By Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/27/19
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
11/27/19
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
Release Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2019
ACROSS
1 Roster entry
5 Opens, as a car
hood
9 Letter-shaped
opening
14 Foundry
by-product
15 Army outfit
16 __ squash
17 Long tooth
18 Will of “The
Waltons”
19 Vinaigrette
holder
20 First, Lucky plays
the lottery and
buys the __
23 “Price
negotiable,” in
ads
24 Soft drink choice
25 Then, Lucky goes
to court and is
awarded a __
32 Put up, as
preserves
33 “Winter Song”
musician John
34 Post-quake
rumbling
35 Bear up?
37 Pride youngster
39 “That’s that!”
40 Tennis great
Graf
43 Goya subject
46 Second-largest
U.S. state
47 Finally, Lucky
joins March
Madness and fills
out a __
50 Lascivious look
51 Letter after phi
52 What Lucky
got, literally and
figuratively, when
his alarm clock
put an end to a
very pleasant
dream
58 Geeky type
60 Unresponsive
state
61 Like a cloudy
London day
62 “Laughing” critter
63 Pre-event
periods
64 Old-time
teacher
65 Giant opening?
66 Rooms with TVs
67 Fades to black
DOWN
1 “Careful where
you open this
link” shorthand
2 Jai __
3 Grammy winner
Aimee
4 Yuletide mugful
5 Doglike facial
feature
6 Universal donor’s
type, briefly
7 Artist Mondrian
8 Not at all lenient
9 Touchdown
preventer, often
10 Reacted to a
scare
11 Ill-mannered type
12 Tramcar filler
13 Source of
blowups
21 “Fat chance”
22 Future stallion
25 “Tennessee’s
Partner” story
writer
26 Racing family
name
27 PC abort key
28 Rule of __
29 Put on quite an
act
30 Large chamber
group
31 Monopoly token
since Mar., 2017
32 Transition point
36 Rolling in dough
38 MacLaren’s on
“How I Met Your
Mother,” e.g.
41 Holder of oats
42 Drink with a polar
bear mascot
44 Jenny’s mate
45 Post-CrossFit
woe
48 Tracked down
49 Checkers cry
52 Atoll barrier
53 Zigzagged
54 “When you’re
right, you’re right!”
55 Caspian Sea land
56 Geeky type
57 Places with
elliptical trainers
58 Dept. that
includes the TSA
59 Old Faithful’s st.
6 — Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Thanksgiving is the two-day-old meat in the sandwich
of holidays that lies within the months of October through
December. Halloween season is full of spooky stories and
costumes. December is filled to the brim with gift-giving and
snowmen. Thanksgiving is rooted in racism, arguing relatives
and an underwhelming parade in New York.
While Thanksgiving has many negative stereotypes, there is
one thing I enjoy about it: The attitude of gratitude that resides
in not only me, but my closest family and friends. Thanksgiving
is a time to spend appreciating the things you would usually
take for granted. This Thanksgiving, I want to shed light on
something that I never thought I’d be grateful for.
I’ve had anxiety since I was little. I started taking medicine
for it after I graduated high school. It’s no secret that having
anxiety is hard, especially when it comes to my art. The
constant nagging of never being good enough in my mind
pushes me to do better. However, this pursuit of perfection
often turns sour quickly. This year, my perfectionism broke me
for the first time in months.
Have you ever cried in class? It’s awful. It’s embarrassing
and vulnerable, but at the same time could potentially be the
best thing to happen to you during your collegiate career.
Earlier this year, I cried in my acting class. The tears in my
eyes swelled up and burned hot against my cheeks. I wanted
them to stop, but they kept falling one after the other — a
physical manifestation of the frustration I had with myself.
We had been working on a difficult scene. The scene work
had been going on for at least two weeks. With my anxiety,
I often tend to extremely over-prepare or drastically under-
prepare. When I under-prepare, I lay in bed all day thinking
about what I could be doing, but don’t have the effort or
motivation to. When I over-prepare, I figure out everything to
the most minute detail in an effort to ensure that all the “what
if” scenarios flooding my head never become a reality. For this
particular class, I was over-prepared, and it ended up being my
downfall. I was working too hard. I had memorized the lines, I
had read the script three times, I had done hours of research, I
had set myself up to succeed. Yet each day, I failed.
My
professor
would
give
me
more
critiques
than
compliments. I knew the work I was doing was not where I
wanted it to be. Instead of taking these critiques as a learning
experience, I started to take them personally. One day, during
one of our end of class discussions, I let the critiques get the
best of me.
