November 6, 2023

Title: THIS GIVES ME LIFE!

Constructors: Nate Cardin & Jess Shulman

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

FOOD NETWORK (20A: "Chopped" channel)

WATER AEROBICS (34A: Low-impact pool workout)

AIR GUITAR (42A: Rock fan's imaginary instrument)

LOVE TRIANGLE (58A: Three-sided romantic situation)

Theme synopsis: The first words of the theme answers are necessities for LIFE: FOOD, WATER, AIR, and LOVE.

Things I learned:

• STIGMAS (46D: Time to Change fights to reduce them) Time to Change is a campaign in England that aims to reduce mental health-related STIGMAS and discrimination. Although the Time to Change campaign officially ended in 2021, other organizations are carrying on the important work of reducing mental health-related STIGMAS.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• USB (1A: "People that can plug the ___ in on their first try, How?" (Quora query)) This clue made me laugh. It's so relatable.
• ENYA (17A: "Orinoco Flow" singer) It's always a good day for some ENYA. Here's a link to "Orinoco Flow." 
• NIXON (19A: "And Just Like That..." actress Cynthia) Cynthia NIXON portrayed Miranda Hobbes in the TV series Sex and the City. She reprised the role for the current TV series, And Just Like That...
• FOOD NETWORK (20A: "Chopped" channel) I have probably mentioned before that I am a fan of the FOOD NETWORK. Since my husband and I don't have a TV at home (though we do stream some things on our computers), watching the FOOD NETWORK is a special treat when we're on vacation and staying in a hotel. And Chopped is one of our favorite shows. Ted Allen hosts the cooking competition on which four chefs compete against each other for a chance to win $10,000. There are three rounds of competition - appetizer, entree, and dessert. For each round, contestants are given a basket of four "mystery" ingredients that must be incorporated in their dish. At the end of the round, a panel of judges weigh in on each dish, and one contestant hears the fateful words, "You've been chopped."
• PRIMES (50A: 2, 3, 5 and 7, e.g.) and ODD (37D: Like 1, 3, 5 and 7) I enjoyed this pair of number clues.
• TAMED (67A: Domesticated) I'm not sure if cats have actually been TAMED,

  

  Willow

  or if they just realized that if they pretend to be TAMED they would have someone to provide them with food and treats and they'd get to sleep on fleece blankets.
• CLARA (70A: Civil rights leader Luper) CLARA Luper (1923-2011) was a teacher and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. One of the things she is known for is organizing some of the first sit-ins of the civil rights movement. Those sit-ins occurred at Katz Drug Store in Oklahoma City. On a Tuesday afternoon (August 19, 1958), CLARA and 13 of her students sat at the counter in Katz Drug Store and demanded to be served. They returned the following two days, and on the third day, they were served food. As a result of those sit-ins, Katz management desegregated their lunch counters. I first learned about CLARA Luper from the September 2, 2021 puzzle. 
• ENDORSE (7D: Publicly support) I am not going to ENDORSE any particular person here, but this is a good opportunity to remind you that tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S. Election Day gets much less attention on the years we aren't voting for president, but local elections are vitally important (and often have low turnout). If you live in the U.S., please make plans to vote tomorrow (unless you've voted early)!
• FUNKO (8D: ___ Pops (collectible figurines)) FUNKO Pops are bigheaded collectible figurines made by FUNKO, Inc. The company makes FUNKO Pops of a number of popular characters, and even allows you to design a FUNKO Pop of yourself or someone you LOVE. (Need a present for the person that has everything?)
• LANG (31D: Canadian Grammy winner k.d.) k.d. LANG has won four Grammy Awards, including one for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2003 with Tony Bennett, for their album, A Wonderful World. In addition to her Grammys, k.d. LANG has won eight Juno Awards, honors presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 
• UPDO (43D: Bun or beehive) and REAR END (44D: Bum or behind) From top to tail there's some nice alliteration in these consecutive clues.
• NAME DAY (48D: Annual celebration for some Catholics) In Catholicism, one's NAME DAY is a celebration of a DAY that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is usually that of a biblical character or saint. This person is sometimes referred to as one's patron saint. Today, November 6, is the feast day of St. Leonard. If your name is Leonard, or Leonard is your patron saint, happy NAME DAY.

Geography review:

• MST (32A: Denver time zone, for short) With daylight saving time ending this past weekend, Denver, Colorado is now on Mountain Standard Time (MST). 
• ETNA (52A: Active Italian volcano) Mount ETNA (also referred to simply as ETNA) is an active volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy. ETNA has a height of just over 11,000 feet; its height varies with eruptions. ETNA is in an almost constant state of activity. The most recent eruption was August 14 of this year.
• EMIR (35D: Qatar leader) EMIR is a title used by a ruler in Islamic countries. Qatar is an emirate located on the Qatar Peninsula off of the northeastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula. The capital of Qatar is Doha.
• SRI (51D: ___ Lanka) SRI Lanka is an island country in South Asia. Colombo is SRI Lanka's executive and judicial capital. The legislative capital of SRI Lanka is SRI Jayawardenepura Lotte.

This is a delightful theme idea, and all of the theme answers are great. I caught on to the theme after filling in FOOD NETWORK. After filling in WATER AEROBICS and AIR GUITAR, I wondered whether the fourth theme answer would feature shelter or LOVE. I was happy to see LOVE rounding out this set. Thank you, Nate and Jess, for this puzzle that was a marvelous way to start my Monday.