Kashyyyk denizen, in sci-fi / SAT 7-5-19 / #2 image among smartphone users? / "Ninotchka" actress, 1939 / Many a Univision viewer, in modern usage

Constructor: Erik Agard

Relative difficulty: Medium (8:40, while very distracted trying to remember things to write about)



THEME: none

Word of the Day: PABLO CASALS (31A: Cellist with a Presidential Medal of Freedom) —

Pau Casals i Defilló^[1][2] (Catalan: [ˈpaw kəˈzalz i ðəfiˈʎo]; 29 December 1876 – 22 October 1973), usually known in English as Pablo Casals,^[3][4][5][6] was a cellist, composer, and conductor from Catalonia. He is generally regarded as the pre-eminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century, and one of the greatest cellists of all time. He made many recordings throughout his career, of solo, chamber, and orchestral music, also as conductor, but he is perhaps best remembered for the recordings of the Bach Cello Suites he made from 1936 to 1939. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy (though the ceremony was presided over by Lyndon B. Johnson).

Hello Rexakateers! I'm Eli Selzer, filling in for Rex Parker from Van Nuys, California. And you know I'm in LA area because we just had an earthquake, literally as I was typing this sentence (7.1, about 100 miles north of the city, and maybe the longest I've felt since I've moved here). But nothing shall deter the blog! You might remember me from last time I filled in on the blog a few years back (you don't). I work in post production at a (the?) major film and television studio (hint: think mice and theme parks), and I'm (still) an aspiring writer. Turns out parting ways with your manager when you don't have a backup isn't the solid career plan I thought it was. Anyway, on to the puzzle!

I was worried I wouldn't have much to write about, but when I saw Erik Agard's name, I knew I had lucked out. Erik is easily one of my favorite constructors, and I tend to do well on his puzzles.

This one played a bit tough for me, but I think I probably lost a minute or so in thinking of things to blog about, and I'm also thoroughly out of my crossword routine. I usually do the puzzle in the morning, and not until I've had some coffee. It literally only needs to be a sip of coffee. But in order to get the blog out to you fine people, I solved as soon as it was released. Instead of coffee, I went with a pint of the Rex Parker-inspired New England IPA I brewed: Natick Crossing.

Enough about me. I really enjoyed this puzzle, even in the parts where I struggled. The middle offset stack played incredibly hard for me, largely because I absolutely could not pull the name DARLENE LOVE (33A: Singer seen annually on David Letterman's Christmas show). I knew her, could see her face, could hear the song, but the name just wasn't coming to me.  In case you need a refresher, have some Christmas in July:

I expect a lot of people to struggle with PABLO CASALS and DARLENE LOVE crossed by INA CLAIRE (23D: "Ninotchka" actress, 1939). That's a lot of proper names, and not exactly common ones, with a fairly bland and hard to infer DECLARATORY (32A: Like some legal judgements) sitting in the middle. Still, the crossing points seemed fair, and I was able to muscle my way through it. Pulling DONE AND DONE (34A: "Say no more - I'm on it") helped.

There's very little junk fill here, an even short, common stuff like PDA (10A: Activity that might elicit stares, for short), IDS (39A: Walletful), and TSK (53A: "C'mon, man," in a syllable) get lively clueing. It was all exactly the quality I expect from Erik Agard, which makes for a great start to the weekend.

Bullets:

• DANE COOK (32D: Stand-up comedian with the 2005 double-platinum album "Retaliation" — A little embarrassed that this one got me unstuck from a rut, but I listen to a LOT of standup and podcasts, so this album isn't unheard of for me.
• POOP EMOJI (46A: #2 image among smartphone users?) — I'm sure this one won't sit well with some people, and I'm a little surprised that old man Shortz let it through, but when Patrick Stewart gives voice to an animated pile of poop, I guess that carries some clout.
• WOOKIEE (22A: Kashyyyk denizen, in sci-fi) — I'm a huge Star Wars fan, so I hate how many tries it always takes me to spell "wookiee." I could post a picture of my wife and I with Chewbacca at Disneyland, but instead, here's his son Lumpy from the Star Wars Holiday Special. You're welcome.

• MONAE (13A: Singer/Actress Janelle) — Janelle Monae is awesome. That is all.
• DUKAKIS (11D: 1980s presidential candidate) - I was 6 during this election, and it is the first one I remember. I wanted Dukakis to win because I had read somewhere he was a Boy Scout and I had just joined Cub Scouts. Now when I think of him, I think of Jon Lovitz playing him on one episode of The Critic.
• MOTORBIKE (17A: Yamaha purchase) - The phrase "motorbike" always makes me think of "Eddie's Teddy" from Rocky Horror, but instead I'm using this bullet to talk about non-motorbikes. I'm an avid cyclist, and the Tour de France starts today! It kicks off in Belgium this year, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the very-scrabbly-named Eddie Merckx's first Tour victory. My wife and I have a tradition of setting up a French picnic and wine on the opening day of the tour and watching the whole stage. Watching an entire Grand Tour stage start to finish (at least 5 hours of skinny guys on bikes) is not something I generally recommend, but the wine makes everything better.

Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld

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