August 24, 2022

Title: FORMING A GROUP

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

B POSITIVE (16A: Optimistic-sounding blood type)

BA PROGRAM (35A: Four-year college offering)

BAN KI-MOON (42A: U.N. Secretary General from 2007 to 2016)

BAND MERCH (61A: Concert T-shirts, posters, etc.)

Theme synopsis: The first part of each theme answers add a letter as we move downward through the puzzle, ultimately FORMING the word BAND.

Things I learned:

• BAN KI-MOON (42A: U.N. Secretary General from 2007 to 2016) Prior to becoming Secretary General of the United Nations, BAN KI-MOON was the foreign minister of South Korea. Since his time as U.N. Secretary General, BAN KI-MOON co-founded the BAN KI-MOON Centre for Global Citizens, and joined The Elders (a human rights group founded by Nelson Mandela).
• NBC (54D: "New Amsterdam" channel) New Amsterdam is an NBC TV series that premiered in 2018. It is a medical drama based on Eric Manheimer's book, Twelve Patients: Life and Death at Bellevue Hospital. The fifth and final season of New Amsterdam begins next month.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• CASS (5A: Mama ___ Elliot) Mama CASS Elliot was a member of the folk rock group, The Mamas & the Papas from 1965 to 1968, after which she had a successful solo career. 
• SESH (9A: Word after "jam" or "makeout") Maybe once our BAND has formed it will have a jam SESH (or a makeout SESH...).
• TESLA (18A: Nikola with many patents) Electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, and inventor Nikola TESLA obtained nearly 300 patents (from various countries) for his inventions. I'd say that qualifies as "many." I have previously written about one of Nikola TESLA's inventions, the TESLA coil. 
• SNO (27A: Winter precipitation, in brand names) This clue confused me when I first read it, but after a few moments I realized what it was asking for. Words are sometimes shortened or spelled differently for marketing purposes, as is the case with the word "snow" when used in brand names such as SNO-caps or SNO-cat.
• SIS (52A: Lilo, to Nani, for short) This is a reference to the Lilo & Stitch franchise (which I have previously written about). Nani is the older sister - SIS, for short - and legal guardian of Lilo.
• TOMEI (64A: "My Cousin Vinny" star Marisa) My Cousin Vinny is a 1992 movie about two New Yorkers - Bill Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield) - who are traveling through Alabama and end up getting arrested for a murder they didn't commit. They are defended by the titular character, Bill's cousin, Vinny Gambini (Joe Pesci), who recently passed the bar exam (after five attempts). Marisa TOMEI plays Bill Gambini's fiancee, Mona Lisa Vito. Marisa TOMEI won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for this role.
• MEOW (3D: Shorthair's statement) and CUTEST (5D: Most adorable) Although Willow is a

  

  Willow says, "MEOW!"

  longhair cat rather than a shorthair, I think she is the CUTEST, and she often has a lot to say..."MEOW!" This is a good opportunity to remind you I would be happy to feature your pet's photo on the blog. Although the CATS OF SALLY'S TAKE page is mostly cats, I like all pets and will happily feature others as well! If your pet would like to make an appearance on Sally's Take, send me a photo, along with their name and a brief description of their personality, and I will feature them when an opportunity presents itself.
• AHI (6D: Tuna for tuna tataki) The Japanese word, "tataki" means "pounded" or "hit into pieces." Tuna tataki is a dish in Japanese cuisine featuring AHI tuna that is seared briefly and thinly sliced.
• SHE (9D: "___-Hulk: Attorney at Law") SHE-Hulk: Attorney at Law is a Disney+ TV series that premiered this month. The TV show is based on the Marvel comics character SHE-Hulk. On the show, Jennifer Walters, aka SHE-Hulk (portrayed by Tatiana Maslany), is a lawyer specializing in cases involving superhumans. 
• TABOO (24D: In Chinese culture, gifting someone a clock is one) and EIGHT (26D: Lucky number in Chinese culture) This is an interesting pair of consecutive Chinese culture clues. In Chinese, the sayings "giving you a clock" and "attending your funeral" are homophones (they sound alike). Therefore, gifting a clock is TABOO! Conversely, the number EIGHT is associated with wealth and is considered the luckiest number in Chinese culture.
• SMILE (40D: "Say kimchi!") I have previously written about Korean photographers asking subjects to "Say kimchi!" in order to get them to SMILE. 

Geography review:

• EAST (23A: Chengdu-to-Wuhan direction) Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province in China. Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province in China. As the clue informs us, Wuhan is located EAST of Chengdu.
• OAHU (66A: Koolau Range's island) Ko'olau Range, on the Hawaiian island of OAHU, is not a typical mountain range (such as the ALPS) composed of multiple mountain peaks close together. Rather, it is the remaining half of a single mountain, the Ko'olau Volcano. In prehistoric times, the eastern half of the volcano slid into the Pacific Ocean. Fragments of the volcano lie on the ocean floor northeast of OAHU. The remaining portion of the volcano is now referred to as the Ko'olau Range.
• ALPS (2D: Mountain range with edelweiss) Speaking of mountain ranges, the ALPS are Europe's highest and most extensive mountain range. Portions of the ALPS are located in France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.
• ISLAM (44D: Main religion in Turkey) Turkey is a transcontinental country. The majority of Turkey is located in Western Asia on the Anatolian Peninsula, but a small part of the country is on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Almost 90% of Turkey's residents practice ISLAM.
• YALE (55D: New Haven school) YALE University is located in New Haven, Connecticut.

I have an idea...let's build a BAND. I enjoyed this theme; a nice "Aha!" moment when the theme clicked as I filled in BA PROGRAM. On a funny note, yesterday we were SHARING A BED, and today we're FORMING A GROUP. Makes me wonder what tomorrow might bring...! In addition to the answers highlighted above, I enjoyed EASY STREET, OPEN SESAME, TOLD YA, and I MADE IT. Thank you, Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a fine way to begin my Wednesday.

One more thing today. Sometimes I like to tell you about various things going on in the crossword world, and it occurred to me that I have been negligent in not yet mentioning Lollapuzzoola, "the greatest crossword tournament ever held annually on a Saturday in August." The tournament is happening on Saturday, August 27, and if you can't make it to New York to participate in person, you can participate online. I enjoyed participating in Lollapuzzoola online last year, and am sad that I'm going to miss it altogether this year due to a previous commitment (which is also fun, but still...) However, I look forward to solving the Lollapuzzoola puzzles after the tournament. The folks involved with Lollapuzzoola include many names familiar to USA Today crossword solvers and Sally's Take readers.