November 9, 2023

Title: DMs ARE OPEN

Constructors: Amie Walker & Kelsey Dixon

Editor: Kelsey Dixon

Theme Answers:

DANICA ROEM (19A: America's first openly trans elected state official)

DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM (39A: "My reputation should precede me, but does someone need a reminder?")

DEBATE TEAM (58A: Squad that likes to argue)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer has "OPENed" a DM, such that the letters D and M appear at the ends of the answer.

And now a word from our constructors:

Amie: Working with Kelsey was a dream! Her incredible blog puzzles (crosstina-aquafina.blogspot.com) were my introduction to the indie crossword world. I think about her fill-in-the-blank clue for ESSAY at least twice a week: [at 8ft 2in tall, with traits of an apex predator (eyes on the front of his head, e.g.) and "the mind of a 6 year-old" we frankly do not know what big bird is capable of. in this ___ i will—] 

A million thanks to Kelsey for collaborating with me on this puzzle, hope we can do it again soon!

Kelsey: Working with Amie on this puzzle was all thrills, no spills; she suggested the amazing theme, which I fell in love with immediately, and we were off to the races! She's a Chicago girl at heart and I cherish our bond over The Meg movies (the REAL MCU) and look forward to working with her again in the future!

Things I learned:

• GLOW (26D: Popular perfume that rhymes with "J. Lo") GLOW by JLo is a perfume that is, as you might guess, endorsed by Jennifer Lopez. The perfume was initially released in 2002.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• PALE (13A: "___ Blue Dot" (historic photo of Earth)) I wrote about the photograph "PALE Blue Dot" on August 11, 2021. The photo was taken by NASA's Voyager 1 on February 14, 1990 at a distance of 3.7 billion miles from the Sun. In this historic photo, the Earth appears as a single blue pixel. 
• OMAR (14A: "Jurassic World" actor Sy) OMAR Sy is a French comedian and actor. In the 2015 movie Jurassic World, OMAR Sy plays the role of Barry Sembène, an assistant at Jurassic World. OMAR Sy reprised the role in the 2022 movie, Jurassic World Dominion, though his character no longer works at Jurassic World, but is now a French Intelligence agent.
• DANICA ROEM (19A: America's first openly trans elected state official) DANICA ROEM is a journalist and politician. In 2017 when she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, she became the first openly trans elected state official in the United States. This answer is timely, because just this past Tuesday, DANICA ROEM was elected to the Virginia State Senate, becoming Virginia's first openly transgender state senator. 
• YES CHEF (23A: Kitchen catchphrase on "The Bear") The Bear is a TV series on Hulu that tells the story of Carmy Berzatto (portrayed by Jeremy Allen White), a CHEF from New York City who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his family's Italian beef sandwich shop, The Beef. The phrase, "YES, CHEF!" is often repeated on The Bear. Here's a "YES, CHEF!" compilation video for your viewing pleasure.
• ALL THAT (51A: '90s Nickelodeon sketch comedy show) All That is a Nickelodeon TV series featuring comedy sketches and musical guests. The show originally aired from 1994-2000, was relaunched from 2002-2005, and was revived in 2019.
• DEBATE TEAM (58A: Squad that likes to argue) As a former high school DEBATE TEAM member, I was able to fill this answer in without any help from crossing answers.
• SOS (70A: Title of a Rihanna or ABBA hit) ABBA's song titled "SOS" was released in 1975. The song reached the Top Ten in many countries. Rihanna's song titled "SOS" was released in 2006. It reached the top of Billboard's Hot 100 chart. 
• HOLA (1D: Greeting before "Que tal?") The Spanish "HOLA! Que tal?" translates to "Hi! How are things?"
• DENIM 3D: Material for jorts or joots) Jorts are DENIM shorts, the name being a portmanteau of "jeans" and "shorts." Joots are DENIM boots, the name being a portmanteau of "jeans" and "boots." Some joots, which I have written about before, are not simply boots, but a jean/boot combination.
• COMIC BOOK (8D: "Paper Girls" or "Ms. Marvel") Paper Girls is a COMIC BOOK series (published 2015-2019) about four teen girls, that while out on their paper routes in 1988, unknowingly time travel to 2019. Paper Girls was adapted into a TV series in 2022. Ms. Marvel is a COMIC BOOK character that has had several incarnations. The most recent Ms. Marvel, Kamala Khan, made her COMIC BOOK debut in 2013, and eventually became Marvel's first Muslim character to headline her own COMIC BOOK. Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, is a Pakistani American teenager with shapeshifting abilities. 
• WALL-E (10D: Pixar robot with a cockroach BFF) WALL-E, the garbage collecting robot on an uninhabitable, deserted Earth in the year 2805, is the title character of a 2008 Pixar animated movie. WALL-E stands for "Waste Allocation Load Lifter: Earth Class." The character is voiced by Ben Burtt. WALL-E's cockroach BFF is named Hal, an homage to silent film producer Hal Roach, and the computer HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• BAD (11D: "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very ___ Day") Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very BAD Day is a 1972 children's book by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Ray Cruz. In addition to being the title character, Alexander is the narrator for this story about his "terrible, horrible, no good, very BAD day." 
• TROOP (30D: Group of Girl Scouts) and BADGES (47D: Girl Scouts earn them) Girl Scout references is a nice way to pair these two clues.
• AFRO (51D: ___-Indigenous) AFRO-Indegenous is a term used for people with both Indigenous and African lineage. Here are a couple of articles to check out if you'd like to learn more about AFRO-Indigenous people and the complexities of this identity: this High Country News article by two AFRO-Indigenous scholars, and this Aspen Institute article about Black-Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous youth.
• XTINA (56D: Pop star Aguilera's alter ego) Christina Aguilera's self-titled debut album was released in 1999, and reached the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Three years later, Christina Aguilera's alter ego, XTINA, was introduced to the world, with the release of her fourth studio album, Stripped. 
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• MILE (18A: Equivalent of 5,280 feet)
• UGH (25A: "thx, I hate it")
• DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM (39A: "My reputation should precede me, but does someone need a reminder?")

