By Freddie Cheng
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/09/19
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
09/09/19
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Monday, September 9, 2019
ACROSS
1 More certain
6 Gp. with moms,
dads and
educators
9 “Thereabouts”
suffix
12 “Men” or “teeth,”
grammatically
14 One of Ringo’s
set
15 __ kwon do
16 Absurd, as a
scheme
17 Autodialed
annoyance, often
at dinnertime
19 Prof’s aides
20 System of rules
22 Protection for
political refugees
23 German I
25 Philosophies:
Suff.
27 Picky details
28 Computer event
with a “blue
screen of death”
30 Penultimate
Greek letter
31 Big Pharma
watchdog: Abbr.
32 Suggest
34 Encroach (on)
38 Musical knack
39 Naughty
41 Black or Red
waters
42 Downpour
concern
44 Bills with Franklin
on them
46 Good times
47 Japanese
vegetable
49 Infatuated with,
with “about”
50 “__ Land”: 2016
Best Picture? Not!
52 Elite English
boarding school
53 Deadly “2001”
computer
54 “Brideshead
Revisited”
novelist Waugh
56 Laundry
58 Wall St. takeover
61 Exacts revenge
63 Punctuation that
Brits call a full
stop
65 Guggenheim
display
66 Johns, to Brits
67 “__ can play!”:
“It’s easy!”
68 Caustic chemical
69 Bowler’s target
70 Emails
DOWN
1 Barbecue rod
2 Arm bone
3 *Deadly “game”
in “The Deer
Hunter”
4 Big Band __
5 *Ones helping
with the horses
6 Expert
7 Low-pitched
brass
instruments
8 Cookiedom’s
Famous __
9 *Stallone
nickname, with
“the”
10 Henri’s “Hi”
11 Pilothouse
wheels
13 Lion constellation
14 Severe
reprimands,
and a hint to
the starts of
the answers to
starred clues
18 Singer Lauper
21 Slight market
slide
24 St. Louis hrs.
26 Short skirt
28 Kitchen master
29 Iranian currency
31 *Trio after turtle
doves
33 Paris pronoun
35 TV watchdog
36 “Wow!”
37 “No sweat”
40 Letter-shaped
fastener
43 October
gemstones
45 Italian hour
48 “We’re __
schedule here!”
50 Permitted by law
51 Bugs Bunny
animator Tex
52 Ballade’s last
stanza
55 Website with
business reviews
57 Rejuvenation site
59 “__, James __”
60 Poems of praise
62 Many millennia
64 Deli bread
For years, Harvey Weinstein’s powerful
career allowed him to domineer over
Hollywood without repercussions, but in
“Untouchable,” director Ursula Macfarlane
(“One Deadly Weekend
in
America”)
helps
victims of his abuse
speak
their
truths
through
interviews
and archived material.
With no introduction
to the crimes Weinstein
committed,
the
documentary
dives
immediately into Erika
Rosenbaum’s story and
her experience as a
young actress who was
assaulted by Weinstein after meeting him at in
Hollywood.
From there, “Untouchable” jumps in
between victims’ testimonials to try and
capture the essence of Weinstein’s grotesque
abuse of power during his time with Miramax,
a film production company. In several different
ways, the documentary makes clear that if
Weinstein hadn’t had the ability to sweep his
actions under the rug with such ease — which
consisted of carefully detailed non-disclosure
agreements (NDAs) and cash settlements —
there would have been more than enough
evidence to prove that he was the culprit of
these crimes.
Zelda Perkins, Weinstein’s former assistant,
provides several details on this matter and
delves deeper into Weinstein’s temperament
as well. She admits that she originally didn’t
take his words and actions very seriously,
and often warned others that “he will behave
inappropriately” but reassuring them that if
they dealt with him “robustly,” then it would be
fine. That is, until another one of Weinstein’s
assistants divulged the story of her assault at
the hands of Weinstein. Perkins resigned, but
Weinstein grew anxious, leaving around 18
voicemails asking her to meet him. When she
eventually signed an NDA, Weinstein’s team
made sure to cover all bases, adding to the
contract that if they went to court over the
matter, Perkins was contractually obligated to
try and keep Miramax in good standing.
Several NDAs were signed, but rumors
started to spread throughout the industry.
Many had heard and believed that actresses
were having sex with Weinstein to get better
roles, and had consequently turned a blind eye
to the matter. At the time, and probably to this
day, the film industry holds its demons away
from the public eye. In Weinstein’s hayday, he
was, essentially, untouchable.
