crossword #1

one of my new 2010 projects (similar to the almost-immediately-abandoned 2009 wikipedia hour) is to write reviews/recaps of the new terms or facts I learn from the avclub crossword puzzle. If there's a clue I can't figure out on my own, or something I'd never heard of until doing the crossword, I'll write it down and describe it on this blog.

A Study in Scarlet- the first Sherlock Holmes story, published in 1887, with some amusing and surreal demonization of the Mormon church.

Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell- 2003 EP by the Flaming Lips.

Remo- prominent drumhead company.

Ann Patchett- contemporary author, breakout novel Bel Canto is about terrorists and hostages falling in love (interestingly, published in 2001.) Apparently she worked for Seventeen magazine for nine years and had a pretty awful experience working there.

High Plains Drifter- Beastie Boys song from their most celebrated album, Paul's Boutique.

Oratorio (eg, Handel's Samson, and Saul)- a musical composition, popular in the 17th century, similar to an opera (in terms of, big orchestral arrangements with singers), except that while the opera is musical theatre, the oratorio is a concert piece. Oratorios tended towards religious themes. The most noted oratorio composer seems to be Handel. These articles are definitey worth a re-read and deeper study.

Isere River- river in the south of France, right by the Alps.

Kanga- a character from the Winnie the Pooh stories, she's the wise, maternal character- the only female and also the only parent among the cast of characters. Also, apparently the characters were based on real stuffed animals owned by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, and they are on display in the Children's Reading Room of the New York Public Library.

orts- basically, the official word for the gross and discarded parts of a butchered animal. Eaten by cultures and people who are braver and less finicky than me.

otros- the spanish word for "others."

Michelle Yeoh- She played the lead in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She's actually done a hell of a lot of other films (lots of Asian fighting movies, and also Tomorrow Never Dies and some other American action films. Crouching Tiger was actually relatively late in her career.)

Tek War- a series of Science Fiction novels written by William Shatner; it also spawned a 1995 computer game of the same name.

Manny Acta- formerly with the Washington Nationals, newly hired as the manager of the Cleveland Indians.

Assamese people- the people of Assam, a region in the easternmost part of India, east of Bangladesh. Actually, the definition of who the 'Assamese people' are makes for a complicated political issue. There's an interesting chain of small wikipedia articles and stories springing from the Assam Accord; could be worth a further read sometime.

toroid- a donut-like shape