Sizzling Songs

I just love today's x-word puzzle theme. The title of the puzzle (by David W. Cromer) is "Hot Tunes." I liked David Cromer's puzzles the best . . . at least there are some interesting clues and answers.

17A: Elvis tune of '72 (BURNING LOVE). This was one of Elvis's last rock songs. His remaining hits made the country charts. By 1972, Elvis had lost the good looks of his early career and was sporting the ugly white jumpsuits. Nobody knew that he would be gone five years later. This was also the year his marriage to Priscilla came to an end. She was having an affair with her karate instructor. Below is Elvis in rehearsal sessions recording "Burning Love."

23A: Tune heard in "Saturday Night Fever" (DISCO INFERNO). I am probably one of the few people in America who didn't buy the soundtrack to this classic movie. I didn't like disco and was getting into groups like The Talking Heads, The Ramones, Blondie, etc. However, I do watch the movie every time it comes on because it was so well done. I couldn't find the scene with John Travolta dancing to this song, so here is the tune by the Trampps. It's one of the few songs on the soundtrack that wasn't sung by the Bee Gees.

52A: Jon Bon Jovi tune of '90 (BLAZE OF GLORY). This song was Jon Bon Jovi's first solo hit. It reached number 1 on the Billboard charts. About three years, ago, Matthew and Alex saw him in Central Park. They camped out in the park all day. However, when it came time to go in, fans rushed the park and Alex was lost for a second. He went to a policeman and asked him to help find his dad. People felt bad for him and let him sit up front. After that, they sat back and enjoyed the show. However, Mayor Mike had a giant timer, and the concert had to end by 10:00. And now, the video:

63A: James Taylor Tune of '70 (FIRE AND RAIN). Two years ago, we saw James Taylor and Carole King in concert at Madison Square Garden. They were wonderful! Unfortunately, we sat in the "nosebleed" section. Carole King is Jewish (she was born Carole Klein) and is one of the most prolific songwriters of all time. Among the hits she wrote were the Monkees' "Pleasant Valley Sunday," "The Locomotion" (for their sitter, Little Eva), "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" by The Shirelles, and her own "You've Got a Friend." James Taylor was married to a Jew (Carly Simon) and his father was a prominent physician. He also was hospitalized for depression in college (that fact, I didn't know) and is a recovered drug addict. His own career hasn't been too shabby either. Here is footage from the Madison Square Garden concert . . . the song is "You've Got a Friend."

Today's cryptoquote by John Mitchell (1913-1988) is simple but effective:

"Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude toward us."

I had a hard time solving this cryptoquote. Inititally, I thought the last word was "it." After cracking the word "attitude," I realized the last word was "us."

John Mitchell was Attorney General under Richard Nixon. He played a prominent role in the Watergate break-in and cover-up and was the first AG to be convicted of illegal activities (the Watergate Scandal!). He was sentenced to 2-8 years in prison, but wound up serving only 19 months. The Washington Post has an excellent account of the Watergate scandal: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/watergate/Johnmitchell.html

 Last time we were in Washington, we saw Jerry Seinfeld at the Kennedy Center. We stayed across the street from the Watergate apartments: http://www.watergatedc.com/.

Season 9 of "Project Runway" begins tonight. I hope I can watch it on demand tomorrow since I will be at kickboxing and Zumba tonight.

Till tomorrow, have a pleasant evening!

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Satisfying My Sweet Tooth

Today's puzzle by Fred Piscop was nice and easy and was called "Sweet Breaks." It was enough to satisfy my sugar cravings without the calories. The theme answers, please:

20A: Child's Sweet Break (MILK AND COOKIES). I'm a cookie fanatic; my favorite flavor is chocolate chip.  There is a store called the Milk & Cookies bakery (http://www.milkandcookiesbakery.com/site/) down in the West Village that is screaming my name. Why I didn't know about it until I did a cyber search is beyond me. They offer ice cream sandwiches, pastries, and brownies. OMG, they even have dog bones! You can decorate your own cookies and even try baking one of their creations at home with their mixes. I'll have to make a trip there soon! My all-time cookie character is the Keebler elf (sorry, Nabisco).

