Doing the NY Times Crossword

The Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday puzzles are do-able.  Come Thursday, most clues are about obscure movies and old television shows. Last Saturday was this clue:  “Fifth in a series of seven old comedy films”. ??   For a late 80s immigrant, it is quite a struggle to get those answers.   (btw, the answer to that question is Road to Rio)

Then I begin cheating…I go to Google for help.  I discovered in my surfing two websites that take all the fun out of doing the crossword.  One is www.crosswordheaven.com – it’s a site that allows you to enter the clue and it just spits out the answer. It is always a temptation to go to it. The other is http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/  -- the blogger is a Rex Parker who says of himself “I am the 31st Greatest Crossword Puzzle Solver in the Universe!”  Don’t ask me who the other 30 are!!  Rex Parker takes 2 minutes to do the NY Times crossword and by the time I solicit Google for help at about 9 a.m., HE is there – on top of the search list.  All smug and done, the fastest pencil in the east.   

And, of course, I follow his blog.

Its Past 6 p.m. and All is Well on May 21, 2011.

Our Get-Ready Man, Harold Camping, a preacher from California is wrong once again.  “Rapture Day” passed, in fine weather one might add; the 2% of the world’s population that were promised Heaven waited for the Grand Boat that never came.

After 70 years of studying the Bible, he claims to have developed a system that uses mathematics to interpret prophesies hidden in it. He says the world will end on 21 May, because that will be 722,500 days from 1 April AD33, which he believes was the day of the Crucifixion. The figure of 722,500 is important because you get it by multiplying three holy numbers (five, 10 and 17) together twice. "When I found this out, I tell you, it blew my mind," he said.


It all came about when Camping concluded that the number 5 signifies "atonement", 10 is "completeness" and 17 means "heaven." So the product of these numbers squared signifies the end of the world. D-uh.  How could anyone have missed this!


A Rosetta stone he ain't, that much he's proved.  He should go back to his dusty trusty crystal ball.


Camping says God even showed him a sign. Of his vast media company, he remarks:  "We are now translated  into 48 languages and have been transmitting into China on an AM station without getting jammed once. How can that happen without God's mercy?"


The California radio broadcaster’s wrong prediction about the rapture and the end of the world reflected poorly on Christians, said Ed Stetzer, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Research and LifeWay's missiologist in residence. You think?  ( I should look up the word "missiologist".  Someone that is "missing" something, like an attic? )


Ed Stetzer wants his pound of flesh -- he wants Camping to apologize "for being wrong about his doomsday prediction and leading people astray."  The kettle Terry Jones, the pastor who publicly burned the Koran in Florida, cast one of the first stones claiming the pot Camping was "irresponsible". "I think it's misfortunate," he said. "I've been a pastor for some 30 odd years and this has happened what some half-dozen times. People twist it and turn it to make it look like Christians are kind of nutty."
(Misfortunate? more "mis" words)


Meanwhile, in a related story,  an American Atheists conference in California is celebrating a "Rapture that wasn't" party later tonight.

Osama is Dead, Long live Obama

Osama bin Laden has been killed by US forces.   It is such a relief to know he is not out there anymore, plotting more deaths.  One thing that really gets my goat is that he has been living in a mansion in the suburbs of Islamabad for the last six years-- in luxury-- not in caves, not in spider holes!! Well, maybe not in a whole lot of luxury, because the Wall Street Journal reports, " There were no airconditioning units, meaning bin Laden would have had to suffer through the Pakistan summer. " (I bet it is hotter where he is now). And what comfort could there be when, "No phone lines or Internet cables ran to the property"?  Ha!

Abbottabad, Pakistan-- Osama's home

The US military must have experienced tense moments when one of the helicopters used in the raid crashed and exploded into flames after it dropped off the Navy SEALs (Navy Sea, Air and Land Team) behind the walls of the compound. But, as we see, it didn't affect the operation.  Maybe it's like saying "Break a leg"!

Anyway, that is that. Don't want to think about the guy.  So many of my neighbors worked in or near the World Trade Center buildings--my husband too.  Kids were in school when planes crashed into those buildings that morning of Sept.11, 2001; some parents came home that night and some didn't.

What can be said about a man who terrorized the world and hid behind his wife when he was attacked? Life to him was precious then and not so precious when he incited men to suicide bombing.

God Bless America, my home sweet home.  And if, after all this, Obama does not win the 2012 election, I'll eat those hats in my previous post!!

Hats- At the Royal Wedding Of Someone And Someone Else

Must comment on the most posh event of the year.
What's with the hats?  They are all pasted on the foreheads these days--creating modern versions of unicorns.

Victoria stood stiff, trying to balance the hat and hide her baby bump(why, I have no idea).  She is dressed all dark and somber too--you know, dear, they are getting married, not buried.

Victoria-- Can't Bend it like Beckham

This hat in beige looks like an enormous door knocker.  Anybody home?

Princess Beatrice

Tara Palmer-Tomkinson

                         Methinks the blue hat on the right looks like a kayak.


Sigh! There was a time when hats actually sat on heads.

An old flame of William's

           Can't seem to get this out of my mind.




