July 7, 2023

Title: SAPPHIC JOY (Freestyle)

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Freestyle: This is a themeless puzzle. The title, SAPPHIC JOY, is a nod to GIRLS CAN KISS NOW (35A: Collection of queer essays by Jill Gutowitz), and also ANNE (46A: Lister dubbed "the first modern lesbian").

Things I learned:

• GIRLS CAN KISS NOW (35A: Collection of queer essays by Jill Gutowitz) Jill Gutowitz is a writer whose essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vulture, ELLE, and elsewhere. Her debut book, GIRLS CAN KISS NOW, was published in 2022. Its essays explore the "intersection of queerness, relationships, pop culture, the internet, and identity." I enjoyed reading this interview with Jill Gutowitz. 
• INFLUENCER PARTY (5D: Event where social media personalities can mingle) I had not heard this term, but it was fairly inferable. I doubt I will ever by invited to an INFLUENCER PARTY! (And that's okay...)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PATTI (1A: Actress LuPone who famously said "Chris Harper pays my salary!") This clue made me laugh! PATTI LuPone's acting career spans six decades. She is most known for her work in musical theater, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006. Most recently, PATTI Lupone played the role of Joanne in the Broadway Revival of Stephen Sondheim's musical, Company. After a performance of Company in May 2022, during a discussion session between the audience and the cast, PATTI Lupone admonished an audience member for not following the theater's policy by properly wearing a mask. When the audience member continued to refuse and said, "I pay your salary," PATTI Lupone replied, "Chris Harper pays my salary!" (Chris Harper was the producer of Company.) My husband and I were fortunate enough to see PATTI Lupone in Company just a few weeks after this happened. PATTI Lupone was incredible. Also, we made sure we kept our masks on!
• BEET (19A: Borscht veggie) Borscht is a soup that originated in Ukraine. BEETs are the main ingredient in borscht, which gives the soup a distinctive red color.
• MULAN (32A: Disney princess who’s friends with Mushu the dragon) MULAN is the title character of Disney's 1998 animated movie, MULAN, which is based on a Chinese legend. Ming-Na Wen voiced the character of MULAN. Mushu, MULAN's friend, is a scrawny, reddish-orange Chinese dragon voiced by Eddie Murphy.
• ANNE (46A: Lister dubbed "the first modern lesbian") ANNE Lister (1791-1840) began writing a diary in 1806, and continued this practice until her death. ANNE Lister's diaries, which have been added to the UNESCO UK Memory of the World Register, consist of 7,700 pages, parts of which were written in code. In her diaries, ANNE wrote in detail about her life as a landowner, business woman, traveller, and lesbian. I first learned about ANNE Lister from the April 27, 2021 puzzle. 
• SALSA DANCE (10D: Performance set to a Celia Cruz song) Celia Cruz (1925-2003) was nicknamed the "Queen of SALSA." We saw SALSA DANCE as a theme answer not too long ago. 
• PSA (11D: Queer the Census, e.g.) Queer the Census has been a campaign by the National LGBTQ Task Force aimed at increasing census participation by LGBTQ persons. Part of the campaign has been public service announcements (PSAs), such as this one. 
• LSAT (48D: Exam taken by Elle Woods) Elle Woods is the main character of the 2001 movie, Legally Blonde, based on Amanda Brown's book of the same name. Elle Woods takes the LSAT, and gets admitted to Stanford Law School.
• ARE (55D: "Where the Wild Things ___") Where the Wild Things ARE is a 1963 children's book by Maurice Sendak. This is a great way to clue the word "ARE."

Geography review:

• LAS (20A: ___ Vegas) LAS Vegas, Nevada has many "capital" nicknames, including "The Entertainment Capital of the World," "The Gambling Capital of the World," "Capital of Second Chances," and "The Marriage Capital of the World." However, LAS Vegas is not the capital of Nevada; that would be Carson City.
• TEL (4D: ___ Aviv) Tel AVIV is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Israel. The official name of Tel AVIV is Tel AVIV-Yafo, but it is often referred to simply as Tel AVIV.
• UCLA (9D: SoCal university near Hollywood) The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is located in southern California (SoCal) near Holllywood.
• MIAMI (32D: Major city in South Florida) MIAMI is located on the Atlantic coast of southern Florida. MIAMI is the second-most populous city in Florida, after Jacksonville.
• UAE (43D: Abu Dhabi's country, for short) Abu Dhabi is one of the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The emirate of Abu Dhabi is named after the city of Abu Dhabi, which is the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and of the UAE.

I enjoyed this FREESTYLE offering. I imagine some solvers may think, "I FEEL SEEN," or "SAME HERE," after solving this puzzle. There will be no TRASH TALK from me! AND MAKE IT SNAPPY is a great grid-spanning entry. Thank you, Amanda, for this delightful Friday puzzle. THAT'S ALL.