tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post5081048981469062987..comments2024-03-29T00:28:40.417-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: 1986 hit for Talking Heads / MON 10-31-16 / 1988 #1 hit for UB40 / 1990 hit that samples bass line from Queen/Bowie's Under Pressure / Old boys networkk meeting places Rex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85355076832056328252016-12-05T20:32:48.864-05:002016-12-05T20:32:48.864-05:00I don't want to die on the hill of three lette...I don't want to die on the hill of three letter answers, but <br />I MAY pull my SLED up it from time to time. Tilde and umlaut hills, not so much.rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33698443087904192332016-12-05T15:40:43.272-05:002016-12-05T15:40:43.272-05:00@Z - well, you know that 50% of the people are of ...@Z - well, you know that 50% of the people are of below average intelligence.fakt chekkernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33614298257862302016-12-05T14:47:24.840-05:002016-12-05T14:47:24.840-05:00Was Rex joking about BLACKBIRD? I wrote that in w...Was Rex joking about BLACKBIRD? I wrote that in without one cross letter - sheesh!<br /><br />Good Monday, Monday - can't trust that day.<br /><br />Had Series before SITCOM, but not for long. <br /><br />ASIAGO goes well with RED WINE. <br /><br />Yeah, KANE's SLED brings memories - wonder if Rex ever heard of the movie?<br /><br />Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for CrosswordsDiana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61374108777603493392016-12-05T14:35:04.212-05:002016-12-05T14:35:04.212-05:00@rain forest - Never underestimate the ignorance o...@rain forest - Never underestimate the ignorance of the American People.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85252518961435972382016-12-05T14:30:00.533-05:002016-12-05T14:30:00.533-05:00FRENETIC-ally fast waltz through the hit parade, n...FRENETIC-ally fast waltz through the hit parade, not Rex-time but my-time.<br /><br />KOPF required crosses, and wanted STElE before STERE.<br /><br />EASY but not BLAH.<br /><br />leftcoastTAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-3237523861192040842016-12-05T14:21:46.493-05:002016-12-05T14:21:46.493-05:00@Spacey - "Is this the hill I want to die on?...@Spacey - "Is this the hill I want to die on?". Good example. I wonder if the tilde guy gets deranged when a long vowel crosses a short vowel, or when a silent K crosses a hard one. Bit of a wonk. Personally, if I am going to die, and it's quite likely I will, I don't want to die on no hill. Too tiring.<br /><br />@Z - by osmosis, because of the plethora of times the song has been recorded, performed, and sung by millions over eons, I'd say that the percentage of those exposed to 39A is rather more than 13.<br /><br />@Lady Di - I think "germ of an idea" is pretty much in the language.<br /><br />Nice easy Monday puzzle today. Didn't know the sampled song, and if it was done by Vanilla Ice, it's just as well. Knew the others, and they are all memorable, for various reasons. Numerous NICE downs, and a paucity of -ese.<br /><br />Liked it.rain forestnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-33210967926341353272016-12-05T12:17:29.432-05:002016-12-05T12:17:29.432-05:00Talk about EASY. Got the theme while reading the M...Talk about EASY. Got the theme while reading the Marvin Gaye clue. Had enough crosses to not even read the clues for the other themers, didn’t take ESP. Knew all the hits and the standard in the MIDDLE.<br /><br />Glad that a few others saw citizen KANE on top of his SLED.<br /><br />Did I ever mention that I once OPENED for Johnny Cash? Wouldn’t want you to forget.<br /><br />For those who didn’t KNOW WONK(S), you’re a WONK when you KNOW it backwards and forwards. <br /><br />I had the Talking Heads on last week’s CASSETTETAPEs. 89.3 The Current (stream it) plays WILDWILDLIFE and others (Psycho Killer comes to mind) from time to time.<br /><br />Decent EASY Mon-puz.<br />rondonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-34220727833789191602016-12-05T12:11:27.511-05:002016-12-05T12:11:27.511-05:00From Syndieland yesterday - Sunday...
