May 2, 2021

Title: NICE WEATHER

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

FAIR AND SQUARE (20A: Through honest methods)

SUNNY HOSTIN (36A: "The View" co-host)

CLEAR BROW GELS (56A: Final steps in some makeup applications)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer can be used as a description of NICE WEATHER. I hope it's FAIR, SUNNY, and CLEAR where you are today.

Things I learned:

• TED (30A: "Story of Your Life" author Chiang) TED Chiang writes science fiction short stories. His novella, "Story of Your Life," was the basis for the 2016 movie, Arrival. In describing his writing process, TED Chiang has said he usually starts a story by writing the ending. From there he writes the beginning, and then writes back and forth between the two until he has connected the beginning and the end of the story. 
• SUNNY HOSTIN (36A: "The View" co-host) After frequently appearing as a guest contributor for two years, SUNNY HOSTIN became a co-host on The View in 2016. She is also the Senior Legal Correspondent and Analyst for ABC News. 
• AMELIA (52A: Obstacle racer Boone) Obstacle course racing is, as the name suggests, a sport in which competitors run through a course consisting of various physical challenges. AMELIA Boone has competed in many such races, including the World's Toughest Mudder, which she has won three times. She's also an attorney for Apple, Inc. In a 2019 Outside article, AMELIA Boone talked about her 20-year eating disorder history. In a 2020 Women's Running article, she said that the decision to admit she had gone through treatment was "the most challenging thing" she'd ever done. Reading about AMELIA Boone was my deep dive for today. I admire her for talking publicly about her challenges to maintain a healthy relationship with food. 
• CLEAR BROW GELS (56A: Final steps in some makeup applications) CLEAR BROW GELS are exactly what they sound like - CLEAR GELS designed to hold your BROW hair in place. I wear so little makeup (read none) that I had no idea such a product existed. If you search online for CLEAR BROW GELS, you can find more than one list of the best of such products. 
• LPGA (6D: Org. that Jin Young Ko competes in) Not only does Jin Young Ko compete in the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association), but in 2019 she was named LPGA Player of the Year. She has won seven LPGA Tours, and 11 LPGA of Korea Tours. Jin Young Ko was born in Seoul, South Korea.
• POP ART (11D: Idelle Weber genre) POP ART includes imagery and themes from popular culture. Idelle Weber was known for her works of black silhouettes against brightly colored backgrounds depicting scenes from corporate America. Weber died last year at the age of 88. 
• REI (21D: Fashion designer Kawakubo) REI Kawakubo is the founder of the Japanese fashion label Comme des Garçons, and the London-based retailer, Dover Street Market. The Metropolitan Museum of Art featured the works of REI Kawakubo in their 2017 Costume Institute exhibition. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• EPOCH (14A: The Eocene, e.g.) The Eocene EPOCH is a geological period that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago. The term Eocene is derived from the Greek word from "dawn." Talking about events that happened millions of years ago can be quite humbling.
• BO PEEP (33A: "Toy Story" character voiced by Annie Potts) In addition to voicing BO PEEP, Annie Potts played the role of Mary Jo Shively on the TV series, Designing Women.
• OKRA (58D: Bamia veggie) Bamia is a stew whose main ingredients are lamb, OKRA, and tomatoes. The name "bamia" is derived from the Arabic word for "OKRA."
• TBS (64D: "Miracle Workers" channel) Miracle Workers is a TV series that premiered on TBS in 2019. It is an anthology comedy series based on the writings of Simon Rich. The first season was based on the 2012 novel What in God's Name. The second season is based on the short story, "Revolution."

Geography review:

• SRI (29A: ___ Lankan) SRI Lanka is an island country in the Indian Ocean. It has two capitals - SRI Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital, and Colombo is the executive and judicial capital. 
• IRAN (7D: Tehran Stock Exchange's country) The Tehran Stock Exchange opened in 1967, and is IRAN's largest stock exchange. 

No matter what the WEATHER is where you are at the moment, I hope that you enjoyed this NICE puzzle. There were quite a few things that were new to me in today's puzzle, including two of the theme answers. Fortunately, the crossing answers enabled me to figure out even the answers I didn't immediately know. Isn't it a great thing about crossword puzzles that you don't have to know everything to solve them? This puzzle was a nice way to begin my Sunday.