“The true noises of the night-time city”

Italo Calvino, “A journey with the cows.” In Marcovaldo, trans. William Weaver (New York: HarperCollins, 1983).

See also “the night noises of the metro-night” in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest.

Related reading
All OCA Italo Calvino posts (Pinboard)

A joke in a neo-traditional manner

From a very (very) young comic:

Why does “dinosaur” start with “d”?

No spoilers: the answer is in the comments.

Leggings

[“Artful Dodger.” Zippy, March 4, 2024. Click for a larger view.]

BIll Griffith is on the record: he’s not a fan of Olivia Jaimes’s Nancy. Is today’s strip, in which Little Zippy draws his favorite cartoon character, a comment on Jaimes’s Nancy, who wears leggings? Ernie Bushmiller’s Nancy wears a dress, or a blouse, sweater, and skirt.

Venn reading
All OCA Nancy posts : Nancy and Zippy posts : Zippy posts (Pinboard)

[Jaimes’s Nancy started out wearing a skirt, but now it’s leggings, red with black spots.]

An EXchange name sighting

[From The Soft Skin (dir. François Truffaut, 1964). Click for a larger view.]

MEDeric and, later, MEDicis were both Paris EXchange names.

Related reading
All OCA EXchange name posts (Pinboard)

Full-page screenshots in iOS and macOS

Here’s how to take a screenshot of a full page in iOS and macOS (Cult of Mac). These tricks will save someone the tedious work of pasting together parts to make a large whole.

The tips don’t work with all pages: if you’re trying, say, to get a large screenshot of a full-page advertisement from an old Life magazine in Google Books, the result will be an enormous file that won’t open. You have to be thinking about how much page precedes and follows what you’re trying to screenshot.

On a Mac, there’s also the free app Paparazzi — that’s what’s needed to snag, say, a full-page advertisement from Life.

Letters listing

Synchronicity: There are letters listing in today’s OCA tax photograph — the U and T of HAIRCUT. And there’s a letter listing in Olivia Jaimes’s Nancy today: a Z that tilts into an N.

[Do kids still pass paper notes in class with yes/no questions? I remember them well: “I like you. Do you like me? ☐Yes. ☐No.”]

Shave and a haircut

[234 Bowery, New York City, c. 1939–1941. From the NYC Municipal Archives Collections. Click for a much larger view.]

No dive today, shallow or deep, just a shave and a haircut, costing just three-fifths of two-bits (25¢). Please notice the letters dropping from HAIRCUT, hairs snipped and falling to the floor, or to the sidewalk.

In 2023, this address houses a purveyor of restaurant equipment. The Bowery is still full of businesses catering (sorry) to restaurants. Here’s some history about what once took place at no. 234. Like the people in this photograph, I’m going to keep walking.

Related reading
More photographs from the NYC Municipal Archives (Pinboard)

A cognitive test to be president

At The Washington Post, Alexandra Petri offers a cognitive test to be president (gift link). It begins:

1. What year is it?

2. What country do you live in?

3. Is that country a democracy or a dictatorship?

And it gets better.

Iris Apfel (1921–2024)

“A New York society matron and interior designer who late in life knocked the socks off the fashion world with a brash bohemian style that mixed hippie vintage and haute couture, found treasures in flea markets and reveled in contradictions”: from the New York Times obituary for Iris Apfel (gift link).

Elaine and I have two degrees of separation from Iris Apfel: in 1984 and 1985 our great friend Aldo Carrasco worked at Old World Weavers, the textile company Iris and Carl Apfel founded in 1950. Aldo was in charge of correspondence with European companies, conducted by telex. He sent us fabric ends, and once in a while he sent a telex to Elaine at her workplace. Here is proof, though this telex came in the mail.

A related post
A brief review of the documentary Iris

Today’s Saturday Stumper

Stella Zawistowski is known for tough puzzles, but her Newsday Saturday Stumpers are often relatively easy. Today’s Stumper is her first since last October, and I found it easy indeed — under nineteen minutes from start to finish. I began with one lucky guess and one giveaway: 34-A, nine letters, “It’s about an hour’s drive from Oberlin” and 41-A, eight letters, “NATO headquarters.” And whole swaths of the puzzle began to fall into place.

Some clue-and-answer pairs of note:

2-D, ten letters, “What many tourists hope to take in.” At least if they’re wise tourists.

5-D, six letters, “Party leaders.” Bye, Ronna.

8-D, three letters, “Cement user’s designation.” I thought at first that the answer had to do with some system for grading varieties of cement.

9-D, twelve letters, “Urban asset.” I recall one or two moments when having 9-D came in handy.

18-A, ten letters, “Loopy pastime.” I am delighted to know that you can be six and be great at it.

21-D, twelve letters, “Breakfast serving.” Not in my house. No way.

32-D, four letters, “Dull finish.” Uh, MATT?

33-A, five letters, “Something to run for.” See what a nice puzzle this is?

40-A, five letters, “They'll give you a hand.” Even when this puzzle is being tricky, it’s kind.

42-D, six letters, “Sleeps in emperor tents, say.” I knew what the answer had to be, but now I need to find out what an emperor tent is.

61-A, four letters, “Torts taker.” Clever.

My favorite in this puzzle: 44-A, three letters, “Iceberg’s destination, sometimes.” Nicely witty.

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.

*

SZ also created today’s Los Angeles Times crossword, which I do at The Washington Post. It’s less difficult than today’s Stumper — for me, about three minutes less difficult.