My head was littered with questions: What am I doing
wrong? Why is my pacing too fast? Why am I not playing into
the given circumstances of the scene? Why am I not listening
to my scene partner? As I had time to anxiously stew in my own
thoughts, my questions got bigger and less founded in reality:
Why am I so bad? What if I’m never good enough to make a
living as an actor? What if my professor hates me? What if
everyone hates me? The list of questions racing through my
brain could go on for pages. I couldn’t get them to stop.
I sat idle as the class talked about their work, yet my brain
was moving at a million miles a minute. My professor noticed
I was not fully present in the group’s conversations. He made
a joke, and I didn’t laugh because, quite frankly, I was so lost
in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear the joke being made. He
coyishly asked me, “Do you not think I’m funny?” To which I
replied, “No, I was just — I wasn’t listening.”
After class he approached me.
“Alix,” he started, “What’s wrong?”
I wanted to brush off his comment. Say “Nothing, I’m just
tired” and walk away. But all of a sudden, every ounce of
frustration I was feeling boiled up inside of me. I started to
cry.
“I don’t know, I guess — I feel like I’m doing a bad job,” I
said, wiping away the tears.
“You’re not doing a bad job. You’re just not being present,”
he replied.
It was these words that sparked a groundbreaking realization
for my artistry. Throughout my life I had thought that the
harder I was on myself, the better I’d become. Yet, upon
reflecting on other acting assignments, I realized it was my
own self-deprecation that had stunted my growth. No one was
telling me I was a bad actor except for me. Critiques were given
to me, but the projection of my own insecurities onto them is
what made these critiques impossible to listen to. The next day
in class, I approached the scene with a sense of being present.
I still knew all my lines and blocking, of course, but I tried
my best to get out of my own head. I practiced an approach of
self-awareness that I had never thought possible before. When
a self-deprecating thought entered my mind, I ignored it and
focused on the scene instead. I’ve practiced methods similar
to this with meditation, but I never thought to apply them to
my art. This was difficult, and it certainly didn’t happen the
entire time, but I was trying.
Anxiety with any art form is a hard battle to overcome.
There are many days where I wish my brain would just shut up,
days I want to reach into my own skull and pull out all the bits
that make living with anxiety so hard. But there are also days
like the one I had in class, where I experience monumental
growth. There are days that I can see the light at the end of the
tunnel. I’ll think of these days and people like my professor
that help me get there this Thursday.
The anxious artist and learning to believe in my art
COMMUNITY CULTURE NOTEBOOK
ALIX CURNOW
Daily Arts Writer
It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.
Holidays are always equal parts joyous and frightening, long-
awaited and spirit-breaking. We all love our families. We also
hate them a tiny bit, too — it’s OK to admit it, I said it first.
But this Thanksgiving won’t be like the others. No,
you’re going to go in prepared — defenses ready, arms
locked and loaded. Enter upon America’s beloved day
of justified gluttony steeled against the onslaught of
“Are you dating anyone?” “What exactly are you going
to use your English major for?” “I’ve never heard of
the University of Michigan, is it any good?” And last,
but by far the most painful: “Let’s gooooo Buckeyes!”
Godspeed, if you’re returning home to a football
rivalry family.
Your secret weapon? Allow me to humbly offer this
playlist. May your holiday be the movie montage we
all wish we had.
For the Pilgrimage:
You’re excited, everyone is optimistic and a good
mood reigns free. But you know, deep, deep down
that something wicked this way comes. To balance
the pessimism and optimism of the pilgrimage back
home, or the run up to the holiday if you’re staying
put, listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad
Moon Rising.” Shame we couldn’t listen to their
warming, “I see a bad moon rising / I see trouble on
the way.”
For That One Question:
Mistakenly, you believed you had made it through the holiday
without someone asking the dreaded question of your single
status. Or, if you are “cuffed,” that you need to find someone
better. Ugh, right? I suggest Lana Del Rey’s “Norman Fucking
Rockwell.” Maybe not the exact fiery, don’t-care attitude you
might expect — but soft fall vibes, Lana’s dreamy voice, what
more do you need to mourn single-dome? Plus, as Lana says in
her song, no one needs a “man-child,” so you can celebrate your
freedom from one. It’s the perfect song for an efficient mope-
session in a borrowed bedroom.
For When the Turkey Starts Burning:
Tensions rise as the smoke of that crisp, brittle bird fills
the air. You know what’s coming. Suddenly, everything starts
to go wrong: Dinner isn’t ready yet! Mom’s nerves are on the
fritz, the kitchen is 1000 degrees, it’s nearing 4 p.m. and people
are getting antsy. Family member turns on family member —
it’s survival of the fittest, every man for themselves. “Staying
Alive” by The Funky Town will add some appreciated disco
flair as well as motivate you to get out of the kitchen, and as
far away as possible before the bomb goes off and Mom realizes
someone has already stolen a slice of pie!
