QOD: There is no wealth but life.~John Ruskin (Feb. 8, 1819 ~ Jan. 20, 1900), British art critic and philanthropist.
I Felt the Earth Move.
The letters in the circles spell out one of the 7 Continents, but the letters are not consecutive, but rather they have Drifted to give us a Continental Drift.
18-Across. Stringed instrument played by Jerry Garcia in the intro to CSNY's "Teach Your Children": PEDAL STEEL GUITAR. Asia.
29-Across. Have high aspirations, despite being warned not to: GET YOUR HOPES UP. Europe.
49-Across. "Based on what they tell me ... ": AS FAR AS I CAN SEE. Africa
63-Across. Land movement spanning millennia ... or what each set of circles suggests: CONTINENTAL DRIFT.
Across:
1. Salon tool: COMB.
5. Bay of Naples isle: CAPRI. Also mid-calf pants.
10. Underworld boss: SATAN. Not the Mafia boss ...
15. Actor Sharif: OMAR. Omar Sharif (né Michael Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub; Apr. 10, 1932 ~ July 10, 2015) was an Egyptian actor and was fluent in 5 languages, including Arabic, English, Spanish, French and Italian.
16. Setting for some van Gogh works: ARLES.
17. Salad fruit: OLIVE. Not in your typical fruit salad, although this recipe for a blood orange salad with olives looks interesting.
21. Says, "We're through!": ENDS IT.
22. Aspire laptop maker: ACER. I learned about this computer from doing the crossword puzzles. Then I noticed that it is the computer used by the receptionist at my doctor's office.
23. Jar top: LID.
24. Silky to the touch: SMOOTH.
26. Flip chart holders: EASELS. // 6-Down. Class with easels: ART.
70. Author Carroll: LEWIS. Lewis Carroll (né Charles Lutwidge Dodgson; Jan. 27, 1832 ~ Jan. 14, 1898) has a rather creepy interested in young children that probably wouldn't be tolerated today.
71. Warning opening: DO NOT!
72. Rural agreement: YES'M.
Down:
1. Deal with it: COPE.
2. Gathering clouds, maybe: OMEN. It was a dark and stormy night ...
3. Anti-DUI acronym: MADD. As in Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
4. Like trumpet music: BRASSY.
5. Remove, as a demon: CAST OUT.
7. Synthetic sofa portmanteau: PLEATHER. Pleather is faux leather made from Polyurethane, hence the "P" in its name.
8. Bounce back again: RE-ECHO.
9. Archipelago part: ISLE. Another little dupe.
10. Trifling amount: SOU.
11. Boxing legend: ALI. Mohammad Ali (né Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; Jan. 17, 1942 ~ June 3, 2016).
12. Book names are on them: TITLE PAGES.
13. Benefit: AVAIL.
14. Comic-Con attendees: NERDS. Comic-Con is a comic book convention. If you are interested, here is a list of some up-coming dates.
29. UConn women's basketball coach __ Auriemma: GENO. Geno Auriemma (né Luigi Auriemma; b. Mar. 23, 1954) isn't your usual Tuesday guest celebrity. He was born in Montella, Italy, and came to the United States when he was 7 years old. He has been at the University of Connecticut since 1985.
45. Private Ryan portrayer Matt: DAMON. Saving Private Ryan was a 1998 film that starred Tom Hanks who was tasked {Spoiler Alert!} with going behind enemy lines to find Private Ryan who's three brothers had been killed in combat.
47. Hester Prynne's letter color: SCARLET.
50. "The Tempest" king: ALONSO. From the play by Willie the Shakes.
51. Like much brandy: AGED.
52. Close at hand: NEAR BY.
53. Kind of point: FOCAL.
54. Be gaga over: ADORE. The link between Lady Gaga and Queen.
QOD: It is a matter of grave importance that fairy tales should be respected.A nation without fancy, without some romance, never did, never can, never will, hold a great place under the sun.~Charles Dickens (né Charles John Huffman Dickens; Feb. 9, 1819 ~ June 9, 1870), British novelist