                                                                                                  

My all-time favorite is THIS hat :

Talk Amongst Yourselves

I've not written anything for a while which prompts me to quote Mike Myers from "Coffee Talk with Linda Richman" on Saturday Night Live.  "I'm a little verklempt.  Talk amongst yourselves.  I'll give you a topic. The chickpea is neither a chick nor a pea.  Discuss."
That ought to buy me some time...

Happy Ugadi 2011

The New Year Srikhara begins today.  Happy new year to all.

What's in a Name? Apparently Everything

You like potato and I like potahto, 
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto, 
Let's call the whole thing off.

Louis Armstrong (or was it Gershwin?) gave up too easily.  If tomato, tomahto confused him,  how would he have referred to the Libyan leader Gaddafi? (Qadafi? Khadaffy?...Never mind.)

The Library of Congress lists 72 variations of the Libyan leader Gaddafi's name and newspapers have added 40 more to that list in the last decade. Here goes:

3.bp.blogspot.com

Qaddafi, Muammar;  Al-Gathafi, Muammar;  al-Qadhafi, Muammar;  Al Qathafi,  Mu'ammar; Al Qathafi, Muammar;  El Gaddafi, Moamar;  El Kadhafi, Moammar; El Kazzafi, Moamer;   El Qathafi, Mu'Ammar;  Gadafi, Muammar;  Gaddafi, Moamar;  Gadhafi, Mo'ammar;  

Gathafi, Muammar;  Ghadafi, Muammar;  Ghaddafi, Muammar; Ghaddafy, Muammar;   Gheddafi, Muammar;  Gheddafi, Muhammar;  Kadaffi, Momar;  Kad'afi, Mu`amar al-;  Kaddafi, Muamar;
Kaddafi, Muammar;  Kadhafi, Moammar;  Kadhafi, Mouammar;   

Kazzafi, Moammar;  Khadafy, Moammar;  Khaddafi, Muammar;  Moamar al-Gaddafi;   Moamar el Gaddafi;  Moamar El Kadhafi;  Moamar Gaddafi; Moamer El Kazzafi;  Mo'ammar el-Gadhafi;  Moammar El Kadhafi; Mo'ammar Gadhafi;   Moammar Kadhafi;  Moammar Khadafy;  Moammar Qudhafi; Mu`amar al-Kad'afi;   

Mu'amar al-Kadafi;  Muamar Al-Kaddafi;  Muamar Kaddafi; Muamer Gadafi;  Muammar Al-Gathafi;  Muammar al-Khaddafi;  Mu'ammar al-Qadafi; Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi;  Muammar al-Qadhafi;  Mu'ammar al-Qadhdhafi;  Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhāfī ;  Mu'ammar Al Qathafi;  Muammar Al Qathafi;  Muammar Gadafi;  Muammar Gaddafi;  Muammar Ghadafi;  Muammar Ghaddafi;  Muammar Ghaddafy;  Muammar Gheddafi;  Muammar Kaddafi;  Muammar Khaddafi;  Mu'ammar Qadafi;  Muammar Qaddafi;  Muammar Qadhafi;  Mu'ammar Qadhdhafi;  Muammar Quathafi;

Mulazim Awwal Mu'ammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Qadhafi;

Qadafi, Mu'ammar;  Qadhafi, Muammar;  Qadhdhāfī, Mu`ammar; Qathafi, Mu'Ammar el; 

Quathafi, Muammar;  Qudhafi, Moammar;  Moamar AI Kadafi; Maummar Gaddafi; 

Moamar Gadhafi; Moamer Gaddafi;  Moamer Kadhafi;  Moamma Gaddafi;  Moammar Gaddafi;  Moammar Gadhafi;  Moammar Ghadafi;  Moammar Khadaffy;  Moammar Khaddafi; 

Moammar el Gadhafi;  Moammer Gaddafi; Mouammer al Gaddafi;  Muamar Gaddafi;  

Muammar Al Ghaddafi;  Muammar Al Qaddafi;  Muammar Al Qaddafi;  Muammar El Qaddafi;  Muammar Gadaffi; Muammar Gadafy;  Muammar Gaddhafi;  Muammar Gadhafi;  

Muammar Ghadaffi; Muammar Qadthafi;  Muammar al Gaddafi;  Muammar el Gaddafy;

Muammar el Gaddafi;  Muammar el Qaddafi;  Muammer Gadaffi,  Muammer Gaddafi;

Mummar Gaddafi,  Omar Al Qathafi,  Omar Mouammer Al Gaddafi;  Omar Muammar

Al Ghaddafi;  Omar Muammar Al Qaddafi;  Omar Muammar Al Qathafi;

Omar Muammar Gaddafi;  Omar Muammar Ghaddafi; Omar al Ghaddafi.


(courtesy blogs.abcnews.com)

Says The Straight Dope's Cecil Adams  (June 1986), "In most cases where there is doubt about how to spell somebody's name, the usual journalistic practice is to accept the preference of the namee. For many years, however, the Mummer was too busy promoting global chaos to devote much time to the niceties of orthography."  C.A. has a couple of suggestions too. "I say we just call him Duckbreath. It's short, it's easy to spell, and Lord knows it satisfies the soul" and "My personal feeling is to chuck all the preceding and just call him Poohead, which is easier to remember and has an undeniable evocative power as well. But to each his own."