November 12, 2021

Title: LOL

Constructor: Erica Hsiung Wojcik

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

LITTLE OLD LADY (18A: Diminutive figure "who was not afraid of anything," in a kids book)

LAND O' LAKES (35A: Minnesota-based butter maker)

LIFE OF LEISURE (49A: Work-free existence)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer consists of a three-word phrase with the initials LOL.

Things I learned:

• VAULTS (26A: Competes like Allison Stokke) Allison Stokke is a former professional pole vaulter. She has also modeled for Nike and Athleta. A partnership with GoPro resulted in a number of videos  - including this one - of VAULTS with a camera attached to her pole to demonstrate the mechanics of pole vaulting. Learning about Allison Stokke led me to read a bit about the sexualization of female athletes. When Allison Stokke was in high school, photos of her went viral on social media, but not because of her pole vaulting abilities. Wikipedia provides a summary, and I found this article that talks about the sexualization of women in sports.
• SHO (43D: "Ziwe" network, for short) Ziwe is a late-night talk show that premiered on Showtime (SHO) in May of this year. The show is hosted by Ziwe Fumudoh. I learned about Ziwe Fumudoh and her talk show last month, but I did not learn what network the show was on.
• EVA (57D: Actress LaRue) For many years, EVA LaRue played the role of Dr. Maria Santos Grey on the soap opera, All My Children. In 2019, she played the role of Celeste Rosales on the soap opera, The Young and the Restless, a performance that won her a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• LITTLE OLD LADY (18A: Diminutive figure "who was not afraid of anything," in a kids book) The LITTLE OLD LADY Who Was Not Afraid of Anything is a 1986 picture book written by Linda Williams and illustrated by Megan Lloyd. 
• LAND O' LAKES (35A: Minnesota-based butter maker) The agricultural cooperative, LAND O' LAKES was founded 100 years ago in Arden Hills, Minnesota. The coop is one of the largest producers of butter and cheese in the United States. Here's a fun fact: The first coast-to-coast commercial freight trip by a self-driving truck was a 2019 delivery of 40,000 pounds of LAND O' LAKES butter from Tulare, California to Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
• ATUL (55A: Doctor and writer Gawande) ATUL Gawande is a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and a professor at Harvard Medical School. He writes extensively on medicine and public health, and is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. His 2012 TED Talk, "How do we heal medicine?" has been viewed over two million times. 
• JILL (6D: Singer Scott) Take a few minutes of your day and enjoy JILL Scott singing, "A Long Walk."
• THESE (13D: "___ Arms of Mine" (Otis Redding song)) "THESE Arms of Mine" is a 1962 song belonging to the 20-down category of LOVE SONGS.
• TAMIL (28D: South Asian language) The TAMIL Language is spoken by the TAMIL people of South Asia, and is an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore.
• LATIFAH (36D: Rapper/actress Queen ___) Here's a link to Queen LATIFAH's song "U.N.I.T.Y." for your TGIF.
• ICE AGE (42D: Animated film with Manny the woolly mammoth) Ray Romano voiced the character of Manny the woolly mammoth in the 2002 animated movie, ICE AGE. 

Geography review:

• ARUBA (45D: Dutch Caribbean island) ARUBA is an island country in the Caribbean Sea, and is one of the ABC islands that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember the names of the B and C islands?
• ERIE (53D: Lake hidden backward in "heiress") Our crossword friend ERIE is making its fourth appearance this month. With 19 days left in the month, how many more times do you think we'll see ERIE this November?

Were you Laughing Out Loud while you were solving this puzzle? Or perhaps you were wishing you were playing the multiplayer online video game, League of Legends? This puzzle has the L-shaped blocks of black squares at the top and bottom of the grid that remind me of boots and antennae. Most of the grid has top/bottom mirror symmetry, but the center has asymmetry to accommodate the central 10-letter theme answer. I enjoyed this puzzle; it was a fine way to begin my Friday.