Cryptoquote Spoiler – 05/23/18

“Dreams do not come true just because you dream them.  It’s hard work that makes things happen.”   —   Shonda Rimes (Sic)

(As a lazy ass dreamer, I cannot disagree!  It’s not that I haven’t worked hard in my life . . . because I have.  It’s just that I never worked hard towards achieving a dream.  I’m a settler, I guess.

If your newspaper is like mine, they left the H out of Shonda Rhimes last name.  Kind of strange, as well known as she is.  She seems to rule ABC.  Remarkably – maybe – I’m not a fan.  I haven’t seen all of her shows, but the ones I have watched always seem to lean to the tawdry side of things.  God knows I’m no prude.  Far from it.  I like a little raunch as much as the next guy.  Maybe even more so.  But, I like it in its place.  I remember when “Grey’s Anatomy” first came on, I was all excited.  I had kind of been jonesing for a good medical drama ever since “ER” went off the air.  I like hospital shows with a little soap opera thrown in, but “Grey’s Anatomy” is just a soap opera . . . with a little hospital thrown in.  “Private Practice” was just a spin-off, so I couldn’t be bothered with it.  That actress never did anything for me too.  But, I was also excited about “How to Get Away with Murder”, because I like legal dramas . . . and Viola Davis.  But, in the very first episode they showed this gay love scene, that I thought was completely superfluous.  And, I’m someone who has always been a proponent of Gay rights!  “Scandal” never appealed to me.  Hey, the name says it all!  I watched the first episode of “For The People”, but it came off as kind of light weight.  Just a lot of extremely young, and pretty lawyers, mostly sleeping with each other.  I haven’t given “Station 19” a shot yet.  Maybe, I will.  But, I’m not going to get my hopes up.  I completely understand that there is an audience – Gen Xers, I suppose – for her kind of shows, but so far they have not been for me.  Maybe, I’m just getting old.  If so, so be it.  The networks never really cared for my – current – demographic in the first place.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Image courtesy of Google

(Oops!) Jumble Spoiler – 05/23/18

Visual Description:  The wonder of the cosmos!

LIBUD  =  BUILD,  LATOG  =  GLOAT,  CRUPES  =  SPRUCE,  SJYLUT  =  JUSTLY   —   Giving us:  BLOASREJTL

Clue/Question:  When Neil deGrasse Tyson explains star formation, he does a – – –

Answer:  STELLAR JOB

(An excellent pun, making for an excellent Jumble!  But, one yer Uncle came SO close to posting an incorrect – but oh so close – answer!  All the clue words were familiar old favorites, that I got instantaneously, even though three of the jumbles were new.  We’ve seen “crupes” before.  For whatever reason, when I was writing out the answer letter layout, I pulled the U from “spruce” instead of the E.  I cant remember the last time I did anything like this!  So, seeing that the answer words were 7 letters and 3 letters, I immediately jumped on JOB for the second word.  This left me with LASRUTL.  I started thinking along the lines of ASTRAL, even though it meant I was missing an L, and I substituted another A for the U.  But, after playing with those letters, I was able to come up with the word LUSTRAL.  It’s not a “usual” word, but it is derived from LUSTRUM, which also gives us LUSTER!  I thought I was golden, as I’ve always heard of the luster of the stars!  My answer, as unconventional as it may have looked, was LUSTRAL JOB.  So now, as I’m preparing to write this post, not quite feeling like LUSTRAL would make for the glowingest of answers, I looked at the jumbles, and my answer letter layout one last time, and I spotted my mistake!  Wow!

Cool answer letter layout . . . either way.  A very non-obvious jumble.

And of course, a great cartoon.  The likeness of Neil deGrasse Tyson was superb.  The animation of the galaxy works well, and the expression of awe, on the rapt viewers, was also great.  Good job, guys!  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR

Images courtesy of Google