This was one of the most enjoyable and challenging puzzle experiences of my life, thanks John and Will. It happened to fall for me that the sci-fi character at 14-Across was vaguely unfamiliar so the anagram aspect was needed to painstakingly piece together the entire top of the puzzle, one square at a time; a puzzle within a puzzle. In the process, JERRY LEE LEWIS transformed into JENNIFER LOPEZ. Who can ask for more?
Snert | 12.27.07 - 11:27 pm | #

I noticed Mr. Farmer covered the alphabet. Found this actually easier than yesterday's perhaps because my grandson got a ton of Star Wars stuff for Christmas and his dad and I were trying to remember who played LANDO whathisname. I think it was Billy Dee Williams? I still had to do some anagram work to get the spelling right.
jae | 12.28.07 - 1:27 am | #

I didn't find the Sun any easier than normal, except that KELSO was an automatic after your note about the Kutcher/KELSO connection in Thursday's write-up. Thanks for that. Even though I knew the "Manhattan" music, I had the toughest time with the central bottom section. That YKN__ really didn't look right. Very nice piece of construction from Kelsey Blakely.

Thanks, Amy and Snert, for your comments re the Times. The anagram clue, btw, was Will's, and a nice way to do it, imo, since it's a name you know or you don't (I remember it from a couple of BEQ puzzles) and prone to "unfair crossing" nits (JANGLE/JINGLE might otherwise have been a problem).

If you want a quick way to see the [Exercise animal?], you can type: =rand(1,1) followed by Enter. It works in MS Word; the numbers indicate number of paragraphs and sentences per paragraph. I wish I could have used that back in high school typing class.
JJF | 12.28.07 - 1:42 am | #

Yes, it was Billy Dee. Haven't heard much from him lately.
JJF | 12.28.07 - 1:44 am | #

Great puzzle, John. Looking forward to your next creation. Kudos to Kelsey on the Sun puzzle as well. It was easier than usual, but YKNOW and a few of those clues you mentioned definitely kept it from being the easiest.

Didn't know that unusual Word trick, either. That'll be my 'learn something new every day' moment today. (Now that that's done, I can spend the remainder of the day doing completely inane, pointless things ;) ).
Howard B | 12.28.07 - 5:19 am | #

Excellent puzzle, worked through gradually, one word at a time. I guess QUICKBROWNFOX was a hint of its pangram-itude.
Matt | 12.28.07 - 7:02 am | #

John,

What was your clue for 14A. I had the ISSIAN at the end and knew the answer, but for the life of me I could not get it spelled right, even with the anagram clue. I've always pronounced it, incorrectly it seems, CalOrissian.

Good tough puzzle, thanks.
rick | 12.28.07 - 7:28 am | #

NYS: fastest for a Friday, about a NYT Tuesday.

My shame at knowing Pinky Tuscadero right off is slightly offset by also knowing "Rhapsody in Blue" with no crosses.

If you have not seen "Manhattan" it is worth renting just for the opening credits.
rick | 12.28.07 - 7:57 am | #

I thought John's crossword was beautiful. I stared at the completed grid for several minutes soaking it all in. The Scrabble 8s (J,X) and 10s (Q,Z) are not only featured but diagonally opposite on the corners of the 13 letter answers.

John, was this the base set for this puzzle?

Loved it loved it. Loved the SUSIE Q clue since we all know it, but it did not come to me until the Q fell. I remembered LEK from a puzzle a couple months back

NYS was easy for me too but no less outstanding. A pair of awesome Fridays!
Scott (atkin1u) | 12.28.07 - 9:38 am | #

Gotta disagree with you re: Sun. It was very easy in places, but I got bit in the S and SW, right around EWOK / Y'KNOW, and then again all over the place with GEISHA BOY and EUCHARIST. Having MAR. for APR. for much of the time didn't help. The long answers were indeed easy. Gimmes, in fact. Both of them.

mds
Michael | Homepage | 12.28.07 - 9:54 am | #

Great puzzles in both quarters today--I know Pinky and Lando from their recent appearances in other puzzles--funny how the serendipitous placement of letters in their full names has brought them both out of entertainment obscurity!
Evad | 12.28.07 - 9:55 am | #

FEH!FEH!FEH!
ALAN KITT | 12.28.07 - 4:21 pm | #

...You don't say.
Orange | Homepage | 12.28.07 - 6:44 pm | #

Super NYT puzzle, John. Great clue for USE TAX, also. Those states that assess it find it very hard to track and collect, I think. For example, I bought some clothing a couple years ago in Stamford while attending the ACPT on which Connecticut assessed no sales tax. Under Virginia law, 5% use tax was owed once I brought that taxless tangible item back into the Old Dominion. (And yes, for those who wonder, I DID pay it on my annual income tax return.) But how exactly would Virginia or any state verify such payment? It's even trickier with Florida, in which if you pay less than 6% sales tax on a tangible item purchased elsewhere and brought in state, you owe the State of Florida the difference in use tax.

Meanwhile...no disrespect intended to your city, Amy...I NEVER again want to connect through O'Tortoise International Airport on a holiday weekend.
Brent H (floridaqqq) | Homepage | 12.28.07 - 6:47 pm | #

I think this is the first John Farmer I've ever finished, although I needed Google for a couple of things...including how to parse LANDOCALRISSIAN when I had all the letters in place. SUZIE Q was one of a few gimmes...I have a friend named Sue, but no one calls her that a second time!
Linda G | Homepage | 12.28.07 - 7:09 pm | #