From the Astronaut's Logbook

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SUNDAY PUZZLE — In his print introduction, Joel Fagliano writes: "Daniel Bodily, of Woodbury, Minn., is a robotics research engineer. His crosswords often include a visual element, as seen in the middle of the grid here. A self-described 'left-brained person,' he notes that crosswords are 'the closest I'll come to being an artist myself.'"

I don't know about that — I love the low-res video game effect in this grid's layout. You might remember one of Mr. Bodily's previous Sunday puzzles, in collaboration with Jeff Chen, which included a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial. There's no arguing with the creativity and artistry in these constructions, and they're excellent, multi-level challenges.

Today's Theme

There are eight entries in this theme set, at 3-, 13-, 18-, 20-, 32-, 34-, 70- and 74-Down, as well as a twin set of revealers at 77- and 78-Down. The theme clues are all italicized statements that tell a story, from beginning to end; I didn't catch that until I looked back on my finished solve, but it's a thrilling touch. I hope solvers pick up that narrative arc.

Knowing the puzzle's title, "From the Astronaut's Logbook," helps elucidate the theme's tone. We start with 3-Down: "Woo-hoo! The engines are firing, all systems are go, and we are feeling good!" The entry here is HAVING A BLAST, which means a great time idiomatically, yes, but also literally describes a rocket preparing to soar into space. (I might be alone here, but I first thought this entry was "all systems go." Fitting, but too straightforward for the theme.)

Our record-keeper continues upward, safely, through 13-Down: "And just like that, sky and clouds are behind us!" The spaceship has left the atmosphere and is now OUT OF THE BLUE. This saying originally drew from something unexpected coming from the sky to Earth, like a bolt of lightning on a clear sunny day, but in this case, it also describes travel in the other direction.

In space, a few events occur, but nothing too suspenseful. Mainly, the narrator feels a weightless bliss that invites a handful of other space-related idioms, although there is a clumsy moment at 70-D: "Ouch! Drifted too far and bonked my head on that darn window … but wow, would you look at the view!" They are SEEING STARS in both senses of the expression. Before you know it, 74-Down happens: "Re-entry time — let's make sure we do this simply and practically!" It's time to get DOWN TO EARTH.

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