Day: December 12, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. He wrote “The Eve of St. Agnes” KEATS
“The Eve of St. Agnes” is poem by John Keats that was first published in 1820. This long work (42 stanzas) refers to the superstition that a girl could see her future husband in a dream on the eve of St. Agnes. St. Agnes is the patron saint of virgins.

9. He wrote “Halloween” BURNS
Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote a long poem called “Halloween” in 1785. It is a little different that other poems penned by Burns, in its length and in the fact that he uses a mixture of Scots and English language. The poem is recited by many Scots at Halloween every year.

15. Kyrgyzstan city OSH
Osh is the second largest city in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan (after the capital Bishkek). Osh was a center of silk production and lies along the old Silk Road, the trade route that traversed Asia.

16. “My FBI” author Louis FREEH
Louis Freeh was the Director of the FBI in the Clinton administration. Prior to heading up the FBI, Freeh had been a US Attorney and US district court judge. Years earlier, Freeh had started out his career with the FBI as an agent.

18. Cohort of Curly MOE
If you’ve seen a few of the films starring “The Three Stooges” you’ll have noticed that the line up changed over the years. The original trio was made up of Moe and Shemp Howard (two brothers) and Larry Fine (a good friend of the Howards). This line up was usually known as “Moe, Larry and Shemp”. Then Curly Howard replaced his brother when Shemp quit the act, creating the most famous trio, “Moe, Larry And Curly”. Shemp returned when Curly had a debilitating stroke in 1946, and Shemp stayed with the troupe until he died in 1955. Shemp was replaced by Joe Besser, and then “Curly-Joe” DeRita. When Larry Fine had a stroke in 1970, it effectively marked the end of the act.

20. Red Guard leader MAO
Red Guards were young paramilitaries who were mobilized by Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution in China in the mid-sixties.

21. 1970s radical gp. SLA
The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) was founded in 1973 by an escapee of the prison system, Donald DeFreeze. The group’s manifesto promoted the rights of African Americans although, in the 2-3 year life of the group, DeFreeze was the only black member. Famously, the SLA kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst in 1974. Hearst apparently fell victim to what is called the Stockholm syndrome and became sympathetic to her captors’ cause. She joined the SLA and assumed the name “Tania”.

23. Literary assortment ANA
An ana (or plural anas) is a collection, perhaps of literature, that represents the character of a particular place or a person. Ana can be used as a noun or as a suffix (e.g. Americana).

25. The whole shebang ALL
The word “shebang” is probably a derivative of “shebeen”, an Irish word for a “speakeasy”, where liquor was drunk and sold illegally. In English “shebang” was originally a “hut” or a “shed”. Just how this evolved into the expression “the whole shebang”, meaning “everything”, is unclear.

26. Peut-__: maybe, in French ETRE
“Peut-être” is French for “maybe, perhaps”. A literal translation into English might be “it is able to be”.

28. Lace place EYELET
Lace might be threaded through an eyelet that has been embroidered in a garment, perhaps.

30. “Small Wonder” state: Abbr. DEL
The state of Delaware has several nicknames, including the First State, the Small Wonder, the Blue Hen State and the Diamond State.

31. Five-pound Staples package, typically REAM
A ream is 500 sheets of paper. As there were 24 sheets in a quire, and 20 quires made up a ream, there used to be 480 sheets in a ream. Ever since the standard was changed to 500, a 480-sheet packet of paper has been called a “short ream”.

Staples is an office supply chain store based in Framingham, Massachusetts. Some of the company’s stores have a Staples EasyTech department which provides computer repair and upgrade services.

32. Stellar spectacles NOVAS
A nova is basically a star that suddenly gets much brighter, gradually returning to its original state weeks or even years later. The increased brightness of a nova is due to increased nuclear activity causing the star to pick up extra hydrogen from a neighboring celestial body. A supernova is very different from a nova. A supernova is a very bright burst of light and energy created when most of the material in a star explodes. The bright burst of a supernova is very short-lived compared to the sustained brightness of a nova.

34. Music publisher sold to Universal in 2007 BMG
BMG is a music company headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and is the fourth-largest music publisher in the world.