Geography review:

• CAR (34A: Vehicle banned on Mackinac Island) Mackinac Island is located in Lake Huron, between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Mackinac Island has an AREA of just over 4 square miles, and a year-round population of just under 600 people. The population of Mackinac Island grows considerably in the summer, as the island is a popular tourist destination. The entire island has a National Historic Landmark designation, and many of its buildings have undergone extensive historical preservation and restoration. As the clue informs us, most CARs are banned on Mackinac Island. The only exceptions are for city emergency and city service vehicles.
• UTAH (40D: One of the Four Corners states) This is a perfect clue for a Geography Review Quiz. Besides UTAH, what are the other states found at the location referred to as Four Corners? You will find the answer at the end of this blog post.
• AREA (60D: 113,998 square miles, for Arizona) The AREA of Arizona makes it the sixth-largest state. For comparison, Alaska, the largest U.S. state, has an AREA of 665,384 square miles, and Rhode Island, the smallest state has an AREA of 1,544 square miles.

DMs ARE OPEN works well as a title and theme. It let me know just what to expect from the theme answers. Speaking of the theme answers, it's a great set. Today's puzzle has me thinking about how an idea, such as DM (which stands for direct message), can spark multiple crossword themes. Today, of course, we have DMs ARE OPEN. A couple of weeks ago we saw a puzzle by Mark Valdez and Matthew Stock simply titled DMs. And just last Saturday, Olivia Mitra Framke and I had a puzzle at The Modern called "Note Passing in the 21st Century," which also featured DMs. (Sadly, you need a Puzzle Society membership to access that one now.) I'm also tickled by the fact that all three of these puzzles are collaborations, so I imagine the making of them involved DMs! Thank you, Amie and Kelsey, for this puzzle that was a delightful way to start my Thursday.

Geography Review Answer: Four corners is the area where the states UTAH, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet.