PULSE me, please!

I had not realized it, but this exhibit parallels my life AD.

 

"Are you meaning to say that PULSE began that first year after divorce?" 

Exactly so. The very first one was in January of 2008. This year's art and technology celebration is PULSE18.

"How very cool for the Universe to gift you this!"

I agree. Some years I've enjoyed more than others, finding sweet spots that I completely identified with. You know, like SWARM. I still find that to be my absolute favorite, though Jim Campbell has a work I very much like. The difference is that his piece is not interactive. In fact, none of his pieces are. When the engineer first started exploring his artistic nature, he did produce works designed for the viewer to actively participate with. The thing is, he didn't like the way people interacted! Funny, right? So, after a couple of years, he changed to a different style. That seems to correspond with his brother's death from cancer. I can understand how he needed a new perspective then.

"Most definitely. Death of someone close does seem to call for change. Back to the art, please. What was the Campbell piece you liked most?"

 

It's called "Eroding Wave". The piece physically consists of 3500 white balls suspended on wires to form a huge, three-dimensional, cresting wave of water. So, that's all static, meaning the balls do not move. Got that image of water that doesn't flow? Now, overlay that with dark images that swim through the light in all directions, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs or trios. As a scientist, I really appreciated that wave-light particle duality of the piece!

"Very cool! Were the images projected onto the light balls, like onto a screen? Or did he use variation of light intensity in the balls as the image 'swam' over them? Do you know what method was used?"

Those are good questions that I cannot answer. I'd be very impressed if he used a variable current, which I'm sure, as an engineer, he would be able to accomplish. However, I think he had the film of the swimmers running on a screen. I do know that he obtained those images by filming a group of boys in a pool. He even had them clad in long dark suits, probably like the full-length bathing suit that Lauri wore. He spoke of that in his talk tonight after the opening reception.

 

"I take it that's him on the right in the above photo?  I recognize Harry Delorme there, talking with the students."

You're correct! The group of SCAD student council members was about to enter the exhibit devoted to Campbell's works. I was already within, having chosen to view "Thresholds Of Perception" before his talk. For the most part, his works are like watching a fish tank.

"Say what? That doesn't sound like much fun."

Having had fish tanks for a number of years in my 20's, I can tell you that watching the fish is actually quite relaxing. They're always in motion, but it varies. The swordtails are small flashes of color moving quickly at the top of the tank, while the pictus catfish are slow and sinewy as they graze the bottom. All the other fish traverse the whole tank as they swim in their continuous circuits. It's almost meditative!

 

"Hey, maybe you should suggest the bfe get a freshwater tank!"

 

Actually, he has a cat, remember? Odd that you brought him up, though. I think this is definitely an exhibit he would appreciate, as both a physicist and an art lover. I hadn't even thought of inviting him to this, but I don't know that it would have been worth $20 to him. The reception and lecture were free to me, of course, as I'm a member of Telfair Museums.

 

"Well, I think you should mention PULSE to him and invite him the next time."

 

I'll keep that in mind. Now, let me tell you about the food this evening. I made sure I was there at the stroke of 5:30, and such treats they had! That's a Thai Shrimp lettuce wrap on top, with little crunchy bits of peanut for texture - totally yummy and definitely my choice as the servers made subsequent laps in the Jepson lobby. The other is pretty delightful, too, as it's marinated mushrooms on toasted baguette. I had several of those, too!

"Those do sound very tasty!"

They were! Linda of the Lucas days came downtown from Georgetown and joined me, as did one of her former SCAD colleagues, Michael. I was able to cue them in to these delights, making sure the servers knew that our table was glad to help lighten their platters! Michael enjoyed the mini BLTs best. I liked them, especially those layered, buttery, biscuits used as the base, but they sure made a mess! Then again, maybe that's just me. (smile!)

"Well, it sounds like a lovely dinner and lecture for you. I'm so glad the weather held for you to go to this!"

Me, too!

i thank You, God.

a minion by any other name...

... would still speak their own language?

... would still wear goggles?

... would still be as yellow?

Who knows!

So, looks like it's time for a Summer Kids matching game!

Yes, it has been quite a while since I did one of these.

True, I did do such a puzzle two years ago, in the fall...

but it wasn't for a Summer Kids Film Festival.

Nor was this one or this one, both from 2014. 

In 2018, I had this game and also this one, but not exclusive to kid movies.

Yes, the last Summer Kids matching game with quotes was in 2015, it seems.

I can't believe that was 9 years ago.

Maybe I can do one of those this year, but not right now.

This time is devoted to the foreign fellows.

Since I'm playing hooky from church, I might as well be creative with them!

(smile!)

I originally intended to write this after the however-manyeth viewing of "Minions: The Rise Of Gru", back in November of 2022.

