br /><br />In regards to the stacked proper name eastern area, I was at sea (heh, I just used a cross word phrase there) until my mind somehow pulled RHODA out of it's depths then MAUDE, two TV references I am too young to really know.Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14900988170432327664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-41030942017966708872010-11-17T10:10:10.024-08:002010-11-17T10:10:10.024-08:00Had to look up TREY to understand it.
@Seth - So,...Had to look up TREY to understand it.<br /><br />@Seth - So, we needs must be inbred, unless either 1) we're from (many) monkeys or 2) there was another creation in the next county.<br />Not all inbreeding bears idiots. The Darwin-Wedgewood family was inbred and resulted in genius.<br />Once I commented on a family that was inbred and idiotic around here, and my father-in-law said, "That's good. They'll keep away from the rest of us." <br /><br />CW puzzlemakers love ricing, but how many of them actually own or have used a ricer?Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-75341361493954331492010-11-17T09:56:58.910-08:002010-11-17T09:56:58.910-08:00I commend Josephine Tey to your attention. Her my...I commend Josephine Tey to your attention. Her mysteries are lucidly but intricately plotted, her prose engaging, and her characters very compelling. She is best known for The Daughter of Time, a clever investigation by a modern cop laid up in the hospital and bored, into the deaths of the Princes in the Tower, historically believed to have been ordered by King Richard III. <br /><br />Since I'm new to this blog I may be wrong, but it seems that the great majority of people posting here so far today are male. Need more estrogen!<br /><br />Love the theological thread. I, too, can't figure a way around the incest angle on the literal interpretation of Genesis. Doesn't mean that there are not deeper truths there, but it does make you go "huh?"JaxInL.A.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-25901232669102149552010-11-17T09:49:25.575-08:002010-11-17T09:49:25.575-08:00Just did an old puzzle with a 3 letter word clued ...Just did an old puzzle with a 3 letter word clued "Wagner soprano". Had no idea until the crossings revealed the answer is...EVAJeffreynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-47773756729083295192010-11-17T09:45:03.400-08:002010-11-17T09:45:03.400-08:0050A BRATFARRAR-totally clueless on this, but got w...50A BRATFARRAR-totally clueless on this, but got with the crosses. Googled afterward and sounds like an interesting read. <br /><br />40D-ONE MAY BE THROWN AT A POTHOLE? Odd cluing. Why not BY A or FROM A? In days of old, a gentleman would "throw his cape" at a pothole, for a lady to step over. CAPE was two letters short!<br /><br />Charles Dickens pseudonym was BOZ? <br />Nice to learn. Only read Dickens, not about him. As I now learn, his own life greatly informed his writings.<br /><br />57D-HEAVYWEIGHTS'ring contest-wanted SPAR, BOUT or TKOS. Nice misdirect, there. SUMO came with the crosses.<br /><br />No need to get TESTY with @PG about her EVAs! Have a little RESPECT! Have to agree with JOON, Eva Green is very lovely!<br /><br />Liked CHUCK's picture for HURL, but BRETT is a BRAT who could make one HURL with his alleged texting of some brettwurst. Retire, already! I guess his next job might be doing color commentary? <br /><br />Good word wrestle with the cw, today!ddbmcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-48414854951913479112010-11-17T09:42:50.763-08:002010-11-17T09:42:50.763-08:00I struggled for a while with this one, but ultimat...I struggled for a while with this one, but ultimately enjoyed it. WURST PUZZLE EVER was a great theme. Made me think of the Simpsons' comic-book-store guy. Once I figured that out, the rest was much easier.<br /><br />Did anyone else get tripped up trying to fit in CHALLAH for 39A: "Eggy bun," with AFL for a cross? Once I saw the clue for KOCH, I knew CHALLAH was wrong. CIO was the easy alternative to AFL, but it took me a while to come up with BRIOCHE. If not for that and BOUT for SUMO, I would've had a clean page.<br /><br />For 51D: "Burroughs swinger," my mind at first went to William S. Burroughs. Glad I thought of Tarzan before trying to rack my brain for characters out of Naked Lunch.<br /><br />Btw, if you've never tried liverpoolwurst, you should. It's delicious.Alex Scottnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-40542355673083160222010-11-17T09:04:37.248-08:002010-11-17T09:04:37.248-08:00Some interesting stuff in this puzzle and definite...Some interesting stuff in this puzzle and definitely a challenge. I knew early on that WURST was part of the theme but it took me a long time to figure it out.<br /><br />I liked HUBCAP...it's a fun mental image and one of those clues that make you think, "What could that possibly be?" when you first read it. Had HOT CUP at one point.<br /><br />Never heard LAM as a verb before. RICED instead of DICED is a bit annoying.<br /><br />For all the times we've seen EURO in crosswords, it never occurred to me what fractions of a euro were. I need to travel more.<br /><br />Darryl, interesting thought re: original sin. I've always found it odd that Christianity (especially Catholicism) dwells on the amorality of humankind and describes all the positive aspects as God. It seems pretty obvious that humans are inherently social creatures whose default behavior is to get along. Of course, telling people that they're doomed sinners and that religious belief is their only hope is a good way of controlling them.John Wolfendenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759716236594908137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-46841878109960690492010-11-17T08:28:23.226-08:002010-11-17T08:28:23.226-08:00Cute theme but what an unfortunate mix of cluing a...Cute theme but what an unfortunate mix of cluing and proper names in the Mid-Atlantic, completely unnecessary. BRAT FARRAR was a problem but I dimly remembered it. EMMA and HAMPTON could've been clued easier to make that section more manageable, what a mess.*David*noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-86218817021447372962010-11-17T07:59:48.536-08:002010-11-17T07:59:48.536-08:0029 proper names! That's quite a few, even for...29 proper names! That's quite a few, even for a late-week puzzle.<br /><br />I loved the self-deprecating theme reveal, but there's not that much else to love about this one IMO.Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-25314072065752987502010-11-17T07:38:25.544-08:002010-11-17T07:38:25.544-08:00i think it's there because BRAT FARRAR is pret...i think it's there because BRAT FARRAR is pretty close to bret favre sound-wise. but she probably isn't as self-absorbed or turnover-prone.<br /><br />oh, rats. just looked it up and apparently brat farrar is a he. whatever.<br /><br />i don't usually let the fill or clues get in the way of a nice early-week theme (and i really do like the theme), but the insane name pile-up rex alluded to (HAMPTON ARTUR RHODA MAUDE EMMA) was ... odd. i mean, why a pianist crossing a vibraphonist? (also, vibraphonist?!?) there are plenty of other HAMPTONs. porky's nephew. steelers nose tackle casey. ___ roads. etc. MAUDE and RHODA ditto: why cross old TV with old TV? i was guessing on both, as well as both of the As in FARRAR. and who the heck is this EMMA?<br /><br />i don't think i would've minded all those names in one puzzle. just not all in the same place, crossing each other.<br /><br />bad mood slightly mollified by the picture of the loveliest EVA ever.Joonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07825085755390339668noreply@blogger.com