May 18, 2023

Title: BOAT ANCHORS

Constructor: Brooke Husic

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

PUBLISHING HOUSE (9D: Workplace for some editors)

ENTER THE DRAGON (13D: Bruce Lee film with the quote "My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting")

STORY OF MY LIFE (17D: "This *always* happens to me")

Theme synopsis: The last word (the ANCHOR, so to speak) of each vertical theme answer is a type of BOAT. We have a HOUSE BOAT, a DRAGON BOAT, and a LIFE BOAT.

Things I learned:

• JHUMPA (14A: "Interpreter of Maladies" author Lahiri) JHUMPA Lahiri's debut collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, published in 1999, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The book's stories are about the lives of Indian Americans navigating between inherited traditions and the new world they live in.
• AFRO (45A: Hairstyle for Huey Freeman) When I learned about The Boondocks - the comic strip turned Cartoon Network show - from the October 21, 2021 puzzle, I mentioned that the comic depicts brothers Huey and Riley who, with their grandfather, have moved from the West Side of Chicago to a predominantly white suburb in Maryland. Today I learned that the brothers' last name is Freeman. Fortunately, this answer was fairly easy to figure out.
• ENTER THE DRAGON (13D: Bruce Lee film with the quote "My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting") ENTER THE DRAGON is a 1973 movie that is regarded by many as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. The movie was released a month after Bruce Lee died at the age of 32. Here's the scene featuring the line, "My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting."
• ODA (46D: "One Piece" creator Eiichiro) Eiichiro ODA is a Japanese manga artist. His manga series, One Piece, first appeared in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump in July 1997, and has since grown into a media franchise. One Piece is about the adventures of a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PIPES (7A: Metaphor for a powerful singing voice) and SANG (72A: Belted out) Fun to see these two related answers in opposite corners of the puzzle.
• SOMEONE (12A: "___ to Call My Lover" (Janet Jackson song)) Speaking of singing, "SOMEONE to Call My Lover" is a 2001 song from Janet Jackson's album, All for You.
• PRONOUNS (16A: Nounself ___ (fae/faer, bun/buns, etc.)) I have previously written about neoPRONOUNS, which are also known as nounself PRONOUNS. The idea of nounself PRONOUNS arose among a Tumblr.com community of nonbinary folks in 2013. This article gives a good overview of nounself PRONOUNS.
• BIRTHDAY (34A: Occasion for eating longevity noodles) Longevity noodles are eaten during Chinese New Year and on one's BIRTHDAY. The noodles, which are never broken by the cook, and are to be eaten whole, symbolize long life and prosperity.
• AMOS (3D: Wally known for his Famous cookies) Wally AMOS founded the Famous AMOS brand of cookies in 1975. 
• RICE (38D: Biryani grain) Originating from the Indian subcontinent,  biryani, is a dish of RICE mixed with meat and vegetables.
• PUMAS (53D: Mountain lions) Willow wonders if the dramatic editing of this photo

  

  Willow

  makes her look fierce like her big cat cousins, PUMAS.
• TELL (65D: "Go ___ It on the Mountain" (James Baldwin novel)) James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a writer and civil rights activist. Go TELL It On the Mountain is his semi-autobiographical 1953 novel. The book draws on James Baldwin's experiences growing up in Harlem. The book tells the story of 14-year-old John Grimes, but his story is interwoven with the stories of his mother, father, and aunt.

Geography review:

• UTE (20A: Utah native) Utah is named for the UTE, Indigenous peoples that have lived for thousands of years in the region that is now Utah and Colorado.
• IDAHO (40A: The Gem State) The official nickname of IDAHO is "The Gem State." The nickname is an apt reference to the more than 72 types of gems found in IDAHO, including garnet, jasper, and opal. The unofficial nickname of IDAHO is "The Potato State."
• MILWAUKEE (67A: Wisconsin city home to America's Black Holocaust Museum) MILWAUKEE, the largest city in the state of Wisconsin, is located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Three rivers run through the city: the Menomonee, the Kinnickinnic, and the MILWAUKEE. As the clue informs us, America's Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) is located in MILWAUKEE. The museum was founded in 1988 by James Cameron, a civil rights activist who survived a lynching attempt when he was 16 years old. The mission of ABHM is to build "public awareness of the harmful legacies of slavery and Jim Crow in America" and to promote "racial repair, reconciliation, and healing." Even if you aren't in MILWAUKEE, you can visit America's Black Holocaust Museum, as the museum has created an extensive online experience for visitors, which includes seven History Galleries. ABHM's vision is to create a society "that remembers its past in order to shape a better future - a nation undivided by race where every person matters equally." 

STORY OF MY LIFE is my favorite of today's theme answers. Such a great phrase. I enjoyed the multiple animal references in today's puzzle: the aforementioned PUMAS, and the MOOSE and GNU sitting side by side, as well as the horses and guinea pigs mentioned in the clue for HAY and the giraffe with its notably long NECK. Thank you, Brooke, for this puzzle that was a great way to start my Thursday.