July 30, 2023

Title: OPEN LATE 

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

LAUNDRY CHUTE (20A: Shaft to drop dirty clothes down)

LAST MINUTE (38A: Right before the deadline)

LABOR DISPUTE (58A: Certain disagreement between employers and employees)

Theme synopsis: The word LATE is split, or OPENed, by each of the theme answers.

Things I learned:

• CARL'S JR. (48A: Fast-food chain whose slogan was once "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face") In 1941, CARL and Margaret Karcher purchased a hot dog cart in Los Angeles. Their business grew, and they eventually opened a full-service restaurant in 1945 and named it CARL'S Drive-In Barbecue. The first two CARL'S JR. restaurants, smaller versions of CARL'S Drive-In Barbecue, opened in 1956 in Anaheim and Brea, California. Since 1997, CARL'S JR. and Hardees are both owned by CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc., and as sister chains the two restaurants offer many of the same menu items, though CKE is attempting to develop a separate identity for each of the two brands. It was in the 1990s that CARL'S JR. featured ads with the slogan, "If it doesn't get all over the place, it doesn't belong in your face." 
• DARIA (21D: Sarcastic MTV toon who said, "Do you think if you breathe on me, I might catch your enthusiasm?") DARIA is an animated TV show aimed at adults that originally aired from 1997 to 2002. The show was a spin-off from Beavis and Butt-Head, on which DARIA was a recurring character. The show revolves around two teenage girls, the title character and her best friend Jane Lane. (I learned about the show DARIA when I previously wrote about Jane Lane, but that knowledge didn't help me here, and I relied on crossing answers.) In fact, it was to her friend Jane that DARIA said, "Do you think if you breathe on me, I might catch your enthusiasm?" (Episode #302, "The Old and the Beautiful.") 
• CBT (33D: Common talk therapy for anxiety disorders (Abbr.)) CBT here stands for cognitive behavioral therapy. While I am familiar with the therapy, I wasn't familiar with it being referred to as CBT, so had to rely on crossing answers. CBT can be used for the treatment of anxiety. It focuses on challenging and changing thoughts and attitudes and developing coping strategies to improve emotional regulation.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• GLASS (9A: "Stained" material) The word "stained" is in quotes in the clue, because, of course, stained GLASS isn't actually stained. Rather, the GLASS is colored during the manufacturing process, by the addition of metallic salts. I happen to have a fair amount of

  

  One of my mom's stained glass creations

  stained GLASS in my house, because my mom is a stained GLASS artist. (Hi, Mom!) It was difficult to decide which of her creations to photograph and share with you, but I decided on this stained GLASS lamp.
• KEKE (24A: "Nope" actress Palmer) In the 2022 movie, Nope, KEKE Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya costar as siblings trying to capture evidence of a UFO nicknamed "Jean Jacket." Nope was directed by Jordan Peele.
• ALTO (41A: Oleta Adams vocal range) Here's an example of Oleta Adams's beautiful ALTO voice covering the song "Get Here."
• TINA (65A: "Simply the Best" singer Turner) Ah, some great listening suggestions today! Here's "(Simply) the Best" by TINA Turner. Earlier this year, my husband and I saw TINA, the jukebox musical about TINA Turner's life. She did not have an easy life, but hers is definitely an inspiring story of perseverance. Our attendance at TINA turned out to be timely, as two days later TINA Turner (1939-2023) died at the age of 83. Thanks for the music, TINA. You were simply the best.
• OPEN (67A: Unbox) Here we have delightful bonus theme material: the word OPEN appearing LATE in the grid. That is fun!
• SON (13D: Bronny, to LeBron James) As I just learned in May, Bronny James is the SON of NBA player LeBron James and his wife, Savannah. Sadly, Bronny James has been in the news because he recently suffered a cardiac arrest while practicing with the University of Southern California's basketball team. Thankfully, Bronny James is now at home, and LeBron James reports that he's doing great.
• SCREAMO (47D: Loud, angry music genre) SCREAMO, also referred to as scramz, is a subgenre of emo music that emerged in the 1990s. SCREAMO is influenced by hardcore punk and screamed vocals. I'm not a fan of SCREAMO music, but I do enjoy that its name so perfectly fits it.
• DOES (59D: "___ it spark joy?") and BAH (61D: ___!" Humbug!") "DOES it spark joy?" "BAH! Humbug!" The pairing of these two definitely sparked joy for me this morning!

Geography review:

• ASPEN (19A: Colorado ski town) ASPEN is a ski resort town in Colorado that was originally founded as a mining camp. It is named for the abundance of ASPEN trees in the area. Any mention of ASPEN trees reminds me of my favorite fun fact about them: ASPEN trees propagate through their roots, so when you see a grove of ASPEN trees - as those near ASPEN, Colorado, for example - it is one organism sharing a common root system. 
• SUMATRA (2D: Island that's the largest producer of Indonesian coffee) The island country of Indonesia is located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia consists of over 17,000 islands, one of which is SUMATRA. As the clue informs us, Indonesia is the largest producer of Indonesian coffee. Indonesia is the fourth-largest producer of coffee, following Brazil, VIETNAM, and Colombia.
• LAO (42D: Southeast Asian language) LAO is the official language of LAOS, and is also spoken in northeast Thailand.
• VIETNAM (46D: Country where ao dais are worn) The áo dài, a long split tunic worn over trousers, is a national garment of VIETNAM. 

When I first read the title, I suspected the theme might involve the last words in the theme answers somehow relating to the word OPEN. I couldn't really make this work with LAUNDRY CHUTE (though I spent some time considering that a CHUTE is an OPENing...) There was a nice "Aha!" moment after I filled in LAST MINUTE, and saw the LA- beginning and -TE ending. Also, as previously mentioned, the word OPEN appearing LATE in the grid was a really nice touch. Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was an excellent way to start my Sunday.

One more (very exciting) thing: Since I first introduced the CATS of SALLY'S TAKE page, I have been hinting (sometimes subtly, sometimes not...) to Amanda that I would love to share a photo of her cat on the blog. Today's the day! This is Zelda! Her white chin and white paw are making me say, "Awww..." Welcome to the CATS of SALLY'S TAKE, Zelda!

Zelda