04.14.07 -- Scouting the Center Straight-Edge

Puzzle by Sherry O. Blackard

Since Chief Pontiac (8A Pontiac, for one = OTTAWA) was the first answer that hit me, I took the trail through puzzler Sherry O. Blackard’s maze in the following manner: D36 (COPLAND, because I knew), 38A (CECE, that too), 21A (ELAINE, yup, showbiz stuff), 24A, 26A, 31A, 34A (CASTIGATES, makes me wince), 27D (RIGOLETTO, one of my favorite operas), 50A (SAYS NO, we’ve seen this before), 32D (SICILIAN, nicely abuts RIGOLETTO), 37A, 35D (TEAPOTS, I had teacups at first), 43A, 41D, 39D, 46 and 48A and then 40D, flew across to 39A and thence 25D (REGALE),32A and 27A (SIGHERS and REGRETTERS), 25A -- and then all the way back up to 8D (OPIONEERS nicely paired with OTTAWA), back down to 23D, 49a (SILENCERS, nice one that!), 42D, 30D, 47A, 38D, 44A, 15A, 33A, 22A, 9D (TENCENTS), 20A, 11D, 12D, 13D, 16A, 18A, 6D, 7D, 17A, 1A, 4D (MUDPIES, ha, ha!), 2D, 17A, 3D, 14A, 5D (OSTEND, this I had to go to the dictionary), 1D -- which left me filling in lastly the subjective PAMPERERS (19A) -- oops, back to 29D and 38A (left a couple blanks) -- done! Ah, the twists and turns, us poor puzzlees!

Lots of interesting stuff:

Go here for Chief Pontiac (OTTAWA) -- www.pontiac.mi.us/history/chiefpontiac.htm or here -- legendarysurfers.com/.../2005_10_01_archive.html

For RIGOLETTO, a quote: ‘David McVicar’s engrossing and perceptive production of Rigoletto last year at Covent Garden caused something of a stir……a performance of thrilling commitment on all sides, bespeaking long and productive rehearsals, and conviction among the singers that this is the way to do the piece. That happens all too seldom -- go here: www.opusarte.com/pages/product.asp?ProductID=64

STRAIGHT-EDGE: arthistory.about.com/library/weekly/bl_leo_vi... "Leonardo uses the Roman architect Vitruvius’ archetypal proportions of the human body and the Golden Ratio to “solve” his day’s great squaring of the circle problem – to greater than 99.8% accuracy. For all practical purposes, Leonardo’s solution, encoded in his Vitruvian Man, is definitive. His solution is also ingenious, previously undiscovered and elegant in its simplicity. (A geometric solution of 100% accuracy is not possible because the underlying mathematics involve Pi, the infinitely repeating decimal places of which, p = 3.14159265..., defy the drawing of perfectly measured geometric shapes.)

"Klaus Schröer (Das Geheimnes der Proportionsstudie, Waxmann Publisher, Germany, 1998) is the first to recognize that Leonardo, in his Vitruvian Man, is attempting to square the circle, i.e., to demonstrate how a square and circle of equal area can be created. Schröer uses Leonardo’s drawing to mathematically extend infinite sets of squares and circles of unequal area from Leonardo’s initial one set of unequal square and circle, and to show that their area ratios converge to 1.00037. Schröer’s approach is unnecessarily elaborate, however, and violates the solution procedure restrictions under which Leonardo labored, viz., that the solution to the squaring of the circle employ only a straight edge and compass. Also, it should be demonstrated that an equal-area square be derived from a circle, not that the two shapes be developed simultaneously."

Illustrations: 8A, 27A, 15D