38. Westminster Abbey attraction, and one of four in this puzzle POETS’ CORNER
Poets’ Corner is an area in Westminster Abbey in London that earned its name from the high number of poets buried and commemorated there, as well as playwrights and authors. The first poet interred there was Geoffrey Chaucer. Also in Poets’ Corner are the remains of Edmund Spenser, Robert Browning, Charles Dickens, John Dryden, George Frideric Handel, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Johnson, Rudyard Kipling, Laurence Olivier and Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Wow!

42. Backup key ESC
Escape (ESC)

43. Some hosp. scans EEGS
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of electrical activity caused by the firing of neurons within the brain. The EEG might be used to diagnose epilepsy, or perhaps to determine if a patient is “brain dead”.

44. Pentathlon equipment EPEES
The original pentathlon of the ancient Olympic games consisted of a foot race, wrestling, long jump, javelin and discus. When a new pentathlon was created as a sport for the modern Olympic Games, it was given the name the “modern pentathlon”. First introduced in 1912, the modern pentathlon consists of:

– pistol shooting
– épée fencing
– 200m freestyle swimming
– show jumping
– 3 km cross-country running

46. Sundance Film Festival state UTAH
The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film event in the country, and takes place every year around the Sundance Resort near Provo, Utah. The festival has its roots in the Utah/US Film Festival which started in Salt Lake City in 1978. Management of the festival was taken over by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute in 1985. The festival has became a bit of a media feeding frenzy in recent years, as a lot of A-list celebrities attend. The Festival organizers introduced a “Focus on Film” campaign in 2007 to try to offset some of the madness.

50. Nutritional stat. RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII and are a set of recommendations for the standard daily allowances of specific nutrients. RDAs were effectively absorbed into a broader set of dietary guidelines in 1997 called Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs). RDIs are used to determine the Daily Values (DV) of foods that are printed on nutrition fact labels on most food that we purchase.

51. Battery terminals ANODES
The two terminals of a battery are called the anode and the cathode. Electrons travel from the cathode to the anode creating an electric current in a circuit.

52. Maker of the Power Max HD snow blower TORO
Toro is a manufacturer of mainly lawn mowers and snow removal equipment based in Bloomington, Minnesota. The company was started in 1914 to build tractor engines.

53. Chablis, e.g. VIN
In French, one usually finds wine (vin) on the menu (le menu).

Chablis wine comes from the Chablis region that is the most northerly wine district in the Burgundy region of France. Chablis is a dry white wine made mainly from Chardonnay grapes.

54. Sydney’s state: Abbr. NSW
New South Wales (NSW) is the most populous state in Australia and is home to Sydney, the most populous city in the country. New South Wales was founded in 1788. When the British took over New Zealand in 1840, for a while New Zealand was actually governed as part of New South Wales.

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia. People from Sydney are known as “Sydneysiders”.

55. Rocky hellos YOS
You might remember Rocky Balboa saying, “Yo, Adrian!” in the original Rocky movie. Adrian was Rocky’s wife played by the lovely Talia Shire, sister of director Francis Ford Coppola.

57. Old Egypt-Syr. alliance UAR
The United Arab Republic (UAR) was a union between Egypt and Syria made in 1958 and dissolved in 1961 when Syria pulled out of the arrangement.

62. West African capital ACCRA
Accra sits on Ghana’s coast and is a major seaport as well as the country’s capital city. The name “Accra” comes from a local word “Nkran” meaning “ants”, a name chosen because of the large number of anthills found in the area when the city was founded.

66. Designer Mizrahi ISAAC
Isaac Mizrahi is a fashion designer from Brooklyn, New York.

67. He wrote “Ash Wednesday” ELIOT
“Ash Wednesday” is a poem that TS Eliot wrote in 1930, soon after he converted to Anglicanism, having been raised a Unitarian.

68. Intro to zoology? ZEE
The first letter in the word “zoology” is the letter Z (zee).

69. He wrote the “Convivio” DANTE
“Convivio” is an unfinished work by Dante Alighieri written between 1304 and 1307. With the title translating as “Banquet”, it is in effect an encyclopedia of knowledge of the day, and deals with philosophy, politics, linguistics, science and history.

