"Let's Move Beyond It" - August 7, 2020

[Bird Lives]

Me: Alexa, give me a hint for the WSJ Crossword Contest.
Alexa: Sorry, I'm not sure about that.

(This small vacation house by a lake is my first contact with Alexa. She's been pretty good on music, though not foreign-language titles. I asked for "O Bem do Mar," a beautiful Brazilian song, and she played "Old Town Road." So I figured I'd ask her for a nudge since staring at the grid hasn't gotten me very far.)

[Janet]

It’s rare (possibly a first) that Dom and I are completely stumped with no sense that we’ve at least found step 1. I got to see him this weekend, under less than desirable circumstances (my brother is ill). He is now en route home, as I will be later today. If anyone wants to give me a gentle nudge, I’ll take it.

How about a :::hug::: for your brother, instead?

A hug would be very much welcome. He had Down syndrome and was a rock star throughout the bulk of his life, with orders of magnitude more friends than any of his siblings could claim. Unfortunately, Alzheimer's is robbing him of most mental function (and he was highly functioning - held a job for 23 years in Material Services at a local hospital, where he became the unofficial "Mayor"). It was nice to see him and help him out a little bit - played music from his prime ("Grease") and watched "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" among other things. I am proud that two of my boys also visited.

I send virtual hugs your way! Alzheimers is awful.

[SusieG]

Me: Alexa, give me a hint for the WSJ Crossword Contest.
Alexa: Sorry, I'm not sure about that.

(This small vacation house by a lake is my first contact with Alexa. She's been pretty good on music, though not foreign-language titles. I asked for "O Bem do Mar," a beautiful Brazilian song, and she played "Old Town Road." So I figured I'd ask her for a nudge since staring at the grid hasn't gotten me very far.)

We have discovered many songs we may never have heard by asking Alexa for a song.

[Janet]

Me: Alexa, give me a hint for the WSJ Crossword Contest.
Alexa: Sorry, I'm not sure about that.

(This small vacation house by a lake is my first contact with Alexa. She's been pretty good on music, though not foreign-language titles. I asked for "O Bem do Mar," a beautiful Brazilian song, and she played "Old Town Road." So I figured I'd ask her for a nudge since staring at the grid hasn't gotten me very far.)

I'm gonna take my meta to the old love boat,
I'm gonna solve, til I can't no more

[burak]

I know I've been saying this a lot lately and getting lucky at the last minute/hour, but I truly believe this is the week my 50-week streak ends. If it does, it's at least a very nice number to remember so hey, every cloud.

I know that Mike Shenk puzzles usually have a subtle hint somewhere but I'm not seeing anything here. Not in the title, not in the clues, not in the grid. This is the lostest I've been for WSJCC in a long while.

[Jenny]

New here. I like your style!
I still struggle with crosswords, and the meta is quite beyond me, at this point. I submitted a guess, but not something I worked out. I'll study the answers for a while and see if I can build some capability.

[FrankieHeck]

I know I've been saying this a lot lately and getting lucky at the last minute/hour, but I truly believe this is the week my 50-week streak ends. If it does, it's at least a very nice number to remember so hey, every cloud.

I know that Mike Shenk puzzles usually have a subtle hint somewhere but I'm not seeing anything here. Not in the title, not in the clues, not in the grid. This is the lostest I've been for WSJCC in a long while.

I honestly thought my 70-week streak would end with this one, too! I saw NOTHING until Saturday. And maybe it should have been comforting that others were finding it easily, but it wasn't. Don't lose hope.

[Janet]

This may not help the Love Boat passengers, but I was totally lost at sea Thursday evening when I finished the grid. I chased several rabbits and got nowhere. I was going to give up. Then I visited a relative this weekend and decided to redo the puzzle from scratch, since I didn't have my notes from home. Nor did I have the puzzle printout. Friday I was traveling. So I redid it on Saturday, and I solved the meta!

New place, new circumstances got my brain going.

[Emmajane]

Finally straggled ashore with a big push into the lifeboat. Thanks, muggles!

[FrankH]

I am back on the boat with Isaac.

[spotter]

I'm envious of all the solvers who looked at it after stepping away and saw what was needed. I'm so lost, I'm pretty sure my steak of 1 is coming to an end. It was nice while it lasted.

[Joe Ross]

Unhappily ashore. This is a poorly constructed puzzle.

[Edit1: Corrected a poorly constructed sentence.]

[haari]

just spent the last week at a cottage with family... did take a printed copy of last week's puzzle as we would have no internet or my trusty desktop... of course it poured rain straight for two of those days and i was able to solve the puzzle and meta... also wound up playing the unfamiliar to me card game of Waterworks! came home this weekend and managed to solve this week's, guess i'm on a roll...

[DrTom]

It’s rare (possibly a first) that Dom and I are completely stumped with no sense that we’ve at least found step 1. I got to see him this weekend, under less than desirable circumstances (my brother is ill). He is now en route home, as I will be later today. If anyone wants to give me a gentle nudge, I’ll take it.

How about a :::hug::: for your brother, instead?

A hug would be very much welcome. He had Down syndrome and was a rock star throughout the bulk of his life, with orders of magnitude more friends than any of his siblings could claim. Unfortunately, Alzheimer's is robbing him of most mental function (and he was highly functioning - held a job for 23 years in Material Services at a local hospital, where he became the unofficial "Mayor"). It was nice to see him and help him out a little bit - played music from his prime ("Grease") and watched "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" among other things. I am proud that two of my boys also visited.

Sounds as if a hug for you might be in order as well. So, virtual hug sent, good thoughts thought, circumstances cursed, and wishes for an uncomplicated path forward made. I hope at least some of those help.

[ky-mike]

Unhappily ashore. This is a poorly constructed puzzle.

Interested in hearing your thoughts after the deadline as to why you think that it is poorly constructed.

[EmilyW]

I haven't even found a step one yet. At this rate I'm not sure if I'll be able to afford my tab with Isaac when I finally make it off the ship since I've been stuck there for so many weeks.

After another look I can finally settle up with Isaac! Count me ashore and happy to have a change of scenery.

[Scott Lindholm]

On shore, first time in quite some time. I'm not 100 percent confident in my answer, but I can justify it without breaking a sweat. A delicious New Glarus Spotted Cow (available only in Wisconsin) does seem highly in order.

[TPS]

Unhappily ashore. This is a poorly constructed puzzle.

[Edit1: Corrected a poorly constructed sentence.]

I felt it was better constructed than the RICHARD III puzzle but it’s definitely not as good as RUSSIAN DOLL or ADOBE.

But I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts as well because I used “The Basics” and had my fastest solve ever.

[Devilbunny]

Well, I'm still hanging with Isaac even though the grid was done early on Thursday. Anyone who feels like giving a hint, feel free. I'm out of the competition.

[Hector]

Will do, DB