tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post5531584479707871093..comments2024-01-25T10:14:06.567-08:00Comments on L.A. Crossword Confidential: MONDAY, Jan. 4, 2009 — Gail GrabowskiOrangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12433254398377357737noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-85653175676381009942010-01-25T03:02:03.119-08:002010-01-25T03:02:03.119-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-23851949968240750052010-01-25T02:45:37.798-08:002010-01-25T02:45:37.798-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-91808767798160832552010-01-05T08:28:40.716-08:002010-01-05T08:28:40.716-08:00Had to F/U from yesterday
Love MALT WHISKY aka S...Had to F/U from yesterday <br /><br />Love MALT WHISKY aka Scotch, think of terroir more than "brands" @Tinbeni Care for peat? Me not so much.<br /><br />M*A*S*H is that show dead yet? ICK!Movie? Very good.<br /><br />Simpsons funnier than Family Guy to this 58-year old<br /><br />CURB funnier than SEINFELD<br /><br />I for one like old & new culture, pop or otherwise although "performers" crying out for attention get old.<br /><br />Lively day ...xyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-48908462989777165662010-01-04T20:34:55.161-08:002010-01-04T20:34:55.161-08:00@Sfingi
Hand up for not finding the Simpsons or Fa...@Sfingi<br />Hand up for not finding the Simpsons or Family Guy funny in the overall. Maybe they do have an episode worth watching now and then, but I would rather watch a M*A*S*H re-run.<br />Lady GaGa was on Leno the other night, the song sucked, the interview was unintelligible. That notwithstanding she apparently is the rage with a younger set. And I think that is great.<br />Just not my glass of Scotch, so to speak. <br />I also don't find "Rap Music" appealing. And I think that is OK, too.<br />Each generation has to make their own way in this journey.<br />Just because I don't have an iPod or need to text or twitter is accepable in my life.<br />Hell, when I came back from Zagreb I didn't get a cell phone for 3 years.<br />Atlantic City is also one of MY all-time favorite movies.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-75709781347069627082010-01-04T19:23:51.782-08:002010-01-04T19:23:51.782-08:00@Parsan - I couldn't remember who didn't l...@Parsan - I couldn't remember who didn't like the Simpsons. I don't watch them much, but they had one about the Rapture that was brilliant. On the other hand, I tried to watch the Family Guy again and it was disgusting in my estimation. The Disney-Pixar animations are actually beautiful. <br />Lady Gaga's created herself. Cher was Sonny Bono's Pygmalian.<br /><br />Toys - I bought hubster (or maybe myself) a Snorelax - Japanese toy. You yell at it and it snores. It has a whole personality and several episodes in Pokemon lore.<br /><br />In 1980 there was a movie called Atlantic City. (Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Robert Joy - also Wallace Shawn). That's in my adulthood but before some adults around now were born. I watched it 40+ times, obsessed with it. It told me so much about the people of my father's generation - what was exciting then compared to now. <br />Sex, music, are always new and always discovered.<br /><br />I like P. Diddy, but guess what -he's old. He's over 40! <br /><br />Oop - Jay Leno just mentioned The Squat and Gobble, a restaurant south of here on Route 20. Been there for decades.<br /><br />We certainly are tangential today.Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-31545646103601400352010-01-04T15:49:24.507-08:002010-01-04T15:49:24.507-08:00@Tinbeni - Thanks for adjusting the clue to fit my...@Tinbeni - Thanks for adjusting the clue to fit my silly answer. I have only seen A TO Z a zillion times, so you would think I would get it. I do have fun doing the puzzles and I know the three letter fill is necessary. I sometimes solve in the paper but only with a mechanical pencil with an eraser. I'm too chicken to use ink. I like solving on line because visually things fall in to place easier for me. I always try to use the expert level unless I get totally messed up. My average time is about 12 to 15 early week and 40 to 60 by the end of the week. It's much better than the four hours I used to spend on a Sunday puzzle. That's the other thing about on line, you have a little clock going which you can pause if you want to go pour another cup of coffee.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-86864557367244926782010-01-04T15:17:37.219-08:002010-01-04T15:17:37.219-08:00@Crazycatlady
Where was the wizard?
AT OZ.
