Carmine's cousin / SAT 3-19-11 / Pitch setter / Rockling, e.g. / Basilica di San Nicola locale

Constructor: Joe DiPietro

Relative difficulty: easy-medium

THEME: none

Word of the Day: MASTIC (Resin used in varnishes) —

(Greek: Μαστίχα) is a resin obtained from the mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus). In pharmacies and Nature shops it is called "arabic gum" (not to be confused with gum arabic) and "Yemen gum". . . Mastic is used as a raw material in the production of some varnishes. Mastic varnish was used to protect and preserve photographic negatives. (wikipedia)

• • •

Hello, treedweller here. For those who may not be aware, this weekend is the ACPT in Brooklyn, so our regular host is occupied and he has given me another opportunity to sit in the driver's seat. Some of you may recall my previous outing was also on a Saturday and I got slaughtered. My saving grace that weekend was to give a little solace to all the other clueless (answer-less?) puzzlers who are routinely demoralized by Rex's comments in the vein of "I dropped in [something you never imagined was even a word] immediately with no crosses and was done in four minutes."

This time, I find myself discussing another Saturday puzzle. I've improved over the last year or two and no longer consider it a miracle when I finish a Fri/Sat puzzle, but I still fail as often as I succeed (yesterday, for example). Today, I actually finished without cheating in just over half an hour, which is not quite good enough for the ACPT but faster than most of the Saturdays I've completed. It's probably Rex-Easy, but I threw in the hyphen-medium to make myself feel a little better about my success*. Those of you who still can't even get a toehold on Saturday have my permission to rate it Beyond Challenging. Go ahead, have fun, it's just us kids today.

This struck me as a light offering for the weekend. It was definitely a tough puzzle, but seemed a little mundane. Saturdays, I expect to be quizzed on the moons of Jupiter or the operatic works of [someone opera people would know but I don't because the only opera I know came from puzzles]. This was all pretty in-the-language stuff clued Saturday Hard. As with most of my successful Saturdays, I got a smattering of answers, some of which proved wrong, and I was sure I'd never finish, but then I slowly picked up an AAVERAGE (57A: It's between 90 and 100) here and an AIR IRAN (47A / 48D: it stopped flying to New York in 1979) there, and before I realized it I was closing in on the final squares (*correcting my error at 28D: Pitch setter -- CLEF, as it turns out--more on that later). The most obscure trivia I see is BARI (52A: Basilica di San Nicola locale) and my word of the day, MASTIC (27A: Resin used in varnishes). Unfortunately for me, the latter tripped me up and I finished with an error.

Actually, the problem started with DEFIANT (40A: Unwilling to stay in line), where I got the 'D' and the ANT and confidently threw down "deviant". So when I came to 28D: Pitch setter (which, I must say, had me mystified for most of the time I was solving), I suddenly realized it had to be "elev", never mind there's no indication of an abbreviation in the clue. And so I spent a few minutes post-solve trying to figure out what "mastie" was. Some of you are probably saying, "How long has he been at this that he doesn't know MASTIC?" but it's a new one on me, or at least one I figured out once and promptly forgot.

Bullets:

• 29D: Spirit of the Caribbean (JAMAICARUM)— I totally fell for the "spirit" misdirection, which contributed to the struggle I had in the SE until almost the end, and then realization dawned. And then I spent several seconds trying to figure out how to fit JAMAICANRUM in there. I'm still a little bitter about that, truth be told.
• 38A: Strategy game with disks (REVERSI) — Started with Othello (and wondered why the play wasn't referenced in the clue), then briefly tried PACHISI, though I was grumbling to myself that there's precious little strategy in that game. Maybe this should have been W-O-T-D, since I am a game fiend and yet I have never seen, much less played, REVERSI. Oh, wait, a little googling reveals that it's just an alternate name for Othello. Which is, of course, just a simplified version of Go. Which will make it into precious few puzzles since it's only two letters. God forbid we ever see "gos" or "goes" (clued in this context). I might welcome an outlaw puzzle with two-letter entries, but it had better be pretty damn good.
• 59A: To a very great degree (INSPADES) — This was one of those Saturday clues that revealed a very colloquial phrase. I like those.
• 37A: Borderline fare? (TEXMEX) — This was an obvious ploy to me, in that I was immediately looking for food, but I still took awhile getting the right answer. I kept trying "tacos" and "enchiladas" and other yummy-sounding stuff that didn't fit. Being as I'm in / from Texas, this may be an example of the specialist struggling where the amateur has no problems.
• 15A: Item removed before showering (TOUPEE) — FTW!
• 56D: "Knots Landing" actress ___ Park Lincoln (LAR) — sounds like a car dealership to me--which reminds me--
• 7A: They make vehicles very volatile (CARBOMBS) — I was quite pleased to quickly fill in "gas tanks" here, and a little disturbed to finally reveal the correct answer. Given the recent news from Japan, I had a similar reaction at 60A: Shake (TREMOR). I usually frown when the PC crowd starts trying to arbitrarily limit options based on personal concerns, and I am not lobbying to take these words out of the mix for future puzzles, but, nevertheless.

I'm back again on Sunday. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get it done without cheating. Good luck to all the competitors.

Signed, treedweller,
on behalf of
Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Le printemps ?

Une belle journée ensoleillée, la première de ce mois de mars d'ailleurs.

Après avoir déjeuné avec India -qui d'ailleurs a re-crée son blog : http://indiasinsights.com/- en terrasse, j'ai retrouvé Sarah.

Nous nous sommes données rendez-vous dans le Marais et je l'ai emmenée dans le magnifique jardin de l'Hôtel de Sully pour faire quelques photos.

Vous remarquerez que je suis arrivée avec la grosse chemise vintage d'amour que mon Papa m'a donnée.

De la laine, le truc plus efficace qu'une parka ! Bon, je la pousse... Mais avec ce soleil, impossible de ne pas la retirer.

Nous avons shooté plusieurs tenues, en intérieur. Je vous posterai les photos au fur et à mesure.

En parlant de soleil, il me semble que notre trip Coachella soit compromis. Peine.

Mais les pass ayant été vendus en 24 heures, nous en avions trouvé des -un peu plus chers-, ça, ajouté au billet d'avion, logement et tout le reste, ce n'est pas raisonnable.

Mais ne sait-on jamais, on peut avoir une bonne surprise à la dernière minute !

En attendant, contentons nous de l'arrivée du printemps.

Photos -

Sarah D

Pantalon - H&M

Tee-shirt - Petit Bateau

Chemise - Ralph Lauren (Vintage)

Boots - Jonak

Lunettes- Ray Ban

Un clip "lolilol" pour la route.

(Nicki je t'aime)

City known as Salisbury until 1982 / FRI 3-18-11 / Carpaccio base / Pretty ballerina in Abba song / Jules Verne harpooner Land

Constructor: Patrick Merrell

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: none


Word of the Day: HEC Crighton (30D: ___ Crighton Trophy (Canada's Heisman-like award)) —

The Hec Crighton Trophy was presented to the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union in 1967 by the board of directors of the Canadian College Bowl, to be awarded annually to the athlete deemed to be the most outstanding university football player in Canada. The trophy is named after the late Hec Crighton, who was a coach, referee and teacher, and author of the CIAU Rule Book and the Official Football Rule Book. The first recipient of the Hec Crighton Trophy in Canada's Centennial Year of 1967 was Mike Eben of the University of Toronto. Like Eben, most winners have gone on to professional careers in the Canadian Football League. The 1987 winner was Jordan Gagner of the UBC Thunderbirds. St Mary's Huskies quarterback Chris Flynn became the first player to win the award 3 times (1988-90). Two-time recipients in the 1990s were the University of Western Ontario's Tim Tindale (1991, 1994) and Eric Lapointe of the Mount Allison Mounties (1996, 1998). (The Canadian Encyclopedia)

