May 25, 2022

Title: MUSCLE-BOUND

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

PHYSICAL FITNESS (17A: Regular exercise helps maintain it)

TROPICAL FRUIT (28A: Mango or papaya)

LOCAL FLAVOR (63A: Regional distinctiveness)

Theme synopsis: The word CALF (as in CALF MUSCLE) is found within (BOUND) by each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• POE (23A: "Angry Johnny" singer) "Angry Johnny" is the 1995 debut single for singer and songwriter POE. 
• TOFU (19D: Cubes in doenjang-jjigae) Doenjang is soybean paste, and a jjigae is a stew-type dish. Originating from Korea, doenjang-jjigae is a stew-like dish made with TOFU, with optional additions of meat, seafood, and/or vegetables.
• SOY (39D: Kinako ingredient) Kinako is roasted SOY flour.
• WELLS (55D: Reagan ___, Jana Schmieding's character on "Rutherford Falls") Rutherford Falls is a sitcom about lifelong friends, Reagan WELLS (played by Jana Schmieding) and Nathan Rutherford (played by Ed Helms). On the TV series, Reagan WELLS is a member of the Minishonka Nation, and Nathan Rutherford is a descendant of the founder of Rutherford Falls. The two friends navigate maintaining their friendship while maintaining loyalties to their heritage.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ACURA (13A: First Japanese luxury car brand) The ACURA division of Honda was launched in 1986.
• BRIT (40A: "The Mothers" author Bennett) The Mothers is BRIT Bennett's 2016 debut novel. The book, which became a New York Times bestseller, is set in southern California, and tells the story of three friends grappling with choices they made when they were younger. I previously wrote about BRIT Bennett's second novel, The Vanishing Half.
• KEN (44A: "I Can See Your Voice" host Jeong) The American music game show, I Can See Your Voice, is an adaptation of a South Korean show of the same name. The show is hosted by comedian KEN Jeong. On the show, contestants try to separate "bad" singers from "good" singers without ever hearing them sing.
• SCENE (68A: "Set the ___, 3000 degrees...") This line is a lyric from Beyoncé's 2011 song, "Party."
• TET (69A: Longest Vietnamese holiday) The celebration of TET, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, can last from three days up to ten days.
• SEATS (70A: Lambeau Field has 81,441 of them) Lambeau Field, with its 81,441 SEATS, is located in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and is the home field of NFL's Green Bay Packers. The entire population of Iowa City (74,828), where I live, could have a SEAT in Lambeau Field. This made me wonder which stadium has the largest capacity. The Narendra Modi Stadium in India, home to the Gujarat Titans (cricket team) and the India national cricket team, has 132,000 SEATS. 

Geography review:

• NOVA (9A: ___ Scotia) NOVA Scotia is a province of Canada. Its capital and largest city is Halifax.
• TAIPEI (5D: Bangka Lungshan Temple city) Originally built in 1738, the Bangka Lungshan Temple in TAIPEI, Taiwan has been damaged multiple times by earthquakes, fires, and bombs (during World War II). Each time it has been rebuilt and renovated. Bangka Lungshan Temple is a special place for multiple religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

Warning: If you prefer your crossword blog without social commentary, you might want to stop reading now.

I was awake large chunks of last night with a knot in my stomach, thoughts in my head of schoolchildren and Uvalde, Texas, and the Hamilton song, "Its Quiet Uptown" as my earworm. ("There are moments that the words don't reach / There is suffering too terrible to name / You hold your child as tight as you can / And push away the unimaginable.") Even so, when I got up this morning, I told myself I was going to focus on the puzzle. But as I was solving the puzzle, I kept encountering words that provided me TOEHOLDS to address the OPEN SECRET of gun violence in this country. As long as we continue to EXALT (54D: Speak reverently of) guns and those organizations that celebrate them, history will continue to repeat ITSELF, and the situation will become DIRER (15D: more pressing). If you have never read the article The Onion has now run over 20 times now - " 'No Way to Prevent This,' Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens" - I encourage you to do so. I don't pretend to have all of the answers, but I know I am exhausted by this RAT RACE, and if we don't make an EFFORT, nothing will change. I believe (or hope anyway...) it makes a difference who our country ELECTS, so please educate yourself about candidates and on every TUEsday you are eligible to vote, do so. I also plan to continue to advocate for gun control, and to donate to organizations that are doing work I cannot do alone. No apologies for this TIRADE, as I (apparently) cannot keep silent on this issue.

Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that provided me with words to express my feelings on this Wednesday.