tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post4474459474642378299..comments2024-03-28T13:00:19.785-04:00Comments on Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle: Berry touted as superfood / MON 1-17-11 / Fully extended ballerina / Westernmost of Aleutians / Traveling show of 1970s 2000s originated in CairoRex Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16145707733877505087noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-51035950753241411712011-02-25T13:05:02.540-05:002011-02-25T13:05:02.540-05:00@Waxy in Montreal and fikink, many thanks for the ...@Waxy in Montreal and fikink, many thanks for the encouragement. Now I'll be on the lookout for posts from syndication-land at the the bottom of the page.Palmdaliannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71392508697507000432011-02-22T03:51:37.635-05:002011-02-22T03:51:37.635-05:00@ Bill from NJ - always very good to hear from you...@ Bill from NJ - always very good to hear from you, <br /><br />Seems like it's been awhile (for me at least). <br /><br />Lots of Holiday revelers here today - I just came in to verify that this was tough for Monday. Hello y'all 5 weeks later folks.<br /><br />- - RobertAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62502162177853413442011-02-21T23:59:41.266-05:002011-02-21T23:59:41.266-05:00Writing from syndication-land:
Frankly, I didn...Writing from syndication-land:<br /><br />Frankly, I didn't find this one very challenging except when it came to figuring out the theme. Like the other syndicated solvers, it's President's Day and I didn't make the connection between this puzzle and MLK Jr. Day.<br /><br />I too liked UNION CARDS. It's strangely apropos given the huge battle for the right to collective bargaining in Wisconsin.<br /><br />LATH was my first solved clue. Maybe it's the effect of being the son of a general contractor (who, in his day, also possessed a UNION CARD).<br /><br />There were a few too many partials for my taste (ACE OF, AN I, A TO, HE'S), but I can understand the difficulty in making this unusual theme work. You need MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY all in order without signaling the answers too clearly.<br /><br />Despite my qualms with the fill, I enjoyed it well enough. It earns a solid and respectable B from me. :-)Nullifidianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15207390447020990907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57162085019626064142011-02-21T17:27:12.473-05:002011-02-21T17:27:12.473-05:00I am glad to see others found the puzzle to be som...I am glad to see others found the puzzle to be somewhat challenging for a Monday - I spent most of the day doing my taxes and feared that exercise had used up all my puzzle-solving abiliies for the day.<br /><br />It's President's Day, not MLK day, in syndication land so the theme completely eluded me until I came here. It's a nice tribute to a great man.<br /><br /><br />My mother's name was EDNA so it was nice to see a shout out to her so close to her birthday - she would have been 99 this Friday.Dirigonzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03903353503511480168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-53224075776332377892011-02-21T14:46:25.355-05:002011-02-21T14:46:25.355-05:00@Palmdalian, glad you posted - please continue. I ...@Palmdalian, glad you posted - please continue. I get follow-up posts via Blackberry if it is a puzzle I commented on - and FIL (father-in-law) is doing the puzzle in syndication (Des Moines Register) and enjoys hearing new comments on the puzzle he is doing.<br /><br />Btw, @Anon at 11:31, he said that SUBSUMED is in his dictionary and that maybe you need a better one.fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-12262797585422201802011-02-21T13:40:37.956-05:002011-02-21T13:40:37.956-05:00@Palmdalian - please keep on posting. The more tha...@Palmdalian - please keep on posting. The more that we syndipuzzlers can contribute, the more valuable this blog becomes - at least for us.<br /><br />Interesting synchronicity - as I worked on this puzzle, coffee cup was resting on a KING TUT EXHIBIT coaster bought at the Royal Ontario Museum at the 1970s traveling show.<br /><br />Personal Nattick - LATH & ACAI. On a Monday!Waxy in Montrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04395751487137805245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-88008187037344123372011-02-21T12:18:55.071-05:002011-02-21T12:18:55.071-05:00First time posting, been following along for a few...First time posting, been following along for a few weeks. Thanks Rex and everyone for this blog. I do the syndicated puzzle and especially appreciate the link at the top of the page.<br /><br />Always loved looking for Ninas in Hirschfeld's drawings. Dan Piraro's comic strip "Bizarro" has little hidden pics and he has started putting a number by his name to help seekers.<br /><br />Not sure if it makes sense to post as you all are living in the future, but thought I'd give it a try, perhaps Dr Who will drop by in the tardis and see my message.Palmdaliannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-78527085351107787262011-02-21T11:31:16.313-05:002011-02-21T11:31:16.313-05:00Who ever head of "subsumed?" Was it inv...Who ever head of "subsumed?" Was it invented for this puzzle? I don't like words that I can't find in the dictionary.