January 6, 2022

Title: INTERNET OF THINGS

Constructor: Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

SODA CAN TAB (20A: Piece of metal that cracks open a soft drink)

PICTURE WINDOW (38A: House feature with a nice view)

SPORTS PAGE (57A: Newspaper section that covers playoffs)

Theme synopsis: The last words of the theme answers are THINGS associated with browsing the INTERNET. We have a TAB, a WINDOW, and a PAGE.

Things I learned:

• ALTER EGO (11D: Tuxedo Mask, for Mamoru Chiba) Tuxedo Mask is the ALTER EGO of Mamoru Chiba, a character in the Sailor Moon manga series. According to a Sailor Moon fandom page, Mamoru Chiba usually wears a black turtleneck, indigo pants, and a green sweater jacket. When appearing as his ALTER EGO, Tuxedo Mask, he dons a black tuxedo with a black cape that has a red interior. He wears a white mask and a hat, and carries a black cane.
• THALIA (48D: Mexican singer dubbed the "Queen of Latin Pop") Singer and actress, THALIA, has earned her nickname of the "Queen of Latin Pop," by being one of the best-selling Latin artists of all time, having sold 50 million records worldwide. In 2020, Billboard ranked her number 48 on their list of the "Greatest of All Time Latin Artists." As an actress, THALIA has starred in a number of telenovelas. She also has her own clothing line. Fun fact: THALIA began her acting career at the age of one, appearing in a TV commercial in Mexico.
• TACOS (52D: ___ de canasta (stew-filled snacks) TACOS de canasta originated in Mexico. As the clue describes, the dish consists of tortillas filled with stew. A variety of stews may be used for filling, such as adobo stew (beef in chili adobo), frijoles stew (beans), or potatoes stew.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SASH (5A: Drag pageant accessory) and WIG (61D: Drag pageant accessory) This puzzle is getting ready to compete!
• CLAMP (9A: Workbench tool) This clue made me laugh. One of the things I put in my husband's Christmas stocking was a sticker that read, "I own too many CLAMPs said no woodworker ever." The day before I gave him this sticker, he happened to receive a package of items he had ordered... it was CLAMPs. Perfect timing!
• ALLAH (16A: "Ya ___...") "Ya ALLAH..." is a phrase used in Islamic prayers and rituals. It means, "O God..." or "Dear God..."
• MEN (23A: "Motownphilly" group Boyz II ___) Boyz II MEN released "Motownphilly" in 1991. It was a single from their debut album, Cooleyhighharmony. The song title combines the musical styles of Motown and Philly soul. The song was featured in a Season 9 episode of the TV show, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In the episode ("The Gang Gets Quarantined"), the main characters rehearse an a cappella version of the song in an attempt to win a chance to open for Boyz II MEN in concert.
• TYRA (31A: Actress Ferrell) In the 1991 movie, Boyz in the Hood, TYRA Farrell played the role of Mrs. Baker, the angry mother of the character played by Ice Cube. Since then she has portrayed many different types of characters in movies and on TV, with roles in White Men Can't Jump (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), ER (1994), Empire (2015), and many more. She has said she enjoys "creating a lot of different images, being a lot of different people..." 
• EMMA (4D: "Cruella" star Stone) EMMA Stone played the title character in the 2021 movie Cruella, based on the character from The Hundred and One Dalmatians. EMMA Stone wasn't the only EMMA in the movie, which also featured EMMA Thompson as The Baroness. The movie won a People's Choice Award for The Drama Movie of 2021.
• HAKA (8D: Ceremonial Maori dance) The HAKA is a ceremonial dance in the Māori culture. The Māori are indigenous people of New Zealand. 
• LLAMA (10D: Animal important to the Aymara) The Aymara  are an indigenous people in South America, in the Andes Mountains and Andean Plateau. LLAMAs are important in Aymara mythology. 
• PARASITE (38D: Bong Joon-ho film about a family that insinuates itself into a wealthy household) I have previously written about PARASITE, the 2019 movie for which Bong Joon-Ho won three Academy Awards.
• OREO (59D: Nabisco cookie) OREO, aka crossword's favorite cookie, makes its second appearance of 2022.
• PETS (60D: Nonhuman housemates) Over the years, we have had a number of PETS - dogs, cats, guinea pigs, fish, a hamster, and a hedgehog. Currently we just have Willow, who is quite happy
  
  being our only PET. We recently had family visiting over the holidays, and since they left, Willow has been relishing having her house back, and enjoying a lot of snuggles. Tell me, though, how is this comfortable?

Geography review:

• EASTER (51A: Rapa Nui aka ___ Island) Rapa Nui, also known as EASTER Island, is located in the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. The island is most well-known for the 887 statues, called moai, found at various locations across the island and on its southeastern coast. The monolithic human figures - said to be the living faces of ancestors - were carved by the early Rapa Nui people between 1250 and 1600.
• BARRIO (22D: Spanish Harlem aka El ___) Spanish Harlem, also known as El BARRIO, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. The word "BARRIO" means "neighborhood" in Spanish. 
• ITALY (54D: Country where "Luca" is set) Luca is an animated Disney film released in 2021. Set in ITALY on the Italian Riviera, the movie tells the story of its title character, voiced by Jacob Tremblay. Luca is a 12-year-old sea monster/boy - he assumes human form while on land.

The INTERNET OF THINGS is a term used to describe objects embedded with technology that connect and exchange data with other devices. With smartphones and "smart appliances" (thermostats, security systems, etc.), as well as applications in healthcare and industry, the INTERNET OF THINGS is ubiquitous. (Side note: "ubiquitous" happens to be my favorite word, and being able to use it today made me happy!) Frankly, I get a bit overwhelmed if I think about the INTERNET OF THINGS and its ramifications for privacy and security too much, but I did enjoy today's CREATIVE theme of THINGS OF the INTERNET. In addition to the things I've highlighted above, I also enjoyed WANNABES, IN A SENSE, and MAIN DRAW. This puzzle was a fabulous way to begin my Thursday.