Laurence of Bessarabia

Santa Monica

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Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaSep 21, 2025, 11:13 AM2025-09-21positive86%

anybody remember the kit kat commercial from the 70s with 2 fishermen and 2 lions? that was yours truly on the shore, a big cat *behind* each bun. loved those residuals, while they lasted.

18 recommendations10 replies
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMar 20, 2024, 10:22 AM2024-03-20neutral86%

@sam corbin kibbutz is actually hebrew, emphasis on the second syllable. perhaps you’re thinking of the yiddish word, kibbitz, emphasis on the first syllable. always seder right thing for their emusement

17 recommendations1 replies
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaApr 7, 2024, 4:05 AM2024-04-07positive97%

@Eric Hougland thanks, great to see will speaking and doing so well.

14 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 21, 2024, 9:52 AM2024-11-21neutral53%

@SP not sure how long you’ve been here, but you ain’t seen nuttin’ yet! 🤣

14 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 13, 2025, 11:00 AM2025-11-13positive56%

oh no, deb, say it ain’t so. way too soon. jim and patrick have hardly faded from memory! wishing you nothing but the best in your next chapter; wherever you land, they’ll be lucky to have you, as we have been.

14 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaSep 14, 2024, 6:47 AM2024-09-14neutral48%

scanning across that nyt front page gave me chills when i reached the last column. woody guthrie wrote this tragic ballad in 1941, and i’ve been listening to either him or ramblin’ jack elliott sing it since the 50s. <a href="https://youtu.be/oz7oguguIZE?si=6k5rhmGb48_i3FVd" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/oz7oguguIZE?si=6k5rhmGb48_i3FVd</a>

12 recommendations4 replies
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 7, 2025, 9:35 AM2025-02-07positive95%

@Jackson glad you learned some things. stick with it!

12 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMar 15, 2025, 11:04 AM2025-03-15positive57%

@HeathieJ (with apologies to mike), i’m glad to know your 7x grandpa recovered from a reptile dysfunction. i’ll see myself out.

11 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMar 18, 2025, 10:11 AM2025-03-18positive48%

@Andrzej eggzackly!

11 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaOct 25, 2025, 7:18 PM2025-10-25negative45%

this was so hard it almost broke my straining brain, sat with it way longer than I care to admit through washington week in review, baseball, and some violent tv, (all of it pretty upsetting), resisted the constant pressure to look stuff up, ultimately was able to solve it. 46 years, what an incredible clue. if i’d only noticed who constructed it before i started, i might at least have been able to gird myself for the battle. but in the end i’m proud to say you did not nothnagel me (iykyk) byron walden! thanks for a great workout and a terrific puzzle.

11 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 7, 2024, 9:46 AM2024-02-07negative57%

@Barry Ancona cracker jack (singular) you’re out, not your out c’mon, barry, don’t make an emu outta me.

10 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMay 12, 2024, 11:16 AM2024-05-12positive96%

@Lewis completely agreed, clever clues, fresh fill, outstanding work! now i gotta get some sleep.

10 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaAug 31, 2024, 4:51 AM2024-08-31neutral46%

@Richard had to do that yesterday, not today. you’re absolutely correct, though. but i’d never go back to paper.

10 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaSep 23, 2024, 3:50 AM2024-09-23neutral93%

@Anita also the birthdate of ray charles (1930) and john coltrane (1926).

10 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 14, 2024, 1:22 PM2024-11-14positive83%

@Laurence of Bessarabia btw, tom lehrer is alive and well at 96. tribute concert in santa cruz november 24th. wish i could be there. <a href="https://www.kuumbwajazz.org/calendar/tom-lehrer-tribute" target="_blank">https://www.kuumbwajazz.org/calendar/tom-lehrer-tribute</a>/

8 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJan 2, 2026, 10:10 AM2026-01-02neutral62%

@Sam Lyons yep

8 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaOct 12, 2024, 11:44 AM2024-10-12positive94%

@Shan when you visit the people’s republic of santa monica, you can check out those dumplings at the wonderful restaurant, warszawa, aka solidarity. we rate it 5 pierogis!

7 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 14, 2024, 12:26 PM2024-11-14positive97%

@Justin the mere mention of tom lehrer brings a big smile. thanks! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM</a> terrific puzzle, perfect thursday.

7 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 7, 2025, 10:49 AM2025-02-07neutral71%

@Andrzej dinner theater is (or perhaps was) absolutely a thing in the u.s. take it from one who, in his salad days, once doubled as an actor/waiter…or perhaps it was the other way around…memory conveniently fails at this hour and this age. the nearest version close to you might be the 9 pm show at www.chaton.com. but i don’t actually see anything quite as comparable in warsaw.

7 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 9, 2025, 11:15 AM2025-02-09neutral51%

@Hope Levav here, here, i hear you, my lower case sister!

7 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaOct 9, 2025, 8:46 AM2025-10-09neutral64%

@Leapfinger well, i guess thumbody had to thay it.

7 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 19, 2025, 6:07 AM2025-11-19negative53%

@Sally you’re not alone, never heard that term up here in this hemisphere either. they are referred to as ‘the minor leagues ‘ or ‘minor league teams ‘ or ‘the minors’ , but never as a ‘minor team’. admittedly a minor quibble in an otherwise enjoyable puzzle.

7 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 2, 2024, 11:28 AM2024-02-02positive50%

@v great challenge, thanks for the workout, ryan judge. it’s the months of misty grayness and the absence of sunshine that give seattle that reputation. @sam lyons (late note re: yesterday’s posts) his name is spelled seigel @deb amlen a gentle reminder to change today’s reference to mr. seigel. emus see a slew of seattle seagulls … and seahawks

6 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaApr 21, 2025, 11:19 AM2025-04-21positive53%

clever theme, fun solve. some will consider this a nitpick, I suppose, but only a mother can “have” a bar/bat/bas mitzvah. rather, it’s something one becomes.

