Classifieds

Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com

ACROSS
1 Early sitcom 
co-star Arnaz
5 It’s over a foot
9 Zagreb native
14 Wolfs down
15 Madre’s boy
16 Toy in many
“Peanuts” panels
17 Not a fearful
place for
acrophobia
sufferers
20 Casino lineup
21 Starting on
22 Palette choices
23 Morose
25 Droop in the
garden
27 Tight hold
29 401(k)
alternative, briefly
32 Went ballistic
36 Not a fearful fund
for agoraphobia
sufferers
39 Folk rocker
DiFranco
40 Belittle
41 Showy Japanese
school
42 To a degree,
informally
44 Haul to the
garage
45 Not a fearful
Camus work for
xenophobia
sufferers
48 Name on the
1967 album “I
Was Made to
Love Her”
50 Pilot’s stat
51 Ward of “Sisters”
52 City with ferry
service to
Copenhagen
54 Damon of
“Interstellar”
56 Fix, as a pet
59 Deft tennis shots
62 Ragu rival
65 Not a fearful
roadster for
arachnophobia
sufferers
68 Prolonged
assault
69 Way through the
trees
70 Curly cabbage
71 Wielded an ax
72 “Button it!”
73 Actor Byrnes and
announcer Hall

DOWN
1 Cotillion
attendees
2 Banjoist Scruggs
3 Admired
reverentially, with
“of”
4 Elemental forms
used in carbon
dating
5 NBC weekend
skit show
6 “’Sup”
7 Travel section
listing
8 “Not happenin’”
9 Key econ.
indicator
10 Subjects of the
first 10
Amendments
11 Iolani Palace
island
12 Kitty starter
13 Throw
18 Sch. near
Topeka
19 TurboTax option
24 Outer edge
26 Mucho
27 Future MBAs’
exams
28 High-tech worker
30 Golf bunker tool
31 Got up

33 Online pop-up
tailored to
individual tastes
34 Recon goal
35 Pageant
headpiece
37 Elusive
Himalayans
38 “Batman” actress
Eartha
43 Picket line placard
46 Word of greeting
47 Aries symbol

49 Journey
53 Zing
55 Droid download
56 Pageant band
57 Ballet class bend
58 Small number
60 Main squeeze
61 Pub crawlers
63 Fix, as a horse
64 Tram loads
66 Chinese lantern
color
67 “Button it!”

By C.C. Burnikel
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/18/17

01/18/17

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

xwordeditor@aol.com

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FOR RENT

Historical fiction dramas can be 

boring. Supernatural dramas can 
be exciting. So what happens when 
you combine the two genres? You 
get something like FX’s new limited 
series, “Taboo,” which is not quite 
exciting, but not com-
pletely boring either.

Given its ambigu-

ity and lengthy run 
time (each episode 
is almost an hour 
long), “Taboo” is a 
demanding show. It 
draws viewers in with 
elegant performances 
and visual splendor, 
but has trouble main-
taining its audience’s 
attention as it lacks urgency and 
emotional resonance. The series 
requires full concentration in order 
to completely comprehend the 
story, yet it barely gives an idea of 
where the show is headed.

Despite these flaws, “Taboo” 

is rewarding for its much more 
substantial qualities. It includes a 
riveting title sequence, intriguing 
cinematography, gothic imagery 
drenched in gloomy colors and, 
most importantly, some damn good 
acting, particularly from the per-
fectly cast Tom Hardy (“Legend”) 
and the always reliable Jonathan 
Pryce (“Game of Thrones”).

Produced and created by Hardy, 

his father Edward Hardy and 
director Steven Knight (“Locke”), 
“Taboo” succeeds with its super-
natural and atmospheric thrills, 

but falters in its suspense buildup 
and overall sense of dread. Set in 
1814 London, the story revolves 
around James Delaney (Hardy), 
a formidable man presumed dead 
who returns to Britain to avenge 
his father’s death and claim his 
inherited stretch of land. With no 
warning, Delaney’s sudden resur-
rection spooks the locals and the 

people closest to 
him — namely, his 
half-sister/possible 
secret lover Zilpha 
(Oona 
Chaplin, 

“Black 
Mirror”), 

her cruel husband 
Thorne (Jefferson 
Hall, 
“Vikings”) 

and 
Sir 
Stuart 

Strange 
(Pryce), 

the 
charismatic 

chairman of the 

East India Company.

