From the Newsstand

Today's puzzle by Steve Salitan was a lot of fun. From its theme, "Muddling the Issues," the solver had to come up names of popular magazine titles:

20A: What a book club does after dinner: READER'S DIGEST. Reader's Digest was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace. To the right is the logo used from 1962 to 2007. It was once the best-selling magazine in the world. The magazine consists of condensed versions of books, as well as humorous anecdotes and personal stories. In recent years, they were accused of bombarding the elderly with bulk mailings guaranteeing them prizes and asking them not to discuss with others. There was a children's magazine (obviously called Children's Digest) and my mom made me read the stories and answer the questions in order "to help me improve my reading."

28A: Part of Fred and Wilma's Car: Of course, we are talking about the Flinstones, and the obvious answer here is ROLLING STONE. Rolling Stone is the mother of pop-culture magazines and was founded by Jann Wenner in 1967. Its first issue featured John Lennon (who else?) on its cover, and its style is very different from the current magazine. I've heard that Mr. Wenner is not the easiest person to work for, and he plays Sousa marches just before he is about to fire someone. The magazine has generated much controversy, from the way it rates its records (partial to the '60s and '70s) to its glamorization of the Boston Massacre terrorist in 2013.

46A: Kin playing ring-around-the rosy: FAMILY CIRCLE. This is your typical women's magazine aimed at homemakers: recipes, crafts, childcare tips, human interest stories, etc. I'd much rather read the fashion pages.

57A: Where naggers find bargains: HARPER'S BAZAAR. Yay, a fashion magazine! Bazaar is one of the oldest fashion magazines, first published in 1867 and targeted women of a certain income (i.e., rich). Its editors have included Carrie Donavan, Diana Vreeland, and Liz Tiberis, Richard Avedon's photos appeared in Bazaar for over 20 years.

Two clues that stumped: 3 Across: Zagrebian, for instance: CROAT. I didn't know until I looked it up that Zagreb was a city in Croatia. . . .48 Down: Nativity scene: CRECHE. Not being of the Catholic faith, I had no idea what this is.

Alphabet soup: FYI (51A: Memo holder, maybe), PGA (24A: Org. for the best drivers), YMCA (65A: Place to learn CPR)

Today's cryptoquote is by Air Jordan himself: "I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era. One of the all-time great NBA players. So he had a little gambling problem. At least he is still keeping himself busy with golf, his clothing brand, his motorcross team, and of course, Air Jordan sneakers. This was someone who initially didn't make his high-school basketball team because he was considered "too short." I'm sure MJ is laughing at his coach now.

Jumble time: The breakfast by the water included--

Words: COUCH   BURLY   ALLEGE  BISECT

The answer: BAY GULLS (ha ha ha). I, too would be irked if bay gulls
were attacking my breakfast.

It's official . . . Will Shortz revealed today the ACPT will return to Stamford in 2015. Gives me a lot to think about.

Time to go. We are heading to Philly for the Paul Simon/Sting concert. One more day 'till the ACPT.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick