Que nos voeux soient exaucés !

Revisitons encore et toujours la robe longue !

Je me demande bien quand est-ce que j'en aurai ma claque.

Mais pour l'instant, rien n'y fait, je ne m'en lasse pas.

Cette fois-ci, j'y ai associé mon petit tee-shirt en molleton et pour éviter une allure faussement négligée, hop, un collier typique que l'on trouve au Maroc, orange s'il vous plaît !

En revanche, pour cet été, j'ai envie de couleur, la tendance Color Block passera par moi.

Jusqu'à présent j'avais toujours eu du mal à associer différentes couleurs à une tenue, d'autant plus avec ma peau mate, j'avais vite l'impression de faire "bimbo".

J'étais convaincue que la couleur en force était bien plus jolie sur une peau blanche.

Il faut dire que je me suis complètement plantée... Au contraire ! Tout dépend de la façon dont on associe ses articles et si l'on se contente de basiques sans en rajouter des tonnes (accessoires etc), on ne tombe pas dans le cliché de la pouffe.

La transition hiver/noir - été/couleur va m'être difficile mais je vous signe dès maintenant que d'ici quelques semaines, j'y arriverai les doigts dans le nez !

Photos : Sarah D

Robe - H&M

Tee-shirt - Zara

Collier - Acheté au Maroc

Chaussures - L.K Bennett

Ps : Des news de U Got A Wish , enfin !

Dolly matchmaker / WED 3-30-11 / Foreman portrayer House / Illness caused eating Cheetos / Newspapers read by royalty

Constructor: Erik Wennstrom

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: RED-SHIFTED (47A: Lie light from stars moving away from us ... or like the answer to this puzzle's starred clues?) — familiar two-word phrases where first word is a color that is re-colored by the addition of red, i.e. BLUEPRINT becomes BLUE+red PRINT, or PURPLEPRINT


Word of the Day: Atacama (69A: Like the Atacama=SERE) —

The Atacama Desert is one of the few deserts on Earth that does not receive any rain. It is a plateau in South America, covering a 600-mile (1,000 km) strip of land on the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Andes mountains. The Atacama desert is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world, due to the rain shadow on the leeward side of the Chilean Coast Range, as well as a coastal inversion layer created by the cold offshore Humboldt Current. The Atacama occupies 40,600 square miles (105,000 km²) in northern Chile, composed mostly of salt basins (salares), sand, and felsic lava flows towards the Andes. (wikipedia)

• • •

The theme and much of the fill here was simply way, way outside my wheelhouse. Never heard of ... ugh, so much of this stuff. Never seen or heard the phrase RED-SHIFTED before, first of all. Never. And since I didn't know if 30D: ___-Grain cereal bars was NUTRA or NUTRI, and since "SHAFTED" seemed (possibly) related to light, I was kind of screwed there for a bit. The theme phrases just did not feel natural or funny or ... anything. PINK WASHED? (29A: *Like a baby girls' laundry?) I got that and thought "I don't get it." Had PURPLE and wrote in PURPLE PROSE. It really seemed to fit the clue (11D: *Newspapers read by royalty?=>PURPLE PRINT). And then ORANGE FEVER—that just killed me. First, I misread "Cheetos" as "Cheerios" in the clue (25D: *Illness caused by eating Cheetos?), so I was never going to get ORANGE, though Cheerios box is yellow, so ... thought that was related somehow. But that whole section was brutal to me. Didn't see how [Done for] = GONE. If you're done for, you're a goner, but the clue/answer pair here didn't work for me. Never heard of Atacama (or I have and just couldn't place it), and even if I had, it would've taken some time/thought to get SERE. Never heard of Dolly LEVI (apparently the protagonist of "Hello, Dolly"!?!?) (60A: Dolly the matchmaker). Nooooo idea what kind of "Vista" AMER. could be a part of. Apparently Vista is an acronym (lack of capital letters notwithstanding—what the hell!?), standing for "Volunteers in Service to AMERica." Pfft. OK. Painful all around. Theme concept seems interesting, actually, but with the revealer meaning nothing to me, with the theme answers being not really funny or clever, and with so many answers bafflingly clued, I didn't enjoy the puzzle at all. I mean, even DVORAK flummoxed me (23A: Typewriter keyboard format). I know one keyboard. QWERTY. Just not my day, I guess.


Started out pretty easy as I moved diagonally through the grid, but the theme stuff just didn't make any sense to me for the longest time. Also, let me tell you that when you are looking at an answer that reads ---TNT, you are bound to doubt the accuracy of your answers. MUSTN'T, ugh. Clue did nothing for me, yet again (a theme!) (52A: "___ touch!"). I only hope that others liked this more than I did. My distaste is much more a matter of, well, taste than it is a matter of truly poor construction.

Bullets:

• 22A: Foreman portrayer on "House" (EPPS) — "How am I supposed to know the characters on ... oh, right, that's the one with Omar EPPS. Nevermind." He's the ESAI Morales of the 21st century (which will probably be news to ESAI himself, who is still working, as far as I know).
  
• 43A: Often-mocked cars of the past (YUGOS) — another clue that took me way too long to solve. My mocked car list had one model on it: EDSEL.
  
• 51A: Opportunities for discussion (FORA) — another toughie. Unusual plural.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

ANNOUNCEMENT:

West-coasters should consider coming out and supporting the Crosswords L.A. Tournament on Sunday, May 1, 2011, at Loyola-Marymount University. It's a charity tournament that benefits "Reading to Kids." This year the tournament will feature all original puzzles commissioned specifically for the tournament by some amazing constructors (I know—I've seen/tested the puzzles). You can compete as an individual or as part of a pair, and those who would rather not compete can register as a spectator. But really, you should compete. Don't worry if you don't think of yourself as "competitive." Most people will be there to have fun, solve good puzzles, and socialize. The vibe is very laid-back (it's practically on the beach, after all). For more information, and to register, go here. Better yet, go here, to the "Frequently Asked Questions" page. Very thorough. And spread the word.

Cocooning

Naturalist John / TUE 3-29-11 / Barrel supports / Early Indian invader / Feminizing suffix / Protagonists in Star Wars / PC screen type

Constructor: Peter A. Collins

Relative difficulty: Medium


THEME: ELIZABETH / TAYLOR (55A: With 17-Across, late Hollywood star)—several different roles and movie titles populate the grid

Word of the Day: METAZOAN (37D: Multicellular animal) —

(zoology) The multicellular animals that make up the major portion of the animal kingdom; cells are organized in layers or groups as specialized tissues or organ systems. (answers.com)

• • •

Not great as tribute puzzles go. This one feels hastily thrown together, with roles and partial titles and titles all cobbled together into a dense but arbitrary arrangement. "THE SANDPIPER?!" What the heck is that. It's certainly not a definitive Liz Taylor role, that's for sure. SUMMER feels like a pretty weak way to get a symmetrical answer for TAYLOR (it's also a bit weird to have her name divided up the way it is, with last name coming first ...). The best part about the grid was the numeral "8" in "BUTTERFIELD 8" / 8 TIMES. Otherwise, straightforward and kind of dull. Weak in theme answers as well as overall fill (though ACUTE PAIN next to WOMANIZE is nice, especially in a grid with this kind of theme density).

Theme answers:

• 4D: 1944 title role for 55-/17-Across (VELVET)
  
• 21A: 1963 title role for 55-/17-Across (CLEOPATRA)
  
• 27A: 1965 film starring 55-/17-Across (THE SANDPIPER)
  
• 45A: 1960 film for which 55-/17-Across won a Best Actress Oscar (BUTTERFIELD 8)
  
• 49D: How often 55-/17-Across was married (8 TIMES)
  
• 61A: "Suddenly, Last ___" (1959 film starring 55-/17-Across) ("SUMMER")

Bullets:

• 3D: Early Indian invader (ARYAN) — baffled by this one, which made the NW a bit harder than normal (esp. true give the intersecting theme answers—difficult to pick up if you don't know the theme yet).
  
• 29D: Feminizing suffix (-ENNE) — hate this clue, generally. First, I know it'll be a suffix (suboptimal fill). Second, it could be at least four different things. No way to know except from crosses.
  
• 47D: Protagonists in "Star Wars" (REBELS) — hmmm. I guess so, though "protagonists" doesn't sit quite right with me. HAN Solo is a protagonist. REBELS are a group he generally belongs to (by the end). Don't think of the collective as "protagonists."
  