While each character possesses 

shades of complexity, the greatest 
strength of “Taboo” is its protago-
nist. With his signature gruff grum-
ble and imposing physique, Hardy 
transforms Delaney into a perplex-
ing yet fascinating and believable 
antihero. He drives the show’s 
mystery, reflecting the enigma of 
his character through his looming 
presence over a morally corrupt 
Britain. Thorne, Sir Stuart and oth-
ers perceive him as a barbarian, 
but by exhibiting a sophisticated 
demeanor, 
Delaney 
contradicts 

both his doubters and the viewers. 
Nevertheless, he also seems capable 
of animalistic impulses. In addi-
tion to being a threatening figure, 
Delaney is haunted by troubling 
visions and demonic hallucinations 

from his travels to Africa, where he 
stayed for 12 years before coming 
back home.

No one seems to know exactly 

who Delaney is, what his true inten-
tions are or what actions he is will-
ing to take in order to get what he 
wants. This character is exactly 
what powers “Taboo;” a disappoint-
ment considering the show doesn’t 
seem concerned with making its 
plot or themes a larger priority. 
“Taboo” is at best mediocre and at 
worst languid, but given its striking 
main character, it has the potential 
to develop into a much more layered 
story.

“Taboo” falls on familiar themes 

from other British dramas — a for-
bidden romance, eloquent historical 
dialogue, the socioeconomic clash 
between the rich and the poor. But 
for some reason, the series differs 
from the conventional period piece. 
The show is in that weird, uncom-
fortable limbo, where it verges on 
being something transcendent, but 
instead settles for being just alright, 
relying mostly on its remarkable 
lead to carry it along. 

Part of FX’s phenomenal pro-

gramming, “Taboo” certainly lends 
to the network’s thematic and aes-
thetic diversity with its compelling 
visuals and deliberately paced sto-
rytelling. Next to “Atlanta,” “The 
Americans” and “Fargo,” however, 
“Taboo” is not at the same level of 
incredible, entertaining storytell-
ing (at least, not yet). For patient 
viewers, “Taboo” can be a real treat, 
especially for fans of Hardy’s previ-
ous work. But for those looking for 
something more engaging, “Taboo” 
may not be the right show. 

SAM ROSENBERG

Daily Arts Writer

FX

If this ain’t “Young Pope,” I don’t care.

Hardy the heart of ‘Taboo’

B

“Taboo”

Series Premiere

 FX

Tuesdays at 10 P.M.

Necto nightclub on an ordi-

nary Friday night is always a 
great place to begin the week-
end with your friends. But this 
past Friday, January 13th, was 
no ordinary night. The line to 
get into the club stretched far 
around the corner, and a buzz 
of excitement so tangible you 
could almost feel the energy 
radiating off of people, could 
only mean one thing: Katya was 
here. Katya Zamolodchikova 
is a performance artist well 
versed in the art of drag. Drag 
is when a person, typically 
male, dresses as a woman and 
exaggerate certain character-
istics for comic, dramatic or 
satirical effect. An alumna of 
two seasons from the hit tele-
vision series “RuPaul’s Drag 
Race,” Katya has garnered a 
large fan base from all over the 
country. She is known for her 
outlandish and twisted sense 
of humor, flexibility and ability 
to personify her character as 
a high-class “Russian whore.” 
Recently, she was a contestant 
on the second All-Stars sea-
son of “Drag Race” where she 
placed as a runner up.

