LA Times Crossword 31 Jul 19, Wednesday

Bill’s time: 7m 05s

Bill’s errors: 3

• BANE (hate!)
• MMMBOP (MMMHop)
• GUNNAR (Guntar!)

Today’s Wiki-est Amazonian Googlies

Across

1 Gulf of California peninsula : BAJA

The Baja California Peninsula lies in the northwest of Mexico. It is bounded on the southwest by the Pacific Ocean, and on the northeast by the Gulf of California. The border city of Mexicali sits at the north of the peninsula, and the resort city of Cabo San Lucas sits at the southern tip.

The Gulf of California is also known as the Sea of Cortez. It is the body of water that separates the peninsula of Baja, California from the Mexican mainland.

5 SLR setting : F-STOP

Varying the f-stop in a lens varies how big the lens opening (the aperture) is when a photograph is taken. Smaller apertures (higher f-stop values) admit less light, but result in a greater depth of field (more of the photograph is in focus).

16 Headey of “Game of Thrones” : LENA

English actress Lena Headey is best known for playing Cersei Lannister on the fantasy series “Game of Thrones”. Although a British citizen, Headey was actually born Bermuda, where her father was stationed as a police officer.

17 Manga series also known as “Mach GoGoGo” : SPEED RACER (giving “card table”)

“Speed Racer” (also called “Mach GoGoGo”) is a Japanese media franchise about car racing.

21 U.K. equivalent of an Oscar : BAFTA

The BAFTA awards are presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). The BAFTAs are the UK equivalent of the US’s Oscar and Emmy awards, all rolled into one.

28 Toucan Sam’s cereal : FROOT LOOPS (giving “pool table”)

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 …?

31 Sunday entrée : ROAST

“Entrée” means “entry” in French. An entrée can be something that helps one get “a way in”, an interview for example perhaps helped along by a recommendation letter. In Europe, even in English-speaking countries, the entrée is the name for the “entry” to the meal, the first course. I found the ordering of meals to be very confusing when I first came to America!

33 Novelist Grey : ZANE

Zane Grey certainly did hit on the right niche. He wrote romanticized western novels and stories that really lent themselves to the big screen in the days when westerns were very popular movies. Incredibly, 110 films were made based on his work.

41 __ Beat: old fan mag : TEEN

“Teen Beat” was a fan magazine geared towards teenagers that was published from 1967 to 2007. It was a follow-on publication to “16 Magazine” that was launched in 1956, and “Tiger Beat” launched in 1965.

42 Alternative energy choice : SOLAR

Solar panels are arrays of solar cells that make use of what’s known as the photovoltaic effect. We are more likely to have learned about the photoelectric effect in school, in which electrons were ejected from the surface of some materials when it was exposed to light or other forms of radiation. The photovoltaic effect is related but different. Instead of being electrons ejected from the surface, in the photovoltaic effect electrons move around in the material creating a difference in voltage.

51 Chemist’s tube : PIPETTE

A pipette (also “pipet”) is tool used in a lab to transport an accurately measured volume of liquid. Back in my day, we would suck up the liquid into the pipette by applying our mouths to the top of the instrument. This could be quite dangerous, as one ended up with a mouthful of something unsavory if one lifted the top of pipette out of the liquid too soon. Nowadays, things are much safer.

53 Some govt. bonds : MUNIS

A municipal bond (“muni”) is one that is issued by a city or local government, or some similar agency. Munis have an advantage over other investments in that any interest earned on the bond is usually exempt from state and federal income taxes.

56 Curse : BANE

Today, we tend to use the word “bane” to mean anathema, a source of persistent annoyance. A few centuries ago, a bane was a cause of harm or death, perhaps a deadly poison.

62 Algerian setting of Camus’ “The Plague” : ORAN

Oran lies on the Algerian coast, and is famous for being the port where the French Navy was largely destroyed by the British during WWII in order to avoid the French vessels falling into the hands of Nazi Germany after France surrendered. This decisive and unexpected unilateral action by the British sent a very strong message around the world that Britain was willing to fight alone against the axis powers if necessary.