Andrew Goldman, a reporter, recalls an
instance where he caught Weinstein speaking
indecently on his recorder. Weinstein grew
quickly agitated, and tried to snatch the
recorder out of his hand. Weinstein smashed
Goldman over his head multiple times, and
Goldman distinctly remembers seeing other
reporters taking pictures of the incident. But
none of them ever surfaced
in the media. It goes to show
how Weinstein and his team
ultimately controlled what
the public thought of him
at the time, and despite the
times he could have been
exposed,
maintained
a
relatively clean reputation
for far too long.
In
terms
of
the
documentary
itself,
at
times the theatrics were
dramatic to a fault, and
slightly distracting for the graveness of the
story. The stories themselves were harrowing
enough, the documentary could have done
with a little less dramatic sound effects and
B-roll. Nevertheless, this was a story that
had to be told, and despite its medium, the
world has taken a step toward justice with
documentaries that seek to expose the truth.
It’s absolutely unacceptable that Weinstein
escaped accountability for so long, and still has
not faced the full consequences of his actions.
The only upside to his offenses is that we know
now that no matter how long it takes, the truth
will always come out, and we won’t stop until
those truths are acknowledged and actions are
taken.
‘Untouchable’ topples standards
TV REVIEW
‘Untouchable’
Hulu
Streaming Now
SOPHIA YOON
Daily Arts Writer
When
it
comes
to
performing,
Christian French pays attention to
the details. Upon entering the Blind
Pig, a large crescent moon illuminated
the stage. It was a centerpiece for his
tour, named after his newly released
EP, bright side of the moon. Ann Arbor
was the first stop, and eager students
packed up against the walls of The
Blind Pig in anticipation of the opening
performance. They repeatedly chanted
the singer’s name in the moments
leading up to his entrance and erupted
into cheers as he ran on stage sporting
a University of Michigan jersey given
to him by a fan. French opened with
his 2018 single, “superstars,” a love
song about enjoying the glory of youth,
a common theme in not just his music
but also the tour as a whole.
French kept the energy up at full
throttle, jumping into one song after the
next and constantly encouraging the
crowd to sing along with their hands in
the air. He had a presence that engaged
with every part of the audience as he
migrated to different parts of the stage
and even performing at the very edge,
as if he wanted to get as close to his fans
as possible. This kind of genuine spirit
could be felt palpably by the crowd. As
I looked around, everyone appeared
captivated by French, eagerly waiting
to see what he would do next.
French’s ability to connect so well
with
the
college
crowd
probably
stemmed from the fact that he recently
was just a college student himself.
The 22-year-old singer was a pre-med
student at the University of Indiana
before deciding to drop out to pursue
a career in music. And he’s no stranger
to Michigan: The singer performed at
The Blind Pig a little less than a year
ago and opened for Quinn XCII at the
Fillmore in downtown Detroit this past
Winter.
After playing a handful of songs from
his older projects, including “Fall For
You,” the first song he ever recorded,
as well as a tune off his new EP titled
“head first,” French paused to explain
the story behind “Sweet Home.” French
wrote the song about his experience
moving from Indiana to California,
and how daunting and exciting the
transition was. He offered another
pause before performing the heaviest
song of the night titled “Dying Alive.”
Behind his keyboard, French explained
how he suffered from anxiety and
destroyed the romantic relationship he
was in because of it.
Before playing “Time of Our Lives,”
one of his unreleased songs, he politely
asked the crowd to put their phones
away and simply live in the moment.
After all, he pointed out, “We are
literally the only ones that get to
experience this.” The timing of this
request couldn’t have been more perfect
— “Time of Our Lives” is all about being
present and enjoying every moment we
have, and the crowd cheerfully swayed
along to the music, seemingly content
without their mobile distractions.
French wrapped up the show with
“bright side of the moon,” the album’s
title track, which captures the album’s
focus on seeking positivity even when
the rest of the world seems to be
tossing around negative thoughts. He
then returned his University jersey
to its rightful owner in the front row,
which revealed the other University
jersey he was wearing underneath with
“French” printed on the back. He ended
with his hit song “love ride” before
running off stage.
But the crowd wasn’t done with him
yet. Cheers for one more song pulsated
throughout the venue, and French
reappeared to perform one last and
arguably his most popular song, “By
Myself.” After the show, French offered
a meet and greet with fans, just another
example of how he wants to invest in his
fan base and give them an experience
they will always remember. As an artist
still trying to make their way into the
big leagues of music, Christian French
has the tools he needs to reach new
fan bases and build a successful music
career. French delivered a seamless
opener, and there’s no doubt he will
continue to impress audiences as he
takes on the rest of his fall tour.
On Christian French’s
youthful enthusiasm
CONCERT REVIEW
KAITLYN FOX
Daily Arts Writer
French kept the
energy up at full
throttle, jumping into
one song after the
next and constantly
encouraging the
crowd to sing along
with their hands in
the air
The first show I saw on Friday
was the worst show I saw on Friday.
I don’t want to hate on Conan Gray,
because he seems like a nice guy
who loves his fans, and performing
at Lollapalooza clearly meant a lot to
him. However, his music is not very
good: His particular angsty brand
of synthpop is so unoriginal that it
defies specific description, and he
doesn’t even have that much of it.
Gray was allotted an hour, and after
performing every song he has ever
released, he finished his set with
fifteen minutes to spare. In the end, it
was an uninspiring performance.
Luckily, up next was Japanese
Breakfast, the solo project of Michelle
Zauner, an act who could hopefully
right the wrongs of the previous set.
Tito’s, the stage upon which Japanese
Breakfast played, is the worst at the
festival — there’s rarely sufficient
space for the audience and those who
aren’t far from the stage are forced to
stand on concrete while baking in the
afternoon sun. That said, the music
of Japanese Breakfast could not
have contrasted more sharply with
the mood in this ill-favored setting.
Japanese Breakfast put on perhaps
the most relaxing set of the weekend,
her groovy bedroom-pop the perfect
antidote to the stultifying sea of
concrete that engulfed me. Zauner’s
voice is breathtaking live, soaring
with clarity over reverb-laden guitar
and fuzzy bass. Her guitarist is also
quite talented, firing off a handful
of roaring solos. Towards the end
of the set, as a tribute to Chicago,
she performed a touching cover of
Wilco’s “Jesus, Etc.” It was an all-
around pleasant experience.
Maggie Rogers may not make the
most interesting pop music in the
world (or have the keenest sense of
melody), but it is impossible to dislike
the artist herself. Rogers put her
heart and soul into her performance,
and it shone through. The crowd
adored her; they were singing and
dancing to every song, and even
did their best to sing through the
technical difficulties on “Alaska.” It
was a delightful set, even if the songs
themselves are not remarkable.
Death Cab For Cutie put on an
earnest and enjoyable performance,
but their elegant music does not
translate
all
that
well
to
live
shows. The desolation of “Title and
Registration” and the creepy intensity
of “I Will Possess Your Heart” seem
not to carry through from their
studio renditions. Strangely, the band
only played one song from their most
recent album, and the album they
are ostensibly touring in support
of, Thank You For Today. Granted,
it wasn’t a very popular album, but
neither was Kitsugi, which got more
play time despite being four years old.
Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard
claimed they originally were not
going to play their most popular song,
“I Will Follow You Into the Dark,”
but changed their mind thanks to the
request of “a prominent Chicagoan.”
That Chicagoan, to the surprise of
no one given his appearance earlier
in the day at Calboy’s set, turned out
to be none other than Chance the
Rapper. He emerged from backstage
to join the band in a performance of
“Do You Remember,” a sentimental
cut off of Chance’s new studio album,
The Big Day, that features Gibbard
on the hook. The performance was
decent. They did not play a few of
their live staples (“Transatlanticism,”
“Grapevine
Fires”)
that
were
expected by many, likely due to time
constraints.
There was no encore. While I
enjoyed Death Cab For Cutie’s set in
spite of some flaws, they were not the
primary reason I was at that stage. I
had come to secure a spot for the act
that would follow them on the Bud
Light stage: Tame Impala.
Friday was an experience similar
to
Thursday:
The
earlier
sets
were mixed in quality, generally
functioning better as background
music than as something to really
get into. The headliners and higher-
billed artists performing later tended
to live up to expectations. Four days
is perhaps a little too long for such an
intense festival — Lollapalooza used
to just be three days until 2015, when
they switched to four for reasons
unknown (money). The need to be
as big as possible, while probably a
clever business decision, has diluted
each individual day’s lineup and
contributed to a sort of festival
fatigue. Four days is a long time, and
people seemed to already be feeling
the marathon catching up to them by
the end of Friday. Perhaps it’s time
for another change.
We loved Lollapalooza so much
that this took a month to publish
FESTIVAL COVERAGE
JONAH MENDELSON
Daily Arts Writer
The headliners and higher-billed artists
performing later tended to live up to
expectations
Maggie Rogers may not make the most
interesting pop music in the world (or
have the keenest sense of melody), but it is
impossible to dislike the artist herself
6A — Monday, September 9, 2019
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com