September 24, 2023

Title: WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

TROUBLE SHOOTING (19A: Problem-solving)

LOVE SHACK (34A: "A little old place where we can get together," per the B-52s)

ALASKA AIRLINES (53A: Carrier to Juneau and Sitka)

Theme synopsis: The first word of each theme answer is something one can go LOOKING FOR: LOOKING FOR TROUBLE, LOOKING FOR LOVE, LOOKING FOR ALASKA.

Things I learned:

• HORROR (46A: Literary genre for Stephen Graham Jones) Stephen Graham Jones is an author that writes HORROR, crime fiction, and science fiction. He is a member of the Blackfoot Tribe. His books include My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Only Good Indians, and Night of the Mannequins. The tagline on Stephen Graham Jones's website is "not a cat person." It's a good thing I'm not interested in HORROR anyway... (To be clear, I am just kidding. I understand not everyone is a cat person.)

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• MAL (13A: Opposite of "bien" in Spanish) In Spanish, "bien" means "good," and "MAL" means "evil."
• TACO (15A: Choco ___ (rhyming dessert)) Made by Good Humor-Breyers, a Choco TACO consists of a waffle cone-like shell filled with vanilla ice cream, fudge, peanuts, and a milk chocolate coating. The Choco TACO was invented in the 1980s, though it wasn't available nationwide until 1996.
• UBUNTU (23A: "I am because we are" philosophy) UBUNTU is a Nguni Bantu word that means "humanity," and refers to a philosophy that humanity is connected by a universal bond of sharing.
• LOVE SHACK (34A: "A little old place where we can get together," per the B-52s) The B-52s released the song, "LOVE SHACK," IN 1989. The song is considered to be the B-52s signature song. According to the band, the song was inspired by a club near Athens, Georgia called the Hawaiian Ha-Le.
• RICCI (60A: "Yellowjackets" actress Christina) Showtime describes their TV series, Yellowjackets, as "part survival epic, part psychological horror, and part coming-of-age drama." The show tells the story of a high school girls' soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness. The show recounts the time of survival after the crash, as well as events that occur 25 years later. Christina RICCI plays the role of the team's equipment manager as an adult, Misty Quigley. Samantha Hanratty portrays the teenage Misty.
• SANS (64A: Comic ___ (typeface)) I have previously written about the strong feelings many people have about the Comic SANS font, and about its usefulness for people with dyslexia.
• ANNE (6D: Civil rights activist Spencer) Although she lived in Lynchburg, Virginia, not in New York City, ANNE Spencer is considered an important member of the Harlem Renaissance, an intellectual, social, and artistic movement in the 1920s. Her poems touched on topics of race, nature, and feminism. ANNE Spencer is featured on a postage stamp issued in 2020 in a series honoring figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
• LATINAS (10D: Many "In the Heights" characters) In the Heights is a musical by Lin Manuel Miranda, that was adapted into a 2021 musical film of the same name. The musical is set in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan that has a large LATINo/LATINA population. 
• LASIK (26D: Type of eye surgery) LASIK stands for "laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis" - is it any wonder it's referred to as LASIK? LASIK surgery is performed to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.
• KIR (36D: ___ royale (French cocktail) A KIR royale cocktail is made with crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) and champagne.
• ART (57D: "___ is never finished, only abandoned") "ART is never finished, only abandoned," is a saying attributed to Leonardo da Vinci.

Geography review:

• ALASKA AIRLINES (53A: Carrier to Juneau and Sitka) The cities of Juneau and Sitka are both located in the southeastern part of ALASKA, in a part of the state referred to as the ALASKA Panhandle. Juneau is the capital of ALASKA. Sitka is located on a pair of islands in the Pacific Ocean, and is only accessible by boat or plane. ALASKA AIRLINES, which has its hub at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington, has flights that go to both Juneau and Sitka. This theme answer leads to the new phrase, LOOKING FOR ALASKA, which is the title of a 2005 novel by John Green. The book has been adapted into a TV miniseries of the same name that premiered on Hulu in 2019.
• ONTARIO (38D: Canadian province that borders the Great Lakes) The Canadian province of ONTARIO borders four of the five Great Lakes. ONTARIO borders Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and (appropriately) Lake ONTARIO. The only Great Lake that does not share a border with ONTARIO is Lake Michigan.

Matthew Stock has been treating us to a series of puzzles based on the titles of songs from the Disney movie, High School Musical. We have had "BREAKING FREE" and "START OF SOMETHING NEW." Today's title is "WHAT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR," which is also a High School Musical song. This has been a fun series! Thank you, Matthew, for this musical Sunday puzzle.