37A: Commuter's Sweet Tooth (COFFEE AND DANISH): I'm not a big fan of most Danishes, especially cheese. Overall, I find them too sweet. I'd much rather have a bagel, a muffin, or a croissant. For coffee, give me Dunkin Donuts over Starbucks any day!

51A: Brit's sweet break (TEA AND CRUMPETS). Every afternoon at about 4:00, the British enjoy their afternoon tea. I never know exactly what a crumpet looked like, so I found a picture. Funny, they look just like English muffins with all the nooks and crannies. For more information on this treat, check out http://www.teaandcrumpets.co.uk.

And now it's time for today's cryptoquote:

"I don't know what you would say about a day in
which you've seen four beautiful sunsets."--John Glenn

John Glenn (1921-  ) was the first American in orbit the earth and the third American in space. Glenn is one of the last survivors of the Mercury Seven (the other is M. Scott Carpenter). He also is a former Sentaor from Ohio and served from 1974 to 1999.

The Mercury Seven was a group that flew on all the classes of NASA's space program. At age 77, Glenn flew on the STS-95 space shuttle mission (RIP to the end of the space shuttle program and thousands of lost jobs at NASA). NASA, however, offers an excellent retrospective of Glenn's career. See  (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/john_glenn.html.

Tonight is the final night of the Woody Allen film festival at the Jewish Heritage Museum. We're seeing Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex. . . . I haven't seen that movie in years and I'm looking forward to it. Lots of famous people were in this movie, including Vanessa Redgrave, John Carradine, Burt Reynolds, Gene Wilder, and the first Mrs. Woody Allen, Louise Lasser.

That's all for today.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Soothsayer or Truthsayer?

Today's Newsday Cryptoquote reads: "You can make a living from soothsaying but not from truthsaying." Hmm. A soothsayer is a fortune teller. Some make money by "predicting" the future and they tell you what you want to hear.

The quote is by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg (1742-1799). Lichtenberg was a physicist and a satirist. He was one of the first scientists to conduct experiments with apparatus. Lichtenberg introduced Ben Franklin's lightning rod to Germany but failed to launch the first hydrogen balloon. He also was known for his "waste books", notebooks in which he kept quotes and reflections, along with lists of books to read.

Here is a link to the Lichtenberg Society, but it's all in German: http://www.lichtenberg-gesellschaft.de/.


Get Your Kicks (on Route 66) (sorry, couldn't resist). That is the theme of today's crossword puzzle by Sally R. Stein. This song has been remade by so many talented artists: Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, etc.

Here are the theme answers:

19A: Fund raiser of a sort (CHARITY BALL). Charity balls are not my favorite events. They can be stuffy affairs with expensive clothes, along with more Champagne than food, unless you're the Flintstones. They manage to make everything fun. See below the famous "duck walk" dance from the 1965 episode "My Fair Freddy." 

38A: Haphazardly (CATCH AS CATCH CAN). Self-explanatory.

55A: Equestrians Attire (RIDING HABIT). Here's another sport I never got into. Horses are beautiful but they are stupid animals. Why they would let someone ride them, I don't know. Back in the old days, women had to ride sidesaddle. To ride on bareback was unladylike. Here is an illustration of a riding habit from 1818. 

Today was the funeral in London for Amy Winehouse. As a tribute, here is her famous song "Rehab." Perhaps she should have said "yeah, yeah, yeah." RIP for a talent gone way too soon.

Sorry to be short, but it's time to get changed for the gym. I don't get changed in the locker room there . . . too nasty!

Till tomorrow,

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Beach Boys and Deck Hands

Brian Wilson (1942-  ) is the author of today's cryptoquote:

"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you'll suck forever."

We all know Brian Wilson as the leader of the Beach Boys and that he's had a very tumultuous life. He showed his musical abilities when he was a baby. His father, Murry, was often abusive to him. Brian didn't like performing on stage and often had anxiety attacks. Eventually, he lost control of the group because of substance-abuse and mental-health issues. He fell in with controversial therapist Eugene Landy. We all know how that turned out. Brian, however, put all his demons behind him and made a comeback. Matthew and I had the pleasure of seeing him last month at the Highline Ballroom. Read my post here: http://adventuresofapuzzlechick.blogspot.com/2011/06/lets-get-real.html. His daughters became famous (briefly) for their sappy band, Wilson Phillips. Now his daughter Carnie may be homeless soon (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43710034/ns/today-entertainment/).

