Hey, do you like ukulele music? Who doesn’t, right? Well UKES were in the puzzle yesterday (“Hawaiian instruments, informally”) and this tune by a sorta weird-looking dude was shared with us. Have a listen. It’s a nice way to open today, after Sunday’s sad post.
I saw you in my dream.
We were walking hand in hand. . .
Sadly, the performer, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, passed away at the young age of 38 in 1997. In 2010, he was named the “voice of Hawaii” by NPR.
Kamakawiwoʻole struggled with obesity throughout his life, at one point weighing 757 pounds. The cause of death was respiratory failure.
On July 10, 1997, the Hawaiian flag flew at half-staff for Kamakawiwoʻole’s funeral. His koa wood casket lay at the state capitol building in Honolulu, making him the third person (and the only non-government official) to be so honored. Approximately 10,000 people attended his funeral. Thousands of fans gathered as his ashes were scattered into the Pacific Ocean at Mākua Beach two days later.
On September 20, 2003, hundreds paid tribute to Kamakawiwoʻole as a bronze bust of him was unveiled at the Waianae Neighborhood Community Center on Oʻahu. His widow, Marlene, and the sculptor Jan-Michelle Sawyer were present for the dedication ceremony.
The Pistons fell behind the Knicks in NY last night by 13 points in the third quarter, but kept up the fight very impressively and took the lead in the waning moments of the game! It could have gone either way as the ball rattled around with the clock ticking down. It looked like Detroit would have a pair of foul shots and the win! — but the whistle never blew. Pistons lose again, 113-111. Get this though — after the game, the refs came out and apologized: they conceded they blew the call. We wuz robbed, but what are you gonna do? It happens.
Bottom line — they are a young feisty team — should be pretty decent pretty soon. They’re a lot of fun to watch with a lot of fight in them.
What a surprise! Owl Chatter’s dear friend, the beautiful ANA de Armas popped by a few days early. She is going to help us celebrate Post #450 later this week. She was in yesterday’s NYT puzzle and an LA Times puzzle I did on the train home yesterday.
Of course you can crash here till the party, babe. Always welcome. Settle in in Sam’s room upstairs — towels are in the bathroom closet. Let Georgie know what you need. See you at the party!
There was no specific “revealer” in the puzzle today, letting us know what’s going on, but two answers side by side might be the tipoff: INKED and INCA. It’s the silliest puzzle with six long answers all rhyming with “INKY” in the first part. Here they are:
- SLINKY DOG (18A: “Toy Story” dachshund with a springy body)
- WINKY FACE (20A: This emoticon: ;-))
- STINKY TOFU (35A: Vegetarian street food known for its distinct smell)
- KINKY BOOTS (40A: Tony Award-winning musical with the song “Sex Is in the Heel”)
- PINKY RING (56A: Little finger adornment)
- RINKY DINK (59A: Small-time)
There was a great clue at 43D: “Wallow moodily.” Rex’s guest blogger, Clare, called it a “perfect clue.” The answer was SULK. I’m going to consider that for my tombstone now: BELOVED HUSBAND, FATHER, ETC., WALLOWED MOODILY.
The clue for 1D was “Disapproving look.” See if you find the answer in this note on it by commenter egsforbreakfast:
“The USC Administration recently announced they were dropping the Trojan mascot and adopting a nocturnal bird instead. The students, accordingly, started painting the new mascot on their cheeks before football games. As a result, they would show up with a SCOWL on their face.”
Mahershala ALI was in the puzzle, prompting Kitshef to comment: I’ve always thought it would be cool to work Mahershala Ali’s full first name of ‘Mahershalalhashbaz’ into a puzzle. [Had no idea that was his full name. It’s the name of the prophet Isaiah’s second child.] On shortening it to Mahershala, Ali said:
“I think if you have any desire to be a leading man or to really carry some of these stories, there’s this relationship that has to be cultivated with an audience. People have to be able to say your name. I didn’t want a couple of syllables to get in the way of me having the fullest experience as an actor.”
He also changed his last name from Gilmore to Ali when he converted to Islam.
Get this – he attended St. Mary’s College of California on a basketball scholarship, but grew disenchanted with sports and turned to acting.
I’m not sure the clue cited above for STINKY TOFU quite captures it: “Vegetarian street food known for its distinct smell.” It’s fermented tofu. According to Wikipedia, “from a distance, the odor of stinky tofu is said to resemble that of rotten garbage or smelly feet.” Yum!
The traditional method of producing stinky tofu is to prepare a brine made from fermented milk, vegetables, and meat; the brine can also include dried shrimp, amaranth greens, mustard greens, bamboo shoots, and Chinese herbs. The brine fermentation can take up to several months. Our feeling is: no rush.
In connection with the “inky pinky” theme, Whatsername treated us to this “Ringy dingy” clip.
Headline from The Onion: Biden Gives Americans Nuclear Launch Codes In Case Anything Should Happen To Him.
This cartoon had an “aha moment” for me. Took me a few seconds.
“Has anyone turned in a pair of reading glasses?”
Hey, The Supremes were in the grid today (the ones without Alito): well, Diana ROSS, actually, right next to Maharshala. Hey, she’s from Detroit — shoulda known that — Motown. She has five kids — yikes! And she’s turning 80 in March — kinahora! Still performing too — she’ll be in Newark on May 17.
Hey, DR — Got a tune for us? Think it over. We’ll assign you the send-off today.
Thanks for dropping by!
The Wellington Files 