I solved the last few puzzles quite slowly, whereas I was fast (for me) on this one, which is good. But I agree that depending on two obscure-ish middle initials was not so hot. I was also a bit disappointed that there doesn't seem to be any relation among the ingredients (it would have been cool if they came from an actual recipe), or between the ingredients and the long answers.
tmccormick4 | 06.27.09 - 6:27 pm | #

Well, there's jasmine rice, but I'm not sure if it actually has jasmine in it....
Sara | 06.27.09 - 8:12 pm | #

I've got to respectfully defend the use of girl in the Wendy (one of my favorite songs from the early 60s) clue. It was 1964 and the song was about a high school romance gone bad. I know the lyrics don't make this clear but that's the sort of stuff the Beach Boys were writing about back then. So, a high school "girl" dumping her boyfriend kinda makes more sense then high school woman.
jae | 06.27.09 - 10:32 pm | #

Jasmine tea? I have the impression you can add nearly any herb to hot water for an herbal tea!

SCYTHE was my last fill, as I had been thinking of young swordsmen or "gay blades" with sabers or something. As you say, CEDENO was a "don't know". Ditto DRAWEE. The rest was okay.
ArtLvr | 06.28.09 - 7:25 am | #

I agree with jae here. Some Beach Boys songs: "Surfer Girl," "California Girls," "The Little Girl I Once Knew," "Island Girl," "Girl Don't Tell Me," "Girls on the Beach," along with others. Wendy is a girl.

I realize that this kind of theme, for some reason, gets the thumbs-down from some people. I'll just say that I don't see the problem.

Hey, looks like blogging can a be rather lucrative gig. (I don't believe the $14M figure, but apparently some big bucks anyway.)
john farmer | 06.28.09 - 8:32 am | #

I've been reading Infinite Jest (quite apart from Infinite Summer, but I've been following the website too), and it's incredible.
Will Nediger | 06.28.09 - 10:27 am | #

I forgot to mention: the BG crossword is also incredible.
Will Nediger | 06.28.09 - 10:30 am | #

while i've had more fun with other puzzles by barry silk, the theme fill answers were all pretty terrific. perhaps if the title had been something like "not the colonel's secret ingredients" -- or anything that tied together the hidden ingredients -- i could have better appreciated the puzzle as a whole.

instead i take my pleasure where i find it -- in such fill as WEND and WENDY; EELS, ELS and ELSA; OVO and RAW EGG...

;-)
janie | 06.28.09 - 2:16 pm | #

I had trouble where Michener's middle initial fell, and since I couldn't remember Shaparelli coming down (ILSE? ILSA? OLGA? one of those things I know only because it's in crosswords), it came together a bit slowly. That and "Wendy," a song I don't recall. (I was trying in vain to fit "Rhonda," a later song anyhow.) DRAWEE definitely had me looking again in not quite belief.

But mostly I'd call it an easy puzzle with maybe my least favorite theme type (yeah, even stepquotes). Doesn't it seem that if you circle the letters you want, any grid can become a theme? I suppose not, but it feels cheap all the same.
John Haber | Homepage | 06.29.09 - 5:45 pm | #

I didn't appreciate fishing for Michener's initial, but I guess that's the way his name appears on book covers even if I've never heard anyone say it that way. I was actually more annoyed by JAMES and JIM crossing at the J.
Thomas | 07.05.09 - 12:24 pm | #

This puzzle is delightful. The entertaining clues already have ample pop-culture allusions. I welcomed the chance to answer some classical lit references in 16a and 44a. My only quibble is the clue," Low-fat breakfast brand." Special K refers to the Kellog brand, just as Post Toasties refers to Post. The cereal's name is not the same as its brand, although the brand is part of its name. I had to sacrifice my petty distinction before solving 29a.
Olive | 08.01.09 - 2:22 pm | #