Alex

Since when is a GOD necessarily a male deity? Yes the word "goddess" does exist, but in my lexicon, Mars and Venus can both be described by 8D.

Most fun. Thursday. Ever. Thanks Kareem! (Clues were maybe Tuesday or Wednesday level, but super fun. And you even threw in a scientist and author of a great wormhole-themed SF novel ("Contact") as the last across entry...)

Super frustrated on this one today. I had HE/HIs and sOP... Both reasonable answers to their respective clues. Had to peek at the answers to find where I had strayed.

Minor clue quibble: I suppose the word "much" can cover a range of territory, but for me, TUNDRA can only be considered [Much of Greenland] if you ignore the more than 80% of the island which is covered with ice. (I of course immediately tried filling in "ICECAP" but the crosses quickly refuted that try....)

Nice puzzle as designed by the constructor. Minor stumbling block: the uncrossed (but as many have pointed out, checked through the theme rotation) DAM/jAM ambiguity. BUT, a major disappointment not due to the constructor: The post-fill theme rotation being done for me automatically by the website! I was looking forward to the satisfaction of turning those dials myself to complete the solve.

Also welcoming Will back. 2 notes: (1) "VOLT" and "AMP" do make a power couple, but only when they are together -- Volts × Amps = Watts, and watts are a unit of power... (2) I don't quite get why XMAS is "Present day, in brief"... Isn't today (Tuesday, Dec 31) more NYE than XMAS?