• • •

A bit out of my wheelhouse much of the time, but a fine puzzle overall, I think. I especially admire SLOW NEWS DAY (6D: When there's nothing doing) and HIGH AS A KITE (24D: Wasted) — always good to go for fresh, original material in your themelesses, I think. Screw low word counts—give me a lively, well-filled, interesting grid over a stunt grid any day of the week (well, especially Friday and Saturday). Weirdly uneven solving experience today, as I destroyed the NW corner in a matter of seconds only to peter out completely in the middle. Then GENII (48D: Guardian spirits) gave me the entire SE corner pretty quickly, and I sort of hacked my way slowly through the W and SW, ending up in the central NE (which was the toughest part of the grid for me by far). The "L" in LEERS AT / BALE was the last letter in. I couldn't see how a BALE was a [Farm delivery] (wanted FOAL or CALF) and the "Surveys" in the LEERS AT clue was a total curve ball (18A: Surveys, usually with negative responses). Thought it was a noun. Then thought it was a verb relating to the asking of questions. Bah. I think the lynchpin up in that areas was HEC (not great to have such a terrible piece of fill be such a crux, but oh well). *If* that had been remotely gettable, I would finished much sooner ("C" and "H" would have been valuable, answer-revealing letters). But no. Though BELIED was DENIED, though CHARIOT was ... uh, CHORIST? (38A: Part of an ancient procession) Is that a thing? Couldn't see how PIE was an [Organizational figure], and don't know TOE-IN as [Wheel alignment]. So, yeah, that whole big white area was rough. If only I could have come up with KEELHAULS sooner (29A: Severely rebukes), but the damned "H" was hidden, and the "K" took me forever—KOREAN is [Ethnic cuisine]? I mean, yes, it is. But clue may as well have been [Random ethnicity]. Boo to clue. But I'm basically at the stage where I'm getting annoyed at any clue that makes me work for more than a few seconds—I'm heading to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) tomorrow, and I'm in fighting mode. Any answer I can't knock to the floor instantly only *$&%es me off.



Apparently I don't know what "carpaccio" is, as RAW FISH came into view while I furrowed my brow and silently said "huh" to myself (1A: Carpaccio base, maybe). I think I thought it was something to do with mozzarella and basil and tomato. Or maybe some kind of deli meat. Turns out carpaccio is raw meat / fish pounded flat and served as appetizer. Didn't like FLANS as a plural and especially didn't like the CREME tie-in. CREME is an Oreo word. Never seen it anywhere near a FLAN (or a flock of FLANS, for that matter) (4D: 23-Down caramel desserts) [wait: I know "crème caramel'=FLAN in French, but if that's the way "CREME" is being used here, then "desserts" seems redundant. Like [Gateaux desserts] for "CAKES"]. Loved the clue on HARARE (7D: City known as Salisbury until 1982), but mainly just loved that I had heard of HARARE before—only city I could think of that started HAR- in six letters. Heard of NED Land (47A: Jules Verne harpooner ___ Land), but never heard of NINA the ballerina. Heard of Fernando ... and Chiquitita ... but NINA? Looks like "NINA, Pretty Ballerina"'s great claim to fame is that it "reached #8 on the singles chart in Austria" (wikipedia). That's some serious pop cred right there. I guess the puzzle needed an answer that would make GINO Vennelli look well and truly famous (48A: Singer Vannelli of 1970s-'80s pop).



Bullets:

• 16A: He succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989 (AKIHITO) — the current Emperor. Dismal times for Japan right now.
  
• 25A: Ulysses S. Grant was its eighth pres. (NRA) — figured it probably wasn't CSA, and this seemed the most natural option.
  
• 28A: State sch. in Kingston (URI) — So ... not Jamaica?
  
• 52A: Standard with the lyric "Ain't these tears in my eyes tellin' you?" ("AM I BLUE?") — I learned this song from a TV ad in the 70s/80s, but which one I cannot remember. It's kind of killing me right now, actually.

• 59A: Beady-eyed and sneaky (RAT-LIKE) — seems right.
  
• 26D: Home to more than 5 1/2 million Arabs (BAGHDAD, IRAQ) — this is how I ended up changing DENIED to BELIED—solving this answer from the bottom up.
  
• 53D: La ___ (Hollywood nickname) (LIZ) — I've also seen this moniker applied to crossword constructing legend LIZ Gorski. Like the little pair of Old Hollywood answers down here (LIZ next to a Marilyn-strummed UKE) (54D: Marilyn Monroe played one in "Some Like It Hot").
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

P.S. I have somehow not made any arrangements to have someone cover blogging for me the next couple of days (I'll be in Brooklyn, as I indicated above), so ... whatever you get will be a surprise, to me as well as you.

