puzzle by sudokusnydictation.com By Enrique Henestroza Anguiano ©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 02/15/23 Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis 02/15/23 ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Release Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 ACROSS 1 Tool that can be a musical instrument 4 Not berthed 8 Designated 14 Confidentiality contract: Abbr. 15 Spider-Man co-creator Lee 16 Prophecy source 17 Get-together with a sketchy vibe? 19 Beam benders 20 Cookie-based dessert 21 Spanish “those” 22 Salon job 23 Marketer’s blitz campaign? 28 Affirmative replies 30 General on a menu 31 Sign of healing 32 __ Cruces, New Mexico 34 “Yeah, I guess” 36 Pickleball shot 37 Intercom call on Take Your Child to Work Day? 40 Mud bath spot 42 Bash who co-hosts CNN’s “State of the Union” 43 Mo 44 The Buckeye State 46 WNBA official 47 A few bucks, say 51 Shake Weight and The Flex Belt, per their infomercials? 55 Heaps 56 Limo destination 57 Jack up 59 Nut used to make vegan cheese 62 Cold Hawaiian treat ... or a directive followed four times in this puzzle? 63 Understood by few 64 Despise 65 Org. with seven teams in Canada 66 “This Is Spinal Tap” director 67 Lyft competitor 68 Game Boy batteries DOWN 1 Beagle who pilots an imaginary Sopwith Camel 2 Like premium streaming services 3 Communion rounds 4 Urgent letters 5 Narrow piece 6 Foodie website covering 25 metro areas 7 “__ takers?” 8 Arcade achievements 9 Bad move 10 Ups the ante 11 Telethon VIPs 12 Blight-stricken tree 13 __ Moines 18 Grapefruit kin 21 Succeed 24 “You can come out now” 25 Rights advocacy gp. 26 __ Tomé and Príncipe 27 Recede 29 Hourglass stuff 33 Draw for some pictures 35 Contact lens holders 37 Uttered 38 Hr. for an after- lunch nap, maybe 39 Interval of eight notes 40 Cry noisily 41 Soup with rice noodles 45 Anne of Green Gables, for one 48 “Riverdale” actress Huffman 49 “Caught red-handed!” 50 Braces (oneself) 52 Nobel-winning chemist Joliot- Curie 53 Process that may involve PT or OT 54 Roofing option 58 Of all time 59 Subway unit 60 “What __ those?” 61 Bio or chem 62 Moo __ pork SUDOKU WHISPER “Please unblock me mom” “Happy birthday, Emily You!” WHISPER By Wendy L. Brandes ©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC 02/01/23 Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis 02/01/23 ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: Release Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2023 ACROSS 1 Unexpected obstacle 5 “Pronto!” letters 9 Suffers after a Pure Barre class, say 14 __ Top ice cream 15 Four Corners state 16 “If only!” 17 “Will do!” 18 Emperor after Claudius 19 __ touch 20 Forgettable band with a memorable song 23 Jazz pianist McCoy 24 Unnecessary 28 Pie crust fat 31 Ace a presentation 32 “Pipe down!” 37 Lingerie selection 38 Musical ability 39 Old PC platform 41 Snaky fish 42 Shopping cart fillers 45 Spot for spare change 48 Cook’s Illustrated offering 50 Lake bird with a wild laugh 51 Sotheby’s auctions, e.g. 54 Fragrance 58 Element of irony, and what can be found in each set of circled letters? 61 Like 18-Across 64 Goalie’s success 65 Per-hour amount 66 Not sleeping 67 Diva’s big moment 68 Simpson daughter voiced by Yeardley Smith 69 Came to a close 70 Shout 71 Opening for a hotel key card DOWN 1 “Ask me anything!” 2 Mary Poppins, for one 3 Out of this world? 4 Went to a tutoring session, say 5 Many a godmother 6 Fret (over) 7 Judge who hit 62 home runs in 2022 8 Galaxy, for one 9 Set one’s sights on 10 “All the Birds in the Sky” Nebula winner __ Jane Anders 11 Monopolize 12 Prefix with dermis 13 Triple __: orange-flavored liqueur 21 Baghdad’s country 22 Room that may have a sectional sofa 25 Respected leader 26 Cucumber salad, coconut rice, etc. 27 Panache 29 Bacardi liquor 30 Blu-ray buy 32 Knightley of “Bend It Like Beckham” 33 “Peter, Peter, pumpkin __ ... ” 34 Build 35 Old name of Tokyo 36 Work hard 40 __-cone 43 Error 44 Brought about, as a movement 46 Like a red-carpet event 47 Opens, as a fern frond 49 Former quarterback Manning 52 Writing contest entry, maybe 53 Long look 55 “Reply all” medium 56 “Untrue!” 57 October 31 option 59 Malicious 60 Hand out cards 61 “Insecure” star Issa 62 Woolf’s “A Room of One’s __” 63 Fit to be tied Wednesday, February 15, 2023 — 3 Arts The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Art has an ability to crack the surface and shove itself deep into every crevice of humanity. Once inside of us, art warps our foundations to add new mean- ings to the lives we live, whether it be through pumping our hearts, pressing on our bruises or melt- ing all of the soft, pink parts that make us human. Art can be an indulgence that outshines reality, but it is more powerful as a mir- ror — reflecting the most vulner- able, packed-away portions of our insides. This means that a connec- tion to art requires a connection to self, and neither can be severed from its counterpart. So, while a work of art is an open wound, our connection to it is what keeps dig- ging deeper and deeper into the skin until something strikes blood. For this reason, the consumption of art is the most intimate act of all. The Intimacies B-side is all about how art has shaped us and cut through us, and the