"Oh, how this spring resembleth the uncertain glory of an April day." I certainly lovethed the June 12 puzzle by Alex Boisvert (answers) and before you accuse me of being in a RUT, I loved it even before I determined it was Marxist. Like that other aphorism "outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend; inside of a dog it's too dark to read," it's not clear Groucho originated today's pithy quote, but it's associated with him anyway.
How do I love this puzzle? Let me count the ways. First I do confess a fondness for pangrams. I know that should make no difference but I appreciate the added challenge. This is Mr. Boisvert's second pangram in four puzzles, although his first pangram was co-authored with Jayne Boisvert so perhaps he should only get half credit. Mostly, though, there were so many clues that made me smile.
"Precious moments" was a delightfully twee clue for QUALITY TIME. There's a very amusing Dave Frishberg song with that title. "Computer family member" wasn't a PC or a PDA. It was a real virtual family member — a SIM.
My favorite clue was "Met expectations." I suppose if you pay all that money for tickets to the Met that you do expect OPERAS. Robin and I saw Peter Grimes there when we were in New York for the tournament and it certainly met our expectations.
Top Researcher PhillySolver has come up with some fun facts on Mr. Boisvert. He's a math professor, of course. He's also a programmer and if you want to convert your Across Lite files to Java, you should visit his web site. According to his Cruciverb bio he lives in Los Angelas which, I believe, is somewhere near ENCINO.
Longtime readers would be disappointed if I didn't use this puzzle as an excuse for another clip.
Thanks for the Marx brothers...I wonder if Alex has a brother...I do know his mother is the Jayne you mention above. She teaches French at a college in NY. I think the AUJUS is for her, the CAL STATE is for him and Groucho is for you. fun puzzle and except for guessing Stool for STOUT as a bar choice, no problems. I need to see what ANISE is up to.
Posted by: PhillySolver | June 11, 2008 at 09:35 PM
P.S. are you a SIMS2 player? Know anyone who plays? I have only read about this and I don't think I could do crosswords and live in cyberspace.
Posted by: PhillySolver | June 11, 2008 at 09:50 PM
When I saw Groucho quote in the puzzle today, I figured there was a 100% probability that we'd get a Marx Bros. clip (unlike, say, the word "duck," which might only have a 90% probability). JimH does not disappoint.
Posted by: john farmer | June 12, 2008 at 08:25 AM
Why a duck?
Sorry, couldn't resist. (It's a quote.)
Posted by: JimH | June 12, 2008 at 09:55 AM
Hey, thanks for the kind words and the link to my site. Unfortunately, I might have to soon suspend the conversion utility because I'm leaving UCLA. Is anyone else interested in hosting it?
If you like Groucho-themed puzzles, may I suggest this one. Heck, Jim, you're welcome to embed it in this site if you like it enough (and if it fits) ... you certainly seem to be enough of a Marx Brothers fan! Good man.
Posted by: Alex | June 12, 2008 at 01:19 PM
Hi Jim -- I couldn't get the puzzle link Alex's comment to work... could you fix it? Many thanks for your blog!
Posted by: ArtLvr | June 12, 2008 at 02:33 PM
I can't fix it, ArtLvr, but you might be able to.
Alex's crossword requires that Java be installed on your computer. This is true for the other applets on the NYT and other puzzle sites as well. (This is different from Across Lite that requires installing different software.)
If those other sites work and Alex's doesn't, then I'm not sure what to tell you. Try refresh, I guess.
Java is available to download here: http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp
@Alex: I'd be pleased to host your site if you need some space on a server somewhere.
Posted by: JimH | June 12, 2008 at 03:01 PM
I knew I'd see a Marx Brothers clip. I hope when there's another citing to them the Lydia the Tatooed Lady Clip or the Crowded Stateroom will appear. I always thought that Oprah was a big Harpo fan because of her production company. Little did I know it was her name spelled backwards - and I love anagrams!! Especially a granmas anagrams.
Posted by: Alan Richard | June 12, 2008 at 04:16 PM
Jim, thanks for the link to the Java download... I'm not sure, but think that may be the solution!
@ Philly -- one more Trivia question for you: Which living creature is believed to have the largest eyes? (Did you know all four of the ones about US Presidents?) How often do you do those Trivia competitions?
Posted by: ArtLvr | June 12, 2008 at 08:44 PM