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By Gary Cee
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/28/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

11/28/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, November 28, 2018

ACROSS
1 Mary Oliver, e.g.
5 Tweak
11 Obliterate in a
flash
14 Prefix with
sphere
15 Self-moving
vacuum
16 “I __ you one”
17 High-tech
classroom
19 Starchy grain
20 Bygone Persian
rulers
21 Long-jawed fish
22 Present
23 Fighter at the
Olympics
27 Man-horse hybrid
30 Synagogue
reading
31 Country between
Vietnam and
Thailand
32 Quaint
contraction
34 Type of coffee or
whiskey
37 Congressional
statute
38 Military IDs ... or
what 17-, 23-, 51-
and 61-Across
have
41 Life highlights,
briefly
42 Moby-Dick, e.g.
44 Hula strings
45 Pungent quality
46 Rice dish
49 “The Shawshank
Redemption”
extras
51 Court long shot
54 __ hog
55 Org. whose
returns were
never sales
56 Get to
60 Trellis climber
61 Astute attorney
64 Golf peg, or
where it’s used
65 Long cold spell
66 Image in a
botanical print
67 Make a typo, say
68 Litter box visitor
69 Pre-Easter
season

DOWN
1 D.C. influence
gps.
2 “However,” in
tweets

3 “Handsome,
clever, and rich”
Jane Austen
character
4 Headwear with
tails
5 Works on walls
6 Stag’s mate
7 Longtime
Univision news
anchor Ramos
8 Two dots above
a vowel
9 Pizza chain in
many food courts
10 Bar bill
11 Madagascar!, in
the Bronx
12 In the know
13 Pan in Neverland
18 Inst. with the fight
song “On, Brave
Old Army Team”
22 Frost
24 Jay-Z’s “D.O.A.
(Death of
__-Tune)”
25 H.S. subject that
covers all the
angles?
26 Jewish ritual
27 Jaguar’s weapon
28 Individually
29 “Fat chance!”
33 “The Simpsons”
disco devotee

35 Locale
36 Soil-clearing
tools
38 Mark for
omission
39 Related
40 Well-mannered
man
43 Made up things
45 Reveal
everything
47 Individually
48 Draw a blank
50 Nothing but

51 Done to death
52 Float in the air
53 Actor Oscar __ of
“Star Wars: The
Last Jedi”
57 Pulitzer-winning
author James
58 Close-knit group
59 Test by lifting
61 Backtalk
62 Alternative to JFK
or EWR
63 Perfecta or
trifecta

SERVICES

Classifieds

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

Way before that guy in your

English class discovered NPR,
audio entertainment had been
amusing audiences for decades.
While today it seems everyone
and their mother has a podcast,
the renaissance of the art form
is a revival of the old time
radio technology on which it is
based. The rebranding of radio
programs as podcasts is the best
thing to happen to the medium
since it was replaced by television
back in the ’50s. Podcasts today
have occupied every realm of
entertainment that radio once
had a monopoly on: There are
dramas
like
“Serial,”
news

programs like The New York
Times’s “The Daily” and even
comedy shows like “WTF with
Marc Maron” and “2 Dope
Queens.” Podcasts have most
certainly declared themselves
the second golden age of radio
and more importantly, I would
say, the second golden age of
radio comedy.

The Golden Age of Radio

was a time period in American
entertainment lasting from the
1930s until televisions entered
nearly
every
home
in
the

country by the mid 1950s. Back
in the day, families gathered
around the radio weekly to tune
into
beloved
comedy
shows

like “The Goldbergs” or “The
Aldrich Family.” Like podcasts
today, these shows survived on
advertisements, but instead of
ads for Blue Apron and Gillette,
they were sponsored by Camel
cigarettes
and
Pepsodent.

Many comedies in the radio age
were episodic and situational.
“Abbott and Costello” used the
medium for clever wordplay
and endless puns to crack up
listeners
everywhere.
The

original “Funny Girl,” Fanny
Brice, portrayed the silly young
girl Snooks Higgins on “The
Baby Snooks Show,” sometimes
called “Baby Snooks and Daddy.”
Bob Hope — usually recognized
for hosting the Academy Awards
a record number of 19 times
and
earning
five
honorary

Oscars — was a massive part
of the radio industry. For his
64-year broadcasting run he was
closely associated with NBC.
He performed everywhere from
Broadway to US military bases.
On Hope’s show he had celebrity
guests like Al Jolson, Jack Benny
and Doris Day. A comedian in his

own right, Hope’s show, “The
Pepsodent Show Starring Bob
Hope,” was wildly popular. The
show boasted some 15 writers,
including a young Sherwood
Schwartz who would go on to
create “Gilligan’s Island” and
“The Brady Bunch.”