Down
1. He wrote “Summer of Love” KILMER
“Summer of Love” was the first book of verse published by the poet Joyce Kilmer, in 1911.

The American journalist and poet Joyce Kilmer is primarily known for his 1913 poem titled “Trees”. The original text of the poem is:

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Kilmer died a few years after writing “Trees”. He was a casualty of the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31.

3. Night light sight AURORA
The spectacular aurora phenomenon is seen lighting up the night sky at both poles of the earth (the Aurora Borealis in the north, and the Aurora Australis in the south). The eerie effect is caused by charged particles colliding with atoms at high latitudes.

5. Mfg. guidelines STDS
Manufacturing (mfg.) guidelines are standards (stds.).

6. Deli request NO MAYO
Mayonnaise originated in the town of Mahon in Menorca, a Mediterranean island belonging to Spain. The Spanish called the sauce “salsa mahonesa” after the town, and this morphed into the French word “mayonnaise” that we use in English today.

7. Private entertainers, briefly? USO
The United Service Organization (USO) was founded in 1941 at the request of FDR “to handle the on-leave recreation of the men in the armed forces”. A USO tour is undertaken by a troupe of entertainers, many of whom are big-name celebrities. A USO tour usually includes troop locations in combat zones.

8. Texas Revolution battle site THE ALAMO
The famous Alamo in San Antonio, Texas was originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero. The mission was founded in 1718 and was the first mission established in the city. The Battle of the Alamo took place in 1836, a thirteen-day siege by the Mexican Army led by President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Only two people defending the Alamo Mission survived the onslaught. One month later, the Texian army got its revenge by attacking and defeating the Mexican Army in the Battle of San Jacinto. During the surprise attack on Santa Anna’s camp, many of the Texian soldiers were heard to cry “Remember the Alamo!”.

11. Legendary firefighter RED ADAIR
Red Adair was a famous fighter of fires in oil fields, and was a native of Houston, Texas. Adair’s exploits were the inspiration for a 1968 movie called “Hellfighters” starring John Wayne.

13. He wrote “The Cloud” SHELLEY
“The Cloud” is an 1820 poem by the English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley uses the cloud in his poem as a metaphor for never-ending cycle of change in nature. The opening lines are:

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.

24. Coffee-making portmanteau NESPRESSO
A Nespresso machine brews espresso from single-use capsules of ground coffee. The machine was invented by a Nestlé employee in Switzerland in 1976.

33. Like jigsaw puzzles PRECUT
The original jigsaw puzzles were created by painting a picture on a sheet of wood and then cutting the picture into small pieces using a jigsaw, hence the name. Today, almost all jigsaw puzzles are pictures glued onto cardboard. The puzzle pieces are then die-cut, and there’s no jigsaw involved at all.

38. 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso PAGANINI
Niccolò Paganini was a famed Italian violinist and composer. Paganini was perhaps the most celebrated violinist of the 19th century. His most famous composition has to be his Caprice No. 24 in A minor, Op. 1. This work is the basis for many derivative masterpieces by other composers, including the wonderful “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Rachmaninoff.

39. Franz’ “NYPD Blue” role SIPOWICZ
Actor Dennis Franz played Detective Andy Sipowicz on the copy show “NYPD Blue”. Sipowicz is the only character who appears in every episode of the show.

40. He wrote “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” SERVICE
Robert W. Service was an English poet who lived in Canada for many years. Service lived in the Yukon while in Canada, and earned himself the moniker “the Bard of the Yukon”. He is best-known for his narrative poems “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” and “The Cremation of Sam McGee”, which were first published in 1907.

45. Pooh pal EEYORE
Eeyore is the donkey character in A. A. Milne’s “Winnie-the-Pooh”. Eeyore is very lovable, but has a gloomy and pessimistic outlook on life.

