November 28, 2022

Title: FIRST LOVE

Constructor: Claire Rimkus

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

TOUGH CROWD (17A: "Wow, you folks do not laugh easily!")

SELF SERVE (29A: Like some fro-yo shops)

PUPPY BOWL (46A: Animal Planet program with a Kitty Halftime show)

TRUE COLORS (59A: Cyndi Lauper song with the lyric "So don't be afraid to let them show")

Theme synopsis: The FIRST word of each theme answer is a type of LOVE: TOUGH LOVE, SELF LOVE, PUPPY LOVE, and TRUE LOVE.

Things I learned:

• LEE (23D: Blues singer Julia) Julia LEE (1902-1958) was a jazz singer who got her start in Kansas City jazz clubs, where she was known for her husky contralto voice and her slightly raunchy songs such as "Snatch and Grab It," and "King Size Papa." I enjoyed reading this article about Julia LEE, which includes reminiscences of her grandson.
• TROY (57D: Former Steelers player Polamalu) TROY Polamalu played for NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers from 2003-2014. During that time, the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl twice. In 2010, TROY Polamalu was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. In 2020, TROY Polamalu was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TOUGH CROWD (17A: "Wow, you folks do not laugh easily!") One nice thing about writing a blog is that I can just imagine that you all laugh at my jokes.
• CABLE (26A: ___-knit sweater) Aha! Here's the CABLE-knit sweater I tried to fit into yesterday's puzzle. 
• PUPPY BOWL (46A: Animal Planet program with a Kitty Halftime show) The PUPPY BOWL airs each year (since its start in 2005) on Super Bowl Sunday. Designed to raise awareness of pets waiting for adoption, the show features shelter dogs "playing football" in a model stadium. The PUPPY BOWL that viewers see is a compilation of three days of filming from a number of cameras, some of which are hidden in toys and water bowls, and some which have peanut butter around the lens to encourage the dogs to lick them. Since the second PUPPY BOWL, there has been a Kitty Halftime show - 30 minutes of kittens playing with laser pointers, balls of yarn, a variety of toys,

  

  Willow supervising today's write-up

  and a scratching post. It's all adorable. As you can see, Willow checked out my printout of today's puzzle to make sure there was a mention of cats. I assured her that although PUPPY BOWL is the theme answer, the mention of the Kitty Halftime is the star of the show. 
• TRUE COLORS (59A: Cyndi Lauper song with the lyric "So don't be afraid to let them show") and ELMO (24D: Furry red Muppet) The pairing of these two clues might not make immediate sense, but bear with me! "TRUE COLORS" is a 1986 song by Cyndi Lauper (and one I'm delighted to now have as an earworm!). Now, where ELMO comes in... When our kids were young, we took them several times to see Sesame Street Live, the touring show which features Sesame Street characters singing and dancing, while telling an overarching story. I don't remember all of the details of the Sesame Street Live shows we went to, but I do remember that one year the storyline involved the characters losing their colors one by one ... and then regaining them while "TRUE COLORS" was sung.  Good memories!
• NORSE (64A: Old ___, language from which "berserk" is derived) The Old NORSE word, "berserkr" was a combination of the words for bear ("ber") and shirt ("serkr") and was used to refer to warriors (wearing bearskin) who fought with uncontrolled ferocity.
• BASS (66A: Meshell Ndegeocello's instrument) Meshell Ndegeocello is a Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, rapper, and BASS player. I first learned about Meshell Ndegeocello, who says her surname means "free like a bird" in Swahili, from the March 30, 2021 puzzle. 
• ENYA (68A: "A Day Without Rain" singer) ENYA's 2000 album, A Day Without Rain, was her fifth studio album. The album's name was inspired by a sunny day in Ireland after a stretch of consistent rain. The album's title track, "A Day Without Rain," is an instrumental song.
• UZO (7D: "Really Love" actress Aduba) Really Love is a 2020 movie about a romance between an artist and a law student. UZO Aruba stars in the movie, along with Kofi Siriboe and Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing. It wasn't until I was writing this that I realized Really LOVE is a fitting movie title to feature in this puzzle.
• SILK (12D: Hanbok fabric) Hanbok is a term used to refer to the clothing of the chaoxianzu (Korean Chinese), an ethnic group in China. The word "hanbok" means "Korean clothing." Many hanbok items are made of SILK.
• JANELLE (45D: "Abbott Elementary" actress ___ James) JANELLE James plays the role of Ava Coleman, the school's principal, on the TV series, Abbott Elementary. 

Geography review:

• TWO (44D: Number of U.S. state names that start with a V) That would be Vermont (capital: Montpelier) and Virginia (capital: Richmond).

FIRST LOVE on the FIRST day of the week - off to a great start! This is a delightful set of theme answers - I like...dare I say LOVE...them all. Thank you, Claire, for this puzzle that was a fabulous way to start my Monday.