July 25, 2021

Title: STRETCH GOAL

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

GONE VIRAL (16A: Broken the internet)

GOURMET MEAL (29A: Master chef's creation)

GOT A RAW DEAL (48A: Wasn't treated fairly)

GOLD MEDAL (65A: Prize for first place)

Theme synopsis: The word GOAL is STRETCHed by each theme answer, with the letters GO- appearing at the beginning of the answer, and the letters -AL at the end. 

Things I learned:

• SONIA (15A: Makeup mogul Kashuk) In 1999, SONIA Kashuk partnered with Target to launch her namesake brand of makeup and beauty tools. She was a pioneer in providing quality makeup products at an affordable price. In 2015, SONIA Kashuk sold her brand to Target.
• OSU (22A: Alma mater of Ally Carter, for short) Ally Carter is the author of several series of middle-grade, young adult, and adult novels including The Gallagher Girls series, The Heist Society series, and The Embassy Row series. She graduated from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in 1997 with a degree in agricultural economics. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TAOS (5A: ___ Pueblo) TAOS Pueblo is an ancient community located about a mile north of TAOS, New Mexico. The pueblo belongs to the Puebloan people, and is a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO Heritage Site.
• RIPA (14A: Kelly who played Faith on "Hope & Faith") Hope & Faith is a TV series that originally aired from 2003 to 2006. On the show, Hope and Faith are sisters - the role of Hope Shanowski was played by Faith Ford, and the role of Faith Fairfield was played by Kelly RIPA. Faith is a soap opera star who moves in with her sister after her character is killed off. Since 2001, Kelly RIPA has been the co-host of the morning talk show Live! with Kelly and Ryan.  
• ORIGAMI (54A: Japanese for "folding paper") The Japanese "ori" means "folding," and "kami" means "paper." Even if you were not familiar with the origin of the word ORIGAMI, this clue allows you to infer that the answer is the art of folding paper known as ORIGAMI.
• GOLD MEDAL (65A: Prize for first place) A timely answer with the Olympics happening. I have not been watching the Olympics, but my Twitter feed keeps me updated. Shoutout to Chase Kalisz who won the first GOLD MEDAL for USA at the Tokyo Olympics. 
• ELSA (69A: #Give___AGirlfriend (Disney fan campaign)) When the Disney movie, Frozen, was released in 2013, many in the LGBTQ+ embraced ELSA as a queer icon, and the song "Let It Go" as a coming out anthem. When news of a sequel came out, some fans, including Alexis Isabel Moncada, the creator of the hashtag #GiveELSAAGirlfriend, launched a campaign on social media. Spoiler Alert...although the folks at Disney saw and heard the requests, ELSA does not have a girlfriend (yet anyway...)
• SALAAM (8D: Masjid greeting) A masjid is a place of worship for Muslims. The English term for a masjid is "mosque." SALAAM is a Muslim greeting meaning "Peace be upon you."
• VLOG (17D: NikkieTutorials upload) A VLOG is a video blog. NikkieTutorials is the YouTube channel of Nikkie de Jager, a makeup artist and beauty vlogger. (I am thankful this blog is not a VLOG!)
• ROE (24D: Makizushi eggs) Makizushi is a cylindrical piece of sushi formed with the aid of a bamboo mat, and then wrapped in nori and topped with ROE.
• YOU (28D: The y in ttyl) ttyl= Talk to YOU later
• NASA (61D: Org. headquartered at 300 Hidden Figures Way) In 2019, the street in front of NASA headquarters was renamed Hidden Figures Way to honor Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. The three Black female mathematicians were featured in Margot Lee Shetterly's 2016 book, Hidden Figures, and the movie of the same name. This is a fun fact. I was not aware this had happened, though the answer to to the clue was inferable. 

Geography review:

• ATLANTA (25A: City home to the Centennial Olympic Park) Centennial Olympic Park in ATLANTA, Georgia was built as part of the preparations for the 1996 Summer Olympics. 
• SAO (46D: ___ Miguel, Azores) The Azores is an archipelago of nine islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, and is one of two autonomous regions of Portugal. SÃO Miguel is the largest and most popular island of the Azores.

A common theme type today with the word GOAL bookending a nice set of theme answers. Smooth fill all around, and some lovely non-theme answers, including MONIKERS, AIRBRUSH, SVELTE, ORACLE, and TOE HOLDS. This puzzle was a TIPTOP way to begin my Sunday morning. 

If you are participating in the Boswords Summer Tournament today, good luck and perhaps I'll see you in the chat stream!