tender- ness we feel toward art. And while art may be the common diamond among our words, each work of art is surrounded by its own unique mix of vulnerability that only the observer can add to the master- piece. Spanning from exploring how books bridge the gaps that love letters can’t to how art can become a makeshift home, this B-side has cocooned a cohort of writers who have split themselves open and let their own soft, pink parts fall right onto the page. This is a bit of a diary, this is a bit of an art critique and this is wholly what makes art worthwhile. The Intimacies B-Side On books as love letters and letting yourself be known The intimacy of book-giving has two sides. There’s the side of the giver — of presuming to know the other person, of the vulnerability of exposing what you think is good or enjoyable. There’s the side of the receiver — of trusting the giver with untold hours of your life, with the deepest emotional part of yourself that a book can sneak- ily unlock. As someone who gives and receives many books as gifts, the art of book-giving is something near and dear to my heart. Famous anthropologist Mar- cel Mauss has a theory of gift exchange, which says that gifts are ways of furthering and creat- ing relationships. Unlike giving a gift, when you exchange money with the cashier at the grocery store, the goods (groceries and money) and actors (yourself and the cashier) are interchangeable. That very interaction could take place anywhere, between any two people. When you leave the store, the interaction is over. But a gift exchange is differ- ent — the actors are integral parts of the exchange itself because they inform everything about the interaction, and the interaction would be irrevocably changed should one or both of the actors be replaced. Because of this relation- ship between the giver and the receiver, the gift itself becomes inalienable — that is, unable to be exchanged. If my friend gets me a pair of earrings, and I lose those earrings and get the exact same pair from the same store, the fundamen- tal nature of the object has still changed (and not just because I had to pay for them this time). That’s because part of the special- ness of a gift is the fact that it is a gift. That pair of earrings becomes inextricably linked with my friend; I think of her when I see them and wear them. Our society takes issue with overt materialism, but it is natural to imbue certain objects with meaning, especially when they are given as gifts. I don’t have to explain why books contain innumerable shades of meaning. But giving a book as a gift is like saying, “Here’s the inside of my brain. Here’s what my heart looks like.” Or, similarly, “This is who I think you are. This is how I think of you.” Often, it’s a combination of these things. Sometimes, recommending a book is like saying, “Here, take a look at the deepest parts of myself that a stranger articulated so perfectly.” Giving a book requires trust, vulnerability and, above all, inti- macy. You must trust the other person as they trust you. The book between you represents that trust. In a way, giving someone a book feels like offering them a love letter in which you pour out the inside of your brain and heart in an attempt to let them know you. And is there anything more terrifying than being known? EMILIA FERRANTE Daily Arts Writer AVA BURZYCKI Senior Arts Editor Read more at MichiganDaily.com With love, from ‘Love, Rosie’ “Although a classic ‘indie’ film, and what many may call just anoth- er romcom, ‘Love, Rosie’ enamors me, just as much as Alex and Rosie are enamored with each other.” The statement above is a direct quote from my application to The Michigan Daily Arts section, in which I specified that “Love, Rosie” had been the last piece of media to make me cry. I cry, a lot. I think crying is one of the most organic reactions the human body can engender. When we’re sad, we cry. When we’re angry, we cry. Even when we’re happy, we cry. Crying serves as the ultimate response catalyzed by any emotion we may experience that feels like it’s too much to handle. These emotions render us speech- less, so we have no other option but to cry in an attempt to fully express them. Crying doesn’t make us sen- sitive, and it most certainly does not make us weak. It makes us real and, above all, it makes us intimate. I possess many intimacies — with one of them being that I cry when I watch romcoms. I really can’t tell you what it is about them. They just make me very emotional. But among all the romcoms I’ve ever watched (and trust me, I’ve watched a lot), “Love, Rosie” never fails to make me cry the hardest. From the looks they exchange to the laughs they share, Alex (Sam Claflin, “Me Before You”) and Rosie (Lily Collins, “Emily in Paris”) never run out of intimacies to bless each other with, and that’s what makes their love so beautiful and so special. “Love, Rosie” is the movie adap- tation of Cecelia Ahern’s novel “Where Rainbows End,” and it fol- lows childhood best friends Alex and Rosie as they go on the epic rollercoaster that is the transition from adolescence to adulthood, falling in love with each other in the process. With countless “right person, wrong time” moments throughout the course of the movie, Rosie