September 18, 2021

Title: CHART TOPPERS

Constructor: Hannah Slovut

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

FLOWER POWER (3D: Rhyming hippie slogan)

PIECE OF CAKE (8D: "No problem at all")

STARTUP COST (24D: Initial business expense)

BARE MINIMUM (26D: Smallest possible amount)

Theme synopsis: A type of CHART is found at the TOP of each vertical theme answer. We have a FLOW CHART, a PIE CHART, a STAR CHART, and a BAR CHART.

Things I learned:

• RAW (40A: Like the beef in kitfo) Kitfo is a dish in Ethiopian cuisine. Minced RAW beef is ground and mixed with a blend of chili peppers, cardamom, cloves, and salt. The spiced meat is then topped with a seasoned clarified butter known as niter kibbeh. Kitfo with lightly cooked beef instead of RAW is called kitfo leb leb. Kitfo is served with injera (a flatbread made with teff flour), and may be served with other flatbreads, salty cheeses, and spiced collard greens. 
• KUTI (46A: "Zombie" singer Fela) Fela KUTI was a Nigerian musician who is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, a music genre combining aspects of Yoruba percussion, funk, and jazz. Fela KUTI and his band, Africa 70, were popular in Nigeria during the 1970s, using their music to oppose and criticize Nigeria's military juntas. In 1976, Fela KUTI released the song "Zombie," on an album of the same name. The song used the metaphor of zombies to describe the Nigerian military. The album was a hit in Nigeria, infuriating the government, which retaliated against Fela KUTI. Fela KUTI's life was the subject of a 2008 play titled Fela!, a 2010 play titled Fela Son of KUTI: The Fall of Kalakuta, and a 2014 documentary titled Finding Fela. I had not heard of Fela KUTI, and was thankful for the help of crossing answers, but I appreciated learning about him. Note: The version of the song I linked to above has subtitles giving additional information about the song and the government's response. 
• ELI (31D: "Exile and Pride" author Clare) ELI Clare's book, Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation was first published in 1999, with a second edition in 2009, and a third edition in 2015. The book is a compilation of autobiographical essay's about ELI Clare's experiences as a disabled genderqueer activist and writer. 
• CERTS (51D: Tech resume listings, for short) CERTS, as used here, is an abbreviated form of "certificate." This abbreviation is used in the fields of technology and education. The answer was inferable, but this was a new abbreviation for me.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• DISCOS (21A: Nightclubs where "We Are Family" might be heard) I liked this descriptive clue! The song "We Are Family" was released in 1979 by Sister Sledge, and became their signature song. 
• CEOS (30A: From 1978 to 2018, their compensation grew by roughly one thousand percent) This is another great clue. We see CEOS (and the singular CEO) in the puzzle often, and I liked that this clue took the opportunity to provide a tidbit of information that is both astounding and infuriating. During that same period, the Federal Minimum Wage Rate went from $2.65 to $7.25. That's a 273% increase, but when those values are adjusted for inflation, the result is actually a 29% decrease in minimum wage from 1978 to 2018.
• ELF (34A: Galadriel in "The Lord of the Rings," e.g.) According to The One Wiki to Rule Them All, a Lord of the Rings fan wiki, "Galadriel was one of the greatest elves in Middle-earth, surpassing nearly all others in beauty, knowledge, and power."
• RBG (35A: 1993-2020 Supreme Court inits.) Always happy to see RBG in my puzzle. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was certainly successful in living up to her instruction to, "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
• STREEP (47A: "The Prom" actress Meryl) In the 2020 musical film, The Prom, Meryl STREEP played the role of Dee Dee Allen, a narcissistic Tony Award-winning Broadway actress. 
• MRS (66A: Title for Who, Which and Whatsit in "A Wrinkle in Time") This was an excellent way to clue MRS.
• AM I (10D: "Who ___?" ("Les Miserables" song)) In the musical, Les Miserables, "Who AM I?" is sung by Jean Valjean. 

Geography review:

• EMIR (60A: Kuwaiti head of state) Kuwait is a country in Western Asia. The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait City. The current EMIR of Kuwait is Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah.
• LAS (59D: The L in UNLV) UNLV - the University of Nevada, LAS Vegas - is a public university in Paradise, Nevada, founded in 1957.

The title of CHART TOPPER clued me in that I was likely going to be looking for the theme at the TOP of the theme answers. This initially had me pondering whether a FLOWER CHART or a PIECE CHART was a thing, and it was fun to realize that the CHARTS in question where hiding in the words. I especially liked finding PIE hidden in PIECE OF CAKE. As seen by several examples I mentioned above, the cluing today was great, descriptive and providing interesting tidbits of information. This puzzle was an enjoyable way to begin my Saturday.