December 10, 2021

Title: ODDS & ENDS

Constructor: Malaika Handa

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme Answers:

DOCTOR STRANGE (23A: Marvel character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch)

DON'T MAKE IT WEIRD (37A: "Move on before this gets awkward")

EPICURIOUS (59A: Website with a "4 Levels of..." cooking show)

Theme synopsis: The ENDS of the theme answers are synonyms for ODD: STRANGE, WEIRD, and CURIOUS.

Things I learned:

• MORAL (52A: ___ Mondays (North Carolina protests)) MORAL Mondays are weekly protests held at the North Carolina General Assembly since 2013. Each Monday, members of the movement meet to protest. They have protested the legislature's actions on voting rights, the environment, cuts to social programs, tax changes, racial justice, abortion, and education. After the protest, they enter the legislature building where a number of them are peacefully arrested. The first MORAL Monday protest was organized by Rev. William Barber, who at the time was the head of North Carolina's NAACP chapter.
• EPICURIOUS (59A: Website with a "4 Levels of..." cooking show) EPICURIOUS is a subsidiary of Condé Nast that produces Internet content focused on food and cooking. Each 4 Levels of... video addresses a specific food. Cooks at three levels - amateur, home cook, and expert - are asked to prepare the food. A culinary expert than assesses the results. So far, there are 84 episodes, and the foods prepared include pudding, ravioli, grilled cheese, chili, and pizza. I'm a little surprised I haven't heard of this show, since it is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy watching. (I binge-watch The Food Network when we stay at hotels since we don't have a TV at home.) I'm not sure whether I'm excited to know about it now, or sorry for the things on my to-do list that may get neglected.
• ALLEN (11D: Singer-songwriter Lily) Lily ALLEN's music incorporates elements of electro pop, R&B, and reggae. Her most recent studio album, No Shame, was released in 2018. 
• CLAM (24D: Mollusk in jaecheop-guk) Jaecheop-guk is a clear soup made with freshwater marsh CLAMs that are native to Korea.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• NOBEL (18A: Prize for Wangari Maathai) Wangari Maathai was a social, environmental, and
  
  political activist. There is a beautiful picture book that tells her story: Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Claire Nivola. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. The non-governmental organization based in Kenya focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 2004, Wangari Maathai was awarded the NOBEL Peace Prize, the first African woman to receive the honor. Wangari Maathai died in 2011 at the age of 71.
• DOCTOR STRANGE (23A: Marvel character portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch) Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of DOCTOR STRANGE in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He first played the character in the 2016 movie, DOCTOR STRANGE, about a neurosurgeon who learns mystic arts after being in a career-ending car crash.
• AREPA (31A: Cornmeal cake that might be filled with frijoles) AREPA is made of ground maize dough. Frijoles are beans.
• SADE (53A: "Soldier of Love" singer) The Grammy-winning song, "Soldier of Love," was the title track of SADE's 2010 album. 
• ECON (68A: Game theory subj.) Game theory is a process of modeling interactions between participants in certain situations. It looks at how and why people make decisions, and has applications in social science, logic, systems science, and computer science. The 2014 NOBEL Memorial Prize in ECONomic Sciences was awarded to game theorist Jean Tirole. Eleven game theorists have won the NOBEL Prize in ECONomics.
• AMENDMENTS (3D: The U.S. Constitution has 27) I filled in this answer before I uncovered any of the theme answers. As a result, I was temporarily distracted by the "END" present in AMENDMENTS, and wondered if the theme would consist of some answers containing END, and some containing ODD. (There's another theme idea for this same title!)
• VOODOO (6D: Louisiana ___ (Creole religion)) Louisiana VOODOO originated in Louisiana, and combines elements of traditional religions of West Africa, Catholicism, and Haitian VOODOO.

Geography review:

• OSLO (62A: Capital of Norway) Since 1947, the Christmas Tree that adorns Trafalgar Square in London during the holiday season has been a gift from Norway. The tree is a Norway spruce decorated in traditional Norwegian style, with a plaque reading, "This tree is given by the city of OSLO as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the years 1940-45." Some Brits have been taken to Twitter to poke fun of this year's tree. The Trafalgar Square Tree has its own Twitter account, so it was able to respond.

Is it just me, or does this puzzle seem a bit STRANGE? It's CURIOUS, isn't it, that it has a WEIRD vibe? Downright ODD, and delightfully so! DON'T MAKE IT WEIRD was my favorite theme answer today, though all of the theme answers are great, and I enjoyed learning about the EPICURIOUS series that may lead me to do some binge-watching. My favorite clue today was (20D: Like elbows when making the "M" in the "YMCA" dance) for BENT. GIMME A SEC and I'll tell you about the great fill in this asymmetric grid, including ARMADILLO, THUDS, and ORNATE. This puzzle was a fabulous way to begin my Friday.

If your inbox and mailbox are anything like mine, they are likely filled with multiple requests for money at this time of year. Therefore, although today is my self-designated day of the month to remind you my site has a Donate button (think of it as a Tip Jar, or an opportunity to buy me pizza or chocolate!), I won't say anything more other than a reminder that donations are always optional (truly!) and always appreciated (most definitely!)