Day: April 23, 2013

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
15. Santa ___ winds : ANA
The Santa Ana winds are the very dry air currents that sweep offshore late in the year in Southern California. Because these air currents are so dry, they are noted for their influence over forest fires in the area, especially in the heat of the fall. The winds arise from a buildup of air pressure in the Great Basin that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Under the right conditions, that air spills over the peaks of the Sierra Nevada and basically “falls” down the side of the Sierra range, heading for the ocean. As the air falls it becomes drier and heats up so that relative humidity can fall to below 10% by the time it hits the coast.

17. Croupier’s tool : RAKE
A croupier is someone who conducts a game at a gambling table. In the world of gaming, the original croupier was someone who stood behind a gambler, holding reserves of cash for the person in a game. Before that, “croupier” was someone who rode behind the main rider on a horse. “Croup” was a Germanic word for “rump”. So, a croupier used to be a “second”, as it were.

20. Midori on the ice : ITO
Midori Ito is a Japanese figure skater. Ito was the first woman to land a triple/triple jump and a triple axel in competition. In fact she landed her first triple jump in training, when she was only 8 years old …

23. ___ Dame : NOTRE
Notre Dame de Paris is the spectacular Gothic cathedral that sits on the Île de la Cité, one of the islands in the middle on the River Seine in Paris. Notre Dame is home to many beautiful and significant artifacts, the most famous of which is the Crown of Thorns supposedly worn by Jesus Christ at his execution, which was placed in the cathedral in 1239. It’s also home to some magnificent gargoyles on the roof, and you can climb up to the roof and take a very close look at them.

26. Saintly glow : AURA
An aura (plural: aurae) is an intangible quality that surrounds a person or thing, a “je ne sais quoi”. “Je ne sais quoi” is French for “I don’t know”.

32. Nicolas who painted “The Four Seasons” : POUSSIN
Nicolas Poussin was a Baroque painter from Normandy in France who spent most of his career in Rome.

“The Four Seasons” are a set of oil paintings by French Baroque artist Nicolas Poussin. The four works were created while Poussin was in very poor health, and were some of his last paintings. You can see all four oils hanging in the Louvre in Paris, in their own dedicated room.

34. “When out on the lawn there ___ such a clatter …” : AROSE
The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in 1823, and is better known today by its first line “‘Twas the night before Christmas”. Most scholars believe that the poem was written by Clement Clarke Moore, a theologian from New York City. Others say that it was written by Henry Livingston, Jr. a poet from Upstate New York.

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash …

36. Wing: Prefix : PTERO-
The prefixes pter- and ptero- mean “pertaining to a wing, or a feather”, coming from the Greek word “pteron” (feather). Examples of use would be in the words “pterosaur” and “pterodactyl”.

43. Stimpy’s TV pal : REN
“The Ren and Stimpy Show” ran on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1996. Not my cup of tea …

44. City south of Kyiv : ODESA
The city of Odessa (also “Odessa”) in Ukraine was founded relatively recently, in 1794 by Catherine the Great. The city was originally meant to be called Odessos after an ancient Greek city believed to have been located nearby. Catherine liked the way the locals pronounced the name as “Odessa” and so went with the less Greek-sounding name.

46. Los Angeles’s ___ Museum : GETTY
The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is one of the most visited museums in the country. Like many museums in developed countries these days, the Getty has been embroiled in disputes about ownership of artifacts. The curators of the Getty have gone so far as to repatriate some items in recent years, especially to Greece and Italy.

48. Antonio who composed “The Four Seasons” : VIVALDI
Antonio Vivaldi was one of the great composers of the Baroque period. Vivaldi achieved fame and success within in his own lifetime, notoriety that faded soon after he died. His music has reemerged in recent decades and most people are familiar with at least part of his most famous composition, the violin concerto called “The Four Seasons”. Vivaldi was nicknamed “The Red Priest” because he was indeed a priest, and he had red hair.

51. Longtime Cardinals manager Tony : LA RUSSA
Tony La Russa is a former MLB player and manager. Off the field, La Russa is well known in this part of Northern California as the founder of the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) headquartered in the city of Walnut Creek. The ARF is a “no-kill” animal shelter for abandoned dogs and cats. We rescued our pet dog from the ARF.

58. Yale who endowed Yale : ELIHU
Eli is the nickname for a graduate of Yale University, a term used in honor of the Yale benefactor Elihu Yale.

63. Actors Bateman and Statham : JASONS
Jason Bateman is an actor from Rye, New York who is most associated with the role of Michael Bluth on TV’s “Arrested Development”. Jason’s older sister is Justine Bateman, who played Mallory Keaton on the show “Family Ties”.

Jason Statham is an actor from England best known for playing tough characters on screen. I liked him in the remake of “The Italian Job” from 2003.

66. Dweller along the Mekong : LAO
The official name for the country of Laos is the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In the Lao language, the country’s name is “Meuang Lao”. The French ruled Laos as part of French Indochina, having united three separate Lao kingdoms. As there was a plural of “Lao” entities united into one, the French added the “S” and so today we tend to use “Laos” instead of “Lao”.

