Friday, July 23, 2021

QOD:  We need senators who have studied physics and representatives who understand ecology.  ~  Vera Rubin (née Vera Florence Cooper; July 23, 1928 ~ Dec. 25, 2016), American astronomer

Thursday, July 22, 2021

QOD:  It is better to be known by six people for something you’re proud of than by 60 million for something you’re not.  ~  Albert Brooks (né Albert Lawrence Einstein; b. July 22, 1947), American actor and comedian

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

QOD:  The things of the night cannot be explained in the day.  ~  Ernest Hemingway (né Ernest Miller Hemingway; July 21, 1899 ~ July 2, 1961), American novelist

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

QOD:  You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.  ~  Cormac McCarthy (né Charles McCarthy; b. July 20, 1933), American novelist  [Cormac McCarthy died on June 13, 2023 at age 89.]

You can say that again!

20-Across. "That's what we agreed on": A DEAL IS A DEAL.

29-Across. "Can't argue with the truth": FACTS ARE FACTS.

47-Across. "Can't fight City Hall": RULES ARE RULES.

And the unifier:

56-Across. "That's life" ... and a summing-up of 20-, 29- and 47-Across: IT IS WHAT IT IS.

Across:

1. FX for some Marvel characters: CGI.  As in Computer Generated Imagery.

4. '30s veep John __ Garner: NANCE.  John Nance Garner, III (Nov. 22, 1868 ~ Nov. 7, 1967) was a politician from Texas.  He was known as Cactus Jack.  He got the nickname when he tried to get the Texas legislature to name the prickly pear cactus as the State Flower.  (The cactus lost out, however, to the Bluebell.)  I imagine he also had a prickly personality.  He served as Vice President during the first 2 terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 ~ 1945) Presidency.  Roosevelt and Garner parted ways after FDR's second term.  They had a number of disagreements, and Garner famously described the Vice Presidency as "not being worth a bucket of warm p**s."

9. Different: OTHER.

14. __ & Hammer baking soda: ARM.

15. Throw for __: upset: A LOOP.

16. Lumbering critter seen on safaris: RHINO.

17. Make like Drake: RAP.  Aubrey Drake Graham (b. Oct. 24, 1986) is a Canadian rapper who goes by his middle name.

18. Hot dog topper: CHILI.  This would not be my choice.

19. Gave up formally: CEDED.

23. La., once: TERR.  The State of Louisiana is actually only a tiny portion of the Louisiana Territory.

24. Latin word for "brought back" used in titles: REDUX.

25. Haleakala National Park locale: MAUI.

32. Period of time: SPELL.

34. Bollywood wrap: SARI.  The Hollywood of India that is based in Mumbai.

35. Who, in Paris: QUI.  Today's French lesson.

36. Tic-__-toe: TAC.

37. Drink suffix: -ADE.  Hi, Lemonade!

40. Inc.'s U.K. cousin: LTD.  Both are business entities.

41. Coffee dispenser: URN.

42. Pertinent: APT.

43. Ostracize: SHUN.

45. Barely making, with "out": EKING.

51. One-named "Pillowtalk" singer: ZAYN.  I am not familiar with Zayn (né Zain Javadd Malik; b. Jan. 12, 1993).  Apparently before he went solo, he was in the boy band, One Direction.

52. Pitney __: BOWES.  Pitney Bowes is a technology company that specializes on postage meters and other mailing services.

53. Puerto __: RICO.   Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States.

59. Baby Yoda's real name: GROGU.  Hand up if you knew this!

62. Workout regimen: TAE BO.

63. Rollover acronym: IRA.  As in Individual Retirement Account.

64. Wavy dos: PERMS.

65. HR assessments: EVALS.  As in employee Evaluations that the Human Resource maintains.

66. Mork's home planet: ORK.  A reference to the late '70s sit-com, Mork and Mindy.  It was too silly for me

67. Tiptoe deviously: SNEAK.

68. "For __ sake!": PETE'S.

69. Long of "Empire": NIA.  Nia Talita Long (b. Oct. 30, 1970) makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

Down:

1. Jeweler's measure: CARAT.  The Hope Diamond is 45.52 carats.

2. Test score: GRADE.

Sadly, this is all too true in the college setting.

3. In a flawed way: IMPERFECTLY.

4. Salt formula: NaCl.

5. Trumpet great with a statue in New Orleans: AL HIRT.  Al Hirt (né Alois Maxwell Hirt; Nov. 7, 1922 ~ Apr. 27, 1999) was born and died in New Orleans, Louisiana.

6. Creaks and shrieks: NOISES.

7. Piña __: rum drinks: COLADAS.  Yummers!

8. Anesthetic injection that eases pain: EPIDURAL.  Yet just the thought of having an epidural gives me the willies.

9. Black-and-white ocean predator: ORCA.

10. Louise's title pal: THELMA.  The 1991 movie, Thelma and Louise, which starred Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, was also one of Brad Pitt's first films.

11. Kept out of sight: HID.

12. L.A.-to-Chicago dir.: ENE.  East-NorthEast.

13. Curtain holder: ROD.

21. Devastated sea: ARAL.  This sea has drastically been disappearing very rapidly.

22. Use, as influence: EXERT.

26. Corporate expansion tactic: ACQUISITION.

27. Turnpike no-no, usually: U-TURN.

28. "Of Thee __": I SING.

30. Many a Zoom session: CLASS.  I am Zoomed out!

31. Castro of Cuba: FIDEL.

32. Cable network that's a homophone for movie headliners: STARZ.  It's logo has changed a few times over the past 20+ years.

33. __ New Guinea: PAPUA.  Interesting facts about Papua New Guinea.

38. Abu __: DHABI.  Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.  It is actually located on an island in the Persian Gulf.  The name means "Father (Abu) of the Gazelle (Dhabi)".

39. Tricky basketball footwork named for the continent of its origin: EURO STEP.  This is a new one for me.

44. '70s-'80s genre associated with the Knack's "My Sharona": NEW WAVE.  My Sharona made The Knacks a One-Hit-Wonder.

46. Actress Russell: KERI.  Keri Russell (b. Mar. 23, 1976) portrayed the female Russian spy in The Americans, a show we binged on last year.

48. Real puzzle: ENIGMA.

49. Nuke, as leftovers: REHEAT.

50. Of service: USABLE.

54. Clouds that sound like a virtual assistant: CIRRI.

55. Japanese port: OSAKA.  Anyone going to the Olympics this week?

57. Warthog weapon: TUSK.  Everything you wanted to know about Warthogs, but didn't know to ask.

58. Throw easily: TOSS.

59. Navig. technology: GPS.  As in the Global Positioning System.  The GPS has certainly reduced arguments when traveling on a long road trip!

60. Stimpy's sidekick: REN.  These cartoon creatures make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

61. Iron mine output: ORE.  A crossword staple.

Here's the Grid:

חתולה

Monday, July 19, 2021

QOD:  We cannot control the evil tongues of others, but a good life enables us to disregard them.  ~  Cato the Elder, Roman historian

Sunday, July 18, 2021

QOD:  It’s easy to become a millionaire ~ start out as a billionaire, and then buy an airline.  ~  Richard Branson (né Richard Charles Nicholas Branson; b. July 18, 1950), British businessman