Not everyone is rejoicing over Brittney Griner’s release from her Russian prison camp. Not by a “long (3-pt) shot.”
“With the playoffs starting next week, this couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Tatiana Volovodskaya, captain of the women’s basketball team at Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, in Russia’s Western region of Mordovia. The colony traces its roots to a Gulag labor camp called Temlag, but everyone calls it Penal Colony 2. “Brittney was a real force in the paint and a great passer — very unselfish. She’ll be hard to replace. This is the biggest roster loss we’ve suffered since our point guard Melanoma Kornapopova was caught stealing an onion and shot.”
Today is National Crossword Solver’s Day! (Not to be confused with National Crossword Puzzle Day, which is Dec. 21.)
There are 50 million cruciverbalists in the U.S. The oldest puzzle constructor was Bernice Gorden at 101 in 2014. Eight of the answers were “I forget.”
I just got a call canceling Lianna’s dental appointment for next week. Her dentist’s in jail! It turns out he was running a kickback scheme with the Tooth Fairy. He yanks ’em, and then he gets a piece of the “under the pillow” action. The goddamn Tooth Fairy is corrupt!! What’s left?
If there are any Deadheads out there, Bob WEIR dropped by at 55 across, clued as “Grateful Dead founding member Bob.” He played rhythm guitar, wrote songs, and contributed vocals. He’s 75 now, kinehora. Weir was inducted into the R&R HOF with the Dead in 1994.
Weir was single while a member of the band, but lived for several years with Frankie Hart, a former go-go dancer at the Peppermint Lounge in NYC. Hart changed her name to Weir even though they never married. She was the inspiration for “Sugar Magnolia,” which Weir co-wrote with Robert Hunter. In July of 1999, Weir married Natascha Munter and they have two daughters: Shala Monet Weir and Chloe Kaelia Weir. Here’s a family shot taken when the girls were little.
Today’s puzzle had a pirate theme, but missed the chance to include Pittsburgh in the grid, darnit. It was very well-executed though, using three different tricks: An “eye patch” was created by having the letter I (from LONG JOHN SILVER crossing MARINERS) land in a black square. Then there was a hook for a hand by having the letters of “flush” (a poker “hand”), in circles curved into a hook. And, finally, for the down answer SHAKE A LEG, the L became a P when crossed by APOP, so it became a “peg leg.” There was no parrot, so I’ll supply one.
Instead of a parrot, there were SHRIKES, the clue for which was “butcher birds.” The shrike’s family name, Lanius, derives from the Latin word for butcher. Also, they have vicious feeding habits. Get this — they catch insects and small vertebrates and impale them on thorns, branches, the spikes on barbed-wire fences, or any available sharp point. This helps them tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently sized fragments, and serves as a cache so it can return to the uneaten portions later. This impaling business also allows them to eat the toxic lubber grasshopper. The shrike waits 1–2 days for the toxins within the grasshopper to degrade before eating it.
It’s a jungle out there, guys. I’m staying in the rest of the day.
Thanks for dropping by!
The Wellington Files 