tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post2673999421980446973..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: W E D N E S D A Y December 8, 2010 Dan NaddorOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-16003029273533180882010-12-08T19:21:36.712-08:002010-12-08T19:21:36.712-08:00It is "Are WE A pair?" Dan was right.It is "Are WE A pair?" Dan was right.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-29373358245984344212010-12-08T18:40:21.472-08:002010-12-08T18:40:21.472-08:00Lieberman is that dude on ALF.Lieberman is that dude on ALF.Tootienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-73358099070244571782010-12-08T18:25:47.754-08:002010-12-08T18:25:47.754-08:00I thought Lieberman was DROOPY. Whoa SethG. Kermi...I thought Lieberman was DROOPY. Whoa SethG. Kermit's way cuter. Tsk.<br />@Mac I think you're right about "Aren't we a pair. I'll look it up after I get my chicken cacciatora going. @AJoe - I always liked that Janis Ian song. Talk about a flash from the past. Yikes.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-83717219701526900462010-12-08T18:18:18.866-08:002010-12-08T18:18:18.866-08:00Here's an ear implant to haunt y'all for a...Here's an ear implant to haunt y'all for a few hours. "Seventeen", by Janis Ian. <br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CziYn0n6zkI<br /><br />This song was in my mind all night long. Curiously, when I got up this morning here in NE, the first temp I saw was 17. Hmmm?<br /><br />The theme of the song also fits the mood here today pretty well. We can't all be famous, or the best at solving whatever it is we solve in our everyday humdrum lives. Some of us are simply doomed to be ordinary. It's a burden, but it's one that must be borne. Shit!Avg Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-38683559275056972010-12-08T17:47:09.819-08:002010-12-08T17:47:09.819-08:00I don't understand the Lieberman dwarf comment...I don't understand the Lieberman dwarf comments. He's clearly Kermit.SethGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13753036404140901368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-2466920108877109602010-12-08T17:29:30.442-08:002010-12-08T17:29:30.442-08:00Lieberman as sneezy? Should have been grumpy. Pers...Lieberman as sneezy? Should have been grumpy. Persona-non-grata to many of us in CT.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-71275709917738169382010-12-08T17:21:38.564-08:002010-12-08T17:21:38.564-08:00Easy tuesday fare. One of my best times yet. Finis...Easy tuesday fare. One of my best times yet. Finished in 6:552!!! Not a big fan of Ibar either. must be in the same category as a skyhook. CiaoTom in the Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14221811513153032014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-82483229917555282012010-12-08T17:16:29.995-08:002010-12-08T17:16:29.995-08:00DIPLODIA Tip Blight is a pine tree disease that is...DIPLODIA Tip Blight is a pine tree disease that is caused by the fungus Sphaeropsis sapinea. I get involved quite a bit with plant pathology at the Morton Arboretum... I could go on and on with this topic but I won't. There's enough expert and REXpert babble going on here so you don't need my comments to bore you, but in view of what @Janet said above, I thought that was kind of interesting (at least to me it was). DIPLODIA has become a very serious problem in Christmas tree farms, so expect to see the prices of pine trees to accelerate in the near future. In the trade we refer to it merely as DIPLO.JOHNSNEVERHOMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13447455788629988277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-61302817848267841472010-12-08T17:09:58.409-08:002010-12-08T17:09:58.409-08:00This is one of my favorite Dan Naddor puzzles. It ...This is one of my favorite Dan Naddor puzzles. It was smart and clean. Loved "aplomb", had a little trouble after I put in Boy Soldiers (thought it was another teen book I never read since I was an adult when I arrived). I still don't understand the BBL, but it was not to be denied by the crosses. <br /><br />I was puzzled by the "send in the clowns" quote; I like the song and always thought she sang: Aren't we a pair, sort of sarcastically. <br /><br />Never seen one dreg, and I have to really study @Seth's first sentence. <br /><br />PG: you may just have lost your job.....machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-1972721457199311382010-12-08T16:38:23.364-08:002010-12-08T16:38:23.364-08:00Finally brought my germs to the party and did the ...Finally brought my germs to the party and did the puzzle. I'm feeling SNEEZY, DROOPY and kind of like the DREGs. I really enjoyed (as always) this DN puzzle and PG's write up. I especially liked the Potter puppets clip. Gave me a big YUK. Hand up for liking "Send In the Clowns" but then I'm into Broadway tunes. "Lady in Red" I agree, the other kind of YUCK. Not crazy about MEG RYAN either.