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
2 BEDROOM + Study Fall 2017
2 Parking Spaces Washer/Dryer
Max occupancy is 4
935 S. Division ‑ $2250 + Utilities
Cappo Mgmt 734‑996‑1991
FALL 2017‑18 Apts @ 1015 Packard
2 Bedroom ‑ $1370 ‑ 2nd floor
3 Bedroom ‑ $1380 ‑ basement
1 parking space avail for $50/m per unit
Deinco 734‑996‑1991
2017‑2018 LEASING
Apartments Going Fast!
Prime Student Housing
761‑8000. www.primesh.com
Efficiencies:
344 S. Division $855
610 S. Forest $870 ‑ 1 Left
1 Bedrooms:
511 Hoover $1045/$1065
508 Division $945
*Varies by location: Full Furnished,
Parking Included, Free Ethernet
EFF, 1 & 2 Bdrm Apts Fall 2017‑18
Many locations near campus
Rents from $850 (eff) ‑ $1415 (2 bdrm)
Most include Heat and Water
www.cappomanagement.com
734‑996‑1991
1 BEDROOM APTS Near N. Campus
Fall 2017‑18 ‑ $900/m + $25/m Utilities
Each unit has one parking space.
909 & 915 Wall St.
Deinco Properties 734‑996‑1991
4 BEDROOM HOUSE Fall 2017
3 Parking Spaces Washer/Dryer
827 Brookwood ‑ $2900 + Utilities
Deinco Properties 734‑996‑1991
ARBOR PROPERTIES
Award‑Winning Rentals in Kerrytown,
Central Campus, Old West Side,
Burns Park. Now Renting for 2017.
734‑649‑8637. www.arborprops.com
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