tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post8314392249242122541..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: FRIDAY, July 16, 2010 — Joon PahkOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-69326813668307283642010-07-17T08:02:50.590-07:002010-07-17T08:02:50.590-07:00@twangster
You had the last verse correct.
I was t...@twangster<br />You had the last verse correct.<br />I was thinking of an earlier stanza.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-54496642941088476232010-07-16T14:23:22.609-07:002010-07-16T14:23:22.609-07:00tinbeni -- thanks for correcting my lyrics. i'...tinbeni -- thanks for correcting my lyrics. i've never actually heard the song, so i wouldn't know how it goes.<br /><br />seriously, i just cut and pasted in 10 seconds from a random website without any inspection, because i was surprised no one had pointed out the beatles connection. for me the trick was not knowing the instrument's name but how to spell it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-29701219284049400362010-07-16T14:10:21.203-07:002010-07-16T14:10:21.203-07:00Wikipedia tells me that the original vinyl EPS wer...Wikipedia tells me that the original vinyl EPS were 7" 45s with thinner grooves, played for about 7 minutes per side, and usually contained 2 songs per side.Rubehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773241241484881566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-46212685355660999842010-07-16T13:37:52.794-07:002010-07-16T13:37:52.794-07:00Enjoyed this jazzy puzzle and theme even though it...Enjoyed this jazzy puzzle and theme even though it sent me into a tizzy or two. Had Smog for HAZE and Seed for SUET. Didn't know Robert ALDA or EZER Weizman. Forgot NITA Naldi even though I've encountered her numerous times in CWs. Knew what a BALALAIKA looked and sounded like, but I was fuzzy on what it was called. Favorite clues: Skunk Le Pew and America's most wanted.<br />We are having weird sizzle and drizzle weather here today. <br />Thanks Joon for a super Friday puzzle.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-40537815714059557702010-07-16T12:54:32.466-07:002010-07-16T12:54:32.466-07:00@Wolfenden - agree on STENGUN .
Scrabbly.
Went f...@Wolfenden - agree on STENGUN .<br /><br />Scrabbly.<br /><br />Went from top to bottom, for some reason. Figured it was ZZ from the first, then "add ZZ" by the second. Never heard of ASADA, but it fell right in.<br /><br />Then I get to the South 4th. Had cOS instead of IOS; InCh instead of ICKY for like OOZE, Each for EENY (choosing word). <br />Had to Google for the monkey ENOS. This is just one science area I have no interest in. I guess it's a guy thing, heroes and all. Lotsa primates died: Albert I, Albert II, Ham, Mike, Miss Sam, Pat, Sam. Somebody'll say they didn't die. But who knows all these primates? Yet no one cares enough about the sea to "duplicate" the bathyscaphe.<br /><br />Also Googled for NYE. Didn't know he won an Emmy and thought I was looking for a Chinese name. <br /><br />Never heard of EPS.<br /><br />This was a well-constructed piece, just all my questionables were at the bottom. Not hard for Fri.<br /><br />Does Brothers Karamazov have a BALALAIKA? A huge triangular one?Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-83927897470869636222010-07-16T12:53:43.280-07:002010-07-16T12:53:43.280-07:00Liked your puzzle, Joon, especially the rare ICHOR...Liked your puzzle, Joon, especially the rare ICHOR.<br /><br />As I recall. the ability to play the BALALAIKA by the young girl palyed by Rita Tushingham was the big clue for demonstrating that she was the daughter of Zhivago. I'm with JNH on this being a great movie.JIMMIEnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-67085235064053039602010-07-16T12:17:17.983-07:002010-07-16T12:17:17.983-07:00@JNH; I'm pretty sure there was one in the bac...@JNH; I'm pretty sure there was one in the background of a scene in <i>Battleship Potempkin</i>, another candidate for the 20th century's finest film.<br /><br />Alas, no BALALAIKA in my candidate for the position; <i>Rashomon</i>. Several shamisens though.Tuttlenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-68164684060949694342010-07-16T12:09:05.122-07:002010-07-16T12:09:05.122-07:00A very enjoyable puzzle with an impressive 10 Zs. ...A very enjoyable puzzle with an impressive 10 Zs. Not much new here, but well put together. There are a few clunkers like PAWAT and OUTEAT, but they are at a minimum.<br /><br />I like Lara's Theme and have been to the Russian Tea House where I learned BALALAIKA, (it's spelled like it's pronounced). <br /><br />This HAS issue makes no sense. He HAS a cold = he's down with a cold.<br /><br />Have added IOS to my crosswordese list. (Note that Eos is the Greek Goddess of the dawn -- and the name of an AGU publication). While checking my list, remembered that I had forgotten NYE and ENOS.