While
much
of
radio

comedy and radio in general
was superseded by TV in the
’50s, one very important radio
comedy show made itself known
in the peak of TV’s reign in
the early 1970s. It ran weekly
sketches and musical parodies
from 1973 until 1974. That show
was “The National Lampoon’s
Radio Hour” starring the likes
of John Belushi, Chevy Chase,
Bill Murray, Gilda Radner and
Harold Ramis. Like the Lampoon
itself, the show was chock full of
controversial and crude material,
making it difficult to keep
advertisers. The radio hour was
even cut down to half an hour
after 13 weeks. While the show
only lasted a year, its alumni
went on to change the history
of comedy. Most of the alumni
went on to work at “Saturday
Night Live,” the show’s creator,
Michael O’Donoghue was even
head writer at “SNL” for its first
three seasons.

Today,
the
selection
of

podcasts is, to put it lightly,
overwhelming.
Comedy

podcasts are no exception, as
there are hundreds of pods
out there with the chief goal
of making you chuckle on your
morning commute. Earwolf —
a podcast network part of the
Stitcher family — is putting out
some of the best comedic content
thanks to the genius of comedy
podcast king, Scott Aukerman.
The comedy writer and improv
master
started
the
podcast

“Comedy Bang! Bang!” under
the name of “Comedy Death-

Ray Radio” in 2009. The show is
an improviser’s dream as it runs
on witty rapport and impressive
character work. It is goofy,
weird and sometimes downright
bizarre, but always hilarious.
Featuring special guests every
week, “Comedy Bang! Bang!”
never
fails
at
keeping
our

attention. Some of my favorite
recurring guests include Jason
Mantzoukas
(“Big
Mouth”),

Paul
F.
Tompkins
(“Bojack

Horseman”),
Lauren
Lapkus

(“Crashing”) and Nick Kroll
(“Big Mouth”). Aukerman and
his business partner launched
Earwolf
in
2010;
now,
the

network hosts over 35 different
comedy
programs
including

Paul Scheer’s “How Did This Get
Made?” and Jonathan Van Ness’s
“Getting Curious.” Aukerman
has also recently launched a
podcast with Adam Scott of
“Parks and Recreation” fame.
The show in question, formerly
known as “U Talkin’ U2 To Me?,”
is now called “R U Talkin’ R.E.M.
RE: ME?” The hilarious pod was
previously devoted to delving
into the discography of the rock
band U2 and has now shifted its
focus to the band R.E.M. — they
have amazing banter that makes
you wish you could be in the
studio with them.

If you want to get into

humorous podcasts but fear
the incessant banter of improv-
based
and
character-focused

pods of Aukerman fame, have a
listen to my personal favorite,
“My Dad Wrote a Porno.” The
British show is hosted by James
Cooper, Jamie Morton and Alice
Levine. Each episode, Morton
reads a chapter from his father’s
self-published series of erotic
novels, “Belinda Blinked.” Every
moment is a cringe-fest verging
on tears from laughter. The three
friends tear apart the novel with
hilarious running commentary,
making the most uncomfortable
moments of the highly sexual
erotica laugh-out-loud funny.
The pod is now on their fourth
season,
as
Morton’s
father

continues to publish his work, for
which we are eternally grateful.

The art of radio comedy is

alive and well with the plethora
of comedy podcasts in our midst;
the only thing left to do now is
to get listening. And with that,
Dear Reader, I bid you happy
listening!

Oh my pod! The new radio

comedy golden age

DAILY HUMOR COLUMN

BECKY

PORTMAN

Just a little over a week

before dropping their long-
awaited album A Brief Inquiry
into
Online
Relationships,

The 1975 released the music
video for “Sincerity is Scary.”
Departing from the moody,
jazz-influenced
pop
sound

of 2016’s I Like It When
You Sleep, For You Are So
Beautiful yet So Unaware of
It, their sophomore effort
ABIIOR seems destined for
a more uplifting and radiant
resonance
with
singles

such
as
“Give
Yourself

a
Try”
and
“TOOTIME

TOOTIMETOOTIME.”
However, “Sincerity is Scary”
fits the bill in a different
fashion.

Whereas
The
1975’s

most recent videos veered
more
towards
abstract

visuals, “Sincerity is Scary”
tells
a
story.
Classically

misanthropic,
danceable

and a bit condescending, the
video mimics the song on an
acoustic and aesthetic level.

The visuals take a turn from
the fluorescent pinks and
blues we would expect from
The 1975, and the first scene
features a disheveled Matty
Healy in a completely white
room, the only exception
being
his
navy
forearm

tattoo that reads “WEAK
MESSAGES CREATE BAD
SITUATIONS.” The camera
then pans to a black-and-
white piece of art on the wall

before landing on a vivid
urban scene. From then on,
Healy takes to singing in the
streets and adapting to the
various dance scenes and
street illusions he encounters
throughout
his
leisurely

stroll.

