Friday December 21st 2018, NY Times Crossword

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Time: 20:43
Friday Average: 27:29
Best Friday: 10:21

I foolishly started working on this one while listening to a podcast, which my experience with Friday puzzles specifically WARNS against. I eventually realized my error and paused PCHH so that I could fully commit and stop the constant BOING sounds in my head. Obviously, as a person with three hours of commuting back and forth to work each day, if I'm not on a long haul flight to Asia, I'm all over the BOOKS ON TAPE for "Entertainment for a long ride, perhaps." In fact, I've downloaded a few audiobooks (because they're not necessarily on tape these days) for the 14 hour drive back to the EAST COAST. I just finished Bad Blood by John Carreyrou, which blew my mind and also offered some SUCCOR in a time when it seems like there are no consequences for constant lying. Of course, it seems like the majority of the rich people who enabled the Theranos fraud escaped with their wealth and reputations somehow intact, which is less satisfying. I'm now escaping reality by listening to Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

I enjoyed the mini-theme crossing of BEAR SKINS and BAREBACK. Also, I'd prefer a Leonard Cohen clue for I'M YOUR MAN, but I'm always happy to have that album called to ind in any way. I'm also going to listen to "Hang on, SLOOPY," because that's in my head now as well.

I'm confused about which language is being invoked with "Warszawa's land," because if you're going to with Polish, I believe it should be POLShA, whereas the adjectival form would be POLSKA. It's entirely possible that I'm wrong so I'd welcome corrections.

I'm reading a bit about "Manhattan Project scientist Harold" UREY, who also won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934 for the discovery of deuterium. I'm considerably more taken with the paintings of James ENSOR, which is a deeply worthwhile scroll through a Google image search.



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