Day: February 3, 2014

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1. NetZero and AOL ISPS
An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is just what the name indicates, a company that provides its customers with access to the Internet. One way that ISPs differentiate themselves from each other is in the way in which end users are connected to the ISP’s network. So, there are cable ISPs, DSL ISPs, dial-up ISPs and satellite ISPs. I’d go with cable if I were you, if it’s available in your area …

NetZero was launched in 1998 and was the first free Internet Service Provider. NetZero’s idea was to provide targeted advertising to users, based on what users liked to view online. It’s a little like Google’s business model, providing advertising based on Internet surfing patterns.

The iconic phrase “You’ve got mail” was first used by AOL in 1989. The greeting was recorded by voice actor Elwood Edwards. Edwards has parlayed his gig with AOL into some other work. He appears in an episode of “The Simpsons” as a doctor who says the line “You’ve got leprosy”. Edwards also worked as a weatherman for a while and got to use the line “You’ve got hail” …

9. “Poison” plant SUMAC
Sumacs are a group of flowering shrubs and small trees that includes Poison oak, Poison ivy and Poison sumac. Nasty stuff!

14. NBAer O’Neal SHAQ
Shaquille O’Neal is one of the heaviest players ever to have played in the NBA (weighing in at around 325 pounds). Yep, he’s a big guy … 7 foot 1 inch tall.

15. Classic film character whose last word was “Rosebud” KANE
“Citizen Kane” was the first film made by Orson Welles, one considered by many to be the finest film ever made. It’s a remarkable achievement by Wells, as he played the lead, and also produced and directed. Despite all the accolades for “Citizen Kane” over the decades, the movie was far from a commercial success in its early run and actually lost money at the box office.

A central plot line in the 1941 movie “Citizen Kane” is a newsreel reporter’s quest to find the meaning of the dying word spoken by the title character: “Rosebud”. Spoiler Alert … it is revealed at the end of the movie that “Rosebud” is the name of the sled used by Kane in his childhood, the only period in which he was really happy.

16. “The Devil Wears __” PRADA
“The Devil Wears Prada” is a 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger that is set in the fashion industry. One of the main characters in the story is Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical editor-in-chief of the the fictional fashion magazine “Runway”. It has been suggested that the Priestly character was inspired by Anna Wintour, the real life editor-in-chief of “Vogue”.

17. Linus’ trademark in “Peanuts” comics SECURITY BLANKET
In Charles Schulz’s fabulous comic strip “Peanuts”, Charlie Brown is friends with at least three members of the van Pelt family. Most famously there is Lucy van Pelt, who bosses everyone around, particularly Charlie. Then there is Linus, Lucy’s younger brother, the character who always has his security blanket at hand. Lastly there is an even younger brother, Rerun van Pelt. Rerun is constantly hiding under his bed, trying to avoid going to school.

21. U-shaped river bend OXBOW
The term “oxbow” can describe both a meander in the course of a river as well as the lake that forms if such a meander gets cut off from the main stream.

22. USN rank ENS
Ensign is (usually) the most junior rank of commissioned officer in the armed forces. The name comes from the tradition that the junior officer would be given the task of carrying the ensign flag.

23. NYC dance troupe ABT
The American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a dance company based in New York City that was once led by Mikhail Baryshnikov.

27. 1959 Hudson/Day film PILLOW TALK
“Pillow Talk” is a marvelous romantic comedy from 1959 that stars Rock Hudson and Doris Day, with Tony Randall in a supporting role. The same trio of actors starred in a trio of movies together: “Pillow Talk” (1959), “Lover Come Back” (1961) and “Send Me No Flowers” (1964).

33. Emulated Michael Phelps SWAM
Michael Phelps is a competitive swimmer from Towson, Maryland. Phelps won 22 medals in total in the four Olympic Games in which he has competed from 2004 to 2012. Those 22 medals make him the most decorated Olympian of all time.

42. Wine, on le menu VIN
In French, one usually finds wine (vin) on the menu (le menu).

43. Increasing in vol., musically CRESC
Crescendo (cresc.) is an Italian word meaning “gradually becoming louder”, and is often seen on a musical score. The term with the opposite meaning is “diminuendo” (dim.).

45. __ firma TERRA
“Terra firma” is the Latin for “solid ground”.

47. Rope material HEMP
Hemp is a hardy, fast-growing plant that has many uses mainly due to the strength of the fibers in the plant’s stalks. Hemp is used to make rope, paper and textiles. There is of course a variety of hemp that is grown to make drugs, most famously cannabis.

50. Othello’s confidant IAGO
Iago is the schemer in Shakespeare’s “Othello”. Iago is a soldier who fought alongside Othello and feels hard done by, missing out on promotion. He hatches a plot designed to discredit his rival Cassio by insinuating that Cassio is having an affair with Desdemona, Othello’s wife. By the end of the play it’s Iago himself who is discredited and Othello (before committing suicide) apologizes to Cassio for having believed Iago’s lies. Heavy stuff …

53. Former Texas governor Richards ANN
Ann Richards was the second woman to serve as Governor of Texas, and held the office from 1991 to 1995. Richards was a Democrat, and she was defeated in the 1994 election by George W. Bush.