<br /><br />Seeing SHASTA from Weed is a gimme for Californians. Had MAta Hari for MANEATER and Kona for HILO. Liked the clueing for WALTZ. <br /><br />Don't really recall EP records. Weren't they the short lived 16-2/3 RPM records with lots of songs per side but poor fidelity? LPs had 5-6 songs per side and 78s & 45s had one, but extended plays? I don't recall.Rubehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04773241241484881566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-79439197233262179522010-07-16T11:53:44.376-07:002010-07-16T11:53:44.376-07:00@JohnW: I think "Is down with" is fine i...@JohnW: I think "Is down with" is fine if you think of it as having an illness (like @C said).<br /><br />Boss: "Where's Bob today?"<br />Secretary: "He's down with the flu."<br /><br />It sounds a bit old-fashioned, but I'm buying it.<br /><br />I had no idea that word in "Back in the USSR" was BALALAIKA. I don't know what I thought it was. I guess I never really thought about it at all.<br /><br />@Van55: You use "mensanized" to describe a clue that's not straightforward. I don't think that phenomenon really needs a name. It's just what puzzles are.PuzzleGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06835502266781516627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-45702754138015651112010-07-16T11:47:32.438-07:002010-07-16T11:47:32.438-07:00Liked this Friday a lot, cool theme and no real cl...Liked this Friday a lot, cool theme and no real clunkers. A few quibbles:<br /><br />- I don't buy HAS for "Is down with." Being down with something as I've heard it is to like or approve of it.<br /><br />- Just as I wouldn't like FORDCAR or NOKIAPHONE, STENGUN is a little meh.<br /><br />This is has been one of the most solid weeks of the LATC I can remember. Let's hope tomorrow keeps it going.John Wolfendenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759716236594908137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-35491135601303895442010-07-16T11:21:10.471-07:002010-07-16T11:21:10.471-07:00thanks for the kind and not-so-kind words. i didn&...thanks for the kind and not-so-kind words. i didn't think that BALALAIKA would be such a stumbling block, partly because of the beatles song. that, and i also thought the macbeth clue was easier; he kills duncan and becomes king fairly early on, and most of the play deals with how troubled he is by his guilt and how he gets his comeuppance.<br /><br />jamming ten Zs into a theme is no walk in the park, and i was hoping to avoid fill like ELIZ but was unable to totally do so. thanks, PG, for legitimizing it (people do actually use ELIZ and EDW and the like), but it's still ugly fill. i guess the extra Z in WHIZKID was self-inflicted, but it's so great i couldn't resist, and then when i thought of the clue i was pretty tickled. probably my favorite thing about this puzzle. or maybe 2nd, after the PIZZA->PIZZAZZ find.<br /><br />john, i don't think PG has a problem with REHAB or the clue. i believe she's making an amy winehouse reference, although that's just an educated guess. i don't know the song but i know i've seen it used to clue REHAB, i think twice.Joonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07825085755390339668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-71461803935997288292010-07-16T11:20:49.155-07:002010-07-16T11:20:49.155-07:00This is where JNH gets annoying. Firstly stating w...This is where JNH gets annoying. Firstly stating what is not agreed upon as the obvious truth and then expecting people to remember items in said debatable movie as a given. <br /><br />No BALALAIKA is not an obvious answer and even if it was in Citizen Kane which is ranked the #1movie by most movie critics, I still wouldn't know it.*David*noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-24448175710124471522010-07-16T10:51:11.570-07:002010-07-16T10:51:11.570-07:00@JNH
I believe the rating of "The Greatest Mo...@JNH<br />I believe the rating of "The Greatest Movie of the 20th Century" is up for debate.<br /><br />BALALAIKA's never showed up in:<br />"Gone With The Wind" or "Ben Hur."<br /><br />@twangster<br />The line is:<br />Back in the US, Back in the US, Back in the USSR ...Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-71018139628115759982010-07-16T10:43:04.594-07:002010-07-16T10:43:04.594-07:00This one left me a bit cold. I finally (and wron...This one left me a bit cold. I finally (and wrongly) guessed ACTIV for the killing scene.<br /><br />View from Weed, California is a mensanized clue for SHASTA.<br /><br />Had SMOG for HAZE for too long.<br /><br />The clue for the extremely crosswordy ADZ is also mensanized for no apparent reason other than an artificial degree of difficulty.<br /><br />ZODIAC is a "system"?Van55https://www.blogger.com/profile/15904942044695917615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-90126366514510907552010-07-16T10:37:20.055-07:002010-07-16T10:37:20.055-07:00How in the heck could you watch the movie "Do...How in the heck could you watch the movie "Doctor Zhivago" (the greatest movie of the 20th century) and not know what a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yd2PzoF1y8" rel="nofollow">BALALAIKA</a> is?JOHNSNEVERHOMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13447455788629988277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-41147133520511956522010-07-16T10:27:02.292-07:002010-07-16T10:27:02.292-07:00@davidL Maa sayers are Lambs when they growe up th...@davidL Maa sayers are Lambs when they growe up they say Baa. <br /><br />@PG Ichor See your childrens obbsession with the Percy Jacksonn Books.Middletown Bomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15606979602262118231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-451436516400277772010-07-16T10:17:25.693-07:002010-07-16T10:17:25.693-07:00Oh, show me round your snow peaked
