Saturday Stumper--April 12, 2014

Spring has officially hit NYC at last! But before I went outside to enjoy the sunshine, I tackled today's Stumper, along with today's and tomorrow's NYT puzzles. This was another difficult but not killer puzzle. The constructor Frank Longo provided lots of great clues and not too much alphabet soup or boring filler.

1A: It's compressed for delivery (ZIPPED FILE). With the advent of Cloud Computing and other advanced storage systems, the WinZip file has gone the way of dial-up Internet. 

15A: They're worlds apart (ALIEN RACES). See also Marvel Comics. Sorry, I'm not a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy. I really don't care if these other forms exist or not.

Sierra Nevada

17A: Stretch in the Sierra Nevada (PINE FOREST). I've never been to the Sierra Nevada, but the diversity of tree species makes for great photo-ops. 

12D: Phrase coined by H.G. Wells in 1914 (ATOMIC BOMB). Wells first used this phrase in a book called The World Set Free. He was definitely the master of war games.

3D: Measure with no rhyme (PINT). I would've never guessed that in a million years, but I knew it had nothing to do with poetry.

13D: Patent (PLAIN TO SEE). I thought this clue had to do with inventions at first, but "patent" also means "obviously open to notice.

23A: WTUL's home, informally (NAWLINS). Only tourists pronounce the name of New Orleans this way. I usually just refer to the city by its more common acronym, NOLA. The campus radio station of Tulane University, WTUL has the dubious distinction for giving the epitome of "class"--Jerry Springer--his start in talk radio. 

26D: Open gems (HOLES IN ONE). A very rare feat in a golf tournament, indeed.

29A: Nurses' opposite (CHUGS). This is probably my favorite clue of the puzzle, since this has to do with alcohol, lol (sipping vs. chugging).

36A: They develop less of a head cold (BEERS). Another alcohol clue! The head refers to the foam at the top of every beer glass.

41D: Plan for a peak performance (SKI TRIP). Many people I know get a rush from skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. Yours truly prefers to stay indoors, thank you.

46A: Referesher course (SORBET). Sorbet is always served after a big meal (usually weddings or bar/bat mitzvahs) to soothe the palate and to provide guests with a refreshing break.

49A: "Friendship" or "Forward" (STATE MOTTO). "Friendship" is the state motto of Texas, while "Forward" is Wisconsin's. 

52A: Superblocks (URBAN AREAS). Superblocks refer to streets that are much larger than the traditional city blocks (e.g., Broadway, Madison Ave., Park Ave.) 

54A: Locals around Whitechapel Road (EAST ENDERS). Also the name of a long-running soap opera on the Beeb.

The name game:

11D: Best Actress Oscar winner after Halle (NICOLE), as in Kidman

25D: Harvard Law Dean, 2003-2009 (ELENA KAGAN), who is now, of course, a Supreme Court justice.

Patton Oswalt

The solution to today's cryptoquote is by one of my favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt (b. 1969):

I fantasize and idealize myself as Bugs Bunny, but I know deep down I'm Daffy Duck.

Awwww. I know just how you feel. Bugs Bunny was the alpha male. He was cocky, brash, and confident and usually outsmarted his antagonists. Daffy, on the other hand, was always down on his luck. 

I had a tough time with the crytoquote and filled in "ion" for "ize" at first. There were also lots of difficult consonant combinations.

Finally, we wrap up with the JUMBLE. Some teenages from the 1950s are listening to records on a turntable, but the father disapproves of what they are playing. The caption reads "When a young Elvis topped the music charts in April 1957, some parents were _____."

Elvis Presley at his finest.

Word list:

LIPTO = PILOT

OZAKO = KAZOO

HURNKS = SHRUNK

TALLEY = LATELY

Scrambled solution PLOKOSHUAL

Solution: ALL SHOOK UP

My own parents grew up in the Elvis era, but were not big fans of his music. My dad preferred country, and my mom idolized Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Imagine if Elvis was a big star in the present day. Facebook and Twitter would certainly crash.

Time to call it a day. I'm not sure if I will have a chance to solve the Sunday puzzle, so till Monday. . . .

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick

Body Language

OMG, this is my 100th post! I hope to get the word out soon so people can actually subscribe.

Today's puzzle by Charles Slack is called "Active Anatomy":

17A: Something scary (HAIR RAISER). Who can forget the classic Bugs Bunny short "The Hair-Raising Hare?" It's the only cartoons that uses both homonyms "hare" for "hair". Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Note: No copyright infringement intended.

Vanilla Ice

62A: Something astounding (MIND BLOWER). There was a little indie film called "The Mind Blowers", which was made in 1968. I can't find many details about it, however. It's about a professor who literally plays head games for his studies. There was also an 1994 album called "Mind Blowin'" by pseudo-rapper Vanilla Ice. It bombed (did you expect anything else?). Vanilla Ice is what you call a "Juggalo", or a fan of Psychopathic Records. Oooookay!

10D: Nonstop talker (EAR BENDER). Ugh, people who never shut up are among my pet peeves! However,  "ear bender" can also be a positive thing when you talk about music. I found this puzzle about Keith Richards on a blog called Earbender, which gives us news about music, marketing and technology. It is written by John Rosenfelder, a music-industry insider.

36D: Source of sudden understanding (EYE OPENER). This also can mean an alcohol beverage taken to get you going, especially in the morning.

Last night, we had a male Zumba instructor, who was amazing! I wish there were more. They definitely add a different flavor to the class.

To my peeps in NYC and on LI--stay dry!

I have very sad news to report in the music world. Davy Jones of the Monkees died this morning at age 66. Here is a Davy singing Neil Diamond's "A Little Bit Me."

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