Category: Bruce Venzke

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
10. Greenside golf shot CHIP
A chip onto the green might follow a long drive on a golf course.

14. Kauai cookout LUAU
Nowadays the word “luau” denotes almost any kind of party on the Hawaiian Islands, but to the purist a luau is a feast that always includes a serving of “poi”, the bulbous underground stems of taro baked with coconut milk.

Because the Hawaiian island of Kauai is one of the wettest places on earth, all the rainfall has helped to carve out magnificent canyons and left superb waterfalls. The island is often used as a backdrop for movies.

15. Alabama civil rights city SELMA
The Alabama city of Selma is noted for the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights marches of 1965.

The Bloody Sunday march took place between Selma and Montgomery, Alabama on 7 March 1965. The 600 marchers involved were protesting the intimidation of African-Americans registering to vote. When the marchers reached Dallas County, Alabama they encountered a line of state troopers reinforced by white males who had been deputized that morning to help keep the peace. Violence broke out with 17 marchers ending up in hospital, one nearly dying. Because the disturbance was widely covered by television cameras, the civil rights movement picked up a lot of support that day.

16. Titled nobleman LORD
In Britain, the term “lord” is used generically for any member of the peerage. There are five ranks of peer, namely duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron, in descending order. “Lord” can also used as an term of address for each of the ranks (except dukes). This “equivalence” of “lord” and “peer” is also seen in the name given to the upper house of Parliament. Usually referred to as the House of Lords, in fact the official name for the chamber is the House of Peers.

19. Baghdad’s country IRAQ
According to the University of Baghdad, the name “Baghdad” dates way back, to the 18th-century BC (yes, BC!). The name can be translated into English from the language of ancient Babylon as “old garden” (bagh) and “beloved” (dad).

21. Prepares, as a violin bow ROSINS
Rosin is a solid form of resin derived from plant sources. Rosin is formed into cakes that players of stringed instruments use to rub along the hairs of their bows to help improve sound quality. The rosin increases the degree of friction between the strings and the bow. That same friction-increasing property comes into play when baseball pitchers use rosin to get a better grip on the ball.

29. Low mil. rank PVT
The lowest military rank of soldier is often called “private”. The term comes from the Middle Ages when “private soldiers” were hired or conscripted by noblemen to form a private army. The more generic usage of “private” started in the 1700s.

35. Actor Kilmer VAL
Val Kilmer’s first big leading role in a movie was playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors”. A few years later, Kilmer was chosen for the lead in another big production, namely “Batman Forever”. Things haven’t really gone as well for Kilmer since then, I’d say. Off the screen, he flirted with the idea of running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010. A Hollywood actor as a Governor? Would never happen …

37. Road Runner chaser __ Coyote WILE E
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two much-loved cartoon characters from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote was created first, and Road Runner was invented as someone for Wile E. to play off. I love this cartoon; definitely one of the best …

39. Hershey’s chocolate-and-peanut-butter products FIFTH AVENUE BARS
The 5th Avenue candy bar is made by Hershey’s and consists of a crunchy peanut butter center covered in chocolate. A couple of decades ago, the bar was also topped with two chocolate-covered almonds, but these were removed in the mid-1990s.

45. Island in a computer game MYST
In the days when I played the occasional video game, the best of the bunch was undoubtedly “Myst”. It is a game full of puzzles with the player wandering through a beautifully-designed (for its day) interactive world.

46. NHL tiebreakers OTS
Ties are broken in National Hockey League (NHL) games by playing overtimes (OTs).

47. Zadora of “Hairspray” PIA
Pia Zadora is an American actress and singer. Zadora’s most famous role was in the 1982 film “Butterfly” in which she worked with Orson Welles and Stacey Keach. The film was based on the novel “The Butterfly” by James M. Cain and deals with the difficult subject of father-daughter incest.

“Hairspray” is a 1988 musical comedy movie written and directed by the zany John Waters. The film had a lukewarm reception when it opened, but it spawned an extremely successful franchise. A Broadway musical of the same name opened in 2002, which won the Best Musical Tony Award in 2003. The film was remade in 2007.

52. Bliss SEVENTH HEAVEN
In cosmology associated with some religious traditions, the universe is said to be made up of Seven Heavens. The highest of these is the “seventh heaven”.

