January 5, 2023

Title: RISING TEARS

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

DHAMPIR (41D: Offspring of a vampire and a human)

TALK LIKE A PIRATE (5D: Say "Arrr" and "Shiver me timbers")

ASPIRIN (25D: Pain reliever)

INSPIRATION PORN (9D: "Heartwarming" stories about disabled people for abled audiences)

PIRANHA (10D: Fish known for its bite)

Theme synopsis: The word RIP (a synonym of TEAR) is seen RISING in each vertical theme answer. The TEARS are RISING in the grid as you move from left to right.

Things I learned:

• RYAN (14A: "Black Panther" director Coogler) RYAN Coogler co-wrote and directed the movie, Black Panther (2018), as well as its sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). For Black Panther, he won a Best Director Award from the African-American Film Critics Association and a Black Reel Award for Outstanding Director. RYAN Coogler also co-wrote and directed Creed (2015), and wrote and directed Fruitvale Station (2013).
• IGOR (47A: ___ Benevenuto, first openly gay FIFA ref) IGOR Benevenuto is a soccer referee in Brazil (where the sport is called football), a job he has had for 23 years, recently rising to the FIFA level. In July of last year, IGOR Benevenuto publicly came out as gay, and is the first FIFA-ranked referee to do so. Of his decision to come out as gay, IGOR Benevenuto said, "From this day onward I will never again be one of the other versions of IGOR that I created ... I will just be IGOR, a gay man, who respects people and their choices. No masks. Just IGOR. Without a filter and finally myself."
• DHAMPIR (41D: Offspring of a vampire and a human) A DHAMPIR is a creature in Balkan folklore, which - as the clue informs us - is the offspring of a vampire and a human. A DHAMPIR usually, though not always, has a vampire father and a human mother. This is a new term to me.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PERALTA (23A: Surname that means "high rock") The Spanish and Italian surname PERALTA is derived from the Latin words pietra (meaning rock) and alta (referring to being tall or big).
• NANOBOT (50A: Tiny machine) Merriam Webster's definition of NANOBOT is a robot built on the scale of nanometers. In the field of medical technology, the term NANOBOT is used to refer to molecules with unique properties that enable them to be programmed to carry out a specific task. The field of nanorobotics is in the research and development stage. The use of NANOBOTs for site-specific drug delivery and targeted cancer treatment are two of the exciting possibilities for this technology.
• VIII (61A: The eighth, in Roman numerals) In English, suffixes are used to differentiate ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd...) from cardinal numbers (1, 2, 3...). In Roman numerals, there is no differentiation, and VIII can mean eight (8) or eighth (8th).
• DAPPER DAN (3D: Fashion designer whose name is a term for a well-dressed man) Fashion designer Daniel Day is more commonly known as DAPPER DAN. He made a name for himself shaping the style of hip hop culture, working with musicians LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, and others. His memoir, DAPPER DAN: Made in Harlem, was published in 2019. 
• TALK LIKE A PIRATE (5D: Say "Arrr" and "Shiver me timbers") Ahoy, mateys! It's eight months early for International TALK LIKE A PIRATE Day, which is celebrated each year on September 19, but it's a fun answer any day of the year.
• INSPIRATION PORN (9D: "Heartwarming" stories about disabled people for abled audiences) The term INSPIRATION PORN was coined by disability rights activist Stella Young (1982-2014) in 2012. She gave a TedX talk on the topic titled, "I'm not your INSPIRATION, thank you very much."  INSPIRATION PORN is a form of ableism, in that it objectifies people with disabilities, using them for the gratification of able-bodied people. This article talks more about how INSPIRATION PORN can be harmful by perpetuating stereotypes. 
• PANDA (23D: Bamboo-chomping bear) The PANDA is making an encore today, as we saw PANDA BEARS as an answer in yesterday's puzzle. In reading up on PANDAs yesterday, I learned that a PANDA can eat up to 40 pounds of bamboo a day. (That's a lot!) In fact, a PANDA's day is pretty much made up of eating bamboo and sleeping. I also learned that PANDAs are well-adapted to procure and eat bamboo, but are less well-adapted to digest it. This is one of the reasons they eat so much bamboo. 

Geography review:

• ASIAN (15A: From Vietnam or Bangladesh, for example) Vietnam is a country on the eastern edge of mainland Southeast China. Vietnam borders China, Laos, and Cambodia, and has coastline along the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. Its capital is Hanoi. Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It borders India and Myanmar, and has coastline along the Bay of Bengal. Its capital is Dhaka.
• MALI (49A: Country east of Senegal) MALI is a landlocked country in West Africa. In addition to Senegal, MALI shares borders with Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Mauritania. The capital of MALI is Bamako.

What a week so far...after some JUMP STARTS, we were FALLING FLAT, but now we're RISING again. Whew! We may be quite ready to say TGIF tomorrow! I originally read the title as RISING TEARS (rhymes with "fears"), and it took me some time to realize it was actually RISING TEARS (rhymes with "pears"). This provided a lovely "Aha!" moment. I enjoyed the playful clueing today. For example: BEDS (1A: Places for flowers or snorers), ROAD (19A: Its shoulder doesn't shrug), FIRS (28A: Hairy-sounding trees), and TACO (63A: It might be half-price on a Tuesday). Thank you, Erik, for this puzzle that was a thoroughly delightful way to begin my Thursday.