While
seemingly
unfit

for a song about a difficult
relationship,
the
music

video suits the narrative in
its capacity to foster a fun,
upbeat energy in the face of
the various difficulties Healy
faces throughout it. Though
characteristically
pedantic

and corny in its delivery
and aims, it showcases The
1975’s undeniable strength
in generating an appeal and
sound that is genuine and all
their own.

- Diana Yassin, Daily Arts

Writer

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: ‘SINCERITY

IS SCARY’

INTERSCOPE RECORDS

“Sincerity is

Scary”

The 1975

Interscope Records

Self-help goes beyond the
self in Havrilesky’s essays

I love the genre of self-help. I

love its relentless optimism, its
fundamental belief in our ability
to cultivate positive change
and the way it encourages
us to see ourselves as active
participants in our lives rather
than as victims. In an age of
overwhelming anxiety, I love
being told that the problems
of the world are simple and
individual, and that if only I
were to meditate / journal / pray
more, I would be able to insulate
myself against universal human
emotions
like
fear,
anger,

insecurity and loss.

But I don’t entirely trust

self-help,
for
exactly
these

reasons: its oversimplification,
its insistence that we exorcize
our
uncomfortable
emotions

and the way it puts the onus for
change on the individual rather
than on the society. The “self”
in self-help is important, even
essential, but in a world where
we are hyper-connected — our
circumstances largely dictated
by power structures beyond
our control — it can’t be the
whole story. Don’t we have a
responsibility at some point to
stop navel-gazing and help the
world around us too?

Heather Havrilesky’s latest

collection
of
essays,
“What

If This Were Enough?” does
exactly
that,
directing
the

introspective and philosophical
tools
of
self-help
not
only

at the individual, but at the
society at large. Havrilesky’s
project is simple in theory,
but fascinatingly nuanced in
practice: to diagnose our shared
cultural
values,
anxieties,

obsessions and illusions in order
to better understand the way
they influence our individual
emotional landscapes.

The essays in this collection

are richly layered, emotionally
evocative and often profoundly
funny. Havrilesky focuses mostly
on popular culture as a medium
for our shared preoccupations,
and moves nimbly between
analytical investigations of what
our cultural artifacts tell us
about our priorities and deeply
personal reckonings with how
those priorities infiltrate our
psyches.

In “The Smile Factory,” she

explores how the phenomenons
of Disney and Buzzfeed have
created a culture of obligatory
cheerfulness
and
constant

distraction. In “The Land of
Heroic Villains,” she connects
our narrative fascination with
antiheroes to the elevation of
figures like Harvey Weinstein
and Donald Trump. In “The
Popularity
Contest,”
she

analyzes how the numbers game
of social media has warped the
way we evaluate our own worth.
Other essays, like “Adults Only”
and “Playing House,” take a
more personal turn, recounting
Havrilesky’s own experiences
with hard-earned wisdom and
haunting vulnerability.

Pulling together all these

loose threads is Havrilesky’s
overarching
emphasis
on

mindfulness and gratitude —
not in the shallow, gimmicky
ways these terms often get
thrown around in the rhetoric
of self-care, but as the only
logical remedies for a sick
culture.
She
encourages
us

to be more cognizant of the
ways we’ve internalized our
society’s poisonous values and
assumptions,
and
crusades

against distraction, asking us
to look closely at our difficult
experiences
and
emotions

rather
than
pathologically

turning
away
from
them.

Havrilesky’s
insistence
that

we face this darker side of our
humanity might come across
as depressing if it wasn’t such
a refreshing change from the
enforced perfection we so often
experience, and if it wasn’t
balanced with an unrelenting
compassion
for
our
shared

humanity.

Again and again, she comes

to the conclusion that the
only way for us to live full,

meaningful lives is to do what
we can with what we have,
to live for the present and to
“embrace the conflicted nature
of humankind.” Ultimately, she
writes, “We have to rediscover
how to navigate each day. We
have to learn how to embrace
the imperfection of the present
moment and accept the wide
range of experiences that fall
between happiness and sadness,
success and failure, true love
and
hatred,
popularity
and

invisibility.”
Only
when
we

release our belief in perfection
and get comfortable with that
uncomfortable
middle-ground

will we be able to see that
what we have right now, in this
moment, is enough.

JULIA MOSS
Daily Arts Writer

BOOK REVIEW

“What If
This Were
Enough?”

Heather Havrilesky

Doubleday

Oct. 2, 2018

Don’t we have a
responsibility at
some point to stop
navel-gazing and

help the world
around us too?

6A — Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com