Event of 10/30/10 / TUE 10-26-10 / Sobriquet for Bill O'Reilly / Eric who played Hulk 2003 / 1918 song girl whose name sung stutter

Constructor: Chris Handman

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: 10/30/10 — tribute puzzle dedicated to this weekend's RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY (1A: With 17-Across, event of 10/30/10), hosted by Jon STEWART (41A: Organizer of the 1-/17-Across), and MARCH TO KEEP FEAR ALIVE (54A: With 65-Across, event of 10/30/10), hosted by Stephen COLBERT (39A: Organizer of the 54-/65-Across), both being held in Washington, D.C.


Word of the Day: Michael CERA (31D: Michael of "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World") —

Michael Austin Cera (pronounced /ˈsɛɹə/; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Superbad, and Juno. Cera received two Canadian Comedy Award Best Actor nominations in 2008 for his work in Juno and Superbad, winning for the latter. Since 2008, Cera has starred in Year One, Youth in Revolt, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Paper Heart and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. (wikipedia)

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Well, I knew this one was coming (I'll tell you how later), but I didn't know what it would look like, exactly. Don't like the non-symmetry of the theme answers, or the arbitrary (and equally non-symmetrical) bonus theme answers (PAPA BEAR and EMMY) (6A: With 10-Across, sobriquet for Bill O'Reilly used by 39-Across and 72A: Award won for 39- and 41-Across's programs). Theme answers also Very (too) easy to get if you are aware of the march/rally, and (probably, I guess) hard as hell if you somehow aren't. The grid as a whole seems pretty solid, with LADY LUCK (28A: Gambler's best friend?) and ANATHEMA (48A: Object of loathing) and AIR BALL (7D: Complete miss in basketball) and TAG TEAM (46D: Wrestling duo) providing some lovely (and, ironically, symmetrical) zing.



Strangely (considering I'm going to the march/rally) I don't have much to say about this one. There it is. . . Lots of cross-referenced theme clues are a minor annoyance. Michael CERA and Eric BANA (10D: Eric who played the Hulk in 2003) are important actor names to know, as they will likely become 4-letter crosswordese in the near future, if they aren't there already. The only answer I had any trouble with today was, briefly, OMB (21A: White House fiscal grp.) — it's the Office of Management and Budget, but OMB is not an initialism I see much, so I needed crosses to pick it up.



Went to doctor today re: sinus issues (ugh). We'll see how long treatment takes to help ... already a little better, but this *#$& has been fluctuating so much that I am not allowing myself to be optimistic yet. How is this relevant? I'm very tired, and going to bed now.

[32D: 1918 song girl whose name was sung with a stutter]

See you tomorrow,

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]