All hail the mighty Wolverines! We were out in Michigan visiting Sam et al. to watch the ‘Rines (on TV) dismantle and destroy the hateful Buckeyes, who revealed their true nature with a series of dirty plays, as well as repeated defensive breakdowns. Ohio State was the heavy favorite and playing at home. Michigan was without its star running back, Heisman candidate, Blake Corum. But it was a wipeout at 45-23. Sam was especially tickled at one point when the announcers said “The Buckeyes really need a stop here,” and on the very next play Edwards broke free for a 75-yard touchdown run. Bravo J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards, Cornelius Johnson and all of our heroes! On to Indianapolis for the Big Ten crown!
Who doesn’t love Marisa Tomei? She was born in Brooklyn and will be 58 next week. (Ouch!) Great to see you in Friday’s puzzle, MT!
When she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in “My Cousin Vinny,” Tomei prevailed over Miranda Richardson, Joan Plowright, Vanessa Redgrave, and Judy Davis. That was 30 years ago. Critic Rex Reed created a controversy when he suggested that Jack Palance announced the wrong name after opening the envelope. While this allegation was repeatedly disproved —even the Academy officially denied it —Tomei called the story “extremely hurtful.” WTF Reed!!??
You must have something going for you to make it into the puzzle. And having 75% of the letters in your name be vowels doesn’t hurt. ADIA Victoria has described her music as “gothic blues.” Her style has been called blues, folk, Southern Gothic, indie rock, blues rock, gothic country, gothic folk, Jewish gothic, swamp blues, garage punk, punk blues, and soul music. (Alright, I made up Jewish gothic, but all the rest is true.)
Victoria is 36 and from South Carolina. Her first single (2016) was “Stuck In the South,” described on NPR’s All Things Considered as a “very swampy mysterious kind of slow-burning song.” Her live performances are described as “furious and feral.” In August 2021, Victoria released “Magnolia Blues” as the lead single from her album “A Southern Gothic.” Rolling Stone described it as “an eerie, acoustic-guitar-driven tune that expands to thick bass and a ghostly orchestra of strings and banjo.” You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/sVlQPpQ3xlY
For the clue “London has a ‘Royal’ one,” the answer was OPERA HOUSE. The Royal Opera House lost 60% of its income as a result the COVID-19 pandemic. As a consequence, the 1971 “Portrait of Sir David Webster” by David Hockney, which had hung in the opera house for several decades, was put up for auction at Christie’s and sold for £12.8 million. At the same time, the string section of the Royal Orchestra starting taking in laundry. Every farthing helps. [Note: the farthing was withdrawn as a monetary unit in 1961. It was worth 1/4 of an old penny.]
For the clue “Unfailingly loyal,” the answer was RIDE OR DIE. That expression is new to me. The concept of “ride or die” emerged in 1990s hip-hop as a modern, urban take on Bonnie and Clyde. The term appears in early 2000s rap music, notably in a 2000 song by The Lox (not kidding). “Ride or die” originally referred specifically to a Black woman, called a “ride or die chick,” who is willing to ride with, or support, a man living a criminal lifestyle no matter what, even if it means death. It jumped into the mainstream lexicon as an expression for any friend, family member, or romantic partner, regardless of gender, who will always stick by your side—who will ride or die with you to the end.
Here’s a clue worthy of a Saturday puzzle: “Key piece of an overlock sewing machine.” Clues like that are sometimes referred to as WOEs, which I think stands for “what on earth?”
Hands up if you filled in LOOPER. Loopers are used to produce thread loops that extend from the needle thread to the fabric’s edges, enclosing the fabric’s edges within the seam. You might want to write down this important tip: If the upper looper thread breaks during sewing, this may be caused by the lower looper thread getting caught on the upper looper. If this happens, lower the upper looper, remove the lower looper thread from the upper looper, and re-thread the upper looper from at least the tension disc. (At least!)
On Saturday, “Paulo who wrote ‘The Alchemist’” was Paulo COELHO, 75, a Brazilian novelist. His parents committed him to a mental institution from which he escaped three times, until his release at age 20. While trying to overcome his procrastination about launching his writing career, Coelho decided, “If I see a white feather today, that is a sign that God is giving me that I have to write.” Seeing one in the window of a shop, he began writing that day. “The Alchemist,” a fantasy/quest tale, became an international bestseller, and, overall, Coelho’s books have sold 320 million copies. In 2016, he was contacted by Kobe Bryant (alav hashalom) to discuss a children’s book project with him. They started to write the book together, but Coelho abandoned the project when Bryant died.
Happy puzzling, everybody!
The Wellington Files 