<br /><br />AnonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-37145478799373181802011-02-21T11:18:17.441-05:002011-02-21T11:18:17.441-05:00Too difficult for Monday. A few of the answers ( I...Too difficult for Monday. A few of the answers ( INHD, for example) were rather obtuse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-24028785766366857292011-01-18T00:41:30.261-05:002011-01-18T00:41:30.261-05:00@ David L, if you are still around -- A good examp...@ David L, if you are still around -- A good example of SUBSUMED meaning incorporated into a larger category was the comment by an MLK friend when asked if the civil rights movement was as active today as in the 60s. His answer was yes, certainly, but one would need to point to many leaders today, as the anti-segregation category is basically SUBSUMED into broader civil rights activism including women's rights and other such issues... We can only try to stress that the MLK commitment to a non-violent approach must prevail in over-coming remaining habits of prejudice and legal obstacles to justice for all. <br /><br />∑;)<br /><br />p.s. I just finished reading Nathaniel Philbrick's "Mayflower" and it's quite an eye-opener. Did you know that the Pilgrims and Puritans nearly wiped themselves out along with the various Native tribes around them because their greed for more land led to extended wars? They finished in such poor condition that, while re-establishing friendly relations with some of the surviving Natives, they also sold hundreds of those they had captured inro slavery in the Caribbean in order to raise needed funds!ArtLvrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03869528391374878601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-23612121719988107792011-01-17T22:01:48.771-05:002011-01-17T22:01:48.771-05:00This 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 7:28, 6:56, 1.08, 78%, Medium-Challenging<br /><br />Top 100 solvers<br /><br />Mon 3:57, 3:42, 1.07, 83%, Challengingsanfranman59https://www.blogger.com/profile/15118732156312301425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-85572278104329748792011-01-17T21:56:30.426-05:002011-01-17T21:56:30.426-05:00@Bill: so nice to see/hear you again!
I never look...@Bill: so nice to see/hear you again!<br />I never looked at a Hirshfeld without searching for a Nina.machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06794371617847975218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-6496826094889972622011-01-17T21:46:45.954-05:002011-01-17T21:46:45.954-05:00@Greene, yes, double thumbs up for resurfacing.
Yo...@Greene, yes, double thumbs up for resurfacing.<br />You, too, @Bill.<br /><br />@Clark, thanks for the Kant context. More off-blog.<br /><br />I think "cheep eats" might be my fav clue in this one, for like @William Emba, I read "cheap."fikinkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06324570637549775751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-43712012774153100852011-01-17T21:34:02.544-05:002011-01-17T21:34:02.544-05:00Thanx to @Greene for re-appearing on Al Hirshfeld....Thanx to @Greene for re-appearing on Al Hirshfeld. It used to be my favorite thing to do on Sunday morning was to go to the Arts & Leisure section and count the Ninas in the 70s and 80sBill from NJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10103923612595508277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-76500431371725005262011-01-17T21:12:18.789-05:002011-01-17T21:12:18.789-05:00Easy Monday for me. Started on the bottom and it w...Easy Monday for me. Started on the bottom and it went up like a window shade. The only sports was ALI, and Laila has been nearby at the Casino and the Boxing Hall of Fame.<br /><br />Didn't like seeing the dreaded SSN and geezer = COOTS (I resemble that remark). The ACAI ads are annoying. These days I go straight to disbelief. <br /><br />@Byas - Agree. NRA could have been clued National Rehab Assoc for today only. <br /><br />@Stan - I love my old houses - one is 95 yrs old and one is 150. The first has metal lathing (Faraday box!)and asbestos shingles. <br />My IA sister's specialty is mudwork on her rental rehab properties. <br /><br />Luther Van Dross RIP - "A House is not a Home." Died too young and was every soul singer's singer/songwriter.<br /><br />@Eddie H - Always agree on a particular dictionary ahead of time.<br /><br />Great comments and topics!Sfingihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903616949048940858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-21711609908723352922011-01-17T21:04:28.596-05:002011-01-17T21:04:28.596-05:00@EddieH
Absolutely not! Once a Queen, always a qu...@EddieH<br />Absolutely not! Once a Queen, always a queen! :)<br /> Totally not in the official Scrabble dictionary!<br />(Worth buying by the way to prevent future blood spill)<br />I once played QUEENIER which you would think would at least be good in SF. Sadly it was not.<br /><br />@PuzzleNut<br />Just for the record, the "ATTU, Liz?"<br />joke was in @Rex's writeup...pls re-read! That was just me laughing my head off at it! <br />I wouldn't usually correct you onthis, but I stepped on his Pataki joke the other day having not noticed the picture in his writeup. We often think alike, but I don't want to take credit where credit ain't due! ;)<br /><br />@MatthewG<br />It's not just her!acmenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-57352998211474127962011-01-17T17:08:32.397-05:002011-01-17T17:08:32.397-05:00@chefwen -- I have found myself several times in t...