Mmm Mmm Good!

It's another rainy afternoon here in NYC.

Today's puzzle, by Sally R. Stein, is called "Pair of Fives." It's a tribute to one of my favorite candies, M&Ms! 

20A: Bigwig in publishing (MEDIA MOGUL). My hubby is waiting for one Mr. Rupert Murdoch to get his comeuppance. Mr. Murdoch has been involved in a major phone-hacking scandal in England, and it keeps getting worse. The scandal put an 168-year-old newspaper (News of the World) out of business, and thousands lost their jobs. Now Rupert and his son James may be going to the big house. 

58A: Nonstop talker (MOTOR MOUTH). We used to call my mom's friends "The Motor Mouth Crew." This was especially true when they got together for their monthly mah-jongg game. That's how I heard all the neighborhood gossip! 

10D: Parking-ticket writers (METER MAIDS). In the entire time I've been living in Forest Hills, I have yet to see one meter maid. We have nasty cops who write tickets to meet their monthly quota. However, they do exist, and the politically-correct name is parking enforcement officer.

29D: Celebrates noisily (MAKES MERRY). My new-found friendships with a group of girls from high school has resulted in several parties! From a hats to Halloween, we always seem to have a good time!

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is the author of today's cryptoquote:

"When a dog runs at you, whistle for him."

This is the dream of every dog owner. However, dogs, like humans, can be sneaky. All it takes is patience and lots of rewards to get your pup to cooperate. Yelling doesn't help.

Thoureau was best known for his essay Civil Disobedience, which is about the right and obligation to follow your conscience, and not what the majority dictates. It criticized social institutions and policies, mainly slavery and the Mexican-American War.

That's all for today. Zumba followed by abs class tonight. It's supposed to be warmer tomorrow. We'll see.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick