6 — Thursday, November 21, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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By Brian E. Paquin
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/21/19

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

11/21/19

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Thursday, November 21, 2019

ACROSS
1 Many big reds
5 Namely
10 X-ray units
14 Honolulu 
happening
15 Lacking 
significance
16 Music halls of old
17 Directive on an 
env.
18 Play lightly, as a 
guitar
19 Apt. part
20 Upscale boutique
22 Holden Caulfield’s 
little sister
24 Constellation 
near Scorpius
25 Bookstore 
category
26 Personal records
29 Tire spec
31 Divest (of)
32 Berkeley 
Breathed’s 
cartoon penguin
33 Old money that 
looks new
37 Bark
38 Handle
39 Purpose
40 Small craft on the 
deep sea
43 Big fishhook
44 Way to go: Abbr.
45 He broke Lou’s 
record for 
consecutive 
games played
46 Accolades
47 Valedictorian’s 
time to shine
49 Purpose
50 Liquids
51 Quarrel of yore
56 Work to get
57 In an aloof way
59 Twice tri-
60 Exec’s helper
61 “Try someone 
else”
62 Vienna-based 
oil gp.
63 “Luke Cage” 
actor Rossi
64 It helps raise 
dough
65 Bridge position

DOWN
1 Applaud
2 Mercury or Saturn, 
but not Mars

3 Cricket clubs
4 Summery 
headwear
5 Campbell-Martin 
of TV’s 
“Dr. Ken”
6 Aboard
7 Lumber defect
8 Shiba __: 
Japanese dog
9 Pace
10 Stiffly awkward
11 Fear of 
poisonous 
snakes
12 Churchill Downs 
event
13 Unchanged
21 Some discount 
recipients: Abbr.
23 For madam
25 NBA great “__ 
Pete” Maravich
26 Limerick lad
27 Herculean
28 Outstanding prize 
money
29 Say the Word
30 School near 
Albany
33 Trig function: 
Abbr.
34 “The Raven” 
writer

35 Facts and 
figures
36 Some emailed 
files
41 Diminished 
slowly
42 Shortage
43 Private eye
46 DIY purchase
47 Seriously reduce
48 Forensic drama 
set in the Big 
Apple

49 To date
50 Significant 
achievement
51 Pocket bread
52 Donation to the 
poor
53 Rap’s 
Salt-N-__
54 Hacking tools
55 Peacemaker’s 
asset
58 Olympic runner 
Sebastian

HELP WANTED

HEY.

YOU'RE 
DOING GREAT 
AND WE 
know you 
can do it. 

Don't give up!

Over the course of the past 24 hours, I’ve 
become transfixed by a T-shirt. It’s a simple, 
oversized, 
one-size-fits-all 
cut 
with 
an 
unraveling American flag embroidered on the 
chest, contrast stitching and a skeleton design 
printed on the back. The front and back sides are 
different colors (one iteration pairs faded black 
with eggplant), both of which highlight the 
quality of the fabric and the dye itself. Kapital, 
the Okayama-based brand that makes it, offers 
the shirt through its Kountryline, which 
focuses on handmade goods and builds on a few 
key ideas, such as tie-dye, smiley face patches, 
bandana 
prints 
and 
the 
aforementioned 
skeleton motif. The company’s whimsical 
nature, backed by the arguably unmatched 
quality of its product and the recognizability of 
its perennial styles, has contributed to its cult-
like status in the menswear sphere. The shirt 
itself communicates something that I can’t 
quite put my finger on. Maybe it reckons with 
the hollowed out husk of Americana, a design 
aesthetic and an iconography steeped in mid-
century propagandic nostalgia and a certain 
ambitious naivete. Or maybe it just looks good. 
Regardless of why it speaks to me, it fits neatly 
in the space that Kapital has burrowed out for 
itself — a space that plenty of labels go out of 
their way to imitate. 
Kapital’s “secret sauce,” so to speak, is not 
that they were the first label to screen print 
a smiley face or a pile of bones on a T-shirt, 
nor is it the consistent output of quality 
craftsmanship (though it surely doesn’t hurt 
the cause). There’s a whole smattering of 
things that they do right, but chief among 
them is a strong brand identity. The company 
has spent decades articulating its philosophy 
and will continue to reap the benefits of that 
labor. To develop a self-referential oeuvre over 
a lifespan that people come back to without 
flashy marketing tactics, without trying each 
season is no small feat. It takes a community 
of creatives that know who they are and what 
they do, and it contributes to what people refer 
to as “authenticity.”
Authenticity is a fraught concept. Sounding 
it out it in my head as I type is like hearing a 
plastic spoon scrape the bottom of a styrofoam 
cup for the last pinch of soft-serve. It reminds 
me of Amazon ambassadors and corporate 
Twitter accounts trying to recreate viral 
memes. The behind-the-scenes: we’re all just 
people who could maybe be friends, and the 
big-brother-loves-you-basket 
of 
marketing 
strategies is inescapable from any viewpoint. 
To reject it and chase whatever lies at the 
opposite end of that spectrum is a tricky game 
too, though, because that grass can only get 
so green. It’s one of the reasons that brands 
with cult followings like Kapital can feel more 
like beacons than companies that operate in 

the same systems as everyone else. It’s almost 
like there’s a special crop of organizations 
that manage to fly above the closed loop of 
identity-based trade. Maybe it’s because some 
of them built themselves up before the internet 
boom (Kapital was established in 1985), or 
because some companies are so entrenched 
in 
their 
perspective 
that 
newer 
modes 
of communication don’t erode their self-
presentation. The question remains, however, 
especially in fashion: Given that there’s no 
such thing as an original idea, only new ways 
of reinterpreting existing ones, what is it that 
gives a brand authenticity or a sense of truth?
It’s a stereotypical question and a highly 
subjective one, but it lingers. It’s unanswerable, 
at least not empirically. It’s one of those things 
that just is and there’s no accounting for it 
in any tangible way. It’s one of those things 
that disappears if you pursue it, and the 
mere awareness of it creates a delicate and 
problematic game of intentions. The same can 
be said for good style, good taste and artistic 
talent. It pays to be gifted and naive. To put 
effort into one’s craft is honorable, but to put 
effort into being good, to being genuine or 
“real,” is to submit to the Euthanasia Coaster 
of public opinion, invalidating oneself in the 
process. Je ne sais quois is a condition doomed 
to permanent change. 
Kapital and brands held in a similar regard 
aren’t blithely unaware of what it means to 
produce for a prospective consumer, of course. 
There are certain stipulations that come with 
seeking to survive, but adherence to trends and 
shifting with stylistic demands of the market 
doesn’t seem to be a part of their lexicon. 
Rather, ensuring that seasonal offerings both 
meet a wide range of needs and fit in the 
evolution of their own tried and true patterns 
is paramount. 
The fashion industry can be exhausting 
to deal with. After spending my formative 
years wading through trend reports and 
wondering how designers seem to show the 
same styles and color palettes without hosting 
secret council meetings, or how cultural 
significance can be achieved without really 
bringing anything new to the table, finding 
companies with a strong sense of self is a rare 
and rewarding experience. They remind me of 
what I stand for. They also act as something to 
look to, even if those qualities can’t be attained 
in myself. As individuals, we hoard things 
we’re attracted to and cultivate an identity 
around them. There’s a constant question of 
how much of oneself is innate and how much is 
determined by experience, simply adapting to 
different environments and relationships like 
designers do to consumer demand. It’s hardly a 
question worth spending time on, as there are 
few things more transparent than striving to 
be unique. We can’t forge ourselves out of thin 
air or self-actualize in a vacuum, but we can 
take our personal experiences, our own little 
product formula and push forward.

Velveteen Dreams: On the
idea of authenticity, part 1 

STYLE COLUMN

SAM KREMKE
Daily Style Columnist

Reading Susan Choi’s “Trust Exercise” is an 
exercise in itself, one that requires enormous 
amounts of patience and endurance. As an impatient 
and easily agitated person, I was almost defeated. 
The novel is a finalist for the National Book Award 
and has received critical acclaim from sources 
including The New York Times, TIME Magazine 
and The Atlantic. Naturally, my expectations 
for this novel were high, and I felt comfortable 
trusting Choi to deliver a 
transformative 
reading 
experience. Little did I 
know that “Trust Exercise” 
would utterly betray me, 
leading me to question not 
only the establishment, but 
my own sense of self as a 
reader. 
The 
first 
part 
of 
Choi’s novel explores the 
relationship 
between 
Sarah 
and 
David, 
two 
students at a performing 
arts 
high 
school, 
and 
their 
relationships 
with 
their 
fellow 
classmates 
and popular teacher, Mr. 
Kingsley. Within a few 
chapters, it becomes clear 
that the characters in this 
novel are static and boring. 
It is, frankly, difficult to 
conjure up interest in any 
of them. Sarah and David’s 
relationship is unrealistic and confusing because of 
its total lack of chemistry (even if Mr. Kingsley takes 
a creepy interest in it). Later in the first section, 
matters become complicated when a group of 
visiting drama students from England cause tension 
and rifts between the American students. Most of 
the first section of “Trust Exercise” is presented as a 
bildungsroman young adult novel. The monotonous 
narration combined with a dull plot make the 
reading process both tedious and difficult to endure. 
Midway 
through 
the novel, Choi slaps 
readers with a surprise 
shift in the narrative, 
presumably 
intended 
to offer an exciting 
re-orientation 
of 
the plot. This tactic 
may work for some 
authors, 
but 
the 
decision to uproot the 
narrative 
structure 
unintentionally comes across as a cheap attempt to 
re-invigorate the plot. In fact, it ultimately has the 
opposite effect, forcing readers to go through the 
painful process of becoming acquainted with a new 
cast of characters who are identically insufferable as 
those of the previous section. 
A criticism of “Trust Exercise” would be 
incomplete without addressing its sex scenes, one 
of the most condemning aspects of the entire novel. 
Within the first ten pages, the two main characters, 
both barely adolescents, are fondling each other in 
the middle of theater class when their teacher dims 
the lights for a demonstration. This is indicative of 
how the rest of the novel will play out, written in the 
style of a cheap romance novel one might find in a 
supermarket. Although upon further consideration, 