68. Sky bear URSA
Ursa Minor (Latin for “Smaller Bear”) sits right beside the constellation Draco (Latin for “dragon”). Ursa Minor used to be considered the wing of Draco, and so was once called “Dragon’s Wing”.

The constellation called Ursa Major (Latin for “Larger Bear”) is often just called the Big Dipper because of its resemblance to a ladle or dipper. Ursa Major also resembles a plow, and that’s what we usually call the same constellation back in Ireland: the “plough”.

70. Lowly laborer PEON
A peon is a lowly worker with no real control over his/her working conditions. The word comes into English from Spanish where it has the same meaning.

71. CPR pros EMTS
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) has for decades involved the simultaneous compression of the chest to pump blood using the heart, and artificial respiration by blowing air into the lungs. Nowadays emergency services are placing more emphasis on heart compressions, and less on artificial respiration.

Down
6. Belg.-based peacekeeping gp. NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded not long after WWII in 1949 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The first NATO Secretary General was Lord Ismay, Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant during WWII. Famously, Lord Ismay said the goal of NATO was “to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.”

7. Black stone ONYX
Onyx is a form of quartz that comes in many different shades, but most often it’s the black version that’s used for jewelry. The name “onyx” comes from the Greek word for “fingernail”, as onyx in the flesh color is said to resemble a fingernail.

8. Jack who played Sgt. Joe Friday WEBB
Jack Webb played Sergeant Joe Friday on “Dragnet” on both TV and radio … and what a voice he had! Off the screen Webb was a lover of jazz, and he played the cornet. It was within the world of jazz that he met and fell in love with Julie London, the famous singer with “the smoky voice”. The couple married and had two kids together.

10. Keats’ Grecian vase URN
“Ode on a Grecian Urn” was one of the so-called “1819 Odes” written by the poet John Keats, a collection that included famous poems such as “Ode on Melancholy”, “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode to Psyche”.

11. Disturbs the status quo MAKES WAVES
“Status quo” translates from Latin as “state in which”, and in English is used to mean the existing condition or state of affairs.

12. Port in Yemen ADEN
Aden is a seaport in Yemen, located on the Gulf of Aden by the eastern approach to the Red Sea. Aden has a long history of British rule, from 1838 until a very messy withdrawal in 1967. Someone from the seaport of Aden is known as an Adeni.

26. GI show gp. 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.

The initials “G.I.” stand for “Government Issue” and not “General Infantry” as is often believed. GI was first used in the military to denote equipment made from Galvanized Iron and during WWI, incoming German shells were nicknamed “GI cans”. Soon after, the term GI came to be associated with “Government Issue” and eventually became an adjective to describe anything associated with the Army.

27. TV show about a consultant thought to have ESP PSYCH
“Psych” is a fun detective show on the USA Network. “Psych” is actually the longest-running, USA-produced show on the network, and has been around since 2006.

30. Canines and molars TEETH
The canine teeth of a mammal are also called the eye teeth. The name “canine” is used because these particular teeth are very prominent in dogs. The name “eye” is used because in humans the eye teeth are located in the upper jaw, directly below the eyes.

Molars are grinding teeth. The term “molar” comes from the Latin “mola” meaning “millstone”.

31. “But only God can make __”: Kilmer A TREE
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.

32. “The Maltese Falcon” actor Peter LORRE
The marvelous actor Peter Lorre was born in what is now modern-day Slovakia. Lorre’s real name was Laszlo Lowenstein. He started acting in Vienna when he was quite young, only 17 years old. When Hitler came to power, the Jewish Lowenstein headed to Paris and then London, eventually ending up in Hollywood. Lorre found himself typecast as the wicked foreigner in American movies, but I think he sneered and snarled his way to the bank.

The classic detective novel “The Maltese Falcon” was written by Dashiell Hammett and first published in 1930. The main character if of course Sam Spade, famously played by Humphrey Bogart in the third movie adaptation of the book, released in 1941.

34. Suspect’s story ALIBI
“Alibi” is the Latin word for “elsewhere” as in, “I claim that I was ‘elsewhere’ when the crime was committed … I have an ‘alibi'”.

35. “Hardball” airer MSNBC
“Hardball with Chris Matthews” is a nightly talk-show about politics, airing on MSNBC. The show’s host, Chris Matthews, is a colorful character. Matthews served with the Peace Corps from 1968 to 1970, in Swaziland in Africa. He has been back to Africa since and found himself hospitalized in 2002, suffering from malaria that he picked up on one of his trips.

41. Surg. branch ORTH
Orthopedics is the branch of surgery that deals with the musculoskeletal system. The term “orthopedics” was coined in 1741 by French physician Nicolas Andry. Actually, Andry used the French term “Orthopédie” for the title of a book. The term comes from the Greek “orthos” meaning “straight” and “paidon” meaning “child”.

