Working Stiffs

After much technical difficulty trying to get the Newsday puzzle this morning, I was finally able to download it on Crossword Social. Today's puzzle is called "Working Foursome" and features some fun characters. The author is Ki Lee (that name is new to me).

17A: Spinach-loving toon (POPEYE THE SAILOR). I have to say that Popeye was never one of my favorite cartoons, although the character has been around over 80 years. Popeye began life as a comic strip character and became the star of a series of animated shorts in the early '30s. The stories were all the same: Popeye is put into a hopeless situation (usually by Brutus), Popeye eats a can of spinach that he carries in his shirt sleeve, and the spinach makes him superhuman. In the end Popeye wins and usually gets the girl (Olive Oyl). Here's a clip from the very first Popeye cartoon:

28A: Kiddie-Show contractor (BOB THE BUILDER). I watched this show with Alex when he was younger. I loved the theme song. Bob is from a family of builders and Wendy is his business partner. Will Bob and Wendy ever get together? The vehicle characters are cute. "Bob the Builder" is originally from the UK, but they use American voices in the US version. For your listening pleasure, the theme song.

Joe the Plumber

44A: Campaign '08 personality (JOE THE PLUMBER). Real name, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher. This conservative activist and politician enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame in 2008. After receiving then-candidate Barack Obama's answer to his question about the tax policy, he appeared on the road with John McCain and Sarah Palin. McCain brought up "Joe the Plumber" frequently during the presidential debates and speeches when he charged that there would be high taxes under Obama. Joe the Plumber is running for Congress this year. I'm curious to see how that will turn out.

 55A: WWII icon for working women (ROSIE THE RIVETER). During World War II, women took jobs in place of men serving in the military. There was even an all-female baseball league (see A League of Their Own if you're one of the few people in this country who haven't). Anyway, the term "Rosie the Riveter" was first used in a 1942 song by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb, which portrayed a tireless and dedicated factory worker.

All the day long,
Whether rain or shine,
She's part of the assembly line.
She's making history,
Working for victory,
Rosie the Riveter.

Once the war was over, however, women were expected to return to their jobs as housewives and caretakers for their children. The image of Rosie that comes to mind for me was the one Norman Rockwell painted for the Saturday Evening Post.

I would like to take this time to remember Doug Heller, a puzzle and tech genius who passed away last week from pancreatic cancer. at the age of 57. He was the Webmaster and judge for the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament as well as the U.S. History Web site. I worked with Doug briefly in the late '80s when he came to Official (now Kappa) Publications from Penny Press. He was responsible for typesetting puzzles electronically and in-house (a new phenomenon at the time). I doubt Doug would have remembered me because it was so long ago. My sincere condolences to his family.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick