March 11, 2021

Title: SAME OLD, SAME OLD

Constructor: Mark McClain

Editors: Erik Agard & Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

ECHO CHAMBER (19A: Environment where beliefs go unchallenged)

REPEAT PURCHASES (38A: Outcomes of brand loyalty)

COPY MACHINE (56A: Duplicator in an office)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer is a word that means duplicate.

Things I learned:

• ELLE (60D: "The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open" co-director ___-Maija Tailfeathers) In addition to co-directing The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, ELLE-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn also co-wrote the script. The 2019 film tells the story of an interaction between two indigenous women after they meet randomly on the street, and was inspired by an experience of Tailfeathers.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ALPHA (8A: First Greek letter) Didn't we see ALPHA in yesterday's puzzle? And on the top row, too? It's just the SAME OLD, SAME OLD first letter of the Greek alphabet. (There's nothing wrong with this repeat; I simply couldn't resist tying it into the theme.)
• MOOR (17A: Landscape that's part of a house spelled backward) MOOR is, of course, the word "room" spelled backwards. As a landscape, MOOR refers to habitat characterized by low-growing vegetation, such as uncultivated hill land that is absent of trees. An example of MOOR landscape is the area of Dartmoor in England. I associate the word MOOR with Sherlock Holmes' tale, The Hound of the Baskervilles, which takes place mainly in Dartmoor. 
• LOADED (24A: Like baked potatoes with sour cream and bacon) Okay, this clue made me hungry for a baked potato. Let's add some cheese and chives and really make it LOADED.
• OMAR (29A: "Lupin" star Sy) OMAR Sy is a French comedian and actor. He plays the role of Assane Diop in the Netflix TV series, Lupin, which premiered in January of this year. Assane Diop is a professional thief who styles himself after the character of Arsène Lupin, from stories and books written in the early 1900s by Maurice Leblanc. Until a couple of days ago, this entry would have been in the "Things I learned" section. I knew of Leblanc's character, Lupin, and a few days ago I learned about OMAR Sy and the show Lupin. I learned about the show from a (non-USA Today) crossword puzzle! It was fun to apply that new knowledge to filling in this answer.
• CIARA (34A: "1, 2 Step" singer) "1, 2 Step" is a song from CIARA's 2004 debut album, Goodies. The song featured rapper, Missy Elliott.
• SEED (63A: Edible piece of a pomegranate) The number of SEEDs in a pomegranate can range from 200 to nearly 1,400. I am a fan of pomegranates, as the SEEDs are as beautiful as they are delicious. You have to accept that you're going to make a mess while getting to the SEEDs though!
• ANNE (66A: Author Rice) ANNE Rice is the author of The Vampire Chronicles, a series of books whose central character, Lestat, is a French nobleman who was turned into a vampire in the 18th century. 
• ARIA (25D: Musical word hidden in "mariachi") This is a fun clue. An ARIA and mariachi are two quite different types of music!

Geography review:

• UTAH (43A: Four corners state) Ah, a clue perfect for a "Geography review" quiz! Besides UTAH, what are the three other states found at the location referred to as Four Corners? You will find the answer below. 
• LARGO (61A: Key ___, Florida) Key LARGO, Florida is located (appropriately) on Key LARGO, an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago. Key LARGO is connected to mainland Florida by the Overseas Highway and by the Card Sound Bridge.
• AMHERST (14D: Emily Dickinson's hometown) The poet Emily Dickinson was born in AMHERST, Massachusetts on December 10, 1830. She also died in AMHERST, in 1886 at the age of 55. It was only after her death that most of her work became public.

I really liked this puzzle's theme, and I appreciated that the title pointed to the theme, not only with the phrase "SAME OLD," but with its repetition. ECHO CHAMBER was my favorite of the theme answers, though they are all solid. I appreciated learning about ELLE Máijá Tailfeathers today. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Thursday.

Geography review Answer: Four corners is the area where the states UTAH, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet. This picture is of my Grandma Doris and me at Four Corners in 1978.