Sat., 9/14 Barry C. Silk

[magus]

THEME:   none, but 30 blocks with a 15-letter entry
   
GOOD ONES:     
Life support syst.?   EDS [I seem always to think last of the magazine.]   
Dictator's phrase   IN RE [I thought the pol not the CEO]   
   
BTW:   
Enjoyed the references to YANCY Derringer and "The Fabulous" FABIAN which bring me back to my youth, even though I disliked both.  Crossing them, however, might be tough for for those ineligible for AARP membership.   
   
Interrogacion word   COMO   
   Como is not used in English
   the clue is a mix of two languages
   a far better clue would deal with Perry, maybe "'Impossible' singer"
        or if it must be international, "Oye Como Va" was a good pop song
   
That, in Tijuana   ESO   
   my point exactly: in Mexico, not the US
   the clue is a mix of two languages
   a far better clue would deal with the pop song "Eso Beso"

Apparently Mr. Silk does not read this space --- or rejects it.  In either case, we'll both survive.

I note with bemusement that a random NYT comment as of today garnered more interest than my usual LAT posting.  Am I that predictable, insufferable, or both?   
In any case, I'll survive.   

RATING:   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

[ahimsa]

Hi,

I read your posts! I guess I should post a comment every once in a while so you'll know someone's reading. 

I agree with you that the clue for IN RE was a good one! It fooled me, too!

I liked learning that Jai Alai comes from the BASQUE language. YANCY was unknown to me even though I do qualify for AARP but somehow I got it from the crosses.

BTW, short words from other languages don't bug me as long as they are fairly common.

What did you think of ROTES at 47 Down? It seemed like an awkward plural to me.

[magus]

Hi, Ahimsa ---

I had circled ROTES when I worked the puzzle and intended to comment on it, but somehow omitted it.  Glad you mentioned it.

Yes, it is an awkward plural, like today's FOGS and even EBONS, but more importantly rote is more a learning method than a teaching one.  It is hardly teaching to tell a pupil to learn by rote the multiplication table, for example. 

Among the pleasures I find in doing the puzzle daily is that not only to I get to recall names and places that have receded, like Cyril Ritchard's great Capt. Hook, but I learn interesting things that I would not likely have come across, and more embarrassingly, things I should know but don't.  For example, I didn't know MAORI was also the language they speak.

Anthony