NYT 8:50
LAT 8:13 (Neville)
CS 5:36 (Sam)
Tausig 6:12 (pannonica)
BEQ 7:01 (MG)/4:52 (AR)
Joel Fagliano’s New York Times crossword
NY Times crossword solution, 9 1 11 0901
I knew there were lots of double letters squooshed into single letters, but there were also unchanged double letters in the grid and that made it hard for me to figure out what the puzzle was doing. All became clear when I printed the crossword out: The five theme answers I’ve circled are supposed to be doubled in order to suit their clues, and each letter is doubling in the Down crossings. Basically, it’s as if we’re splitting those theme entries horizontally, making two rows where there is one. So the northwest corner could also be represented by the following:
AMMO POOH POOH STRI...
Isn’t that clever? I like it a lot, though it was rather vexing not to grasp the concept without looking at a hard copy of the puzzle. POOH-POOH, “ZOOM-ZOOM,” “EXCUSES, EXCUSES,” “BEEP-BEEP” (we would also have accepted “MEEP-MEEP”), and PAGO PAGO.
Highlights: REGIFTS! In my experience, regifting is not a matter of frugality so much as wanting to unload something you have no need for, or needing a gift on short notice. [Place to get a date] is a cute clue for a PALM TREE. EX(X)ON MOBIL, KERMIT the Frog, BUZ(Z)ING, LOSES SLE(E)P, BABY DIAPER, KASPAROV, FALSE GODS, THIS END UP, and small, private liberal arts college POMONA (alma mater of two friends of mine—and where constructor Joel Fagliano currently attends college). It’s also nice to see TE(E)PEES with the spelling I grew up with; TEPEE is more common in crosswords and always feels wrong to me. And CE(E) LO! I love Cee Lo Green and had been perplexed because neither Al nor Cee Lo is 4 letters long.
4.5 stars.
Steve Salitan’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Neville’s review
Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle solutions 9 1 11
It’s one of those puzzles where each of the theme entries has the same clue. The lower right gives that away with ROUNDS at 64a., but if you had the same issues I did, TOO FAR and PUEBLO were not obvious, leaving part of tis ever so important clue word hidden. Here are the four sets of rounds:
- AMMUNITION UNITS
- SPARRING PERIODS
- TOURNAMENT PARTS
- TRAYFULS OF BEERS
Unfortunately, this isn’t my cup of tea for a theme. I didn’t much like two sporting uses of the word – though they are distinct. And frankly, I prefer the plural TRAYSFUL to TRAYFULS. The fact that none of these are really lively phrases made this puzzle rather blah on the thematic front.
There’s some nice fill in MON AMI, HERBAL DIET and CAUSE A STIR. But there’s a lot to not like – the crossing of OSSA and LSTS, NAHUM (which is apparently in the Bible?), HOB, and more. Not a happy time with these.
- 23d. [Reporter’s source] – LEAK. I thought it was LEAD until the very end checking my work. Note to those looking to create a split-personality crossword – use this one!
- 3d. [Rose Parade flowers] are MUMS, as ROSES would be much too obvious.
- 22a. [It may be painted] could describe your TOE… nail? Do you paint your whole toe or just the toenail? Why do some people paint their toenails? Fingernails I almost understand, but toenails? Pardon my ignorance.
- 22d. [Palm in one’s palm?] is a TREO. They still make these! I didn’t realize that! But that doesn’t mean I need to like a model of a cellular phone as fill, especially one that no one drops in conversation.
Didn’t please me. Sorry, Steve. 2.5 stars.
Patrick Jordan’s CrosSynergy/Washington Post crossword, “Arctic Ark” — Sam Donaldson’s review
CrosSynergy/Washington Post crossword solution, September 1
If today’s puzzle left you cold, that may be just what Patrick Jordan wanted. Jordan gives us three theme entries featuring common nouns that start with the names of Arctic mammals:
- 20-Across: The [Facial feature of David Crosby] is his WALRUS MUSTACHE. It’s also the facial feature of Jamie Hyneman from Mythbusters.
- 34-Across: The POLAR BEAR CLUB is the group for [Wintertime bathers]. These are the people who often celebrate the new calendar year by jumping into a cold lake. I prefer to ring in the new year with a marathon watching of the original Star Wars trilogy. I’m sure the Polar Bears and I are both happy with our respective choices.
