It was Owl Chatter Day with Taylor Swift today! Linda, Phil, and I shot down to Red Bank for the movie in the OC van. Whew — pretty intense. Three hours. Springsteen-esque, although I don’t recall Bruce ever performing in a sequined bathing suit. It was the teeny-bopper afternoon showing, with much of the audience consisting of adorable little Zoeys with their parents. By the third song they all charged the stage, or screen, I guess, and spent the movie singing along and dancing way up close.
The most touching moment, for me, was an extraordinary farewell tribute Taylor paid to our poor late friend Yevgeny Prigozhin, whom she got to know pretty well at several Owl Chatter events. She dedicated a very touching rendition of Shake It Off to “her Yevi.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the arena, and most of her fans were waving their friendship pierogis in time to the music.
You don’t need Owl Chatter to tell you she’s a brilliant performer with a remarkable and loving connection to her fans. She wore many outfits, of course, some of them pretty wild, but my favorite was a simple orange dress. Phil caught her in it.
But it’s back to earth for us now, and with a thud — today’s puzzle floored me. 24D: “Ibram X. ___, author of ‘How to Be an Antiracist.” I’m supposed to know that’s KENDI? Or how about 34A: “Haka dance performers?” Those are MAORI, of course. I knew I was in trouble at 5D: “1781 Mozart opera seria.” Seria? You may be shocked to learn the “1781” did not help me. The answer was IDOMENEO. “Tech support?” was MONOPOD. That’s like a tripod but with only one pod.
But the real killer was at 14A: “1998 rap hit by Big Pun (feat. Joe).” I love the “(feat. Joe),” like that’s going to help. The answer was STILL NOT A PLAYER.
But much of it was neat, and clever. My favorite was 48A: “I HAVE to have this — whatever it costs,” and the answer was TAKE MY MONEY!
Yesterday’s puzzle was a gem — even curmudgeon Rex lavished it with praise. It was by Jacob McDermott. 15D was beyond brilliant, but needs some set up.
One of the most famous broadcasts in the history of radio journalism is Herb Morrison’s 1937 eyewitness report of the explosion and crash of the German passenger airship, Hindenburg. On May 6, 1937, while preparing to land at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, the Hindenburg burst into flames and crashed to the ground, killing thirty-five of the ninety-seven people on board and one member of the ground crew.
Chicago radio station WLS had sent reporter Herb Morrison and sound engineer Charles Nehlsen to record the landing. Morrison’s professional demeanor gave way to an emotional outburst after the Hindenburg caught fire. Shaken and horrified, Morrison continued to record, struggling to compose himself as a hellish scene of fiery death unfolded before his eyes.
Here are excerpts:
“It’s fire and it crashing! . . . This is the worst of the worst catastrophes in the world! Oh, it’s crashing . . . oh, four or five hundred feet into the sky, and it’s a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. There’s smoke, and there’s flames, now, and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers screaming around here!
. . . I can’t talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest, it’s just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage, and everybody can hardly breathe and talk . . . Honest, I can hardly breathe. I’m going to step inside where I cannot see it. . . .”
Years later, Morrison recalled that he yelled “Oh, the humanity,” because he thought everyone on board had died; in fact, sixty-two of the people on board survived.
OK, so where were we? Oh, yeah, the puzzle. So the clue for 15D yesterday was “Oh, the humanities!” The answer: LIBERAL ARTS. Rex called it “as good a repurposing of the Hindenburg disaster as there ever was.” He laughed out loud.
At 4D, “Undertone of Cole Porter’s ‘Let’s Do It’” was a great clue for SEX, although some questioned the appropriateness of “undertone,” since it’s pretty out there — “let’s do it.”
“Heck, yeah” was DARN TOOTIN, and someone questioned where it came from. So I posted:
Extensive research (you know, a minute or two online), leads me to believe that when someone makes a statement that is so spot on, he or she is tootin’ – making noise. Like when you are casting about for an answer and your friend nails it and you go “ding ding ding” or would press a buzzer if you had one. So when your statement is right on target, you’re tootin, and the darn just strengthens it.
An example of crafting a clever clue for a simple word: “Cry during an argument between siblings” was the clue for MOM.
We’ll let Taylor send us off tonight. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 