May 12, 2023

Title: IN THE RUNNING

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:
TRANSGRIOT (16A: Blog founded by activist Monica Roberts)
TRICK SHOT (34A: Behind-the-back pool feat, for example)
TRAIN DEPOT (53A: Place where locomotives are stored)

Theme synopsis: Each of the theme answers is found IN THE RUNNING term TROT.

Things I learned:
  • YARA (15A: Actress Shahidi) YARA Shahidi portrayed Zoey Johnson on the TV series Black-ish, and on the spin-off series, Grown-ish, which sees her character go to college. In the live-action movie Peter Pan & Wendy, released last month, YARA Shahidi plays the role of Tinker Bell.
  • TRANSGRIOT (16A: Blog founded by activist Monica Roberts) Monica Roberts (1962-2020) was a writer and transgender rights advocate from Houston, Texas. She began writing TRANSGRIOT (stylized as TransGriot) as a newspaper column in 2004, and founded the TRANSGRIOT blog in 2006. I have previously written about the term "GRIOT," which is used in some African countries to refer to one who collects and shares stories. The mission of the TRANSGRIOT blog was to be the GRIOT for the Black TRANS community. Monica Roberts died suddenly in 2020 from complications of a pulmonary embolism.
Random thoughts and interesting things:
  • PET RAT (23A: companion with a scaly tail) About today's grid,
    Willow checking today's grid
    Willow says, "I smell a PET RAT ... and some DOGS (7A: Corgis and chow chows)! But I don't see a single cat.
  • WE'RE (24A: "___ Doing A Sequel" ("Muppets Most Wanted" song)) I'm here for any Muppets references! My Friday was just made even better by watching the music video for "WE'RE Doing a Sequel." The song is from the eighth movie in The Muppets franchise, Muppets Most Wanted (2014).
  • TRICK SHOT (34A: Behind-the-back pool feat, for example) Here's a link to a video showing a behind-the-back TRICK SHOT. 
  • SON (44A: T'Challa, to Ramonda) T'Challa, aka Black Panther, is a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was portrayed by Chadwick Boseman, and made his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War (2016). T'Challa, who is the SON of Ramonda - played by Angela Bassett - was the title character of the 2018 movie, Black Panther.
  • SPA (17D: "Me day" destination) Ahhh ... remember the SPA DAY we had yesterday?
  • ACESPEC (38D: Umbrella term for non-allosexual people) ACESPEC is an abbreviation for asexual spectrum, sometimes referred to as a-spec. This umbrella term is used for identities closely related to asexuality. 
  • GOALIE (41D: Only foosball figure on its own rod) This is a fun, playful clue for GOALIE. Foosball is also known as table soccer. (I did learn that there are a small number of foosball brands that have three goalies.)
  • OCT (46D: Intersex Awareness Day's mo.) Intersex Awareness Day is OCT. 26. Intersex Awareness Day was established in 2015 by Morgan Carpenter and Laura Inter.

    Geography review:

    • SCOT (43A: Person from Glasgow) Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. It's located on the River Clyde.
    • TABASCO (49A: Louisiana-based hot sauce brand) TABASCO sauce is a brand of hot sauce produced by the McIlhenny Company of Louisiana. The sauce is made from TABASCO peppers, which were originally all grown on Louisiana's Avery Island. The company now has farms in other countries that provide a year-round supply of the peppers.
    • FISK (56A: Nashville HBCU) FISK University is an HBCU (historically Black college and university) in Nashville, Tennessee. Established in 1866, FISK is the oldest institution of higher education in Nashville. Notable FISK alumni include W.E.B. Du Bois, John Lewis, and Ida B. Wells.
    • RENO (58A: Nevada city near Pyramid Lake) Remember RENO, the Nevada city near the Nevada-California border? Pyramid Lake is located about 40 miles northeast of RENO. Pyramid Lake , which is fed by the Truckee River, is a remnant of Lake Lahontan, which during the Pleistocene Era (2.5 million to 11,700 years ago) covered much of Nevada.
    • OAKLAND (8D: California city where The Coup formed) The Coup is a hip hop / funk rock band formed - as the clue informs us - in OAKLAND, California. Their albums include Steal This Album (1998), Party Music (2001), and Sorry to Bother You (2012).
    • TEL (34D: ___ Aviv) TEL Aviv is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel.
    I like the grid today. It makes me think that the RUNNING we do at a TROT is going to be up and down steps. In addition to the answers I've already highlighted, I enjoyed LIGHT RAIL, CHALLENGE, FAN BASE, and WONTONS. Thank you, Brooke, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Friday.

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