Mr.D 1:02 ...From Syndieland yesterday - Sunday...<br /><br />Mr.D 1:02 AM <br />ok. I give up....Someone "fill me in" (get it ?) on what the heck IDEAS (61 down) has to do with "What germs may turn into". tnx.<br /><br />You have a "germ" of a thought, that leads to an idea - this germ into idea motif shows up from time to time in puzzles<br /><br />D,LIWDiana,LIWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84818688601486417302016-12-05T12:02:23.276-05:002016-12-05T12:02:23.276-05:00@JHC: Yes, that corner was the last I filled in (b...@JHC: Yes, that corner was the last I filled in (but anyplace could've been last...or first), and I thought it was a smashing finish. "Rosebud..."<br /><br />Too bad we couldn't squeeze in the Four Seasons' "Bye Bye Baby," but we already have BYEBYE, plus BABY and BABA. Another pair of kissin' cousins, USER and USED, might bring objections. To me it's not that big a deal. Or as an old friend likes to say, "Is this the hill I want to die on?" I love that quote, and it stays with me. What a different world (BETTER!) it would be if people would just ask themselves that simple question. The guy who fusses about tildes would do well to ask it, for example.<br /><br />The puzzle was certainly Monday easy, no wind gusts messing up the order so far THIS week. I never heard of HAREM pants, but all I have to do is picture "I Dream Of Jeanie" and I get it. Always thought what a shame it was to hide THAT pair of legs. In fact, since I'm thinking about her, let's install Barbara Eden as DOD. Honorable mention might go to Ann-Margaret, star of a musical which not only fits in today's theme, but contains today's grade: "Bye Bye Birdie."spacecraftnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32952656641184028832016-12-05T10:30:52.151-05:002016-12-05T10:30:52.151-05:00MIDDLE AGE IDEAL
MERCYMERCYME you’re just ICEICEB...MIDDLE AGE IDEAL<br /><br />MERCYMERCYME you’re just ICEICEBABY,<br />with MENSCLUBS and a HAREM, I’ll LAND a wife.<br />So BYEBYEBLACKBIRD, I don’t mean MAY be,<br />here’s to REDREDWINE and a WILDWILDLIFE.<br /><br />--- BILL DURHAM<br />Burma Shavenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50682042414516765222016-12-05T10:15:13.228-05:002016-12-05T10:15:13.228-05:00Disliked the puzzle. I got everything from crosses...Disliked the puzzle. I got everything from crosses. Guessed at all the song titles. It was easy.NM Robinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14920756034993068695noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-32441577380600203772016-11-01T10:54:01.627-04:002016-11-01T10:54:01.627-04:00@Leapy and @JHC...thanks for pointing out KANE on ...@Leapy and @JHC...thanks for pointing out KANE on his SLED. Cool!Titahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16368251255494687496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-18378931027477333422016-10-31T20:51:17.904-04:002016-10-31T20:51:17.904-04:00Unusual that I start a Monday puzzle with problems...Unusual that I start a Monday puzzle with problems, but nowadays, I'm more likely to be in CARGO pants than HAREM pants. Also, as @lms ETAL have mentioned, Raleigh and DURHAM make up the Triangle with Chapel Hill, which makes us triplets instead of twins, and explains my wondering if Duluth might be the answer. The saving grace is that I can riff on @AliasZ's London <i>mot</i>, and sit back with the DURHAM DAIRY AIR.<br /><br />otoh, had no trouble with AWN because of all the Botany courses in my distant BiolSci track, nor with STERE because of hours I stered at the Weights and Measures on the inside covers of my Random House Dictionary (after I'd read my fill of DEFs, of course). Love the word 'avoirdupois'. <i>Have some peas, please</i><br /><br />Thought ASIAGO went NICEly with REDREDWINE, and also noticed Citizen KANE on his SLED, but sadly I missed @loren's WILD ABANDON: Oh what<i> ANNAS IAM!!