P.P.S. I have today's Wall Street Journal puzzle ... ooh, look, it's already up. Download a .pdf version here.

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

First part psychosexual development / THU 3-17-11 / Hundred-eyed monster myth / Devout Lhasan / Politico memoir Courage Consequence

Constructor: Anna Shechtman

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging


THEME: IT'S ALL GREEK TO ME (41A: Totally confused response)— rebus puzzle with four Greek letters (ALPHA, BETA, PI, OMEGA) located in squares throughout the grid

Word of the Day: MALLOMAR (24D: Chocolate-coated treat) —

In the US, Mallomars are produced seasonally at Nabisco. A graham cracker circle is covered with a puff of extruded marshmallow, then enrobed in dark chocolate, which forms a hard shell. Mallomars were introduced to the public in 1913, the same year as the Moon Pie (a confection which has similar ingredients). The first box of Mallomars was sold in West Hoboken, NJ (now Union City, NJ). Nabisco discusses it with a short story printed on Mallomar boxes. // Because Mallomars melt easily in summer temperatures, they can become difficult to find during the summer: they are generally available from early October through April. Devoted eaters of the cookie have been known to stock up during winter months and keep them refrigerated over the summer; though paradoxically, Nabisco markets other fudge-coated cookie brands year-round. Seventy percent of all Mallomars are sold in metropolitan New York. The issue of Nabisco's choice to release Mallomars seasonally became a parodied topic on a sketch delivered by graphic artist Pierre Bernard on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. // According to the box, Mallomars are made in Canada by Kraft Foods. In Canada, these are known as "Dream Puffs." (wikipedia)

• • •

This didn't work for me, despite the fact that I think the rebus-square-containing answers are pretty genius in places. I'm almost certain I've seen a theme like this before, but that's not the real problem. I just don't get the letter selection. Random Greek letters??? Why these letters? Further, why lead with ALPHA BETA and then follow with ... PI OMEGA?? Boo to not being St. Patrick's Day-themed, first of all (not the constructor's fault, obviously), and then double-boo to PI and OMEGA. I went looking for St. Pat's theme, and then when I got the theme I went looking, naturally, for GAMMA DELTA. That's the progression. There is no "aha" to getting PI OMEGA. More of an "... oh. Huh. OK." Not a fan of arbitrariness. That said, very impressive the way OMEGA got worked in here as part of INCOMEGAP and HOMEGAME. ORALPHASE (1D: First part psychosexual development) and BETAWARD (19A: Annual prize won multiple times by Beyoncé and LeBron James), also nice. Fill on the puzzle was just fine. Theme just fell flat for me.

Theme answers:

• ALPHABETSONGS / ORALPHASE
• TIBETANMONK (9D: Devout Lhasan) / BETAWARD
  
• WHOOPI (63A: First name on "The View") / LIGHTPINK
  
• INCOMEGAP / HOMEGAME

Not buying LIGHTPINK (42D: Color of many nurseries). Buying PINK, but not buying LIGHTPINK. Not loving the NW corner at all, where NOBIS (Latin) (2D: "Dona ___ pacem" (Catholic Mass phrase)) and esp. SIEG (Ger.) (18D: German "victory") were completely avoidable (I can fix that corner sitting here, without any software aid at all, which means there must be many ways to make those weak foreignisms, as well as the horrid plural SETAE, disappear). Top of the puzzle much easier than the bottom, mostly because of the GAMMA DELTA goose chase. PI, not surprisingly, was the hardest of the four Greek letters to find—much easier to turn up a big sucker like OMEGA than a slip of thing like PI. Had to sing "Over the Rainbow" to myself, and still couldn't find the end because the song kept getting interfered with in my brain by Whitney Houston's "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (an unexpected downside of watching "Idol" right before I solve)

Bullets:

• 5A: "Big Love" setting (UTAH) — never watched it, but I understand it's about polygamy.
  