- 52-Across: The [Endorsement insignia] is a SEAL OF APPROVAL. I get that a seal is an Arctic mammal, but here the “seal” is an impression or insignia. This is the only theme entry that works this way. A walrus mustache evokes the image of a walrus. A polar bear clue evokes the image of a polar bear. But a seal of approval does not evoke the image of a seal, at least not the one that basks on a hunk of ice in the Arctic. The inconsistency is troublesome.
We get bonus thematic content with ICY, clued as [Very unfriendly]. Interestingly, it’s paired alongside SAHARAN, clued as [Extremely arid]. Now that’s climate change! And maybe there’s another bonus with AIR WOLF, the [1980s Ernest Borgnine show featuring a helicopter] (though of course that’s not a full-fledged theme entry since it ends with the name of an Arctic denizen and it has no symmetrically-placed counterpart).
Only 41 squares were harmed in the execution of this theme, so there’s plenty of room for some good extras. I love the 8-letter pairs in the northwest corner, CHEWED UP and THE ALAMO, but the pairing in the southeast feels flat. BAKELITE, the early [Plastic in many telephone receivers] looks more like a two-word imperative sent via text message to an oleo-philic pastry chef. And UNSEATED might be fine (albeit dull) but there’s also UNEASE the southwest corner. That’s not technically a duplicate, but it certainly does nothing to make UNSEATED look any prettier.
I’ve seen [Part of a flight] as the evasive clue for STAIR so many times that now TAKE-OFF, TURBULENCE, CRUISING, or LANDING would now be the unexpected answer. On the other hand, I liked [Character in Progressive ads] as an updated clue for FLO. You can see the woman who plays Flo at the end of this clip from Mad Men. Man I wish that show hadn’t taken such a long hiatus!
Ben Tausig’s Ink Well/Chicago Reader crossword, “Ch-ch-ch-Changes” — pannonica’s review
Tausig Ink Well • 9/2/11 • crossword answers
Sound substitution theme, replacing the soft /j/ of the original phrase with the soft /tch/ phoneme.
Aside: as a harbinger of the tone of the puzzle, let me first refer you to 54d [Leonard of dirty lyrics] COHEN. Such gratuitous allusion to an occasional aspect of his songs lets you know that this isn’t your father’s crossword puzzle. Unless your father is a dirty old man.
- 17a. [With 64-Across, reflective question from one experimenting with sandwich toppings?] WHAT WOULD | CHEESES DO? (What would Jesus do?) More than merely reflective, I’d say an inquiry of this sort is projective and empathetic; quite a feat to imagine oneself as sentient fromage. A better and more organic phrasing might be, “What cheeses would do?” Of course, that wouldn’t do for the theme.
- 24a. [Apt name for a gay S&M supply store?] DICK AND CHAIN (Dick and Jane). See what I meant before? There’s more in the ballast.
- 40a. [Argentine revolutionary down in the dumps?] BLUE CHE (Blue jay). Makes me think of Bluette.
- 51a. [Wrestling move for the Strangling Sprinter?] RUNNING CHOKE (running joke).
Indeed.
While criticizing a standard theme type is unwarranted, it’s perfectly acceptable to take hammer and tongs to the theme’s content. I only cared for one of the four (five?) themers. The long two-parter is inane, to be charitable. Some sensitive and pious souls may even be offended, which would be in keeping with the other theme of the puzzle. Which brings us to 24-across; a bit transgressive, that one, but it’s clever and vivid. 40-across is short and uninteresting. 51-across is tortuous and labored while the joke’s payoff isn’t big enough.
Overall, the 4½ themers feel uninspired and desultory. In total the puzzle, while I wouldn’t exactly call it smooth, is not clunky. Average there.
As for the “dirty” vibe, in addition to the aforementioned entries, I direct the reader to 3d, 9d, and 29d. I suppose there were opportunities for the constructor to push it farther, but you get the gist. Perhaps 30a qualifies here too? I’d be inclined to clue DOOB in reference to Bollywood, but realize that it’s too obscure.
Highlights:
- REUSED (49a) clue for CIAO and SEE YA, 21a & 69a [“I’m out”].
- 46d [Join the line] QUEUE UP. Adore the –U–U–U– pattern.
- Obama! [ __ Soetoro (Obama’s stepfather)] LOLO, and [Obama who became a teenager in July 2011] MALIA.
