April 25, 2021

Title: BOOKENDS

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editors: Erik Agard & Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

BRIGHT OUTLOOK (20A: Positive mindset)

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK (38A: In any way possible)

BABBLING BROOK (52A: Audibly flowing stream)

Theme synopsis: The word BOOK forms the ENDS of each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• ARIA (15A: Lisette Oropesa solo) Lisette Oropesa is an operatic soprano and a lyric coloratura. The term coloratura, which was new to me, refers to a musical passage containing an elaborate melody with runs, trills, and wide leaps. Coloratura is often found in the ARIAs of 18th and 19th century operas, and the term is also used to refer to singers of these roles. Lisette Oropesa began her career at the Metropolitan Opera, and has performed around the world in many different operas. One of her signature roles is Violetta Valery in La Traviata. Lisette Oropesa is also a marathon runner, and has been featured in Runner's World. 
• HUE (23A: Bun bo ___ (Vietnamese soup) Bun bo HUE is a Vietnamese soup of rice vermicelli noodles and beef, flavored with lemongrass. The soup originated in HUE, a city (and former capital) in Vietnam.
• ABBY (30D: Soccer player Dahlkemper) ABBY Dahlkemper is a professional soccer player with Manchester City of the FA WSL (Football Association's Women's Super League) and the United States women's soccer team.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BACH (10A: One of classical music's Three B's) When the phrase "The Three Bs" was first used in a 1969 article in the Berliner Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, it referred to the composers "BACH, Beethoven, Berlioz." (Johann Sebastian BACH, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Hector Berlioz) Later references, including a 1952 Peanuts comic strip, referred to BACH, Beethoven, and Brahms. (Johannes Brahms)
• TEA (32A: Beverage at Xi'an Famous Foods) Xi'an Famous Foods is a chain of restaurants in New York City serving authentic Western Chinese Dishes. The restaurants were founded by Jason Wang in 2005. Prior to that time, Jason Wang's father had started a bubble TEA shop which sold food on the side. As the family realized their food was selling better than their TEA, they created Xi'an Famous Foods.
• BY HOOK OR BY CROOK (38A: In any way possible) The saying, "BY HOOK OR BY CROOK," has been in use since the 1380s. Though the exact origin of the phrase is unknown, the most plausible theory is that it derived from the medieval English custom of allowing peasants to gather wood from the royal forests. They were allowed to gather any deadwood they could pull down BY a billHOOK OR a shepherd's CROOK. 
• LEI (42A: Garland draped on a King Kamehameha statue) King Kamehameha the Great was the monarch who established the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1795. Each year on King Kamehameha Day, a public holiday in Hawaii celebrated on June 11, statues of King Kamehameha, including one located at the United State Capitol, are decorated with LEIs. 
• COOK (12D: Whip up some doro wat, say) Doro wat is an Ethiopian curry dish made from chicken. It is often served with injera, a flatbread made out of teff flour. I learned about doro wat from the third puzzle I wrote about for this blog!
• HEN (13D: Lady Kluck in "Robin Hood," e.g.) In the 1973 animated Disney movie, Robin Hood, Lady Kluck was Maid Marian's lady-in-waiting. The role of the HEN was voiced by Carole Shelley.
• BIBLE (25D: Rastafarian holy book) Rastafarianism developed as a religion in Jamaica in the 1930s, and is based on a specific interpretation of the BIBLE. Rasta beliefs include monotheism, a belief in one God, referred to as Jah.
• KEN (40D: "I Can See Your Voice" host Jeong) I Can See Your Voice is a game show that premiered in September 2020, and is hosted by KEN Jeong. The show is an adaptation of a South Korean TV series of the same name. On the show, contestants attempt to choose from a group of six singers, and eliminate "bad singers" without ever hearing any of the performers sing.
• RAN (41D: Competed like Gail Devers) Gail Devers is a former track and field athlete. She has won three Olympic gold medals for the United States. 
• ARE (62D: "When Stars ___ Scattered") When Stars ARE Scattered is a book by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson. It tells the story of two brothers who have spent most of their lives in a refugee camp in Kenya. The illustrated memoir was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Awards for Young People's Literature. 

Geography review:

• EST (45A: Louisville time zone (Abbr.) The eastern part of Kentucky is on Eastern Standard Time (EST), while the western half of the state is on Central Time. Louisville, the state's largest city, is in the part of the state on EST.
• ASIA (60A: Punjab's continent) Punjab is a region in South ASIA, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. In a moment of coincedental foreshadowing, I mentioned Punjab yesterday while discussing Sikhism. Today is the fourth appearance this month for our crossword friend, ASIA.
• EAST (9D: India-to-Laos direction) I tend to be both geographically and directionally challenged, so I am rarely able to figure out the answers to clues such as these without the help of crossing answers. Laos is a landlocked country in SouthEAST ASIA, and is located EAST of India.

An enjoyable trio of theme answers today, starting with a BRIGHT OUTLOOK, and arriving at a BABBLING BROOK BY HOOK OR BY CROOK. No need to groan, I'm ALMOST DONE. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Sunday and a fine way to warm up for the final day of the virtual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT), where I am currently in the top 80% of solvers.