tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post1630636244324166302..comments2024-03-29T08:57:48.742-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Realm of Tolkien's Middle Earth — TUESDAY, Aug. 25 2009 — Dugongs manatees / Conqueror Valencia 1094 / Beav's big brotherRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-45495316066291414442009-09-29T12:21:19.003-04:002009-09-29T12:21:19.003-04:00Attention Canadians in syndication:
The "Di...Attention Canadians in syndication: <br /><br />The "Dinner Impossible" episode filmed at the 2009 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament will air on Food Network Canada this Sunday Oct 4 at 3:00pm, repeated at 10:00pm and 2:00am Monday (all times Eastern).Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699404861773455504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-27109128689042691842009-09-29T12:20:04.111-04:002009-09-29T12:20:04.111-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699404861773455504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-75498550581898078192009-08-26T23:21:47.936-04:002009-08-26T23:21:47.936-04:00Did anyone notice how a few days ago "El Cid&...Did anyone notice how a few days ago "El Cid" was the answer to the Jeoparady "clue of the day" that they place right next to the puzzle? Weird coincidence and the only reason I got 30Down.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10294025466570236851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71058556409838572812009-08-26T08:35:26.337-04:002009-08-26T08:35:26.337-04:00Earworm, anyone? It was only this morning, readin...Earworm, anyone? It was only this morning, reading the late-night posts, that I was reminded of the movie of "Lord of the Flies" (that's flies, not ring) and the boys marching around the island chanting, "Kyrie, kyrie, kyrie eleison" as they sank deeper into chaos.Bob Kerfufflehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02615811802419025933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-49458599944373020702009-08-26T03:53:38.857-04:002009-08-26T03:53:38.857-04:00Rex is dead right about SUBURBAN MALIBU, it's ...Rex is dead right about SUBURBAN MALIBU, it's redundant at best and not even that.<br /><br />No one thinks of Malibu as a suburb; rather a rural (more and more less so, though, and sadly at that) section of LA County.<br /><br />They named cars well in the '60's, would have liked to see a VALIANT COUGAR, for instance. Or a.. well, make and model sometimes form a good (?)clued answer- MERCURY COMET, DODGE DART, PLYMOUTH SATELLITE. Poetry in steel and glass and going like FURY.liquid el layhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00955796642605260715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61183341167822907332009-08-25T23:43:33.570-04:002009-08-25T23:43:33.570-04:00This week's relative difficulty ratings. See m...This week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio, the higher this week's median solve time is relative to the average for the corresponding day of the week.<br /><br />All solvers (this week's median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)<br /><br />Mon 6:18, 6:58, 0.90, 25%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 8:22, 8:31, 0.96, 49%, Medium<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:25, 3:42, 0.92, 30%, Easy-Medium<br />Tue 4:13, 4:23, 0.96, 45%, Mediumsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61134235547558381282009-08-25T23:21:04.565-04:002009-08-25T23:21:04.565-04:00Yeaaa Rex! No more malware, that I'm aware... ...Yeaaa Rex! No more malware, that I'm aware... <br /><br />@acme, thank you, I felt like an idiot since kyrie eleison only rang the faintest of bells...foodiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13052189131129098616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37508243250965986982009-08-25T22:37:30.362-04:002009-08-25T22:37:30.362-04:00So are they polar opposites: A Suburban vs. a Mali...So are they polar opposites: A Suburban vs. a Malibu, a Mustang vs. an escape etc.<br /><br />Hi @evil doug a shout out to you as well at 67a, maybe you should come back.<br /><br />The Riders of Rohan are a Lord of the Rings favorite so.. happy to see that clue. SEACOWS is a hold over bit of knowledge from when I got the Weekly Reader and WALLY was cool but Eddie Haskell... now there was stand up guy.<br /><br />I used to tease my sister that she should have a wide load sign, alas Cynthia did not fit in the little boxes.<br /><br />Just a Tuesday puzzle not to hot not to cold.dkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17317008233459295376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-61076263742204918332009-08-25T22:36:36.556-04:002009-08-25T22:36:36.556-04:00Rex, I apologize for being one of your under-alert...Rex, I apologize for being one of your under-alerting negligent readers. I was able to get into the site pre-warning message, and based on the volume of diligent comments, I self-edited. ;)HudsonHawkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16119485923243014649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62546381439358477182009-08-25T22:28:31.697-04:002009-08-25T22:28:31.697-04:00@END: You have a point, especially since it's ...