I had the screening room all to myself, so I made it a game to see how many different names the little yellow guys were called.

That made it similar to the fun I had with Rocket in 2017!

I don't know why I never wrote the game then... just busy? 

But I'm rectifying that now!

And just what qualifies this as a Summer Kids movie?

It was the first offering at the AMC Summer Movie Camp, which our local AMC Classic 11 has been deigned as a nonparticipant by the great mother ship.

However, I have the list of those movies and I'm marking them off on my own, as the great majority are available free-to-me on Peacock.

I just saw one of those on Thursday evening, and will see five more of the eight total in the next few weeks, including one in Orlando at the Disney Springs AMC.

So, good for me!!!

Plus, having Minions recently on the silver screen has inspired me to make it up to them for not writing this game two years ago.

Good thing I made notes!

(smile!)

So, shall we proceed?

Here are the rules: Choose the person that said the name for the Minions.

Kindly note that some names may have been uttered by the same person, so that person may be the correct answer for multiple names.

Hey, I have to make it challenging, right?

(smile!) 

Here are the people involved:

 

A) Gru's mom

B) the big-haired birthday boy

 

C) the motorcycle-riding uncle of the big-haired birthday boy

 

D) Wild Knuckles

 

E) Gru

 

F) the airline desk clerk

 

G) the evil kung fu chick

 

H) the biggest bad guy of Wild Knuckles

*

*

*

These are the names they gave to the Minions. 

1) tater tot

 

2) this army

 

3) hippies

 

4) Twinkies

 

5) henchmen

 

6) kid

 

7) trespassers

 

8) soul brother

 

9) weird friends

 

10) little guys

*

*

*

Now, then, ready for the answers?

 

1) Surprisingly, this was by E) Gru. Then again, I enjoy that food, too!

2) and 5) Both by Gru's idol, D) Wild Knuckles.

3) It was F), the ticket seller, when the three Minions showed up wanting to purchase seats for the flight to San Francisco, where Wild Knuckles lived.

4) Another food reference, this time by B) the big-haired birthday boy. 

6) and 8) Both by C) the motorcycle-riding uncle of B), and both referring to Otto, the hitch-hiking Minion also headed to the home of the Golden Gate Bridge.

7) Of course this was from H) the biggest bad guy of Wild Knuckles, spoken when the Minions arrived at the house in San Francisco.

9) Who else but A) Gru's mom would call them that?

10) Spoken dismissively by G) the evil kung fu chick, but they showed her that dynamite comes in small packages!

*

*

*

Wasn't that fun?

I'm so glad I finally wrote this!

Now, off I go for a Summer Kids flick!

(smile!)

the meaning of life

Some time back, I had stumbled upon an LA Times Crossword puzzle.

I think it was in Savannah Morning News' DO entertainment section.

That was from July 27, 2023.

I had torn out the puzzle and set it aside, safely, to await another time.

Funny, n'est-ce pas?

(smile!)

The puzzle is finally done.

The theme, as described by 55-Across, read "profound philosophical subject, as defined by the answers to 21-, 32-, and 42-Across".

The answer to that convoluted clue was a four-letter word.

L-I-F-E

 

All of that begs the question: what is "L-I-F-E"?

 

Well, in accordance with 21-Across, it is an "HISTORIC MAGAZINE".

That is certainly true, though it was relegated to online status only in 2008.

An American magazine started in 1883 as a weekly, it was well-known as a source of amazing photographic images.

 

What else is "L-I-F-E"?

 

42-Across defines it as a "FAMILY BOARD GAME".

That is also certainly true, though the official name of that is "The Game Of Life".

Started in 1860, it served as a parlor game for up to six players and consisted of steps along the way from child to adult to parent and beyond.

 

And as Otto of "A Fish Called Wanda" would say, what was that middle thing called "L-I-F-E"? 

 

As per 32-Across, it is defined as a "BREAKFAST CEREAL".

That is also certainly true, though it is certainly the most recent of these three.

Quaker Oats came up with this formulation in 1961.

However, it was the 1970's television 'mercials that made it popular.

After all, if Mikey the picky eater liked it, it must be quite tasty!

(smile!)

 

However, I think the characters portrayed by Jesse L. Martin have the best answers.

I had the delight of watching him in two different TV shows tonight, one from this past year and one from 1999, more than two decades earlier.

Right place, right time.

 

In "The Irrational", he portrays Alec Mercer, a crime-solving professor of behavioral psychology with a badly scarred face. Tonight, in "Cheating Life", s1e9, he uttered two lines that made an impact on me.

"Life isn't measured in years but in moments.

Maybe the goal should be to live more, not to live longer."

I know those words were meant for me, now that I am 65 years old and halfway through my fifth year of retirement.