For When Someone is Inevitably Injured:
Someone decides to clean the gutter, a knuckle is grated or
a bout of good-natured wrestling among siblings or cousins
go wrong — tears, cussing and “Another One Bites The Dust.”
Whether you’re in the middle of the fray, or — like me —
watching from the sidelines with a glass of wine and a snack,
nothing will narrate Thanksgiving fumbles better than Queen.
For When Things Get Melancholy:
Post-dinner and everyone is lazing around the
house, hoping that by laying, the nausea might
go away. Grandma or Grandpa are holding court
somewhere with a glass of something that screams
The Great Depression. Without warning, suddenly
you’re thrown violently down memory lane and
the vibe check lands hard — things go melancholy
fast. While Gramps waxes poetic on the greatest
generation, play Willie Nelson’s “Are You Sure.” It’s
appropriately reminiscent and slow, good for when
you’re too tired to fight the good fight. Plus, it’s an
oldie-but-a-goodie and without fail will cue some
(much needed) contemplative silence.
For the “OK, Boomer” Moment:
The family gets a second wind over pie, and
niceties are dropped now that dinner is over. It’s like
the indulgence in dessert is a green light for all the
taboo dinner table topics you shuffled around before:
politics, religion, family gossip. Someone accidentally
lets a “Trump” or “Obama” slip, and bam! It’s a
plummet of no-return. All bets are off, time to use the
random handful of intro-level political science facts
you’ve held onto from freshman year to wage a one-
person battle. The Happy Fits’s “Dirty Imbecile” embraces our
craziness while brushing off the buzzkill attitude of the rest of
the world. They sing, “if I’m so smart and I’m so pretty / damn
this town and damn this city / you never give me anything that
I want,” like a break, or some respect, or a planet that isn’t
trying to die on us.
A playlist of solidarity: Surviving Thanksgiving break
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
MADELEINE GANNON
Daily Arts Writer
HOLLYWOOD RECORDS / YOUTUBE
For a movie centered around a famous children’s television
show host, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” deals with
some heavy topics — primarily anger and how it can consume
you. I suppose that makes sense, though, considering that is
what the original show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” did as
well. Just like the show, the movie frames these heavy topics in
a way that makes them suitable for kids. And by following the
style of the original television show, the filmmakers beautifully
soften the harsh topics.
The film opens up by introducing us to Mister Rogers, played
by Tom Hanks (“Forrest Gump”), who explains to the audience
that he will be talking about his friend Lloyd Vogel (Matthew
Rhys, “The Post”) and some of the hardships in his life. Hanks’s
portrayal of Rogers is easily one of the most successful parts of
the film; every time he is on-screen, he has a gentle, easy-going
manner that matches that of the real Mister Rogers.
What is interesting about the movie, though, is that it isn’t
really about Mister Rogers. It really follows Lloyd Vogel. The
movie was inspired by the article written by Tom Junod, the
man who Vogel is presumably based on. Vogel, like Junod, is a
magazine writer who is tasked with writing a ‘hero-centered’
article about Mister Rogers. Initially believing the man to
be hoax, Vogel doesn’t want to write the article. But as he
interviews the man, he begins to learn that Mister Rogers is
just as good a man off-screen as he is on-screen. Through the
lessons that Rogers preaches on his television program, through
the stuffed animals and puppets starring on “Mister Rogers’
Neighborhood” and through genuine conversations with Rogers
about important matters of life, Vogel realizes that he has to let
go of the anger he has been holding in, releasing the contempt
he feels towards his father all his life.
I have no shame in admitting that I cried while watching
this film. There is something incredibly moving about pulling
back the curtains on this children’s television host so loved by
the world. One scene features Rogers and Vogel on the subway
together, where a group of kids sees Rogers and begins to sing
his show’s famous theme song. Other people in the subway
car join in until everyone is singing. Seeing that moment of
togetherness from a group of people who don’t know each other
is, in many ways, what Mister Rogers is all about: kindness.
The film makes you want to be a better person. Viewers will
see Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers and some distant part of them
— the part of them that remembers watching Rogers’s show,
learning about his kindness, and wanting to be just like him,
will awaken. The
movie
follows
Vogel
because
we, the audience,
are Vogel. We are
learning
what
kindness
is,
just
like he is. We are
in awe of Mister
Rogers
just
like
him. We, at the end
of the film, will be
just as transformed
as he is.
‘Beautiful Day’ is moving, naturally
FILM REVIEW
SABRIYA IMAMI
Daily Arts Writer
A Beautiful Day
Sony Pictures
Ann Arbor 20 + IMAX
SONY PICTURES