Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein
Relative difficulty: Medium
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THEME: none
Word of the Day: FRAME RATE (9D: Cinematic specification) —
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Little early in the season for Zombies and Goblins. Kinda like Starbucks bringing out the PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) in August. But having had a bat (perhaps bats, plural) in my house for the better part of two weeks (!!!) last month, I was primed for today's Halloween-esque vibes. (The bat problem appears to be dealt with now, though we are having major PTBD every night ... hearing things and seeing things in the night ... it's getting better ... sort of ...). Anyway, nothing *too* Saturday-scary about this puzzle, though it did give me a bit of a fight (if not a fright) in some of the longer answers, particularly "I'M NOT A SCIENTIST," which I found very difficult to parse. I would've liked the answer better if it had a "BUT..." on the end. As a standalone phrase, it feels slightly odd. Also, I'm not sure about the clue. "Skepticism" and "disbelief" are (importantly!) not the same thing. You should be *plenty* skeptical of scientists. It's OK. They're used to it. That's kind of the point of science. You don't take things so much on faith or trust. You require evidence. Others then can confirm what you've claimed. Further, there are plenty of reasons to trust non-scientists. In fact, I would typically use "I'M NOT A SCIENTIST" in situations where I am most certain I am right, i.e. "I'M NOT A SCIENTIST, but bleeding out of your eyes seems bad, you should maybe have that looked at." I have a hard time imagining the phrase being said without its being followed by a "but," but maybe I'm thinking "I'm no scientist, but ..." and some other context is being imagined here. Anyway, skepticism is healthy—continued disbelief in the face of mountains of evidence and overwhelming scientific consensus isn't.
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Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: FRAME RATE (9D: Cinematic specification) —
Frame rate (expressed in frames per second or FPS) is typically the frequency (rate) at which consecutive images (frames) are captured or displayed. This definition applies to film and video cameras, computer animation, and motion capture systems. In these contexts, frame rate may be used interchangeably with frame frequency and refresh rate, which are expressed in hertz. Additionally, in the context of computer graphics performance, FPS is the rate at which a system, particularly a GPU, is able to generate frames, and refresh rate is the frequency at which a display shows completed frames. In electronic camera specifications frame rate refers to the maximum possible rate frames could be captured, but in practice, other settings (such as exposure time) may reduce the actual frequency to a lower number than the frame rate. [...] Early silent films had stated frame rates anywhere from 16 to 24 frames per second (fps), but since the cameras were hand-cranked, the rate often changed during the scene to fit the mood. Projectionists could also change the frame rate in the theater by adjusting a rheostat controlling the voltage powering the film-carrying mechanism in the projector. Film companies often intended that theaters show their silent films at higher frame rates than they were filmed at. These frame rates were enough for the sense of motion, but it was perceived as jerky motion. To minimize the perceived flicker, projectors employed dual- and triple-blade shutters, so each frame was displayed two or three times, increasing the flicker rate to 48 or 72 hertz and reducing eye strain. Thomas Edison said that 46 frames per second was the minimum needed for the eye to perceive motion: "Anything less will strain the eye." In the mid to late 1920s, the frame rate for silent film increased to between 20 and 26 FPS. [...] When sound film was introduced in 1926, variations in film speed were no longer tolerated, as the human ear is more sensitive than the eye to changes in frequency. Many theaters had shown silent films at 22 to 26 FPS, which is why the industry chose 24 FPS for sound film as a compromise. From 1927 to 1930, as various studios updated equipment, the rate of 24 FPS became standard for 35 mm sound film. [...] Many modern 35 mm film projectors use three-blade shutters to give 72 images per second—each frame is flashed on screen three times. (wikipedia)
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I also forgot what GOBLIN term I was dealing with. I put in CORE at first (GOBLINCORE is real!). I then tried MIND (GOBLIN MIND ... like HIVE MIND, only ... goblinier). Finally realized what phrase-ending term I was dealing with (GOBLIN MODE!), which unlocked HOHOHO and DONOR and I was back into my flow around the grid ... until I wasn't, again, because I couldn't figure out what kind of TAKE was happening at 27D: Shocked reaction (TRIPLE TAKE). SPIT wouldn't fit and that ... was that. Tried to think of other reactions one might have, in six letters. SNEEZE TAKE? Do people sneeze when they're shocked, I wondered. Oy. TRIPLE. That was ... something. Lastly, where long answer troubles were concerned, I had no idea what kind of FRIES I was dealing with at Oracle Park. Am I supposed to infer GARLIC because San Francisco is fairly close to Gilroy, CA, the Garlic Capital of the World? Seems a stretch. The "RL" had me thinking not GARLIC but the creatively spelled CURLIE. Hey, if you can spell OKIE-DOKIE like that (see yesterday's puzzle), then you can sure as hell spell CURLIE FRIES like that as well. But eventually I GOT NAKED (uh, gotGOT NAKED), and thus finally got to GARLIC FRIES.
Loved how this puzzle opened—very dramatically and energetically!
Pew! Pew! We're zapping zombies right off the bat (!), nice. NO REGRETS! This puzzle's got MOOD SWINGS, and I love it! Just so much liveliness in this one. SWARMS of it. I thought this puzzle had one of the great misdirect clues of all time, but when I reviewed the puzzle after completion, I realized I'd slightly misread it. I thought OHIO was clued as [Red state], which is perfect. I mean, perfect. I was fully expecting people to show up, mad that the puzzle had pigeon-holed OHIO politically like that, only to discover that "Red" referred to a baseball player (for the Cincinnati Reds), not conservatism. But then I looked at the actual clue and "Reds" is in the plural. Not nearly so tricky. [Red state?] with a "?" would definitely have worked, and I think you can even get away with no question mark. It's pretty literal. I mean, I got it thinking that that's what it was, so I'd say that means it definitely works. [Reds state] is just too easy, and not nearly as interesting.
I think of "hear, hear!" as something say to signify agreement with a statement, not something they say before A TOAST, so that clue didn't work for me at all (13A: Words that might be followed by "Hear! Hear!") [sorry, really misread this one—the “hear, hear!” is supposed to follow“A TOAST!” I’ve never heard (heard) that, but it makes more sense that way, for sure]. It's cool that EPEEs have triangular blades, but it's less cool, to the point of annoyingly vague, that SEDGE does (17A: It has triangular blades). Not one of the more evocative doubled-up clues. I never know who has a "good name for" what, so ARTIE didn't come easy (26A: Good name for a gallery owner). I was hindered by having FRET instead of FAWN at 22D: Fuss (over), so I had the gallery owner's name starting with an "R" ... and then I wanted ROWAN ... because I confused "gallery" and "galley" ... as in the ship? ... the boat? ... Rowin' the boat ... ashore ... somehow? Yeah, that was a weird hole to fall into, I'll admit. No idea about the "LAYS of Ancient Rome," as I have no idea who Macaulay is—so that clue was fun. I assume the LAYS are poems and not potato chips (I would be very tempted to buy "LAYS of Ancient Rome" potato chips—don't even tell me the flavor, just let me guess). Lastly, shout-out to every puzzle-solving person walking the lines in the WGA/SAG strikes. You're gonna win. No SCABs! See you tomorrow.