August 5, 2023

Title: "EAT UP!"

Constructor: Amanda Rafkin

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

CURRICULUM VITAE (3D: Document covering significant career achievements)

PASTA E FAGIOLI (7D: Traditional Italian soup with beans and macaroni)

TAE KWONDO (11D: Korean martial art)

Theme synopsis: The word EAT can be found reading UP each vertical theme answer. The word EAT is also moving UP the grid, moving from left to right.

Things I learned:

• MARTHA (17A: ___ Jones (Doctor Who companion)) In the BBC TV series, Doctor Who, the companion is a character that shares adventures with the Doctor. MARTHA Jones, portrayed by Freema Agyeman, was a companion of the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant. 
• IT'S (24A: ___ National Fall-Madly-In-Love-Day"(Mindy Nettifee poem)) Mindy Nettifee has published three collections of poems. "IT'S National Fall-Madly-In-Love-Day" is a poem from her book, Rise of the Trust Fall, published in 2011. I'm not familiar with this poem, but the answer is inferable, and clues such as this add interest to an answer such as IT'S.
• GISELE (45A: Model Bundchen) GISELE Bündchen is one of the highest-paid models in the world. Now that I've looked up her name, I recognize her. She was born in Brazil, and took up modeling after her mother enrolled her and her sisters in a modeling course. 

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• TUT (11A: Egyptian boy king) The pharaoh Tutankhamun is commonly referred to as King TUT. Ruling in the 1300s B.C.E., King TUT was nine years old when he assumed his reign. The tomb of King TUT was discovered in 1922 near Thebes, Egypt.
• OKRA (23A: Bhindi fry veggie) The word bhindi is borrowed from Hindi and refers to the vegetable OKRA when used in Indian cooking.
• ADAM (39A: Black ___ (DC character)) Black ADAM is a DC Comics antihero. He is an enemy of Shazam (also known as Captain Marvel). Black ADAM (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) made his movie debut in the animated movie DC League of Super-Pets. Dwayne Johnson played the antihero in the 2022 live-action movie Black ADAM.
• DNA (40A: "I just took a ___ test, turns out I'm 100%...") This is a lyric from Lizzo's 2017 song, "Truth Hurts."
• K-TOWN (57A: Neighborhood with KBBQ and karaoke) Short for Koreatown, K-TOWN neighborhoods can be found in several large cities, including New York City (in Manhattan and Queens) and Toronto, Canada. I recently wrote about Los Angeles's K-TOWN. K-TOWN is a good place to go for Korean BBQ (KBBQ). Most K-TOWN's also have multiple karaoke bars. Singing is important in Korean culture, and karaoke is popular.
• HOT AIR (58A: Contents of some balloons) In retrospect, this answer is obvious, but it took me quite a bit of time to see it while solving. I think HOT AIR balloons are beautiful and fascinating. I know the science behind their ability to fly, but it doesn't really seem like it should be possible. I have been on a HOT AIR balloon ride. It was absolutely incredible. (Somewhere I have photos, but it was 33 years ago, so hard to say where they are.)
• HIPPOS (62A: Third-largest land mammals) HIPPOS are big! They can weigh over 3,000 pounds. The only land animals bigger than HIPPOS are elephants and some species of rhinos.
• FRED (9D: Civil rights activist Korematsu) From the November 20, 2020 puzzle, I learned about FRED Korematsu, who objected to the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. We then saw FRED KOREMATSU as a theme answer on May 24, 2021.
• ANIMAL (27D: One of many seen in the board games Ark Nova and New York Zoo) I've heard of these games, but have not played either Ark Nova or New York Zoo. They both look delightful, though; I'm a fan of games about ANIMALs. Even without knowledge of these board games, the answer is inferable.
• HISS (31D: Sound from a territorial cat) Ah, the territorial HISS. I'm familiar with that, as I've heard it anytime another cat visits our house. I don't usually take photos of Willow

  

  Willow

  while she's hissing, so I'll share a photo of her making territorial demands in another way. This morning Willow parked herself between me and the keyboard, which made it a bit difficult to type.

Geography review:

• SAO (48A: ___ Paulo, Brazil) SÃO Paulo is the most populous city in Brazil. The SÃO Paulo LBGTQ Pride Parade held each June since 1997 is attended by three to five million people each year. The slogan for the 2023 parade was "Social politics for LGBT+ - we want the whole and not the half."
• USSR (12D: Space Race rival for the U.S.) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a Communist state that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until its dissolution in 1991. The USSR was the U.S.'s rival in the Cold War Era Space Race. The USSR constructed Sputnik 1, the first satellite, in the 1950s. This began the Space Race, a competition between the USSR and the United States to achieve superior spaceflight capability.
• TAOS (47D: City in New Mexico) TAOS, New Mexico is located in the north central part of the state. Two days ago I wrote about TAOS Pueblo, a community just north of TAOS. Since the late 1800s, TAOS, New Mexico has been a popular place for artists, and the area is home to many art galleries and museums.
• MOTOR (50D: ___ City (nickname for Detroit)) Being the center of the U.S. automobile industry has earned Detroit, Michigan the nickname of "MOTOR" City. General MOTORs, Ford, and Chrysler (Stellantis North America) all have headquarters in Detroit.

YOU'RE IN FOR IT NOW! What a delightful grid-crossing answer. Turns out we were in for a great solve this morning. Other enjoyable answers: GET A ROOM, I CHEATED, and HAIRSTYLES. Thank you, Amanda, for this puzzle that was a superb way to start my Saturday.