Weiner Resigns--News at 11

"Weiner bites it!"
"He knows when he's licked!"
"And he had been on such a roll."

These very funny (but sad) comments came up on my Facebook news feed. After adamantly refusing to resign from Congress, Anthony Weiner finally caved in. He made his speech just a little while ago; I understand it was a media circus with the media heckling him. Mrs. Weiner (Huma Abedin) wasn't even there.

News at Eleven! That is the theme of today's crossword puzzle (by David W. Cromer). Once again, I am having trouble with the Newsday solution grid. . . . The site keeps acting up on me. I guess I'll just have to post the theme answers only:

17A: Dentist's number: LOCAL ANESTHETIC. I love the gas mask at the dentist's office! Combine that with Novocaine and some music and I'm relaxed!

28A: One way to avoid the draft: WEATHER STRIP. Saves on energy and keeps you warm all winter long. Too bad you can't put one in when you rent an apartment.

47A: Blazer: SPORTS JACKET. Sports jackets look great on guys if they're tailored correctly. There's nothing worse than a jacket that doesn't fit properly. And they must be either solid or pinstriped. Those plaid jackets from the 70s were the ugliest!

63A: Longest-running American humor magazine: NATIONAL LAMPOON. The granddaddy of all humor magazines! If it weren't for Lampoon, we wouldn't have Animal House, the Vacation series, Loaded Weapon, or Van Wilder. Animal House is one of the greatest comedy films ever made. I think I've memorized every line of dialogue:

• "7 years of college down the drain!"
•  " . . . when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor!"
• "The took the bar! The whole f----- bar!"
• "Do we mind if we dance wif your dates?"
• "They confiscated everything, even the stuff we didn't steal!"

Today's cryptoquote has an unknown source: "Consistency in regard to opinions is the slow poison of intellectual life."

Duggar grandchild #2 arrived . . . we don't know the name but it will begin with "M." The Duggars are extremely creepy. The kids never seem to fight and always perform their "jurisdictions." The oldest girls, who are in their early 20s, are still living at home. They have to do all the chores while Michelle continues to pop out babies.

Tonight is all-Zumba night at the gym!

Till tomorrow!

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Initial Impressions

Today's crossword puzzle (by Bruce Venzke) is called "Men of Letters." As with all Friday puzzles, it's a little more challenging than usual. The theme answers were all famous men who used initials as their first names (see yesterday's post regarding my love of monograms).

17A: Peter Pan creator: J(ames) M(atthew) BARRIE (1860-1937). Barrie was reported to be asexual and a pedophile. He was extremely close to his mother, who never got over the trauma of the death of his older brother. His mom found comfort that the deceased would remain a little boy forever and never grow up. Also, Barrie's marriage to Mary Ansell was reportedly never consummated. Barrie's inspiration for Peter Pan came from two orphan boys (George and Jack Llewelyn) whom he would unofficially adopt. Barrie had a long string of successes following Peter Pan and had a wide circle of friends. After his death, Barrie gave the rights of Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Of course, many stage adaptations and films arose from Barrie's most famous character.

35A: Bright Day author: J(ohn) B(oynton) PRIESTLEY (1894-1984) published 26 novels, his most famous being Bright Day. To order your copy, go to http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Day-Phoenix-fiction-Priestley/dp/0226682110/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307709624&sr=1-1. Priestley was a socialist and was on George Orwell's "blacklist" of people who were affiliated with the Communist Party.

58A: Co-creator of "Lost": J(effrey) J(acob) ABRAMS (1966-  ). "Lost" may have ended last season, but Abrams is responsible for being creator or executive producer for several other TV shows, including "Felicity," "Alias," and "Fringe."

11D: Retail-chain founder: J(ames) C(ash) PENNEY (1875-1971). Penney's (www.jcpenney.com) is the ultimate middle-class store. They went "upscale" in 1999. Personally, I look but I don't buy anything there. Penney founded his first store in 1902. Many Penney's stores were on main streets all over the U.S. By the late 1950s-early 1960s, mall culture evolved, and Penney's became an anchor at many of these shopping centers. J.C. Penney had also owned Eckerd Drugs (now Rite-Aid).

35D: U.S. Steel founder: J(ohn) P(ierpont) MORGAN (1837-1913). J.P. Morgan simply dominated corporate America in his day.  In addition to U.S. Steel, he also was responsible for creating Chase Manhattan Bank. In fact, Chase is now called JPMorgan Chase as a result of the merger of the two companies in 2000.

Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) is responsible for today's cryptoquote:

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work."

Flaubert is most famous for his novel Madame Bovary. As a writer, he used a combination of the romantic and realist styles in his works. His writing style was lean and precise and had a large influence on many 20th Century writers.

We're off to see Book of Mormon this afternoon. I can't wait!

More Weiner skits on "Bill Maher tonight. . . .

The heat wave finally broke, so I'm going out to enjoy it!

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Filling a Hole

It's still freakin' hot on the streets of New York City!

Today's crossword puzzle theme is called "The Hole Thing" (by David W. Cromer). The theme answers are below:

17A: Specialty retailers: NICHE MARKETS. I've always loved this term and it's everywhere. This is especially true with media. I've never seen so many publications focusing on smaller niche markets. Also, audiences have more control over what they watch on TV. The result is niches--such as food, DYI, youth, women's issues--that cater to smaller demographics and audiences. The same can be said with the Internet.

The Challenger crew
(courtesy of Wikipedia)

27A: Atlantis or Endeavor: SPACE SHUTTLE. The space shuttle will be retired next month and its parts will be donated to various museums. The program has had much controversy in its 30-year history. . . . I remember the Challenger disaster of January 28,1986 vividly. I was at work that day. Christa McAuliffe was the first member of the Teacher in Space Program; as a result many school children watched it live. The shuttle exploded 73 seconds into flight, as a result of failure in the O-Ring. I was shocked when my co-worker told us.