That's all for today.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Spanish discoverer of the Pacific 1513 / MON 3-28-11 / English pirate captain / Diplomat Annan / Food thrown to lions / Fawn's father

Constructor: Robyn Weintraub

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: CHIPS (69A: Things that 18-, 27-, 46- and 60-Across may have)


Word of the Day: BALBOA (48A: Spanish discoverer of the Pacific, 1513) —

Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c. 1475 – January 15, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World. // He traveled to the New World in 1500 and, after some exploration, settled on the island of Hispaniola. He founded the settlement of Santa María la Antigua del Darién in present-day Colombia in 1510, which was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas (a settlement by Alonso de Ojeda the previous year at San Sebastián de Urabá had already been abandoned). (wikipedia)

• • •

Solving on paper now, so I'm far less certain of how difficult puzzles are. Today's felt very easy from the NW straight through to the SE, but the NE and (esp.) SW corners really thwarted my speedy forward progress today. At high speeds, it doesn't take much (for me) to get derailed. In the NE, I simply couldn't come up with DIVERGE (22A: Branch off), even with D-, then DI-, DIV-, and DIVE- in place; brain wanted only DIVERT. Bah. Crosses finally forced me to see the (now) obvious. Stutter-stepping so much cost me valuable seconds. But the real tripping took place in the SW, where neither BALBOA nor AT RANDOM (39D: Haphazardly) would come, and so I just couldn't sweep straight into that corner at all. Had to reboot—Always a dicey proposition, and a time thief. First few clues I looked at were too vague to be gimmes. Finally saw KOFI (64A: Diplomat Annan) and worked that corner from there. BALBOA just isn't in my first (Monday) tier of explorer names. No idea why ATR- didn't trigger AT RANDOM. It just didn't. Dangerously wrote in some answers without looking at clues. Worked fine for BRITISH PUBS and RED MEAT. Didn't work so fine at BRUIN (had BR-IN, wrote in BRAIN) (51D: Boston N.H.L.'er). Had SORT instead of SCAN (67A: Copiers do it). Wrote in SIRE (!?) instead of STAG (34A: Fawn's father). I have a Lot of work to do to become an effective speed solver on Easy puzzles. I'm just a mess.

To recap: The puzzle was not hard by any means, but speeding caused much tripping.


The theme is fine. Don't like OLD DISHES as a theme answer (not a thing), but the variety of CHIPS is impressive.

Theme answers:

• 18A: Much-used dinnerware (OLD DISHES)
  
• 27A: Centers of casino action (POKER TABLES)
  
• 46A: Places to drink and play darts (BRITISH PUBS)
  
• 60A: They're shrugged (SHOULDERS)
  

Bullets:

• 29D: English pirate captain (KIDD) — along with BALBOA, another proper noun that just wouldn't jump out of my brain and onto the paper (brain wanted KIDD, actually, but then vetoed it when the only KIDD it could identify accurately was Jason KIDD)
  
• 5D: Like living with Mom and Dad, perhaps (RENT-FREE) — like this answer. Can't recall having seen it before.
  
• 38A: Food thrown to lions (RED MEAT) — I'd have thought RAW, but ... yeah, probably also RED.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Time for change

Ca vous est déjà arrivé de faire des "folies" du type vous lever un matin et faire un énorme tri dans vos placards ?

Ou bien décider de choper une voiture et partir à l'arrache quelque part ?

Ce genre de petites choses qui pimentent le quotidien...

J'en ai fait une récemment. Rien de trop extravagant mais pas la chose la plus évidente pour moi.

J'allais retrouver ma famille chez ma mère pour dîner. Je suis arrivée un peu en avance, le temps de papoter avec ma mère, mon petit frère et mon chien (Brooklyn est très susceptible, si je ne la cite pas, il risque d'y avoir un malheur).

Allez savoir pourquoi, je me suis retrouvée dans la salle de bain, devant le miroir et j'ai lancé à ma mère "Tu me coupes les cheveux ?"

Ma mère n'est absolument pas coiffeuse, je me souviens seulement d'elle me coupant les pointes lorsque j'étais plus jeune, d'où la confiance que je lui accorde.

Et nous voilà, ma mère et un pauvre ciseau dans la main, moi, mes cheveux secs entre ses doigts et quelques secondes plus tard, cinq centimètres de touffe en moins.

J'ai un peu badé quand j'ai vu le cadavre capillaire étalé sur le sol. Ahhhhh mes cheveux si longs !

Puis, quand je me suis penchée pour le ramasser, j'ai réalisé que c'était finalement la bonne chose à faire. Du foin. Pas de regrets !

J'ai beau me faire deux masques par semaines, il aurait fallu que je coupe mes cheveux plus régulièrement comme nous le disent les coiffeurs.

Aujourd'hui, je suis définitivement satisfaite !