they are perhaps even worse. Take this passage, for 
example:
“When he jammed his tongue into her ear she 
gasped ... and twisted her head to take his tongue in her 
mouth ... She tasted the bitterness of her own earwax 
… He flailed; his dead white hairy limbs appeared 
impaled on the stem of his unaccountably wrinkly 
erection which he took in his fist and seemed to squirt 
redly at her, for he’d yanked back the covering skin.”
Somehow, the other sex scenes are arguably 
worse, one of them including a comparison of a penis 
to “a single clammy mushroom … unwholesomely 
pale and wet.” Amazingly, there is another, different 
sexual encounter that involves 
ear penetration for a second 
time. 
Not only do these parts of 
the novel make me reluctant 
to 
engage 
in 
intercourse 
ever again, they make me 
embarrassed to even inhabit 
a body. Such passages are 
objectively 
poorly 
written, 
and they are explicit in an 
exploitative way, especially in 
regards to how the scenes all 
contain elements of nonconsent 
and power imbalances in favor 
of the male characters. In 
simpler terms, these sex scenes 
are akin to rape fantasies, and 
are made even more disturbing 
when one remembers that 
the most intense ones largely 
involve intercourse between 
adolescents, further adding to 
their exploitative undertones. 
Several 
reviewers 
have 
characterized “Trust Exercise” to be a nod to the 
#MeToo movement, specifically in regards to 
the many scenarios of young women being taken 
advantage of by older and more powerful men. But 
the simplistic depictions of male aggressors as clear-
cut antagonists, characterizations devoid of any 
nuance, detracts from whatever commentary she 
hopes to make. It is obvious who is the “bad guy;” 
there is no subtlety or critical thinking involved 
in examining these power imbalances and their 
implications. 
“Trust 
Exercise” 
nearly broke me. Other 
readers have gushed 
about an inability to put 
the book down because 
they were so invested in 
the pace of the story, or 
were so riveted by the 
complex characters and 
engaging plot that they 
were undeterred by the 
novel’s graphic depictions of sexual encounters and 
harassment. My experience with this novel, on the 
other hand, forced me to question if I was lacking 
the level of intelligence required to fully appreciate 
the apparently sacrosanct text. 
But then I looked down at my open book and 
glimpsed the underlined phrase, “a single clammy 
mushroom” and thought, well, perhaps this novel 
is an exercise in trusting oneself. Of being able 
to hold an opinion and know when something is 
objectively bad — even when higher powers claim 
the opposite. Perhaps this is the transformative 
reading experience I had initially hoped for, though 
in an unintended sense of the term. Either way, two 
things are clear: Do not trust the establishment, and 
do not trust Susan Choi.

Do not trust Susan Choi

BOOK REVIEW

JO CHANG
Daily Arts Writer

Trust Exercise

Susan Choi

Henry Holt and Co.

April 9, 2019

SUSAN CHOI

Harry Styles is back with his new, honeyed 
single “Watermelon Sugar,” and now he has 
high-waisted pants up to his nipples. No one 
is mad about it. Nay, the pants to the nipples 
heighten excitement for the album in the 
same way the steamy nature of his “Lights 
Up” video sent fans into hysteria. The cotton 
candy vibes of “Watermelon Sugar” induce 
a similar frenzy, but one where fans are 
running to find a lollipop to suck on. 
“Watermelon Sugar” debuted Nov. 16 on 
“Saturday Night Live,” a surprise release in 
anticipation of Styles’s sophomore album 
Fine Line, coming Dec. 13. The repetition of 
lyrics “watermelon sugar” and the catchy 
strumming pattern of the electric guitar 
emulate the optimism that Styles has brought 
to the table in his album promo (how could 
one not be optimistic about Harry Styles 
smiling in a pink ballerina outfit, which he 
used to preface his “SNL” appearance?). 
“Watermelon Sugar” emanates what is 
voluptuous — this sexy tale of summer love 

shines bright. 
Billie Eilish also released a new single this 
week, her first since her March 2019 debut 
album When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We 
Go? “everything i wanted” details a dream 
Eilish had where she commits suicide, and 
amid the fame no one cares that she is gone. 
The cover art features an abstract painting 
of the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the most 
popular spots for suicide. Most importantly, 
the single showcases the enduring safe haven 
of a relationship she has with her older 
brother, co-writer and producer, Finneas. 
Eilish’s new single feels like an extension 
of her debut album, as she sticks with eerie 
vocals and an otherworldly investigation of 
dreams. She continues to use a metaphysical 
dimension to comment on her waking life. 
Her sweet spot — mental health, sleep, 
relationships and that which haunts us — 
continues to paint a vivid landscape, braiding 
the same threads as she did on her debut 
album. Even though she sticks with the same 
themes, Eilish creates a misty soundscape, as 
if we’re standing on the Golden Gate Bridge 
with her and holding her back, loving on her 
until she wakes up from the nightmare.

Harry, Billie have new pop

SAMANTHA CANTIE
Daily Arts Writer

MUSIC SINGLE REVIEW

COLUMBIA