In the past, drag queens have 

been part of a counterculture 
movement that disregards tra-
ditional gender norms and cel-
ebrates individual expression 
and artistic style. However, 
after seeing the popularity of 
Katya’s performance and her 
large and devoted fan base, it is 
evident that drag queens have 
struck a chord in the heart of 
pop culture. Upon entering the 
club, a sea of bodies and loud 
dance music overwhelmed the 
senses. Usually, Necto’s dance 
floor is bustling with move-
ment and dancing, but tonight 
there wasn’t even room to 
breathe. Everyone was jam 
packed and facing the stage 
so that they would not miss a 
beat when their favorite drag 
performer took the stage. And 
when she finally arrived, after 
what felt like hours of anticipa-
tion, she commanded it. When 
Katya entered for her first per-
formance of the night, it was 
apparent that she was born for 
the stage. Wearing her classic 
red and white tracksuit jacket 
with the word “Russia” in big 
letters across her chest and a 
matching gymnastics uniform 
underneath, she took charge 
of the space by performing 
her part of the hit song “Read 
U Wrote U” from “Drag Race.” 
She enthralled the audience 
and created a state of enthusi-

asm with her signature brand of 
acrobatic dance moves. People 
were singing along to the iconic 
lyrics, throwing dollar bills at 
Katya and grooving along with 
their own moves. Drag creates 
an environment of acceptance, 
freedom, self-expression and 
jubilation, which were all pres-
ent that night on the dance 
floor.

After the song was finished 

and all of the dollar bills col-
lected, Katya sprinkled the 
crowd with her dark, twisted 
and witty humor and left the 
audience to boisterous cheers. 
She performed a second act at 
midnight for the brave souls 
who were dedicated enough to 
wait around (which ended up 
being most of the audience), 
creating mostly the same expe-
rience but with a different song 
and a new stylish outfit. If you 
missed out on Katya’s perfor-
mance, do not fret because 
Necto night club is known for 
hosting many past contestants 
of the popular show as often as 
once a month, and have local 
drag queens performing every 
Friday night. Drag is an experi-
ence best seen live, so whether 
you’re a veteran fan or a first 
time viewer, Necto’s doors are 
always open to those who want 
to have a good time and enjoy 
the exciting art.

Katya energizes Necto

ELLIS HYMAN

For The Daily

Díaz to speak at Rackham

Writer after writer will tell 

you the same thing: It starts 
with a voice, with the faintest 
suggestion of a character. That 
character comes to inhabit the 
world, the real world, and the 
writer is thrilled, and maybe 
a little frightened, of how 
real that character becomes. 
Writing what it dictates only 
tightens its grasp.

For Junot Díaz, it all started 

with 
Yunior. 

The 
cerebral, 

impulsive 
Dominican 
American 
character 
turned 

up 
over 
20 

years 
ago, 
back 

when the writer 
was 
applying 

to 
graduate 

programs, 
and 

Yunior’s 
voice 

has been central 
to Díaz’s fiction 
ever since. Díaz, who’s been 
on a hectic travel schedule, 
corresponded with the Daily 
via email from Japan before 
his visit to the University of 
Michigan 
this 
Wednesday 

for the Martin Luther King 
Jr. Symposium. The author 
reflected on his work and what 
it’s like to be an artist of color 
in 2017 — and, of course, he 
elaborated on the role Yunior 
has played as a narrator and a 
muse in many of his stories.

“Yunior 
is 
a 
particular 

kind of cat with very specific 
textual, political and cultural 
preferences,” 
Díaz 
wrote. 

This adds life to his fiction, 
peppering 
his 
work 
with 

references and asides that keep 
it current, yet situate it in a 
specific place, time and culture.

Yunior’s darker side — and 

by extension, Diaz’s — showed 
up in “Drown” and its stories 
of alienation and abandonment; 
over a decade later, romance 
and lust grated on Yunior’s 
conscience in “This Is How You 
Lose Her.” Both of these were 
collections of short stories, 
drawing upon Díaz’s immigrant 
childhood in New Jersey and 
his navigation through the U.S. 
educational system.