@END: You have a point, especially since it's these accidental tidbits of information that I often enjoy on this blog (and which I myself so readily put forth).<br /><br />@acme: Just noticed you made the same point--so, we all are one happy family!Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-35922180566728999212009-08-25T22:26:20.036-04:002009-08-25T22:26:20.036-04:00Harrumph! on the one day I could get here early, I...Harrumph! on the one day I could get here early, I couldn't get thru...<br />all well now! But where is John's penis??<br /><br />Could NOT parse Accordelement for the life of me.<br />(Did the puzzle at 2 am, but still!)<br />I kept thinking ACCORDE Lement, so I thought maybe I was wrong and it was lemans...and bec lement sounded like Lament/lemon it seems a terrible name for a car...and on and on!<br /><br /><br />Loved the idea of hybrid names...<br />Tho agree somewhat clunky cluing (clues were clunkers?)...they should have been traded in for cash.<br /><br />I know zero about cars, but something about naming so at least some of the names rang a bell but I didn't get they were two different car names...I just thought they were bad names <br />(See Lement Lament).<br /><br />TO me, SuburbanMalibu seemed right up there with the Chevy Nova and the Fit (ick!) and the Aspire, as in "I aspire to one day have a nice car, but right now I have this piece of sh*t...".<br /><br />But as far as a theme went that I didn't fully understand, I still thought it was quite fab!<br /><br />@aviatrix, @pednsg<br />ABACI was in Patrick and my Sunday puzzle 2 weeks ago clued as "Summers" a clue I didn't get and had to ask both Patrick and Will to explain it to me...in my own puzzle!!!!<br /><br />@Elaine<br />Shocked folks know KYRIE Eleison which I only know from Greece 25 years+ ago...bec Kyriaki is Sunday (I think) Still had zero idea how to spell it...or eleison, for that matter.<br /><br />@Ulrich<br />I'm with NDE...I like the extra info, you never know what is going to trigger the answer...this whole what-is-or-is-not-an-Olaf thing seems a bit forced.<br />(insert the word malapop gratuitously here!) ;)<br /><br />@Bob Johnson<br />Nice to have RAIL as a "commuter's option", esp with all those SUV's mentioned...<br /><br /><br />@Rex<br />Your polo pic was reminiscent of the old (insert beleaguered ethnicity here) joke about why they discontinued<br />playing polo... bec their horses kept drowning...<br /><br />@Rex, @joho, @crosscan<br />OLLIE<br />WALLY<br />SHAKE<br />as a dance! Ha ha ha! That's why I love this blog!!!!!!!!!<br />(Except of course when there is a scary warning!)andrea corolla michaelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-30272957231717901752009-08-25T22:16:37.537-04:002009-08-25T22:16:37.537-04:00@Crosscan: Yes about kyrie eleison. There's a...@Crosscan: Yes about kyrie eleison. There's another reason why I was wrong: People who know ancient Greek, but never attended a Latin mass, may be helped by the additional info--exactly the people Tuesday puzzles are geared to:-) Not former altar boys like me...Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-54036183525885428012009-08-25T22:11:00.315-04:002009-08-25T22:11:00.315-04:00To Ulrich, re Olaf: even if the extra information ...To Ulrich, re Olaf: even if the extra information is useless within the puzzle, it can be instructive — the solver might say "neat, I didn't know that" even if the additional tidbit can't make the clue any easier. Compare "Hakuna ______" with "Hakuna ______ ('no problem', in Swahili)".<br /><br />NDE43Noam D. Elkiesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-47170180576456149432009-08-25T21:58:06.781-04:002009-08-25T21:58:06.781-04:00@Ulrich - I know Kyrie Eleison as a hit song by Mr...@Ulrich - I know Kyrie Eleison as a hit song by Mr. Mister. Not sure it is exactly an Olaf. <br /><br />"ODE To Billie Joe" is definitely an Olaf. You know it from the song or you don't know it.Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699404861773455504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-7686062406596208922009-08-25T21:52:57.218-04:002009-08-25T21:52:57.218-04:00Sorry guys. The hex I tried to put on Rex at Lolla...Sorry guys. The hex I tried to put on Rex at Lollapuzzoolla seems to have kicked in a little late.<br /><br />Finally home after too much TARMAC from AFAR. Today’s flight had plenty of OLLIE WALLY SHAKE. Read Lord of the Rings. Didn’t know ROHAN. Nice Tuesday puzzle.Jeffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01699404861773455504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-56596242238264297752009-08-25T21:38:52.396-04:002009-08-25T21:38:52.396-04:00I'm late as I'm taking warnings about malw...I'm late as I'm taking warnings about malware very seriously (via Safari, thank you very much). Two points that have not been made as far as I can see: The puzzle has 2 Olafs as I understand them:<br /><br />1) Those who remember the old R.C. Latin mass will know that the kyrie eleison was the only Greek part in it--they wouldn't need the additional "Lord have mercy". Conversely, for those who do not remember the old mass, "Lord have mercy" will be of no help.