</i><br /><br />Like others of my cohort, I only recognized two of the themers. (There may be more, but I'm abysmal with song titles.) There are some fine bluesy versions of BYEBYEB-BIRD, but my favourite MIDDLE EARworm of Marvin's is <i>Nightshift</i>, not by but about him. Noticed a couple of baby themers still in the budding stage and waiting to grow up: BBS and DDAY. The theme seems a slim concept, but tougher than it looks to find X X Y titles, so kudos to those who did. The only other one I could think of was <i>Cee Cee Rider</i>; apparently <a href="https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=cee+cee+rider+elvis&view=detail&mid=E01277D40E0C6D920A85E01277D40E0C6D920A85&FORM=VIRE" rel="nofollow">Elvis has not yet left the building.</a><br /><br />Best surprise were the stellar long Downs: NICE that FRENETIC MEN'S CLUBS ABANDONED their WILD, WILD LIFE.<br /><br />Now I have to put my BILL CAP AWN, for it's time I was EBBED. Thanks, PACman<br /><br />PS @Roo, I like 'Nasked'. Kind of a cross between Naked and Masked.Leapfingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14243620614139990887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-50088434225316846932016-10-31T20:28:12.634-04:002016-10-31T20:28:12.634-04:00I remember Bye Bye Blackbird from Liza with a Z, w...I remember Bye Bye Blackbird from Liza with a Z, where she sang it to some of the most Bob Fosse choreography ever Fossied. Alex B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16654272412197015441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71631023523022159112016-10-31T18:43:58.293-04:002016-10-31T18:43:58.293-04:00Thx @jae for the Talking Heads info. I am a big fa...Thx @jae for the Talking Heads info. I am a big fan . A solid Monday - had to do some thinking!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-26064782829077577692016-10-31T17:18:38.859-04:002016-10-31T17:18:38.859-04:00Speaking of typos/brain aneurisms, I just checked ...Speaking of typos/brain aneurisms, I just checked my post and realized I meant to say three of the five, not two of the four. I managed to avoid hearing ICE ICE BABY and I know my daughter, who is Rex's age, was intoTalking Heads, but not while I was around. Again, the Documentary Now take on the Talking Heads final concert Stop Making Sense is worth a look. jaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03385568014046336373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70962300748757520442016-10-31T16:35:56.282-04:002016-10-31T16:35:56.282-04:00@Masked... Damn typos....
Roo@Masked... Damn typos....<br /><br />RooRooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-67978492637422835172016-10-31T15:56:59.954-04:002016-10-31T15:56:59.954-04:00@Nasked&Avenger :-)
I think the G gets an aut...@Nasked&Avenger :-) <br />I think the G gets an automatic disqualification in the fact alot of -INGs show up. MAYbe? <br /><br />RooMonster RooMonsterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103892151115549684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38374517691325583172016-10-31T15:43:03.089-04:002016-10-31T15:43:03.089-04:00@relicofthe60s - ICE ICE BABY was released in 1990...@relicofthe60s - ICE ICE BABY was released in 1990 and was #1 on the Billboard Singles chart. It was also in the news as a high profile <a href="http://www.fairwagelawyers.com/most-famous-music-copyright-infringment.html" rel="nofollow">copyright infringement</a> case. The 9-21 year olds who made it a #1 hit are now 35-47 years old, an age group that is roughly 20% of the US population. Add in their parents and kids and you have 40-50% of the US who have directly experienced the chilly ear worm. On the other hand, the "old standard" crowd is down to 13% of the population at best. We may not like it, but Rex was exactly correct in his assessment.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16181544219511150272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-31344038655977191342016-10-31T15:22:09.401-04:002016-10-31T15:22:09.401-04:00This as as about as close to knowing every answer... This as as about as close to knowing every answer in a puzzle instantly as I can reasonably expect to get. I hesitated on 9D because it could have been FRENZIED. This caused me to check the Z out by looking at 31A. Only with the T did I think of FRENETIC. Misreading the 32A clue as "Religion" made me skip that one. 39A was the one themer I was unfamiliar with. I first put in NC for the start of 46A then erased the C and thought of the correct letters. AWN and KOPF were the only other things I couldn't get from the first letter.