61. Cold War country: Abbr. USSR
The former Soviet Union (USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and was comprised of fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

The term “cold war” was first used by the novelist George Orwell in a 1945 essay about the atomic bomb. Orwell described a world under threat of nuclear war as having a “peace that is no peace”, in a permanent state of “cold war”. The specific use of “cold war” to describe the tension between the Eastern bloc and the Western allies is attributed to a 1947 speech by Bernard Baruch.

63. Penultimate bowling game division NINTH FRAME
In ten-pin bowling, each player takes turns to roll up to two balls in an attempt to knock down all ten pins. Each such rotation is referred to as a “frame”. There are ten frames in a full game. The tenth frame is a little different than the others in that a third ball can be rolled in the event that a player knocks down all ten pins on the second roll.

66. Hired hood GOON
“Hood” is a slang term for “gangster”, a shortening of “hoodlum”.

68. Sport __: family cars UTES
A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.

71. Spanish muralist José María SERT
José Maria Sert was a painter of murals from Catalan, and a friend of fellow-artist Salvador Dali.

Down
1. __ Romeo: Italian sports car ALFA
The “Alfa” in Alfa Romeo is actually an acronym, standing for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (“Lombard Automobile Factory, Public Company”). ALFA was an enterprise founded in 1909 and which was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915. In 1920 the company name was changed to Alfa Romeo.

4. Japanese fish dish SUSHI
Sushi is a Japanese dish that has as its primary ingredient cooked, vinegared rice. The rice is usually topped with something, most often fish, and can be served in seaweed rolls. If you want raw fish by itself, then you have to order “sashimi”.

6. Doggie doc VET
“Vet” is an abbreviation for “veterinarian”, a professional who treat animals for disease and injury. The word “veterinary” comes from the Latin “veterinae” meaning “working animals, beasts of burden”.

9. Film collie LASSIE
We owe the character Lassie to one Eric Knight who wrote a short story that he expanded into a novel called “Lassie Come Home”, published in 1940. “Lassie Come Home” was turned into a movie three years later, the first of a very successful franchise. The original Lassie (a female) was played by a dog called Pal, a male dog. In fact, all of the dogs that played Lassie over the years were males, because they looked better on camera, retaining a thick coat even during the summer months.

12. Savings option, briefly IRA
Individual retirement account(IRA)

13. ASAP kin PDQ
Pretty darn quick (PDQ)

18. Lawsuit basis TORT
The word “tort” is a French word meaning “mischief, injury or wrong”. Tort law is generally about negligence, when the action of one party causes injury to another but that action falls outside of the scope of criminal law.

24. Distinguished soprano, say DIVA
“Diva” comes to us from Latin via Italian. “Diva” is the feminine form of “divus” meaning “divine one”. The word is used in Italy to mean “goddess” or “fine lady”, and especially is applied to the prima donna in an opera. We often use the term to describe a singer with a big ego.

25. Pole or Croat SLAV
The Slavic peoples are in the majority in communities covering over half of Europe. This large ethnic group is traditionally broken down into three smaller groups:

– the West Slavic (including Czechs and Poles)
– the East Slavic (including Russians and Ukrainians)
– the South Slavic (including Bulgarians, Croats and Serbs)

26. Campground users, briefly RVERS
One using a “recreational vehicle” (RVer).

34. Orchestra sect. STR
Strings (str.)

38. Tech co. known as Big Blue IBM
The origin of the IBM nickname “Big Blue” seems to have been lost in the mists of time. That said, maybe it has something to do with the fact that the IBM logo is blue, and almost every mainframe they produced was painted blue. I remember visiting IBM on business a few times in my career, and back then we were encouraged to wear whites shirts and blue suits to “fit in” with our client’s culture.

41. Poet Ogden NASH
The poet Ogden Nash is well known for his light and humorous verse. Try this one for size:

The one-L lama,
He’s a priest.
The two-L llama,
He’s a beast.
And I would bet
A silk pajama
There isn’t any
Three-L lllama.

42. Peter Fonda title role ULEE
“Ulee’s Gold” is a highly respected film from 1997 in which Peter Fonda plays the title role of Ulee. Ulee’s “gold” is the honey that Ulee produces. It is a favorite role for Peter Fonda and he has shared that playing Ulee brought to mind his father, Henry Fonda, who himself kept a couple of hives. So if you see Peter Fonda in “Ulee’s Gold” you’re witnessing some characteristics that Peter saw in his father.

Peter Fonda is the son of actor Henry, brother of actress Jane, and father of actress Bridget. Peter nearly didn’t make it to the stage. He was one of the many children who have been victims of shooting accidents. Peter shot himself in the stomach when he was just 11-years-old, and very nearly died.

