June 7, 2023

Title: LEFT BRAIN

Constructor: Sara Cantor

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

STEM MAJORS (18A: Future chemists, biologists, etc.)

WAVE FUNCTION (27A: Mathematical curve used to describe quantum particles)

TEASER TRAILER (46A: Short advertisement for a movie)

FREEZE FRAME (58A: Film technique for a narrator explaining how they got into a sticky situation)

Theme synopsis: The LEFT-most word in each theme answer can be paired with the word BRAIN to give us BRAINSTEM, BRAINWAVE, BRAIN TEASER, and BRAIN FREEZE.

Things I learned:

• RAP (65A: Mykki Blanco's genre) Mykki Blanco is a RAP artist and poet who has collaborated with Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, and Blood Orange. Her most recent album, Stay Close to Music, was released in 2022.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• BLEW (1A: Played an ocarina) An ocarina, as I learned from the May 10, 2021 puzzle, is an ancient  wind instrument, traditionally made from clay or ceramic. The ocarina features prominently in some of The Legend of Zelda video games, such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• CSA (11A: Local food buying option, for short) CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. CSA is a food delivery system that connects food producers (farmers) with consumers. When you join a CSA, you receive a CSA box on a regular schedule. It contains in-season fruits and vegetables. I like to highlight CSA whenever it appears in the puzzle, because I am a huge fan of CSAs. Belonging to a CSA is a fabulous way to support local farmers, obtain fresh food, and eat with the seasons. Our family has been part of a CSA for 12 years - shoutout to "our" farmer, Farmer Kate!
• WAVE FUNCTION (27A: Mathematical curve used to describe quantum particles) Explaining WAVE FUNCTION is not something I'm really qualified to do! I'll share a couple of tidbits, but if you want to learn more, here's a Khan Academy video on the topic. WAVE FUNCTION is represented by the Greek letter psi (ψ). An equation known as the Schrödinger equation describes how WAVE FUNCTIONs evolve over time. That equation is named for Erwin Schrödinger, the Nobel  Prize-winning physicist that also gave us the thought experiment known as "Schrödinger's cat." Willow (who happens to be on my desk at the moment) says, "Did somebody say "cat?"

  

  Willow

• ICE AGE (39A: 2002 animated movie with the tagline "Sub-Zero Heroes") In case you're interested, here are the taglines of the rest of the ICE AGE movies: The Meltdown (2006), Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Continental Drift (2012), and Collision Course (2016).
• AANG (51A: "Avatar: The Last Airbender" protagonist) I learned about Avatar AANG from the December 23, 2021 puzzle. 
• EYE LEVEL (3D: Easy-to-view height) Quite a few years ago now, we got a new front door. My husband picked out the door and installed it. He chose one with a window at the top, so we could look out and see who or what is on the other side of the door. The thing is, my husband is seven inches taller than me, and I cannot see out the window unless I stand on a stool. EYE LEVEL is dependent on whose EYE is doing the viewing!
• WORDLE (4D: Green-and-yellow letter-guessing game) Do you play WORDLE? I enjoy having this BRAIN TEASER (bonus theme material!) as a part of my day. I play on hard mode and start with a random word each day; I'm in it for the challenge! My husband and I compare our WORDLE scores each day. Some days I win, some days he wins - we don't keep track. I also compare my score each day with WORDLE bot, the New York Times bot that rates your play each day and compares your choices to its own. You might say that WORDLE bot and I have a LOVE-HATE relationship (2D: Like some complicated relationships). I am delighted to report that today I solved WORDLE in four, and WORDLE bot solved it in six - ha! (My husband hasn't solved yet...)
• ELF (21D: Inexpensive makeup brand) E.L.F. Cosmetics (usually stylized in lowercase letters as e.l.f. Cosmetics) is a company founded in 2004 to sell "affordable makeup & beauty products." E.L.F. stands for "Eyes Lips Face."
• SADE (55D: "Smooth Operator" singer) Just putting a link to "Smooth Operator" here in case you need some SADE in your day. 

Geography review:

• RPI (22A: Upstate N.Y. engineering school) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) is located in Troy, New York. Its campus overlooks the Hudson River. RPI also has a campus in Hartford Connecticut.
• MOTTO (56A: "Alki" for Washington state) The state of Washington's MOTTO, "Alki," means "bye and bye" or "I will see you again" in Chinook Jargon. "Alki" has been used as Washington's motto since it appeared on the territorial seal of Washington prior to Washington becoming a state. Fun fact: Of the 50 U.S. states, Washington is the only one whose state motto is unofficial (hasn't been legislated into effect). 
• USSR (5D: Cold War country) From 1922 to 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), also known as the Soviet Union, was a country comprised of 15 national republics. The USSR was governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Cold War refers to a period of political tension between the USSR and the United States that lasted from 1947 until the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. 
• PALESTINE (35D: Neighbor of Jordan) PALESTINE is located in Western Asia. The country of Jordan is located to its east. 

The areas of the brain associated with vocabulary and word meaning is located in the LEFT hemisphere of the BRAIN in the majority of people. Appropriately then, you likely used your LEFT BRAIN to solve this puzzle. I really enjoyed this theme, and this is a great set of theme answer that lead to a fun set of new phrases. Thank you, Sara, for this puzzle that was a fantastic way to start my Wednesday.