@chefwen -- I have found myself several times in the last week wishing myself back to our little house on the beach. The sound of the waves at night . . . I'll be back. 35 feet! The reef must keep them from washing the house away.<br /><br />@fikink -- Did you do Kant? If I say that my Gracie is a ragdoll, I subsume her under the concept ragdoll. The schematism in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is about this (you may or may not recall). I subsume an empirical object under a concept. No problem. But pure concepts of the understanding (categories) and empirical intuitions are so unhomogenous, “how is the subsumption of the latter under the former, thus the application of the category to appearances possible” (A137/B176), and Yada Yada Yada.<br /><br />In the syllogism<br /> All men are mortal<br /> Socrates is a man<br /> Socrates is mortal<br />the second line (the minor premise) is a subsumption. I think it is kind of cool to think of that as embodying. I suppose if God did it it would be. "Let Socrates be a man." But then, that's what I do when I say that Gracie is a ragdoll. I let her (in my sentence) be a ragdoll. I'll stop now.Clarknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-71688341435544333992011-01-17T15:59:04.927-05:002011-01-17T15:59:04.927-05:00A solid commemorative puzzle with nicely added ove...A solid commemorative puzzle with nicely added overtones (already pointed out).<br /><br />My wife has done construction/demo work and loved all the LATH stories. She suggests burning it in the fireplace for great kindling. What that says about its safety as a building material is another story.<br /><br />Happy MLK Day, all!Stanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02681342234536407419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-44576336486671433122011-01-17T15:48:17.257-05:002011-01-17T15:48:17.257-05:00Hirshfeld's first wife (and NINA'S mother)...Hirshfeld's first wife (and NINA'S mother) was Dolly. His second wife was Louise.william e embanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-84553549172607610132011-01-17T15:27:26.968-05:002011-01-17T15:27:26.968-05:00OFF TOPIC: But I thought some of you wordsmiths w...OFF TOPIC: But I thought some of you wordsmiths would have a thought on this. Played Scrabble, wife won with a massive amount of points for: EXQUEENS; would you have accepted this?<br /><br />Great puzzle. I didntknow the theme until after the Happy Pencil showed and I reviewedEddieHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-62687230655579030992011-01-17T14:27:29.909-05:002011-01-17T14:27:29.909-05:00For the love of ugly, @Henri, you are so Uncomprom...For the love of ugly, @Henri, you are so Uncompromising!Paul Cézannenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-86274842732793945212011-01-17T13:42:37.612-05:002011-01-17T13:42:37.612-05:00Oh, occasionally Hirshfeld would put in a Judy. I...Oh, occasionally Hirshfeld would put in a Judy. I believe that was his wife's or other daughter's name.Sparkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-820000251639796902011-01-17T13:39:59.072-05:002011-01-17T13:39:59.072-05:00LATH went right in confirmed by LAMB. Same 1960s ...LATH went right in confirmed by LAMB. Same 1960s projects as others stripping walls down to the brick. FIFTHS, VALSE gimmes. Have copy of RIIS's How The Other Half Lives (reprinted by Dover Press). Caught theme at 26A as the downs in the East gave it to me. Popped the DAY right in. Enjoyed it very much. Thanks Ms. Gorski. Not so sure of 15A--ON point, no?Sparkynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-69050667682768154982011-01-17T13:29:23.759-05:002011-01-17T13:29:23.759-05:00Hey leave Richard alone- He didn't do it! Nor ...Hey leave Richard alone- He didn't do it! Nor did I see the theme til I came here! Duh! always thought of it as "LAth and Plaster" and I guess it does make me a geeser (with a union card in my wallet)28 d asked sibelius whay kind of sad dance are we doing? Oh1 a waltz .Miss gorski is my IDOLsyndyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16814698406887041710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35115061.post-70542026136641419162011-01-17T13:28:01.349-05:002011-01-17T13:28:01.349-05:00Biggest problem was guessing the V of VANDROSS. S...Biggest problem was guessing the V of VANDROSS. Second biggest problem was guessing DAYtrippers, not DAYDREAMERS, for those in la-la land. Not a problem at all was misreading 20A as "Cheap eats?" and thinking the answer BIRD FOOD was just a dumb joke.<br /><br />The only reason I know of ACAI berries is because I've seen online ads exposing them as a fraud. As a rule, by the time I hear of these things, it's a dead issue already.<br /><br />Al Hirschfeld's sketches were a regular NYT feature for over <b>70</b> years. A show being reviewed just didn't rate if it wasn't accompanied with a Hirschfeld. The NINAS only showed up after the birth of his daughter, from then on, he wrote the Nina-count by his signature if it was two or more. When the USPS commissioned him to do a series of showbiz stamps, they waived their no hidden message rule just for him!<br /><br />Hirschfeld died 1/30/2003. The NYT had a memorial crossword puzzle Sunday 2/9/2003. That was the speed record until the Michael Jackson memorial puzzle.william e embanoreply@blogger.com