September 19, 2023

Title: SIDE EYES

Constructor: Catherine Cetta

Editor: Anna Gundlach

Theme Answers:

ISLE OF CAPRI (19A: Home to Italy's Blue Grotto)

I CAN DREAM, CAN'T I (36A: "There's always hope, right?")

IBRAM X. KENDI (55A: Boston University professor who wrote "How to Be an Antiracist")

Theme synopsis: There are I's (a homophone of EYES) at the SIDEs of each theme answer.

Things I learned:

• AT IT (62A: "Back ___ again at Krispy Kreme) This is a reference to a Vine video that some have called "the best Vine of all time." (Remember Vine? The now-defunct video-hosting service allowed users to post looping video clips.) The video is a six-second loop showing a man saying, "Back AT IT again at Krispy Kreme." He then proceeds to do a couple of back flips, and during the second one he hits the Krispy Kreme sign off of the wall with his foot. You can see the video (without the loop) on YouTube. In 2016, New York magazine ran an article giving background on "Back AT IT again at Krispy Kreme."

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ANIME (17A: "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," e.g.) JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is an ANIME series based on the Japanese manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. The series has different parts, each following a member of the Joestar family that has a name that can be abbreviated to JoJo.
• TEA (32A: Drink that might be brewed in a gaiwan) A gaiwan is a bowl used for brewing TEA. A gaiwan consists of a bowl with no handles, a lid and a saucer. Gaiwan may be made of clay, porcelain, or glass. TEA may be drunk from the gaiwan, using the lid to block the TEA leaves, or decanted into another container.
• IBRAM X KENDI (55A: Boston University professor who wrote "How to Be an Antiracist") IBRAM X. KENDI is the author of the book, How to Be an Antiracist, which was a New York Times #1 Best Seller in 2020. In July 2020, IBRAM X. KENDI became the director for the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University. You can read his Founder's Statement (and I recommend it) here. We've seen IBRAM X. KENDI as a theme answer before, on January 14, 2023.
• USER (8D: Person solving a CAPTCHA) CAPTCHA is a loose acronym for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.
• IDA (21D: NAACP co-founder ___ B. Wells) IDA B. Wells (1862-1931) was an investigative journalist and a co-founder of the NAACP. In 2020, IDA B. Wells was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for "her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching."
• STAGED (28D: Like many reality shows and wrestling matches) What?! You mean reality TV isn't real? And neither are WWE matches? Ha! This is a fun clue.
• AHA (29D: "Oh! I get it now!") AHA! It's my favorite exclamation!
• MOMA (30D: NYC home of Matisse's "Dance (I)") French painter, printmaker, and sculptor Henri Matisse (1869-1954) painted "Dance" (now known as "Dance (I)") at the request of Sergei Shchukin, a Russian businessman and art collector. The painting, which depicts five dancing figures, is currently housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA) in New York City. 
• SMART (51D: Like some modern watches and TVs) Sometimes I feel like my electronics are smarter than I am, though I don't actually own either a SMART watch or a SMART TV. My husband and I recently purchased a new stove, and it has the capability to connect to our phones via Bluetooth. I cannot imagine a situation where that would be necessary. (We have not connected it.)

Geography review:

• OAHU (5A: Hawaiian island where Barack Obama was born) OAHU is Hawaii's third-largest island. The state's capital, Honolulu, is located on OAHU. Former president Barack Obama was born in Honolulu.
• ISLE OF CAPRI (19A: Home to Italy's Blue Grotto) The Italian ISLE OF CAPRI is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean. The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on the coast of the ISLE OF CAPRI, which is so-named because sunlight from an underwater cavity shines through the seawater and illuminates the cave with a blue reflection. The Blue Grotto is only accessible when the tide is low and the sea is calm. Even then, because the opening of the cave is not large, visitors must lie flat on the bottom of a four-person rowboat to get inside the grotto.

I am a fan of themes that make you reinterpret the words in the title, as they often lead to a nice "Aha!" moment. Today, instead of SIDE EYES, we actually have SIDE I's - very nice. I appreciate that the I's on the sides of the theme answers are the only I's in those answers. Thank you, Catherine, for this enjoyable Tuesday puzzle.