Here is Brian's official site: http://www.brianwilson.com/

The crossword puzzle theme for today is "On Deck" by Gail Grabowski. The theme answers:

20A: Military Bases (ARMY POSTS). There have been so many movies about the Army. My two favorite military comedies of all time are Private Benjamin and Stripes. In the former, the transformation of Goldie Hawn for spoiled Jewish princess to empowered woman was funny and touching. Here is my favorite scene from Stripes:

51A: Slow but steady progress (BABY STEPS). We all know the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare and its moral, "Slow but steady wins the race." Bugs Bunny in "Tortoise Beats Hare?" is priceless:

This is one of the few times that Bugs Bunny lost. Notice how the turtle sounds like Barney Rubble? That's because Mel Blanc provided the voice (along with his countless other characters).

28D: Scrabble and chess are played on these (GAME BOARDS). I love board games (although I don't like chess that much). Scrabble, Life, Monopoly, Checkers, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Trivial Pursuit, you name it! I don't even think kids play board games any more unless it's on the computer. However, I did see my friend Sharyn play Candy Land with her daughter when we went to see her on Saturday. Here's one of my favorite retromercials for the game of Life:

11D: Trains' power source (THIRD RAIL). Ah, the source for many power failures and derailments. See this link for a brief history of the Third Rail. http://www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/inventions/3rdrail.asp.

It's also a song by the band Squeeze (one of my favorites):

Glenn Tilbrook was so gorgeous! Middle age has not been kind to him.

Sorry if I'm going off in tangents here, but it's Monday.

Till tomorrow.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Two Ys for Me

Wow, it's a scorcher here in the big city. It's 98 degrees and the mercury is rising. Perfect day to stay indoors.

Today's cryptoquote by Ernest Hemingway got some buzz on my Facebook page this morning:

"Always be sober what you said you'd do drunk. This will teach you to keep your mouth shut."

Aha! I found an episode from "Family Guy" that illustrates this perfectly. Here's Stewie having a few too many:

Kids, do not try this at home!

The crossword puzzle was written by Stanley Newman (the famous "S.N." himself). The title is called "Get Wise", and in each of the theme answers, there are two "y"s in a row. Ha ha!

20A: 17th Century Conflict (THIRTY YEARS WAR): This conflict took place from 1618 to 1648 in what is now considered Germany. It began as a religious war between the Protestants and Catholics and turned into an all-out war between the European Powers. For a comprehensive account of the war, see http://www.pipeline.com/~cwa/TYWHome.htm.

37A: Dairy-case buy (BLUEBERRY YOGURT): I am not a big fan of yogurt. I tried and tried it each time I went back to Weight Watchers. I just found it too sour, even mixed with fruit. However, I do like Frozen Yogurt, especially chocolate. Give me some TCBY any day! I've heard that Greek yogurt doesn't have that sour aftertaste, but I haven't attempted to try it yet.

57A: Letter closer (SINCERELY YOURS): This would be a perfect name for a letter-writing service. It was an idea I toyed with for a while. However, Matthew pointed out that people should be able to write letters and I would have a tough time marketing it. Unfortunately, I find that kids do not learn letter writing skills these days because most schools focus on test prep. I've heard that the NYCDOE plans to revert back to the "3 Rs" next year. I wouldn't hold my breath. Mayor Mike's done enough damage already. There's a great article called "Citizen Bloomberg" that appears in this week's Village Voice:

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-07-20/news/michael-bloomberg-harry-siegel-citizen-bloomberg/

I'm going to attempt to go out for lunch soon. Alex is still sleeping . . . I don't blame him.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Feeling the Love

I love today's cryptoquote by Jason Love because it's so true!

"In my home, we've got a system for ending arguments. We just talk and talk until my wife is right."

Jason Love (www.jasonlove.com) is a stand-up comedian but I never heard of him until today. Jason Love does lots of one-liners about life's idiosyncrasies. He writes a humor column called "So It Goes" and a comic called "Snapshots." All can be seen on his Web site. Here's a sample video of his material. Actually, he's a nice-looking guy. I wonder why he doesn't get more traffic. There's not even an article about him in Wikipedia!