Living more has certainly been my goal in the last fifteen years, at the very least, and I am thrilled and blessed to have done so much, with so many, in that time.

The second show was one of my favorites, with the 30-year-old Jesse portraying an alien with such a love of playing baseball that he becomes human at his death.

"The Unnatural" alien was certainly living more while he was on Earth.

Shouldn't we humans endeavor to do the same?

oyster bateaus and bee sharps!

If not for the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta last night, I would have missed out on two free events today, plus another tomorrow.

Did I find out from the conversations going around the table?

Nope!

It's all thanks to the stack of Connect Savannah magazines spotted as Laura and I were headed for the exit.

She and I both grabbed one, me for the crossword puzzle, her for her own reasons.

I glanced through last night, than looked more carefully this morning.

Not seeing the expansive list of February events I'd expected, I checked the website.

Ah ha, there we go!

Free museum entry for those with a Bank of America card!

What museums could I go to for free this first weekend in February?

Holy cow, there were seven on that list, including three I'd never explored!

 

Even better, Pin Point Heritage Museum was fairly close to me and had free parking.

So, that's where I went, enjoying the sunshine.

This mural, filled with smiling faces, greeted me!

The seated man, I would learn, was Sammy Wiggins, who served as the foreman for the A.S. Varn & Son Oyster and Crab Factory after "Old Man Varn" died.

The three friendly women worked in the Oyster Factory, which was the largest building at the site. 

Built right on the dock of the Back River, now called Moon River, the simple concrete block construction had some ingenuity going for it.

That began with the Oyster Factory's centralized location on the dock, with plenty of room for boats, called bateaus, to pull in and offload their cargo.

 

The flat-bottomed boats could pull up on both sides of the building, then offload the half-ton of oysters by shoveling them directly over a short wall into a chute - that's the upper, large, rectangular, lit area - to the waiting shuckers inside.

Those freeing the oyster meat would transfer that product into a bucket, then release the shells into that smaller rectangular hole that led - ingeniously - right back onto the dock.

The oyster fishers could then load the shells onto their bateau and take them back out to dump in the river as the next bed for growing oysters.

Talk about sustainable fishing!

And all done with no need for transport of materials through some intermediate space.

Ingenious, I tell you!

This was my first time here.

The buildings may have been almost a century old, but the museum is fairly new.

The Oyster and Crab Factory was in operation from 1926 until 1985, falling into disrepair after its closure by "Bunny" Varn, Jr., who died a few years later.

In 2006, when Congress recognized the area as part of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, interest in restoring the four buildings was piqued, with the restoration occurring in 2011 and the place becoming a museum then.

Following the lead of the factory before it, the museum employs Pin Point residents, helping the area remain a thriving community.

Such a perfect place for me to begin my Savannah Black Heritage Month experience!

Thanks, Bank of America!

The next item on my agenda also was obtained from the website for Connect Savannah.

A free concert?

From the Savannah College of Art and Design's choral group??

And at a midtown location???

Sure thing!

So, bundling up in case I had to walk a ways in the chill night air, I went.

The Universe had even saved me a parking space right across from First Presbyterian Church, on the side street - right place!

I had feared I might be late, but the representative for Union Mission was still talking, so I'd missed none of the music - right time!!

i thank You, God!

I was treated to almost 90 minutes of energetic song and dance by the Bee Sharps - gotta love that name!

Candice Glover, a SCAD alum and winner of the 2013 "American Idol" show, as well as a native Southerner from Beaufort - performed several songs with the group, including a rollicking good version of "Proud Mary" as the finale!!!

Yes, I was nice and warm, after all of that dancing in my seat, and I even made a donation to the homeless shelter on my way to my car.

What a wonderful bonus of unexpected entertainment I have had today!

(smile!)

poetry in motion!

When I returned home from WNS and got settled, there wasn't much on TV.

I'd caught the last few moments of "The Big Bang Theory" and checked to see if any of my favorites in "The X-Files" were up to bat tonight.

Nope.

I saw that "Jeopardy" had something going on at 8 PM, so I popped it on... and stayed!

That's because one of the categories was "Baseball Haiku".

Say what?!

That sounded delightful!!!

And it was, too!

So, a quick refresher for folks: haiku is a Japanese poem consisting of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, then 5 syllables again in the third line.

Okay!

I missed one of the squares, but I caught part of the next.

 

"Annie's got problems

Nuke is enamored

Crash something I missed" 

[Notice that I maintained the correct number of syllables in the last line!]

 

The correct answer for the described movie was "Bull Durham".

How cool is that?!

I made sure to have my camera ready for the next time a contestant chose that category.

 

"Lupus and Tanner

Skilled not inside the diamond

Buttermaker drinks"

 

Oh, ding, ding, ding!

I know this one!

