I’ve been mispronouncing the word RIBALD. TIL (today I learned) it’s pronounced like “dribbled” without the first D. I’m lucky it hasn’t come up that often. (How did I learn this? — it was in the puzzle today, and a comment pointed it out so I checked.)

Do you know that expression: He (or she) has a face for radio? Well, Jessica Hansen has the exact opposite kind of face, and she’s been reading the donor announcements on NPR for years. The reason the owls are chattering about her today is she was written up in a Brandeis alumni story because her voice was used in the Oscar-nominated movie Tar. She was asked to read a fake NPR announcement that Cate Blanchett mocked.

Here’s what Hansen says about her 20 seconds of fame:

“Cate Blanchett’s character, Lydia Tár, she’s in New York, getting ready for bed and listening to NPR. It’s not just me, there are three or four of us you’ll hear. But she hears me come on, and the director wrote some spoof credits, so they don’t quite make sense. They’re inside baseball jokes, like what is this that people talk about on NPR? And she’s mimicking me. And she has this moment where she realizes what she just said and she’s thinking about it. I have watched that 20 seconds many times, just to watch Cate, because every time she mimics me, the craft of her acting is so specific and so subtle. It’s remarkable. You know, because she’s Cate Blanchett.”

She may be Cate Blanchett, but Brandeis-grad Hansen is way prettier.

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Today’s puzzle contained a recipe for guacamole. It includes CILANTRO (see below). And this was noted in a comment: “Cilantro leaves contain the same aldehydes used in soap-making, which is why many people experience a soapy flavor. I definitely taste it. It put me off at first, but now I don’t really mind it.”

Here are the clues (and answers) that comprise the recipe. The garlic and cumin raised a few eyebrows.

1/2 cup coarsely chopped, for bright (or soapy) flavor: CILANTRO

Three cloves minced, for depth and aroma: GARLIC

One teaspoon, pink or black, for emphasis: SALT

About two cups cubed, after peeling and pitting: AVOCADO

One small juiced, for citrus notes, and to preserve color: LIME

One seeded and minced, for heat: JALAPENO

One small red minced, for crunch and tang: ONION

1/2 teaspoon, for a little extra flavor … really, try it!: CUMIN

One vine-ripe chopped, for texture and color: TOMATO

(Pam — you on it?)

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Who’s sexier than Liz CHENEY? — in those librarian glasses skewering the bad guys like shish-kebob from her committee seat? She’s in the puzzle today as “Former Wyoming representative Liz.” She said this about Jan. 6th:

“Tonight, I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone but your dishonor will remain.”

OTOH, she also says stuff like:

“Rarely do I disagree with best VP ever [her father] but @SarahPalinUSA more qualified than Obama and Biden combined. Huge respect 4 all she’s done 4 GOP.”

Dammit, this is the best I could do to find a sexy shot of her. I can’t believe no one has ever caught her in a bathing suit. What the hell is wrong with this country!! You can put a man on the moon but you can’t get a photo of Liz Cheney in a bikini. Hrummmph.

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Owl Chatter is running out of steam tonight. I’m tired from my classes today. Here’s a poem by Ted Kooser from Winter Morning Walks to bid us goodnight.

The beaver’s mound of brush and cornstalks
stands at the edge of silence this morning,
a pyramid on an untracked desert of snow
with black, open water shining behind it.
Somewhere inside are the hidden mysteries:
an old yellow-toothed pharaoh, wrapped up
in bandages of sleep, and on his shallow breath,
oily odor of tanbark and the priceless perfume
of summer willow leaves.

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