See you...@Crazycatlady<br />Where was the wizard?<br />AT OZ.<br />See you didn't miss the answer, the constructor miss the clue!<br /><br />Those numerous little 3 letter words are used to assist the real clues we like to solve.<br />That is why complaining about EMU (that have green eggs), ERR, SSN(s),ETC is trite. The puzzles need them. The same can be said if the inevitable Roman Numeral clue pops up. No biggie, just fill it in, and get to the theme, the real words to un-clue.<br />And remember to have fun!!!<br /><br />PS - 9 minutes, I'm impressed. I do these in ink, on paper. Someday I will do one on the computer.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-28900996460655163262010-01-04T15:11:33.705-08:002010-01-04T15:11:33.705-08:00Sorry SEAN Combs.Sorry SEAN Combs.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-56974620284426652822010-01-04T15:10:04.894-08:002010-01-04T15:10:04.894-08:00One cute moment I want to share regarding the gene...One cute moment I want to share regarding the generations and pop culture. My dad was 89, very ill in a nursing home. When I would travel back east, I would sit with him and read him the paper since he was almost blind. One day I was reading him an article about Shawn Combs and he looked at me and said "You mean Puff Daddy, P Diddy?" I nearly fell off my chair.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-85262129727216213852010-01-04T14:55:50.266-08:002010-01-04T14:55:50.266-08:00@Parsan Thank you for pointing out that some of us...@Parsan Thank you for pointing out that some of us are not old enough to remember ABIE'S Irish Rose. All I could come up with on that recent clue was MY WILD Irish Rose and even that's before my time.<br /><br />@Tinbeni - all those little words are what helped me solve the puzzle quickly, so they are my friends. I have actually, thanks to reading this blog, got to to the point where I can fill a lot of that stuff in atomatically. It is a dramatic change over where I was a year ago. Of course, there was that recent AT OZ blunder, I'm embarrassed to say.<br /><br />I still think the best folk and rock music was in the 60's and 70's pre disco. But I enjoy current material as well. Again, that is thanks to my 20 something children (they are in their 20s, I don't have 20) who keep me on top of things.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-89890925434069977222010-01-04T14:28:44.122-08:002010-01-04T14:28:44.122-08:00Oh yes. I grew up in the 50's and most of our...Oh yes. I grew up in the 50's and most of our pop culture was just awful, but it was "our" awful pop culture!Parsannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-46393295572733749032010-01-04T14:22:30.344-08:002010-01-04T14:22:30.344-08:00@Sfingi--Don't know if the Simpson's comme...@Sfingi--Don't know if the Simpson's comment was aimed at me, but I'm watching NCIS when it's on and that comes down to this point: it's a matter of choices. Chosing to only watch old movies, reading only early 20th C. books, and talking only about the good-old-days will land you in a nursing home. Stephen Colbert can be hilarious and Lady Gaga is a modern day Cher, both ladies a la Carmen Miranda. Fun entertainment! Choices should be about talent. All eras have had performers who make you want to shout "The King wears no clothes". But maybe we are just out of the loop.<br /><br />And we, whatever age we are, never totally "get" the culture that came before, or that which follows. We're not really supposed to. Each generation invents itself based on artistic evolution, technology, economic and political developments. A Cosa Nostra kind of "our thing". My Father always said "Don't judge what you don't understand. Investigate and then decide." <br /><br />@Rex--We're not all old enough to remember Abie's Irish Rose: Broadway 1922-1927 and radio 1942-1944.Parsannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-43388310482134154082010-01-04T14:13:09.813-08:002010-01-04T14:13:09.813-08:00@Crazycatlady
How could you ignore BUCS, AKA, ALAI...@Crazycatlady<br />How could you ignore BUCS, AKA, ALAIS (yuks), WEEDS, PIER, DONE!!!<br /><br />OK ... COMMON SENSE (the least common thing I have ever encountered) tells me I should just get ready for baseball season.<br /><br />And my new invention, Scotch ON TAP!!!<br /><br />... and a SCONE with JAM sounds yummy ...Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-69208243025668515432010-01-04T13:54:58.569-08:002010-01-04T13:54:58.569-08:00Wow - all this SCONE talk is making me about to en...Wow - all this SCONE talk is making me about to end my diet that I've been on since 6:00 this morning! I like the one's with chocolate in them. <br />@Parsan & Carol - here in SoCal it IS sunny everyday and I getting tired of it, I tell you. I want some weather damn it! Just kidding, kind of.<br />@Parsan as I was reading the posts I thought the same as you re: Vintage - like fine aged wines (or Scotch).<br /><br />In regard to pop culture - It seems we are seeing a little less of it in the LAT than we were for a while. I don't mind it. If my kids are around they can help me with that, even though they don't have a clue who Adlai Stevenson was and what his middle initial is. I'm still working on Inside Dope 1 so I can do Inside Dope 2.<br /><br />I did this puzzle at 2:00 a.m. in nine minutes which I think is my all time record. However, I was kind of bummed when I woke up in the morning and didn't have a puzzle to do.<br /><br />I liked it a lot for a Monday. Liked CASE STUDY, PRESALE, MARTIAL ARTS, WEEDS, NOMAD, LEMON PEEL and JAM PACK.<br />JAM Hmmm - now I'm thinking about those SCONES again.CrazyCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00245025301434920905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-72046946641129183692010-01-04T13:43:35.764-08:002010-01-04T13:43:35.764-08:00@Sfingi