• 15A: The "doll" in Ibsen's "A Doll's House" (NORA) — no idea. I'm more a NORA Dunn / NORA Charles kind of guy.
• 14A: Politico with the memoir "Courage and Consequence" (ROVE) — forgettable title = forgot this book ever existed. Now "Bush's Brain," I remember.
  
• 32A: Setting for Seurat's "Un dimanche après-mide à l'île de la Grand Jatte" (ÉTÉ) — the "setting" is summer? Boo.
  
• 48A: Big inits. in Detroit (GMC) — General Motors Co.
  
• 53A: Lion : pride :: ___ : husk (HARE) — no idea. Doubt it gets used much, since googling turned up primarily sites dedicated to animal collectives (murder of crows, etc.), i.e. curiosities, not common terms.
• 69A: 1998 Goo Goo Dolls hit ("IRIS") — relentless radio hit of the late '90s. I used to call it the "Sea Chantey." You'll see why. Or you won't. It made sense to me:
  

• 7D: Hundred-eyed monster of myth (ARGUS) — guardian of Io until he was slain by Hermes. His story is told in Ovid's "Metamorphoses," among other places.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Beau & Bio

Ekyog, vous connaissez ?

Pour la petite histoire, il s'agit d'une jolie enseigne, née en 2004.

Derrière, un couple : Nathalie et Louis-Marie Vautier qui ont décidé de faire du prêt-à-porter écologique.

Toutes les matières proposées sont naturelles, biologiques et quelle ne fût pas ma surprise quand j'ai découvert le look-book de la marque.

C'est tout ce que j'aime !

Des basiques bien coupés, du confort (on retrouve du lin, de la soie, du coton biologique, du cuir tannage végétal... Mes matières préférées...), des couleurs, du liberty...

J'aurais pu craquer pour cette marque sans même connaître leur engagement écologique.

En plus de faire dans le style, Ekyog conjuge écologique et solidarité !

Dernière opération en vue : "Pour Longtemps".

La marque a fait dessiner à cinq femmes, que vous connaissez tous, leurs propres pochettes avec un message de leurs choix à l'intérieur, dans le but de reverser 10% des bénéfices à l'association fondée par les créateurs de la marque "TERRE D'EKYOG" qui oeuvre pour des projets à vocation environnementale et sociale, comme la construction de puits et scolarisation d'enfants...

J'ai été très flattée quand Ekyog m'a également proposé de dessiner une pochette dans le cadre d'un concours.

A moi, ainsi qu'à d'autres bloggeuses.

Le but ?

Vous votez pour la pochette que vous préférez, et celle qui remporte le plus de votes se verra vendue en magasins aux côtés des pochettes des personnalités vues plus haut.

Toujours la même histoire, 10% des bénéfices seront renversés à l'association.

Je ne me suis pas lancée dans quelque chose de trop fou, je tenais vraiment à dessiner une pochette intemporelle, que l'on pourra ressortir à toutes les saisons, sans pour autant réaliser quelque-chose de trop classique.

Il ne m'a pas été très dur de faire un choix pour fabriquer cette pochette.

Cet été, j'ai envie de couleurs, alors du cuir rouge m'a paru être une évidence.

J'y ai ajouté un noeud en cuir suédé noir (ma passion pour les noeuds, toujours...!) pour une touche fantaisie et j'ai fait faire la doublure en coton noir.

J'espère qu'elle vous plaira autant qu'elle me plaît !

La Pochette fermée

La Pochette ouverte

L'intérieur de la pochette

Show me some love guys ! A vos claviers, à vos votes !

Ca se passe là : http://pourlongtemps.ekyog.com/

Marco Island locale / WED 3-16-11 / What's in carrots not celery / Morlocks victims / Modern screening device / Meal with Four Questions

Constructor: Alan Arbesfeld

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: FULL-COUNT PITCH (59A: With 61-Across, follower of the five starred clues) — Starred clues are "three BALLs and two STRIKEs," which, in baseball, is known as a FULL COUNT. What "follows" a 3-2 count? A FULL-COUNT PITCH, though ... I don't know what part of this puzzle represents the "pitch," exactly


