April 21, 2021

Title: COMO ESTA?

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

EATS HEALTHY (17A: Follows a nutritionist's advice)

SEAT ASSIGNMENTS (35A: Plane ticket listings)

EAST AFRICAN (56A: Somali, e.g.)

Theme synopsis: The first words of the theme answers are anagrams of each other, and of the word ESTÁ - EATS, SEAT, EAST.

Things I learned:

• DYE (20A: Orange B, e.g.) Orange B is a food DYE approved by the FDA for use only in hot dog and sausage casings. In 1978, the FDA proposed banning Orange B due to concerns about carcinogenic contaminants. Suppliers of Orange B stopped making the DYE because of the concerns, and the FDA never followed through on banning its use. 
• EVENT (48A: Doljanchi, e.g.) Doljanchi is a Korean tradition. The EVENT celebrates the first birthday of a baby, blessing the child with a prosperous future. The highlight of the EVENT is a custom called the doljabi. The child is placed in front of a table of objects and urged to pick one. The object chosen by the child is thought to foretell the child's future. 
• ELI (59A: Vampire in "Let the Right One In") Let the Right One In is a 2008 Swedish movie based on the John Ajvide Lindqvist's 2004 book of the same name. The movie centers on a 12-year old boy, Oskar, who is being bullied. He develops a friendship with a vampire child named ELI. An American-British adaptation of the film was made in 2010 and titled Let Me In.
• NET (62A: Divider in the game of Headis) Headis is a game that combines aspects of table tennis (ping-pong) and association football (soccer). The game is played at a ping-pong table with a NET, and the rubber ball may only be hit with one's head. Headis was invented in 2006 when a couple of students in Germany wanted to play football (soccer) but the field was in use. The table tennis table was available, so the students began playing table tennis with a rubber ball, hitting the ball only with their heads. There are now 10 to 12 Headis World Cup Tournaments held each year. Headis players do not use their real names at tournaments, but instead use joke names such as "Headis Potter." As you'll notice if you watch this short video clip of headis, although only player's heads can touch the ball, any part of the body may touch the table. 
• ASH (8D: Journalist Oliver-___ Kleine) Oliver-Ash Kleine is a founding member of the Trans Journalists Association, and a podcast producer. They are currently involved with the Translash Podcast with Imara Jones, and the executive producer for the podcast Brave, Not Perfect with Reshma Saujani. 
• POET (24D: Cameron Awkward-Rich, for example) In addition to being a POET, Cameron-Awkward Rich is an assistant professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His second collection of poetry, Dispatch, released in 2019, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EMOJI (13A: Thinking Face, for example) 🤔 Added to our EMOJI options in 2015, Thinking Face is also known as "Chin Thumb," "Thinker," and "Throwing Shade." 
• PAIR (24A: Set of tabi) Tabi are traditional Japanese socks that have a divided section for the big toe. I learned about tabi from Zhouqin Burnikel's March 7 puzzle. 
• SHO (52A: "The Chi" network, for short) The Chi is a Showtime (SHO) TV series about life on the the South Side of Chicago.
• CELT (6D: Boston baller, for short) The Boston CELTics were founded in 1946, as one of the NBA's original eight teams. The Celtics have won 17 NBA Championships, tying them with the Los Angeles Lakers for most NBA championships won.
• EASE (11D: "No Longer at ___" (Achebe novel)) No Longer at EASE is a 1960 novel by Chinua Achebe. The book tells the story of an Igbo man who leaves his African village for an education in Britain and a job in the Nigerian colonial civil service. Conflicted about the tensions between traditional culture and European culture, he ends up taking a bribe. No Longer at EASE is the second of three of Achebe's books that are often treated as a trilogy, along with Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God. 
• INCAS (44D: Quetzalcoatl worshippers) Quetzalcoatl is a deity in Aztec culture and literature. From the Nahuatl language, the name "Quetzalcoatl" means "Precious serpent."

Geography review:

• ASIA (32A: Andong's continent) Andong is a city in South Korea. In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 73rd birthday in Andong. I noticed this bit of trivia, because today is the Queen's 95th birthday.
• EAST AFRICAN (56A: Somali, e.g.) Somali refers to an EAST AFRICAN tribe native to the Horn of Africa. Primarily in the country of Somalia, Somali people also live in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.
• AMES (64A: College town north of Des Moines) AMES, Iowa is the home of Iowa State University. I have previously noted some of Iowa State's notable alumni. 
• IRAN (25D: Tehran's country) Tehran is the capital of IRAN, and the most populous city in Western ASIA.
• OSLO (31D: Capital city known for its Viking history) The most populous city in Norway, OSLO was founded in 1040 at the end of the Viking Age. At that time the city's name was Ánslo.
• EURO (38D: Currency in Lithuania) Lithuania is a European country located on the Baltic Sea. Its capital is Vilnius.

¿COMO ESTÁ? (How are you?) Did this puzzle SATE your longing for anagrams? This was one of those days where the title of the puzzle left me with no guesses to the puzzle's theme. As soon as I filled in EATS HEALTHY, I had an "Aha!" moment and looked forward to uncovering the remaining anagrams. A couple of nice long non-theme answers today in SLUSH FUNDS and THAT DOES IT. Quite a number of things that were new to me in today's puzzle, as you can see from the above entries. However, helpful clues and crosses meant that I was able to figure out even answers new to me. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Wednesday.