mountain way do...Oh, show me round your snow peaked<br />mountain way down south<br />Take me to you daddy's farm<br />Let me hear you balalaika's ringing out<br />Come and keep your comrade warm<br />I'm back in the USSR<br />Hey, You don't know how lucky you are, boy<br />Back in the USSR<br />Oh, let me tell you honeyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-48740585265184572692010-07-16T10:05:54.824-07:002010-07-16T10:05:54.824-07:00I started very confidently. 1A = detox crossing 1...I started very confidently. 1A = detox crossing 1D = degs. It is hard to get right when you start so wrong.Sandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03503942337165432288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-81954192335118729912010-07-16T09:53:00.653-07:002010-07-16T09:53:00.653-07:00ZZZZZZZZZZZ ... I should have stayed in bed. Geezz...ZZZZZZZZZZZ ... I should have stayed in bed. Geezzzzz !!!<br /><br />Started with 1a & 1d being Detox and Degs. (degrees). Boy did that take a long time to fix.<br /><br />DaZZle Earnhardt got me the theme, confirmed by the Late FeZZes. Nice punz.<br /><br />Had ACT I_ for the longest time. Finally looked up BALALAIKA for the spelling.<br /><br />I wanted Seed for the Bird feeder. But those bears, URSA, changed that.<br /><br />Like Seth G., tried to fit Chaim Weizman, ISR 1st Pres. into 55d. Then realized "let the crosses" get it.<br /><br />The solve came like a slow OOZE.<br /><br />Any puZZle with the 3 Stooge phrase, NYUK and AREOLAS is acceptable to me.<br /><br />Good job JOON!<br />I'll TOAST you at sunset.<br /><br />I see the toady/sycophant is saying YESES again today.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-70027152319452518832010-07-16T09:23:54.413-07:002010-07-16T09:23:54.413-07:00I knew BALALAIKA. I do not know how I knew BALALAI...I knew BALALAIKA. I do not know how I knew BALALAIKA.<br /><br />Some day I won't start with HAIM Weizman, groan because they left off the 'C', then groan again when I switch it to EZER. Today, with about 15 zeds already in place, I...still started with HAIM.SethGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753036404140901368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-10186885411505534062010-07-16T09:19:26.216-07:002010-07-16T09:19:26.216-07:00I'm down with this puzzle. BALA-I still can&#...I'm down with this puzzle. BALA-I still can't spell it is a very cool word. I lost the coin flip and went with the 'V' instead of the correct 'I'.<br /><br />@PG, I think 'Is down with' is an old-timey way of saying someone is sick with XXXX or HAS XXXX. Dunno, maybe it's all in my head but that's how I interpreted it.Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14900988170432327664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-29505614450060293282010-07-16T08:27:31.888-07:002010-07-16T08:27:31.888-07:00Like PG said, lots of Z's = super-fun puzzle. ...Like PG said, lots of Z's = super-fun puzzle. And like Rex said, BALALAIKA! I was also thinking BALAKLAVA/BAKLAVA but couldn't figure out how to spell it or fit it into the grid. Excellent puzzle & one of my favorite LAT's from the past few months. And a Hogan's Heroes reference in the blog makes it a perfect Friday. :) Dismissed!Doug Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04235359276440866774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-4810645108391234032010-07-16T08:22:23.033-07:002010-07-16T08:22:23.033-07:00Let's see Friday, check.
LA Times, check.
Ad...Let's see Friday, check.<br /><br />LA Times, check.<br /><br />Add some letters to make a whacky phrase puzzle, check.<br /><br />ZZZZ-all right, better then most and the clueing was pretty fresh like for HOLA.*David*noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-28556269702242590292010-07-16T07:43:43.629-07:002010-07-16T07:43:43.629-07:005-something.
BALALAIKA! Could only retrieve BALAK...5-something.<br /><br />BALALAIKA! Could only retrieve BALAKLAVA. Cool word. Thought ICHOR was ICHER. This was a well-above-avg. LAT Fri.Rex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-15459654185286141442010-07-16T06:16:42.315-07:002010-07-16T06:16:42.315-07:00Once again, the mutant sheep that say 'maa'...Once again, the mutant sheep that say 'maa' -- I know you're doing this just to annoy me.<br /><br />But seriously, this was a nice puzzle. I even learned something -- ASADA means roasted! I mean, I eat ASADA-y entrees fairly often, but never knew what it meant.David Lnoreply@blogger.com