- Minimaritime theme: OCEAN, TIDE, QEII, BUOY.
- Long non-theme fill: NO-SPIN ZONE, and the new-to-me ZETTABYTES.
- Kind-of-hip clue for MATADOR at 4d, but come to think of it, perhaps it was an excuse to indulge in that subtheme?
- 62a [Hotlanta] A-TOWN. Lovely how the two nicknames complement each other and don’t overlap, not even the seemingly integral initial A. Great find.
Brendan Quigley’s blog crossword, “Adding a Family Member”—Matt Gaffney’s review
BEQ 363 solution
Brendan just added a daughter to his family, so today’s theme is a natural: each of four family members are added to phrases to create goofy new phrases:
- 17a. “Ken dolls” become BROKEN DOLLS with the addition of “bro.” [Barbies snapped in half?]
- 28a. “I-Formation” becomes SI, SI FORMATION with the addition of “sis.” [Manner one employs when agreeing with Jose?]
- 44a. “US Magazine” becomes MOMUS MAGAZINE with the additon of “mom.”[Periodical named after the Greek god of satire?]
- 58a. “Gumshoes” becomes DADGUM SHOES with the additon of “dad.” [Blasted footwear?]
Nine observations:
- Brendan has a new baby daughter named Tabitha. Isn’t that cute? And she anagrams to HABITAT.
- I’ll admit I’ve never heard of MOMUS or DADGUM. Each Googles quite well, though, and were easy to piece together from crossings.
- Upper-middle of the grid: very nice.
- Top 5 fill: INNUENDOES with the -es ending, ARBY’S, FIVE A.M., HIJAB, IMHO.
- Bottom 3 fill: EROSE, AHL, SIREE.
- Clever consecutive clue twins (fraternal, not identical): 23d and 25d.
- Anyone else have REWEED for 66a.? No? Me neither then.
- Don’t know if there’s a name for the clue type at 16a., but I like these. I had AD- and read the clue as “Big brother,” even though it’s “big bother.” Sneaky way to take advantage of the “autocorrect” feature we humans have.
- Took me 7:01 to finish. Unbeatable.
Thanks for the puzzle, BEQ, and congratulations on your new addition to the family!
Very clever NYT theme idea, and I love 23-across.
5 stars from me, my kinda Thursday puzzle!
For clarification, @Matt, you love Kasparov/you love the clue for Kasparov/you love the entry “Kasparov”/you love all of the above?
I figured out the NYT theme way down in the SE at PAGO PAGO. I think a light bulb flared above my head.
terrific puzzle—a theme i’ve never seen before involving a very clever trick. after three days of NYT puzzles that didn’t float my boat, this was a very welcome swing of the pendulum.
Great puzzle. This constructor’s puzzles have all been fresh, whether it be in the cluing, the theme or both. Bravo.
I loved this one. Struggled until I got the theme half way through with ZOOM-ZOOM, sailed after that. Beautiful star point symmetry – loved EXCUSES-EXCUSES in the middle (on that note let me explain why my solving time wasn’t that great…). 5 stars from me too.
Same as Karen. I saw there were double letters going down and singles across, but it was at PAGO-PAGO that I realized the center answer wasn’t EXCUSES but EXCUSES, EXCUSE. Loved, loved it. 10 stars.
I am shocked, shocked! at the rah-rah attitude everyone’s expressing. I thought it was merely so-so.
I kid, I kid…
Just a heads up, my crossword app – the iPhone one by Magmic required each doubled word to have two letters in each cell using the rebus input. Added a good three minutes on my time trying to figure out what was wrong & then pressing all the buttons to enter everything (3 taps per extra letter!)
Re NYT — I was going to say “Second the motion” about Joel’s cleverness, but too late! Doubled entries were fantastic anyway.
NYT: I never really connected the dots on this puzzle, but I still managed to solve it. Saw some entries losing doubled letters, and others which should be doubled, but couldn’t synthesise a theme from it… Because of that the bottom-left was way hard: I didn’t know ACHESON, so I had to puzzle out 56-58D and their acrosses, painstakingly. In hindsight it really is a five star puzzle, outside of the small corners we get a wide open area with lotsa fun stuff!
I am glad to see Pannonica now reviewing the Tausig puzzles, because they REALLY need to be called out for some things. This week’s was, without question, one of the worst crossword puzzles I can remember.