I watched "The Bad News Bears" fairly recently!

How nice to be reminded of Walter Matthau again!

 

Next puzzle, please!

 

"Ease his pain, it said

A voice that whispered through corn

Doc Graham got to play"

 

Oh, my, oh, my!

That very first line was all it took this time.

Who is not familiar with that quote?

Yes, take me out to "The Field Of Dreams" again!

Let me hear the rustle and smell the corn in the summer air!

 

"Jimmy once a pro

Alas, war calls men away

Nine gals beats no gals"

 

Sweet!

This one was given to me as a Comcast reward!

I may not have watched "A League Of Their Own" nearly

as many times as I've watched "The Sandlot",

but I do treasure it!

 

Now, time to do something else!

Later!

games and puzzles, puzzles and games!

Today was a day with nothing going on.

Not that I'm complaining, but... I would have liked to have a movie outing, or a meetup to attend, or a luncheon somewhere, but...

nope.

So I made sure that won't happen tomorrow!

I looked around and found, wonder of wonders, an event at the Jepson!

It's a talk about one of the exhibits there, one I've yet to see, so I plan to go a bit early and visit some of my favorites, as well as the new Robert Barthe.

Hooray!

 

Okay, what to do now?

While clearing off the sun room table, I found a crossword puzzle.

Better yet, it was written by Matt Jones!!!

Oddly, it was not called a Jonesin' Crossword, but it definitely was.

The clues for the four puzzle answers that went all the way across just had an arrow pointing back toward the number in the "Across" column.

I finally "got it" after I solved the second answer: "Jack Bauer Drama".

That had to be "24", right?

Then I solved another line across: "Bill With U S Grant".

Okay, I thought, his face is on... a $50 bill!

So, these answers are all for things that stand for a number!

Ding, ding, ding!!!

So, the title of ""Adele Debut Album" is evidently "19" and the "Old Vinyl Single" is a "45".

Very cool!

Too bad I didn't realize until just now that the arrows were pointing back at the Across number for a reason.

Hahahaha!

(smile!)

"Celebrity Jeopardy" came on, so I glanced at the list of contestants and decided to stay.

Utkarsh Ambudkar was on the panel!

He's a pretty smart cookie, too, as he ended up winning.

However, his chemistry knowledge - and that of the others - could use a boost.

In that first round was the category "Hey, that's not an element", so I watched!

Germanium, Italium, Francium - he knew that one, then backed off and went to "sports".

Gold, Silver, Bronze - nope, he picked "Silver", not realizing Bronze is a mixture.

Californium, Floridium, Tennessine - none of them chose "Floridium" in time.

But when it came to choosing between Snookium, Einsteinium, and Curium, he knew that the one linked to a "Jersey Shore" character was a fake!

Good for him!

(smile!)

Now, "$!00,000 Pyramid" is on and it has Tiffany Haddish, wearing this super-blonde, super-curly wig straight from an Art Deco magazine spread!

Later!

got some jokes for ya! hot off the fb!

Here's one from that British post-doc I befriended during grad school with Dr. Mandelkern.

He's also the one who introduced me to caving while I was there in Tallahassee.

Andrew Peacock is an avid photographer, and has a keen sense of humor.

Typically the last shot of a new group of photos will be of some animal's backside, with the title simply being "The End". 

Very funny!!!

So, this one is from him, photos and words.

Why did the deer cross the road?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To get to Rattlesnake Creek!

 

Hahaha! Haha!

 

Not so funny?

 

Hmm... maybe it's a Virginia thing.

 

(smile!)

 

 

Perhaps this one will be more to your liking.

My cousin Penny posted it and I grabbed it for the ex, knowing he would like it.

 

A priest, a rabbit, and a minister walk into a bar.

 

The bartender asks the rabbit, "What'll ya have?"

 

The rabbit says, "I dunno. I'm only here because of Autocorrect."

 

Hahahaha!

 

Isn't that look on the rabbit's face hilarious???

 

Speaking of faces, I would have liked to have seen the two birds in this one from Bob Bueling, a buddy from my days in the Navy.

 

"At the beach today I saw two birds sunbathing on little chairs while enjoying ice cream cones.

 

They were baskin' robins."

 

Hahahaha!!! Cracks me up!

So does this one from my sister-in-law's stepsister, Hallie, over in Louisiana.

 

"The older I get,

the more I regret

all the people I've lost

over the years.

 

Maybe

being a trail guide

wasn't such a great idea

after all. "

 

Isn't that an absolute hoot?!

 

This one, from Jay Sinclair, a former DJ who worked with my ex, posted this one.

It may take a moment...

as it's all a visual puzzle...

no words...

so, I'll give ya a few secs.

I guarantee the women will get it first...

and that's your only hint!

