Fasten Your Seatbelts!

Good evening! I hope everyone had a relaxing and peaceful Memorial Day weekend as we remembered our veterans. This is also a sad day for my family since it's my mother-in-law's birthday (RIP). She would have been 77.

Last night, we had the pleasure of seeing Aztec Two-Step perform the Simon & Garfunkel songbook at the City Winery. It was all part of a tribute to the late, great DJ Pete Fornatale. Friends who joined him included Willie Nile, Tom Chapin, David Bustin, and Julie Gold (her claim to fame was writing "From a Distance").

Nail clippers

Now on to today's Newsday puzzle by Gail Grabowski, which is called "Fasten-ating." 

20A: Manicurist's tool (NAIL CLIPPER). The first time I cut my son Alex's nails, I accidentally cut into his skin and he was bleeding. We panicked and called a neighbor who was an EMT. The bleeding stopped eventually, but we were so embarrassed. At 17, he cuts his own nails now (I should hope so, lol).

38A: Electricity in a storm (BOLT OF LIGHTNING). I'll never forget a classic episode of "The Flintstones" called "The Time Machine." At the World's Fair, Fred, Wilma, and the gang travel in time thanks to a professor's time machine. One of the stops was in Philadelphia, where they met the man responsible for discovering electricity, Benjamin Franklin. Go to this link to watch the complete episode: http://www.trilulilu.ro/video-animatie/the-flintstones-5x18-time-machine.

 53A: Vodka and orange juice cocktail (SCREWDRIVER). Aaaaah. This is probably the easiest cocktail to mix, but I've had too many of these in my time. On the other hand, how many of you remember that Tommy Pickles always carried a screwdriver  in his diaper on "The Rugrats?" He used it for many purposes, such as escaping the playpen.

 

But I'm sure most of you spent the weekend with this:

 

On a final note, run, don't walk, to see "Moonrise Kingdom." It is a very poignant and touching love story. The cast includes Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Frances McDermand, Tilda Swindon, Edward Norton, and the funniest scout troop I've ever seen! 

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick

Shave and a Haircut

Back after a two-week hiatus and feeling much better.

Today's Newsday puzzle by Gail Grabowski is called "Barbershop Quartet", and here are the theme answers.

20A: Head of a political group (PARTY CHAIR). I don't wish to talk about the 2012 Presidential campaign. 

62A: Narrow escape (CLOSE SHAVE). I know that my hubby loves nothing better than a close shave. It's also the name of a popular cartoon by Wallace and Gromit, but I couldn't find the video.

10D: Extremely slim (RAZOR THIN). Something that Betty Draper no longer isn't. On last night's episode of "Mad Men", she's joined Weight Watchers and is trying to be nice to everyone. When she sees Megan put a blouse on over her slim figure, she can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. Betty drowns herself in whipped cream and retaliates by telling Sally about the first Mrs. Draper.

36D: Minor Rural Blaze (BRUSH FIRE). With all the global warming, there have been too many of these lately. There was a serious one at Brookhaven Labs a few weeks ago.

I've always loved the sounds and harmonies of the barbershop quartet. There have been many variations on TV. One of the funniest was a very pregnant Lucy, Ricky and the gang singing "Sweet Adeline." They try to keep Lucy from singing by stuffing shaving cream in her mouth:

On an episode of "The Flintstones," Fred, Barney, and their friends want to appear on the "Hum Along with Herman" show. Barney can't sing unless he's in taking a bath or shower:

Wow, I just found some interesting news. There was supposedly claims of an assassination plot hidden in a crossword puzzle from a Venezuelan newspaper. The alleged target was President Hugo Chavez' older brother. Of course, the creator of the crossword puzzle said it was "ridiculous."

Ghostface Killah (from the Wu Tang Clan) was an answer in last Monday's New York Times puzzle. I've noticed that the contributors to the NYT puzzles are getting younger and are supplying hip clues.

Till tomorrow. . . .

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