First of all, agree with Pannonica that the “dirtiness” is totally inappropriate and unneeded. What is the point in poking fun at a major religious figure, especially by reference to the WHATWOULDJESUSDO movement, which was inspiring? Has making fun of religion ever been funny? And do we honestly expect the contemporary puzzle audience – who after all have certain standards after so many years – to enjoy a joke like DICKANDCHAIN? Thank you, Pannonica, for understanding this and having the courage to bring it up in your reviews.
Meanwhile, I’ve never heard of Leonard Cohen, but I see he has song titles like “Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-On,” so I can only imagine. What kind of audience could conceivably be interested in such a “musician,” let alone want to see him referenced in a crossword??
Finally, the only thing I disagree with in the critique is that the puzzle’s theme have a hammer and tongs taken to it. Instead, this thing should be torn apart bit-by-bit. RUNNINGCHOKE? What kind of wrestling move would that be? Doesn’t sound like anything the boys at Dartmouth would have used, at least not without a judge stepping in. As for an entry like BLUECHE, all it does is replace the “J” sound with a “Ch” sound to create a goofy phrase involving a historical figure who has become a pop cultural joke. Hard for me to see the humor.
Desultory is right. The constructor could not have spent more than 20 minutes on this thing, and obviously does not care much for crossword puzzles. Keep up the fight, Pannonica.
MD writes:
“Meanwhile, I’ve never heard of Leonard Cohen, but I see he has song titles like “Don’t Go Home with Your Hard-On,””
Leonard Cohen is a famous folk musician and a published poet who’s been around professionally (and on major labels) for over 4 decades. I think you’ve totally misjudged him and his audience on the basis of one title. I (sincerely) suggest that you give one of his most famous songs a listen. It’s called “Suzanne”… I promise you won’t be offended:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otJY2HvW3Bw
-MAS
@MD Solver: Clearly the Ink Well puzzle is not for you. Just as I don’t waste my time doing the crosswords that don’t interest me, perhaps you should step away and not trouble yourself. Life’s too short to partake of leisure activities that only cultivate negativity.
To whomever 1-starred the NYT puzzle today: if you’re going to 1-star a puzzle that everyone else obviously thinks is excellent, could you at least tell us in comments why you’re doing so? Anonymously is fine, but it just looks like vandalism if you don’t tell us what your rationale is.
I understand that people can have very different reactions to a crossword, so please do share if you really meant it.
Oooh, I loved today’s puzzle. PAGO PAGO lit the lamp for me, too – I’d filled in EXCUSES but didn’t understand the doubling thing (and I’m still not sure how LESS = OFF at 31D) and then the aha! moment landed. Then I was able to go back and fill in the NW and the rest fell clockwise. Yummy, yummy, yummy.
@ MD Solver, I’m not Ben Tausig’s target audience either, but I do know what I’m getting when I solve one of his and I don’t fuss about it. That said, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” is a prayer disguised as a folk song, and KD Lang does it better than anyone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE
Over 2,000 renditions of Cohen’s songs have been recorded. Cohen has been inducted into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour. While giving the speech at Cohen’s induction into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 10 March 2008, Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the “highest and most influential echelon of songwriters.”[wikipedia]
It was a bad clue, but he is a “musician” and much more.
Also, that theme entry doesn’t make fun of religion, any more than it makes fun of cheeses. It makes light of religion, maybe. And I must say that making fun of religion can sometimes be rather funny.
This is really frustrating. Since getting a new computer, I can’t open puzzles from the Times in Across Lite. Each time, it asks me for the (msi) install file. I found this on the Across Lite page:
>>
Problem: The program tries to install itself every time I download a crossword.
Solution: The web browser is using the Across Lite installation program as the program to use to open the crossword when you download. This typically happens if the step to install the program is omitted and the installation program is selected as the program to use when downloading a crossword or when double-clicking on a crossword file.
To fix this problem, close all running programs and double-click on the Across Lite installation file acl2setup.exe to install Across Lite. After a successful installation, delete ALL copies (if you have it downloaded multiple times) of the installation program acl2setup.exe and then reboot.
<<
But I don't know what's going on. First, I never had the setup exe, since the Across Lite site seems to give you the msi, so I can't delete it. Second, I have no clue what they mean by having "omitted" installing the program or having "selected" the wrong file association. I didn't do anything like that. HELP!!!
