December 30, 2022

Title: HIGHER POWER

Constructor: Rafael Musa

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

COUPLES MASSAGE (1D: Romantic spa booking)

GRAB AND GO (6D: Category for premade meals)

LIFT THE CURTAIN (12D: Reveal some secrets)

HOUSE SITTER (22D: Caretaker Gazette subscriber)

Theme synopsis: The first (HIGHER) word of each vertical theme answer can be paired with the word POWER. These HIGHER POWERs are POWER COUPLES, POWER GRAB, POWER LIFT, and POWER HOUSE.

Things I learned:

• NON (64A: "What's Up?" band 4 ___ Blondes) "What's Up?" is a song released in 1993 by the alt rock band 4 NON Blondes. The song was a single from the group's only album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More! In 2021, "What's Up?" joined the "billion views club" on YouTube, becoming one of the  (currently 31) music videos that have been viewed over a million times. 
• HOUSE SITTER (22D: Caretaker Gazette subscriber) The Caretaker Gazette is a newsletter aimed at those looking to be a HOUSE SITTER and those looking for someone to take care of their property. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• OWLS (21A: Barred ones sound like they're saying "Who cooks for you?") We have a couple of barred OWLS living in our neighborhood, and it is not unusual to hear their calls. It always makes me smile. You can listen to the call of barred OWLS here. Two years ago I shared a photo that we were lucky enough to get of one of the OWLS in our neighborhood. 
• STEW (24A: Kimchi-jjigae, for example) Kimchi-jjigae is a Korean STEW made with meat, seafood, or vegetables, and kimchi.
• RUMORS (35A: Lizzo song with the lyric "NDA, no loose lips") Lizzo's song, "RUMORS," was released in 2021, and features Cardi B. 
• EDU (39A: www.stanford.___) EDU is an Internet domain for institutions of higher education. Stanford University, located in Stanford, California, was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford. Stanford's alumni include astronaut Sally Ride, author bell hooks, and crossword constructor Rafael Musa.
• ISAAC (44A: Soul music legend Hayes) I have previously written about ISAAC Hayes, noting that he and I have some things in common. (The ability to sing is unfortunately not one of the things we share.)
• SIR (66A: "___, this is a Wendy's") This clue made me chuckle. You can read about the origin of "SIR, this is a Wendy's" here. 
• SER (24D: ___/estar ("to be" verbs in Portuguese)) The similarity between Portuguese and Spanish helped me out here.
• HULA (31D: Dance with 'uli'uli) 'Ulī'ulī are rattles made from calabash gourds and decorated with bright colors and feathers. 
• UNA (36D: ___ vez (once, in Spanish) In Spanish, "UNA" means "one," and "vez" means "time." Put together, "UNA vez" means "one time," or "once."
• ETTA (57D: "The Women of Brewster Place" character ___ Mae Johnson) The Women of Brewster Place is a 1989 TV miniseries based on Gloria Naylor's novel of the same name. The role of ETTA Mae Johnson is played by Jackée Harry.
• SUI (60D: Fashion designer Anna) I have previously written about Anna SUI. 

Geography review:

• DURHAM (32A: City near Raleigh) DURHAM is a city in North Carolina. Along with the cities of Raleigh (the state's capital) and Cary, DURHAM is part of the Raleigh-DURHAM-Cary Combined Statistical Area, more commonly known as the Research Triangle. The nine county region also includes the town of Chapel Hill, and is home to three major research universities: North Carolina State University (in Raleigh), Duke University (in DURHAM), and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• LAOS (41A: Country west of Vietnam) LAOS is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia. In addition to Vietnam, LAOS borders Myanmar, China, Cambodia, and Thailand. The capital of LAOS is Vientiane.
• BERLIN (European capital where Berghain is located) Berghain is an electronic dance music (EDM) nightclub that has been called the "world capital of techno." (I first wrote about EDM on August 24, 2020.) The club opened in 2004 in a former heating plant, and its name is a portmanteau of two city quarters, Kreuzberg (formerly in West Berlin) and Friedrichshain (formerly in East Berlin). Berghain is known for being difficult to get into (people wait in line for hours and some are turned away) and for its strict no camera policy (stickers are placed over smartphone cameras at the door). BERLIN is making an encore appearance today, as we saw BERLIN MARATHON as a theme answer yesterday. 

 My favorite theme answer today is LIFT THE CURTAIN. In addition to the theme, I enjoyed the words SLEUTH, REALMS, and TRUNCATE. Thank you, Rafa, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Friday.