Joseph Knecht

   An Eerie Theme Today's constructor is Alexander Liebeskind , who is making his 6th appearance on the Corner.   His theme today is a demonstration of the vagaries of English vowel sounds.  And quite coincidentally he has cleverly concealed the answer to his theme reveal somewhere in the lyrics to the  Marine Corp Hymn * .  Here are the themers ... 17A. "Almost done!": BE READY IN A JIFFY .  If you're in a hurry to get an oil change for your car you can just take it to JIFFY Lube ,  who specialize in oil changes.  They are a subsidiary of Shell Oil and are headquartered in Houston, Texas .  A CSO to -T . 23A. Command attributed to Captain Kirk: BEAM ME UP SCOTTY .  The watchword here is "attributed", because it turns out that Captain Kirk never uttered that exact phrase .  "Close enough" I can hear you saying, but this is crosswords not horseshoes .🙄  Here's Scotty, played by James Doohan . He's still waiting ......

 This is Alexander Liebeskind 's 4th appearance on the Corner, his most recent being on October 21, 2022 blogged by the Chairman.  And this is his third collaboration with Jeff Chen, who needs no introduction. Today they explore different ways to LIFT OUR SPIRITS  17A. Mexican tradition that will 62-Across?: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS .  Today's Spanish lesson: " The Day of the Dead ", is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2 ( AKA All Saints and All Souls days) to commemorate the spirits of departed loved ones. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage.  Here the Tempest Quartet performs La Martiniana , a folk song popular during this celebration ( lyrics ): 27A. Celebratory moments to 62-Across?: WEDDING TOASTS .  These spirits are decidedly more animated than those in 17A , particularly after a few glasses of bubbly.  Here is soprano Zor...