Obviously someone bestowed a one-star rating on the NYT because three of the four peripheral theme entries have doubled vowels at their cores, while PAGO(-PAGO) does not fit the pattern. Horrid.
To Jeffrey, Jenni, Martin, and others: Apologies if I underestimated Cohen in my original post. I hope that didn’t detract from my broader point, which was really about the quality of the puzzle.
I suppose I enjoy Pannonica’s reviews because I feel that being overly nice in criticism accomplishes little or nothing. He/she specifically calls Tausig out for a theme that is “uninspired” and “desultory.” Indeed, it is that lack of *effort* that bugs me. Is there really no better entry out there than WHATWOULDCHEESESDO? It is “inane.” I find it hard to imagine that a few minutes of searching wouldn’t have uncovered something better. Pannonica is right – the constructor’s lack of inspiration was the culprit here, and it’s entirely fair to say so.
I didn’t do the Tausig but “what would cheeses do” is pretty damn funny.
Although he doesn’t seem to need it, I must add my voice to Leonard Cohen’s defense. Like others, I suspect, his songs on the Judy Collins In My Life album affected me like no poetry ever had before, and little has since. He, Brel and Dylan are the greatest poet/songwriters of my lifetime, as far as I’m concerned.
-MAH, not MAS
Pannonica’s reference to “dirty old man” cracked me up. Years ago, my wife and I were on a road trip with my parents, and she was playing a Leonard Cohen CD on the car stereo. My dad’s ears perked up at a lyric in “Chelsea Hotel”: “Giving me head on the unmade bed.”
He’s been a Cohen fan ever since.
The clue wasn’t that bad.
Congrats to Brendan and wife on their newborn, and also congrats for the Addition to the Family puzzle. I should have known the Hecklephone, but recalled it with crosses: an oh-boy! (Haut bois)
@MD SolverL
“Has making fun of religion ever been funny?”
Yes, unless someone htreatens to cut your tongue out.
(sorry about the typos in the previous post)
@Matt Gaffney- Amen.
I suspect it was the reaction of someone who was stumped by the puzzle but, even so, after reviewing the solution, how can one who solves Times level puzzles not respect the genius of the construction (and the constructor).
Hope the “1” voter will chime in.
I keep a list of crosswords that I want to remember in future years, and I put today’s NYT on it. Wow, yet another impressive construction from Joel. I’m envious!
Jeff
I’m late to the party, but what a neat theme! Great Thursday. 5 stars here (no party pooping). I agree that the one star is probably from someone who didn’t get it. I’ve probably been guilty of that kind of thinking myself.
I amused myself thinking of other possible theme entries:
{Deficiency disease} (4 x 2
{Washington City) (5
{Adieu, familiarly} (3
{Let’s go Yale} (5
{Sarcastically oxymoronic negation} (4 –1st letter ‘Y’
{Pretentiously ornate} (4 — 1st letter ‘F’
{Operatic heroine San} {3
{Advice to a brief candle} (3
{Outlawed diet pill} (4
{Small antelope} (3
Bruce
I don’t think my Tausig write-up was as excoriating as MD Solver has taken it to be. Not for me to fight the Good Fight for Primdom. The theme concept is fine, but I felt its content was anemic. There was a lot to like in other parts of the puzzle, however I do feel that ribaldry and coarseness for their own sake—rather than in service of something more—have little to offer. It’s the difference between Lenny Bruce and Andrew Dice Clay. Remember him?
MAH: I’d place Tom Waits in that poet/songwriter pantheon too. Technically, I feel he’s even better than Dylan.
And for the record, making fun of religion is often quite funny. Woe unto the religion that can’t take a joke.
Agreed, Pannonica. We must recognize the difference someone like Bruce, who was a satirist and produced commentary on politics, and Dice Clay, a cretin who is just trying to get a rise out of people.
The Tausig clue for 9-D in this puzzle, “Org. with a Boehner for frustrating Obama” for GOP is unfortunately much closer to the latter type. It’s like a Jon Stewart pun or something. And as for an answer like ANAL meaning stingy, is that even a word people use in everyday conversation nowadays? Not at my dinner table. Pannonica or Amy or someone else probably knows for sure, but isn’t the rule that the words in a puzzle should only be those found in the newspaper where the puzzle appears?
