July 30, 2022

Title: SPREAD THE WORD

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

WRITTEN RECORD (19A: Document of facts or events)

WOODEN BOARD (35A: Platter for serving charcuterie, often)

WORLD-RENOWNED (53A: Widely celebrated)

Theme synopsis: WORD is SPREAD by each theme answer, with some of the letters at the beginning of the entry, and the remaining letters at the end.

Things I learned:

• ONE (29D: "Dream Big, Little ___" (kids book)) Dream Big, Little ONE is a board book by Vashti Harrison. It features 18 inspiring Black women. You can see and hear this sweet book read aloud here. Dream Big, Little ONE is ONE of several books in Vashti Harrison's Little Leaders series. Several years ago, Vashti Harrison was inspired by Black History MONTH (shoutout to 18-Across) to begin to illustrate and write about Black Women in American history. She has also written a book in the series about Black men, Little Legends: Exceptional Men in Black History. In addition to writing and illustrating this book series, Vashti Harrison is also the illustrator for Lupita Nyong'o's book, Sulwe, which I have written about previously.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NIA (13A: Actress Vardalos) NIA Vardalos wrote and starred in the 2002 movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and the 2016 sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Last month via an Instagram video, NIA Vardalos confirmed that filming is underway for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. The movie is scheduled to be released next year. I'm excited about this upcoming movie. These movies make me laugh out loud, and that's always a good thing.
• IDINA (15A: Menzel who played Liz/Beth in "If/Then") NIA Vardalos and IDINA Menzel in the same puzzle? What a great day! If/Then is a musical about Elizabeth (played by IDINA Menzel), a 38-year-old woman moving back to New York City to make a new start. Elizabeth adopts a new name for her new life, and the musical tells the story of two possible paths, one take by Liz, and one by Beth. 
• ERNIE (22A: Bert's roomie on "Sesame Street") Just four days ago we saw ERNIE in the puzzle, that time clued in reference to his rubber duckie. Here's an update on the rubber duckie story I shared with you then: Our daughter's gift keeps on giving...we found three more rubber duckies yesterday! I mentioned the other day that I also have an ERNIE story. I didn't expect to have an opportunity to share it quite so soon. What a nice surprise! Our son, Sean, who is now 28 years old, was born nine weeks early. As a result, he spent his first couple of weeks in the NICU (newborn intensive care unit). Shortly after Sean was born, my husband brought an ERNIE doll that my sister had given us to the hospital and placed it in Sean's incubator to keep him company. When Sean

  

  ERNIE then and now

  
  came home, ERNIE took up residence on the changing table, where he would "talk" to Sean and entertain him while we were changing his diapers. Well, one day the inevitable happened, and while "talking" to Sean, ERNIE got peed on. I, of course, threw ERNIE into the washing machine for a bath, and then he went into the dryer. What I didn't think about was that synthetic hair - such as that found on stuffed dolls - does not do well in the dryer... When ERNIE came out of the dryer, he had an afro. Sean was fine with ERNIE's new hairstyle, and ERNIE learned to be more careful about where he "stood" during those changing table conversations. In the photo you can see ERNIE, who now lives on one of our bookshelves, and a picture of ERNIE with Sean in the NICU.
• RAGE ROOM (27A: Venue where you can vent by destroying objects) In a RAGE ROOM, also known as a smash room or anger room, one can don safety gear (after signing a liability waver) and take a sledgehammer or a baseball bat to computers, cell phones, furniture, and other assorted objects. All this for a fee, of course. A 15-30 minute session can cost $50-100. I don't see the appeal of this myself, but whatever works. A RAGE ROOM may be an effective way for some people to deal with stress. 
• I, TINA (52A: 1986 Turner autobiography) TINA Turner's 1986 autobiography, I, TINA, was the basis of the 1993 movie, What's Love Got to Do with It, in which Angela Basset played the leading role. 
• RAP (67A: Doja Cat genre) In 2018, Doja Cat released a RAP song titled, "Mooo!" in which she claimed to be a cow. The video and the memes it inspired went viral. 
• ODOR (9D: Smell from a neglected litter box) I promise that a neglected litter box

  

  Willow

  
  ODOR is not the reason Willow is covering her nose in this photo. 
• HER (32D: "On ___ Own Ground") I have previously written about the book On HER Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker by A'Lelia Bundles.
• FTW (45D: Internet exclamation hidden in "software") FTW = for the win
• ONEIDA (47D: People with a smoke dance) The smoke dance is a traditional dance, and a variation of the war dance. Dancing is accompanied by drumming.
• ADD ME (51D: "Let's be friends on social media!") You can find me on Twitter if you're a user of that particular social media.

Geography review:

• MAINE (63A: Only state to share a border with only one other U.S. state) Fun fact: When we saw MAINE in the puzzle earlier this month, I gave you the information in this clue as a "fun fact!" The one U.S. state bordered by MAINE is New Hampshire. MAINE also borders the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec, as well as having coastline along the Gulf of MAINE.
• SIERRA (2D: ___ Nevada (mountain range)) The SIERRA Nevada mountain range is located in the western part of the United States. Most of the SIERRA Nevada is in California, though it extends into Nevada. The SIERRA Nevada is home to three National Parks: Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon. I've been to all three of these parks, and each is spectacular in its own way. 
• ATL (43D: City with the busiest airport in the world (Abbr.)) The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, whose code is ATL, is located in Atlanta, Georgia. As the clue tells us, this airport is the world's busiest. The Atlanta airport is the primary hub for Delta Air Lines.
• RIO (59D: Christ the Redeemer city, for short) One of the famous landmarks of RIO de Janeiro, Brazil is "Christ the Redeemer," an Art Deco statue that is 98 feet high and sits on top of a 26 foot pedestal. The statue is located at the peak of Corcovado mountain, and overlooks RIO de Janeiro. The statue is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. 

This puzzle SPREADs the WORD in a most delightful way. I appreciated the progression of the split of WORD moving from the top of the puzzle to the bottom. The two 14-letter Down entries, TEETER-TOTTERED and I'M OLD-FASHIONED were a great bonus. I particularly enjoyed the clue for I'M OLD-FASHIONED (15D: "My preferences are a bit antiquated"). Speaking of clues, I also liked MIND MELD (10D: Share thoughts, in a way). Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Saturday.