48. More absurd INANER
Our word “inane” meaning silly or lacking substance comes from the Latin “inanitis” meaning “empty space”.

53. Sci-fi pioneer Jules VERNE
Jules Verne really was a groundbreaking author. Verne pioneered the science fiction genre, writing about space, air and underwater travel, long before they were practical and proved feasible. Verne is the second most translated author of all time, with only Agatha Christie beating him out.

54. Artist Rousseau HENRI
Henri Rousseau was a French Post-Impressionist painter. He was self-taught, only starting to paint seriously in his forties. He worked as a tax collector until he was 49 years old, when he retired to focus on his art. Rousseau’s most famous painting is “The Sleeping Gypsy”, a celebrated work that depicts a lion standing beside a sleeping woman in the moonlight. You can take a look at it in New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

55. Computer invader VIRUS
A computer virus has characteristics very similar to a virus found in nature. It is a small computer program that can copy itself and can infect another host (computer).

60. “__ la vie!” C’EST
“C’est la vie” is French for “that’s life”.

62. Jack of “Barney Miller” SOO
Jack Soo was a Japanese American actor noted for playing Detective Nick Yemana on the sitcom “Barney Miller” in the seventies and eighties.

“Barney Miller” is a sitcom set in a Greenwich Village, New York police station. All of the action takes place actually within the station house, except for a once-a-year “special” that followed one of the detectives on a stakeout or in their home. The title character is the captain of the precinct, and is played by Hal Linden.

65. Baseball round-trippers: Abbr. HRS
Home runs (HRs)

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. A rather long time AGES
5. Be of use to AVAIL
10. Greenside golf shot CHIP
14. Kauai cookout LUAU
15. Alabama civil rights city SELMA
16. Titled nobleman LORD
17. Baby book milestones FIRST STEPS
19. Baghdad’s country IRAQ
20. Even if, briefly ALTHO
21. Prepares, as a violin bow ROSINS
23. Backup player’s backup THIRD-STRINGER
27. Dusk-dawn link ‘TIL
28. Steeped brew TEA
29. Low mil. rank PVT
31. Commotions ADOS
35. Actor Kilmer VAL
37. Road Runner chaser __ Coyote WILE E
39. Hershey’s chocolate-and-peanut-butter products FIFTH AVENUE BARS
43. Prepare beans, Mexican-style REFRY
44. Square dance lass GAL
45. Island in a computer game MYST
46. NHL tiebreakers OTS
47. Zadora of “Hairspray” PIA
50. “Wait a __!” SEC
52. Bliss SEVENTH HEAVEN
58. Fill with bubbles AERATE
59. Purple flower LILAC
61. Cold War country: Abbr. USSR
63. Penultimate bowling game division NINTH FRAME
66. Hired hood GOON
67. Baseball bobble ERROR
68. Sport __: family cars UTES
69. Sharpen HONE
70. Steed stoppers REINS
71. Spanish muralist José María SERT

Down
1. __ Romeo: Italian sports car ALFA
2. Feeling of remorse GUILT
3. Target in alien-attack films EARTH
4. Japanese fish dish SUSHI
5. Long-eared beast ASS
6. Doggie doc VET
7. On the ball ALERT
8. Non-domestic beer, e.g. IMPORT
9. Film collie LASSIE
10. Hang on (to) CLING
11. Boisterous behavior HORSEPLAY
12. Savings option, briefly IRA
13. ASAP kin PDQ
18. Lawsuit basis TORT
22. Amazed IN AWE
24. Distinguished soprano, say DIVA
25. Pole or Croat SLAV
26. Campground users, briefly RVERS
30. Driver’s license prerequisite TEST
31. Frizzy do AFRO
32. Loses on purpose? DIETS
33. Summer, at ski resorts OFF-SEASON
34. Orchestra sect. STR
36. Chair support LEG
38. Tech co. known as Big Blue IBM
40. All keyed up HYPER
41. Poet Ogden NASH
42. Peter Fonda title role ULEE
48. More absurd INANER
49. Clothes ATTIRE
51. Young cow CALF
53. Sci-fi pioneer Jules VERNE
54. Artist Rousseau HENRI
55. Computer invader VIRUS
56. Tickle pink ELATE
57. Snitch, when identifying the bad guys NAMER
60. “__ la vie!” C’EST
61. “That smells disgusting!” UGH!
62. Jack of “Barney Miller” SOO
64. Freight measure TON
65. Baseball round-trippers: Abbr. HRS

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