Yunior is narrator of Diaz’s 

lively, 
dysfunctional 
stories 

of American life — but he isn’t 
always the protagonist. It was 
Yunior’s voice that brought 
another compelling character 

to life: Oscar Wao, subject of 
the 2008 novel “The Brief and 
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.” 
Díaz 
received 
the 
Pulitzer 

Prize, and handfuls of other 
awards, for this novel; due 
in no small part to the sharp, 
humorous, 
yet 
sometimes 

desolate voice of Yunior as he 
narrates Oscar’s story. As Díaz 
has written his character into 
being over the years, Yunior, it 
seems, really has developed a 
life of his own.

“Yunior was already in place 

from my first book and when 
I started Oscar Wao he really 
dictated a lot of the form. (And 

boy do I mean 
dictated.)” 
Díaz 

wrote.

This not only 

strengthened 
Díaz’s novel, but 
twisted it in new 
and 
unexpected 

ways, 
as 
his 

unreliable 
narrator weaves 
stories of his own 
until the truth is 
as muddled as it 
is in life.

“Yunior dresses the novel in a 

manner th helps to deepen and 
complicate the narrative while 
simultaneously 
obscuring 

his 
narrative 
intentions,” 

Díaz wrote. “His narrative 
elaborations are as much a 
mask as anything.”

For Díaz, this love of the 

unreliable 
narrator, 
of 
the 

complexities and multiplicities 
of any “true” story, lie at the 
heart of his love for fiction 
itself. It is easier, after all, to 
say something of value when 
Yunior can say it himself.

The author may shy from the 

absolute truths of nonfiction 
writing, but these days, he 
delivers truths of different 
sorts — as a long time activist 
for immigrant rights in the U.S. 
and the Dominican Republic, 
and as a writing professor at 
the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology. Both of these roles 
draw upon Díaz’s talents, but 
also stretch his attentions, and 
he finds he must throw himself 
into just one pursuit at a time.

“My writing seems to serve 

no one else but itself but with 
community work there always 
seems to be a higher calling, 
civic responsibility and the 
like. I’ve never been able to be 
do both madly at the same time, 
though,” he wrote. “I seem to 
be very monogamous with my 
passions. Either I’m writing 
like crazy or I’m engaged in the 
community like crazy. One or 

the other.”

While Díaz may not feel 

that his fiction contributes to 
society in the same way that 
his activism does, his stories 
of 
Dominican 
American 

immigrant life open up a world 
that wider audiences may never 
otherwise come into contact 
with. It doesn’t change laws or 
elect anyone to office. But all 
the same, Díaz believes that as 
a writer, he has a responsibility 
to 
bring 
an 
alternative 

perspective on American life 
into the national conversation.

“My hope for all artists is 

that they try as hard as they can 
not to reproduce the dangerous 
hegemonic 
narratives 
that 

our society seems so addicted 
to,” Díaz said. “As a country 
we’ve got a lot more work to 
do to bring our canon in line 
with reality and not with the 
artificial fantasies of those who 
use their power to populate the 
culture with their own images.”

Coming-of-age 
immigrant 

narratives like “The Brief and 
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” 
are becoming a more standard 
part of the American literary 
landscape. There may still be 
a long way to go, but Díaz is 
optimistic that new voices are 
being heard, new narratives 
being written.

“Clearly there’s a necessary 

and wonderful transformation 
happening in American letters, 
towards greater diversity and 
inclusion, 
a 
transformation 

whose ultimate trajectory we 
can scarcely imagine,” he said. 
“I’m glad to be writing and 
reading in this day and age. The 
future seems so damn bright 
from where I’m standing.”

AVERY FRIEDMAN

Daily Arts Writer

COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW

An Afternoon 

with Junot 

Díaz

January 18th at 12 

P.M.

Rackham 
Auditorium

Free

“Clearly there’s 

a necessary 

and wonderful 
transformation 

happening 
in American 

letters, towards 
greater diversity” 

TV REVIEW

6A — Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