“The Plague” is a novel by Albert Camus, first published in 1947. It is set in the Algerian port of Oran during a terrible plague.

64 Hawkeye State : IOWA

Iowa is nicknamed the Hawkeye State in honor of Chief Black Hawk, a leader of the Sauk people during the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War.

66 Bay Area NFLer : NINER

The San Francisco 49ers of the NFL have been playing their home games in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara since 2014. The team moved from the famous Candlestick Park, which they had been using since 1971. Levi’s Stadium, the team’s new home, got a big boost in January 2016 when it was used as the venue for the Super Bowl.

Down

1 Air rifle ammo : BBS

A BB gun is an air pistol or rifle that shoots birdshot known as BBs. Birdshot comes in a number of different sizes, from size 9 (0.070″ in diameter) to size FF (.230″). Birdshot that is size BB (0.180″ in diameter) gives the airgun its name.

2 Swiss peak : ALP

There are eight Alpine countries:

• Austria
• Slovenia
• France
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein
• Germany
• Monaco
• Italy

3 Charlie Brown hero __ Shlabotnik : JOE

Joe Shlabotnik is a minor character in the “Peanuts” series of cartoon by Charles Schultz. He is a minor character, and a minor-league baseball player. We don’t actually see Shlabotnik in any of the strips, but Charlie Brown mentions him with great admiration.

4 Maven : ACE

I’ve always loved the term “maven”, which is another word for “expert”. Maven comes into English from the Yiddish “meyvn” describing someone who appreciates and is a connoisseur.

10 Texas border city : EL PASO

Although there have been human settlements in the El Paso area for thousands of years, the first European settlement was founded in 1659 by the Spanish. That first community was on the south bank of the Rio Grande, and was called El Paso del Norte (the North Pass). Most of the urban development under Spanish rule took place on the south side of the river, with El Paso del Norte acting as the center of governance for the Spanish for the territory of New Mexico. The Rio Grande was chosen as the border between Mexico and the US in 1848, so most of the city of El Paso del Norte became part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (and is now called Ciudad Juárez ). The area north of the river developed as a US military post, eventually becoming the modern city of El Paso, Texas.

13 Volga region natives : TATARS

Tatars (sometimes “Tartars”) are an ethnic group of people who mainly reside in Russia (a population of about 5 1/2 million). One of the more famous people with a Tatar heritage was Hollywood actor Charles Bronson. Bronson’s real name was Charles Buchinsky.

The Volga is the longest river in Europe. It is also considered the national river of Russia.

18 MADD focus : DWI

In some states, there is no longer a legal difference between a DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) and a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). Other states retain that difference, so that by definition a DUI is a lesser offence than a DWI.

Candace Lightner lost her 13-year-old child to a drink-driver in 1980. Soon after, Lightner formed the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

22 Artist Chagall : MARC

Marc Chagall was a Russian-French artist, one of the most successful of the 20th century. Unlike so many painters, Chagall was able to achieve wealth and notoriety for his work during his own lifetime. It did help that Chagall lived to a ripe old age though. He passed away in 1985, when he was 97 years young. One of Chagall’s most famous works is the ceiling of the Paris Opera. The new ceiling for the beautiful 19th-century building was commissioned in 1963, and took Chagall a year to complete. Chagall was 77 years old when he worked on the Paris Opera project.

23 “__ lived–Brooklyn, of ample hills, was mine”: Whitman : I TOO

“I too lived, Brooklyn of ample hills was mine …” is a line from the 1856 poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” by Walt Whitman.

“Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” is an 1856 poem by Walt Whitman that describes his experiences and impressions crossing from Manhattan to Brooklyn on the Brooklyn Ferry. Whitman grew up in Brooklyn, and later lived there again for many years. That ferry crossed the East River in exactly the same spot where sits the Brooklyn Bridge today.