Today's puzzle is by Richard Silvestri and it's called "Telling Tales." The theme answers today were mediocre. I couldn't find much to write about.

20A: One above the ground (SECOND STORY). There are lots of businesses called "Second Story." Do a Google search.

37A: Sister or Cousin (BLOOD RELATION). As they say, you can choose your spouse but you can't pick your relatives. Good or bad, you're stuck with them!

56A: Checking, e.g. (BANK ACCOUNT). I hate finance and people with unlimited bank accounts. Mayor Mike just bought himself a $20 million home in the Hamptons. And the rest of this country is stuck with a 9.2% unemployment rate and many risk losing their homes.

It is a scorcher out there . . . just trying to keep cool today. Sorry for the short post.

Till tomorrow.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Dental Hijinks

Oy! I'm sitting here at my desk and a huge piece of my tooth just fell out after eating some sucking candy. There is now a huge gap in my tooth. I've been putting off going to the dentist for the longest time, but I definitely will have to go now. I had stopped going to my childhood dentist because it was getting too expensive between the train and the cab rides. My husband's co-worker recommended somebody in Rockefeller Center, so I'm going to try him.

Speaking of the dentist, that is the theme of today's puzzle by Robert A. Doll. Here are the theme answers:

17A: Engineering Boondoggle (BRIDGE TO NOWHERE). During the 1960s at my alma matter, Stony Brook University (www.stonybrook.edu), the "Bridge to Nowhere" was supposed to connect the library with the Student Union. Time passed, and the project was never completed and the walkway came to an abrupt end. Supposedly, the contractor inverted the blueprint and built the structure the wrong way. It was demolished in 2003.

25A: Affinity for desserts (SWEET TOOTH). I'm not big on those buttercream cakes, but I love candy, cookies, and ice cream! See here to learn why many children have a sweet tooth: http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/sweet-tooth.htm.

49A: Mince, mud, or meat (PIE FILLING). What about apple, blueberry, or cherry?!?

64A: Mankind, to some (CROWN OF CREATION). The album Crown of Creation was released in 1968 by Jefferson Airplane. It was the band's fourth. Here's a video clip of them performing the title song from the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."

Now on to the cryptoquote: "We are each of us angels with only one wing and we can only fly by embracing one another."--Lucretius (99 BC to 55 BC).

A Roman poet and philosopher, his only known work is a poem called De Rarum Natura (The Nature of Things). The poem is divided into six books and presents the principles of atomism, the development of the world, explanations of natural phenomena, the changes of the seasons, among many other concepts.

I watched the season premiere of "Hell's Kitchen" on Monday night and didn't realize there was a new episode last night. Anyway, Monday's season premiere got off to a scary start. One of the chefs had a heart attack just before the dinner service. Last night, I heard there was hanky-panky between two other chefs. Ramsay is back and more demanding than ever.

More Zumba tonight, followed by Yogatone. Yeah!

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Today's cryptoquote is by Samuel Clemons (aka Mark Twain (1835-1910)), the renowned author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn:

"It takes me a long time to lose my temper, but once
lost, I could not find it with a dog."

On New Year's Eve 2007, we had the pleasure of seeing one of Twain's lost plays called Is He Dead? The play focuses on the French painter Jean-Francois Millet and how he staged his own death to sell his work. Millet cross-dresses as his widow in order to keep his secret. Norbert Leo Butz was superb as Millet. Sadly, it only lasted three months on Broadway.

The puzzle theme for today is called "Jewelry Box" (by Billie Truitt). Here are the theme answers:

20A: Loose-leaf notebook (RING BINDER). Yes, boys and girls, it's almost that time of the year. School supplies (including ring binders) await at your local store. Every time this Staples commercial is aired, we laugh and laugh:

37A: Small role for a big star (CAMEO APPEARANCE)

52A: One of a retail group (CHAIN STORE). Sadly, another venerable chain, Borders, is shutting its remaining 400 stores. Another 10,000 jobs gone. What a shame. . . . I always liked them better than Barnes & Noble. They have a great selection of CDs and nicer stationery than at B&N. They serve better food too. I think Borders got into the e-reader business too late and its product was inferior to Kindle, Nook, and the iPad. Hopefully they will continue their Internet business. Going-out-of-business sales begin this Friday. RIP.

http://money.msn.com/exchange-traded-fund/dispatch.aspx?post=8cef1cd2-3da3-4436-9b2d-cd0b1ea01fc7&GT1=33035

It's so f------ hot outside, but I won't miss Zumba and Core on the Ball tonight.