and Alex’s relation- ship is slow-burn excellence, even if the buildup drives me insane. Alex and Rosie are intimate with each other in insurmount- able ways. For them, a smile, a look, even a fleeting moment means so much more than any physical con- tact they could share, more than anything they leave unsaid. There is an intimacy in two pairs of lips almost touching, but not quite, in two people bound by their past, even in their vastly different pres- ents, that no written word will ever be able to explain. It sometimes felt like they were able to communicate telepathically. Sure, they couldn’t verbalize their feelings. I mean, the reason why it takes so long for them to finally get together is that Alex assumed that Rosie was choosing to forget the kiss they shared on her 18th birthday when she had, truth- fully, forgotten. But apart from that, they understood each other in ways nobody else did. Their con- nection always leads me to ques- tion how they could be so intimate with each other while hiding the most vulnerable intimacy of all. The feelings that others may find impossible to understand were naturally and simultaneously com- prehended by Alex and Rosie. For instance, when Rosie’s father died, she was virtually inconsolable. Her hopelessness is understandable, but one could only expect that her hus- band would be able to appease her sorrow, even if to a small degree. Funnily enough, it wasn’t Greg (Christian Cooke, “Point Blank”) who was able to make her smile at her dad’s funeral. It was Alex. Alex knew exactly the gift to bring and just what to say. While Greg was off making jokes about Rosie’s cousin being a “bore,” Alex spoke wonders of Rosie’s dad and was able to bring their inner children back, even if for a short moment, in an attempt to comfort Rosie. GRACIELA BATLLE CESTERO Daily Arts Writer Design by Phoebe Unwin Read more at MichiganDaily.com Literally me: The cringe characters that knew me before I knew myself “A character, sir, may always ask a man who he is.” — Luigi Pirandello Cringe. That awful feeling that gravitates your shoulders together, tightens every muscle in your face and sticks a needle in your soul. Cringe is a divider, the benchmark on which we measure what’s acceptable to enjoy on the internet and what is mocked end- lessly. It is pure embarrassment, both second and firsthand, though somewhat arbitrarily assigned. I’ve been cringe in publication before — admitting myself as a Five Nights at Freddy’s and Sonic fan, as well as a “Morbius” ana- lyzer — but none so far as these. When it comes to the characters I’ve intimately known, these are the three — across Shakespeare, musicals and anime — that always come to my mind. I was in eighth grade when it first happened. As we were seated in my English class, I fixated on my class copy of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” trying my best to decipher a path through its Shakespearean labyrinth of lan- guage. One character handed me a glowing thread and we began to understand each other. I don’t even remember the scene, but I remember when it clicked. I remember starting to skip over lines, just looking for the four capitalized letters and colon, the lines that spoke to my soul. I remember starting to giggle as I began to understand this grem- lin and began to feel understood by the bard, despite being centu- ries apart. I glanced around at my friends, who were confused by my barely-contained laughter, and explained: “Dude, Puck is literally me.” Now, what the hell was I on about? Well, for those unfamil- iar with that totally niche classic, Puck’s basically the prototypical “silly little guy.” His defining char- acter traits and contributions to the plot of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” are causing problems on purpose and through incompe- tence, but choosing to laugh at both. This is what stood out to me, more than any other fictional character I’ve read: a perhaps self-deprecating admission of my childhood cycle of self-sabotage. I was never the best-behaved kid, so I think having a character that exhibited his mistakes as enter- tainment for himself rather than further degradation contained within a text almost half a millen- nium ago — something about that was supremely significant to me. The second time was as a high school freshman, fixating on something that you possibly might’ve heard of: the hip-hop historical musical “Hamilton.” What I’m going to confess is definitively cringey — the charac- ter I found myself again intensely relating to, more than any other character, was that eponymous protagonist Alexander Hamil- ton. Not the historical figure, of course, but this musical reimagin- ing of the character. Looking back, my reasons were not as complex as relating to Puck. Alexander was simply a character who shared my love for the art of the argument, stemming from an annoying assumption that he was always in the right. I also related to his driv- ing impetus being as existential as one should get in high school — to leave behind a legacy. What I reflect on now is how embarrass- ing admitting that makes me feel, or at least how it used to feel. Read more at MichiganDaily.com SAARTHAK JOHRI Digital Culture Beat Editor Design by Evelyn Mousigian