I agree with almost everything you just sa...@Sfingi<br />I agree with almost everything you just said about the toys of today. I didn't play "kick the can" I had baseball & football and the beach. <br />When I went into acctg. we did all spreadsheets by hand (had to think!) now I can knock off in an hour what would have taken me 3 days (we have to think even more!).<br /><br />But ...<br />Stephen Colbert is all good.<br />The Simpsons don't suck, they reek. Totally freshmen level humor.<br />Lady GaGa is average cute and obnoxious. So was Madonna. But they are marketed very well.<br />And ...<br />There are many more brands of Scotch!!! <br />The ganja is 1000% smooooother.<br /><br />And ... IT's ALL GOOD!!!!Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-78081134693258747662010-01-04T13:26:20.184-08:002010-01-04T13:26:20.184-08:00Frank Zappa (Sicilian) said "It is not necess...Frank Zappa (Sicilian) said "It is not necessary to imagine the world ending in either fire and ice. There are two other possibilities. One is paperwork, the other is nostalgia." <br /><br />We all gravitate to our own personal nostalgia, but we should fight this. There is a lot of good new art out there, and much clever critiquing, political and artistic. There's nothing more pathetic than an old dude in the nursing home laying some of his own on everyone else, repeatedly.<br />I've known all my life that I have unusual tastes and am pleasantly surprised that one other person enjoys what I do; and I love to hear new weird stuff from others.<br /><br />By the way, fellow geezers, the Simpsons don't suck, Stephen Colbert isn't half bad, Lady Gaga is adorable, for a start. The toys of today (cuddly or techno) are so much better than anything we had. <br /><br />Rex - so what's your new book about?Sfinginoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-1146128289130108622010-01-04T13:21:49.183-08:002010-01-04T13:21:49.183-08:00My wife's SCONEs are triangular, not round. B...My wife's SCONEs are triangular, not round. Biscuits are only good if you load them with all sort of fat, that's what they have in common with SCONEs.<br /><br />A biscuit is THE best thing you can buy at the Golden Arches. The highest level of cr*p at the cr*p store.<br /><br />Scottish Oat Biscuits are good for the constipated, more fibre than pure sawdust and having worked as a Carpenter, I know of what I speak, much more tasty! Or..... should I say SAPID - that was definitely my word/bullet/point of note yesterday and at 1A to boot!<br /><br />mmmmmmm SAPID SCONESxyzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08287781952915413013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-75145984060345849312010-01-04T13:10:55.923-08:002010-01-04T13:10:55.923-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.JOHNSNEVERHOMEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13447455788629988277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-73704130198153380912010-01-04T12:41:32.485-08:002010-01-04T12:41:32.485-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-54213349308641030582010-01-04T12:37:37.923-08:002010-01-04T12:37:37.923-08:00Good puzzle, but I managed to mess up early in the...Good puzzle, but I managed to mess up early in the game. Had the P in place with ON TAP and without checking some of the crosses put in mint sprig for llD and men for 11A. Obviously, all that had to come out for me to proceed.<br /><br />Sure do love a good SCONE loaded with lots of butter and jam. mmmm!chefwenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03999206352243329280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-89408727389477343522010-01-04T12:30:53.733-08:002010-01-04T12:30:53.733-08:00A scone is not a biscuit - a biscuit to anyone fro...A scone is not a biscuit - a biscuit to anyone from the UK or the colonies can be a Digestive Biscuit, shortbread,Hob Nobs, whatever. Scone is pronounced "skown?" in the south and "scone" north of the border ie Scotland.<br /><br />In NZ we pronounce it scone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-10946072681634994502010-01-04T12:30:00.682-08:002010-01-04T12:30:00.682-08:00@Rex
Soooo, how do you really feel about @Anon'...@Rex<br />Soooo, how do you really feel about @Anon's discussion? I'm only kidding.<br /><br />I recently started doing the NYT. I was able to complete 7 of 8 so far. But whereas it was a bit testier maybe, I didn't find it to be so far "out-there" to not being enjoyable.<br /><br />It was the equivalence of being a Starter-v-Substitute on a Pro Baseball team. They both 'can-play' and play well. <br /><br />Funny thing is, the NYT was easier than this LAT puzzle today (or should I say NEATO!).<br /><br />As an oldster, I may have a harder time with some of the "pop" culture of today, but no more than my Father did with my Beatles/Vietnam era crap.<br /><br />It is ALL GOOD!!!Tinbenihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14661395078047234853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-6152913221237602842010-01-04T12:21:50.919-08:002010-01-04T12:21:50.919-08:00Hear, hear, Rex!