I bought a Jones New York shirt dress to replace my Rogan dress that I bought at Target 3 summers ago. It's all part of the plan to start dressing more my age but not look frumpy.

Stay cool!

Singing off,
The Puzzlechick

Thoughts on Chicago and Milwaukee

Back after a two-week hiatus. I needed to rest and rejuvenate before blogging again. We had a wonderful time on our trip to the Midwest. Chicago is just how I remember it. The architecture looks even more beautiful than when I visited the city in 1979. We took a boat ride along the Chicago River and went to a food festival called "A Taste of Chicago." I explored the Art Institute (http://www.artic.edu) by myself and enjoyed looking at the Impressionist paintings as well as the Modern Wing. Also, I think I went to just about every store on Michigan Ave. (also known as the "Magnificent Mile" (http://www.themagnificentmile.com)). The highlight of our trip was the Eddie Vedder concert at the Chicago Theatre. The Chicago Theatre has a rich history and they did a great job restoring it. Save for a few obnoxious fans, the concert was amazing. Matthew met Eddie Vedder that afternoon at Portillo's Hot Dogs (http://www.portillos.com/portillos) and spoke to him for about two minutes. Portillo's can be descibed as "The Nathan's of Chicago." Great hot dogs! Never, never, never ask for ketchup on a Chicago hot dog!!!

Milwaukee, on the other hand, is a very depressing city. About 75% of the stores have "For Rent" signs. I'm not kidding. We stayed at the Hotel Metro (http://www.hotelmetro.com), which was a converted landmark office building. All the Art Deco touches are still intact. We spent most of our time in the Third Ward Historic District. You can call this the "Soho" of Milwaukee. We ate our lunches at St. Paul's Fish Company at the Milwaukee Public Market (http://www.milwaukeepublicmarket.org/index.php). Of course, our main reason for being in Milwaukee was Summerfest (www.summerfest.com). Normally, I don't like crowds, but I thought things were run very civilly and it didn't feel crowded at all (note: the following week, there were several arrests). Matthew and I saw Peter Gabriel and the New Blood Orchestra, who was in top form. The next night, Matthew and Alex saw Kanye West--I opted out of that one.

The train ride . . . let's just say I'll never do that again. No wonder they call the Lake Shore Limited the "Late for Sure" limited.

Now onto today's puzzles:

Oscar Wilde

The cryptoquote: "The youth of America is their oldest tradition. It has been going on for three hundred years."--Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Oscar Wilde, of course, was known for his two masterpieces, The Importance of Being Earnest and The Picture of Dorian Gray. He was also convicted of sex with male prostitutes and sentenced to prison for two years. Wilde was quite the trendsetter while at Oxford . . . he grew his hair long, detested team sports, and decorated his room lavishly. For a complete list of Wilde's works, see http://www.ucc.ie/celt/publishd.html#wilde.

Today's Crossword theme is "On the Vine" (Gail Grabowski). These are the theme answers:

20A: State of Comfort (BED OF ROSES). This is an old English expression meaning "the easy and peaceful life." It's also one of Bon Jovi's biggest hits.

62A: Sore loser's attitude (SOUR GRAPES). This is an expression originating from the Aesop's fable "The Fox and the Grapes." In the story, the fox is trying to get grapes in a tree that's too high for her. In the end, the fox declares, "Hmmmph. They're probably sour anyway." The moral of the story is "It's easy to dislike what you cannot have."

10D: Harvard and Yale's group (THE IVY LEAGUE). Also included in this elite group are U Penn, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Brown, and Princeton. They are known for academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and hefty price tags. It is also an athletic league. Enough said.

32D: Sailor's outerwear (PEA JACKET). I love pea coats. There are so many different styles, but the classic sailor's wool blue jacket is my favorite. This goes out to all my friends who love men in uniform.

On that note, I'm singing off for the day.

Till tomorrow,
The Puzzlechick