Word of the Day: EILAT (51D: Israeli seaport) —

Eilat [...] is Israel's southernmost city, a busy port as well as a popular resort, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Eilat (or Gulf of Aqaba). Home to 46,600 people, the city is part of the Southern Negev Desert, at the southern end of the Arava. The city is adjacent to the Egyptian village of Taba to the south, the Jordanian port city of Aqaba to the east, and within sight of Saudi Arabia to the south-east, across the gulf. Eilat's arid desert climate is moderated by proximity to a warm sea. Temperatures often exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in summer, and 21 °C (70 °F) in winter, while water temperatures range between 20 and 26 °C (68 and 79 °F). The city's beaches, nightlife and desert landscapes make it a popular destination for domestic and international tourism. (wikipedia)

• • •

There's a good idea here somewhere, but I don't quite understand how the theme revealer makes sense. Something "follows" the "starred clues"? In theory, or in actuality? I'm guessing the former, since the clues themselves can't be the "PITCH," and I don't see a "PITCH" anywhere else. Also, FULL-COUNT PITCH only works if it's imagined as a "follower" of the starred clues *taken as a set*, which is not clear from the wording of the clue. Add in the odd visual placement of the revealer (PITCH behind, i.e. to the left of, FULL-COUNT), and the whole "reveal" moment feels clunky as all-get-out. But it's always possible there's some brilliance I just don't see. Puzzle felt super-easy except for the far south (the CURIAE section), which took probably a third of my total time. I've seen CURIAE before, but couldn't dredge it up. Ditto EILAT. Took me a while to deduce COMEDIENNE—always tricky to figure out the answers in these reverse-clue-type theme answers (i.e. where the clue is the answer and the answer is the clue). "Answers" never quite feel natural (e.g. BOWLER'S ... COUP? OK. Not a phrase that trips off the tongue, but accurate enough). Not much else to say... no great answers. Not much dreck. Just a theme that feels wonky to me.

Theme answers:

• 17A: *Ball (GREAT TIME)
  
• 24A: *Strike (WORK STOPPAGE)
  
• 29A: *Ball (LAVISH PARTY)
  
• 40A: *Strike (BOWLER'S COUP)
  
• 46A: *Ball (TV COMEDIENNE)
  

Bullets:

• 26A: What's in carrots but not celery? (HARD C) — old trick, though I considered other letters before realizing it was the first one.
  
• 62A: Marco Island locale: Abbr. (FLA) — All the answers I didn't know were in one place: CURIAE, EILAT, FLA, DUFFY (this last one was particularly confusing, since Julia is also the name of a *character* in "Designing Women": Julia Sugarbaker, played by the late, great Dixie Carter (49D: Julia of "Designing Women")).
  
• 47D: Modern screening device (V-CHIP) — I've never seen one of these in action, so the answer rarely occurs to me right away.
  
• 66A: Meal with the Four Questions (SEDER) — I've been to precisely one SEDER, 22 years ago. Memorable enough for me to get this with only the slightest hesitation.

Going to trying to sleep now, though the news out of Japan is going to make that slightly difficult, I fear.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Compagnon de route

Cet été, je reste fidèle à mes jupes et robes longues.

Voilà pourquoi, après un petit tour chez American Apparel, je n'ai pas résisté et suis ressortie avec cette sublime jupe issue de la collection "Chiffon".

J'ai longuement hésité devant les différentes couleurs, et mes souvenirs m'ont rappelé que j'avais déjà dans mon dressing un bon stock de ce genre de modèles dans des couleurs sombres... Alors j'ai opté pour un Nude.

J'ai pris un risque, parce-que la couleur en question laisse apercevoir l'ombre des jambes. Au pire, un petit tissu glissé en dessous, et le tour est joué.

Autre option que j'ai tentée, porter cette jupe en robe-bustier.

J'aime assez les différentes combinaisons que l'on peut faire avec une jupe longue.

Du romantique, du hippie chic, à plats, en talons...

C'est signé, cette jupe va être un fidèle compagnon de route, vous risquez de la revoir à différentes sauces !

Photos - Sisley Roche

Jupe - American Apparel

Tee-shirt - Nouvelle Sélection

Bandeau - By Margounette

Boots - Jonak