PUZZLE #55: (Un)settle Down!

PDF
PUZ
SOLUTION to the last puzzle

Look, I'm just gonna level with you. This is a CATS (2019) puzzle. I had another crossword slated for today, but then I watched the trailer that shook my world to its very core. I was confused at first, but then confusion turned to contemplation turned to appreciation turned to adoration. Now, I'm counting down the days until I can step into Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jellicle mindscape. The backlash against the CGI is strong, yes, but I hope they change nothing about the movie. I need to see—on the big screen, no less—the mass of contradictions that is television star James Corden as a cat, thanks to only the latest in digital fur technology (???) (!!!). The future is now, and its name is CATS (2019). If you have any thoughts about the movie, send them here.

Also, a note to puz solvers: check out the pdf or the applet to see the way the grid is supposed to look. Hope you enjoy!

-Paolo

PUZZLE #54: Out-of-Body Experiences

PUZ
PDF
SOLUTION to the last puzzle

I've had a more basic theme, based on a similar idea, for a few years (the theme, encoded in rot13: gurzr ragevrf PUBCFGVPX ERFG, PURRGB QHFG, naq PUVAGMVRFG jvgu gur erirny PURFGOHEFGREF). I wasn't super happy with the puzzle as a whole, so I set it aside for a while. Then, while I was watching this video (slight SPOILERS for the theme) last week, I thought of the theme angle that you see here. Hope you enjoy the puzzle!

-Paolo

P.S. Writing this after the second earthquake in California, which was something. For all the Californians reading this, I hope you're all right!