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-3904620976168423482010-12-08T15:05:36.256-08:002010-12-08T15:05:36.256-08:00UDO / DIPLO is the price you pay for stacking thos...UDO / DIPLO is the price you pay for stacking those theme answers. I think it was a fair price today. I liked this better than most DNs.<br /><br />Commenting tip:<br />Commenters should not write essays (or cut-and-paste material) longer than the write-up itself. If you have such an inclination, get your own blog and post there. It's tedious (yes, I could, and do, ignore them, but still...). Know when to say when. Makes it more likely people will take the time to read what you're saying. <br /><br />Cross-posting your comments to several other blogs is another tedious tactic (how desperate are you to be heard/seen?). Doing so means you aren't really responding to the write-up, but just sounding off. ... But most here don't do that, and the ones that do, I've long since stopped reading.<br /><br />Keep up good work, PG. ~RPRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-28144497419588724762010-12-08T14:56:49.192-08:002010-12-08T14:56:49.192-08:00@You... How's things it Texas?@You... How's things it Texas?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-70635837906997295402010-12-08T13:53:06.782-08:002010-12-08T13:53:06.782-08:00Maybe Mr. "He Who Must Not Be Named" can...Maybe Mr. "He Who Must Not Be Named" can't find this board but I can. Where did you come across that Harry Potter puppet thing? I ask because my kids watch/quote/perform it non-stop. I had no idea it was a thing. I just thought it was something they'd randomly run across when they were messing with their mother's Apple Phoneamajig.<br /><br />But that's not the reason I'm here. I'm here in my ceaseless quest to track down all you Billy Joel smearers and bring you to justice. Plus, those other two songs are pretty good, too. In fact, those are my three favorite songs of all time.You had to be a big shot, din't ya?, had to prove it to the crowdnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-20885451015449098092010-12-08T13:13:02.084-08:002010-12-08T13:13:02.084-08:00All this discussion of "Clowns" has me l...All this discussion of "Clowns" has me listening to it. I always liked Judy Collins, as well as that song. Sorry PG, but here it is (ignore at your leisure:-) <br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbRnMqRHveU<br /><br />Also, on the topic of Judy Blue Eyes, if you like her, you probably also enjoy her version of "Who Knows Where the Time Goes". The original of that song, by Sandy Denny with Fairport Convention, is far better IMO. Give a listen:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2xODjbfYw8Avg Joenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-91713489771149680172010-12-08T13:06:43.854-08:002010-12-08T13:06:43.854-08:00My last two letters were the initial GO in 3D. I ...My last two letters were the initial GO in 3D. I had MPH instead of MPG for "Rd. traveler's stat" and ORA instead of ORO meaning gold. But HAOGLE didn't make much sense. (It's only a G away from HAOLE, though, which I saw recently in another puzzle.)<br /><br />SE gave me trouble too, with I-BAR (for which I first guessed STUD) and AME. BBL was pretty much a gimme, though. Further on I-BAR: I'd never heard of it either, but one definition is <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=1QA-MuOcjN4C&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=ibar+ibeam&source=bl&ots=uqshbMXEtc&sig=8TWwlplNXm1RBAONWgc-pmHiH68&hl=en&ei=SNT_TN6pOJHOngfI0djYCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="nofollow">a small I-beam. Also known as I-iron</a>.<br /><br />Carefully <i>not</i> watching the Potter Puppet Pals video. I don't know that song, and if it's gonna get stuck in my head, I don't want to!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.lansingsailing.org/Assets/Images/LightningSpinnakersFlying.jpg" rel="nofollow">Spinnakers</a> are big, baloony, usually brightly coloured SAILs. They're only used when you're sailing directly downwind (which is known in sailing jargon as "running before the wind").