<br /><br />2) Those who remember the "Ode to Billie Joe" (as I do, fondly) do not need the additional "1967 #1 hit". Conversely, for those who do not remember the hit, the additional info will be of little help.<br /><br />To me, this looks like a futile attempt to make a puzzle somehow more Tuesday-ish--just a waste of ink IMHO.Ulrichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02086202853174403008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-38244173573292856292009-08-25T21:26:07.433-04:002009-08-25T21:26:07.433-04:00Hello all,
Update: this is the most recent "...Hello all,<br /><br />Update: this is the most recent "malware alert" msg I am getting from Google: <br /><br />"Status of the latest badware review for this site: A review for this site has finished. The site was found clean. The badware warnings from web search are being removed. Please note that it can take some time for this change to propagate."<br /><br />I appreciate your patience and help. I got what felt like hundreds of emails today alerting me of the problem, and much as I would have liked for them to stop at some point, I'd rather have vigilant readers over-alerting me than negligent readers under-alerting me. So thanks.<br /><br />rpRex Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-89668087481809579852009-08-25T21:00:06.432-04:002009-08-25T21:00:06.432-04:00"And straightway all the horns in the host we..."And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. <i>Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!</i>"<br /><br />One of my favorite moments.Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-55224135351651983552009-08-25T20:54:30.106-04:002009-08-25T20:54:30.106-04:00Another couple of "bollix" occurrences. ...Another couple of "bollix" occurrences. Seem to show up only on Public Television.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-92078756044944423722009-08-25T20:40:28.875-04:002009-08-25T20:40:28.875-04:00Hey Rex,
I just wanted to say it was very nice me...Hey Rex,<br /> I just wanted to say it was very nice meeting you on Saturday, and I just got to reading today's blog, and I thought, I should look to see what he said about Lollapuzzoola! So, I scroll down to Sunday, and I see my name! Thanks for the shout-out! It made my day.<br />P.s. I timed myself for today and had it in a little over 10 minutes. Accidentally had "a tad" on 19A instead of "a bit" which messed me up.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13020077697875165149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-58375274380312613442009-08-25T20:40:05.733-04:002009-08-25T20:40:05.733-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13020077697875165149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-13891436619414676022009-08-25T20:31:01.049-04:002009-08-25T20:31:01.049-04:00@Norm
Other than general comments that a problem ...@Norm<br /><br />Other than general comments that a problem exists, based on my time here, I'll bet RP would rather have the email.<br /><br />Same for errors in his write up.<br /><br />Keeps the blog "on topic", especially in the archival sense.<br /><br />Rex?<br /><br />.../GlitchGlitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14940000404613329056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-19192551172369984122009-08-25T20:09:36.949-04:002009-08-25T20:09:36.949-04:00final "alert" comment (from me) of the d...final "alert" comment (from me) of the day: subject to Rex saying otherwise, I bet it's easier on him if we post such general problems here rather than all emailing him?Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10032302346488486116noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-4089290886403968652009-08-25T20:04:30.138-04:002009-08-25T20:04:30.138-04:00@ Glitch - fascinating. I take your point.@ Glitch - fascinating. I take your point.retired_chemisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181126754941899228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-28665064991655124902009-08-25T19:23:35.110-04:002009-08-25T19:23:35.110-04:00@foodie: Irish has two words for red. rua and dear...@foodie: Irish has two words for red. <i>rua</i> and <i>dearg</i>. The first applies to red hair, hence the name Ruari (in English: Rory). The second is more generic, and could usefully be translated as crimson or scarlet (but not Scarlett O'Hara :-)<br /><br />I'm not aware of Rohan being an Irish name, or of the connection with Rowan, though both could be correct. OTOH I can say that <i>Ronan</i> definitely is Irish. It's my brother's name, but is not related to any meaning of "red".pochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08861361305246858918noreply@blogger.com