at cross purposes... (Patreon)

In the off hours, I've tried to stay busy, but often this has meant a lot of projects begun with the best of intentions that have proven destined to remain half-finished. Recently, I thought I would attempt to construct a crossword puzzle, mostly as a lark but also as a tribute to my pal Kameron Collins, who was cruelly driven from Twitter by hundreds of angry Beyoncé fans. These days, I often look out on the barren landscape that is Twitter, much as the Once-ler gazed over the despoiled landscape shorn of truffula trees at the end of The Lorax. And I hope that one day, if we all take care and plant the seeds of goodness, maybe Kam will come back.

Anyhoo, below are the clues I had written for the crossword. I present them here in the hopes that maybe some enterprising cryptologist might find them useful fodder for his or her own puzzle, or that they might just prove halfway entertaining. I have excluded the boilerplate connector-clues I had included -- Singer DiFranco (3 letters), etc. -- that would appear in any random puzzle, and focused mostly on those that, as you can see, center around a contemporary theme. "Enjoy."

USWNT without goalkeeper Solo (6 letters)

wow, this sucks (6 letters)

clarinetist Acker (4 letter)

Tay-Tay bugbear (5 letters)

the end en Francais (3 letters)

renounce, as if for Lent (6 letters)

this PD botched the JonBenet case (7 letters)

past food chain Burger ___ (4 letters)

summer gridiron folly (4 letters)

rejected beverage change (7 letters)

Ford's famous flop (5 letters)

final transit stop (12 letters)

Chicago commuter advice (9 letters)

UK game show where the lowest score wins (9 letters)

admit you failed, colloquially (8 letters)

sick-making oil alternative (7 letters)

"Stop! Stop! They're already dead!" (9 letters)

former retail giant (5 letters)

disgraced comic CK (5 letters)

French National Front leader Marine (5 letters)

runaway production or death cult? (11 letters)

the 2nd name in POTUS resignation (7 letters)

film with Robert Redford alone at sea (9 letters)

held in place by a simple machine (7 letters)

British actor Stephen (3 letters)

Irish actor Stephen (3 letters) 

mess up, in YouTubese (8 letters)

what Casey did at the bat (9 letters)

polish the rocks (6 letters)

philosopher Immanuel (4 letters)

mathematical order of operations (US) (6 letters)

Truman's FLOTUS (4 letters)

Chinua Achebe novel (15 letters)

2005 hit by Shakira (10 letters)

1997 movie, or UK burger buns (4 letters)

abort, as a mission (5 letters)

What they do to that last sardine? (8 letters)

Mom's directive when you drop your coat? (8 letters)

hypothetical lowest grade, seldom awarded (6 letters)

avant-garde dancer Simone (5 letters)

true papa of the Smurfs (4 letters)

Indiana's ___ State University (4 letters)

liquid clay (4 letters) 

what houses of cards are built to do (8 letters)

Most of the answers are probably self-evident, but feel free to work them out in the comments, and if you get stuck, I can help.