July 24, 2023

Title: RUBS THE WRONG WAY

Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

VISITOR'S BUREAU (14A: Information center for tourists)

TITUSS BURGESS (36A: Actor who played the narrator in Season 2 of "Schmigadoon")

PARIS IS BURNING (58A: Documentary about New York City drag ball culture)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer contains the letter string S-B-U-R, which is the word RUBS backwards - that is, THE WRONG WAY.

Things I learned:

• TITUSS BURGESS (36A: Actor who played the narrator in Season 2 of "Schmigadoon") The TV series Schmigadoon! is a musical comedy. It premiered in 2021, and in the first season, two New York City doctors go on a backpacking trip in an attempt to improve their relationship, and find themselves trapped in a magical town called Schmigadoon, which is reminiscent of 1940s and 1950s musicals. The couple discovers they can only leave the town when they discover "true love." In Season 2, which is narrated by TITUSS BURGESS, the two doctors are now married. When the couple goes in search of Schmigadoon, they instead are transported to the city of Schmicago, a city paying homage to 1960s and 1970s musicals. I feel like I've written about Schmigadoon! previously, but perhaps I only read about it somewhere, as I can't find a mention of it in past blogs. At any rate, I enjoyed learning about this TV series, and as a musical fan, I just might have to check it out.
• EZRA (9D: Rock band Better Than ___) Better Than EZRA is an alt rock band based in New Orleans. Their 1995 single, "Good," reached the top of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.
• TUNA (56D: Tekkadon fish) Tekkadon is a type of donburi, a Japanese rice-bowl dish. Tekkadon consists of rice topped with thin-sliced TUNA sashimi.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• RAZOR (12A: Sweeney Todd's tool) The full title of Stephen Sondheim's 1979 musical is Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. As a barber, Sweeney Todd uses a RAZOR as a tool. Ultimately, he uses the RAZOR for more nefarious purposes, thus the "Demon Barber."
• TUBA (30A: Instrument that's 18 feet long when uncoiled) Well, this is a fun fact. Here's another fun fact: The word "TUBA" is Latin for "trumpet." The TUBA that is 18 feet long when uncoiled is a TUBA pitched to B flat. TUBAs that are pitched to different notes range in uncurled length from 12 to 16 feet. 
• POE (32A: Poet seen in this clue) and POEMS (10D: Some 32-Across works) Edgar Allan POE (1809-1849) was a writer known for his short stories and POEMS. POE's POEMS include "The Raven" ("Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore'...") and "Annabel Lee" ("It was many and many a year ago, / In a kingdom by the sea...")
• HERA (43A: Goddess of marriage seen in "therapy") In Greek mythology, HERA is the goddess of marriage, women, and family. I'm a fan of hidden word clues, and this is an interesting one.
• DMT (55A: Drug used in psychedelic-assisted therapy) Psychedelic-assisted therapy is pretty much what it sounds like, the use of psychedelic drugs to treat mental health conditions such as major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is a psychedelic with a rapid onset and short duration of action. DMT is currently in clinical trials for use in psychedelic-assisted therapy.
• PARIS IS BURNING (58A: Documentary about New York City drag ball culture) PARIS IS BURNING is a documentary that was filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s. The film chronicles the Black and Latinx communities involved in the drag ball culture in New York City during that time period. The movie took its name from an annual drag ball held by drag performer PARIS Dupree (1950-2011). In 2016, PARIS IS BURNING was added to the National Film Registry, a collection of movies selected for their significant "historical, cultural, and aesthetic" contributions to society.
• EAU (8D: ___ de Space (fragrance)) I recently wrote about EAU de Space and its companion fragrance EAU de Luna. If you missed that write-up, please go read about this delightfully nerdy project.
• SKATEBOARDS (15D: Shreds a halfpipe) In the world of SKATEBOARDS, "shredding" something means to really go after it. A halfpipe is a structure composed of two concave ramps facing each other. Here's a video of some skateboarders shredding a halfpipe.
• SARA (37D: "Serial" podcast creator Koenig) Hmm. It looks like this clue/answer pair may have slipped through fact checking. Serial is an investigative journalism podcast that narrates a nonfiction story over several episodes. SARAh Koenig (who spells her name with an h) is the host and creator of Serial. 
• NBC (62D: "American Auto" network) American Auto is a TV sitcom on NBC centered around the employees of Payne Motors, a Detroit-based auto company. Ana Gasteyer portrays Katherine Hastings, the new CEO of the auto company. Having previously been in the pharmacology industry, she knows nothing about cars. I learned about American Auto from the April 21, 2022 puzzle. 

Geography review:

• SWAHILI (11A: One of Kenya's official languages) Kenya is a country located along the eastern edge of Africa. Its capital is Nairobi. The official languages of Kenya are SWAHILI and English.
• CUBAN (53A: Havana resident) Havana is the capital and largest city of Cuba. Havana is on the northern coast of Cuba, along the Straits of Florida (a waterway connecting the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean) and south of the Florida Keys (an archipelago off the southern coast of Florida).
• PHI (3D: City home to Independence Hall (Abbr.)) Independence Hall is a historic building in Philadelphia (PHI), Pennsylvania. From 1775 to 1781, the Second Continental Congress was held in Independence Hall, which at that time was the Pennsylvania State House. It was during the Second Continental Congress that the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The building now known as Independence Hall was also the meeting place for the Constitutional Convention at which the United States Constitution was adopted. The National Parks Service currently oversees Independence Hall.

This puzzle only RUBS THE WRONG WAY with respect to its title and theme. In actuality, there is the usual joy to be found in a Rebecca Goldstein creation. I enjoyed seeing both LIMBO BAR and AGILE in the puzzle, though they weren't clued in reference to each other. I also like RAIL PASS. The grid is aesthetically pleasing as well, with those four identical shapes of black squares floating through the center. Thank you, Rebecca, for this puzzle that was a wonderful way to start my Monday.