6 recommendations2 replies
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJul 12, 2025, 9:27 AM2025-07-12negative59%

@Sam Lyons completely agree, though the nw corner did take me a ridiculously long time to crack. cannot believe the kvetching and moaning interspersed among the comments. keep ‘em comin’, katie, this was a lulu. and thanks for recommending drug store specs, sl; i’d thought double cataract surgery would keep the small print from swimming around like tiny tadpoles, but no such luck.

6 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJan 2, 2026, 9:54 AM2026-01-02positive88%

@Cyndie thank you!

6 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJun 5, 2024, 10:32 AM2024-06-05positive98%

@Vaer enjoyed the puzzle, loved that link! thanks.

5 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaSep 25, 2024, 8:11 AM2024-09-25positive52%

@Andrzej couldn’t get this old classic out of my ear after reading your comment. sorry you had such an unfortunate experience with learning music. enjoy! <a href="https://youtu.be/HbfSH7GfI6c?si=x03ael19jIddFX8U" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/HbfSH7GfI6c?si=x03ael19jIddFX8U</a>

5 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaOct 12, 2024, 11:15 AM2024-10-12neutral73%

@Andrzej yes

5 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 18, 2024, 9:53 AM2024-11-18positive98%

@Mr Dave brilliant, thank you!

5 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 8, 2026, 10:00 AM2026-02-08positive78%

@HeathieJ fight fiercely. solidarity and respect. one more theme suggestion: you ‘da man’!

5 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMay 1, 2024, 11:30 AM2024-05-01positive82%

@dutchiris todd barry did some funny bits on fallon tuesday night! cue twilight zone theme.

4 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaSep 30, 2024, 8:57 AM2024-09-30positive92%

@Andrzej pack an umbrella for those april showers and be sure to ride the staten island ferry, best bargain in town.

4 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaFeb 7, 2025, 7:44 PM2025-02-07neutral65%

@coloradoz walking into a huge banquet hall full of lazy susan lunchers on the outskirts of beijing, i spot a former work colleague sitting with another group of american tourists.

4 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaOct 16, 2025, 7:01 PM2025-10-16negative60%

@Barb K i must admit to having occasionally, in utter frustration on a friday or saturday, called the nyt puzzle number and spent $2.49 or whatever it cost to get up to 3 answers. anybody else?

4 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJan 7, 2024, 6:38 PM2024-01-07neutral72%

@cmon my nomination for comment of the decade.

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMay 12, 2024, 11:19 AM2024-05-12neutral91%

@CourtMIT check out the flashing circle on the upper right.

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 20, 2024, 9:10 AM2024-11-20neutral68%

@Andrzej but here it is.

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaApr 3, 2025, 10:35 AM2025-04-03neutral83%

@K home runs

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMay 17, 2025, 2:04 PM2025-05-17neutral91%

@Mean Old Lady From Wikipedia: “The oldest established team in the NFL is the Arizona Cardinals, founded in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club. They joined the NFL in its founding year of 1920. The Cardinals have moved locations multiple times, starting in Chicago, then to St. Louis, and finally settling in Phoenix.”

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaOct 9, 2025, 7:04 PM2025-10-09neutral37%

@Barry Ancona my best to leapy and deadline, as well. as for the puzzle, that ‘r’ got me, too, but can’t believe i didn’t catch it at acre. arrrrrrgh!

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 9, 2025, 10:14 AM2025-11-09neutral90%

@Francis “colored”?

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaNov 11, 2025, 7:59 AM2025-11-11positive82%

@lucky13 congrats, i know how that feels, but no spoilers please!

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJan 15, 2026, 8:22 AM2026-01-15neutral59%

@Matt 🤣

3 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJan 28, 2024, 5:49 PM2024-01-28neutral75%

emus got me twice very early this morning, so i guess it’s true what y’all’ve been saying about them editing out short posts. the barbara/barbra issue having been addressed elsewhere, i’ll simply restate ( re: 64 across ) .92 euro=$1 u.s.

2 recommendations1 replies
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMar 13, 2024, 8:56 AM2024-03-13neutral70%

@Weak did you really believe there would be neither rap nor basketball fans commenting here who would let your statement slide? ‘shaq diesel’ was indeed the name of his successful debut album 30 years ago, but he definitely became known as ‘the diesel’ during his incredible career on the court. these days he continues to work as a dj named (big surprise) diesel, aka dubstep dad.

2 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMar 21, 2024, 10:04 AM2024-03-20positive87%

@Linda Jo thanks for the increasingly rare stan freberg reference. brilliant. <a href="https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=St" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=St</a>.%20George%20and%20the%20Dragonet%20lyrics&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&ip=1&vld=cid:3b8a5e43,vid:VL1SkUb8aU0,st:0

2 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMar 27, 2024, 11:10 AM2024-03-27positive84%

@Andrzej did you flip-flop the revealer phrase on purpose? as for joe pass, one of the greatest jazz guitarists since django, i hope you’ll listen to a lot more of his wonderful music.

2 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaMay 12, 2024, 11:59 AM2024-05-12neutral80%

@CourtMIT oops, sorry. click on the dotted i, same as caitlin’s title.

2 recommendations
Laurence of BessarabiaSanta MonicaJun 24, 2024, 8:34 AM2024-06-24neutral93%

@slightlycrazy i think the triple acrostic is still published every other sunday in the print edition, though the wordplay column was recently discontinued. you can find the digital version and comments at www.xwordinfo.com. requires a nominal annual subscription and a keyboard.

2 recommendations