26 Sicilian hot spot : ETNA

Mount Etna on the island of Sicily is the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, and indeed the largest of all active volcano in Europe. Etna is about 2 1/2 times the height of its equally famous sister, Mt. Vesuvius. Mt. Etna is home to a 110-km long narrow-gauge railway, and two ski resorts. It is sometimes referred to as “Mongibello” in Italian, and as “Mungibeddu” in Sicilian. The English name “Etna” comes from the Greek “aitho” meaning “I eat”.

29 Depleted atmospheric layer : OZONE

Ozone gets its name from the Greek word “ozein” meaning “to smell”. It was given this name as ozone’s formation during lightning storms was detected by the gas’s distinctive smell. Famously, there is a relatively high concentration of the gas in the “ozone layer” in the Earth’s stratosphere. This ozone layer provides a vital function for animal life on the planet as it absorbs most of the sun’s UV radiation. A molecule of ozone is made up of three oxygen atoms (O3), whereas a “normal” oxygen (O2) has just two atoms.

32 View from Yellowstone : TETONS

Grand Teton National Park (NP) is located just south of Yellowstone NP, and a must-see if you are visiting the latter. The park is named after the tallest peak in the magnificent Teton Range known as Grand Teton. The origins of the name “Teton” is not very clear, although my one story is that it was named by French trappers, as the word “tetons” in French is a slang term meaning “breasts”.

Yellowstone was the first National Park to be established in the world, when it was designated as such by President Grant in 1872. What a great tradition it started! The American National Parks truly are a treasure.

40 Image in the Timberland logo : TREE

The Timberland Company was founded in 1957 by Nathan Swartz, a shoemaker from Boston. The business’s first successful product was the waterproof boot called the Timberland. It was so successful that the company adopted Timberland for its name.

43 1997 Hanson #1 song : MMMBOP

Hanson is a pop rock boy band from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hanson’s biggest hit is the 1997 song “MMMBop”.

44 1983 Lionel Richie title words before “the sun” and “the rain” : YOU ARE …

“You Are” was a 1983 hit for Lionel Richie. Richie co-wrote “You Are” with his wife at that time, Brenda Harvey Richie.

Singer-songwriter Lionel Richie got his big break as a singer and saxophonist with the Commodores starting in 1968. Richie launched a very successful solo career in 1982. Richie is the father of socialite Nicole Richie, childhood friend of Paris Hilton and co-star on the Fox show “The Simple Life”.

45 One of the Nelson brothers of ’90s rock : GUNNAR

Nelson is a rock band founded in 1989 by Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, who are twin sons of rock and roll star Ricky Nelson. You might also see the brothers perform as “Ricky Nelson Remembered”, a tribute act to their father. Together with their Dad and their grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Gunnar and Matthew made it into the Guinness Book of Records as part of the only family to release number-one records in three successive generations (Ozzie Nelson and his orchestra had a number-one hit with “And Then Some” in 1935).

46 “Murder on the __ Express” : ORIENT

“Murder on the Orient Express” is perhaps the most famous detective novel penned by the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie. Christie’s Belgian detective Hercule Poirot has to determine which of the passengers on the Orient Express train committed a murder. Spoiler alert: they all did!

52 “The More You Know” TV spot : PSA

“The More You Know” is a series of public service announcements (PSAs) that have been broadcast by NBC since 1989. The spots usually feature personalities from NBC shows who deliver some sort of educational message. Then President Barack Obama participated in 2010 and 2011, as did Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush after they left office.

54 Fashion’s Gernreich : RUDI

Rudi Gernreich was a fashion designer from Austria. Gernreich fled Austria due to Nazi influence, and ended up in Los Angeles. He is noted for design of the monokini, the first topless swimsuit.

55 OPEC member : IRAN

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in 1960 at a conference held in Baghdad, Iraq that was attended by Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Nine more countries joined the alliance soon after, and OPEC set up headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and then Vienna, Austria in 1965. The basic aim of OPEC was to wrest control of oil prices from the oil companies and to put it in the hands of the sovereign states that own the natural resource.

58 LinkedIn profile, e.g. : BIO

LinkedIn is a website used by professionals wishing to network with other professionals. From what I’ve heard, LinkedIn is mainly used by folks looking for a job, and other folks looking for suitable candidates to hire.