 

Can't find it?

Maybe you should ask for help!

Hahahaha!

I'll leave you with this science-based jokefest.

Trust me, no need to be a chemist to laugh at this set of lab rules!

Come on, we've all known clowns who have broken these... and hopefully lived.

 

Rule #1: Never lick the spoon.

 

Rule #2: Hot glass looks just like cold glass.

 

Rule #3: If you don't know what you're doing, at least do it neatly.

 

Rule #4: Hiccups and pipettes don't mix.

[Note: In biology lab, pipetting is done by mouth. In chemistry, a pipette bulb is used to draw liquid into the glass tubes.]

Rule #5: Assume all unmarked beakers contain a highly toxic, fast-acting poison.

Rule #6: You can't detect an odorless gas by smell.

Rule #7: If you don't know what a button does, do not push it.

(smile!)

american what?

Matt Jones is responsible for any confusion.

Remember him?

He's the one who writes those crossword puzzles I so enjoy.

This one was titled "Stateside - and the rest will follow".

So I was thinking, naturally, that the clues would lead to answers with state names.

Pretty logical conclusion, right?

Only, it wasn't that at all.

In fact, the one clue that helped the most was this: "Word that can precede each individual word in the four theme answers".

That one word?

American.

Oh.

Okay, I get it now.

The first theme clue that I figured out the correct response was the last one.

"The schmaltziest pop orchestra music you'll ever hear?"

That turned out to be bandstand cheese - pretty funny!

And the light bulb lit up!

Oh!

The TV dance show from my youth and the sliced cheese for sandwiches!

Got it!

Back to the first theme clue: "Carriers that only offer nonstop flights?"

What else could it be except express airlines!

The alternative to visa or mastercard and the Texas-based, largest fleet in the world.

Very nice, very nice.

Quick, gimme another!

How about "The Three Stooges' Roman ancestors?"

The first word gave me trouble until I remembered wielding their favorite weapon myself.

The answer just had to be pie gladiators... and it was!

I've seen the 1999 film about boys coming of age, but I don't recall watching the athletic competition TV show a decade earlier.

The final theme clue read: "Hitchcock sequel set at Yale?"

Say what?

The second word was a bother, but I finally got it, thanks to Dane: psycho bulldog.

I can't say I ever saw the turn of the this century movie, but I'm quite familiar with the pet breed finally made official by the AKC just a year earlier.

Nice puzzle!

Then I had one he hadn't included in that crossword.

So, here it is: "the cucumber treat with Seth Rogen as his own great-grandpa?"

"An American Pickle"!!!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!

Those are of my own creation!

Today, I was one of about ten there at the JEA for this film installment of the SJCAF.

There was a picnic luncheon beforehand, that I had thought of attending, but did not.

However, I did get to watch a couple of families enjoying the grilled burgers there behind the building.

The film was shown upstairs, which was different.

Then, since they had switched places on us, it was also free, instead of $15 - what a treat!

With potato chips and oranges instead of popcorn!

Thanks, y'all!

I was able to visit with Al and Leslie, who have been volunteer ushers at the SMF for the past few years, so that was good.

They had helpful info about working the new Metal Building venue, as well as the outdoors, sit on the grass, Garden of the Trustees.

I may need to back out of one of the shows I've selected, but we'll see how it goes.

(smile!)

I'm glad today's film festival venue changed.

I was able to enjoy this painting in the stairwell!

Blowing bubbles... so much fun!

And the movie was fun, too, with the great-grandpa Hershel having been preserved in pickle brine for a century, only to be finally revived and having just one relative still living: his great-grand-son Ben, who was the same age as he had been when pickled.

Hey, with Seth Rogen in the double lead, it was sure to have laughs, right?

(smile!) 

I just wish I had taken a better look at the Weather Song before I left home.

100% rain had been forecast... but all I saw was the lovely warm temperature.

So, off I'd gone, wearing sandals with hardly any tread...

sans umbrella...

in short sleeves...

and came out after the film to rain and a bit of a chill breeze.

I had thought I might take in another movie at the cinema...

nope!

I'm home and home I'll stay!

One good thing: no ill effect of the "spring forward" time change.

Remember?

I didn't change my stove clock or the one in my car.

I'd turned my phone off before bed, so I woke up to the time on the stove...

the same time I've been using for meals and such since before the "fall back"...

so, no artificial jet lag for this girl!

Woohoo!!!

(smile!)

crossword distraction

I am ever so grateful for coincidence.

I had felt so bereft after the outing earlier, but I found myself at the right place, right time, after all...

with exactly the right movie On Demand.

It was the clever commentary that captured me:

"Chatty crossword creator chases cute cameraman across the country..."

(smile!)

So, puzzles, alliteration, and a bit of adventure!