The Mekong is the twelfth longest river in the world, at over 2,700 miles in length. It rises in the Tibetan Plateau and empties into the South China Sea at the famed Mekong delta system in Vietnam.

67. Language of Pakistan : URDU
Urdu is one of the two official languages of Pakistan (the other being English), and is one of 22 scheduled languages in India. Urdu partly developed from Persian and is written from right to left.

68. Friend of Jerry and George on TV : ELAINE
The character called Elaine Benes, unlike Jerry, Kramer and George, did not appear in the pilot episode of “Seinfeld”. NBC executives specified the addition of a female lead when they picked up the show citing that the situation was too “male-centric”.

69. Something you might trip on : LSD
LSD (colloquially known as “acid”) is short for lysergic acid diethylamide. A Swiss chemist called Albert Hofmann first synthesized LSD in 1938 in a research project looking for medically efficacious ergot alkaloids. It wasn’t until some five years later when Hofmann ingested some of the drug accidentally that its psychedelic properties were discovered. Trippy, man …

Down
2. Keynote speaker, e.g. : ORATOR
The “keynote” is the lowest note in a musical scale, as one might imagine. The term started to be used to mean a leading idea in the late 1700s, and the expression “keynote address” dates back to 1905.

3. Territory divided into two states : DAKOTA
The Dakota Territory was formed in 1861 and ceased to exist with the admission to the Union of the states of North Dakota and South Dakota. The territory was split into two states largely due to lobbying by the Republican Party, which enjoyed a lot of support in the Dakota Territory. The admission of two states added to the political power of the party in the US Senate, by adding four safe Republican seats.

7. Bill who co-owns the Four Seasons hotel company : GATES
The Four Seasons hotel chain was started in 1960 by architect Isadore Sharp. The very first was actually a motel in Toronto, although it was an upscale version of that class of accommodation. The next property built by Sharp was in London, and was a much grander affair. Eventually, the Four Seasons business model became one of operating hotel properties rather than owning them, a model that persists to this day. Isadore Sharp now owns just 5% of the Four Seasons company, with the rest owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia and Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman.

8. Two-channel : STEREO
Monophonic sound (“mono”) is sound reproduced using just one audio channel, which is usually played out of just one speaker. Stereophonic sound is reproduced using two audio channels, with the sound from each channel played out of two different speakers. The pair of stereo speakers are usually positioned apart from each other so that sound appears to come from between the two. Quadraphonic sound (4.0 surround sound) uses four audio channels with the sound played back through four speakers often positioned at the corners of the room in which one is listening.

11. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
Michigan State University (MSU) is located in East Lansing, Michigan. MSU has the largest study-abroad program of any single-campus university in the US. Programs are offered on all continents of the world, including Antarctica.

12. One of the four seasons, in France : ETE
One might spend the summer (été) under the sun (le soleil) in France.

13. ___ ipsa loquitur : RES
“Res” is the Latin for “thing”. “Res” is used in a lot of phrases in the law, including “res ipsa loquitur”. The literal translation of “res ipsa loquitur” is “the thing speaks for itself”. It refers to situations when there is an injury, and the nature of the injury is such that one can assume that negligence had to have taken place.

22. Egyptian snake : ASP
The asp is a venomous snake found in the Nile region of Africa. It is so venomous that the asp was used in ancient Egypt and Greece as a means of execution. Cleopatra observed such executions noting that the venom brought on sleepiness without any painful spasms. When the great queen opted to commit suicide, the asp was therefore her chosen method.

24. Genetic material : RNA
Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) is an essential catalyst in the manufacture of proteins in the body. The genetic code in DNA determines the sequence of amino acids that make up each protein. That sequence is read in DNA by messenger RNA, and amino acids are delivered for protein manufacture in the correct sequence by what is called transfer RNA. The amino acids are then formed into proteins by ribosomal RNA.

28. Laugh, in Lille : RIRE
“Rire” means “to laugh”, in French.

Lille is a large city in the very north of France sitting right on the border with Belgium. The name “Lille” is a derivation of the term “l’isle” meaning “the island”.

29. Soon : ANON
“Anon” originally meant “at once” and evolved into today’s meaning of “soon” apparently just because the word was misused over time.

35. Work unit : ERG
An erg is a unit of energy or mechanical work. “Erg” comes from the Greek word “ergon” meaning “work”. A dyne is a unit of force. The name “dyne” comes from the Greek “dynamis” meaning “power, force”. Ergs and dynes are related to each other in that one erg is the amount of energy needed to move a force of one dyne over a distance of one centimeter.

37. Long-running PBS science series : NOVA
“Nova” is an excellent science television series on PBS. “Nova” was created back in 1974, and was inspired by a very similar BBC show called “Horizon”, a show that I grew up with. Many “Nova” episodes are actually co-productions with the BBC with an American narrator used for the PBS broadcasts and a British narrator for the BBC broadcasts.

38. Father of Thor : ODIN
In Norse mythology, Odin was the chief of the gods. Odin’s wife Frigg was the queen of Asgard whose name gave us our English term “Friday” (via Anglo-Saxon). Odin’s son was Thor, and his name gave us the term “Thursday”.