Be a little more openminded, ano...Hear, hear, Rex! <br />Be a little more openminded, anonymouse. There is so much to learn about so many things, every day!machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-28786502490054772162010-01-04T12:17:47.865-08:002010-01-04T12:17:47.865-08:00Pretty good puzzle. So there is the other lemon.
...Pretty good puzzle. So there is the other lemon. <br /><br />I've been so well trained that I too thought of Homer Simpson right away.... <br /><br />My first reaction to the biscuit/scone was: a scone is very different from a biscuit! Then I thought about it and a scone is not dissimilar in shape from the American biscuit (the one with baking soda, sometimes buttermilk), including the way they are cut out of the dough.<br />Excellent with clotted cream and good preserves. For breakfast I like crumpets, though, with little holes for the butter. They are fun to make on a griddle.<br /><br />Sorry, I'm in a food mood. A huge pot of Dutch pea soup is simmering on the stove.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8626052240584383873.post-87297808665594539172010-01-04T12:02:35.098-08:002010-01-04T12:02:35.098-08:00a. I can find so-called "historical" ans...a. I can find so-called "historical" answers with google just as easily as I can find "pop culture" ones. But I never use google at all, so the distinction is largely irrelevant to me.<br /><br />b. The equation of "pop" with "trash" is exactly the kind of simple-minded, mush-brained nonsense that I have no respect for. When people complain about "pop culture" it's usually got a "kids these days / in my day / get off my lawn" tone to it, and what the person really means is "YOUR pop culture is trash." People Love the pop culture *they* grew up with. ABIE's Irish Rose and what not ...<br /><br />"It ought to be about knowledge and smarts." — I don't even know what this means, and I'm not sure you do either. I think "Watchmen," for instance, is one of the greatest pieces of writing of the 20th century. Many of you would squawk at such an assertion. I think that makes you ignorant. But YOU surely don't think that way. If a clue refers to "Watchmen," I would think it literary, and you (hypothetical you) would think it "trash." It's subjective.<br /><br />Plenty of brilliant people couldn't solve a crossword to save their lives, and don't care. I don't look to crosswords to confirm my intelligence. I have a loving mother who does that just fine. Imagining that crosswords are a barometer of intelligence ... that's just sad. Tyler Hinman is a Very smart guy, but I doubt he's smarter than every other smart person by several orders of magnitude (the way his 5 consecutive xword championships would suggest). <br /><br />I assume I'm good at puzzles bec. I do them a lot and enjoy them. I did them a lot and enjoyed them under old school / old-fashioned / arcana-loving editors like Maleska, and I do them a lot and enjoy them under a broader-minded but no less rigorous editor like W.S. <br /><br />People who grouse about the NYT being "mean" or pop culture being "trash," just be honest — you don't respect what people read / watch / care about today. The world is going to hell. You wish it were some imaginary time when the world had a higher brow. That's nostalgia (a primary topic of "Watchmen," by the way) and — predicated as it is on a false image of the past — it is toxic.<br /><br />I was supposed to be working on my book today. This post will have to count as some of that work :)<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.com