And, indeed, it had all of that going for it.

Sandra Bullock was the non-stop talker, utterly in love with language until she met Bradley Cooper, a blind date arranged by her parents.

He has to rush off on assignment, but tells her "oh, if only you didn't have a job, you could come with me."

Oops!

The very next day she ends up fired.

The crossword puzzle she'd crafted concerned her new crush, completely.

She'd even titled it in his honor: "All About Steve"!

The color of his eyes, the texture of his hair, the feel of his hands... hahahaha!

So, now free to do as she wanted, off she went to catch up with him, making for much merriment along the way!

Perfect for me!

(smile!)

 

Plus, it reminded me of a Matt Jones crossword buried under papers on the table...

and here it is!

Its title?

"Even Steven - or is it Stephen?" 

Perfect, right?

It's been patiently waiting its turn here for almost three months.

Hey, right place, right time!!!

So just what kind of Jonesin' fun was this one?

All about language and how words are spoken compared to how they are spelled.

Just like the names of organic and biochemical compounds, as my students knew!

The first clue: "Book lover who focuses on insects?" -

that would be an "aphid reader".

Then, the "Time before someone becomes a best friend?" would have to be a "bud phase", right?

Here's one that got me thinking about long-lost clothes:

"Reason your 1990s Hypercolor shirts might work later in the decade?"

That's the time for "phat dyes" - LOL!

Great puns, right???

(smile!)

For artists, there was "The art of hand-drawing national outlines?" translated into something that might go on breakfast biscuits: "country graphy".

Hahahaha!

One last clue: "Star player of an old flip-phone game?"

Has to be a "snake phenom", don't they?

And the game must have been "Centipede", in which my top scores were in the teens...

and I'm not talking about my age when playing it!

(smile!)

And did you pick up on the error in the theme?

Go ahead, read the clue answers out loud...

...

...

...

hear that?

It's an "f f f" sound, not a "v v v" for those "ph" letters.

Maybe a better title would have been "Even Steven - or is it Stefan or Stephen?"

Hey, just so long as it answers the three questions for creating crossword puzzles.

1) Is it solvable?

2) Is it entertaining?

3) Does it sparkle?

To which I answer for this puzzle: yes, yes, and yes!

Good work, Matt Jones!

(smile!)

gettin' schooled on cousins

I'm still not convinced that I "get" it, but you can't blame the Rogue.

He really did try to explain it to me on fb last weekend.

 

Joe Guy: This gentleman [in the photo],  Bob Guy, is my grandfather's last surviving 1st cousin. Happy Birthday!

Faustina Smith: So, he's your third cousin? Is that right?

Joe Guy: Faustina, he's my first cousin twice removed.

Faustina Smith: Man, just when I thought I had a handle on that...

Joe Guy: C'mon, you're a Southerner! We live in the land of cousins, you gotta know these things, lol

Faustina Smith: Yeah, well, I don't. I thought all that "removed" stuff was for your cousin's cousin from their other side of the family. I've been working on genealogy and really, truly thought I finally "got" it about second to fifth cousins. I feel like I need a chart about this stuff.

Joe Guy: 1st cousins share a common set of grandparents. 2nd cousins share a common set of great grandparents. 3rd cousins a common pair of great great grandparents. The 'removed' part comes when you're from different generations. So my 1st cousin's children are my first cousins once removed. Their children are first cousins twice removed. When it really becomes confusing is when there are multiple marriages!
 

Oh, so that's when it becomes confusing???

Shiite.

 

Even that chart from familysearch.org is a bit challenging to me.

Let me start with what I do know: my first cousins were born to my parents' siblings.

That's a real thing, something I grew up knowing.

I got that!

However, as per that chart and that site, Penny and Beverly are my first cousins - literally and figuratively - because I share a set of grandparents with each.

With Penny, it's my maternal grandparents, while with Beverly it would be the paternal ones.

And that, I do believe, is the problem with my understanding the concept.

I never knew Daddy's parents.

His mom had died when he was only 9 years old; his dad had left some years before that.

So, when it came to grandparents, I only ever had the one set.

Penny is my cousin because her mom and my Mama were sisters.

Beverly is my cousin because her mom and my Daddy were sister and brother.

I missed that whole thing about first cousins having to have a grandparent in common.

So, growing up, I thought my cousins were all cousins with each other, too.

Nope.

The children of Mama, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Jimmy are all cousins with each other because those children all share Lorena and Dick Lee as grandparents.

The children of Daddy and Aunt Barbara are all cousins with each other because those children all share Henry and Elizabeth Smith as grandparents.

So, I have two maternal cousins from Aunt Linda and seven maternal cousins from Uncle Jimmy (not counting two stepcousins from him, if that is such a thing), for a total of 9.