Oh ça va, je n'ai pas non plus tenté le carré, j'ai toujours de la longueur mais il est vrai qu'un petit coup de frais, avec les beaux jours qui s'installent, donne un petit coup de boost.

Et vous, quelles ont été vos dernières folies ?!

ps : ces photos datent d'avant le coup de ciseau !

Photos : Sarah D

Pantalon - Asos

Tee-shirt - Topshop

Escarpins - Zara

Oh et bien sûr, merci à tous pour vos votes ! Vous déchirez !

J'ai remporté le concours Ekyog, ma pochette sera bientôt dispo dans les magasins.

Je vous en dirai plus bientôt !

Soap opera creator Phillips / SUN 3-27-11 / Bally enthusiasts / make.believe sloganeer / Pixar robot female voice / Citrusy cocktail mixer

Constructor: Kevin G. Der

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging


THEME: "Get Ready to Roll" — A bowling rebus puzzle, with PIN and BALL squares and circles that spell out the word GUTTER along both sides of the grid... plus three theme-related answers:

• UP ONE'S ALLEY (101D: Suited to a person's strengths)
• SPLIT DECISION (49D: 5-4 ruling, e.g.)
• SPARE MOMENTS (9D: Bit of free time)

BALL squares appear to represent a trajectory suggesting a bowler attempting to pick up a SPLIT / SPARE...

Word of the Day: IRNA Phillips (30D: Soap opera creator Phillips) —

Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 – December 22, 1973) was an American actress and most notably writer who created and scripted many of the first American soap operas. (wikipedia)

• • •

Getting a late start on this one, as I was over at friends' for most of the night, so write-up will have to be shorter than I'd normally like. I was a big fan of Kevin Der's last Sunday architectural marvel: the Chinese Zodiac puzzle. This one ... I'm less thrilled by, first because the exact thing being represented in the grid isn't entirely clear (and there's no key phrase uniting at all), and second because of the loopy fill that I had to wade through in order to finish. I know you have to make allowances for cruddy / strange / forced fill in a grid with so many architectural demands, but ... well, I picked up the theme at T-[BALL] GLOVE and immediately thought, "that's a thing? They have special gloves designed for T-BALL? Isn't the act of catching the ball exactly the same as in baseball?" [FYI they appear to be simply smallish baseball gloves] I then went on to fight off CREAMWARE and LIMECORDIAL (83A: Citrusy cocktail mixer) and NEOGENE (!) (53A: Period of the Cenozoic Era) and a ton of odd abbrevs. and IRNA and CA[BALL]ED and ALEMAN. Lack of a tight theme / clear visual made the awkward stuff more distracting than it ought to have been. I expect I'll be in the minority today. So be it. I was dutifully impressed by the construction, and I did have a genuine little AHA moment when the first "BALL" made me notice that the "U" and "T" in the circles were part of "GUTTER," but in the end this strikes (!) me more as an interesting oddity or curiosity than a brilliantly executed puzzle.



Bullets:

• 19A: Century in Amer. politics (U.S. SENATE) — "Century? Oh, *that* century ... ugh."
  
• 24A: Bally enthusiasts (PINBALLERS) — the marquee answer, in some ways. Two rebus squares + enigmatic clue (which Bally? The bra people? The fitness people? ...)
  
• 94A: Drink with tempura, maybe (ASAHI) — SAKE! Oh. No. OK.
  
• 144A: Pixar robot with a female voice (EVE) — I think this is from "Wall-E." Never saw it.
  
• 115A: "make.believe" sloganeer (SONY) — again, not on my radar, but easy to pick up.
  
• 77A: Red-haired film princess (FIONA) — from "Shrek." You get the feeling Mr. Der likes his animated movies ... (see also ASNER, 8D: Ed heard in "Up")
  
• 35D: Ambulance, slangily (MEAT WAGON) — nice answer, though surprisingly gruesome for a Sunday NYT...
  
• 993D: Highlands daggers (DIRKS) — considered SNEES. Reconsidered.
  
• 120D: Engage in a 1920s fad (POLESIT) — I liked this answer, and the entire bottom portion of the grid, actually.

• 134D: W. or Bam (PREZ) — I confess I have no idea what "Bam" means here ... huh. Obama. I have literally Never seen / heard him called that, though I can find all kinds of examples when I google. It's a stupid nickname, if only because (I presume) it's pronounced differently than the "bam" part of Obama's name. Like the sound effect "Bam!" Not at all equivalent to "W.," which is a widely known nickname, the title of a movie about Bush, etc.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]