<br /> My time was 8:07. I reprinted and just read the across clues and filled in the answers. This took 3:53. I read and print slowly. The extra 3 seconds or so per clue difference between these two times is composed mostly of the above mentioned problems and the time I waste going from hand printing to the across and down lists This is especially true when alternating between the two lists. I'm aware it's inefficient but I don't really care. TMI for sure but your time is about the only interesting aspect of a Monday. <br /> Speaking of times @Rex must have been about 8 when that first Talking Heads album came out. Another reminder of what a late date we live in.puzzle hoardernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56737125235436957242016-10-31T15:12:23.978-04:002016-10-31T15:12:23.978-04:00It was fine but I really wish the constructor had ...It was fine but I really wish the constructor had used "Wild Wild West" by Will Smith instead of the "Wild Wild Life". Of course, that's a generational thing and it seems like most here would balk at that preference. I only knew the horrendous Vanilla Ice song. In what is I'm sure is another heresy, I recognize "Mercy Mercy Me" as a Kanye line.NeilDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10401358642381988529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-10085029072252612852016-10-31T15:11:12.204-04:002016-10-31T15:11:12.204-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.NeilDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10401358642381988529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-79307205698488221652016-10-31T14:08:33.706-04:002016-10-31T14:08:33.706-04:00I'm always surprised by what Rex doesn't k...I'm always surprised by what Rex doesn't know. "Bye bye blackbird" was my parents' music but I heard it frequently and it was catchy enough that it's stuck with me. We had the Tammy Grimes recording. I remember the Talking Heads movie being weird, but interesting. Did not know AWN.tea73https://www.blogger.com/profile/04949792626860120963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-41078400367442047312016-10-31T13:25:45.775-04:002016-10-31T13:25:45.775-04:00I'm totally with @Rex that both the movie and ...I'm totally with @Rex that both the movie and the album "True Stories", are the best! I found the movie delightfully absurd (though I'm not sure it has aged well) so I went out and bought the album, which is not a soundtrack but just the songs in the movie sung by David Byrne. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIiK1GX9WBI" rel="nofollow">Papa Legba</a> is just one of the great songs on it (WILD WILD LIFE is one of my <i>least</i> favorites.) Rompiendo la monotonia del tiempo!<br /><br />Had a rare sub-six minute Monday so those dupe words must have helped a lot in the solution of this. Not much ROT, not BLAH at all, thanks, Mr. Collins.<br /><br />If you want to go AWN over a Halloween-themed puzzle, you should try out M&A's Runt today - fun stuff!Teedmnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12832353448839187816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49551179841904929072016-10-31T13:07:42.804-04:002016-10-31T13:07:42.804-04:00Cute theme, but where were Please Please Me, Bad B...<br />Cute theme, but where were Please Please Me, Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Never Never Gonna Give You Up, Up Up and Away, or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?<br /><br />I knew BYE BYE BLACKBIRD, MERCY MERCY ME and heard of ICE ICE BABY, but not the other two.<br /><br />Today marks the 499th anniversary of Martin Luther (1483–1546) posting his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, thus starting the Protestant Reformation. Johann Sebastian Bach was the most prominent Lutheran composer, and the Kapellmeister of the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, from 1723 until his death in 1750. To celebrate this momentous occasion, here is his cantata<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFf998sTCe0" rel="nofollow"> Wahrlich, wahrlich, ich sage euch</a> (verily, verily, I say unto you).<br /><br />Yo-Yo Ma is not the performer.<br />AliasZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477396362209386037noreply@blogger.com