The Week In Crosswords

The indefatigable Mike Selinker’s got a lot to share with us this week via a trolling-free Reddit page and podcast interview.

Congrats to Sam Donaldson for crunching the numbers on this year’s real Orca Awards.

The Bones episode mentioned last week was incorrectly cited at first. It’s called “The Friend In Need,” and aired last Monday. It’ll be available on Hulu soon enough. Last week’s clip, though, was pretty much the only crossword content the show had to offer, and some of the crime content isn’t too breakfast-testy, so track it down with caution.

Elsewhere in Crosswordlandia:

The Globe had an embarrassing misprint in its crossword last week, as did the Missoula Independent. Grace under pressure, folks.

Geek Bowl VII included a trivia question posed by Will Shortz: it’s at 4:20 here.

There’s a cryptic clue in a classic PG Wodehouse novel that has never been officially solved. The Guardian challenges you to be the first.

Okay, this is getting ridiculous: “Forget crosswords!” chirps the latest overreaction to a study with limited scope. “The real way to keep your brain fit in old age is Facebook!” Because if there’s one thing compulsive Facebook users are known for more than compulsive crossword solvers, it’s intelligence, not neediness. More seriously, virtually any engaging activity will help the brain to some degree, but the difference is the difference between saying “bananas are good for you” and saying “bananas are unilaterally better than tomatoes, so stop eating tomatoes immediately.”

Happy 30th birthday, Times Concise Crossword!

Elsewhere on Twitter: Mom needs some suggestions to get her brain going, Dad definitely doesn’t, and adfeldman consoles himself on Valentine’s Day.

Ego-solve of the week: Dan Hamhuis of the Vancouver Canucks asks his fans for a little help. Also, a zealous tweeter from Steve Case’s Case Foundation apparently believes Steve Case and AOL have never been in a puzzle before.

A recent New York Times acrostic presented the ultimate question as its answer.

Why do newspapers print answers upside down? Short answer: “Because you readers will kvetch slightly less that way on average, though some of you will have issues no matter what the hell we do.”