<br /><br />@JW: Agreed about "ploy" not suiting RAISE. A ploy is <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ploy" rel="nofollow">an action calculated to frustrate an opponent or gain an advantage indirectly or deviously; a maneuver</a>. That arguably applies to BLUFF, but it doesn't apply to RAISE, which is simply part of the mechanics of poker. Unless one concedes that the clue itself was BLUFFING :-)<br />(I say that "ploy" only "arguably" applies to BLUFF because bluffing is a well accepted and totally legal part of poker strategy, whereas "ploy" connotes something not quite kosher.)<br />A one-letter change would have made this clue unexceptionable: "Poker plAy".<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplodocus" rel="nofollow">DIPLOdocus</a> is my only DIPLO- word too. Does <i>every</i> little boy go through a dinosaur phase?<br /><br />@PG: Aww, I don't find "Send in the Clowns" <i>that</i> bad. It's not my favourite song by any means, but it isn't nearly as awful as, say, Marty Balin's "Hearts" (*cringe*). I'm just sayin'... I agree about "Just the Way You Are", though; I can't abide Billy Joel, with the notable exception of "Piano Man".<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_Irae" rel="nofollow">Dies IRAE</a> ("Day of Wrath") is a medieval hymn dealing with the Last Judgment. IIUC, it was part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass until that was reformed in the sixties by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vatican_Council" rel="nofollow">Vatican II</a>.<br />You might have heard <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fMHms5Cvsw" rel="nofollow">the Gregorian melody</a>, or music inspired by it, since it's often quoted in other works. I'ts been used in a few movies, too, like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD66mg5_reg" rel="nofollow">The Seventh Seal</a>.<br />As is typical, there have been other musical settings of Dies Irae's words over the centuries. I wanted to give you Wendy (née Walter) Carlos's "Country Lane", which is a variation on the Gregorina Dies Irae melody, mashed up with "Singin' in the Rain", but YouTube doesn't have it, so here instead is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOAaNFuVi3c" rel="nofollow">a rather Orffesque setting</a> I just found; it's by Karl Jenkins, from 2005.Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-26126176743905669942010-12-08T12:11:50.482-08:002010-12-08T12:11:50.482-08:00Diplo is a term used by scientists.
http://wiki.a...Diplo is a term used by scientists.<br /><br />http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_diplo_mean<br /> in bacteria, it means "double"Janetnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-84188972092650932512010-12-08T11:31:36.667-08:002010-12-08T11:31:36.667-08:00Good Nador puzzle today. ONETOTEN is a new answer...Good Nador puzzle today. ONETOTEN is a new answer for me, I liked it. DIPLO is new to me, as well, good to learn.Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14900988170432327664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-57006875516224196692010-12-08T11:22:34.170-08:002010-12-08T11:22:34.170-08:00Re 49A "Japanese veggie"/UDO, I smiled i...Re 49A "Japanese veggie"/UDO, I smiled in agreement at PG's "So much learning going on today!" because:<br />1. UDO as an actual word is perhaps more familiar to CW-ers (CW101?) than to buffs of Japanese cuisine.<br />2. The green stuff floating in your miso soup is much more likely to be scallions, shallots, leeks, green onions, or even some kind of seaweed than UDO.<br />2. Your typical Japanese citizen is more likely to know UDO as the plant seen on the hillsides of East Asia than as a "veggie" or even an herb. (BTW, the herbal use of the UDO root is for relief of stress.)<br />3. The only actual translation into English that I was able to find was "Japanese spikenard" and spikenard is NOT (I may be wrong!)your everyday veggie or herb.<br />4. The ONLY usage given in my Kenkyusha J-E dictionary is "a big gawky [useless] fellow" in the idiom "udo no taiboku" (= a large udo tree (it's 2-3 meters tall, but is not a woody plant)) as in: He's like a great UDO tree, good only for shade.<br />5. At this point I was thinking "Aha, "veggie" = "couch potato" until I remembered that a potato isn't really a vegetable at all.