47. Froot Loops mascot TOUCAN
Toucan Sam is the mascot of Kellogg’s Froot Loops breakfast cereal, and he can be seen on the front of every box. Froot Loops have been manufactured by Kellogg’s since 1963. The little loops come in different colors, originally red, orange and yellow, but now there are green, purple and blue loops as well. Notice I said “different colors” not “different flavors”. Each loop tastes the same, so I wonder where the color comes from …?

48. Ancient docking site ARARAT
Mount Ararat is in Turkey. Ararat is a snow-capped dormant volcano with two peaks. The higher of the two, Greater Ararat, is the tallest peak in the country. Ararat takes its name from a legendary Armenian hero called Ara the Beautiful (or Ara the Handsome). According to the Book of Genesis, Noah’s ark landed on Mount Ararat as the Great Flood subsided.

49. He wrote the “Odes” HORACE
One of Ancient Rome’s leading lyric poets was Quintus Horatius Flaccus, or “Horace” as we tend to know him. One of Horace’s most famous works is his collection of Latin lyric poems titled “Carmina” (Latin for “Odes).

63. Gray side: Abbr. CSA
The Confederate States of America (CSA) set up government in 1861 just before Abraham Lincoln took office. Jefferson Davis was selected as President of the CSA at its formation and retained the post for the life of the government.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. He wrote “The Eve of St. Agnes” KEATS
6. Avid fan NUT
9. He wrote “Halloween” BURNS
14. “That’s it for me!” I QUIT!
15. Kyrgyzstan city OSH
16. “My FBI” author Louis FREEH
17. Drew LURED
18. Cohort of Curly MOE
19. Perch, at times LEDGE
20. Red Guard leader MAO
21. 1970s radical gp. SLA
23. Literary assortment ANA
25. The whole shebang ALL
26. Peut-__: maybe, in French ETRE
28. Lace place EYELET
30. “Small Wonder” state: Abbr. DEL
31. Five-pound Staples package, typically REAM
32. Stellar spectacles NOVAS
33. Show anxiety, in a way PACE
34. Music publisher sold to Universal in 2007 BMG
36. Foreign matter IMPURITY
38. Westminster Abbey attraction, and one of four in this puzzle POETS’ CORNER
40. Blockbuster SMASH HIT
42. Backup key ESC
43. Some hosp. scans EEGS
44. Pentathlon equipment EPEES
46. Sundance Film Festival state UTAH
50. Nutritional stat. RDA
51. Battery terminals ANODES
52. Maker of the Power Max HD snow blower TORO
53. Chablis, e.g. VIN
54. Sydney’s state: Abbr. NSW
55. Rocky hellos YOS
57. Old Egypt-Syr. alliance UAR
58. Finishing touch of a sort ICING
60. Swear words I DO
62. West African capital ACCRA
64. Support aids CANES
65. Tough mutt CUR
66. Designer Mizrahi ISAAC
67. He wrote “Ash Wednesday” ELIOT
68. Intro to zoology? ZEE
69. He wrote the “Convivio” DANTE

Down
1. He wrote “Summer of Love” KILMER
2. Regard as the same EQUATE
3. Night light sight AURORA
4. No-win situation TIE
5. Mfg. guidelines STDS
6. Deli request NO MAYO
7. Private entertainers, briefly? USO
8. Texas Revolution battle site THE ALAMO
9. A neighbor B-FLAT
10. Script add-on -URE
11. Legendary firefighter RED ADAIR
12. Pay no attention to NEGLECT
13. He wrote “The Cloud” SHELLEY
22. Stretches out LENGTHENS
24. Coffee-making portmanteau NESPRESSO
27. Raise in relief EMBOSS
29. Bounced EVICTED
33. Like jigsaw puzzles PRECUT
35. “So what” MEH
37. Young __ ‘UNS
38. 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso PAGANINI
39. Franz’ “NYPD Blue” role SIPOWICZ
40. He wrote “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” SERVICE
41. Kind of research MEDICAL
45. Pooh pal EEYORE
47. Froot Loops mascot TOUCAN
48. Ancient docking site ARARAT
49. He wrote the “Odes” HORACE
51. Apprehension ANGST
56. Declared SAID
59. Recent: Pref. NEO-
61. __ process DUE
63. Gray side: Abbr. CSA

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