Ryan solves the NYT, Tue 6-30-9
To continue a subject from yesterday’s post, I’m very glad to see I’m not the only one confused by Kris Kristofferson. Here are a couple of other facts that may help to enlighten the situation. First, Kris Kristofferson’s birth name was Kristoffer Kristofferson. Second, as Joon, Squirrel of Discord pointed out, there is a character in Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie named Chris Christopherson. He was the captain of the barge Simeon Winthrop. So there you go. Hope that helps.
Today’s Steve Dobis puzzle has the central answer ELOCUTION PHRASE which reminded me a of a great scene from Singin’ in the Rain.
The rest of the theme was:
17A. Informal greeting (HOW GOES IT).
30A. At times (NOW AND AGAIN).
47A. One not using the company cafeteria, maybe (BROWN BAGGER).
64A. Bay Area concert venue (COW PALACE). The last time I was in San Francisco there were signs all over the place advertising a reptile expo at the Cow Palace. Plus, and this is why you’ve got to love the Bay Area, they will be hosting 6 straight weekends of a Jehovah’s Witness convention followed by a body art expo, roller derby playoffs and a gun show.
Other highlights:
63A. PC-less Internet hookup, once (WEB TV). This still exists, sort of. It’s now called MSN TV. I’m not sure why anybody would want this. Trying to get the internet to work on your TV seems much more complicated than just using a computer.
71A. Sonic the Hedgehog’s company (SEGA). Remember when SEGA had the best gaming machines? The Sega Genesis was a huge hit. I never bought one but I did buy a Sega Dreamcast which was a huge flop and precipitated Sega getting out of the console manufacturing business. As a bit of history, I also bought a Turbo Grafx 16 back in the late 80’s which was completely trounced in the marketplace by the Sega Genesis. So, to sum up, I usually don’t know what I’m talking about.
14A. Sea dog’s libation (GROG). I’ll admit it, I used to enjoy B.C. when I was a kid and my favorite character was Grog. He was kind of like Animal from the Muppets. At least that’s what I thought back then. I haven’t read it in years. Is it horrible? Is it good? Is it the same thing as The Wizard of Id? Turns out there was also a Grog video game for the Colecovision. That’s right, the Colecovision. It was called B.C.’s Quest for Tires II – Grog’s Revenge.
54D. Pale shade of violet (LILAC). Brian, the wives and I were playing a game called A to Z last night. Long story short, I had to name things that were naturally blue. I said the ocean. Brian said I was wrong and that the ocean just reflects the color of the sky. But isn’t that how all color works? How light or whatever is reflected off of something determines its color? Right? Clearly, I’m color blind and I don’t know what I’m talking about but I still think I’m right.
Fun puzzle.
Next stop, Wednesday.