<br />6. Although udon (thick wheat noodles, usually in a clear stock) and miso soup are standard items in Japanese cuisine around the world, there is absolutely no etymological or usage connection between UDO and udon.<br />7. TMI, FWIW.badrognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-7730155369350301002010-12-08T10:45:29.755-08:002010-12-08T10:45:29.755-08:00@Mokus: Joe Lieberman has been compared to the car...@Mokus: Joe Lieberman has been compared to the cartoon Droopy Dog quite a bit, particularly on the Daily Show. <br /><br />Love love love Harry Potter Puppet Pals. <br /><br />PG, I'm embarrassed to admit I once used SEND IN THE CLOWNS to audition for a school musical. Why that song when I agree with you about its awfulness? Because it's in a low register (suitable for us altos) and has an extremely limited range (suitable for us extremely limited singers.) No, I didn't get the part. Duh.<br /><br />Hand up for the stab in the dark on the D in DIPLO/UDO.Margaretnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-79035839259014167792010-12-08T10:43:28.565-08:002010-12-08T10:43:28.565-08:00Joe, nice observation about the alternate meaning ...Joe, nice observation about the alternate meaning for REEL. It's pretty unusual to have two valid interpretations for a clue that lead to the same word...I'll bet Dan did it intentionally.John Wolfendenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07759716236594908137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-77019591561203448002010-12-08T10:42:36.231-08:002010-12-08T10:42:36.231-08:00Didn't think of diplodocus (doh!) but did come...Didn't think of diplodocus (doh!) but did come up with diplotene, a phase of Meiosis... the only other one I can remember is pachytene...<br /><br />Interesting choice to go with synonyms being used literally, but it makes for phrases that are very colourful... Fun!Gareth Bainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17770425154034935768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-13126023922070317522010-12-08T09:55:06.344-08:002010-12-08T09:55:06.344-08:00I absolutely ADORE "Send in the Clowns."...I absolutely ADORE "Send in the Clowns." Fantastic song, and I had the pleasure of watching Bernadette Peters perform it on Broadway earlier this year in "A Little Night Music," the show it is from. Have you ever had the opportunity to see the song sung as part of the play? Might change your mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-73191352032873765072010-12-08T09:41:25.198-08:002010-12-08T09:41:25.198-08:00Quite a smooth puzzle only spot that I felt was a ...Quite a smooth puzzle only spot that I felt was a bit awkward was the SE with IBAR, AME, and BBL. I put in ABOU for once without needing the crossings. No real resistance anywhere but fun nevertheless.*David*noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-53680696414553850022010-12-08T09:37:19.937-08:002010-12-08T09:37:19.937-08:00@Nighthawk - Think of a rod and reel when casting ...@Nighthawk - Think of a rod and reel when casting for fish. This way it actually makes sense.Joe the Fishermannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-49773014026187565322010-12-08T09:24:22.024-08:002010-12-08T09:24:22.024-08:00Hand up for DuPLO at 50D and bluff at 32A first.
...Hand up for DuPLO at 50D and bluff at 32A first.<br /><br />Didn't see the teensy, tiny, itty bitty, wee theme until completed, but didn't really need it. Fun theme anyway.<br /><br />Really liked BOOKMARK under GOOGLE.<br />Also liked MEG RYAN and APLOMB.<br /><br />Thanks, @PG. CW101 came to the rescue once again for IRAE. Or maybe I've been going to the wrong church. Not in my hymnbook, anyway. But in my CW101 arsenal.<br /> <br />Quibble: Thought 56D was a fine word, but I don't get the connection between it and the clue. Well, not totally true, I understand it, but just don't think it makes very much sense. Wanted "call" or something else. Did casting agents really require a "highlight REEL" at some point in the past rather than headshots and an audition? The rest of the fill seemed so fresh and current, I would have thought if, today, a casting agent wanted footage, an actor would just send a CD, DVD, or maybe email a YouTube clip or something similar. Perhaps this was a reference to a "screen test" REEL? At best, the clue/answer connection just seemed klunky to me. I just would have clued it differently, perhaps to fishing equipment, or the Virginia dance or Highlight ____.Nighthawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11898505137434147165noreply@blogger.com