But I only have three paternal cousins from Aunt Barbara.

Now, if Henry Smith remarried and had more children, then they would be my cousins, too.

Okay, I've "got" it so far.

So what is my relationship to Lulu, my Great-Uncle Sam's daughter?

Well, I had thought she was my first cousin, too... but that's wrong.

Sam and Lorena were brother and sister, having the same parents, who are Lulu's grandparents, as well as Mama's grandparents, so my mother and Lulu were first cousins.

Ack!

So, Lulu is my second cousin... right?

That's not correct.

Lulu is my first cousin once removed.

Sam was her father and he was my Grand-Uncle (apparently that comes before "Great", so I've been calling myself Great-Aunt when I should have said Grand-Aunt).

That means there's a generation between Lulu and me... hence, "once removed".

Hmmm... so my cousin Penny's son, Jacob, is my second cousin?

Nope.

Jacob's maternal great-grandparents and my maternal grandparents.

That means there's a generation between us and he's a first cousin once removed, too.

Then who would be my second cousins???

Well, those would be Lulu's sons, as I would share great-grandparents (the Granthams, on my maternal side and her paternal side) with them.

Wow.

I'm glad I have myheritage.com to figure out all of that for me and to just tell me who matches and type of cousin they are.

I just need to look at it as a puzzle, so I can analyze it...

'cause that's what I do...

but it's easier when I can pin it down with names of people I know.

there's a bathroom on the right

Not only can lyrics be misheard, but so can common words and phrases.
That was the theme of a recent crossword puzzle earlier this month.
(My thanks to the writer, Paul Coulter, and Nami for the newspaper.)
For example, here's one that was not in the puzzle, but that I just created.
Here's the clue: "without any other formalities".
*
*
*
*
*
And the correct response?
With no further ado.
However, in accord with the puzzle's theme, that would be:
"with no further adieu".
Nice pun, n'est-ce pas?
Here are the crossword's clues and puzzle responses, along with corrections.

17-across
"Setting-sail cry?"
*
response
"anchors away
*
correction
I recently had to enlighten a friend on this one.
However, as a former sailor, I know it to be "anchors aweigh".

61-across
"Bird whose coos may wake you up?"
*
response
"morning dove"
*
correction
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology does not list that winged animal as valid.
Perhaps someone was hoping a "mourning dove" might enliven the dead?

10-down
"Americans who move to Canada, e.g.?"
*
response
"ex-patriots"
*
correction
That may be true for a retired football player from Boston who relocated.
However, for any other citizens of the USA, the term is "expatriates".

28-down
"Dramatists?"
*
response
"playwrites"
*
correction
If only the one who misheard had responded with 'play writers', all would have been well.
Perhaps they never heard of skilled craftsmen, akin to smiths?
If so, they would have known "playwrights".
That's not to be confused with 'play rights', of course.
Just ask any troupe about the need for those prior to performing a theatrical piece!
(smile)

38-down
"Squirrel food? ... or the formal term for any of the starred plausible-yet-wrong answers"
*response
"eggcorn"
*
correction
This would be a good term for Odd Lot to use in "Pants On Fire".
Squirrels have been known to dine on bird ova, as well as corn...
but not even white squirrels of Transylvania could live on imaginary food.
However, they do enjoy cracking open an "acorn" or two...
or hiding one 'safely', never to be dug up in time before it becomes an oak.
(smile)

jumble solving

I've mentioned my affinity for scrambled word games, I know I have.
Usually, I post about them because of the punny nature of the solution of the puzzle's answer.
That's been the case since late 2014, when I had a subscription to the local newspaper. My posting of the puns continued in February, March, and even April of 2015.
Then, like many trends, that pretty well ended in December of 2016, primarily because I let my subscription lapse.
I still do the Jumbles, but I rely on those papers left lying around at Wash Plus.
i thank You, God, for laundry day!
(smile)
I guess all of that came to mind because of the post earlier about puns.
Then I remembered I had a Jumble I had saved for about three weeks.
Was it because the joke in it was special for someone I knew?
Well, actually, yes.
I intended to give it to the running bear - who is now a 'bi-polar' bear, but that's another tale for another day - when I originally set it aside.
The cartoon image has four people on a racing oval. Three are runners, now standing around the fourth person.
The caption reads, "When the track coach's stopwatch wouldn't work, it was___."
The answer? "Bad timing".
Hahahaha!
However, I just mention that in passing.
(Yes! A joke from me!)
What I'm here to talk about is how I solved the scrambled words of the puzzle.
Let's take "i-n-a-p-o".
I tried writing it as "o-i-p-a-n"... definitely not a word in English.
Moving the letters to "n-a-p-i-o" really didn't help.
My third attempt, "o-p-i-n-a", doesn't look very helpful, but it sounded better...
leading me to "p-a-i-n-o", which sounded even better...
resulting in "p-i-a-n-o".
Another scramble that had me stymied was "m-l-u-t-e-b".
Yikes, right?
My first attempt, "e-m-b-l-u-t", symbolized nothing.
(See that? I've punned again!)
Rearranging gave me "t-u-l-b-e-m"... not quite... then "u-m-b-l-e-t"...
and the correct word rolled on out for me: "t-u-m-b-l-e".
(Somebody stop me before I pun anymore!)
So, my dear reader, looking for advice, I advise sounding out the words created.
As I always told my organic chemistry students, "If it doesn't feel right in the mouth,
it won't sound right to the ear. Try again!"
(smile)