39. Actress Campbell : NEVE
Neve Campbell is a Canadian actress whose big break came with the “Scream” horror film series, in which she had a leading role. I don’t do horror films, so I haven’t seen any of the “Scream” movies …

47. Brynner of Broadway : YUL
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor. Brynner was well known for his great performances, but also for his shaved head and his deep rich voice. He first adopted the “hairstyle” while playing the King of Siam in the stage version of “The King and I”, and he stuck with it.

52. S, in a phonetic alphabet : SIERRA
The NATO phonetic alphabet is also called the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) phonetic alphabet. It goes Alfa, Bravo, Charlie … Zulu.

57. Frankie of the Four Seasons : VALLI
Frankie Valli is a great singer, best known for fronting the Four Seasons in the sixties. Valli had an incredible number of hits, with and without the Four Seasons. The extensive list includes, “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Walk Like a Man”, “Rag Doll”, “My Eyes Adored You” and “Grease”.

61. Prospector’s strike : LODE
A lode is metal ore deposit that’s found between two layers of rock or in a fissure.

63. Jesus, for one : JEW
Jesus of Nazareth was born a Jew from Galilee, a region in the north of modern-day Israel.

65. ___ Simeon, Calif. : SAN
San Simeon is a town on the Pacific coast of California between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Most notably, San Simeon is home to Hearst Castle, the magnificent mansion and estate built by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Stop by if you’re ever in the area. It’s well worth your time …

67. Co. with brown trucks : UPS
United Parcel Service (UPS) is based in Sandy Springs, Georgia and has its own airline that operates out of Louisville, Kentucky.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. Some call it “pop” : SODA
5. Marsh : BOG
8. One of the four seasons : SUMMER
14. Say grace, e.g. : PRAY
15. Santa ___ winds : ANA
16. Sad, in Paris : TRISTE
17. Croupier’s tool : RAKE
18. Butterfly catcher : NET
19. Provides with a quality : ENDUES
20. Midori on the ice : ITO
21. Go over : REHEARSE
23. ___ Dame : NOTRE
25. Bone: Prefix : OSSE-
26. Saintly glow : AURA
30. Many a benevolent organization : GRANTOR
32. Nicolas who painted “The Four Seasons” : POUSSIN
34. “When out on the lawn there ___ such a clatter …” : AROSE
36. Wing: Prefix : PTERO-
37. Prefix with proliferation : NON-
40. Tendency to remain unchanged : INERTIA
43. Stimpy’s TV pal : REN
44. City south of Kyiv : ODESA
46. Los Angeles’s ___ Museum : GETTY
48. Antonio who composed “The Four Seasons” : VIVALDI
51. Longtime Cardinals manager Tony : LA RUSSA
55. Freshly : ANEW
56. Overhang : EAVE
58. Yale who endowed Yale : ELIHU
59. It might have many suckers : TENTACLE
62. “Dig in!” : EAT!
63. Actors Bateman and Statham : JASONS
66. Dweller along the Mekong : LAO
67. Language of Pakistan : URDU
68. Friend of Jerry and George on TV : ELAINE
69. Something you might trip on : LSD
70. High school’s crowning event? : PROM
71. One of the four seasons : WINTER
72. Ore suffix : -ITE
73. Cut, as logs : SAWN

Down
1. One of the four seasons : SPRING
2. Keynote speaker, e.g. : ORATOR
3. Territory divided into two states : DAKOTA
4. Sailor’s yes : AYE
5. ___ of one’s existence : BANE
6. Insignificant, in a way : ONE-HORSE
7. Bill who co-owns the Four Seasons hotel company : GATES
8. Two-channel : STEREO
9. Vases : URNS
10. Home of many early civilizations : MIDEAST
11. The Spartans of the N.C.A.A. : MSU
12. One of the four seasons, in France : ETE
13. ___ ipsa loquitur : RES
21. Possible result of a hung jury : RETRIAL
22. Egyptian snake : ASP
24. Genetic material : RNA
27. Addict : USER
28. Laugh, in Lille : RIRE
29. Soon : ANON
31. Suffix with ball : -OON
33. Like some cats in need of rescue : UP A TREE
35. Work unit : ERG
37. Long-running PBS science series : NOVA
38. Father of Thor : ODIN
39. Actress Campbell : NEVE
41. Put on the air : TELECAST
42. Call ___ day : IT A
45. Assured something’s completion : SAW TO IT
47. Brynner of Broadway : YUL
49. Not so smart : DENSER
50. “Am ___ risk?” : I AT
52. S, in a phonetic alphabet : SIERRA
53. It’s seen on a sundial : SHADOW
54. One of the four seasons : AUTUMN
57. Frankie of the Four Seasons : VALLI
60. Feminine suffix : -ENNE
61. Prospector’s strike : LODE
63. Jesus, for one : JEW
64. “Aladdin” prince : ALI
65. ___ Simeon, Calif. : SAN
67. Co. with brown trucks : UPS

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