51. Olympians’ dreams GOLDS
In the Ancient Olympic Games, the winner of an event was awarded an olive wreath. When the games were revived in 1896, the winners were originally given a silver medal and an olive branch, with runners-up receiving a bronze medal and a laurel branch. The tradition of giving gold, silver and bronze medals began at the 1904 Summer Olympic Games held in St. Louis, Missouri.

53. “Famous” cookie guy AMOS
Wally Amos was a talent agent, one who was in the habit of taking home-baked cookies with him as an enticement to get celebrities to see him. He was urged by friends to open a cookie store (the cookies were that delicious, I guess) and this he did in Los Angeles in 1975 using the name “Famous Amos”. The store was a smash hit and he was able build on the success by introducing his cookies into supermarkets. The brand was eventually bought up making Wally a rich man, and Famous Amos cookies are still flying off the shelf.

54. Chile boy NINO
In Spanish, a boy (niño) turns into a man (hombre).

The land of Chile has a very distinctive shape. It is a narrow strip that runs up the west coast of South America. The average width of the country is only a little over 100 miles, and yet its length is about 2,700 miles. Chile is touted as the longest country in the world, although I am not so sure what that means exactly. I mean, Russian extends about 4,800 miles from east-to west …

57. Fluish feeling AGUE
An ague is a fever, one usually associated with malaria.

58. Wolfe of detective fiction NERO
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective and the hero of many stories published by author Rex Stout. There are 33 Nero Wolfe novels for us to read, and 39 short stories. There are also movie adaptations of two of the novels: “Meet Nero Wolfe” (1936) which features a young Rita Hayworth, and “The League of Frightened Men” (1937). One of Wolfe’s endearing traits is his love of good food and beer, so he is a pretty rotund character.

62. Nutritional stds. RDAS
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs)

64. Forensic ID DNA
I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that the DNA of living things is so very similar across different species. Human DNA is almost exactly the same for every individual (to the degree of 99.9%). However, those small differences are sufficient to distinguish one individual from another, and to determine whether or not individuals are close family relations.

65. D.C. bigwig SEN
A senator (sen.) is a bigwig in Washington, D.C.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. NetZero and AOL ISPS
5. Winter precipitation SNOW
9. “Poison” plant SUMAC
14. NBAer O’Neal SHAQ
15. Classic film character whose last word was “Rosebud” KANE
16. “The Devil Wears __” PRADA
17. Linus’ trademark in “Peanuts” comics SECURITY BLANKET
20. Bone: Pref. OSTEO-
21. U-shaped river bend OXBOW
22. USN rank ENS
23. NYC dance troupe ABT
25. Daunting duty ONUS
27. 1959 Hudson/Day film PILLOW TALK
33. Emulated Michael Phelps SWAM
36. School subj. with a lab SCI
37. Link with TIE TO
38. Stable newborns FOALS
39. Chatter YAK
40. Mistaken IN ERROR
42. Wine, on le menu VIN
43. Increasing in vol., musically CRESC
45. __ firma TERRA
46. Decline EBB
47. Rope material HEMP
48. Song publisher’s output SHEET MUSIC
50. Othello’s confidant IAGO
52. Barnyard clucker HEN
53. Former Texas governor Richards ANN
55. Church keyboard ORGAN
59. Say UTTER
63. Waistline concern MIDDLE AGE SPREAD
66. Without a break ON END
67. “Not a problem” SURE
68. Sky bear URSA
69. Fizzy fountain drinks SODAS
70. Lowly laborer PEON
71. CPR pros EMTS

Down
1. “That __ last week!” IS SO
2. Females SHES
3. War-ending agreement PACT
4. Rat on the gang SQUEAL
5. Hit the slopes SKI
6. Belg.-based peacekeeping gp. NATO
7. Black stone ONYX
8. Jack who played Sgt. Joe Friday WEBB
9. Breed, as salmon SPAWN
10. Keats’ Grecian vase URN
11. Disturbs the status quo MAKES WAVES
12. Port in Yemen ADEN
13. Litter box users CATS
18. Like some high-tech machines ROBOTIC
19. Search (for) LOOK
24. Bed with a mate TWIN
26. GI show gp. USO
27. TV show about a consultant thought to have ESP PSYCH
28. “As if __!” I CARE
29. Having similar opinions LIKE-MINDED
30. Canines and molars TEETH
31. “But only God can make __”: Kilmer A TREE
32. “The Maltese Falcon” actor Peter LORRE
34. Suspect’s story ALIBI
35. “Hardball” airer MSNBC
38. Case of false incrimination FRAME-UP
41. Surg. branch ORTH
44. Restful retreat SPA
48. Achy SORE
49. False UNTRUE
51. Olympians’ dreams GOLDS
53. “Famous” cookie guy AMOS
54. Chile boy NINO
56. Surprised sound GASP
57. Fluish feeling AGUE
58. Wolfe of detective fiction NERO
60. Time in office TERM
61. Sunrise direction EAST
62. Nutritional stds. RDAS
64. Forensic ID DNA
65. D.C. bigwig SEN

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