"It's What I Do!"

[rjy]

Thought I'd never get off the couch, but here I am, with a somewhat twisted answer... phew! Required every nudge from Al and then some. A tough solve, a clever construction, but I so appreciate seeing some of those diabolical minds out there stretching towards different and more difficult constructions. Thanks for the puzzle and for your interaction, Al!

[CPJohnson]

Finally got it, with all the nudges and extra help from Al.

[DrTom]

Man talk about evil genius.....

Part B took every nudge, several e-mails and about 40 readings of the puzzle to see what I was supposed to see for Part B. It is not yet confirmed but I feel pretty confident since it is not an educated guess this time, more puzzle based (though close to my original so I am giving myself partial credit - 4 out of 10). It is not that Al comes up with different mechanisms, it is that he uses the ones we know in such interesting manners.

Thanks for the puzzle.

[Hidden in 3D]

I believe that I am off the couch at the last minute (and it took every single nudge to get there), but I am not going to bother Al with a PM this morning. I am hoping he is sleeping in after his very important and busy day yesterday!

[Al Sisti]

This was a meta that went from very/too easy (in its first iteration) to possibly too convoluted for some. I was actually pretty proud of how well it tied together, even if it wasn’t everyone’s favorite… and I obviously rated it too low (Part 1 was/could have been a Week 1 and Part 2 could’ve been a 3, so together I thought maybe a week 2.5. In this case, 1+3 = 3… at least).

Anyway, the upshot was that from the title – It’s What I Do! – and the important SE corner grid entry, “What’s My___,” I was hinting at occupations. But where? How? The only odd thing was that there were seven Fill in the blank (FITB) clues, and that the in the seventh FITB clue, the blank line actually referred to a line of work, and hopefully provided a hint to look at the other six.

So for part 1, solvers took the most commonly used meta mechanism, and grabbed the first initial of the six grid answers. In order, they spelled ODDJOB; hence, our villain (Goldfinger’s henchman with the murderous bowler). For part 2, solvers were expected to notice that every surname after the blank line was also an old occupation – an Odd Job, if you will – and that in six different clues, I had hidden an example of what a worker in each of those odd jobs would make. Using another fairly common mechanism, the initial letters of those six clues – also in occupation order – spelled out HATTER; surely the kind of worker that Oddjob would have had to seek out to design and fit his hat (i.e., “his fitting accomplice”). And as a final wrapup, it turns out that “Hatter” was an alternative answer to 15A, He had tea with Alice…in a rabbit hole.

I both liked and disliked the fact that it was a two-parter… so few people got them without a nudge to part 2 that our leaderboard started out very sparse. But I did like it because it was like a lot of “escape room” posers, where you need a key or a password to proceed to the next phase… so much so that I’m thinking of doing a small suite in the near future. It won’t be an MMM, but will probably show up in “Other Muggle Puzzles,” I’m thinking.

Okay, enough talk. The winner of either a Utica Club keepsake, or a Blarney Rebel Band CD, or $15 donation to the charity of his choice – randomly picked from our 37 solvers -- is MikeyG. Congrats!!

[Al Sisti]

And Closer to Home (the relevance of which may be lost on some), I got to meet Cap'n Rick and his lovely wife at our gig yesterday... how cool is that? And what great people...

[whimsy]

... the upshot was that from the title – It’s What I Do! – and the important SE corner grid entry, “What’s My___,” I was hinting at occupations. But where? How? The only odd thing was that there were seven Fill in the blank (FITB) clues, and that the in the seventh FITB clue, the blank line actually referred to a line of work...

Hmm -- not so sure about that. I somehow managed to find enough enough unusual components to keep me guessing for quite some time!
But seriously, great puzzle. Once I finally got past looking at all those things resembling/related to "lines" --
BELT(S); (P)ARTY; ROPES; STATE; (C)OAST; (R)OOF; HARE (sic) --
I got hung up with thinking ODDJOB was Part B rather than Part A. I guess there are henchmen, and then there are henchmen -- Wheels within wheels and all that.
Thanks for the mind-stretcher and for helping me make the acquaintance of some new villains. Never know when you might need a friend...

[Laura M]

My earlier comment very nearly said something like Part B went over my head... fortunately I realized the spoileriness of that before posting :-)

[auee89]

And Closer to Home (the relevance of which may be lost on some), I got to meet Cap'n Rick and his lovely wife at our gig yesterday... how cool is that? And what great people...

43023 (002).jpg

And this my friends, is what it’s all about. People. So very cool.

[cbarbee002]

I want to know how the grand Marshall has an empty Guinness glass!

[Al Sisti]

I want to know how the grand Marshall has an empty Guinness glass!

This is no lie, Chris. By the time I got back to my bass, I had two Guinnesses in my hands, and another one waiting for me in my beer holder (clamps right onto the speaker stand) and a shot of Jamesons. And I didn't order any of them. It's good to be king for a day. For one day.

[Al Sisti]

Sorry, one last post about the Utica St. Patrick's Day Parade. This was not the worst snowstorm in the Parade's history. Here's Dolly Parton telling a story to David Letterman about the time she got to watch our parade during the blizzard of 1993. It ends at about 3:40.

[minimuggle]

Wow, I had trouble with this one but honestly didn't spend enough mindful time on it. Genius puzzle now that I see the solution Congrats to all who solved it. And thanks for the puzzle Grand Marshall!

[vandono]

I didn't finish this one. While work has been very busy, I don't think it would've mattered now that I see the solution. But what an absolutely beautiful series of steps. Great job, Grand Marshall!

[KayW]

@Al Sisti I am sitting in a theater waiting for a performance of Six (musical based on wives of Henry VIII) to start. And I can’t stop chuckling to myself over your Boleyn Ball clue. That’s one for the ages.

[rjy]

@Al Sisti I am sitting in a theater waiting for a performance of Six (musical based on wives of Henry VIII) to start.

How was it??

[KayW]

@Al Sisti I am sitting in a theater waiting for a performance of Six (musical based on wives of Henry VIII) to start.

How was it??

It was fast and fun eye and ear candy. Dazzling costumes and choreography, witty lyrics. That's more than enough for me