MD Solver — first of all, if you’re using a “Jon Stewart” comparison as a pejorative, you may need to have your funny bone checked by a doctor.
Anyway… the entire point of Ben Tausig’s “InkWell” puzzle is to appeal to young solvers. It’s published only in free urban weekly papers (Chicago Reader, Washington City Paper, etc.), the ones with classified ads for porn and escorts in the back. Believe me, you’ll find all of Ben’s fill words and more in those publications.
From the Inkwell website: “I am as committed to mild or explicit raciness as I am to contemporary references. Both are about equally important.” Put another way: coarseness for its own sake. What’s wrong with that? Dirty words and double entendres are all over TV and pop music, and just as you shouldn’t partake of that entertainment if the style offends you, don’t waste your time solving the InkWell and Onion crosswords if you can’t take an innocuous pun about Jesus or a reference to ANAL (as in anal-retentive, and yes, that’s an everyday word nowadays).
Your opinion is valid, because it’s an opinion — but I think you have been misunderstanding the raison d’etre of Mr. Tausig’s work.
Oh yeah, looooved the NYT today!
“The constructor could not have spent more than 20 minutes on this thing….”
Wow. I’m jealous.
“…is that even a word people use in everyday conversation nowadays? Not at my dinner table.”
I believe the xword-appropriate reference is “breakfast table.” Yet I suppose for many people it’s the same table.
“It’s like a Jon Stewart pun or something.”
If the equivalent of a Jon Stewart pun is not good enough for a crossword clue, that’s one high standard.
The alt-weekly puzzles tend to skew somewhere between the irreverent and outrageous, so it’s hard to argue with the Ink Well on those grounds. It delivers what’s expected. Sound substitutions, like puns, work some times better than others. Often it depends on the ear of the beholder.
Nice pic selection up above, btw. Who knew Jesus was a Packers fan?
I feel like I may be ganging on, but kudos to Joel Fagliano on the Times today. Cool puzzle! (And excellent initials, too.)
Should have just said “What Dan said.” (He’s faster than I am. But you knew that already.)
{Deficiency disease} BERI BERI
{Washington City) WALLA WALLA
{Adieu, familiarly} BYE BYE
{Let’s go Yale} BOOLA BOOLA
{Sarcastically oxymoronic negation} YEAH YEAH
{Pretentiously ornate} FROU FROU (?)
{Operatic heroine San} FRANCISCO FRANCISCO (OK, no idea)
{Advice to a brief candle} OUT OUT
{Outlawed diet pill} I believe that’s FEN PHEN
{Small antelope} ANT ANT
I second John Farmer’s approval of the apt cheesehead Jesus image. (Wait, that was approval, wasn’t it?)
The operatic heroine is CIO-CIO San. (I know this only from crosswords.) And the antelope is the DIKDIK.
One other thing, while I’m here. Cunard calls its famed liner the Queen Elizabeth 2, and for short, that’s the QE2. I believe Cunard uses the Arabic number specifically because the Roman numeral was already taken. I realize puzzles often play loose with numbers, but strictly speaking, QEII is the monarch not the boat.
At least it wasn’t QETWO!
DIKDIK? Sounds like something you might see in an Ink Well.
Ok, I’m starting to get it through my (sometimes dense) head. I suppose the Tausig puzzles are simply not for those put off by coarse humor and language. The next puzzle on my list is BEQ – seems a little more family-friendly.
MD Solver,
I know this wasn’t your main point but, as a long time Leonard Cohen fan, I can’t resist the urge to spread the word further. :-)
Cohen first made his name as a poet and novelist. He was also a guitar player and wrote some folk songs for his own amusement, but felt like poetry and songs were distinct entities (and ne’er the twain shall meet) until he heard Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”. Then he knew what he should do and, in the mid-’60s, became a full-time recording artist.
Here is one of my all-time favorite Cohen songs/videos. If there’s a pithy way to sum up Cohen’s work, I’d say that it’s about searching for Holy Love through Earthly love, and this song is a prime example of that.
This video was directed by his wife, Rebecca De Mornay:
“Closing Time”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-0lV5qs1Qw&ob=av2n
Leonard Cohen is married to Rebecca DeMornay? I did not know that.
Amazing video. Thank you, TS.
Regarding the NYTimes puzzle, as others have intimated… wow. This was one of the few that was very hard to get but I loved.