48A: Gridiron offense's first shot: OPENING DRIVE. I can't stand watching football, so I'm not even going to touch on this one!

64A: Casino Feature: SLOT MACHINE. Now that's more like it! Atlantic city has tons of penny and nickel slot machines, so we stick to those when we go down there. I feel slot machines are purely by luck. You have a better chance of winning at the poker machines if you know how to play.

The cryptoquote of the day is by Jim Rohn (1930-2009) and it's a simple but effective one: "Either you run the day or the day runs you." Rohn was born on a farm in Washington and became rich by selling nutritional supplements with a company called AbundaVita. He started give motivational talks all over the country about his rags-to-riches story. You can buy resources through his Web site: http://www.jimrohn.com/.

The pressure is um, mounting, for Weiner to resign. It's been revealed that his wife is pregnant. Also, another woman came forward, along with more racy photos. . . . Weiner's always had a reputation as a playboy. Why that is, I don't know. He's not all that good-looking, but women are attracted to power.

"South Park" was so sad last night. (Spoiler alert!). I don't know what was sadder, seeing Cartman and Kyle become friends or Stan's parents breaking up. I would say the latter. This definitely looks like a cliffhanger for a possible final season.

More torture at the gym tonight--kickboxing and Zumba. The kickboxing instructor was a former drill sergeant and she incorporates that mentality in her classes. Still, it's fun.

You've Got Mail!

Elwood Edwards

The Newsday Crossword Theme for today is called "You've Got Mail." Elwood Edwards is the voice behind the home page of AOL (see picture on right). Anyway, these are today's theme answers:

17A: Place to jot notes: THREE BY FIVE INDEX CARD. I love index cards, especially for journaling. Cards are available with or without rules and there are many colors besides white. Do you remember the index card catalog, those draws that were once in libraries? Of course, all cataloging is digital now, but there is something about those wooden drawers that I miss!

39A: A, M, or Z: UPPER CASE LETTER. I've started collecting monograms of my initial ("K"). They come in all different shapes and sizes. I have very few pieces at the moment but will buy something when there's a sale. My monogram collection is just one of many that I've started. More on those another day.

62A: Computer store buy: SOFTWARE PACKAGE. No explanation necessary.

Today's cryptoquote is by Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), the author of The Power of Positive Thinking:

"Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy."--

Here's an excellent link to Peale's bio and bibliography: http://normanvincentpeale.wwwhubs.com/

Sarah Palin does it again! This time it's all about the Jeffersons (and I don't mean Thomas!)

http://www.borowitzreport.com/2011/06/06/palin-we-must-never-forget-the-wisdom-of-jefferson-and-his-wife-weezy/

And finally, more on Mr. Weiner. One typo supposedly has caused this whole scandal:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/07/anthony-weiner-twitter-dm_n_872590.html?icid=maing-grid7|aim|dl1|sec1_lnk3|69043

GOPs are calling for Weiner's resignation. I disagree strongly. I'm sure half of the people in the House of Representatives are either watching or sending porn!

Sorry my post is so short . . . busy day today.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Morrissey, You Handsome Devil!

Today's cryptoquote is by the one and only Steven Morrissey (1959-  ) (known simply as "Morrissey"):

"You have to, at least from a distance, look as if you now what you're doing, and I can manage that."


For those of you living under a rock, Morrissey is the lead singer of The Smiths, one of the greatest alternative bands of the '80s. The Smiths are one band I never had a chance to see. The subjects of Morrissey's songs aren't exactly uplifting: failed relationships, lonely nightclubs, crappy home life, burdens of the past, etc. I've always loved his voice and he is supposed to be great live. He also was quite the style icon in his day . . . I loved his haircut and clothes. Morrissey is the influence for many of today's Emo bands (e.g., Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, My Chemical Romance).

The crossword theme for today is "First is Last" (Gail Grabowski). Here are the theme answers:

Courtesy of Travel.State.Gov

20A: Central American Nation: COSTA RICA (Spanish for "Rich Coast," Costa Rica is the most eco-friendly country on the planet. The country plans to become a carbon-neutral one by 2021. Adventure tourism is very popular here; many travel companies offer trips that include white-water rafting, bungee jumping, and SCUBA diving.

51A: Brazilian Dance: BOSSA NOVA. The Bossa Nova became popular during the early 1960s. The first, and most famous bossa nova song to achieve popularity was "The Girl from Ipanema." Check out this classic tune:

10D: Female Opera Star: PRIMA DONNA. Originally, the term was used to designate a lead female singer in an opera. Famous Prima Donnae include Maria Callas and Renate Tebaldi. The term also means someone who is demanding, temperamental, and cocky (e.g., JLo).

28D: Pottery Clay: TERRA COTTA

It's National Chocolate Ice Cream Day! The editors at Kitchen Daily (www.kitchendaily.com) did a taste test of 14 different brands of chocolate ice cream. The winner . . . Friendly's Classic Chocolate! The word "Chocolate" is of Spanish origin; supposedly it comes from the Aztecan language Nahuatl. Many modern sources say the word is derived from the term "chicolatl," which means "beaten drink."


Well, Anthony Weiner confessed that he was sending dirty pictures to his followers on Twitter. I hope he isn't forced to resign. He is good for our neighborhood, but he wasn't thinking clearly in this case. There are many Weiner jokes going around on Facebook and Twitter.


On that note, good-bye for now.


Signing off,
The Puzzlechick