August 7, 2022

Title: MAKE A FIST

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

HIFI STEREOS (16A: Two speaker sound systems)

SCI-FI STORIES (51A: "Winter's King" and "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience," for two)

SOFI STADIUM (60A: Home to the Los Angeles Rams)

Theme synopsis:

The word FIST is made where the two words in each theme answer meet.

Things I learned:

• SCI-FI STORIES (51A: "Winter's King" and "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience," for two) "Winter's King" is a 1965 short story by Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018). The story takes place in the same world as Ursula K. Le Guin's 1969 novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. On the planet of Gethen, individuals are ambisexual, with no fixed sex. The story also involves space travel at nearly the speed of light. "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience" is a short story by Rebecca Roanhorse. The story won both Hugo and Nebula Awards. (Hugo and Nebula Awards are annual literary awards for science fiction and fantasy writing.) I'm not sure I can do an adequate job describing "Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience," but you can read it online at Apex Magazine. It was interesting to learn about these SCI-FI STORIES.
• SUPER (51D: Nigeria ___ Eagles) The Nigeria SUPER Eagles are Nigeria's national football TEAM (that's soccer in the U.S.). 
• X-MEN (58D: Jean Grey's team) Although familiar with the X-MEN, I don't know enough about them to have recognized Jean Grey as one of their members. In the world of Marvel comics, X-MEN are humans born with the X-gene, a genetic mutation that confers superhuman abilities. Jean Grey has been known under several aliases: Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• SPA (10A: Business with cucumbers) When I realized the answer to this clue, it made me laugh. I was thinking grocery store or farm stand (both obviously too long) or CSA. 
• ROE (18A: Eggs in mentaiko pasta) Mentaiko pasta consists of a sauce made from pollock ROE that is served with spaghetti noodles.
• IOTA (20A: ___ Phi Theta (fraternity)) IOTA Phi Theta is a historically Black fraternity founded in 1963 at Morgan State College (now Morgan State University) in Baltimore, Maryland.
• HIFI STEREOS (16A: Two speaker sound systems) HIFI is short for "high fidelity," and describes STEREOS with high-quality audio.
• SOFI STADIUM (60A: Home to the Los Angeles Rams) SOFI STADIUM in Inglewood, California is home not only to NFL's Los Angeles Rams, but also to NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. Only one other STADIUM is shared by two NFL teams - MetLife Stadium is home to the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Construction began on SOFI STADIUM in 2016, and it opened in September 2020. SOFI STADIUM hosted the Super Bowl earlier this year.
• SCREEN TIME (10D: It's reduced during a digital detox) A common subset of digital detox is social media detox, when users specifically unplug from social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. I can't in good faith recommend a full digital detox, because how would you read this blog?!
• CEO (14D: Sonia Syngal's title at Gap) I always appreciate when a clue for CEO highlights a woman in that position. Sonia Syngal became the CEO of Gap in March 2020, but she no longer holds that title. She stepped down from her position as CEO of Gap on July 11, 2022. I don't know the details of her leaving, but found this Bloomberg article that discusses trends in the departures of male and female CEOs. 
• IRIS (22D: Novelist Johansen) IRIS Johansen writes romance, crime fiction, and suspense fiction. She has written several series of books; one of her popular series features a forensic sculptor named Eve Duncan. One of her Eve Duncan books was adapted into a 2011 movie for Lifetime titled, The Killing Game.
• MOM (31D: Sina, to Moana) This is a reference to the 2015 Disney movie, Moana. 
• HE'S (36D: "___ Into Her" (TV rom-com) HE'S Into Her is a Philippine teen rom-com that premiered in 2021. It centers on a Japanese teenage girl who moves to Manila to live with her wealthy father whom she just recently discovered. 
• SOFA (44D: Place for a catnap) Our only SOFA is a loveseat, so it's a little cramped for me to take catnaps on it. Willow, however, has claimed it as one of her favorite spots, and she likes to 

  

  Willow taking a catnap

  sleep on the back of the SOFA. I recently vacuumed those cushions and removed fur equivalent to half a cat! 

Geography review:

• OCHO (34A: ___ Rios, Saint Ann, Jamaica) Saint Ann is the largest of fourteen parishes (units of local government) in Jamaica. OCHO Rios is a town in Saint Ann Parish. It is located on the north coast of Jamaica, and is a popular tourist destination and cruise ship terminal. Although "OCHO Rios" translates to "eight rivers," there are not eight rivers in OCHO Rios.
• OSU (39A: Beaver State School, for short) "The Beaver State" is a nickname for Oregon, a recognition of the importance of the fur trade to Oregon's economy when the state was first settled. Oregon State University (OSU) is located in Corvallis, Oregon. The OSU sports teams are the Beavers, and the school's mascot is Benny Beaver. 

It was interesting to note the three "FI" terms that make up the front part of the FISTs in today's theme answers: HIFI, SCI-FI, and SOFI. The grid is also interesting, as the last two theme answers are in the lower third of the puzzle, resulting in no theme material in rows 4-9 of the grid. That's neither good nor bad, I just noticed it. In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I liked SUSHI BARS, SO BE IT, SEE SAWS, and YES YOU. Thank you, (YES, YOU!) Zhouqin, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Sunday.