plus one, this time!

So, here it was, Sunday morning, and I'm doing a crossword puzzle, as is my wont.
This one was in the latest AARP magazine, part of their "Staying Sharp Games!"
And guess what the theme of Stephanie Spadaccini's puzzle was?
Well, I first direct your attention to a similar number-driven clue-fest...
and next suggest you run in the opposite direction with that string!
(smile)
"Menswear that comes with two vests?"
Why, that's the popular "four-piece suit", don't you know!
"Revolver with an extra chamber?"
Annie, go and fetch your "seven-gun", if you please!
"Morris' breakfast of champions?"
Well, you'd have to know this pet food ad campaign to get "Ten-Lives".
"Quaint B&B furniture that's a bit off-kilter?"
Good luck sleeping on that "five-poster bed", my dear!
Maybe that's what I needed, instead of my normal mattress?
Possibly?
Anywho, I have "Top Hat" at the Lucas to usher for "Musical Matinee" -
time to dust off my tails!
(smile)

he and she plus me makes three

Wow, I am still sooooo jazzed up from last night, which, I guess, is still ongoing as I have not yet gone to sleep, right?!
I didn't even have any caffeine for dinner and I am still wide awake!
Those Odd Lot folks are to thank for this, at least partly, I'm sure.
Especially Justin... yeah, especially him.
He knows how easily excited I can get when playing games!
(smile)
Now, then, before you think the fix was in tonight, you should know that I certainly did put my name in the hat, along with those of other hopeful contestants.
After all, Odd Lot was presenting a special last-Saturday-of-the-month Games Night and that sounded pretty special to me!
It was extra-special, in fact.
Jeff, the ex, had contacted me to say he and Amy were coming to Savannah. Would I like to have dinner with them and go to the improv show?
Would I? Wood eye? (Hey, Mama gets that joke! She told it to me many years ago!)
I clarified that he meant Odd Lot ("Yes, if that's Chris Soucy's group."), as opposed to one of the other two groups in town.
Then I'd made reservations for three and awaited their visit.
You see, I knew that Amy had a birthday coming up next week. Since he had said she liked improvisational comedy, and since I love Odd Lot best of the three in Savannah, I wanted to make sure we'd have seats in the Loft on Liberty.
(Thanks, Tara!)
Whew, that seemed like a lot of talking to set things up!
(smile)

They - meaning Jeff and Amy - had picked me up
from midtown and we'd leisurely headed toward
downtown, with Jeff pointing out places of
interest along the way.
Vinnie Van Go-Go's was packed and had a huge line
of hopeful diners - too busy for us!
Rancho Alegre seated us right away and even had
a three-man band in that early 6 o'clock hour -
nice jazz!

I had the ropa vieja, of course!
This is the only place I can get it and I hadn't
been there in ages!
Jeff had some of that, too, but also a chicken dish
and a pork one - some type of entree sampler.
Amy had a sampler, as well, but of the different
appetizers, mostly fried.
Here, Jeff is comparing the menu descriptors to the
actual plated food - okay, let's eat!

They make a good-looking couple, don't they?
I had thought they had been together about five years, but they actually met in December of 2012.
Since then, she told me, he has introduced her to many types of food that she'd never had before.
I can certainly believe that!
I know his penchant for local dining and sampling
ethnic cuisines!
(smile)

We'd fortunately parked in such a good place that
we could easily walk from the Cuban restaurant
on Jones to the coffee shop on Liberty.
Nice to know Jeff still has his parking angel!
He'd picked up the tab for the food, so I paid
our way into the show and Amy picked these
fabulous seats!
Major coolness!
And then the show began...

... and I found myself onstage for not just "Match Game", but also for "The Dating Game"!
I don't know who took this photograph, but I am so grateful to them!
There I am, under the stage lights, long hair loose and gnome at my feet -
more on that later, I promise! -
and there's Jeff and Amy in the audience, him in his blue shirt and her to his right,
watching the antics of Odd Lot on this wonderful evening of fun!
Wow...
i thank You, God, for this captured memory!